i heart faces { by the book }

This is a photo of Olive that I took the day she turned 10 months old in December. This week's I Heart Faces theme is "by the book".. and must include.. a book! The book that she's "reading" is Lucy and Tom's Christmas, it was mine when I was a kid. She is also wearing an old dress that was mine and a pair of black shoes as well.



Just for kicks here is a side-by-side of Olive and I wearing the same dress:

i heart faces { family fun }

I can't help but giggle. :)



I got a new lens for Christmas and was trying it out.. playing around at my mom's house while Tyler showed my mom some things on the laptop that we had just given her. Olive was playing around and being cute (as always) at their feet. But (as always) once she realized I was taking photos she came over for a peek. I just love her curious face and hand in the corner. :)

express scripts is breaking up with walgreens.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walgreens. All opinions are 100% mine.

The other day I drove past a CVS that had a big banner in front saying "Welcome Express Scripts Customers!" and I wondered what that meant.  I see banners and signs like that often when a small pharmacy is closing (sadly) and the costumers are migrating to the bigger chain pharmacies, but Express Scripts is not a pharmacy I had ever heard of... Actually I didn't think it sounded much like a pharmacy name to begin with.

And then I got an offer from Social Spark to write about some drama surrounding Express Scripts Inc and Walgreens and of course I was interested to learn more.  If you're like me and have no idea what Express Scripts is.. let me fill you in!

Express Scripts Inc is a prescription program offered by health insurance companies, including Tricare (the health and prescription program offered to America's service men and women).  Typically, at least in my experience, when going to the doctor and being given a prescription you're asked which pharmacy you would like it "called in to".  Your prescription will then be available for you to pick up at that pharmacy - typically quite close to your home or your work.. or wherever else you choose.  

Unfortunately due to a lack of contract renewal on the part of Express Scripts, Walgreens will no longer be a choice for Express Scripts clients.  I personally use a CVS if I have a prescription needing to be filled because it is one block from my home.  I would be rather upset if suddenly this was no longer than option as it is extremely convenient for me, I am comfortable there, and I am familiar with the pharmacists. 

Imagine you have been going to your local Walgreens for years and have built up a relationship with the pharmacists and you have to give that up.  Pharmacists are more than simply the people who fill the pill bottles - they're useful resources for us all and should be utilized for people who have any questions about their medications.  I think we all probably reference them too infrequently, actually, but imagine that you use that resource often but you suddenly have to pick up and move elsewhere?  The thought does not seem very attractive to me, especially due to the circumstances.  

In short Walgreens was willing to hold contract terms steady and Express Scripts wanted to make seemingly unnecessary changes that would also hurt Walgreens' profits.  They wanted the opportunity to be in complete control of contract terms.  It doesn't even sound like this will benefit Express Scripts!  In fact Express Scripts is one of those middle man types that I really dislike - they work behind the scenes so you don't really see what happens but it seems they're making quite a big profit by being the middleman between the provider and the pharmacy. 

This won't affect everyone.. so make sure you check with your prescription plan or with your Walgreens pharmacist to be sure.  

Obviously quite a few Walgreens customers are upset about this transition.  In response one of the steps Walgreens is taking is offering a special discount on their Prescription Savings Club at Walgreens annual memberships.  During the month of January you can join for only $5 (or $10 for a family) and receive savings on over 8,000 brand name and generic medications.  (Regular membership costs are $20/$35)

If you're upset about this issue don't keep quite - I'm the "I'm going to write a letter" type.  Tell someone how you feel - take the social media, contact your local news, write someone a letter, whatever you feel comfortable doing.  If you're dissatisfied with the service you are now receiving from Express Scripts you should certainly say something.

For more information check out this press release - Walgreens and Express Scripts.

To stay up to date on this issue and to stay connected to your local Walgreens follow Walgreens on Twitter and visit Walgreens on Facebook.

in print.

I have been exploring the world of print over the past two weeks. Below is a birth announcement for a baby that I photographed as well as Olive's birthday invitation. What do you think?

ten months old.

Olive turned ten months old last month. Well, last year I suppose! Christmas, editing for frost on flower, friends in town, and our holiday travel slowed me down a bit and I've only gotten to editing these photos and sorting out my thoughts now. Forgive me? :)

Here are Olive's ten month photos (as usual.. there are a lot!!)... She's wearing an old dress and pair of shoes of mine. :) She's also reading one of my books in a few of the photos. There are a few "classic" Olive shots that I had to include with her arm outstretched reaching for something or pointing at something.















































































At ten months Olive is very mobile. I'm surprised she's not walking yet but she's not yet comfortable with letting go of things which is just fine - she'll do it when she's ready.
At ten months she had six teeth, she now has seven.
Olive gives me kisses. :)
She won't stop pointing at things! She points where she wants us to take her, she points at things she wants, she points to ask what things are. Point point point!
Olive can point to or look at things when you ask such as a light, her nose, a window, Honey, the ceiling, a wall, a penguin, etc.
She is still incredibly interested in food. Baby Led Weaning was definitely the right choice for our family.
A few days ago Olive signed potty and went right away when I put her on. Elimination Communication is going alright but we still miss a lot. Olive seems to go potty frequently and will go nearly every time she's on the potty but doesn't seem to feel the need to hold it in between potty trips.
We got a new baby carrier in December and we've both enjoyed using it.
Olive's sock fell off (as they often do) and Tyler asked her to get it.. so she crawled to it and picked it up. He then asked her to bring it to him so he could put it on her.. and she did!
She had her first needle poke since her newborn screen done at birth. She needed a lead test as we've found that we have a large amount of lead dust in our home. We're still waiting for the results.
Olive said "all done" while signing it once.
It's possible that she tried to say "I love you" after giving me a kiss tonight.
Speaking of kisses.. Olive never used to enjoy getting kisses and certainly didn't enjoy giving them. More recently she has become quite kissy when sleepy in the morning, before naps, and before bed. Because I often give her a kiss after saying "I love you" she now crawls over to me to and kisses me when I say "I love you Olive". It's pretty adorable.
Her sign vocabulary continues to grow although it's rather slow going. Tyler and I aren't introducing her to new signs or using signs as consistently as I'd like to. She picked up on "please" very quickly last week though. I signed "please" with her hand over hand and she was able to do it independently on my next verbal prompt. That was pretty cool. However since then please seems to come and go. If she wants something too badly she can't seem to find the sign. Which is fine!
Olive is really great at matching pitch and I think she has a decent sense of rhythm so far.
She is becoming more purposeful in her play by the day.
She is very social - she waves and smiles and points at everyone.
Olive is very curious - she loves to crawl around the house and look at things that aren't toys and climb into small spaces in which I cannot fit. Which also means that she's quite independent. She will get upset occasionally when I leave her (especially if I leave her with a person). But if I leaver her to play or explore she's generally fine with that. She will also leave me to explore other rooms. I only wish our house was safer so she could do this more easily and more often. We have stairs that are difficult to block and radient baseboard heaters that are not safe. As well as other nooks and crannies that aren't safe.
She's also getting bigger and gaining weight though I still feel like she's so small - especially when she's nursing!

As always I probably missed a bunch of things but that's an overview of where Olive is at ten months old.

And here is a fun side by side of me and Olive. :)

out with the old and in with the two.

By two I mean twelve. Because twelve doesn't rhyme with new.

I'm sitting on the sofa watching a movie with Tyler. We just finished eating Vegetarian Moroccan Stew and Olive is in bed. It just started snowing.

This December has been unbelievably mild here in Minnesota and we've only seen a bit of snow twice, excluding this evening. In fact today is was 41 degrees outside. I would gladly take a 41 degree winter. Gladly.

In a completely unprepared and somewhat distracted manner I will now share with you some of the highlights of 2011. I'm sure I will leave many things out. To save myself from trying to gauge the level of meaning or importance of each thing I'll try for chronological order.

2011 began with my being less than two months away from having my first baby and working as a Mental Health Practitioner at Fraser Child and Family Center. We risked a drive home to Illinois in late January for my family baby shower.

One day after my dad's birthday, five days before my estimated due date, on February 20th, our first baby, Olive Ann was born. She was born in a birthing tub at St Joseph's hospital in St Paul after being at the hospital for only two hours. If you're interested in the story you can read it here.

I soon grew very passionate about natural and unmediated birth as well as the use of midwives and doulas and even home and unassisted birth.

Over the next few months I learned so many things. I was relatively uneducated about most baby related things prior to having Olive. I think my parenting style can be referred to as Intuitive. We go with the flow and do what feels right and it has been so rewarding. We do things like Elimination Communication and Baby Led Weaning. I am very passionate now about so many of our choices.

When I had Olive I left my job as a Mental Health Practitioner. The time I spent at Fraser was the longest time that I had ever spent at one job.

I celebrated my first mothers day and finally got a Kitchen Aide stand mixer.

I officially became a photographer. You can see my work here. Being a WAHM allows me to stay home with Olive. I hope this continues as long as possible. We're very interested in homeschooling in the future.

We bought a new (used) car. This was somewhat significant to me as my two previous cars were both white Ford Tarsus' and the choosing and buying process was mostly done by my dad. So our 02 VW Golf is pretty exciting.

Olive and I packed shares together at an urban CSA in north Minneapolis. We ate so much very fresh and very local produce over the summer.

After years and years of wanting them we finally have iPhones.

Over the year we have begun buying an increasing amount of organic, local, and fresh food. Food is a other thing that I have become passionate about.

I have met many new friends online. That may sound silly but it's a wonderful source of support and companionship for a SAHM. I hope someday that I can meet them all in person.

So why are my resolutions for 2012?

I don't usually do the resolution thing. I never follow through. But I have noticed hat today seems to feel different that most New Years Eves have in the past. I think having a child makes the passing of time pretty different. So I brainstormed some goals and ideas. I hope they all happen but I won't be crushed if they don't. I wouldn't mind some accountability though. :)

We want to move. Far from Minnesota. The current short list is Chicago or the Pacific Northwest. Due to scenery, winter, and food I'm currently leaning PNW.

I would love for Tyler to find work that is more fulfilling and to have more time and motivation to work on music. A music related career would be ideal. I think we should check out some online universities offering music related degrees.

I hope that my photography endeavors continue to be fruitful. It would be wonderful if I could schedule at least one wedding per month. Maybe that would allow Tyler more flexibility in his work.

I would like to continue to utilize Motivated Moms.

I would like to read the Bible daily and finish it in a year. I've tried this before and I always fail.

I want to continue helping Olive grow and explore the world.

I want to get back to the creative Emma that got buried inside of me. I want to make more food and material things (like butter and sour cream and scarves and clothes).

I want to continue to make healthy choices for our family and to learn more about additional things we could be doing.

I want to read more books and watch less television.

I want to go on adventures.

I want to take at least one photo with my DSLR each day.

That sounds like a good start.

What are your plans for 2012?

(I wrote this on my iPhone.. Please excuse any autocorrect issues)

a tiny december baby.

Here are some of my favorites from a newborn session two weeks ago. I bet she looks much different by now!























I had the pleasure of photographing this mama in the fall.

As always feel free to leave me feedback here or over at my photography website, frost on flower.