Lorelei Conover Blog » personal

Little Bean’s nursery

Lorelei — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 20:30:06 +0000

We started working on LBC’s room around three months ago and just slowly pieced it all together until we, or should I say, I, was satisfied with the end result.

I definitely didn’t want a lot of clutter, but still wanted a nice feel to the room. And after adding things here and there, it’s finally finished!

I created an 11×14 graphic of the state of IL and the city he’ll be born in so that when we eventually head back to CA, it’ll be a nice reminder of the start of his adventures :) The cluster of paper lanterns was inspired from pinterest and they were very easy to hang (I used fishing wire):

I designed these and printed them on 5×7 and 8×10 photo paper and hung it up in a collage-style:

Instead of the standard mobile that’s hung above the crib, I opted to showcase photos of family back home since it will be a while before the little bean will meet most of them. This way he can at least see their smiling faces and know he’s very much loved:

A decade of LOVE

Lorelei — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 15:48:25 +0000

It’s been ten years today and I can still remember the crisp Spring morning, flowering trees, the smell of the freshly cut grass. And I still remember how I felt walking down that isle and seeing the love of my life smiling the biggest smile as I approached him, about to become his wife.

Chris and I have been through quite the adventurous decade! We married very young (me at 20 and he at 21) and with both very headstrong mindsets (as kids tend to have), and there were definitely times of struggle and heartache as we both learned to “Grow Up” together. Times of selfishness, push without pull, and just he and I being as childish about our relationship as we can get. But when I look back at these ten years and the life and family we have built together, I can attest that the good definitely outweighed the bad. When we were drowning in the bad, we held on to each other so tightly and refused to be pulled apart and I am so grateful for the love he showed me even when I could be at my worst.

So our time together is already a lifetime of memories in just ten short years. We have two sweet boys who are our world, with another son who’s arrival date is just around the bend and I cannot wait to be a family of FIVE! We’ve already moved three times in our life and this third move was 2000 miles away from California to Illinois. We’ve been blessed enough to travel to beautiful places and show our sons some amazing sights. But the fondest memories I treasure most are the simple moments at home, even if we’re just sprawled on the living room carpet, the four of us playing video or board games and laughing away. And I cannot even begin to express how amazing a dad Chris is to our sons. He loves them with all his heart and makes sure they know it.

And I am one lucky girl to be his wife! After ten years, he still refers to me as his “beautiful bride”, says “I love you” fifty times a day, and doesn’t wait for anniversaries or other special occasions to show me even in the smallest of ways how much he loves me. Sure we still can get on each other’s nerves but I’m not perfect and neither is he. The only perfection that exists is Us, together. And I am more in love with him than I could ever remember and would marry my Bear all over again, and again and again. Here’s to us, my love! Woo hoo for ten amazing years!

I could make you happy
Make your dreams come true
Nothing that I wouldn’t do
Go to the ends
Of the Earth for you
To make you feel my love.

32 weeks

Lorelei — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 02:50:27 +0000

Hey Little Bean,

We reached the 32 week mark yesterday, high five to us! You have been more active than ever, in fact, I think you’re trying to get a championship belt in mixed martial arts the way you keep squirming in my belly. I can’t help but smile fondly when I feel you more and more as you grow,
until -ouch- you really hit me good in the ribs.

We also got to see you in the belly one more time at my 32 week appointment and you are looking more and more like your big brothers (those 3D ultrasounds are so cool)! You are now positioned head down, so extra baby high fives to you for being a good little baby. We’re less than two months away from getting to meet you and our excitement grows as each day comes closer (so hurry up days, we’re very anxious)!

Love,
Mommy

LBC’s nursery is coming along and Chris is still in the process of building the changing table. Unfortunately one of the main pieces had a big chip in the wood so we’re now waiting for the replacement part to arrive. The room is all piecing together slowly but surely (no pun intended).

I also took some more photos yesterday of my belly bump, and I am getting HUGE! Oh, and LBC’s current weight according to the doctor, is 4.10 lbs. which is a pound slightly higher than average (63rd percentile). I hope he ends up the same weight as his brothers (8 pounds) and not any bigger!

Baby Shower for the Little Bean

Lorelei — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 23:36:22 +0000

Last Sunday my amazing sister and family threw the sweetest baby shower for our new little guy. Chris, the boys, and I flew down to California for my best bud’s wedding and Tina and Eric’s engagement session so we squeezed in the shower since this would be the last weekend I could fly (I was approaching 27 weeks).

My sis created all of the decor and giveaways and she commissioned the beautiful shower cake from Michelle of Donna Belle Desserts. We have been going to her for our party cakes for almost a year now and she never disappoints (in both taste and design)!

We’re so grateful for all those who attended, we adored seeing you and your love and support means the world to us!

Here we are, the proud parents :)

“Name that baby” game! (All photos are of our family and friends)

Party favors (M&Ms in mason jars with an adorable jar label)

The adorable and very yummy cake!

Awesome diaper cake made by my best bud June!

More shower favors (CD of mixed songs with “baby” in it) and safety pin necklaces (steal from those who say the word “baby”)

Super yummy Filipino food :)

My amazing sister, thank you for everything!

Everyone got into the shower games that Nic prepared for us :)

The question Nic read aloud for the “Daddy Knows Best” game was, “Who would get up first if the baby starts crying?” I love Chris’ response lol….

We’re so grateful for all the sweet presents for the Little Bean!!

My Best Friend’s Wedding – Sportsmen’s Lodge | Studio City, Ca

Lorelei — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 03:08:22 +0000

My best bud of nineteen years married the man of her dreams this past Saturday and I was able to fly to California to be a part of it!

June and Orn put on a wonderful celebration for their family and friends and it was definitely the party of the year so far. I had the high privilege of being June’s Matron of Honor so I was very thrilled that the amazing Jeremy Chou of Jeremy Chou Photography and his team was there to document this important day. Below are a few of the photos I was able to capture, but check out the professional photos by Jeremy here.

six and a half

Lorelei — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:28:22 +0000

Hey sweet baby in my jelly belly,

We’ve reached the six and half month mark on this journey of ours and I grow more in love with you every day. You’re an active little bean, doing what feels like jumping jacks and mixed martial arts in your confined little space. I know, you can’t wait to get out just as much as your daddy and brothers and I can’t wait to meet you, see your handsome little face, and hold you in our arms.

We’re still working on just the right name for you. We’ve got our selections down to a short list and want to make sure we do our job well in choosing something that suits you.

I’m just grateful that God is keeping the both of us healthy and pray He continues to do so. I’m excited for the last chapter in our little journey, as we soon embark onto the third trimester. Before that, you get to be part of some very important milestones in the lives of those we love and I’m glad you’ll be right with me as we celebrate these happy memories.

We love you Little Bean (oh but try to simmer down the rib kicks just a tad for your mommy please :)

here & there : dealing with the cold

Lorelei — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:57:45 +0000

Being Southern Californians, my family and I are not used to living in weather that is anything below 60 degrees. But on this Illinois adventure we are currently partaking, we have had to get used to temperatures as low as 9°C and as high as six inches of snow surrounding our home. In short, I am one tall Filipino popsicle since the snow decided to finally fall here in the Northern Chicagoland suburbs. It’s all good though, our boys are enjoying being able to just step into the backyard and play with the snow. Not to mention how cool it is to see woodland animals (deer) within walking distance of your home!

Happy Holidays 2011!

Lorelei — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 20:19:35 +0000

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We at Lorelei Conover Photography hope you had a wonderful and magical holiday celebration! We are so thankful to God for all His grace and blessings!

Flapper dresses, Harry Potter, and the 30s Club

Lorelei — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 00:43:15 +0000

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It was January 3rd of this year when it really started sinking in that the next five months were the last hurrah of my twenties. Not that I minded turning 30, but there was still that sad feeling of leaving something magical behind forever. Especially if that something was a decade of memories and milestones that included my wedding day, our ups and downs (more ups!) as husband and wife, growth in my family (not one, but two sons!), and growth in myself (I am a firm believer that you can never stop “growing up” no matter how old you are). Every single year of my twenties did not disappoint in being interesting on some level, and I only hope I will look back a decade from now and feel that I also used my 30s to their full potential.

To celebrate my turning thirty, I thought it would be fun to do a Roaring 20s/ Prohibition Era themed party, flapper dresses and gangster costumes, and all. Then, my amazing husband and sister pushed me lovingly to the side, told me to relax, and they would bring my crazy ideas to life. They planned the whole thing from start to finish, complete with renting out a roulette and poker table (with actual casino dealers included!) and having all the party guests supply a password to get into the “Speakeasy” this past Saturday.

And last but not least, my ever cool husband gave me the best 30th birthday present by announcing right after I blew out the candles of my Roaring 20s cake, that we were heading to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in August. Those who know me well know that even for this just-turned-30-year-old, this is a BIG deal! I have been a huge fan of the Potter Universe since 2003. I couldn’t understand what all the craze was about until I picked up my own copy of the Sorcerer’s Stone and after reading the crisp pages of the first chapter, I was hooked into the magical made-up world of the boy who lived. Suffice it to say, spending a week in Florida where that world has been literally brought to life will certainly make this first year of my 30s a more than interesting one.

So as I woke up this morning on this fine summery June 28th, I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror and smiled. I’m happy and healthy, and I have the best family and friends in the world. I am blessed by God in more ways than I can count or deserve and as for me getting older, “Age ain’t nothing but a number!”

Keeping Busy

Lorelei — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 01:28:06 +0000

For Japan, With Love…

Lorelei — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 04:37:48 +0000

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When Chris and I were getting ready for bed last Thursday night, I was reading some messages left over for me on facebook and then gasped out loud as I saw one post and then another on my news wall about an earthquake hitting Japan. I quickly turned on the news and my heart sank as I saw the devastation and heard the eerie details as the news anchor read aloud from his teleprompter.

Since then, seeing images like these next few, and even more as each new day begins, makes me wish I could do more than just pray, and feel incredible sadness for Japan…

(photos courtesy of Kyodo News/Associated Press/Reuters)

But tonight I proudly join in on a great crusade of giving, led by the wonderful people of Utterly Engaged and Ever Ours, aptly called “For Japan With Love”. This website leads everyone to collaborate together by spreading the word of a very noble organization, Shelterbox, one of the first to be on site and assist the Japanese people with much needed items.

For Japan With Love has a direct link on the website to our fundraising page for ShelterBox. ShelterBox was one of THE first organizations asked by Japan to help and were on hand on the Saturday after the quake. Each large, green ShelterBox is tailored to a disaster but typically contains a disaster relief tent for an extended family, blankets, water storage and purification equipment, cooking utensils, a stove, a basic tool kit, a children’s activity pack and other vital items.

Please check it out and whatever you can contribute will be so appreciated.

And to even further spread the news, it would be great if many bloggers the world over would participate in tomorrow’s Bloggers Day Of Silence. While not posting on any of your blog(s), you can also proactively spread the news about donating to Japan, to the many various causes and organizations available, such as ShelterBox, The Red Cross, Save The Children, and Doctors Without Borders, whether via facebook, twitter, or word of mouth.

My family and I will support however we can, and we will continue to pray for those who have suffered the devastating effects of the earthquake and tsunami, and we hope you’ll join in too.

Confidence (not unlike Lucy Pevensie)

Lorelei — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 15:51:51 +0000

I used to be the kind of writer who could sit, pen and paper readily available, and feverishly scribble away into that far off land of storytelling where my thoughts and emotions flowed easily into words. But today, like most times now, I move to sit down because my thoughts are filling up in my head to where I just can’t juggle them anymore, and I plan to write them out and journal them down, and I just can’t get them to transform into actual, readable words.

Just in the past twenty minutes, I sat down, stared at the screen, stood up and made some green tea with honey, sat down, stared some more, drank said tea, burned my tongue, then finally started typing. Yes, this took a full TWENTY MINUTES. Twenty minutes of which I could have been entering in everything I wanted to blog about, twenty minutes of which I fought with myself in thought: “Start typing already, what are you waiting for?!”

I find that the only real reason (or the only thing that I can think of right now) of my hesitation, or block, or whatever I name it, is because of my lack of confidence in myself. Will I sit and write and just jot down mush? I worry too much that it isn’t enough for anyone to even read, isn’t worth the energy of my fingers pressing the keys and willing my brain to formulate the words. This cloud of stifling doubt is then removed just as easily as it appears when I remember that “I am as my Creator made me and since He is satisfied, so am I.” (Thank you, Minnie Smith, for your ever inspiring quote). There is nothing so defeating as when I completely dump on myself before I even try. I set myself up for failure before I begin when in the real, it’s in my love for writing, just as my love for taking pictures that I can show the sweet gifts that God bestowed on plain little me. This small talent for expressing myself in the medium of words and pictures, wouldn’t exist if not for God’s grace and love for me. So why would I doubt His confidence in me?! That’s just not gonna fly, no ma’am.

So now I sit here and type away, with bravery and godly intent, just as Lucy Pevensie and her sister Susan bravely untied Aslan’s ropes, in hopes of freeing Him from the Stone Table. I plan to write more, and photograph more, without reservation, without too much hope or agenda, but just to express, to untie the ropes of hesitation, and free myself from that horrible ugly villain, named doubt.

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Today I would love to share just a few photos I took after church last Sunday, of the wonderful people who (even if I may only see some of them just once a week), help instill in me a faith I am so grateful for, a love for God I cannot even begin to fathom, and a heart for the Church that is my harbinger of hope.

(I can’t resist starting with my own sweet kiddos, because I’m only 100% biased after all.)

Check out the rest here <3

Lovely day for love

Lorelei — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 17:18:27 +0000

While I hope you’re not waiting for this day to roll around for you to show or feel L-O-V-E, I sincerely wish everyone a wonderful and LOVE-filled Valentine’s Day. I happen to be a very blessed girl, because I have four loves in my life that show and give me true love all year round!

Four years old!

Lorelei — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 16:19:02 +0000

It was four years ago when I woke up at five in the morning and told your daddy the two indelible words he had been ready to hear for a week, “It’s time.” It was four years ago when you bravely and very promptly entered into this world and were placed in my arms, a sort of whimsical look already on your face.

We didn’t have a name picked out for you when you were born and it pained me that they wrote “Baby Boy Conover” on your cradle card and I knew that had to change fast. But the next morning, bright and early, we knew almost as if we’d known all along that your name was supposed to be Logan… no special reason really, only that it fit you so perfectly.

You turn four years old today, another year that has blessed your Daddy, your Kuya, and me more than we’d ever be able to express. I’m so thankful that God trusted me to be your mommy! You make me laugh with your funny stories, you amaze me with your braveness (you’ll be tall enough for that roller coaster soon!), and you bless me with your big big heart.

Happy Birthday, my bumble bee, I love you so much!

Hello, 2011!

Lorelei — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 07:18:46 +0000

I honestly cannot believe how quickly twenty ten was here, and then wasn’t. I had to sit and think this morning about the many happenings, adventures, milestones, and lessons last year brought– not only to my life– but this business as well. It was really so much to try to remember that I actually had to start jotting things down on the first scrap piece of paper I could find, and when that quickly filled up, I just started typing. That will definitely be in a longer post to come, but tonight I just wanted to reflect on the brand new year and what it will bring. Two days ago was certainly a good sign for a fresh start: 1/1/11. But even with fresh starts, I intend on applying everything last year taught me, brought me, and blessed me with.

I love these photos of my boys, as they look at the freshly fallen morning snow, on a cold crisp January new day:

Yuletide decor (part one)

Lorelei — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 05:32:51 +0000

If I haven’t made it apparent yet, I LOVE Christmas. I mean it really is my most favorite of the holidays, and I honestly wouldn’t mind if it became a year round celebration. I try my best to forget about the commercial aspect of it all, and just rest in the peace and joy of celebrating the birth of our Savior.

Now besides the main reason for the season, and the fact that I can belt out Christmas songs everywhere I go without people looking at me like I’m crazy (apparently doing that year round evokes that kind of reaction), I get super excited about the decorating aspect. So much so that I like to start BEFORE Thanksgiving has even passed. Unfortunately/Fortunately this year proved very busy for me and I didn’t have time to start decorating until the 3rd day of December (way way waaay too late)!!! But when I finally got everything up, this calm just washed over me, and that good old Christmas cheer really set in.

Did I mention that we’re also big Disney fans? ;)

I can’t wait to make the gingerbread houses with my boys, and pictures from that fun event will be coming soon!

Thankful ponderings

Lorelei — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 08:25:11 +0000

In just two days we will be doing our usual Thanksgiving trek from one side of our family to the other, first visiting at my parents’ house which undoubtedly will be filled with more Filipinos than the house would (if it could talk) allow to hold. It will be a wonderful gathering nonetheless, with as much food as could feed a large city. For three days.

My husband’s family holds the Thanksgiving get together on the Saturday after the actual popular gathering day, which is perfect because who couldn’t be thankful for two Thanksgivings! And while I will have had more than my fill on the Thursday prior, as soon as I smell that wonderful German food, I know I can’t help but surrender to it all. (This is why come January, I will have gained and will strive to lose, about a gazillion extra pounds.)

Our boys are off school this week, and tomorrow I’ve called off anything work related so that the four of us can go to our favorite Conover spot– Disneyland! And since I foresee myself being fairly busy starting tomorrow and until the week’s end, I’d like to say a wonderful and happy Thanksgiving to you all. I’m thankful for my wonderful life, family, and friends God seems to think I deserve, and I’m thankful to you, for reading my little blog.

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And because posts are more fun with photos, here (in case you wondered) is how we keep our holiday travels as nice and quiet (and fight-free) as humanly and technologically possible:

Happy Halloween!

Lorelei — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 00:57:25 +0000

My family and I wish everyone a very fun and safe time tonight, whether you’re partying, or trick-or-treating, or just parking it at home and watching awesome scary movie marathons. See you in November ;)

A World of Color

Lorelei — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 06:00:19 +0000

If you haven’t yet visited Disneyland’s California Adventure Park, one show that might hugely entice you is their new “World of Color“. It’s unbelievably amazing and beautiful, both visually and musically:

Hello, October!

Lorelei — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 05:47:13 +0000

I’m completely flabbergasted that today is October 1st. Yes, the situation is that dramatic that I decided to use the word “flabbergasted”. I mean, soon my family and I will be staring down the week of Halloween, counting down the few days to Thanksgiving weekend, and just around the corner will be Christmas! It’s just a bit overwhelming when I feel like I merely was saying hello to June and turning 29, and now we are down just three more months left of 2010. Folks, that’s ninety days.

Now are you biting your nails with anxiousness like I am? Seriously, the fact that time is so precious and flies by so quickly is why it’s so important for me that I appreciate and really take in all the milestones that happen, whether big or small. It’s also why I fell in love with capturing life, by way of photographs, so that there is at least some way to keep those wonderful moments timeless. When I look at the walls in my home, and see my two children literally growing in front of my eyes through the many photographs, they not only remind me of my true priority in my every single day, they also are a strong knock on the head that I don’t have any time to waste.

Life is fleeting and I soak up all the precious moments I can. It’s certainly a gift I pray I never take for granted. So try to capture everything, anything. Even the most normal of moments count and I definitely cherish every single second.
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