A New Babe

My best friend had her baby a week ago yesterday. I finally got to visit with her and peek in on the sleeping baby. I was so glad to see her and hear her wonderful birth story. She was a superstar! And what a wonderful prize at the end of it all. Way to go Mama and he is such an adorable baby boy!

In August Dean and I did some pictures for them. Here are a few:

Baby's Firsts

Emerson has been having a lot of firsts lately...


Emerson loves dirt! What kid doesn't, right? I have to watch him extra close when I'm in the garden. One day I was digging potatoes in the garden when I turned around for 30 seconds and Emerson started sucking on the end of the dirty shovel. I figure he must of thought it was a very big spoon for eating and thought he should give it a taste.


We went on a day trip to find some nice spots for photos and did a little hike near Bragg Creek. It was Em's first hike. He did pretty good. It was just a little hike and we stopped half way to give him a drink. But I think it will be the last time we use this snugglie. He is already 23 lbs and the snugglie is only rated for 26lbs. Dean carried him most of the way, thank goodness!

He can stand on his own for a couple of seconds and then eases himself down to sitting so he can crawl to where he wants to go. My mom got him a little walking toy that he pushes around the living room now. If I can figure out how to post a video on here I will post a video of it. Dean and I think he will maybe start walking soon. I can't believe how fast he is growing up!?

The Dog Days of Mat Leave

One my goals, while on maternity leave, was to finish one novel/book. I am reading: "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson (I started the book when I was pregnant... ha!). It is a really good book though and I would recommend it to everyone. It is the true story of Greg Mortenson and how he built a school in a remote village called Korphe in the Karakoram mountains between Pakistan and Afghanistan. He is also a nurse, so I am being reminded of my dream to one day do humanitarian work as a nurse in another country. I'm not sure how that is ever going to happen. Maybe when Dean and I go on our mission. However Dean keeps reminding me: "What will I do while your nursing?... fix computers?"... You never know? Right?

Anyhow, its a really good book and this is proving to be a difficult goal to accomplish. I mean I did start the book over a year ago! I find when I get time to sit down and read it I am either distracted by the phone ringing or Emerson torturing the cat. Although what usually happens is I sit down to read and fall asleep cause I'm so tired.

Do you remember those days when you could curl up on the couch and start reading a book in the evening and then looked at the clock and realized you'd been reading for hours? Some of you might even be the type that could stay up all night finishing a good book. I could never make it past 1 am. I remember when I finished school and thought I'd never read another book (text book or not) again. I think it took me about a year before I could really enjoy reading again. All that forceful reading just seems to ruin the enjoyment of it. Well I'm not in school anymore and I do enjoy reading but I'm just not sure if I'm going to get this goal accomplished. Maybe I should start reading it aloud to Emerson?

Point and shoot

Do you remember when cameras required film? You know that stuff that comes in a small round canister. Then every time you took a picture you had to advance the film to the next frame by a lever. Some of the fancy cameras did it automatically. Gone are those days, hey? Now everything is digital. Cameras are tiny now too, some are the size of a bar of soap and most cell phones have them built in now.

Well my husband and I have decided to start our own little business. As some of you might know Dean is a video editor. Part of his schooling was photography and he loves to play with the camera. For our anniversary this February he got a new digital SLR camera. So we thought we would start sharing his talent in photography with others( and make a little money cause the camera cost quite a few pennies).

We've done 3 photo sessions so far. And we are having so much fun! I have been doing some training at kelbytraining.com, it is an online training resource for photography. Dean received a free month's membership with them at one of the conferences he was at. I think we will continue on with the membership though because it is a great resource. I'm learning lots about photoshop and how to retouch your digital photos. It is actually a lot more work than I thought. However I think once I get more acquainted with photoshop I will be more efficient. Dean of course does all the quality assurance checks because he is a pro already. I'm more of the young apprentice right now :)

Our dinner table conversation is now consumed with "photo talk". As well as what name should we give our little business. Dean would like to do other things with the business in the future ie. graphic art, independent film work. So he doesn't want to have photography at the end because it might pigeon hole the business. So here are the names on the top of our list:

1. Dollhouse Images
2. North Light Images (omage to Dean's roots in northern alberta)
3. Colored Memories (My favorite but Dean says "what if some of the photos are black and white?")
4. Astroid ... something or other (obviously Dean's choice... he wants something tech-ie sounding)
5. Dean Doll Images (most simple)

Let me know what you think :)

Here are a few of the photos we've been taking:

*Scratch, scratch, scratch*

So this weekend the Bean turned 9 months old. What a big boy he is! This weekend I was also putting away some of his clothes. And it was while I was looking at all his tiny baby clothes that it happened! What's it, you ask? The itch. Yes its true I have the baby itch. I know what you're all thinking. "So soon!" or "But her baby is only 9 months old" or "She said she wouldn't have another baby for a long time, if ever". I have reminded myself of all these things. I even thought to myself: "Remember when he had colic and cried and cried and then screamed... for like 4 months". And I do remember that but I still feel the itch. I don't think I really want another baby (for real) right now. I think I am just feeling nostalgic for the sweet moments I had while preparing for Em's arrival and the joy of holding him for the first time. I think my favorite thing was being able to take naps with him. I can't do that now, he would just want to play instead of going to sleep. I miss that... falling asleep together after nursing him. Hearing his little cooing noise. Oh man sorry I'm getting a little too sappy.

Anyway I am posting some newborn pics of the Bean in hopes that maybe it will help cure my itch. Don't worry I think we're pretty safe. Dean fell out of bed when I told him that I wanted another baby (I told him when he was just about asleep one night).

Tell me your favorite memory of being a new mom. Post them on here or on your own blog.

This is the wonderful doctor and student who helped deliver Emerson.
I think I did most of the work though ;)

His first week at home.

With Papa on his blessing day.

Too Many Choices.

Do you remember when you were little and the variety of choices you had seemed much smaller. I was browsing thecutestblogontheblock.com to try and spruce up my blog and was feeling overwhelmed by all the choices. And there are a lot of cute backgrounds.

I remember looking in the cereal cupboard as a kid and having 3 choices: Rice Krispies, Shreddies, or 2 year old Grape Nut cereal (only my dad ate). Lunch was the same: kraft dinner, tomato soup and macaroni, or burnt open faced grilled cheese bread (it wasn't even real cheese, it was those processed cheese slices). Dinner had a bit of variety but we weren't given a choice to eat it or not. We sat there until we finished what was on our plate. So that negated the variety of menu.

Those who know me know that I often feel overwhelmed when there are too many choices. However I enjoy variety in lots of things. For example, I can usually only eat left overs once and then I need something new. Or I would absolutely die if I had a job that was the same thing day in and day out (like in a factory). My dad used to take us to the candy store when we were little and had a wonderful tactic to speed up our choosing process. He told us: "the first thing you touch you have to buy!". We thought he was being extreme and didn't believe he would actually make us buy whatever we touched first. After all sometimes you had to feel the candy in your hand to know if that was the right one for you. Well my dad was always strict on this tactic and regardless of how loud we hollered which ever candy we touched first was the candy we took home. Once my sister got one of those gross wax covered rocket suckers. I think that if I had someone who did that now life would be a bit more simple. "The first thing you touch in the pantry you have to make supper with." or "The first thing you put on from your closet you have to wear for the day."

Well I decided on a background for the blog but I'm not sure it is the one I want to keep. It's a little girl y. What do you think?

Doll Stories.

So this past weekend we were up in the north country for a Doll family reunion. The reunion was at a little camp ground that used to be a small village called Friendenstal. We had such a good time. We didn't want to leave. It was Emerson's first time meeting the Doll side of the family and he loved everyone he met. Especially his Auntie Randi and Uncle Shawn.

We got to hear a lot of stories, mostly about nuns and priests, as the catholic religion runs deep in the Doll family. I was thinking today how nice it was to visit with Dean's family, especially his grandma. My grandparents have all passed away so I realize how precious the time we have with them is. I loved listening to the stories. Old people are such good story tellers and if you belong to the Doll or Fazikos family you are genetically predisposed to be a good story teller. Whenever I try to tell a story it always seems lifeless and uninteresting. Mind you the Russell genes have some good story tellers. But Dean's family-they all tell great stories. As a matter of fact they often tell the same stories over and over again. And everytime they tell a story it seems more hilarious and more interesting than the other times. Like the time Dean's dad scared him by dressing up like a big bear. Instead of shooting the bear with the pellet gun he was playing with he ran into the house and hid in the closet.

I wonder what kind of stories are we going to tell our children? I think sometimes we are so busy with our day to day life that we forget to make memories - memories that are worth telling over and over again. I think the world would be a better place if we told more stories (true or not). Why not tell a story about a trip you took, instead of a rumor you heard about so and so. Why not tell a story instead of complaining. I think true story telling is becoming a lost art. I am trying to rekindle this ability. I'm hoping the blog will help me practice. Dean is a good story teller - its in his genes. He can even make a good story out of his commute home on the train. Noisy kids, strange teenagers or cell phone calls to the person next to him. I think you all should tell more stories!

Here are a few highlights from our trip:

The catholic church that Dean`s dad attended when he was child.


Grandpa and Emerson looking at a catalog of motors.


They had a wheelbarrow race.
This is myself and Shawn (Dean`s brother).
It was our moment of defeat.

The fireworks set out waiting to be fired off.
A mere $500+ worth of fireworks.


The fireworks show was spectacular.
Dean`s dad and brother helped set them off.


Uncle Philip and Emerson.
This was after we ate some saskatoon berries on his farm.
Emerson looked like a little vampire with blood stained lips.

This is my favorite picture of the whole trip.
Grandma Debi gave Em this truck and he absolutely loved it!