may is always a busy month for us and this one was no exception! among other things, we celebrated my birthday, mother's day, our anniversary and lila's half birthday. i'm tired just remembering it all ;)
my birthday was pretty quiet and lowkey, just the way i like it. i woke up to a shiny new phone (quite the improvement over the one i've been toting around with a broken screen since early 2009), some new books, and snuggles with the family. spent the day playing with the kiddo and then we ordered dinner in and ate on the couch while watching tv -- my favourite kind of evening :) i ended up celebrating a few more times over the course of the week with a bunch of friends, and i must say, twenty seven has been treating me pretty well so far!
a couple of days later and we were off to banff for a weekend away. i had booked a session without realizing what weekend it actually was, but it ended up being the perfect excuse to spend mother's day in the mountains. we had some fun exploring around lake minnewanka, and snuck in a family photo on saturday before my session. while it was crazy windy, it definitely wasn't as chilly as it looks in these photos! fun fun!
mark ended up being away for half of the month, so we weren't actually in the same province to celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary over the long weekend, but needless to say, i am so so happy to be married to such an amazing man and father and i can not wait to see what the next five, ten, fifty years hold for our family. i came across our wedding vows the other day and thought i'd share them here, just for fun, and for the reminder to actually do these things on a daily basis :)
"i, andrea, take you, mark, to be my lawful wedded husband, my partner in life, my best friend, and my one true love.
i promise to be true to you, to respect you, and to grow with you through the years. i will be your comrade in adventure,
your accomplice in mischief, your biggest fan and your toughest competition. i vow to stand beside you and be with you always,
in times of celebration, and in times of difficulty. i give you my hand to hold, my heart to keep and my life to share,
as long as we both shall live."
our wedding anniversary also marks the start of my adventure into the world of photography. i was lucky enough to be hired by my wedding photographer (on our wedding day!) to start working with him as a second shooter shortly after the wedding. without that push in the right direction, i may have never ended up on this path, so it's just another thing to be ever so grateful for every may :)
on the twenty third, miss li turned two and half (!) and i decided that was cause for a little celebration, so we baked up some yummy cupcakes, blew out candles and had a little party, just the two of us. cute, isn't she? ;)
aside from all the big stuff that went on, there were lots of little things that made the month special -- kite flying at the park, visits to the zoo and fort edmonton park, watching the flowers blossom around the city, and best of all, the look on lila's face when we picked her daddy up from the airport after a couple of weeks away... life is good, my friends, life. is. good.
xox, andrea.
Lila is growing up - so cute and sweet
Posted by: kim hughes | June 03, 2011 at 12:55 PM
Thanks for making me tear up like a baby Andrea! I love this post!
Posted by: Stacy | June 03, 2011 at 01:45 PM
What? Your little girl is only 2 and a half? That's crazy! She seems so much older than my 27 month old.
Posted by: Drew W | June 03, 2011 at 02:41 PM
Sounds like the perfect month! I still remember your wedding pictures (hope that's not creepy!) I loved your pink ribbon in your corset!) Happy Birthday & Anniversary, and half birthday to Lila! It's Hunter's half-birthday tomorrow and we are totally celebrating. Poor kid was sick on his birthday in December and never even got to eat a cupcake.....so we need to make up for that!
I am so enjoying your personal posts.....Happy June!
Posted by: Morgan | June 03, 2011 at 08:34 PM
you rock the casbah better than The Clash ever could.
Posted by: Evan | June 03, 2011 at 10:06 PM
I always love your personal posts. You've got such a sweetie - so beautiful. My little Ella is only a couple months younger than Lila (but with much, much less hair than Lila).
Hope you and your family have a wonderful June!
Posted by: amber fischer | June 07, 2011 at 11:11 PM
love your monthly updates... all these images are awesome.. I am glad you always make time to include yourself somehow in all your beautiful images.
Posted by: elizabeth pellette | June 09, 2011 at 05:43 AM