Baby Milestones - 18 Months Old

Boy, have things changed in the last six months. Charlotte is no longer breastfed, can get on and off the couch with ease, makes an impressive attempt at counting up to 10, and her new best friend is our seven-pound chihuahua named Mila, who Charlotte affectionately calls "Mimi." This kid couldn't get any sweeter.

Over the past few months, I have accumulated more freelance work in addition to taking some online college courses, which are the reasons I have not been making this blog a priority. However, today is a very important day to me—my sweet girl has turned 18 months old!


Talking. Oh my words! Charlotte likes to say the names of some of her favorite people. She often talks about "Dada, Ma (grandma), Papa (grandpa) and Nanny (Natalie), Coco (Cody)," even when they're not around. Some of Charlotte's favorite words are, "Mama, this, see, shoe, two, eat and yeah."

Reading. Although she is quite the independent and busy girl, recently Charlotte started to ask for me to read a book by bringing the book to me and asking, "This?" She will sit on my lap and turn the pages while I read the book to her at least 15 times in a row. Then, before I know it, she's off again getting into trouble or grabbing another book.

Climbing. Charlotte is not just climbing up anything and everything in her path, she is climbing onto and gets as high up as she can. She'll try to climb up her shelves, the outside of her crib, completely up the couch, onto the dining room chairs and then onto the table . . . as well as trying to climb people. Taking her to the park and letting her climb on the jungle gym is always a good time.

Learning. Toddlers can be quick learners! It only took me minutes to teach Charlotte where her nose, eyes, mouth and ears are. On top of that, I'm trying to teach her about colors, letters, numbers and counting. Everything is a learning experience with a toddler, and I notice how many of my mannerisms she has picked up.

Schedule. My silly little goose has had a pretty set schedule for a while now, and it hasn't deterred much from the schedule I shared in her One Year Milestones post, except now she's down to one nap a day, between 11a.m. and 1p.m. Also, she sleeps through the night often, but not every night.

Playing. Charlotte loves to play with her toys, she loves to play in the water (even the ocean waves), and she does a lot of imaginative play from cooking at her kitchen set to talking to Papa or Dada on the pretend phone.

Being a parent is such a unique experience, and I love Charlotte more and more every day. Happy 18 months busy girl!

Our Adventures — Planes of Fame Air Museum

If there is one thing I look forward to, it is spending weekends with my family. A couple weeks ago, my husband, toddler and I traveled out to Planes of Fame Air Museum with the goal of having a good time in addition to writing an article in honor of National Aviation Day!

Sometimes it's hard to find a place that is "kid friendly" for little runners under three. Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino was absolutely Charlotte-friendly. Although we kept our toddler in her stroller as long as we possibly could, there came a point that it was time to stretch her legs, and burn some of that endless energy. Her little face lit up as she ran around, pointing to the various aircraft, vehicles and memorabilia on display.

There were seven hangars and two outdoor areas that housed once operable aircraft and vehicles, as well as planes that still participate in air shows. The pictures below are some of my favorite highlights from the museum. To get the full download of the museum and our experience, as well as a ton of photos, check out my feature article here.

PS: When you visit, make a day of it! Check out Flo's Airport Cafe for that classic American diner feel.  The picture of Charlotte's chubby little hand grabbing a pancake while mom took pictures didn't quite make the official article for IEShineOn.com, but I have to share the picture because it's too cute. She is always a hungry girl!

Happy National Aviation Day!

Our Projects—Sweet 16 Birthday Party

I enjoy photography, but I'm still an amateur who is constantly learning more about camera settings and reading and reacting to lighting. However, every once in a while I am still afforded the opportunity to document special moments in the lives of my friends and family, and having those opportunities always help motivate me to try and be better.

I recently took pictures at a sweet 16 birthday party for the daughter of an old friend. Going into it, the only direction given to me was that these pictures didn't need to be anything special, but just a documentation of the special day. When I got there, I was then told to try and take a picture of each person at the party, which I like to think is a give-in when capturing most special events. I was sure to show up a little earlier than the rest of the guests, so I could get those last minute candid photos of the birthday girl getting ready.

I enjoyed capturing this photograph of the birthday girl as her little sister struggled with her shoes. It reminded me of my little sister and the things little sisters are happy/forced to do! Showing up early also gave me some one-on-one time with the birthday girl to get some posed portraits.

Luckily, it was 5p.m., which during the summertime in California is great for lighting. I quickly took the birthday girl to the front of the house to find some pretty backgrounds to photograph her against, which was a challenge as there weren't many big trees or colorful walls (my favorite things). However, I did find some spots in her front yard that contrasted nicely against her dress, and I was really happy with how they turned out. Next, I wrangled the immediate family to ensure a few group shots before the crowd arrived.

Now that I had gotten all the most important shots, I moved on to getting pictures of the food, decorations and anything else the family spent money on!

Once I had most of that down, I continued to take pictures of all the guests, especially with the birthday girl if possible. When it wasn't, I was sure to walk around, table by table, to get at least one shot of everyone.   

I'm always sure to find out the tentative schedule for the party, that way I don't miss any important action shots. For any birthday party, this is going to be singing "Happy Birthday," which I'm proud that I captured of a picture of her completely embarrassed while everyone was singing. Also, there was a father/daughter dance that I was happy to photograph.

There were many more pictures that I took that didn't make this post. I was at the party for three hours, and I was able to give the family 150 pictures, which was almost a picture a minute!

Did you find any of this helpful? If so, please share more with us in the comments below!