8 Months...TODAY.

Wow, now that I'm so busy I'm really bad at updating this! Anyway...Tatiana is 8 months old today. This is the first time I've really cringed when I heard the number. 6 months was okay, 7 was sad, but 8!? She's been an outside baby almost as long as she was an inside baby. She has now figured out how to go from lying flat on her back to sitting up without assistance from anyone or any object. This makes the current diaper Olympics even more challenging. First it was just trying to roll over and kick around, now it also includes sitting up during changes.

Playing with a matryoshka doll at Grandma's house.

Showing off her new swim suit. We met up with three other July 2010 babies and moms. Two of us were from the Twin Cities, one was from Iowa, and the other was from Wisconsin. We had a great weekend. We've known each other via the internet for quite awhile, so it was awesome to finally meet in person. Tatiana wore this suit to go swimming with the other babies. However, she's so darn skinny that all she did in the pool was chatter her teeth (I guess jaw technically, because she still has NO teeth).

 At the Mall of America with her July 2010 buddies.

 

 She's also still loving her infant class we go to weekly. Mom and dad also thoroughly enjoy it!

  Maybe I'm crazy...but I am so excited for Easter and to give Tatiana her Easter basket! We never ended up buying or making her a Christmas stocking, so I'm pretty excited about her basket.

So awhile back I posted about the damage to our kitchen walls and ceiling from ice dams. Well it has officially been fixed and the walls have been repainted (a new color!). It's also amazing what a fresh coat of paint on your ceiling can do for a room. The print I had above our dining table didn't really fit with the new color so I decided to do a picture wall. These are the first actual photos we have ever hung in our house. I don't usually decorate with personal photos, so this is a huge step for us. There's no better place for us to hang our family photos then in the dining area. Sitting together as a family for dinner every night is very important to us.

That's it for today...but...I am doing a giveaway for a free photo shoot!...you can enter the giveaway and get more details here:
http://thesemansfamily.blogspot.com/2011/03/electric-lime-photography-giveaway.html

Wait, I have a blog?

Woops! It's been 13 days since I updated this dang thing. Life has been CRAZY. But crazy in a good way. Besides having a full time job, a family to take care of,  a house to clean, laundry to do, etc... I've taken up a bit of a photography venture. Little pieces are slowly coming together. It started when a couple friends asked for some photos, and then some people Bjorn knows started asking who our photographer was for Tatiana (yup, that would be me). I've done a few shoots for people other than us, and have some more booked for this month. So far it seems to be going in the direction of families and babies/children with some commercial work (so far for a hair and makeup artist) thrown in there.

Sometimes I think I'm going to lose my mind...when will the laundry get done?...which night will I actually be able to read a book to Tatiana before bed?...when will I be able to make one of my gourmet dinners?...will I ever catch up on sleep? I am so behind on sleep, and for some reason I wake up at least two times a night now. Not that I should complain since my 7 1/2 (YIKES it just keeps going too fast) month old sleeps through the night...but apparently I do not.

My actual website is still under construction. Oh yea, add that to the list of "When will it get done? When will I have time? Is my brain going to explode?" But for now if you're so inclined you may check it out via facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Electric-Lime-Photography/184620934906666

So what's new with Tatiana? There's always something new with her. And I'm trying really hard to not let it all go by in one big blur. This Sunday was her dedication at church followed by a brunch after wards. It was a double dedication-brunch with her second cousin, Carter. It was a special day for us, one of those things you dream about for along time, and then all of a sudden you blink your eyes and it's happening. I've really come to realize there is nothing more important on earth to me than our little family. When I was a teenager I wasn't one of those girls who dreamed of finding the perfect man and having children, but yet here I am, and I'm embracing it full on. I am becoming quite the protective mother hen of our little roost. And without further adieu, Tatiana in her dedication outfit.

And here's little Miss Blue Eyes before I left for work today... I don't know where she gets those crazy blue eyes from! But it sure as heck isn't me or Bjorn!