8 & 9 months

Well I am a little behind in the blogging department. I promised myself I was going to blog more in October and November....and here we are November 19th....my first post in a while! I have just been ridiculously busy with my photography company and headband business my sister and I started. Not complaining though. Busy is good. Just trying to find the balance between working and spending time with Kynley is a bit difficult, but I am getting there.....

Well our pretty little monster is now officially 9 months old! Seriously unbelievable. I always had the 9 month mark in my head as being so far away and now we are here. Kynley is as crazy as ever. This kid is definitely going to be slightly out of control like her father. She has two teeth on the bottom (YAY!) and is still not crawling. She is working on it but not quite yet. I am hoping she wont start until after Christmas, so I know my christmas tree will be safe from an attack, but something tells me thats not going to happen.

Speaking of CHRISTMAS!!!!!!! Its the most wonderful time of year again! We are headed back to America like usual to spend it with my family. I cannot wait for Kynley to have her first White Christmas and see snow for the first time! I am sure she will hate it at first but it will still be fun. So many cute new hats to hear as well......

Thanksgiving is just around the corner as well. As always I will be making my Thanksgiving Dinner, and I cant wait for Kynley to get to try Turkey and stuffing! I am sure she will love it :) We are fortunate enough to have some lovely American friends living here that will be joining us this year, more americans=more fun :)

Here are some fun little Kynley Facts for you....

-She loves Skyping (auntie Nanyn) anyone. The second she hears the skype noises her arms flap up and down and she starting screaming and smiling! Skype is an easy way for her to learn and interact as well. She loves to copy people on skype and loves to try and grab peoples faces haha

-Kynley loves cats. LOVES LOVES LOVES (obviously) whenever they walk into the room she starts squealing with delight and tries to grab them. She has gotten ahold of Vaders tail a few times and let me tell you, he is not a fan of hers haha

- This little midget is still in 3-6 month size clothing....seriously!?!? I mean it's great she has gotten a lot of wear out of all of her clothes but mommy is ready to go shopping!!!! I am hoping by the time we arrive in America she will be a bit bigger so I have to buy some new winter clothes....

-She is a chatter box and a serious squealer. She says Da da da da and her new one is ba ba ba ba. She doesn't exactly say them to anything or anyone but just constantly chatting. She has started waving bye bye as well, but not all them time. She is very picky about who she waves bye bye to......

-Girlfriend is finally getting some hair too! Hard to see in pictures but it will be very dark brown I think, just like Mom and Dad.

-She used to hate her car seat until I positioned a mirror that she can see herself in. Now everytime she is in it she smiles at herself and laughs, loves to look at herself...typical girl....


I guess that is all for now. Every day with this little munchkin amazes me as I watch her learn and grow. I cant wait to start to introduce her to new and exciting traditions this holiday season :)

7 Months!

7 MONTHS?!?!? Is this real life!?

As much as I can't believe my little miss is 7 months, I don't feel like it has flown by. I do think it is crazy that I have a 7 month old baby though ;)

She is starting to really come into her personality, and if these last few weeks give me any idea of what we are in for, she is going to be one crazy baby! Sometimes I just cant believe how funny and crazy she is at only 7 months.

Some fun chubby cheeks facts....
-She knows what a camera is. As in when I get out my big nice camera she will look any direction but at the camera! She knows mommy is trying to take a picture and she really makes me work for them!
-She is getting lots of fuzzy hair on the top of her head and wakes up with some serious bed head in the morning.
-Kynley is in love with cats....crazy right? haha Anytime our two cats walk into a room she is in she freaks out and starts flapping her arms and giggling. When I let her pet them she squeals with delight! The cats are patient until she grabs a hold of Vaders' fluffy tale and takes out a huge chunk.....
-Mom has way too much fun dressing her in ridiculous outfits and she loves it....or so I tell myself...
- Dad is still her favorite person
-She is teething and grumpy lately but os still a happy baby. She eats everything in sight and loves biting water bottles, cans, glasses and anything else.
-Blowing raspberries when she is mad is her new thing. She cries and blows them or if I take her into her room and she thinks she is going down for a nap she will blow them in my face haha Its the worst when  she does it with food in her mouth....I love pureed veggies in my hair...
-Her first Disneyland trip is less then 1 month away! Dont worry, I am already planning outfits....
-Kynley has decided that instead of her normal 7:30am sleep in, that waking up between 5:45 and 6:30 is a better idea since we have returned from our trip to America. I am trying everything to figure out how to get her to sleep longer. Saturday morning she slept until 6:30 and it felt like I got to sleep in. Thank god I just got a shipment of Pumpkin Spice latte's from my sister to ease the pain.... Thanks Auntie Nanyn...
- I am currently trying to decide on Kynleys 1st ever Halloween costume! I have a few ideas floating around but nothing set in stone...cat..princess...pumpkin...decisions decisions....
-She is so ridiculously entertaining I am finding myslef slipping slowly behind in my work....Cant I just play with her all day every day! I am pretty sure she is my BFF...

So many fun things happening in the next month and I cant wait to see how much more she develops. I love love love my crazy chubby cheeked girl!

6 months!

Is my little princess really 6 months old?!?!!? I can't believe I have already had this beautiful little girl in my life for that long. She is honestly the most adorable thing on the face of the earth.

We have just returned from a 7 week trip back in America. Kynley had an amazing time and so did the hubby and I. It was amazing to get to see my family watch her as she grew and developed. They are all so in love with her it makes me feel guilty having her half way around the world from them. She went through some big changes while we were there, starting solids, smiling more, laughing and even sitting up. I am just so happy we got to spend that time with my family and friends. 

This little 6 month old has the most hilarious personality already and makes the FUNNIEST faces. She gets her expressions from her dad dad. I even caught her raising her eyebrow at me today.

Her are some fun little K-Ray facts....

-little one has started teething and loves to bite everything!

-she loves licking the condensation off of glasses and bottles. She squished her face right up against it and it is sooo adorable.

-She is STILL in size 0-3month clothes. She is almost in sizes 3-6 months but they are huge on her and look hilarious. She is just a bit short!

- Kynley still isnt rolling over. She has done it twice but hasnt since. Mostly because she absolutely HATES tummy time. I do it everyday but after about 30 seconds she just starts screaming and freaking out. 

-She was amazing on the plane ride to and from America. Literally slept the whole way on every flight. It was so nice, I acutally got to sleep too :)

-We have been on solid food for about a month but she still isnt into it completely. Somedays she will eat but most days she has a bite or two and then wont have anymore. 

-She loves her daddy more than anyone. He will just walk into the room and her face lights up! She constantly smiles at him.

-Kynley Ray is a little flirt! (most likely taking after her dad....) She smiles and laughs at everyone and anyone. She really is just a happy baby.

-She has an adorable dimple on one side that we both got from my Grandmommy. When we visited her in San Francisco she loved poking Kynley's dimple and kept calling her "My Baby".

-She has really fuzzy hair and a beautiful widows peak!

There are about a million other fun facts out my little chubby cheeks, but I will just leave it at that for now :)

4 months!

Well now we are to the age where we begin counting her age by months instead of weeks. Our little princess is 4 months today (17 weeks). She is getting a bit chunky and has a big noggin but is so damn adorable I just cant even handle it :)

Here are some fun facts about little miss Kynley Ray :)

-She is still in 0-3month clothing, although she is a bit chunky, she is a bit short and everything is still big on her, most of her pants are still newborn size hehe
-Her nicknames are...chubby cheeks, K Ray, chubster, baby shark, princess, and her cousin Clayton calls her "Kynley Ray" all the time. We think he thinks its her first name but it is super adorable
- She is a professional sleeper at night. Not so much during the day, especially if she has to sleep in her pram/stroller.
-Her favorite songs mommy sings to her are Sea Ponies (from a my little pony movie) and Kokamo by the beach boys. She kicks and smiles when ever I sing them to her :)
-She loves when we pretend to eat her feet. She kicks and giggles and thinks it is hilarious! Her little giggle is so adorable!
-I startle her on a regular basis. Those of you who know me know that I can be loud at times, and I am ALWAYS scaring her!
-She hates it when I bring my big camera out. She will smile for me with out it but the second I put that big camera in her face she just looks away haha maybe she knows what her future will look like!
-She is getting all of this adorable fuzzy hair on her head, taking after her mommy! My dad nicknamed me fuzzy when I was a baby because I had lots of fuzzy hair too ;)
-Seriously girlfriend looks like a chipmunk with it's cheeks stuffed full of nuts haha her cheeks are SOOO chubby!!!

one. -ERGObaby Petunia and Pickle Carrier. We love this when we travel and it is super cute :)
two. We have two Sophies, this little one with the handles is perfect for her age right now. She can grab the handles and try and chew on it.
three.  This play gym is amazing. It plays music and rotates. Kynley LOVES it and is just starting to grab the toys on it.
four. We love love love our Bugaboo cameleon. It is an amazing stroller. Not to mention it is SO pretty! A lot of people like to make fun of our awesomely bold pram BUT K ray is just riding in style! Rachael Zoe, Kate Hudson and Sienna Miller all have it ;) My grandmommy helped me choose it out and every time she see's it she is so happy she got us the colorful one and not all black haha

2 & 3 Months

Ok so obviously I have been slacking big time in the blogging department. Things are just crazy with a baby and my brain does not function like it used to! Trying to be a stay at home mommy while running my photography business (which I am back to doing part time) is quite challenging. I swear every I sit down to edit Kynley wakes up or poops her pants! Its all very exciting.....

So, as everyone has said time is FLYING by! My little princess is 3 months old :( Stop growing!!! She is getting more and more interactive everyday and it is so much fun. I got to celebrate my first Mothers Day yesterday, and Kynley is by far the best gift I could ever receive. She is such a good baby it makes my husband and I a little crazy thinking we want baby #2 sooner rather then later....but thats a whole other story!

Here are a few fun K-Ray facts for you :)

-Her favorite time of day is when "Dad Dad" as he calls himself gets home from work, he gets smiles out of this girl I couldn't even dream of!
-She is sleeping all the way through the night! Woo hoo! Im not, I always wake up and make sure I can still here her breathing haha
- She goes to be around 6:30pm and sleeps until about 7:30am. And if she doesn't go to be around that time she gets GRUMPY! Full on melt downs!
-She loves looking at contrasty things (black and white stuff mostly) and will coo at it and smile. Super adorbs.
- You know she is doing a poo which she sticks her top lip out and her face turns bright red! haha
-She is just starting to "talk" and loves to sing along with you when you sing to her.
- Kynley is just now out growing her newborn clothes!!! Her 0-3 month clothes are massive on her but we are making them work!
-Her little head is getting so big! haha I am worried she is going to have a mega mind like her daddy! At least I can put headbands on to cover it up!
-This girl is finally putting on some lbs and has little rolls on her wrists and thighs! I am pretty sure its the only time you can call rolls cute haha
-Its looking like her eyes are turning blue!
-She is getting lots of dark brown hair
-Auntie Jess and I painted her nails for the first time yesterday, dad was not happy!

Thats about all I can think of. I just love watching her grow and develop more and more everyday! She is becoming such a little person :)

Raymond Douglas Ihrke

(This is my little sister Suzee's Birth Announcement, I think little miss K Ray looks like her!!!)

I just wanted to write s small little something about Kynley Ray's grandpa, my dad, Raymond Douglas Ihrke.

My dad sadly passed away 17 years ago today....I honestly cant believe it has been that long. For those of you who don't know he died of a heart attack at the young age of 46. The story of how he passed is quite an unusual one.

My dad, among many things (construction company owner, auto shop owner, demolition car driver, mad doctor at the Des Moines haunted house... this list goes on) was a pilot. Not a commercial pilot, but he had his license and he owned a small cessna plane he lovingly called "Michelle". (If you ever want a good laugh ask Shanyn how it felt when she got her leg ran over by it!) My mom and dad would joke that she was his mistress because he was always spending time with her. Anyways, on March 20th 1996 my dad and his best friend Lee decided to go out flying for the afternoon. While they were up in the air my dad had a massive heart attack and died immediately. Lee, who had no experience flying, had to try and land the plane by himself. It was a float plane which is meant to land on water, but Lee want to try and get my dad help as fast as he could so he landed it on land. Miraculously Lee walked away with a few bumps and bruises, but my dad was gone.

Looking back on that day I remember that last time I said good bye to him, the moment my mom told me he was gone and me not really understanding completely what that meant at the young age of 9. This story made national news and I remember the news crews coming and knocking on our door wanting to talk to our family, and them following us from my dad's funeral back to my grandma's house to get to speak to my mom. Crazy crazy things to deal with at 9 years old. He was such an amazing daddy.

Lucky for us the story gets better. My mom married Bill, one of my dads friends (the most amazing step dad ever) and from it came our youngest sister Falyn. (and don't you dare try and call her our half sister, she isn't, she is full ;) ) I think it's all about the way you look at things, looking at the positive in the situation.

As I have gotten older I think his death has been harder to deal with when it comes to big life events like getting married and having a baby. I just keep reminding myself he is here in spirit and can see everything that is happening.  As far as little miss Kynley Ray, I am certain my dad sent her to me. Sometimes she makes face and I can totally see my dad in her, and other times I swear she looks just like my dads mom (My grandma Lillian, another one who I wish was here to see us grow up, she was my favorite and SO FUNNY). I think Kynley has her hands and beautiful fingernails.

I think going through something like that teaches you things that no one else can understand. I hope to try and teach Kynley the lessons I have learned from these life events without her ever having to experience anything like it. I want to teach her to appreciate everything and everyone in her life. Love deeply and not to be afraid to show the love she has. And cherish your family. I see so many people who take their family members for granted and it makes me so sad. I remember growing up and always being so jealous of people who got to call someone "dad" or "daddy", now my little princess has an AMAZING Daddy. She is so lucky ;)

In our wedding ceremony one of the things that was said was to "Say I love you everyday", that is something that I do in my marriage and in my family. Never get off the phone without saying it, no matter how mad you are. I am going to teach Kynley this, and hope she understands the importance of it.

My daddy and I

Grandma Lillian, one of my crazy memories of her is always stealing tic tacs from her purse during church and when she was trying to get your attention she would call you every name but your own...Shanyn! Suzee! Falyn!!!...i mean REYNA!!!

1 month favorites

1. aden & anais swaddle blankets- The best swaddling blankets ever. They are big and light weight and super soft. We have about 10 and its all we use at night.
2.aden & anais Burpy Bibs- These things are amazing. Great for burping, cute to put over your shoulder and they have snaps that turn them from a burping cloth to a bib. Investing in more of these when I head back to the U.S.
3.NUK Pacifier- did post a link but these are the ones that seem to stay in her mouth the best. And because she is so small they are the only ones she doesn't gag on. They are had to find here in Aussieland but I know they are everywhere in America, again something I will for sure be stocking up on!
4.My Brestfriend- This pillow is AMAZING for breast feeding. Instead of having to move pillows around and get comfy you just pop this around your waist and put the baby on. It is super soft and has little bumps on it for the baby to rest their head and to help them stay attached. This is probably my favorite thing on the list if you are going to breast feed.
5.Mamaroo- I made my mom bring this all the way from America for me and it was totally worth it. It supposedly mimics the movements of the mom that the baby feels while they are in the womb. Kynley loves it and it is great at rocking her to sleep.
6.Moby Wrap- If I need her to go to sleep I can put this thing on and within minutes she is passed out. I clean with it on, edit photo's, do my hair and make up, anything. It allows me to be hands free and her to feel supported and like she is being cuddled. My husband even wears it with her in it while he plays video games and does things around the house. Perfect if she is fussy and just wants to be loved ;)
7.Electric Bottle Sterilizer- Because I am both breastfeeding and pumping to give to her in a bottle (trying to get her to gain as much weight as possible.) we use this all day, everyday. I sterilize everything for her. Toys, pacifiers, bottles, pump, nupple shields, anything that will fit I sterilize. It takes about 10 mins each cycle.

For those of you in aussieland here is the link for the aden+anais products-Aden + Anais

1 month old!

WOW! Is this real? My daughter is already 1 month old! I still feel like it was yesterday I found out I was pregnant. Now I have experience the most amazing thing in the world and it just keeps getting better :) I still have to pinch myself and convince myself everyday that Kynley is here and she is MINE :)

I wasnt going to keep blogging after the pregnancy, but it been so good for keeping everyone updated with what is going on while we are so far away from my family. Kynleys first month of life has been a whirlwind for me. Between having family here and continuing to work (kind of) I am ready for my life to slow down a bit so I can fully enjoy my baby girl even more!!!

As many of you know I went into labor while photographing a wedding (never a dull moment here!). Little Miss arrived 10 days early. Now because she was my first I was hoping that after that wedding I would have at least a week until she arrived giving me time to catch up on all of my editing and get my ducks in a row before she made her debut. Unfortunately that was not the case and I now find myself 1 month later still trying to get people their wedding images and keep up with client emails. I guess there is no such thing as maternity leave or a break when you own your own business! I am very grateful to all of my clients who are so patient and understanding :)

Well, little miss K Ray and I had a great time with Auntie Nanyn while she was here. We were sad to see her go but we will see her in just about 2 weeks when we head back to the U.S. to visit the family! (Thats right we will be there from April 1st-10th and would love to see everyone and anyone!) Here are just a few fun facts About Kynley Ray and our little life we now have going:

-Her nicknames are K Ray and Baby Shark (because when she is hungry she looks like a shark attacking something when you put the bottle in her mouth)
-Kynley absolutely LOVES bath time! It is the cutest thing ever. Ill post a video below for you all to see.
-Her mamaroo is her favorite toy she could sit in it for hours with it on Kangaroo setting
- She has just grown out of her Small Newborn/Premie/00000 clothes and still easily fits into her newborn clothes
-She loves being in the Moby Wrap and sits with me for hours while I edit photo's
- Vader secretly loves her and tries to snuggle with us while I am feeding her
-She sleeps for 4-5 hours at a time at night usually only waking up around 3am for a feed! Yay for mommy getting sleep!
-She has dad wrapped around her little finger already and loves to sit with him while he plays video games and watches Walking Dead
- She is a fashionista and loved her head bands, she also loves having a poo explosion everytime Mommy puts her in a cute outfit
-I am almost positive she is trying to smile
-She still weighs under 7lbs! (getting her weighed tomorrow hoping she has put on more weight!)
-She is the custest baby I have ever seen, I am not biased or anything ;)
-She looks like my little sister Suzee when she was a baby but looks like her dad when she makes certain faces

Here are a few fun photo's and videos from her first month of life!

Kynley's Birth Story

Well I honestly cant believe my little one is here. I was so terrified for the labor and birth and now it's over and done with and I have the most amazing little girl in the world! Here is how Miss Kynley made her debut.....

As many of you know I work as a photographer, mainly doing weddings, but babies and families as well. The 3 weeks before Kynleys due date I had two weddings to photograph. One on february 9th and one on the 16th. Photographing a wedding normally is exhausting and takes a lot out of you, but being 9 months pregnant is a serious task. Anyways, I successfully photographed my Saturday, February 9th wedding with no problems, a bit of swelling in my feet but other than that I was good. On the tuesday after that wedding I started having some serious braxton hicks contractions. They started in my back and worked their way around to the front. I spent the day wondering if this was the real thing or just my body playing tricks. Luckily that night we had a birthing class at the hospital so I went in to get checked out. The mid wife hooked me up to the machines and I was having contractions 5 mins apart. They weren't anything strong and I wasnt dilated at all so I was given some sleeping pills and sent home being told "It would happen tomorrow or in 2 weeks". I was just determined to get past Saturday the 16th so I could photograph this final wedding I was booked for, so I set my mind that I wouldnt go into labor until sunday!

I woke up wednesday and thursday feeling great. By friday night I started having contractions again. Nothing serious but for sure uncomfortable. I went to bed begging for them to be gone by the morning so I could just photograph this wedding, then whatever happened was fine with me. Well saturday morning comes and I wake up with horrible cramping in the front. It wasnt contractions that were coming and going, it was a consistent pain. I got out of bed and was determined to make sure I had everything together in the case that I went into labor while I was photographing this wedding. The pain eventually went away and I thought I was in the clear. About an hour before I left to meet my assistant photographer I started having contractions again. They were 15-20 mins apart and not strong. I talked decided I would still go to photograph the wedding but in a worse case scenario the two assistants I had hired would take over for me. I had lined these two photographers up for this saturday months in advance so that if she came early or I went into labor I had people I trusted to take over for me.

Half an hour before I left my house I got a call from the second photographer (she would be the main photographer to run things had I not been able to do it) that she was sick and wasn't going to be able to help me. You could only imagine my panic. I had planned so long for this day and I felt like everything was about to blow up in my face! Luckily the other assistant I hired is very capable and I knew that if I had to leave the wedding early I could leave it with her and she could handle it. (Thanks Dee you are the best!!!) So I went off to photograph the wedding. As the day progressed so did my contractions. By the time the ceremony was done they were 10-7 mins apart and by the reception the were 5 mins apart. I knew if I just got the bride and groom entering the reception and cutting the cake I would be done and could go into labor haha

After I left the wedding I called the hosptital and they told me to come in. I went home got my stuff and my husband and we headed to the hospital arriving around 9:30pm. When we got there I was 1 cm dilated with contractions 5 mins apart. The contractions werent super painful so the midwife gave me some pain killers and had us wait 4 more hours to check me again to make sure I was really in labor. After about 3 hours of on and off sleep the pain started to get more extreme and I asked for the gas to suck on. That stuff is amazing. When they came back to check me again I was still only 1 cm but my cervix had changed and they knew this was the real thing! I was on the phone immediately to my mom and had her book her flights out here. Then I asked for the epidural. BEST. THING. EVER.

The anesthesiologist arrived at about 2:30 am. The worst part of the epidural was when he tried to put the IV in my had and stuck it through my vein! OUCH! It was by far worse than the epidural itself! Once the epidural kicked in I finally go to sleep. Yay! I slept until 6:30am when my OB came into check me. I was only 2 cm dilated and she decided to break my water to progress things. She told me I would probably have the baby sometime that evening because it was my first and I seemed to take awhile to progress. I called my friend Maree who was going to take photo's of the birth for me and told her it was really happening but to take her time coming in because it was going to be a long day! She arrived at the hospital around 10am and the midwife came into check me around 10:30. While she was checking me she had this weird expression on her face and said "it looks like your fully dilated! I cant find your cervix!" I was in shock! I went from 2cm to 10cm in 4 hours! Let me tell you that the epidural was truly the best thing ever I was comfortable, happy, relaxed through the whole precess because of it. And then I had to push.....

I started pushing around 11:30am and went for an hour with out making any progress at all. They let the epidural wear off slightly so I could tell where I was pushing but that also meant I could feel some of the pain. Luckily after a while they topped up my epidural and it wasnt so bad. After an hour my dr came in and said she appeared to be stuck so they were going to need to use a suction cup to get her out. At that point I didnt care what they used. I was over pushing I just wanted her out!!! They got everything ready and with-in a few pushes she was born! As they placed her on my chest I saw her head which scared the crap out of me becuase it looked like her brain had grown outside of her head! The doctor assured me it would go away and it was just from the suction cup, but seeing your baby for the first time like that was pretty frightening! But after I got over the initial shock of her head It was all tears and happiness as I stared at my little girl. She was born at 1:02pm weighing 6lbs 11oz 47cm long :)

Within minutes of her being born her head started to go back to normal minus a bruise. I immediately called my family and let them know she had arrived. My mom was in the LA airport waiting to board her flight down under.

Here are some of the pictures from her birth :)