Holy Cow.... 6 months....

How on earth is she six months old already? This is insane. It feels like just yesterday she was a newborn and we were waking up every 3 hours to feed her at night... and now she's a big girl (well not really - but she's much bigger...)
















At 6 months...

- When she eats any foods she likes she makes the cutest "mmmm.... mmmmm.... mmmmm..." sound... So far her favorite foods are peaches, applesauce, and peas.

- Her favorite bedtime story is Pajama Time by Sandra Boynton ... and momma and daddy know it by heart! "It's Pajama Time... ooooooh ya"

- She has a full-blown party in her crib each night when she goes to sleep... she grabs her feet and kicks and rolls and just laughs and squeals with delight. It is hilarious!

-She can roll in both directions and she is quite a squirmy wormy!

-She laughs hysterically when you blow on her belly. She has quite an adorable laugh!

-She does not always enjoy her carseat - and when you go shopping forget about leaving her in the infant seat - she MUST be sitting upright in the stroller or in her Baby Bjorn so she can look around and take in the world.

..... She is the light of our lives.... a blessing from above.... our whole world's happiness. We are more in love with her than ever!

Busy Busy...

Now that I have neglected this blog for almost a month... I thought I owed a post/explanation to my like 2 readers...

I have been busy with my photography - which has been awesome. I am truly loving the experience I am getting photographing families, children, babies, and couples... I think I finally know what I want to be when I grow up...

I am also greatly enjoying my new 40 D! This is seriously one awesome camera. I love having the freedom to play and experiment and learn with this bad boy!

I've been posting my work on my photography blog, but I'll post some of my latest favorites here too...







































Paige is doing well too.... she is getting big - almost 6 months old! I cannot believe my little snuggle bunny is growing up - I just want her to stay my little baby forever!

Other than photography and Paige, I've been working and getting ready for the Holidays. I am anxiously awaiting my 2-week Winter Break!!! :)

That's my life in a nutshell right now... and I am loving every bit of the craziness!

Gobble! Gobble!

GOBBLE! GOBBLE!

HAPPY TURKEY DAY EVERYONE!

LOVE,
PAIGE

Sweet Potatoes!

She LOVED them!!

Paige has been doing so well on rice cereal that we thought she was ready for some "real" food! We decided to give sweet potatoes a try and she absolutely LOVED them. As she was eating she was making cute little noises going "mmm.... mmmm.... mmmm" It was hysterical! So sweet potatoes are a hit... I wonder what we'll try next!

Exersaucer Fun!!

We had a blast today watching Paige enjoy her new exersaucer!! Pat put this together today and Paige just LOVED it!

She is getting so big and changing so much and we are just having so much fun with her!

Trick or Treat!

Trick or Treat from the cutest little elephant ever!!!

Paige wanted to wish everyone a Happy Halloween!

Hopefully we won't get rained out tonight from TS Noel... :(

Have a Spooktacular Halloween!!!

Homemade Halloween Costumes

You've got to love homemade Halloween costumes!! They are truly the best! My sister, Kim, was going to a Halloween Party and asked me what she should dress up as... well after thinking about it a bit I suggested that she could be an 80's workout girl! She instantly loved the idea and the brainstorming began. We had so much fun talking out every aspect of her costume - from her hot pink leggings with heather gray legwarmers - to her plastic bangle bracelets and earrings - to her cut-off sweatshirt complete with "jazzercise" iron-on logo - to her braided headband with a ponytail on the side. What made the outfit even better was Susan's suggestion to find an image of the "airbrush kitten" that was popular in the 80s to add to the sweatshirt and Susan also found my mom's old rhinestone machine (back from our Baton Twirling days) so Kimmie could add some bling to her ensemble.

Here is the finished product... kind of makes me wish I had a Halloween Party to go to - maybe next year...

Announcing the Kristi Mangan Photography Photo Blog!!!

So... I have been working on my website lately and have decided that I need a photo blog for the site as well! I'll post some of my latest work, sneak peeks for clients, and proof galleries...

You can check out my photoblog at www.kmanganphoto.typepad.com and you can check out my website updates at www.kmanganphoto.com.

Thanks Everyone!!!

She's 4 months old...

Where has the time gone.... it seems like just yesterday we were in the hospital with our tiny little peanut of a baby girl in the NICU.... Now she is a whopping 13 lbs. 3 oz. and 24 inches long! Paige is such a joy! She is absolutely full of smiles, she's "talking" up a storm, and she is learning new things every day!

We've come a long way from this....































To this... Here is one of my favorite recent pictures of my sweet 4 month old girl...

Mmmmmm........

Apple Pie.... One of my favorite fall treats! The sweet, cinnamony goodness of apple pie just screams AUTUMN to me! After visiting the apple farm in Minnesota I just knew I needed some apple pie...















Now I do love to bake, but I am not a pie baker. That job usually falls on my mom or one of my sisters - all of which make incredible pies. I usually just sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labor. However after reading several apple pie recipes in the November issue of Cooking Light Magazine, I decided I needed to give it a whirl.

So I picked out a recipe and viola...















Although it may not look fancy, it was delicious!!! My in-laws thoroughly enjoyed it and I do plan on making it again!!! :)

Sleep, Finally... and Pumpkin Time!!!

So I know these two topics don't have anything to do with each other, but I just felt the need to write about both!

I am happy to report that for the past 3 nights Paige has slept through the entire night. The first night was 8 hours, the second night 9 hours and last night a glorious 10 hour stretch!!! Now let's hope this sticks!!! Yay for sleeping!

And Yay for pumpkins! I just love pumpkins, they are so fun! We went to the local pumpkin patch (which was awesome this year) and had fun taking lots of pictures and picking out the perfect pumpkins. We picked three - a tall skinny one (like Pat) and a shorter plump one (like me)... and we also got one of the little baby ones (like Paige). I haven't snapped a shot of our 3 pumpkins yet but I sure will and add it to my post later!

Fall Fun!

I just got home from a fun-filled family weekend in Minnesota! Paige and I flew up to visit my sister Susan and to meet baby Evan! Mom and Kimmie also came along for the fun! We had a great time despite the 80+ degree weather and we thoroughly enjoyed meeting cousin Evan who is such a cutie!!!















Some of the highlights of our trip were the fun photoshoots of the kiddos (my mom thought we were crazy) and going to the apple orchard which was re-named the "donut farm" because they have the BEST apple donuts in the world - truly the reason Susan and Eric go there and take everyone who visits there!

Here are some of my favorite pics (so far) from the trip!!! I have soooo many more to go through!










































And I just loved seeing the BEAUTIFUL Autumn Leaves:























We had a wonderful time and we are greatly looking forward to Susan and Evan's visit to Florida in the end of October!!!

3 months

At 3 months, Paige is...

Smiling lots!
Having fun kicking and "dancing" with her legs!
Finding her hands and putting them in her mouth!
Full of sweet little coos!
Rolling over from her tummy to her back!
Sleeping for 6 hour chunks at night - even though she still wakes up at 3:30am!
Enjoying hanging out with me while I am still on maternity leave!

And we are more in love with her than ever!!!

Seminole Baby!

As many of you know, Pat and I are both Florida State University alumni and hardcore Seminole fans.... therefore Paige will be a Seminole fan, naturally. Last weekend we went down to Pat's parents' house to watch the Seminoles game. It was great because we got to see both sets of grandparents and see the Seminoles win! Yay! I just had to share some pics of Paige enjoying her first FSU game experience and looking mighty cute in her garnet and gold (if I do say so myself)...

The Beach!

Last week we decided that Paige needed to be introduced to a South Florida staple - the BEACH! If she is going to be a Florida Girl, she will have to love the beach! Already she loves the water (bathtime) so I just know the sun and sand are in her too! Pat and I headed down to our favorite local beach - Juno Beach near the pier...

After being a little startled at first, she soon loved the beach too! We can't wait to take her again!

Sweet Smiley Girl...

Paige is starting to smile more and more! This morning she was full of huge grins!!! It was so wonderful to watch her sweet little face light up!!!

Here's a quick little video of her smiling this morning...

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4603532724294694200&pr=goog-sl

"Get the buggy off my back!"

Last week was my first *official* week of maternity leave! School started back up again and let me tell you it was sooooo strange not being at school. I kind of missed it! The beginning of the school year is always an exciting time... this year mine will be delayed a bit until November when I return back to work.

Instead of meeting my new students and teaching those beginning of the year lessons this past week... I spent the week with one of the loves of my life - Paige! It was fun just hanging out together at the house! She's finally starting to get to the point where she isn't sleeping 20 hours a day - no... now it's more like 17 or 18! haha! But in those extra 2 or 3 hours that she is awake, it is fun playing with her and getting to know her!

This week during one of those play times, Paige and I invented a new game called "Get the Buggy off my Back!!!!" It went a little something like this:


She was sooo cute and she was successful at getting the buggy off her back 3 times!! She is getting so big and I am so happy that I have this time with her!

*Scrapping*

I remember the days when I had nothing else to do in my spare time but scrap.... those were long, long ago.... In the past few months I have not had many opportunities to scrap for me, just for fun... I've just been completing projects for various design teams. While those projects are great and all and they get pages scrapped... it's not quite the same as just scrapping for yourself!

When Paige was born I knew I'd want to scrap *some* photos of her... I know myself well enough to know that I won't be able to scrap everything, but I would like to document different milestones, stories, etc. for her to have to look back on when she is older. Hopefully I will be able to keep this up!

Well, lately I have had the opportunity to just scrap for *myself*! In the past few days/nights I've knocked out quite a few pages for her album... and some of them are even projects for design teams!

Just thought I'd share some of my latest pages.... since it's been awhile since I've really scrapped!

The nerve of some people...

So... I just have to get this off my chest because I cannot believe how stupid some people can be!

Paige has a birthmark on her head called a hemangioma. She can't help the fact that she has this, it's just a part of who she is.

So... last week I went to my school to work in my classroom to get it ready for the school year and I brought Paige with me (thankfully she is an easy enough baby to do this with)! When I got there one of the parents of a student in my class last year saw us and came over to say hi. She looked at Paige and said "What's that bump on her head?" So I explained that it is a birthmark called a hemangioma and will eventually go away, etc. etc. etc. Then she looked at me and said "Well, it looks like a knot.... you should call her knothead."

HELLOOOOOOOOOO - You dont' say that to someone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was so shocked that she was so rude and insensitive that I couldn't quite respond how I wish I would have....

So I just looked at her and said "Or not" and walked away. But seriously.... what nerve... how does she think thats okay to say to me????? I don't get it!

Oh well.... just wanted to share..... And here's a picture of my sweet baby girl, birthmark and all!



Thank you for letting me vent!

*2 months*

Time is flying.... Paige is already 2 months old! She is growing and changing every day! Lately she has started smiling (for real) which is so much fun! She also has discovered that she has a tongue and she plays with it non-stop. We will just catch her sticking out her tongue or rolling it or just playing with it. It is hysterical. She copies us when we stick our tongue out at her too (lovely that we are teaching this to her, right?) Paige is also making lots of fun noises, my favorites are the squeals when she is playing. Her hiccups are also fun too because she squeaks! She is still working on trying to control her head and trying to lift it when she is on her tummy. She is such a calm, sweet baby! We fall more and more in love with her everyday!

Thank You Baby Evan!!!

Dear Baby Evan,

I was sooooo excited yesterday when the mail came and I got a package from you! Thank you so very much for the super-fun hat! How did you know my favorite colors were pink and green??? Momma says it looks adorable on me! Daddy loved it too! Of course then Momma had to go and take a whole bunch of pictures of me in my new hat.... you know how that goes!

I can't wait to come and play with you in October!!!!! Momma is excited to see Aunt Susan too! Here are a couple of pictures of me in my fancy new hat! I love it!!!!!

Love you,

Baby Paige

New Lens...

So recently Pat decided that we needed a new TV in our living room....

I disagreed.

But, he bought one anyways.

Sooooo.... I decided I needed a new lens! Funny how that works out, huh! Now, I didn't go crazy or anything and get an L-series lens (although that would have been sweet), but I did get the 85mm/1.8 fixed lens.

Today I played with it and shot some pics of my best friend and her daughter... these are seriously two gorgeous girls! I had so much fun playing with them! Just wanted to share a few of my favorite shots from the shoot...