so many changes

i had a great 2012. we did a LOT of traveling, which obviously won't stop, but if someone told me how great 2013 would be, i would have skipped 2012 all together. we have made 3 big changes this year and the most exciting would be... getting pregnant! followed by buying a house and adding another member to our family, our french bulldog, cuba. blessings keep flooding our lives and i don't know why, but i'll take them as long as they come! 

i haven't been very good about taking good photos, but my phone has been a great alternative. i've taken a lot of mirror selfies..... and i'm really glad i did! now i can see the progress of this little girl. oh yeah, we are having a girl this october! my due date is october 20th but the ultrasound showed i may go later around the 25th. this was yesterday, at 20 weeks. she has grown a lot this last week. a lot. women say they pop at a certain time and i definitely popped in what seemed over night! 

we had a gender reveal get together at our house with close friends and family. tanner and i were convinced the entire time that we were having a boy. we had boy names and ideas for the nursery picked out. inside though, my heart wanted a girl so bad. 

^^sleepy van

^^we had an ice cream bar and cake to celebrate

^^baby girls first gifts. thanks cristi and megan! so so sweet of you!

we had a cake with the color pink or blue inside to be the surprise and got it on video.  i have to clear up tanner's not so excited expression or action. that IS tanner's excited face and actions haha. he doesn't show it like i do. he doesn't really show it at all. but if he says he's excited, he truly is. he just kind of acts awkward and scratches my back and touches me awkwardly and keeps a subtle smile on his face. the video cracks me up to watch but I KNOW he is so happy. he has told me over and over how happy he is. 

gender reveal from darlene dame on Vimeo.

HOW FAR ALONG? 20 weeks

TOTAL WEIGHT GAIN: 5 pounds

MATERNITY CLOTHES? not yet, i should though! i unbutton my pants a lot

STRETCH MARKS? Not yet.. hopefully never haha

BEST MOMENT THIS WEEK? seeing our baby girl for the first time! i only get one ultrasound and we had it at our 19 week appointment to find out the gender and get everything checked out. i've loved hearing her heartbeat at earlier appointments but SEEING her was awesome! it was so fun seeing her fingers and heart and head and legs and arms and and and everything!

MOVEMENT: a little bit. i've noticed her roll once and i think she may have kicked me.. but i'm still trying to tell the difference between gas and her moving ;)

FOOD CRAVINGS: not crazy ones where i just have to have it or else.. but i've craved foreign food like papusas, chinese food, plantains, and and i've eaten a lot of bean and cheese burritos.

ANYTHING MAKING YOU QUEESY OR SICK? not any more. wait, actually i threw up this morning at one sniff of my dog. i bathe her more than most people would because i can't stand the smell of dog. well, this morning she smelled like dog and i threw up haha.

GENDER: girl! so happy!

WEDDING RINGS ON OR OFF? on

MILESTONES: baby is 10 oz, about the size of a banana 

happy early mother's day!

HowDoesShe Ode to the Mother's from darlene dame on Vimeo.

i used to fashion blog (ooooh my, embarrassing) for myself, and howdoesshe.  i gave that up when i realized i had no clue what i was doing. howdoesshe asked me recently if i wanted to start doing holiday videos for them.. of course i said yes! we all brainstormed and came up with this. i'm very happy with how it turned out and thought the kiddos were freak'n cute. i loved their answers and personalities. i am grateful for my mother and the beautiful person she is. i appreciate her more everyday as i grow older and understand life a little better. she has always been there for me and always will be. so here's an ode to our mothers! 

goldenmomentsmedia.com

a few videos i've been working on

van delano hollenback from darlene dame on Vimeo.

i've been working on expanding my videography business to more than just weddings and have used some friends to get some sample work going. thanks megan and drew, who let me borrow them and their sweet addition, van, for an idea of what a little family video could look like.  also thanks to grant and taylor for letting me use them as a sample "save the date" video. if you're interested in booking any kind of video, whether it be wedding, family, engagement, commercial, real estate... anything! let me know at goldenmomentsmedia@gmail.com :)



grant & taylor // save the date from darlene dame on Vimeo.

malaysia

 we went to the city of kuala lumpar while in malaysia. we only had a day there so we made the most of it. first, we went to the batu caves. we hiked up lots and lots of stairs to get to these caves and they were worth it! the caves were huge and we saw and fed a lot of monkeys. we had an awesome view of the city as well. ana and i got our henna on because we were going to little india next. it was the appropriate thing to do.

 sushi on a conveyer belt. not the best sushi i've had, but cool idea.

i didn't really get any pictures of little india but it was cool. lots of food to eat and shopping to do. i unfortunately couldn't buy anything.. tanner gave me a budget that i had unfortunately spent by then.. our last stop for the day was at the glorious patrona towers. they are the tallest twin towers in the world and quite a sight to see. throughout the day i saw them peeking in between buildings but seeing them at night was something else. outside the towers was a nice plaza area with a fun water show. i was glad we ended our day there. 

we had to wake up at three in the morning to catch a bus to the airport. i must have still been asleep when we got out of the taxi at the bus station because i ended up leaving my beloved monopod in the trunk. that thing wasn't cheap either and i had carried it with me for two weeks and just had a few days left. my advice to the weary, don't bring expensive stuff with you while you travel. i've had too many hiccups happen and lots of money out the window. or, just be smarter than me :)

cambodia

tanner getting his feet cleaned. i was surprised he did it because he has the most sensitive feet of anyone i've ever known. we got foot massages almost every night.

our first day in cambodia was spent on a boat tour of a floating village. it was just my in laws and tanner and i who were able to leave early to visit cambodia. the rest of the family met with us later in thailand. i didn't know what to expect of the country. i knew it was 3rd world, but, i've never seen such poverty. i thought the city was dirty when we first arrived but soon realized it was actually clean compared to the outskirts. it was interesting to watch how people live their lives.  it was one of those situations where really, they didn't mind their living circumstances because they didn't know any better. it was a humbling experience.

 this is one of my favorite pictures from cambodia. southeast asia is known for it's monasteries and monks converting at a young age. i guess you can convert at any age. some people are monks for a day while others stay true their whole lives. 

 i'm not an indiana jones fan, but one of the movies was filmed in this temple.

we stumble upon these silly tourist picture opportunities all the time but, this one was only a dollar. tanner was stoked!

our second day in cambodia was spent touring several different ruins of ancient temples. they were quite fascinating with all the detail that was put into them. the one where indiana jones was filmed, had huge trees growing right through the stone. we finished the day with a tour of angkor wat, the most famous temple. all of them were beautiful. the thing i remember most about this day was how stinkin hot it was. i was going on my third day wearing the same clothes (thanks to our luggage getting lost) and felt really gross. not to be negative, because the experience was amazing, but i just wish i had some shorts and a t-shirt for this day. i might have enjoyed it a little more. cambodia is an awesome country with lots of history and things to do and see. we were cut short a day because we missed a flight but you could really spend a few days here.

this is a post about blossoms

i love the spring. who doesn't? i also love the summer, fall and winter.. i'm a lover of all seasons. i love the change it brings and the feelings that come with it.

we recently became homeowners and moved into our new home. i love this new home. we got super lucky with getting into it and feel blessed to be here. today after unpacking a few last boxes, i went for a walk around our neighborhood. i love our new neighborhood. it has children galore, who crowd the streets when they get home from school. there are walking/biking paths, ponds, and a community pool/clubhouse/gym. i brought my camera on my walk and ended up only taking pictures of all the blossoms blooming. i have a love for flowers. i have since, forever. i loved looking at all the things blooming and growing around me. i hope you are all enjoying the spring and i hope you take a second to stop and smell the roses! ;)