Why Life is Worth Capturing

When my parents had me, they didn't pick my name simply because they liked it. In fact, they were planning on naming me Morgan (sorry to all the Morgans out there, but that name is not my cup of tea). At the last minute, after a bit of begging from my Nonna, they named me after my Auntie Diana - my dad's older sister who had passed away at the age of 25 from a rare hereditary disease called porphyria. Fast-forward 21 years and I'm glad to say I love my name - both for its meaning and just because it's sweet to my ears.

Moving on, my aunt lived in a time when it wasn't so common for people to chase around their kids with a video camera. Sure, her pictures still exist, but we don't have any videos of her. My dad, who was a teenager when his sister died, of course tries to keep his memory of her alive yet feels so frustrated that he can no longer remember her voice. He says it would be the greatest thing if someone could just find a video of her because he wants to hear her voice again. I can only imagine how that would feel - for one sound to spark years of memories.

Unfortunately, we can't bank on our brains forever - eventually we do forget even if we don't want to. And I wish that I could magically make a video of my Auntie Diana appear. It would mean so much to my Nonna, dad, and Aunt Louisa (my Auntie Diana's twin). 

And here I am in 2013. I own several cameras, a computer with a camera, and a cell phone with a camera yet I don't have enough videos of Carter. I have thousands and thousands of photos of my little boy, but not enough videos. So, I'm learning from my Auntie Diana's life and I'm going to start to vlog a little bit more often. 

I love Carter's voice, giggles, silly sayings. I love watching his mannerisms, the way he draws on his chalkboard, how he smiles from the top of the slide to make sure I'm watching. All these things I'd love to record, remember, and share with others - maybe even pass it down a few generations. 

Little pieces of myself and Kyle I wouldn't mind recording and sharing too. I can just imagine us watching old home videos and laughing at ourselves saying, "those were some good times in our twenties." Oh, the things I would do to keep Kyle's smile and the sound of his laughter fresh in my mind. 

You see, these things are so important. It's so easy to let them pass everyday feeling a little bit too sure that tomorrow will come. Don't take it for granted. Life is beautiful - it's worth living and it's worth capturing. 

I'll make sure to share our family's vlogs here on my blog. You can also find them on my YouTube channel. Check out our first "daily vlog" below. 

Goodbye Summer

Here I am. Sitting on my bed past midnight and it's officially September 1st. I didn't get to say a proper goodbye to summer. Rather than ending it off with a fun day at a beach or carnival, I ended it off with a shopping trip. That's okay though. We had a pretty awesome, low-key summer - just enjoying each other's company, barbecuing like there is no such thing as tomorrow, and taking our first camping trip as a family.

I'm now looking forward to cool breezes, falling leaves, pumpkin spice lattes, lots of red lipstick, and over-sized knit sweaters. There's something about a new season that makes me super inspired too. New goals and perspectives, Carter's third autumn, more room to grow, a different palette of colors.

Anyways, I guess what I'm trying to say is Goodbye Summer 2013. You've treated us well.

How was your summer? Tell me about it in the comments below!

Our Disney World Vacation!

On the night of December 14th, we sat Carter by the Christmas tree and told him we had a big gift for him - a surprise I had been dying to tell him about for months! We handed him a little Cars luggage topped with a ribbon bow and asked him to open it. It was filled with clothes, a Mickey Mouse toy, and tickets to the happiest place on earth - Walt Disney World! Once the words "We are going to Disney World tomorrow morning!" spilled out, Carter jumped and screamed excitedly!

And just like that, we were off to the airport to catch our 6am flight to Orlando. Carter did so well on the plane - he slept through the entire flight - and in just a few hours we were greeting the warm weather and palm trees in Florida. 

The rest of the week was spent at the four Disney Parks. We loved Magic Kingdom so much that we went three times! Aside from Magic Kingdom, I absolutely loved Epcot. I could sit in the France section forever... literally! We also got to experience some awesome restaurants like Be Our Guest, Biergarten, and Chef Mickey's. And we were all blown away by the parades, shows, and fireworks! Disney knows how to jerk happy tears! 

I loved spending time with Kyle and Carter the entire week. It was our first time being to Disney World and it has definitely made it onto our Favorite Places in the World list.

Carter's First Concert

This past September, I made a super last minute decision. I bought Carter, Kyle, and myself tickets to see the Wiggles in concert. They were on their very last tour - three of them are retiring - and I scooped up the chance while it was there. When Carter heard the spur-of-the-moment news, he bounced all over the house and did his signature hip shaking move.

However, once we got to the venue, the kiddo craziness quieted Carter down. The only time he took a break from observing the madness was when he saw the colorful concert stage. He went silent again as we waited for the concert to begin. Parents and tots spilled in, some with handmade bristol board signs, others with roses for Dorothy the Dinosaur. The lights slowly dimmed and...

The four singing Wiggles burst out from behind the backdrop in their big red car! 

Carter stared for a few moments as if he needed the moment to process that his favorite singers were right in front of this eyes. In no time, he was clapping away and singing along. And of course, there was wiggling going on too! How can you resist dancing when you're having so much fun, right?

It was a great first concert and I am thankful we experienced it as a family together.

A Happy Halloween

Carter galloped in circles on the porch, unbothered by the long johns, tracksuit, and Captain America costume I layered on him. My fingers spun the camera lens left and right and back again. It is always a fight trying to capture Carter's cute moments. No shutter speed is fast enough. After I got a few decent shots, I grabbed my little Captain America's hands and his third Halloween began.

Holding his canvas trick or treat bag, he marched on over to the neighbor's front door. I rang the doorbell and then distanced myself a few steps behind - a mini test just to see how he would do on his own. The rain drizzled as the door opened. "Trick or treaaaaat!" My eyes widened. Carter pulled the bag's straps apart and a handful of candy danced all the way to its bottom. "Thank youuuuu!" Carter swiftly turned around and skipped towards the sidewalk. "Next house! Next house!" I still had a case of the wide eyes. Who was this independent kid in front of me?

The more houses we visited, the more Carter's excitement grew. Not only was he on a roll, but he kept track of the new treasures that filled his bag. "Mommy, I got more chips!" I looked through my lens and over my shoulder to see a close-up of Kyle's big smile cuddling under the yellow umbrella. He and I didn't mind the cold rain. We just giggled behind our Captain America.

And when the last treat reached the top of the bag, Carter's enthusiasm still brightened the quiet streets. He narrated the highlights of his Halloween night to us while we strolled back to the house. My heart sang at the sight of his darling smile and the knowing that he loved his third Halloween.

Now, our family of three is fully stocked up on happiness and sweets - a combination that can never go wrong.

Little Bits of Happiness {3}

Every night, before I go to sleep, I say a prayer to God and thank Him for everything wonderful - and even the not so great things - in my life. I ask for guidance and protection and for the safety and well-being of family and friends. It feels amazing to take those few minutes to reflect on what is really important in my life and to notice how lucky I am to be alive and to have a family and to be happy.

Little Bits of Happiness makes me the feel the same way. By making these posts (all thanks to my blogger friend, Stephanie), I get to reflect on my life and share it with the world. And sometimes finding little bits of happiness makes you realize that they aren't so little at all. In the grand scheme of things, most of these little things mean the most to me.

For this week's Little Bits of Happiness, I'm sharing with you a day trip Kyle, Carter, and I took to Niagara Falls a few weeks ago. It was a last minute decision, the weather was beyond perfect, and we cleared our day to make time for each other. It's a fun place to be for the day just to adore the falls, walk around the gardens, buy tons of candy, and go to fun houses and arcades and wax museums. Anyways, it was a sweet day with my little family and of course we snapped a whole bunch of pictures with my DSLR!

the American side of the falls



the Canadian side

Photo Love: Outdoor Fun

Happy May, my lovelies! It is about time that I dumped photos on this blog! They've been collecting in my iPhoto for a month now. Hopefully this post gives you a peek into what we have been up to lately - which is mostly enjoying spring! Carter absolutely loves playing in the backyard and at the park and I end up being the playmate. Speaking of playing, I have been playing around with manual mode on my DSLR and the quality of my pictures is improving (I hope!). Wishing you guys a sweet week!