Photography Blogsite is Up!

Hey Y'all!

Just wanted to let everybody know that my photography blogsite is up and running! I'm so excited, I think it does a great job of showing who I am. Look for more photos once I get settled in Oregon, which by the way, I do not advize packing your entire house right before you spouse leaves for a 8+ month deployement.

So please head on over and let me know what you think!

www.marissalynnphotography.com/blog

Happy Thanksgiving Y'all!

It's Go Time

So I'm probably going to be very M.I.A. in the blog posting world for the next few weeks. We're super smart kids and are trying to move out of our rental right before Jordan leaves for his 8 month deployment to Africa. So most of my spare time is going to be spent packing boxes(again!)and spending time as a family. I told Jordan last night that I'm not all emotional about it right now because in our first six months here in Gulfport he was gone for training a total of 3 months. So he's been gone so much that it just feels like another training is around the corner. But I think about week three I'm going to realize that this is MUCH longer than any training. I'm really proud of him though, they are doing a lot of humanitarian work over there which I think is going to be super rewarding for him.

So hang in there and when I'm back I hope to make this blogging thing a priority again :) And look for my photography blog to be up and running soon!!

Have a great weekend y'all!

What I learned

During my visit to meet the Little Man I learned to embrace higher ISO levels. I'm so happy that I can shoot above 200 and not start to get noise! This one here is at ISO 500 1/50ss and f2.5 thankfully there wasn't too much movement because my shutter speed was still a little slower that I would have liked.

I also learned that I need to consider an additional lens. My 50mm isn't the best choice in a small room like that, group shots are pretty much impossible. Any suggestions?

This is Auntie Jen with the Little Man :)

The 4am Call That Changed Everything!

It was early Friday morning when my phone startled me awake, it was Jen. What could she be wanting at this hour? I answer the phone groggy and the first words out of her mouth, "Oh my gosh Marissa, I just realized what time it is!" Not really what I was expecting to hear :) After I ask her what's up she informs me that our dear friends Toni and Travis were heading to the hospital to have their first baby, Will. I was in SHOCK! I had just talked to Toni Thursday night and she was completely fine and her doc appointment that day showed she still hadn't dilated. Well, things changed a few hours later!

So this was at 4am central time and an hour later Jordan rolls over and informs me that I need to either go back to sleep, or go in the living room, oops :) Needless to say I head to the living room and wait to get the confirmation call that Toni was admitted to the hospital. As you can assume, I got that call and I was instantly on travelocity.com searching for the next flight out to meet my Godson!

William Alexander Ramme was born on Friday, October 29th at 12:14 pm and 8 hours later, Auntie Rissa got to meet him :) Of course I burst into tears the second I saw Toni holding that little man. I am so thankful I was able to hop on that plane and spend the weekend with my extended family. It was just meant to be, Jordan already had a four day weekend, so Brooklyn stayed with Daddy.

So here are some photo's from the weekend, enjoy!

The beautiful momma and her little man :)

I just couldn't get over how much he looks like his momma!

I think we all look a little disheveled but here are the happy aunties with baby Will!

Monday afternoon we did a quick (20 min.) newborn session with Will. I must say I'm pretty proud of myself for my first shoot. I only have a couple finished so far, but I can't wait to get the others done!

Daddy and baby, just before the shower ;) It was hilarious, Will doesn't pee the entire time and then we get him into Trav's arms and he's spraying within the first minute. I about died, you would have thought Trav was being sprayed with poison. Don't worry I got a picture of his reaction, it's a little blurry but it's still priceless :)

I will definitely be getting props to get myself set up to do more newborn shoots, I loved it!!

Jaws

As most of you know I got my D90 last night so I couldn't resist getting my hands on it this morning :) I love how I have so much more flexibility with the ISO, with my D3000 my shutter speed had to suffer because of the ISO. Anywho, I know I've already posted plenty of pictures of Brooklyn in her bumbo but this is the first time I've gotten a shot of all those teeth!!! Poor girl went from no teeth and then bam at 8 months she started to get attacked! A month and a half later and we have four and I can see the next two under the gums.

Happy Wednesday everybody!!!!

What I learned this week...

Two things, 1) I miss my DSLR camera! and 2) your camera on your phone can come in very handy at times.

I always have my cell phone close by, ALWAYS. So it never fails that I'll catch Brooklyn doing something cute and my knee jerk reaction is to quick, grab my phone! Since getting my DSLR if I'm at home I tend to run for it first, but at the moment I'm without it. So thank goodness for cell phone cameras!

These are horrible quality but it was her first time eating spaghetti and she was just too cute not to capture the moment.

I think because she could smell the sauce on her face she kept doing this face and sniffing rather hard, it was hilarious!!!

And then of course the scrunchy face!! Side note, I just realized this week that my 'kiss' face must look like this, because whenever I ask her to give a kiss to her bear or me she crunches her face like this before she dives in for a big one! Oh how I love this little spit fire :)

Kelly Moore Bag

Head on over to click it up a notch and enter to win a $50 discount on a Kelly Moore bag! I'd say good luck, but really I hope that I get lucky!!!! ha ha :)

Courtney sold me on it after she so easily described using it as a mommy and a photographer, SOLD!! Hope everybody has a great day!

Should be sleeping

It's almost 11pm, when Jordan is home I rarely stay up this late. But it seems while he's away, the noises that I thought kept me awake are missing and in reality, it appears to be those noises that help me sleep. Sure I don't have to tell him to roll over because he's snoring, but there is that empty space on his side of the bed, no deep breathing right next to me, letting me know I'm not alone. Sure Bee is in the other room peacefully sleeping but there is still that missing piece. So, I stay up till at least 11pm until he returns!

You know, I used to be a planner, but over time my loving husband has taught me to go with the flow. He would say I worry, but really I'm just noisy and want to know every little detail. We joke, there are those couples out there that are just so in sink its crazy (T&T!) then there is us. While we get along great and have learned over time how to communicate well, we are in many ways, opposites. You can almost guarantee that we will have two very different approaches to things. Thankfully we at least agree(for the most part) on where we should end up; its just that we each would take two very different paths to get there. I will admit, I think I conform to his ways more often that not, but that's ok. So where was this all going?? Oh yes it all started with the fact that I'm a planner.

Most of you that follow my blog know it took several (as in 3) years for me to get pregnant. SO, that being said while pregnant with Brooklyn, we would talk about future kids, how many? how far apart? All those important things you know :) We both agreed that we would like at least three (Jordan says 5,ha ha!), and we would like them two years or less apart. Now being the planner that I was, you would think I would be going hysterical over the fact that we have a huge kink in that plan... Jordan's deployment. Eight months gone, from the time Brooklyn is 11 months to 19 months throws a giant curve ball into that two years apart plan.

But you know what, I've realized I am ok with that. Sure I won't get exactly what I wanted but the trade off isn't bad either. I'll get 8 solid months of pure Brooklyn and mommy time, something no other child of ours will EVER get. So rather than pouting about things not going as 'planned' I'm rolling with it and living the life God has given me. I'm so very thankful for my blessing that is peacefully sleeping on the other side of my wall. Now, if only I can fall asleep :) I'm hoping that purging my brain of this will help!

Random Saturday Post

In Fridays post I mentioned the photo that I really love, but I chopped off her arm. This is that image, I just love those eyes and the tilt of her head. Yes I should have moved that chair but I still LOVE this one of my little lady.

This is another one from the day before, again those eyes! She is going to be t-r-o-u-b-l-e when she's older and knows just how to use them to her advantage.
With Jordan out in the field for awhile I decided that it was the perfect time to stock up on books to read. I'm an avid reader but my husband, not so much. So this morning we headed into Barnes and Noble to get a couple books for myself. As you can see, I ended up with one book for me and three for Brooklyn, figures! I've been debating on getting an ereader, anybody out there have one?

Now it's nap time for the girl so I think I'll get cozy on the couch and dive into that book! Happy Saturday everybody!

Picture Share Friday

50mm ISO400 f3.5 ss1/125

Happy Friday y'all! So I've finally gotten on the ball and I'm going to participate in picture share Friday. I'll tell you, I have another picture that I fell in love with from our little photo shoot this morning but I chopped off a hand so I went with this one. We're teething right now so the ice soothie was our prop :) I'm working with the Nikon D3000 and unfortunately I have to focus my 50mm on my own. So on top of learning how to shoot in manual, I'm also having to work with focusing on my own, exhausting with a nine month old!

This is SOOC, I typically prefer to warm my photo's up when I edit but I'm being brave and giving it to you the way it was shot! Would love to hear what y'all would do differently :)

Photography Inspiration

Hello everybody!

Since returning home from our visit to Oregon most of you know that I'm actively trying to pursue a photography business. I just had too much fun not to go for it!! So while I'm here, I'm spending 90% of my free time glued to the computer. There are so many amazing people out there that have a wealth of knowledge, and they so freely share it with others who also have a passion for photography. Right now I'm learning, but I can't wait to someday return the favor and pay it forward, helping others along this amazing journey.

So I thought I'd share my favorite places to hop around and learn from in case there are any of you out there wanting to learn as well!

First off, if you're starting to get your feet wet, you should definitely hop on over to click it up a notch. Courtney does a fantastic job teaching you how to understand, and use your camera past that auto setting!

Now if you want to learn editing techniques you'll want to head to ramblings and photos where Ashley has a lot of great PhotoShop Elements tutorials. She's always got her camera with her and posts a lot of pictures that are fantastic!

Both Courtney and Ashley are super helpful so don't be afraid to ask them anything. If they don't know the answer they will definitely search out the answer for you, they're amazing!!!!!

Forums are another great resource. Two places that I visit all the time are i heart faces and clickinmoms.

And lastly, if you have photographers you like, follow them! Most photographers has a blog along with their website. A majority of them will post tips or do Q&A's. Plus, looking at what others are doing is a great way to see what clients are looking for and their photos are a another source of inspiration.

I realize I'm doing this post about photography without a photo but it's getting late and there's a brownie calling my name :) Night y'all!!!

My whole world

I can't believe my baby is going to be 9 months old on Sunday!!! It's so amazing how much she's learning and growing everyday. I wish she would just learn to crawl, but she just doesn't like it. SO, in the meantime I spend most of my days being yelled at by my bossy little girl to get up and help her walk around the house. Here are some photo's I've taken of the little squirt this past week. The weather has been amazing so we spend a little bit of every afternoon outside, I love it! All of these photo's were shot in manual, I must say, I'm quite proud of myself :)

We love you Brooklyn! Bee! Button! Jabberwalkie! The list goes on and on, what can we say, nicknames are our thing :)

Maternity

I'm finally getting caught up with my life and all my edits! I have to say, so far my favorite session had been the maternity one. I think a woman is at her most beautiful when she has that pregnant glow :) It's such an amazing time in a families life and I just love being able to capture that moment in time. My dear friends Toni and Travis are expecting their first baby, William Alexander early November and I was thrilled I could take their pictures. See, William has an extra special place in our hearts, he is also our Godson! Jordan and I feel so blessed and look forward to stealing Will for mommy and daddy every now and then. Can't wait to meet you William!!

Shooting Manual and Focal Point

While Brooklyn rolled around I decided to pull out my camera and practice shooting 100% manual and different focal points. This was at f2.8, 400ISO, ss1/40. Figured it would be best to do my first attempt on an object that isn't mobile :) I'm not happy with the amount of noise, should have had my ISO lower. But I guess that's how we learn!!

Busy, busy!

So I've been very MIA lately and I'm attempting to get back into the swing of things. I spent roughly a month in Oregon while Jordan was busy with training. While I was there I had the wonderful opportunity to work on my photography. It felt amazing to get out of the house and do something for ME!! The past 3 years of my life have been all about Jordan and his career and most recently my baby girls life. While I love being a wife and mother it felt amazing to have something all my own that doesn't identify with those other two roles in my life.

My first outing was to photograph our dear friends Toni and Travis. They are having our Godson early November (yes I suppose Will is more importantly their first child, but I'm beyond excited that he is our Godson!!!) These two worked with me as I got more and more comfortable behind the camera, and I'm pretty sure they had a good time as well :) Here is my favorite shot from their session:


Next up I asked the Drapers to let me capture their family as well. I was introduced to the world of photographing a toddler and an infant, both in one dose! Definitely wasn't as easy as two adults but I was able to capture a few candid moments of Andrew (the toddler) that were adorable. Here is Daddy and his baby girl :)

And lastly I was able to squeeze in one more family session with the Tofflemoyers. Such an adorable little family, I can't wait to shoot Carly's two year old photo's later this spring!

Now that I'm back in Mississippi I'm trying to learn as much as I can about photography and editing before I return to Oregon for the deployment. Everything about being a photographer just felt right so I'm really going to pursue this! Thank you to everybody that has been super supportive, its the motivation I need. I'll be sure to keep everybody updated on my progress!

Where have I been???

So I was so proud of my nice whiteboard calendar, listing my days I'd blog and I was actually keeping up with it... for about two weeks?! What happened you might ask? Life!!

Our dear friends came out to visit us which consumed all our time and then our life got turned upside down. I bravely sent my baby with them across the country as I loaded up our SUV and made the long drive from Mississippi to Oregon. My mom and I made it in record time, just over three days!!! Yes I was one motivated momma :)

This trip was in preparation for deployment. I had to figure out how to get my vehicle to Oregon before December and with Toni and Travis being able to take Brooklyn it just seemed like the best time. So now Brooklyn, Maverick and I are enjoying play dates and family time while daddy is back in Mississippi keeping extra busy with training.

I'll fill y'all in with more details and photo's later, but for now I just had to let y'all know I didn't totally disappear (if there even is a y'all :)) btw, I think I confuse people out here with my y'all, and yes ma'am...

Housemom, not a housewife

So I constantly have to remind my dear husband what I am and what I am NOT. You see, he was raised by a mother who did everything, cooked all the meals, cleaned up after these said meals, kept the house super duper clean, and read to them every night. She should have known not to set up her son with expectations that one day, when he was grown, he would find a loving woman who would do those said things.

While he found the loving woman, he most definitely did not find himself a houswife. I believe some men think that staying home with your child means you have all the time in the world to keep the house immaculate, prepare gourmet meals, and clean up after them. HA HA! A girl still needs her time to blog :) Overtime, my husband is starting to learn:

- I will keep our house clean, not tidy. Yes you will find piles of clutter around the house, I'll get to them eventually, usually with his help.
- I DO NOT clean up after his clutter, he made the mess and he can put it away.
-I am not his maid, he knows to put his own laundry in the hamper, rinse his dishes, etc.

These are just a few of the many adjustments my husband has had to make by marrying me, poor guy :) Thankfully we've found a happy balance. He knows now to pester me, and I'm not afraid to remind him to clean up after himself. And if asked, he will always chip in and help.

But to be fair, I've also had to step my game up a bit. I've established a schedule to stay on top of everything and I'm doing pretty good so far. I've even developed a monthly schedule for deep cleaning! Though I think that has more to do with the baby who is becoming more and more mobile.

What I am though, is a housemom. My life is 100% devoted to our sweet baby Bee. I strive to provide for her needs and help her to learn and have fun in the process. I was destined to be a mother and I am dedicated to doing my best. Now, by no way does this mean I"m an amazing mother, I make plenty of mistakes. But so far... I think we're surviving :)

Side note: I just cooked up some peas and sweet potatoes for Bee to try! I think it's about time to transition from the baby pureed food, to the big girl finger foods :) I'll keep y'all posted!

Family Visits

So I'm way behind, but in June Courtney came out to visit us after she graduated from college, way to go girl!! Unfortunately, the day after Courtney bought her tickets, Jordan found out he would be gone her entire visit with what else... training. Nobody tells you about all the time they are away for training while in battalion, but I'll save that rant for another post :)

So us girls spent most of our time hanging out at the house, Courtney and I reading books during naptime. It was actually quite nice to just relax.

Courtney adored Brooklyn and was very helpful. I was able to go to the grocery store by myself and even mowed the lawn (first time in my 25 years!)

Auntie Courtney snuggling with the sleepy girl, about to go down for her nap.

My mom and sister were also able to visit at the beginning of July. The issue of mommy separation had just taken into affect before Courtney left so unfortunately they didn't get near the one on one time with Brooklyn that Courtney had. But none the less, they seemed to soak up what the could.

Looks like Brooklyn wasn't hating their attention too much ;) She loved kisses from Grandma Sherri.

And Auntie Shan was so much fun! I believe she may have even attempted a diaper change :)

We ended their trip with dinner out on my momma's birthday. It was so nice having visitors!

Next up, Toni and Travis in a week!!

Daycare and Crocodile Tears...

This morning, I had a doctors appointment so I had no choice but to load up the girl and take her to the Child Development Center (daycare) on base. I won't lie, I was nervous about the whole thing. I think I've mentioned it already but we've been dealing with mommy separation issues for about a month now.

Drop off went well, atleast while I was still in the room :) I handed her off to the trusty Miss Shannon, filled out her morning stats, gave her a kiss and was off. About an hour later I was done with my appointment. I contemplated running to the grocery store and then grabbing her, but I won't lie, that thought only lasted maybe a second.

I'm not sure exactly what I expected to see as I entered the room, optimistically I envisioned her sitting on the floor playing with other children. As I approached the door I could hear babies fussing, but whether one of them was my sweet girl I couldn't be sure. Once inside the door I could see, just past Miss Shannon, were those precious little toes I love and adore. All circled around Miss Shannon and her assistant were babies in all different bouncy's. I said hello and my eyes went from those cute little toes to my baby's face. She was vigorously sucking her thumb and as I looked into those baby blues I saw the remnants of crocodile tears :( My sweet baby girl missed her momma, so I did what any mother would do and I went up to her and wiped those tears and gave her lots of lovin. For the first couple minutes I think she was trying to process the fact that I did indeed return for her and that it was actually me.

Once we got home we ate some yummy fruit and laughed and played way past naptime, but I think we were both soaking up our time together :)

I know there will be more times when we have to resort to the daycare and hopefully eventually it will be something she enjoys. Truthfully I knew it wasn't going to be the most exciting experience for her because, well, I'm going to say it... I'm a pretty awesome mommy and I keep my girl entertained :)

Preparing for Deployment

As many of you know, Jordan will be deploying this December and will be gone for 8 months. While it may seem like we still have months until then, with all his training leading up to the deployment we really only have about 10 weeks left together. When we first moved here our good friends the Matvays were just finishing up a deployment and they also had a little one. It was nice to see how Elisha and Emma functioned without Dave at home and the little things they've done to help keep daddy fresh in Emma's mind. Dave was gone from the time Emma was 6 months old to I believe 14 months. We think it will be a little easier for Brooklyn to remember who daddy is with him leaving when she is 11 months. But regardless, we want to find ways to keep him a part of her day as much as possible.

We've began to make a list of things we will do to make the time go by quickly and how we will keep daddy in our day-to-day:

- We are going to tape 8 separate videos of daddy reading stories to Brooklyn and saying a little something special to here. We will watch each video for one month and then rotate onto another one. Dave did this for Emma but was only able to record one, I think the same video for 8 months may drive mommy crazy! Elisha had a great routine that I will be stealing as well :) Daddy's story time will happen each night before bed while she's drinking her bottle. It will be her special daddy time :)

-If Jordan stays with the main body we should be able to skype somewhat often so that will also be another way to talk to daddy.

-Keep lots of pictures of daddy around the house for both Brooklyn and myself!

-Hopefully Brooklyn will take up an interest in making things for daddy, or helping me put together care packages for him.

- I plan on keeping Brooklyn and myself busy with as many activities for the girl as possible, swimming, kindermusic, playdates. Anything that will fill our time.

- We plan on going home to Oregon for this deployment. There is nothing in Mississippi keeping us here so it really just makes more sense to be near friends and family.

- I hope to focus on my photography, building my own business should keep me busy!

Don't really know who all reads this, but if any of you out there have any suggestions for me to add to my list I'd love to hear them! Your husband/wife may not deploy, but maybe they work away from home a lot and you may have a secret list up your sleeve to share as well.

We sure are going to miss daddy, but this is something we signed up for, so rather than feeling bad for myself I'm going to pick myself up and make the best of it. I know it's only a short time in our life together and it will be another story to tell when we're old and grey :)

Crib Par-tay!

Sometimes you've just got to laugh at babies. For some odd reason every couple weeks Brooklyn will decide to throw a little party in her crib... AT 4 A.M.!!

She'll usually only do it for two mornings in a row, and then she'll take a little break to focus on her sleep again :)

This week was party week and on both Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, Jordan and I would listen in on our little girl having a good ole time in her crib. Laughing and talking away, sometimes for 15 minutes, sometimes 45. I don't think Jordan and I are fans of the 45 minutes since we don't sleep 12 hours a night, that 45 minutes is a big deal! And how can you just tune out the adorable high pitched voice of our baby girl (maybe I should ask Jordan how he does it?)

Thankfully I am blessed with a child who since about 8 weeks old has slept through the night and I can only count on one hand the number of times she's actually woken up upset during the night. So I welcome these 4 a.m. parties, hey, maybe I'll join her sometime :)

6 Months Already???

I can't believe my lil baby will be six months old tomorrow, where has the time gone? It's amazing just how much they change in their first six months. Gone is my baby that would need, or even want to be rocked and cradled to sleep. She has been replaced by my independant little sleeper, who just wants to be in her own space, and do everything just the way she wants.

While she once needed me to get her to and from, now she can roll herself to that toy she so desperately wants. My big girl eats from a spoon and wiggles her toes to the music (her version of dancing) all in her favorite chair, the bumbo.

Those beautiful baby blues used to look up at me in wonder, taking in this magical world. Now they glow, paired with that big grin, because she knows she's being cute :)

But don't let her fool you, she still needs her momma, for only momma can do things just the way Miss Brooklyn likes :)

Big girl now!

Brooklyn hated her infant car seat, she would get sweaty so easily and I don't think she was a fan of being cradled like a baby. That all together resulted in a VERY VERY fussy child whenever we went anywhere, which only made her even more sweaty as her fits are a full body experience. So we loaded up the car and drove to Mobile Alabama to find her a convertible car seat with the hope that she would be a more pleasant car rider. As you can see, she is much more comfortable and will now fall asleep without any crying fits! Thankfully we went and got this before our trip to the beach, it made such a difference.

Now getting rid of the infant car seat meant that we no longer had it to take her into restaurants. She's had to upgrade to the highchair! Not too bad, we just have to do some stuffing around her with a blanket :)

She loves that thumb :)

Such a big girl now!!

Pictures from our family vacation to Orange Beach Alabama!

Here a just a few of the pictures from our trip to the beach:

Having fun playing on the beach :)

Brooklyn and Daddy had lots of fun playing in the pool :) I've got a ton of pictures of the two of them still to post!

My lil baby experiencing the ocean for the first time, what great memories...

Of all the things...

It started out so innocent, chewing on fingers and shoving her entire fist into her mouth,

then I caught her like this in her daddies arms.
And now we are a full on thumb sucker!

I swore up and down I would not let her be a thumb sucker and look how good I did with that! You see, I was one as a kid and it was so hard to get me to stop because, the binky fairy can't just come and take your thumb away :) But once she started it was just too cute and it made her happy. Nap times are SO much easier now, because she'll just suck her thumb for a bit and fall asleep, no blood curdling crying for 10-20 minutes. Thankfully she only sucks on it when she gets sleepy and fussy. It's just funny how much I was against her doing so and what do you know, of course she would! I guess she's a little like mommy after all :)