My Worst Enemy

Isn't that the most disgusting thing you've every seen? Yuck! Not only is it hideous but it has been the source my extreme discomfort over the past year. In October of last year while just three months prego with Rylin I randomly developed a chronic runny nose, itchy eyes, and sore throat. When I spoke with the Doctor I was told it was pregnancy related allergies and that they would go away once I had the baby. So grudgingly with every sneeze, wheeze, itch, and the end of countless boxes of tissues I told myself "just until May, just make it to May." On May 28th our gorgeous Rylin was born and yet my ENT problem still persisted. I waited patiently hoping, and nothing--zero relief. I tried every over the counter medication I could take, and have even been taking prescription Allegra and still ...... :(

I finally saw an allergist today and after lots of questions, stabbing, and then some intense swelling and itching on my arm (the test site) the year long mystery has been solved, I'm allergic to dust mites and maple trees. What a hassle of an allergy! There's dust everywhere! Not to mention the 5 plus maple trees in my cul-de-sac. It's no wonder I've been walking around like the spokesperson for a head cold product campaign.

So what next? A trial nasal spray, and if that doesn't work some imaging to see if I've developed chronic sinusitis as a result of prolonged exposure. I need to buy masks and goggles for when I'm cleaning the house, and special encasing for my pillows, mattresses, blankets, etc. There are lots of other products out their, but I don't know how well I trust there claims--so if any of your out there suffer from this allergy and can recommend a must have quality product that will help reduce my exposure and reduce symptoms I'm all ears!

I hope the medicine and all the extras work! I'm so done with sleeping closer to a box of tissues than my own husband!

Happy Birthday Shawn

Shawn turned 30 today! Yikes we're getting old! I've been MIA lately, I'm swamped with photoshoots :) If you want to see some of my work check it out here :
http://www.youreverycolorphotography.blogspot.com/

Anyway not much time for a detailed post tonight but I wanted to take a minute and wish the love of my life a very Happy Birthday! I'm so proud of you and all of your accomplishments!

Congrats Sarah!

I just finished editing a newborn session I did for a great friend of mine out here in WA. She has three energetic boys and finally got her baby girl on September 1st. Isn't she just beautiful? Congrats Sarah and much love to your little Gabby!

Personality!

Check out these brothers I just photographed on Saturday. Can you say PERSONALITY! I had to post this photo over here. If you want to see more head on over to my photo blog:
www.youreverycolorphotography.blogspot.com

The Amazing Race

This post is for all of the husbands who occasionally check the Sorensen blog (all two of you). If you didn't already guess, this is Shawn writing. Last week was my first week without law school so I volunteered to help out the 16-18 yr old scouts for half of a week. Their high adventure this year was "The Amazing Race". It really was AMAZING. I was only there half of the week and for those days that I was there we had a ton of fun. There were pushup competitions, rifle shooting, archery, we bribed someone to let us in a REALLY long ferry line (cookies and drinks); we went trail running to a waterfall;
we had a kayak race that was followed by a dive and then a swim; we visited many historical sites; the scouts had a bicycle race down a mountain; stopped off in a little town that nobody has heard of...Forks, what kind of name is that?

we went to the Hoh Rain Forest, where the scouts had to identify some of the plant life; we stopped at Ruby beach, where the scouts built a fort with a flag pole out of drift wood;

we stopped at some really, really BIG trees;

we had fire building contests at Kalaloch beach; we had a horse-shoe competition; and that is just a few of the competitions that we got to have while I was there for half of the week.
Now an added element to all of this is that it was timed, so everyone was trying to do these things as quickly as possible. The boys could also earn extra points by memorizing scripture masteries, or passing off Duty to God requirements, but the whole group had to do it. Out of 8 teams in the stake, our boys placed 5th. I had so much fun and now I have a lot of new ideas where to take my family camping.

Things have been pretty typical here at the Sorensen home--BUSY! Shawn finished his last law school final ever a week ago and we couldn't be happier. Yesterday we spent the day doing simple family stuff. We went to the park for a picnic with Shawn's work, and spent the rest of the evening with the Davis family playing games. It was so refreshing to be hanging out without the task of homework and school looming over us.

Last week we also had the privilege to have my cousin Natalie stay with us for a week. She flew out from Colorado so I could take her senior portraits. It worked out great for her although I think I got the better end of the deal. She's the sweetest girl ever! The kids loved her, she was incredibly helpful around the house, and just fun to be around. Natalie we'd love to have you back anytime!



We spent one day doing some touristy stuff in Seattle. I took her to Pike's Place Market and down to the Pier for a visit to Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe and then some yummy fish n' chips. The street performers were out in full force that day. I snapped a couple photos of these eclectic folks, who by the way are super talented. The Tallboys (the guy and girl pictured in the top photo) were performing out in front of the first ever Starbucks. They've been playing with their little string band since Shawn and I moved here. We're always entertained when we watch them. The girl can play the guitar, sing, and tap all at the same time--pretty incredible!


On Natalie's last day we had dinner down at Mukilteo beach. Natalie snapped this photo of the kids while we were eating dinner. I just had to include it because it's the perfect snapshot of the kiddos little personalities. Kinsley is always is your face being too cute for words, and Grant is usually found in the distance stuffing his face with fruit. That day it was strawberries, YUM!


We spent the rest of the time running errands, taking pictures and working on orders from my etsy shops. I had a great big wedding order that I had to get done the week Natalie was here and what a great help she was. I had to include this picture of my latest creation: Button Boutonnieres, pretty cool, huh?


And finally today we had the special opportunity to bless Rylin. The blessing was beautiful. The only thing that was missing was our family! Wish you guys could have been there! Here's quick shot of our family out in the backyard. I forgot to bring my camera to church so I had to settle for the good old "set the timer and run into the picture" method. It looks a little awkward but at least we got something, right? This last photo is of Rylin in her beautiful little blessing outfit. It's the same one Kinsley wore four years ago. I wanted it to be a little different for Rylin so I made her that little hat yesterday. She looks to precious!

Happy Girl!

I love this picture of Rylin. She will be 8 weeks old tomorrow, I can't believe how quickly time is passing. She started smiling and interacting with us about two weeks ago. She'll try and mimic any cooing noises we make and will grin at us any time we get within 6-8 inches of her face. She seems to be doing it a lot earlier than I remember my other two, but then again I'm really bad a keeping records!

Rylin is an exceptionally good baby. I really lucked out this time. I think Heavenly Father knew I needed the third one to be an angel. She only wakes up once a night and hardly cries. With the other two I was up in the middle of the night more times then I can count. This time around hasn't seemed nearly as challenging for me as it was going from one to two. It's amazing the difference a good nights rest can make. If I could guarantee the all of my babies would be this good I'd have a whole dozen!

Anyway enjoy the pic of our little chubby angel!

These little earrings were featured on the etsy front page today! Here's a pic of the other products I was shown with. Anyway just had to share my little accomplishment as it's quite a challenge to standout in the etsy marketplace.

Rylin Emma

Here are just a few pictures from the mini photo shoot I had with Rylin last week. Unfortunately she wasn't all that cooperative. She kept waking up and squirming around. I felt really rushed. Anyway they're precious, of course but....not my best work. I'll have to give it another try sometime in the very near future--she's growing up so fast!

A few more hospital pics

Here are some additional photos from Rylin's birth. We've been enjoying her so much that we haven't made the time yet to publish the images.

Rylin's delivery was by far the easiest of my three. I didn't have an epidural with Kinsley and Grant but decided I'd try it the third time around. All I have to say is what on earth was I thinking the first two times! No really, I had my reasons for the first two and wouldn't change a thing. My labor and delivery with both Kinsley and Grant was extremely challenging but a wonderful and spiritual experience non-the-less. But.... not feeling a thing this time was fantastic! I'll definitely be getting an epidural with the next little one:)

We had a great Dr. who happens to attend our church ward. He let Shawn deliver the baby (with his help of course) and everything went smoothly. My recovery has been really easy this time and as I mentioned earlier we're just lovin' everything about Rylin. The kids adore her too. Their love for Rylin is simply enormous.

Enjoy the pics. I'll post some from her little photo shoot with me here shortly.

Announcing Rylin Emma Sorensen!

Hey everyone...fantastic news!
Time: 2:14pm
Weight: 8 lb 7 oz
Length: 20.25 inches
Mother and baby are doing fine. This is just a sampling of the beautiful duo. We will try and post some more pictures when we get home tomorrow.

Quick Update

Hi everyone. We know that you are all awaiting any news from us. We are at the hospital. Andrea is dilated to a 6 and we are anxiously awaiting the new baby. So far everything is going really well. Andrea is happy and beautiful as ever. Based on past history we should have the baby this afternoon. We will be sure to post pictures and update y'all as soon as possible. Thank you to everyone who has been so helpful thus far and for all your calls, emails, prayers and help.

The event you have all been waiting for...its a boy...who has graduated from law school

Oh yeah, and Andrea is also two days overdue (and counting). Since we don't have baby pictures yet, I figured I would bore you with my graduation pictures from May 16, 2009. I walked for graduation at the Key Arena in Seattle; although I still have two more classes to take over the summer.
The last graduation I attended was for my high school graduation and the only differences I noticed were that the hat I wore this time looked more like a Christopher Columbus hat and all of the people who were graduating were much older looking. Other than that it was long, hot, and I made sure not to trip when I went on stage.




I don't have enough room in this post to thank everyone who has helped me, supported me, commiserated with me, encouraged me, laughed with me and challenged me to be better. But I do want to thank my wife who has done all of the above and more these past three years. Thank you Andrea! I couldn't have done it without you. And thank you to my kids who were so patient with me. I'm always grateful for the opportunity to further my education, but I am extremely pleased to have my JD completed and spend more time with the fam.


Okay Andrea here and I must pipe in a mention a few things before this post is published. First of all I have to give a super huge congrats to my amazing husband. Shawn was able to earn his law degree in just three years while working full-time. He attended evening class taking just one credit less then a full-time day student. I don't know where he came up with the energy to make it all happen. Shawn you are simply remarkable! Thank you for all of the sacrifices you have made to take care of this family. I love you!

The last three years have been tough! There were definitely times when I thought it would never end. As soon as the ceremony began and the graduates begin walking into the arena I couldn't help but cry. I felt excited, proud, grateful and relieved that this day had finally come. When we started out on this journey Kinsley was just one year old and we had only been in WA for two years. Without any family around I had to rely heavily on friends to help out when needed. Thanks to all of you for your support! Law school was a sacrifice but we were so blessed along the way. I can't wait to see what's ahead of us now. More than that I'm just thrilled for the simple things to come, like having dinner together each night. That my friends is satisfaction!

Too Cute

Had to post at least one pic from this session over here on my family blog. If you want to see more photos of this little guy you can head on over to my photo blog:
www.youreverycolorphotography.blogspot.com
I had the opportunity to take the maternity photos and newborn shots for this family too, who by the way are great friends of ours. I have to say he is definitely one of the cutest subjects I have ever photographed. He smiled so easily it was like I wasn't working at all. Can't wait for the years to come and to capture all his little changes. Thanks guys and so glad you're moving close by!

Kids + Cake + Ice Cream = Exceptional Amounts of Fun

All chefs have their favorite ingredients. Some favor one spice over another. Others prefer complimentary flavors. When a chef gets the perfect combination, they will rave that it has transcended ordinary to the extraordinary. Kinsley's birthday party seemed to provide those great ingredients in just the right amounts. The weather was superb, so we held the party in our back yard. Kinsley and all her friends got to fill up on sun, fun and of course, cake and ice cream. Kinsley had been looking forward to this day and it couldn't have turned out more perfectly.


She was thrilled with all of her presents. She enjoyed the crown and magic wand so much that after she opened the gift she spent the rest of the party turning her friends into frogs,horses, chickens, etc. She also really liked getting birthday cards. She starting to read and enjoys the challenge of trying to sound out each word.



The kids gathered around the card table to enjoy their cake and ice cream once they had all finished their portions they spread out again to start playing. Grant however decided to stick around to take what he thought was his fair share of the ice cream.

We had a great time! Happy Birthday Kinsley, we love you!!!!!