jenson family love...

after being rained out on our original session date, i was finally able to meet up with these three back in december. we had fun at the park while we grabbed some christmas present pictures! love these smiles...

scenes from daily life

some days i feel like this is all lu does...

*sigh*

better late than never...

this was our christmas picture for 2009. it was taken in january, however. i love that it is so typical of us:

in our cozies...

lucy flapping away...

elijah so serious with his ducky posed just so...

i'm not wearing an ounce of makeup...

john smiling in the midst of it all...

it's us. just the way we are.

and i love it.

here's the rest of our christmas pictures (these were from the actual day. i made elijah changed into his christmas jammies before i would let him go downstairs!):

the newest member of my family.

maybe the title of this post gave you pause...maybe it didn't. regardless, an explanation: i've always called my camera my "other" child. and it's no secret to any one that knows me even a little bit that my camera is almost like a third arm. thus, when i say i have a new member of my family, i'm really talking about my new camera.
a little history behind this recent addition: earlier this year, i was not planning on buying a new camera; my little canon 20d had served me well for for the past five years and it was still going strong. however, as the year progressed, i started doing more and more sessions with people other than my family. actual paying clients!...quite a step up in the world. and though my camera still continued to do its job, every once it a while, it would hold me back. so, i started thinking about it...this buying a new camera business. and of course, once the thought had been planted in my brain, it was all i could think about (in relative terms). and then, in the latter part of november, i was handed the ultimate gift: the bride of the wedding i will be shooting in february paid me in full. i had planned on using that money to purchase the camera, and here it was, in my hand, two months earlier than expected. i had already done my research: the canon 5d mark II was the camera for me. and although my husband claims it doesn't look any different than my old canon 20d...they are millenniums apart. i won't go into all the technical blather, suffice it to say: this camera is awesome. i feel like i have barely scratched the surface of its radness (which isn't a word, i know...however, this camera is so incredible, it's allowed to make up its own words). i can't wait to allow it to "stretch its legs" during a few shoots i have lined up and then at the wedding in february. definitely excited about my photographic future with this camera in my hands. now...i just need some new lenses to go with it (i'm only slightly kidding).

here's some of my favorites so far:

the first image taken with my new canon 5d mark II

not the greatest image ever, but considering the fact that it was taken at 1600 iso and there's not even a hint of digital noise, i bow at its awesomeness. want to see a comparison? this next picture was taken with my old camera, the 20d, at 1600 iso, and though i'm glad to have the memory, all i can say is: YUCK!

back to the new camera:

i just realized...

...i never did a post about our trip to florida. yes...that was back in october...but oh well! i'm going to blog about it anyway.

john was awarded this trip for his excellent work in 2008. he was in the top 25 loan officers in his company (which is one of the largest in the nation and has hundreds of employees). thankfully, he was given a trip for two, so i got to come along. we decided to have elijah stay with his grandparents, mainly because we would have had to pay extra to bring him along but also because we knew it would be hard to relax with his boundless energy accompanying us. lucy, on the other hand, was barely five months and not yet sleeping through the night (she's STILL not) so we felt she would be too much for john's parents to handle. and while having her along did decrease the amount of relaxation we (or should i say "i"?) were able to participate in, it really wasn't that big of a bother to bring her along. and though she won't remember a single moment of the entire trip, i like to think that she enjoyed herself too.

so...here's a few pictures...mostly of lucy kate...but also of the beautiful area we stayed at: san marco island.

lu's second time in a pool...but the first time that she enjoyed it. she cried when we took her out...

the most AMAZING poolside drink EVER...i forget what they called it but it was basically half strawberry daiquiri and half pina colada. yum. pure yum.

she looks so tiny!

lucy's first dip in the ocean. she didn't love it...and i don't blame her. it was cold!

my favorite thing...room service!

top twelve...

last year, i did a post at the beginning of the year that featured a collage of my favorite twelve pictures from the previous year...one from each month. i really liked that idea...so i'm doing it again. it's so amazing to go back through a year's worth of pictures...we have had such a blessed year! it's so easy to see what i find most important in my life and what i value most just by looking at the pictures i chose to represent 2009: my family and friends and the memories that were made with them. here's to more of the same...

first bathtub mohawk...finally enough hair in january.

high rise views of san francisco...february

playing in the sand at pismo...march

last family portrait before three became four...april

lucy kate is here!...may

luke and heather get married in julian, ca...june

4th of july parade in wasilla, alaska...july (obviously)

snuggles with my girl in pinecrest...august

fun with friends up at pine mountain lake...september

the three of us in florida...october

sweet family time with baba and papa...november

love this sweet face...december.

scenes from daily life

ever since lucy figured out how to open the bottom drawer (it holds tupperware lids), she can be found digging through it several times a day. lately, she pulls herself to standing and tries to open the drawer above which usually ends in tears due to smashed fingers...

for papa...

when my parents were here several weeks ago, my dad and elijah spent some quality time out in the backyard making roads. after they went back home, my mom informed me that my dad had mentioned the lack of good road making equipment in our backyard. thus, part of their christmas present to elijah this year was a trio of new trucks with the backyard in mind. we tested them out the day after christmas at the local park; they have a sand pit there that elijah loves. these pictures are for you, papa!