Cora Paige

About a month ago, I began following a blog about a 10-month old little girl named Cora who had been diagnosed with cancer. Three weeks after her diagnosis, Cora went to be with Jesus.

I don't know Cora's parents, but through their blog I have learned that they have incredible faith in God and have trusted (and continue to trust) Him through their journey. Even in Cora's death, they praise Him. Now THAT'S the kind of faith I want to have.

Jess and Joel have started a project called "The Cora Playground" in memory of their sweet daughter. The playground will be an extention of the children's ministries department at their church in Kansas.

Cora's mom, Jess, has started an Etsy shop online to help raise money for the Cora Playground. Lots of other Etsy sellers are donating the proceeds from certain items to the Cora Playground, as well. Click on the links and check them out.

Most of the items on Etsy are very reasonably priced. Plus, they're handmade, unique, and super cute! What a perfect place to buy baby gifts!

Please keep Cora's family in your prayers. I can't imagine how difficult their journey is and will continue to be for a long time to come. May God bless you and bring you peace, Jess and Joel.

Little Miss Gracen: Two Months

Gracen is 2 months old! Can you believe it?

Aaron and had a chance to hang out with Gracen's wonderful Mommy and Daddy this weekend...so I brought my camera along to document how much she has grown and changed in the past few weeks.

One of my favorite parts of photographing children is watching them grow. I look forward to watching Gracen grow for a long time to come :) Check out the rest of Gracen's 2 month photo shoot here.

Natalie and Katy

Aren't they beautiful?!

Natalie (5 years) and Katy (10 months) were so fun to photograph. Poor little Katy was SO tired when I arrived at her house at 10am on Saturday...but she was a trooper and stayed awake the entire time I was there. Here are a few of my favorite photos of her:

Smiling at Daddy


Yawn!

Now. On to little miss Natalie. Hands down, she is the biggest ham I have ever photographed. The girl started walking in fashion shows when she was 3 and, needless to say, she knows how to pose. And pose. And pose again. She was dancing circles around me...and all I had to do was point and shoot. It doesn't get much easier than that!

Here is my favorite series of Natalie's "model poses":

Work.

It.

Girl.

Many thanks to the York family for having me over to their house to play! Check out the rest of their photo shoot on my SmugMug website.

Busy Saturday

Oh. My. Goodness.

This past Saturday was crazy.

I completed 3 photo shoots before 3pm (and survived to tell about it)! Photography is very fun, but also very mentally and physically draining for me.

I'm not a "pose and shoot" kind of photographer. I think kids photograph best when they're comfortable...and they're most comfortable in their own environment doing what comes naturally to them.

Before I even take out my camera on a photo shoot, I get to know the child by talking with her, asking about her favorite things, and playing with her. Once she's comfortable with me, she lets me into her world and I'm able to capture her true personality in each photograph. This process is one of my favorite parts of photographing children.

I can't wait to blog this week. Here's what's on the agenda:

• Sweet sisters: Natalie (5 years) and Katy (10 months)
• Beautiful Miss Gracen (2 months)
• The BIG REVEAL of one of my favorite little monkeys of all time (the one I told you about here)

Check back soon for some super cute photos of Natalie and Catie!

Toby-isms

When I arrive at work each morning, I'm always amazed at how many new words Toby seems to come up with overnight. I think Sam reads the dictionary to him before bed :)

Here are a few silly things Toby has been saying lately that make laugh every time:

• Toby walks through the house saying, "Miiiiiiiiiing Woooooong! Wiiiiiiiiiing Woooooooooooooong." When I ask him what he's doing he says, "Doobeaw, Sin! (Doorbell, Allison!) Miiiiiiiiiiing Woooooooooong!" Evidently the doorbell sounds like a Chinese guy's name.
• Toby sings most of his words these days. When we're in the car, he looks out the window and sings, "Dare's no suuuuuuuuuun todaaaaaaaaay, Siiiiiiiiiin! Oh-ney coooooooooooouds!" (There's no sun today, Allison! Only clouds!). His little songs make me smile every time.
• When Toby tries to get me to let him watch TV, he runs up to me, grabs the sleeve of my sweatshirt, puts his chin down on my arm, looks at me with puppy dog eyes, and says, "Pease pease pease pease pease pease pease peeeeeeeeeeeeeease?!" Where (and when) did he learn how to beg?
• When Toby has something he wants to show me, he says, "Wait a min-ite, Sin. I be wite back..." (Wait a minute, Allison. I'll be right back...). Then he turns around and runs full speed into another room in search of whatever it is he wants to show me.
• One of Toby's favorite books at the moment is this Winnie the Pooh sing-a-long thing. The microphone pops out of the front and he sings along with the button he chooses (always the "Eyore Likes to Walk Along" song). For some reason the song has been cutting off in the middle of Toby's solo and he gets a little angry. He sings, "Eyore wikes to wok-a-wong, wok-a-wong, wok-a-wong, Eyore wikes to...(song cuts off)...DANG IT! (He pushes the Eyore button again.) "Eyore wikes to wok-a-wong, wok-a-wong, wok...(song cuts off)...DANG IT!" I have NO IDEA where he learned the phrase "dang it" because no one around here says it. It's really hard to keep a straight face when I tell him that the phrase "dang it" is not nice to say.

On our way home from school today, Toby babbled on and on and on and on in the backseat next to Sam. Sam, the most talkative 5-year-old I've ever met, said, "Toby, are you ever going to be quiet? Why do you talk so much?"

The Mom Song

This video is absolutely fabulous. I know I'm not a mom yet, but I sure do feel like one Monday through Friday!

Watch this video and enjoy all of the cliche phrases we've all heard (and sometimes still hear) our mothers say :)

Our Dear Friend Tom

Our dear friend Tom is coming to stay with us for a few days this week! I have a great story that goes along with how Aaron and I met Tom and how much our friendship with him has grown over the past few years:

Five years ago, when Aaron and I had just begun dating, he took me to a small, intimate concert at a Christian coffee shop in Pineville, NC called "The Well." A singer/songwriter named Tom Conlon was performing and I had only heard his music on CDs that Aaron had let me borrow.

That night, I was blown away by Tom's incredible voice and talent on the guitar. Aaron still laughs when he reminds me of how I spent most of that evening: sitting on a couch in the front row, legs curled beneath me, eyes closed, swaying from side to side, singing along. Tom is one of the very few artists I've seen in concert that sound better live than they do on CD. It was that night that I became a die-hard Tom Conlon fan.

Over the next few years, Aaron and I went to almost every one of Tom's shows within a 200 mile radius of Rock Hill. We enjoyed getting to know him (and his dog "Roadie") and loved hearing stories about his life and how the songs he wrote came to be.

Fast forward to April 2007. Aaron and I were planning our wedding and trying to figure out what special elements we wanted in our ceremony. For years we had joked that we wanted Tom to play guitar and sing at our wedding, but the dream seemed so far-fetched that we never thought seriously about it. (You see, Tom is a pretty busy guy and we figured he would have more important things to do than sing in our little ol' wedding at a plantation in Charleston...). Just for kicks, I decided to look up his tour schedule and see where he would be on our wedding day (September 8th, 2007).

Now, God likes to do really awesome things...but this was almost creepy. Tom was scheduled to play a show in CHARLESTON on Thursday, September 6th and another on Sunday, September 9th. Whoa.

We ended up booking Tom for our wedding date and gave him free reign to pick all of the songs for our ceremony. Each of the songs he picked were special to us and they took on an entirely new meaning on our wedding day.

I'll never forget the feeling that came over me when Tom began playing "Sacred Things" as I walked down the aisle to meet my groom. Every bit of emotion that had been running though my body for the past few months managed to escape though the tears that streamed down my face.

Thankfully, I was able to compose myself and enjoy our wedding ceremony without blubbering through the entire thing like a complete emotional wreck (which is a miracle in itself!).

I still get teary-eyed when "Sacred Things" comes on my iPod. No matter where I am or what I'm doing, that song always takes me back to a time and place that is more special than words can describe. Aaron and I are SO thankful to have a friend who would take time out of his busy schedule to make our wedding day so unforgettable.

Tom is playing a show at "The Well" in Pineville this coming Saturday, February 21st at 8pm. We would love to see you there!

We love you, Tom! Aaron and I can't wait to visit with you this week (and kick your butt in some Wii boxing and Rock Band!)

Ahhhh...

I'm currently sitting on the couch at work, enjoying a few moments of peace and quiet while the boys nap, sipping on a tall skinny vanilla latte in an effort to get rid of a killer headache, and reminiscing about the past three days.

Aaron and I were blessed with the opportunity to go to the North Carolina mountains for a romantic getaway this past weekend. We took Friday off from work, packed up the 4-Runner, and escaped to the most fabulous bed and breakfast we've ever seen. I can't remember the last time Aaron and I spent 3 solid days with each other and did nothing but sleep, eat, hike, watch movies, and enjoy each other's company. We had a fabulous time.

I did take some photos of the beautiful place we stayed...but I'll have to post those later this week. Editing the photos may take a few days because I'm still trying to ease my way out of vacation mode :)

More to come soon...

10 Reasons Why I Love My Husband:

1. He rocks babies to sleep.
2. He looks GOOD while rocking babies to sleep :)
3. He gets up at 3am when a baby we're keeping for the weekend wakes up screaming and rocks him back to sleep.
4. He cleans the kitchen without me asking him to.
5. He excels at his job and works really hard to invest in our future.
6. He can fix almost anything.
7. He appreciates my love for cooking and baking.
8. He encourages me to follow my dreams and use my talents.
9. He's playful.
10. He loves me even when I'm unlovable.

Melt My Heart :)

Aaron and I spent this past weekend with our favorite little Lyons. I'll tell you all about it later...but for now, I want to leave you with the sweetest sight I've ever seen:


There's no feeling in the world like seeing my husband snuggle a baby. Oh, what a wonderful Daddy he'll be one day!

Heeeeeey Baby!

Yesterday, Aaron called and left a message on my phone while Toby and I were at ImaginOn for storytime. After storytime was over, I was trying to listen to Aaron's message but Toby was screaming, "TALK! TALK TO AANEN!"

I called Aaron back but got his voicemail. I left him a message and then handed the phone to Toby.

"Heeeeeeey Baby! I wuv you!" he said.

It doesn't get much cuter than that :)

Ok...maybe it does.

Here is a photo of Toby watching Sesame Street after lunch on Tuesday.

As soon as Elmo came on the TV, he picked up his Elmo costume, handed it to me, and demanded that I put it on him.

He didn't move from this spot for 20 minutes :)

Just A Few More Weeks...

I've been DYING to introduce you to one of my favorite little girls of ALL TIME. She's beautiful, sassy, and loved by everyone who meets her. She is the center of a story filled with hope, generosity, and unconditional love.

Just a few more weeks and I'll be able to share her story AND her photos.

Until then, I'll keep you hanging with these:

Happy Birfday!

The conversation Toby and I had as I changed his diaper the other day:

Toby: Sass-in?
Me: Yes, Toby?
Toby: HAPPY BIRFDAY!!!
Me: It's not my birthday, silly boy!
Toby: Yes! HAPPY BIRFDAY, Sin!
Me: No...
Toby: Oh. Happy birfday, head? Happy birfday, feet? Happy birfday toeeeeeeees?
Me (laughing): You're so silly, Toby!
Toby: You siwwy, Sin! HAPPY BIRFDAY!!! Cake? Cake, Sin? Cake? Peeeeeeeease???

There always seems to be a method to Toby's madness. I think he thought that if he could convince me that it was my birthday (or someone's birthday, for that matter), he would get cake for breakfast.

Nice try, Toby. Nice try :)