I think that if you're keeping score, I may have missed a day or two of posting :)   Right now, I'm making my first ever homemade Apple Crumble pie from scratch.   While it's baking I figured that since it's Thanksgiving, it's about time I posted these Halloween pics of my niece and nephew.  It can count as a Thanksgiving post because Braylin and William are definitely two of the people I am most thankful for.  Along with my family (that includes you Lucy, Murphy, Oden, Mugsy, and Loki) and my amazing friends, I also have extra to be thankful for this year as this is my first Thanksgiving as a married woman!  Thank you Timmey, for being such an amazingly supportive husband who always believes that I can do anything, even when I doubt myself, you never do. Oh, and I cannot forget that I had the most amazing wedding!  I am so thankful for that amazing trip and to everyone who was able to join us!  Okay, before I go on forever with all of my thankfulness, here are the cutest kids ever! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

getting ready...

William was not loving the getting ready part so much :)

I think this face says "Are we done yet?"

Beautiful Snow White!

William may not have love the costume, but he loved the candy!  Here he is sneaking back up to his own porch to grab some treats.

...but he was more than willing to share once he "stole" some :)

Mom and Dad walking William on his first trip Trick or Treating.  Get outta the frame Uncle Timmey!

When I first saw this photo, I instantly smiled and teared up.  For those of you who don't know, Tom, the groom in this picture is my Dad.  He and Barb are so in love and it shows so much in this photo.   Dad, Barb, I love you both and am so happy for you.

We have had Murphy now for 8 months and it's hard to imagine he was ever not a part of our family.  He is definitely a perfect fit.  Here's some recent pictures of him and Lucy in front of our house.  We are working on teaching Murphy to stay in the front yard off his leash like Lucy does and he is actually doing quite well.  That is, as long as his buddy, Muffin, our five year old neighbor doesn't ride by on her bike, cause he loves to run with her down the sidewalk!  Or as long as his collie buddies, Mac and Sisco, don't step out of their house, because that sends him running down the block to see them.  Okay...he needs some work, but he's doing great considering! All right enough jiber-jaber (Did I just type that?, Is that even a word?  You get the idea, right?)

Seriously?!?!  Look at the look on Lucy's face!  Love, love, love this picture!  Love it too much!

Tim calls Murphs our cartoon dog in this photo.  He could be in a Pixar film!

When I was 24 years old, I broke up with my boyfriend whom I was living with and with no where else to go, moved back home for awhile.  It was a hard transition for me, leaving my own home.  Changing my day to day life so much, not having my own space, breaking up with a boyfriend, I felt a little lost.  My parents welcomed me back and didn't seem to mind at all that I was there, but it was still hard.  Rudy became my buddy during that time.  He started sleeping in bed with me every night, something he had never done with anyone before.  It was like he knew I needed to be comforted and... it worked.   Obviously I eventually got over it, but Rudy would still sleep with me.  Then I moved out again, my parents got a divorce, my mom moved 2 hours away, and I didn't see Rudy as much.  Luckily for me, he had been there exactly when I needed him.  Just like he was for me, he has been there for my mom when she has needed him.  He was by her side through divorce and moving.  Rudy was with her when she fell in love again, and then by her side when her fiance became sick and eventually passed away.  Nothing can make all of that okay, but I know that having Rudy around gave my mom a sense of comfort. Tim and I eventually got our own dogs and we would take them to go see Rudy and his new sister Rosie.  Even at 16 years old, he would get excited and run with them some.  He was patient and tolerant of their "puppy-ness".  He actually seemed to enjoy having them around making him feel younger again.

My mom's birthday was July 21 and we took the dogs to her house to have dinner.  While I was there I took some pics of Rudy, but on the way home I thought to myself that I needed to make a special trip to get some good shots of him because he was getting older and I wouldn't have much time.  Unfortunately I didn't make it back in time.  One week ago today, Rudy passed away.  His passing was mostly calm and peaceful, I am so thankful for that.  But it was still so sad.   Rudy was my buddy, he was the last "family dog" my family will ever have.  He was loved and cherished.   He will be greatly missed.

I never had my official photo shoot with Rudy, but here are some photos I have taken of him over the years.

I just realized the COOLEST thing!  If you have an iphone or ipod touch, you can save a shelley torgerson blog icon to your home page and access my blog with just one click!  Now don't I feel important! Here's how you do it, it's super simple

Visit shelleytorgerson.com/blog on your iPhone, select the “+” option and then “Add to Home Screen”, then click add at the top right. My blog icon will be your iphone for your easy 1-click picture extravaganza.  Okay, maybe I'm getting a little carried away, but there is some awesomeness to this, for sure!

I'm on my laptop, without my external hard drive connected, so I don't have a lot of pictures at my fingertips.  However, I hate posts without pictures, so I am going to share with you one that I love from a Christmas shoot with the Gregory/Hickey children that somehow remains on my desktop.  Braylin is my niece, and her Uncle Timmey and I have been in awe of her greatness since the day she was born, no joke, I'm talking serious AWE!  On the day of her birth at the hospital, when I first looked down at her, I just could not believe how much I loved her.  How could I love her this much?  I didn't know her at all, she had only been on this earth for a few hours!  AND, she isn't even MY child.  Don't get me wrong, I love all babies.   But if it's possible to have a connection with an infant instantly, I did.  My little genius contantly astounds us with her perfect speech and vocabulary, and her understanding of EVERTHING!  We have been saying all along, "I can't beleve she's only one, or two, or three..." I'm sure this will continue.  When she was just a tiny newborn, I used to whisper in her ear all the time that I knew she was a genius, I could just tell by looking at her.

Sometimes her intelligence does not always make things easier though, as her mom was telling me today.  Sometimes she can know too much and that can lead to a little bit of defiance and obstanance.   But I wouldn't have her any other way, in her Aunt Shelley's eyes she will always be perfect.  How could you not love a three year old who can look this annoyed!?!?

Braylin is the in the back on the left (if you didn't figure that out :) )

****edited to add****  Don't think for one second that any of that means I don't love that little guy, William, just as much.   I just haven't spent as much time with him, and well, Bray's my girl.

At the end of January Tim and I went to New York City.  We LOVE New York and we had a fantastic time.  (even though we kinda missed our pups!)  We didn't do anything specific, just walk around, visit museums and galleries, hang out in Central Park, and eat perfect street pizza!  (man do we love the pizza!)  You might be asking right now, "January?"  Yes, I know, it is now June.  What can I say?  I haven't worked on anything personal in quite a while, but don't worry, all of a sudden, I feel compelled to work on everything!  I'm still going though all the pics, but here are some of my favs so far.

something about this shot... I can't stop looking at it...absolute fav