On set photographing the coolest 11-yr-old kid RNR have ever met. He is absolutely wicked on the drums, can play the Star Wars theme tune on piano, and can scare me with that lion death stare.

Before Leonardo was born, we were trying for a baby and had an inkling one day that I might be. So I impatiently went to get a pregnancy test, and waited til’ the morning to get tested and it came out positive.  Not to get our hopes up, I made a visit to the doctor with my Mother who confirmed my pregnancy. I cried tears of joy, and my Mother hugged me with tears in her eyes.

When we finally met up with you to tell you the wonderful news, my Mother said, ‘Congratulations, Daddy!’ and you walked away, because you were crying pure happiness and didn’t want anyone to see it. A week later, we lost our little one, and although it was painful and to this day still brings tears to my eyes for the child we never got to meet; it was the birth of a new Father that took to parenting like fish to water.

It took another six months to fall pregnant, and in that time, we lived life like many should. We took an impromptu holiday to Korea, took a road trip to Adelaide to see family and close friends get married, Melbourne to see the Twelve Apostles, and Queensland twice. We didn’t take for granted the life that has been given to us, and on our fun little holidays, Leonardo Ross Baget was conceived.

You became a Father the day we conceived. From day one, you have nurtured our son by putting food on the table, and love in my heart. You were there for every prenatal visit, every antenatal class; you cried the first time we heard our son’s heartbeat, you cried when we saw him wriggling around in my belly, and you cried when we found out we had given birth to a beautiful boy.

You gave in to every craving I ever had (with the exception of liver pate, Maccas chips & mayonnaise). Our nightly ice cream runs became routine as did the milkshake creations. You gave me all the pillows on our bed to keep me comfortable and got up with me to watch late night TV when insomnia struck. You rubbed my aching back and swollen feet every morning and every night, and you drove me wherever I needed to go.

You dealt with the crazy pregnancy tantrums, and the random crying at commercials and Lion King. You fought my battles when my hysterical emotions got the better of me. You went with me to the Oprah show and let me eat to my heart’s content that night when you knew I was ravenous. Every day, you told me I was beautiful…and meant it.

When Leonardo was born, you spent no time rushing to the hospital to see me, and you remembered my special request to have pork roll and sushi the first chance I got. You took us home and became the main carer for Leo while I nursed myself back to health. You stayed awake with me for every hourly breastfeed, and you always made sure you were there to help me get out of bed.

You were so switched on, that the only thing I really had to do for the first few weeks was breastfeed Leonardo and change the odd diaper. Your son is officially three months old as of tomorrow, and every day, he looks forward to sleeping by your side when you let him, his bath times when you let him kick around, and the babble chats you both have every day.

Leo can only coo and babble right now, but if he could, he’d wish you a Happy Fathers Day. You Fiance wishes you a Happy Fathers Day, too. We love you.

We’re in THIRD PLACE! Help us get to second or first.

Help RNR win by going to the Studio 501 page, ‘LIKE’ their page, then go to RNR’s photograph - http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=198087756918747&set=a.196623870398469.50057.188966581164198&type=1&theater

http://www.gapcastingcall.com.au/view-gallery/480-leonardo

C’mon, he’s so darn cute…how could you not want to vote for that face?

DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!

VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

One day in the near future, my little Leonardo will be old enough to read and will probably become a bigger net geek than his Mother. So, while it’s still fresh in my mind, this is for Leo.

To my darling little Leo,

The world is harsh and dishonest, but…your world is your oyster. Here are some things you need to know, or will probably want to ask me:

- You were born before Mummy & Daddy got married. We wanted to have a  baby so bad we couldn’t wait, and when we found out we were pregnant, you made us the happiest people in the world. So…the answer to your question before you ask it, is, NO, you were not an accident. 

- Should you be married before you have kids? Depends. Do you plan on staying with this women for the rest of your life? And if the answer is yes, does she plan on staying with you for the rest of your life? If yes, ask yourself…are you over twenty-one? If yes, ask yourself, have you exhausted your passport? Are you all partied out? If the answer is yes, then, my dear son, prepare yourself for a whole new rollercoaster that be Parenthood. It’s tough, you may regret doing it so early, but then again, your child will probably be just as amazing as you are. I mean, look at your gene pool; you were bred from perfection. 

Best you wait until you’re part your quarter century birthday. You will have partied yourself silly that either you would want to continue that lifestyle, or, you’ve met that amazing woman who will want to ground you. Good luck with that.

-  I’m not going to tell you to study hard, get into university and find a good job. What I am going to say is you should walk away from school having learnt something that you can apply to living out in the real world. Learn really good social skills, be a great communicator, embrace other cultures, and be worldly. But don’t forget your multiplication tables, you’ll need those.

-  In my heyday, men came in different shapes and sizes. Some came in the form of my ex-boyfriends, and they too, came in different shapes and sizes. I learnt something from every single man I ever cared for, and ever let go of. Every person has a great quality about them. I want you to find the best in everyone, even though that may seem hard at times. And when you find that great quality, let them know, because they’ll feel great about themselves. And everyone deserves to love themselves.

- I’m always here for you. Always. 

…to be continued. You’re still only two months old and you’ve woken yourself up by letting out a ripper of a fart. Oh that’s another one, if you happen to fart by accident in the presence of a lady, don’t laugh, apologise. You’ll be mortified, but she won’t be as turned off by you if you apologise about it. Even ladies fart.

It’s not every day I write these to you. In fact, I don’t think I ever have. Our relationship doesn’t function on words; it’s all about the action. Today marks our anniversary, and I thought I’d mix it up a bit. As our time steadily looks towards our growing son, we spend less time focusing on each other and our relationship. So my words today, mean more than they did yesterday.

I love you, Ross. Happy Anniversary. This is our first year together as parents; it is also our first year together being engaged. Both are milestones on their own, but together they are achievements you and I can look back on and say that we did it together.

Every day, there are more memorable moments than in my lifetime of having loved…and lost, and loved, and lost again. You make up for all the awful boyfriends in the past, all the stupid crushes I ever had, all the tears shed over nobodies.

In the early days, when we were just friends, we spent a lot of time drinking away our broken hearts and our sad sorrows. But hell, it was a lot of fun – coz’ we did it together. It was the time you taught me how to appreciate a fine cold beer, the time we drank with a bunch of random eighteen year olds and got them drunker than we were. The time you broke a whole six pack of beer in your bedroom and had a big fat cry about it. Galaxy World…enough said.

The moment we realised we liked each other a little bit more than friends. That would be our first ‘date’; as we like to call it now. I wanted to go to a beach for my birthday, you took me to your favourite spot at your favourite beach. We spent hours there doing absolutely nothing but enjoying the Autumn sun.

The night we asked each other out. It was after a whole weekend spent soaking our cold bodies in a hot springs, relaxing in a sauna and eating quality steak. You admitted it was great to have someone come up all the way to see you because nobody else had. You had to pull the night shift on the Sunday night and in my head, the burning question was brewing as to whether I should ask you out. It would be a first, and certainly my last if you rejected me. While I plucked up the courage, I pulled on my jacket and walked out into the snow and over to you. It took me five hours to say something while we watched late night TV, and shivered together in the freezing cold. While we tried to get some shut eye, I asked you if you’d go out with me. Your response was, ‘No, we can’t have that. Will YOU go out with ME?’ The night silent as the snow fell, little did I know it was the beginning of something beautiful.

Japan. I somehow convinced you to get away from work and come on a little  holiday. We just hit Tokyo and were settling into our hotel when I found out I had issues with my money not having hit my bank account. As I sat on the bed freaking out, contemplating calling home in utter desperation, you got down on both knees, looked at me and said, ‘Baby…don’t worry. I got this’. Silence. In my head, I’m thinking, ‘WHO THE HELL IS THIS GUY??’ 

Then we have all those other trips we’ve taken over the years; Korea, Japan AGAIN, Queensland thrice, Melbourne, Adelaide, Philippines & New Zealand. They’ve all been crazy and wonderful. You are the perfect holiday partner.

The moment you brought Won Chai into my life. You turned this cat hater into a Won Chai lover. Stuff all the other cats, they’re all still feral; but Won Chai, he’s family.

The day we gave birth to Leonardo Ross Baget. The pregnancy was a whole new ballpark; full of happiness every time we had the opportunity to hear his heartbeat, the guessing of the gender (somehow we came up with Leo BEFORE we even knew it was a boy), the happy tears the first time we saw the ultrasound and saw  him wriggling around in there, the pregnant tantrums and late night cravings. You made the birth easier, even though it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. The pain unbearable, the contractions agonising; and all you asked me to do was look into your eyes and concentrate. Those green-brown eyes of yours, I was locked in.

And I have been ever since.

YOUR BEST FEATURE – Your eyes. Not only because when you come out of  the surf on a hot summer day, your eyes are more light hazel than light brown; but also because our son inherited yours, only better, coz’ his are blue.

YOUR BEST CHARACTERISTIC: Your sense of humour. Some people look at you dumbfounded, some people think the joke is absolutely lame; but from the beginning, your jokes to me have been pathetically perfect.

 ONE THING I’LL NEVER FIGURE OUT ABOUT YOU: Sometimes you talk like you’re eighty years old. The times when buses had bells you had to ring instead of buttons you had to press or cords you had to pull. The times when you would make red sugary drinks from these machines that used to be in front of grocery stores. Or the times you mention songs or movies that I’ve never even heard of…or my parents haven’t even heard of. We were born one year apart, but you’re clearly eighty years old.

YOUR BEST SKILL: Being an amazing father. You’re one of those people that are irritatingly good at every damn single thing they do, but you as a Father is what you do best. Your patience is unwavering and your love is incredible.

WHY I LOVE YOU SO MUCH: We have soul connection moments. You know what I’m talking about. When we both got up off the couch and our heads were somehow glued together as we got up…freaky moment. Or times when we both cannot get through the other line on our phones, because we’re calling each other at the same time…repeatedly. Or making handshakes. Or the sliding doors thing that’s been happening to us for over eleven years. How even though we don’t think we’re soul mates, you think we were together in a different lifetime.

How you just get me.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, MY DEAR FIANCE.

Love,

Raelene Gutierrez ‘soon-t0-be’ Raelene Baget.

The Sunday reading I had with Julie Elizabeth was no exception. After complimenting her on her lovely home, we pretty much jumped straight into it. She had me admitting that I’m quite independent which is painfully true at times and that my passions rule my world.

She had me figured out, sad to say, because I thought I’d be in for a few surprises. She only reiterated everything my head and my heart tell me every day. So what does that tell me? Basically that my intuitions are stronger than I initially thought; my gut feeling is almost always right, and that even though I don’t rule with an iron fist, I rule with a fist strong enough to make things happen.

Although, funnily enough, I asked about the levels of toxicity in my current relationship and whether it would ever be an issue in the future. She said there would be someone to watch out for; someone that would constantly meddle and even though they know that we have a son and that we’re planning to marry next year and that we’re in a very happy, loving relationship – they will still meddle.

Yes, some people are apparently that sad. Unfortunately, this person will be meddling for a very, very, VERY long time. I think I kind of know who you are. My gut feeling has been right before. All I can say is, smarten up, fool! You are totally wasting  your time.

Oh well, I’ll be seeing her next year for another reading.

I highly recommend her.

Ross and I thought now was a good time as ever to revamp our RNR Website. Like it? We LOVE it! It’s cleaner, it’s refreshing, and it’s more personal from every background wallpaper to the clientele. Make sure you check it out and leave us a comment if you like us that much. We would really appreciate it.

Secondly, our website is ALSO i-phone and Android friendly. If you’re one of the lucky many that either have an i-phone or an android phone; try and look up our website: http://www.wix.com/rae_gutierrez/rnr-productions and you’ll see how easy it is to navigate through.

THIRD, we worked hard at post-processing all the Flatley wedding photos and we very much fell in love with everyone we took a photo of. Check them all out here.

Also, I thought I’d feature some of our best photographs from that day.

Okay, we’ve had enough of showing off.

Enjoy, kids! See you with our next project.

So I decided to look it up, and found a pretty random link about wedding duties. It didn’t mention anything about guests and the roles they plan in a wedding or if they plan any at all. So I thought I’d come up with some burning questions that are on my mind, such as, is it okay to invite people to an overseas wedding and be offended if they flat out tell you that they’re not coming because it’s so far away? Or, how much can you justify paying a hefty hens night or bucks night if you’re not that close to the bride or groom to be?

Situations like this have happened to me in the past. I flat out told a couple I couldn’t attend their overseas wedding because, first off, they didn’t give me enough time to save up to go away and two, I didn’t attend the hens night because I thought the price to pay for it was ridiculous. Am I a tightarse?

I find that putting together the list of people to invite to next year’s RNR Hawaiian wedding poses such difficulties because it’s on the other side of the world, and while naturally I want my besties and family there, there are just some I’d have to invite because they’re attached to such besties. Is it okay to not invite them, even though they come as a two for one in Facebook status terms?

Sure, I sound bitchy, but think about it in reality. You’re inviting this acquaintance because they’re dating your friend; you’re paying for what is usually a three-course-meal at $100+ a pop, and all they’re going to do is greet you at the wedding, congratulate you, eat the food you’ve supplied them, and probably walk away with a bonbonniere, which also cost a pretty penny to make. Not to mention the fact that they’ll end up in your wedding photos, and whose to say they’ll stay with your friend for the long term?

These questions burn in my mind as I get closer to inviting people to next year’s RNR event. So I thought I’d scrap together some ideas of what nots and what to do’s if you’re a guest or part of the bridal party.

BEST MAN – By all means, throw the groom a helluva bucks night. Get the alcohol flowing, throw down the poker chips and cigars and hire some very sexy strippers. Hell, even get the kind that play with ping pong balls if that tickles your fancy. But by God, man, keep the groom in check. Some men are stupid enough to think that the bucks night means they can have a go at a woman one last time and get away with it. No buddy, that’s called cheating. If you’ve been given the honour of best man for your best mate’s wedding, that usually means that the bride to be respects you enough to share in the festivities of the wedding and will stand by the married couple for many years to come.

That means, no hiding any sexual escapades that would shame the groom if details of such escapades surface at a later date. If he steps out of line, you’re in every right to punch him in the face, and take the woman away from him and take her for the team. Sometimes…there is an I in team.

*to one such past groom and boys attending the bucks weekend. I know what you did. For SHAME!

Make sure the  groom and groomsmen don’t show up to the wedding stinking of booze and cigarettes. The day before your wedding, all you’re required to do is make sure the men turn up in their wedding attire, with the rings, and clean.

MAID/MATRON OF HONOUR: It is your main duty to find a stripper to die for. Not some greasy guy that gyrates better than a woman. That means they are very gay. Very, very gay. Don’t get the hen kicked out of a club or any hen venue because she’s had one too many. Offer to pay for your dress, shoes or make up & hair if it means you get to keep it after the wedding. Any of the ones mentioned. Even if the bride declines from your offer to pay, at least you offered. The bride made you part of the bridal party, that usually means bridal bar tab – that makes up for shit loads of work on your part. Lastly, offer sound advice about some ideas the bride has about her wedding. Key word being ‘offer’, any more than that and she’ll turn bridezilla on your ass and regret asking you to be her maid/matron.

GUESTS: DO NOT RSVP, then not turn up. Your RSVP costs money, and the couple were kind enough to invite you in the first place. Don’t ditch them unless you tell them well in advance. Don’t stand up while everyone else is making speeches in a drunken slur and expect your toast to sound mighty good. From a photographer’s stand point, flipping the bird in wedding photos are uncool.

For the love of God, shut your mouth during the wedding ceremony, it usually only goes for about twenty minutes. If you get one of those lengthy one hour mass ceremonies, if you can’t stay quiet, have a nap. The couple won’t notice unless your let out a snort instead of a snore. You know what that is, it’s what you try and hide when you’re just about to go into a deep sleep and catch yourself.

MINISTERS/OFFICIATES: DO NOT GET THE NAMES OF THE BRIDE AND GROOM INCORRECT. Take the time to learn their names and pronunciation. You have one job to do; read aloud from your paper and pronounce everything correctly.

GROOM – DON’T LOSE YOUR SHIT.

BRIDE – DON’T LOSE YOUR SHIT.

This is just a quick one to say that we’re back from our trip and back in business. We absolutely loved the trip away and equally adored the wedding we had the honour of photographing. While I go into hiding to edit these wonderful photographs, I thought I’d leave you with a goodie to keep you wanting more!

Congratulations again to the Flatley newlyweds.

xx