Pay it forward

{The Rules}
1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me~something crafty or yummy, who knows?!
2. Winners must post this challenge on their blog, meaning that they will 'Pay It Forward,' creating a handmade gift~anything, for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on their post about this giveaway!
3. The gift that you send to your friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts.
♥ ♥ ♥
I found this on Mandi's blog so I figured I better get it on my blog so don't feel so guilt about getting a treat and then not giving something to someone else (because, Mandi, giving tights to Sadie really doesn't count! ) I have some things in mind on what it will be, but feel free to leave a request! Have Fun!

Marley it's your birthday! Happy birthday, Marley!

Marley it's your birthday! Happy birthday, Marley!

Marley's birthday party was so much fun! We had a bunch of family and friends come over to celebrate with a monkey cake, pink & brown frosted cupcakes & ice cream! Thanks to everyone who came and gave such wonderful, thoughtful gifts. A big thanks to my sister-in-law, Tina, who made all the delicious desserts possible!! She even made and decorated the monkey cake and did a fabulous job even though she'd never done it before!!!
We are so excited, yet still in utter disbelief, that our little baby girl is now actually a whole year old!! As with everyone who's a mom or a dad, we have had an immensely wonderful time being able to observe Marley change, evolve, and develop her own little personality. Marley is a fantastic blessing in our home and we strive hard every day to enjoy every single moment of her life with her because the time we are granted slips away so rapidly! The post below shows a slide show of Marley during her first year and it's a tad long because I had a hard time (as usual) deciding what pictures to use...so I had to trim it somewhat to make it a bit shorter!!
Here are a few things that she is able to do now:
*She is now able to walk and walk well (except she did a ‘banana-peel’ type slip on a slippery spot on the floor the other day!).
*She can climb up stairs but has not mastered climbing down as of yet.
*She uses a ‘reach’ with her arm as a gesture for asking for things she wants.
*She’s horribly addicted to her Binky (thanks to mom!)
*She loves books.
*She loves to open & close anything that will open & close.
*She can say ‘Mama’ & ‘Dada’ & a plethora of jibber-jabber.
*She loves little kids.
*She attempts to eat everything—even though she still has no teeth!!
*She gives beautiful hugs & kisses.
*She loves to dance, especially when we turn on music.
*She smiles at herself every time she looks in the mirror.
*She loves her family!
*She's a wonderfully sweet and good-natured child!
*There is so much more….but there’s not enough room!!

A year of Marley

Tattoos & Valentines

Marley got a fabulous little valentine from her good friend in Phoenix, Charlie!!
Marley was so excited to get it and wanted to carry it around!! Thanks Charlie!

Meet Uncle Seth

My little bro, Seth, came back from his mission in Thailand

a couple of weeks ago. We went to his home coming talk

(which was absolutely wonderful and heart-felt) and had a little

family get together afterward!

It was his first time meeting Marley!!

At first, she was unsure about him, but she ended up warming up

to him!

Out to Lunch

After lots of juggling, texts, and emails, I finally got to lunch with some old friends, Kayla and Whitney (poor Sarah couldn't make it because of car trouble!!) It was good to see them and hopefully we can get together again after Whitney has her baby!!

Tulle & Tutus

I have a friend in my neighborhood that has all of this great lighting equipment and back drops. She was kind enough to let me borrow all of it. I have a pretty decent Nikon camera, so Mandi and I went to town!! We took nearly 500 pictures and being a VERY amateur photographer, I was impressed that I was able to get some pretty decent pictures (if I do say so myself!) Because of this, this post has A LOT of photos!!

It was much more challenging than I thought: getting the lighting just right, getting the kids to cooperate, and making everything fit into the background! I thought because we were doing it in my house, that it would be easier than a studio. One nice thing is we don't have to pay for all of the pictures and we aren't hindered by copyright laws, so we can do what we want with the pictures!

Because of all of these challenges, I didn't dare try any other back drop than black because that's a safe color. I had soooo much fun doing this (and I hope that Mandi did too!) that I think I am going to start putting together my own lighting equipment set. I think getting my own equipment will allow me to practice and get better at taking good photos!!

Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say on a bright, Hawaiian Christmas day...

S0 we went to Hawaii with Kevin's brother's family for Christmas this year. Can I say that this is the best way to spend your Christmas vacation? Away from the cold and snow, and the hectic craziness that families can sometimes bring! We ate Christmas dinner in an open air restaurant, where a chubby, Hawaiian man sang us Christmas songs, adding that we should eat until we feel lazy. Soaking up the warm Christmas sun, as we nap on the beach in 80 degree weather, while listening to the sounds of the ocean. Yep, it can't get any better than that!
We had a wonderful time going to North Shore to eat the famous "shave ice" from Matsumoto's, snorkeling, whale and dolphin watching from a catamaran, and getting to just relax.

On the evening of "Boxing Day" (the day after Christmas) there was a huge storm on Oahu. There was a rare show of lightening, which hit a transformer, which, in turn, created an automatic shut down of power. The power had to be cold started, which takes quite sometime. We were playing phase ten in our hotel, when the lights went out. We managed to finish our game with flash lights, but ended up just going to bed because it got too difficult to do anything else.
Kevin and I love the beach and the ocean, but Marley had different ideas. The sand was NOT her thing. Every time we tried to put her feet in the sand, she'd pull her feet up to her body to avoid touching it! She did fine on the chairs, and beach towels but wouldn't even think about playing in the sand. Who knows? Maybe she thought it felt weird!