Frenzel Photographers

Our new blog!!!!

2010-01-29T21:43:00.000-08:00

Yay!! Our new blog is up and running! We are still working hard on completing our branding... with our website, promo video, and paper materials, but our blog has moved over to www.thefrenzelsblog.com. This blog has served us well as a transition from Sarah Frenzel Photography to Frenzel Photographers, but now we are ready to unveil a bit of Frenzel Photographers official "look", so head on over to the new blog for your first peek! Please subscribe to our feed at our new address, and leave a comment or 2 and let us know what you think of the new look!

6 years with Mrs. Frenzel

2010-01-17T09:59:00.000-08:00

I used to have a lot of knick-knacks when Sarah and I first started dating. Maybe it was because I was a poor college student who lived out on my own. Maybe it was left over habits from my childhood, where I collected cars, action figures, baseball cards, etc. Maybe it was because no one ever said “what is this crap; you need to throw it away!”... until I met her. Over the past several years, there have been several “purgings”, where I think I eventually came to recognize the fine balance between sentimentality and hoarding. And now I’m usually the one saying, “Throw this junk away! I don’t want to have to move it again.”

But there are two things that I have hung onto that I might just run back into a fiery house to retrieve- that is, after the wife, kids, hard drives, and my guitar are safe: A little picture frame that Sarah gave me for Valentines Day in 2002 and another picture frame with Beatles lyrics in it that she gave me for my birthday the same year.

Over the years, this guy has been through a lot:

It’s been crunched by a hairdryer a few time, dropped by the kids, and waterlogged from being on our sink counter in the bathroom. The picture was taken from a trip to Mammoth when Sarah and I first started dating- one of our first fond memories. When she gave it to me for Valentine’s Day, for some inexplicable reason, I immediately bonded with it. I think in subtle ways, it has come to represent so much about us. Over the years it has been broken a few times, like us. But I will keep gluing it back together even if its just dust and pebbles. The words “be mine” are so simple and cute- a quality of Sarah’s that I love and find invaluable to our relationship. The picture she put in it represents exactly how I feel about her; I love to nuzzle my wife and know that we are only each other’s. The frame is humble; it’s not showy, yet it always catches my eye- much like Sarah’s gentle and quiet spirit. And lastly, her expression is how I hope to make her feel for the rest of her life.

And then there’s this frame:

At the time, Sarah had an appreciation for The Beatles, but wasn’t really a “fan” per se. Yet she found a song that I have always loved and personalized it. I know what you’re saying, it’s kind of sappy. But at the time, we had only been dating for a few months, and it showed me that she took an interest in my interests. It made me feel paid attention to- I guess, special. She didn’t just get me a cool shirt, she took something that already had meaning to me and gave it more meaning. That’s who she is. That’s the woman I fell and still fall in love with- devoted, caring, sentimental, and thoughtful. Again, it has a simple message: “you are easy to love”- well, I am not easy to love. I am overly sensitive and can be pretty complicated- especially to a person who craves simplicity. And yet somehow, she still puts up with me... So there you have it- two simple gifts that remind me every day of why I married the woman I not only wanted, but more importantly, needed.

Sarah, it was March 4th, 2002 when we sat on those awesome white couches at your parents’ house, and with a pounding heart on the verge of exploding, I first uttered the words “I Love You” to the woman who would become my last girlfriend and future wife. And today, on our 6th wedding anniversary, I am a better man because of you. My heart is full. I love you, my wife.

6 and counting...

2010-01-17T08:31:00.001-08:00

Derek,

Even though 6 years isn't that long; I think that the amount of hills and valleys we have walked together in that time could make up about 15 years! But despite AND because of so many things we have been through, you have become, and have remained so many amazing things to me.

You...

-are my bestest friend.

-are the one I love to dream with.

-are my favorite person to travel and explore with.

-make me laugh.

-can make me snap out of my funks.

-are willing to do things you hate for me... ie: cooking and folding laundry.

-are my favorite person to be myself with.

-are as hot as you were the day we got married!

-are my shoulder to cry on, and man I've had to use that shoulder a lot these past few years.

-take me shopping and actually enjoy it!

-have SO much strength that I rely on all the time.

-were the best labor coach I could have asked for... twice!!

-love me even when I am cranky.

-are my tv watching buddy.

-believe in my dreams... as crazy as they may be!

-are incredibly committed to our family.

-know that getting me a mocha can always brighten my day

-are a servant through and through, not only to me but to my family, your friends and pretty much anyone who has a need.

-make me smile anytime I see or hear you playing with our kids. You are a GREAT dad!

-are a man of integrity no matter the situation.

-let me be a ham. :)

-make tough choices with resolve

-are teaching Jackson how to be a man of honor even at age 3.

-challenge me to grow in areas that I need to.

-keep our bed warm and cozy at night.

-learn from your mistakes

-are a leader for our household that I am happy to defer to.

-and I are walking this journey of faith together, and I thank God everyday that I have a husband that fears the Lord!

Thank you for 6 incredible years so far! And particularly in these past 3 years that have been the most difficult AND exciting of our lives, thank you for never giving up. I love you.

I wanted to post a wedding pic, but I couldn't seem to find a good one (I've got like 8 cds of images that aren't really in order), so here is one I love from our honeymoon. Do we look younger?

Happy Anniversary my love!

My random mind

2010-01-14T19:59:00.001-08:00

While I was making chocolate chip cookies tonight I stopped mid thought and said to myself, "How did I even start thinking about Foamspring.com when I started out thinking about my friend in Tennessee?"

Now I am a person who is VERY prone to random and spiderweb-ish thought patterns, so I decided to go back and retrace my trail of randomness to see how I got from point A to point Q, so here it is...

-I hope this new recipe is good. Renee (my friend who lives in Tennessee) sent it to me after trying it, so it probably will rock.

-I wonder what Charlotte looks like now? (her new baby girl)

-I hope she is getting use out of the warm outfit/matching beanie I got her.

-I wonder if it's snowing or super cold in Tenn right now?

-I want to go snowboarding so bad.

-Oh wait, I can't because I don't have health insurance.

-Soon that may be illegal not to have health insurance, how lame is that?

-Then Haiti popped in my mind here :( so I paused and prayed for a few minutes.

-After amen... did I just put in 2 or 3 cups of flour?

-ok, 3. done.

-I wonder why Raylee is screeching right now.

-It's hard not to laugh when Raylee is screaming, even though she is being naughty and I shouldn't laugh, but it's hard not to because her contorted little face, and clenched fists are so funny when she is exerting here little will.

-I want to video tape her having a fit sometime, but if I did that would she think it was ok?

-I need to learn how to use the video feature on my MarkII better.

-Did I reply to that email from ____ about her E shoot?

-I love my cowboy boots, and I'm kinda bummed it's been so warm during the days because I haven't gotten to wear sweaters and boots enough this winter. (That seemed like a random jump between thoughts, but not so much if you know that my client I mentioned is getting married and having a rustic/cowboy boot wearing wedding)

anywho.... back to the trail...

-It's funny how funny Derek thinks it is that I sleep with one foot out of the covers at night.

-I am finally getting used to our new crazy puffy "side sleeper support" pillows.

-What should I buy with that Bed, Bath and Beyond credit I have?

-Here I had a quick subconscience thought about memory foam mattresses, which lead to...

-What is this foamspring.com thing I keep hearing people mention? I need to look into that so I am not out of the loop.

And there you have it... a glimpse into my random mind. Are you an orderly thinker or a random one like me?

And because posts are better with images, here is a recent one I took of Raylee.

Tara & Greg- Spread the News!- Orange County Engagement Photographer

2010-01-11T15:06:00.000-08:00

Gorgeous day+ amazing location+ tons of laughter+ super sweet couple= happy photographers and great images!

Did I mention good looking couple?

Side note... Tara and I have known each other since 4th grade. We went to the same schools through high school, and lost touch through college, but have recently reconnected and I am SO honored and excited to be capturing such an important day in her life!

Now back to the pics...

Tara & Greg, you were SO cute together!
Some Tilt/Shift goodness by Derek.

One of my favs of the day!
We were blessed with some a-mazing lighting!Tara lookin hot!I love this series of laughter...I don't know who said what, or if we were laughing because they had sticks poking their butts to get in that spot, but capturing my clients laughing together is one of my favorite things to do!! It just warms me to see these images after the shoot or wedding is over.

Derek and I had a great time hanging out with you and we are so excited for your big day this spring!!

Happy Monday all!

Our Holidays

2010-01-06T17:08:00.000-08:00

I know most of you are done with the Christmas thing, and are full steam ahead into New Years plans, goals, and resolutions, but will you indulge me for a minute? I am a little behind, but I still want to share some of the fun and sweet moments we had with our little kiddos this year.

First... Jackson's pre-school concert. Oh my... it was the cutest, funniest, sweetest thing ever!!

comments on images clockwise from top left...

1. Jackson is all lined up and ready to go here... and yes he towers over most kids in his class, and he's the youngest. Go Derek's genes!

2. As they filed in he passed right by us, so this is him sneaking a peek our way, while playing it cool.

3. Do you see any 2 kids in this picture doing the same motion? It was so funny to watch them all. Jackson just stood there and looked around most of the time, but here he's actually doing the motions.

4. I like how you can see his teacher in the foreground of this one, and J just standing there all cute.

The kids on Christmas morning, and as usual, we get only shots of Jackson choking out Raylee.
We got Raylee her first stroller and dolly, and she loves it! I know, I know, she looks SO excited in this picture... well as I explained HERE she went into Christmas day on about 1 hour of sleep, so you'll see a theme through all the pics w/ Raylee in them... she looks almost comatose.

Jackson got lots of "Cars" toys which he of course was thrilled about!
And we also surprised the kids with scooters! Check out Ray's reaction...Oh, I love these kids!Then it was over to my Brother and Sister-in-law's house for some more fun! Here are all the cousins. I don't know what we asked them to say or do, but isn't this great?
Some more present opening fun...

Jackson and Raylee in their Christmas outfits.

And one more fun set from our BIG Wandrey family gathering a few days later!

Hope you all enjoyed as much wonder and awe as we did this year!! Now onward to 2010!

New Years Family Shoot- Orange County Lifestyle Photographer

2010-01-06T15:27:00.000-08:00

On New Years Eve day I met up with this sweet family. They were so cute and fun to photograph.

Especially little Payton... she was quite the camera diva, which I loved!

Marnie wanted to attempt some "newborn" type shots of Quinn, who is 7 weeks old. Now I typically only do these with babies less than 2 weeks old, but I think she did pretty well in that little crate!

Brent (the dad) was someone I knew way back in high school, and through the grapevine of friends his wife got connected to me. So it was fun to see him, and his parents and his brother's family even came by at the end for some big family shots.

This next one was too great not too post. Here are Grandma and Grandpa with the grand kids.The whole famAnd one of my favs to end on.

Brent and Marnie- You have an adorable family and it was so fun to capture this time in your lives, Enjoy!

O Holy Night

2009-12-25T05:20:00.000-08:00

Derek just posted the lyrics to this song on facebook, and I must repeat it here because it is my favorite Christmas song. So poignant, so true...

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Savior's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!

From the Frenzel household to yours.... We wish you a very Merry Christmas! May you know God's peace and hope, that came to us so long ago in the form of a tiny baby, and that continues to fill this world today. What a sweet wonderful picture of God's love for us!

And speaking of sweet, wonderful pictures... here is Raylee enjoying her Christmas morning... at 4:30 am!! She was up ALL night long!

May your days be Merry and Bright!

Christmas Cheer Sale!!!

2009-12-15T15:15:00.000-08:00

Hey Everybody!!! For 24 hours only (tomorrow- 12/16/09) we are offering 20% off ALL products- prints, canvases, metal prints, and even Life Vivid Albums! You can go to our online proofing site, and order directly from our galleries.

http://frenzelphotographers.smugmug.com/

At checkout, enter the coupon code "merrychristmas" and 20% off will be applied to your order. (all album orders must be placed directly with Frenzel Photographers- email us at chat@frenzelphotographers.com for details)

...and here's a picture from Christmas past to brighten your day!

Meet Kaitlyn- Orange County Newborn Photogrpahy

2009-12-14T06:47:00.000-08:00

Let me start by saying this may be my favorite baby shoot. ever. And I really do like many I've done; there have been A LOT of super cute babies and great ideas from mommies, but little Kate was just SO cooperative! She stayed asleep and let me put her in the sweetest positions. Not too mention she is just plain adorable, which of course is always a plus!

So onto these pics! Meet Kaitlyn.

And Kaitlyn's cute room, that her Daddy spent lots of time painting! Looks great huh?

Some sweet family moments.

And a few more of my favs... well they were all my favs!

Betsy and James, Congrats again on such a gorgeous little girl! She is too sweet!

Tire swings and dress up!- Orange County Lifestyle Photography

2009-12-14T02:37:00.000-08:00

Those of you out there who have been reading my blog since it's humble beginnings knows these little faces. I have been photographing this family since their older, Ezekial was a baby. It has been fun to parallel the progression of my work with the many shoots I have done for them.

First off, in celebration of the recent move into a new home they just purchased we shot in the front yard under this amazing tree. (Side note, I treated these with a little extra vintage flair because Bethany likes that!)

Bekah, who is turning two real soon!

Ezekial who is 3.

Love these next 2!Some candy eating fun.
And for some special images of Bekah since she is about to celebrate her 2nd birthday Bethany had her play "big girl" with make-up, heels, and all!
So proud of herself!! Love it!

Bethany and Kevan, thanks for your continued trust in me to capture such special times in your family's life!

Lindsay & Jared-Santa Monica Engagement Phoography

2009-12-07T16:01:00.000-08:00

Lindsay and Jared live in Iowa, but she was here in the spring and we briefly met at a bridal show. So a few months later for their booking meeting we had the privilege of hanging out with and getting to know her parents a bit. They were super kind, humble, and fun people; we knew we'd enjoy this wedding, so when Lindsay emailed to book we were thrilled!

Over Thanksgiving weekend we finally got the chance to hang out with Lindsay and Jared. We had a great time wandering around the 3rd street promenade area, pier, and beach. We ended our time at a really yummy Japanese place we stumbled upon, and over noodles and fried rice we chatted about their home in Iowa and their love of wine, their dog, and each other.

Here are a few favs...

I really like the colors in these shots!

There were lots more fun ones, but I am down and out with the flu right now, so I thought something was better than nothing for now!

Dear Jackson-3 years 3months

2009-12-04T15:40:00.000-08:00

Jackson,
It's official, you are a real little person! I still see you as my baby, and even call you babe/baby sometimes, but you are getting to be a such an independent, sweet, stubborn, and inventive person. I daily see it in the things you do and say.

First, Independent... When you go to the bathroom, you say, "Mom please leave me alone, please close the door!" And the other day when I was getting your lunch out, you grabbed the cheese stick from my hand and said, "Mom don't open that for me, I can do it." and you did.

Next, Sweet... Oh you melt my heart with the ways I see your tenderness coming out.
As I said above, you tell me to leave when you go to the bathroom, and one day you said it pretty forcefully as you closed the door in my face. So I turned to walk away, and through the closed door you said, "Mama... I love you."
Many mornings you will come into our room rather early and climb up in bed with me and Daddy. With out fail you will snuggle up to Daddy, and whisper, "Daddy, I love you." Then once he has said it back, you turn to me and say the same. I love that you like to cuddle.
When you aren't busy clobbering Raylee you are quite sweet with her too. I love hearing you talk to her in your sing songy Mommy voice; you'll say things like, "RayRay, do you like that?" "RayRay, come sit with me," or "It's ok RayRay, don't cry baby." In the car you will often say things like, "Raylee do you see the red car? yeah? good." or "RayRay, do you like this music, this is pretty music huh?" I could go on for awhile about all the cute things you say to Raylee.

Stubborn... Since no one is perfect I have to paint a fair picture of you here. When you have decided in your head that something needs to happen/or not happen a certain way, it is as good as done! You are so determined, whether it be about riding your bike over a planter, not getting out of the bath, putting your own shoes on even when you can't get it right, or wanting to be picked up at a really inconvenient time. But I know that that determination has the potential to serve you well in many ways in life, as long as you learn how to channel it positively.

Lastly, Inventive... Wow kid, you are amazing me with how smart and mechanical you are... like Father like son! Lately you have been all about towing things; anytime you can find any sort of string or cord you will tie it to something and pull another toy with it. In the process of doing this you have also taught yourself how to tie a rather good knot. Your Grandpa would be proud!

(here is a shot of us together on Thanksgiving)

Thanks for being you, I am blessed to be your Mommy.

Yorba Linda Bridal Shoot- continued

2009-12-02T06:41:00.000-08:00

I just realized that I never posted more images from this amazingly gorgeous bridal shoot I did a few months back. So here are a bunch more images from that day.

Styling for the shoot...

Florals-Angie Varela

Hair accessories- LoBoheme

Jewelry- Sara Rae Design Studio (which can also be found at The Sweet and Saucy Shop)

Makeup- LabelMe Lindsay and The Glowing Bride.

Coordination- Diandra Ann photography (Thanks girl, you did a great job!!)

All models are real husband and wive couples who were looking for some fresh, creative and awesome wedding images. Hopefully we delivered!

As I walked up and saw this first couple, I laughed because it's such a small world! Dani, the bride is someone who's family I have known from church for years, and John her hubby, is a guy Derek worked with for years. We had lost touch with them and didn't even know they were married, or to eachother for that matter!! It was fun!

One of my favorite shots of the day! Love that hairpiece!

Hayley was all about getting down and dirty for some unique images. Wood pile? Sure!

The sunset could not have been any more gorgeous!!

Fabulous brides, amazing dresses and details made for an awesome day!!!

Brie & Matt-Spread the News! Long Beach Engagement Photography

2009-11-27T00:05:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we headed up to Long Beach to meet Brie & Matt for their Spread the News session! Long Beach has a lot of significance for them, so it was the perfect place to shoot at... and it really was! The weather was gorgeous, the buildings were awesome, and the sweet interaction between these two all made for a great time!

So on to the images...

Talk about a flock of seagulls!
See what I mean about the buildings? Rad huh!?!

They also love to golf together, so they brought their clubs for some fun shots.

Brie & Matt- We had a great time hanging out and we are looking forward to your wedding next spring!

I {heart} faces challenge-Sunflare

2009-11-25T19:51:00.000-08:00

I decided to enter an image from my recent shoot with my good friend Aaron (full blog HERE) into this weeks I {heart} faces contest. Sarah and I are HUGE sun flare fans and I was pretty proud of this shot I captured in Joshua Tree at sunrise.

To check out more entries visit the I {heart} faces blog HERE.

Feikema Family-Huntington Beach Lifestyle Photographer

2009-11-25T19:48:00.000-08:00

For one of our Fall Session days we headed out to Huntington Beach where we spent the day with 5 great families! It turned out to be a beautiful day, and we even had a cool random meeting. One of our clients was running late, so we sat down on the grassy area by the pier, and a couple who had just gotten engaged that morning sat down right behind us. I noticed her really sparkly ring, and we got to chatting. They are totally cool, so hopefully we'll be hearing from them once they get their plans in motion. Now back to the shoots...

The Feikema family was a total blast to shoot. The kids surprised the parents with the session for Christmas... great gift if I must say so! So they had a bit of an extended session and here are the highlights...

How cool are they?

Love this moment!

The girls were total hams!fun shot by Derek.

I thought it might be fun to give them all bubble gum, but apparently Bubblicious is hard to make good bubbles from, but at least we had a lot of laughs trying.

You can see this one pop in Hannah's face.

Thanks for having fun with us Feikemas!

Keith & Cindy-Huntington Beach Lifestyle Photographer

2009-11-25T19:45:00.000-08:00

Another cute couple we hung out with was Keith and Cindy who are celebrating their 10 year anniversary. They were SO stinkin' fun and sweet together, it made my job super easy.

Enjoy a peek of some of my favs.

Happy Anniversary guys!

Carmean Family-Huntington Beach Lifestyle Photographer

2009-11-25T17:00:00.000-08:00

The Carmeans were another fam who met up with us in HB. The wife in this cute family is Courtney... a friend of ours from college days. Their kiddos are TOO adorable... check out the curls.

Here are a few favs...

love these moments.

Edwards Family-Huntington Beach Lifestyle Photographer

2009-11-25T16:09:00.000-08:00

The Edwards family also joined us in HB for some family pics.

Here are a few favs...

Look at how gorgeous their daughters eyes are!

Great light!!

Welches Family- Huntington Beach Lifestyle Photographer

2009-11-25T15:55:00.000-08:00

Another family we photographed at our session day was the Welches, who I have known forever! John (their son) and I went to grade school together. Anyway... here are a few highlights.

Liz and Nathan
John and Christine

Danielle- Lifestyle Senior Photographer

2009-11-25T15:49:00.000-08:00

Danielle and I recently met up at some naturey spots for her senior session since she loves the outdoors. She was so cute and fun... I kept trying to get a "sassy" expression from her, but she is just so bubbly and smiley she couldn't keep a straight face... gotta love unsupressable joy!

This shot was early on in the shoot with some gorgeous morning light.

Danielle you rocked it out!

She plays basketball so she included that in her session.

Aaron- Joshua Tree Lifestyle Photography

2009-11-24T14:48:00.000-08:00

Aaron and his family moved out here two years back to take up the position of worship leader at our church. I still remember the first time we met; Sarah had hung out with his wife Mandi at a party and I suggested that, being new to our church, we should invite them over for dinner. When they walked in, he introduced himself "Hi, my name's Aaron- nice to meet you" and then it hit me- "WE JUST INVITED COMPLETE STRANGERS OVER FOR DINNER! Oh no, this is a blind dinner date- I really hope it isn't awkward!"

That night I learned a couple of things: 1) The Blantons are TOTALLY cool people and would have eventually become good friends anyway, 2) Inviting complete strangers over to your house (provided that it's a calculated risk) really isn't that scary, and 3) whether it's business, friendship, or life in general, taking initiative is always the way to go. But onto the shoot...

Two Fridays ago, Aaron and I left at 4 AM to do a sunrise shoot out in Joshua Tree and hang out for the day. He's going to be releasing a new EP sometime early next year and he really liked the whole desert feel. Neither of us really do 4 AM very well, but it was definitely worth getting there for the early morning Joshua Tree light. Side note: Aaron has been in the music industry for almost 15 years and has been in a couple of well known bands- Sonic Flood and By The Tree. He probably hates that I'm writing this right now because he's a very humble guy, but I have to give him props- Dude is legit. We are blessed to have him every Sunday.

Ladies and Gentlemen, The Blantone.

CRAZY beautiful morning light.

You wouldn't guess it from the pictures, but it was probably about 35 degrees when the sun first came up...

After a few hours of exploring Joshua Tree, we drove over to the Salton Sea to check out the lively vacation spot... not! It was actually really ere and sad how rundown the neighborhoods were around the sea... very post-Apocalyptic. The Sea is about half the size of Orange County so we didn't even get to half of it. At least a third of the houses we saw though looked like they had been abandoned for a few years, and there was all kinds of debris left around places. It actually made for some good moody shots.

And toward the end we found an old yacht club that had this submarine playground.

Happy Tuesday!

Mini & Nelson- Newport Beach Wedding Photographer

2009-11-23T16:10:00.000-08:00

Derek and I are VERY busily working to finish out our year here at Frenzel Photographers. It is actually our busiest session season EVER!! I think when it's all said and done we will have crammed over 22 shoots in just over 3 weeks! With that said, we will try our best to get everyone up here on the blog; but I may not say as many words before posting images.

Now on to a wedding we recently shot for Mini and Nelson, who booked while we were still Sarah Frenzel Photography. :) Their day was short and sweet, and full of lots of laughter and tender moments with family and friends.

Here are a few highlights.

The lovely bride.

Some details, one of my fav ring shots ever, and the ceremony.

Derek caught this moment.
The new Mr. & Mrs.
Congrats Mini & Nelson, may you have a blessed life together!!

Does She Even Know?

2009-11-18T20:23:00.000-08:00

About once every month or so I get out Jackson and Raylee's baby books and write to them, or about them... sometimes about milestones they had reached, funny things they had done, or just my thoughts about them at that time. Well I am running out of space in their books and since my relationship with them is such a HUGE part of my life, I've decided to continue my writings to them here. So for today...

My baby doll Raylee,

You are 18 months old and I can't believe all the things that have changed about you in a few short months.

Do you even know how smart you are? As I watch you problem solve while building with blocks or while attempting to place a puzzle piece in it's proper spot; or as I listen to you say new words every day... I know.

Do you know how beautiful you are? I find myself staring at your perfect little features... your bright blue eyes, round button nose, plump red lips, and sweet smile. As I take in what God has created in you...I know.

Do you know that you are a total ham even at 18 months old? When Daddy and I just laugh at the way you make silly faces, shake your booty while you walk, or fall down just to see our reaction... I know.

Do you even know your real name? You are so stinkin cute, that it has caused us to give you tons of nicknames... the predictable ones- Ray and RayRay... the cute ones- baby girl, sweet pea, Lovely, Peanut, Lovebug... and the random ones- ChaCha, TaTas (as Jackson translated ChaCha), Pretty Head, Butter Bean, Nugget, The Nugg. Consider it endearment my doll, even if you are confused as to your real name... I know it.

Do you even know what an amazing gift you are to me? Day to day as I enjoy your sweet spirit, adorable laughter, daring nature, soft cheeks, fun-loving heart, piercing eyes, and oh so simple innocence... I know... and I thank Him everyday for you.

Love,

Mommy