Friday, October 29, 2010

Photo Friday ~ 43 ~


Just one pic this week.  Me and my baby.  I took this a few minutes ago...you know when you stretch out your arm and take a picture of yourself?  Yeah, with my big camera it's hard to do because 1.  My camera is super heavy. 2.  The lens makes it so that I can't zoom out any farther so it's always an extreme closeup.  3.  The camera can never decide what to focus on, so I have to wait forever while I'm holding up the super heavy camera with my hand contorted to try to press the button.  4.  Usually I chop off someone's face.  So the fact that this is mostly in focus and no ones face is chopped off and we are both smiling....priceless.  And I never have any pics of me with my kids.  And this is the smile that he does right now...it's silly with his eyes all scrunched and his eyebrows raised and his teeth hidden...but it's him.  And I may have mentioned this a few hundred times or so already, but I'm pretty smitten with this kid.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Big Sis, Little Sis and Baby Brother ~ A Photo Shoot ~

This session was the winner of my free photo shoot giveaway.  I had talked to the mom of these cuties earlier in the year about a photo shoot, but the timing never worked out, and then she won the photo shoot, so I guess it was meant to be this time!  These kids are so sweet and we had a great, yet exhausting (for me at least!) time together the other night.  They ran around in my backyard and I tried to get them all looking at me at the same time which is no small feat at their ages.  The two youngest are quite close in age as their baby boy was adopted recently and it happened pretty quickly.  He is seriously the cutest thing...I totally have a soft spot for boys.  And it's so cute to watch the girls with him.  What a special thing to have a baby come into your life that God chose for you...even though he came from a completely different part of the world.  It's kinda hard for me to wrap my brain around it sometimes since I've never experienced it firsthand.  And yet what an awesome reminder that God does the same thing when he adopts His children into His family and loves us unconditionally just as this family has done with their baby boy.  This was the first time they'd had his photo done professionally and he did great.  I could seriously take his picture all day.  Here are my favorites.

Okay, so the all three kids looking at the same time thing didn't exactly work out, but I kinda love this anyway.  It just seems so much more natural.  I had them all sit down together and this is one of the first pictures I took.

I love, love this of the sisters.  They are so cute!

This picture kills me.  He was giving me high fives.  I feel like you can just reach out and touch him.  And that face?!  So adorable!!

Big sister was all about the photo shoot.  She had a permanent smile on her face.  She was a champ too since I kept having her move her face to take the glare off her glasses.  What a cutie pie!!

This little girl is a thinker.  You can just tell she's pondering the mysteries of the universe in the that little head. I had to work a little harder to get a smile from her, but I think it was worth it.  She has such a sweet smile.

Love the light in this one.  And I may have already mentioned that this kid is pretty cute too. 

Little model.

I love this picture of her!  She was jumping up and down excited about something that I can't remember now.    

Hello gorgeous eyes and long eyelashes!!  Wow.

One last pic of the three of them.

I had a great time with these sweet kids!  Next time I need to convince their mom to have her and her hubby in the pics too.  Thanks for spending the evening with us and my crazy kids too!  

Monday, October 25, 2010

Beautiful Belly ~ A Photo Shoot ~

This beautiful couple is seriously going to have one of the most gorgeous babies ever.  I mean, how could they not?  And can I just talk about how she has quite possibly the cutest little baby bump I have ever seen?!  I had such a great time with them.  They are so sweet together, and I've known her family for years...does it make me seem incredibly old to say that I'm good friends with her mom?  Let's just pretend her mom was some sort of child bride.  We went back and forth on the date for this photo shoot for a while, trying to decide if her belly would be big enough, and I think we timed it pretty well.  She just popped out the week before the shoot and she's definitely still in the glowing stage as opposed to the waddling, swollen, gigantic stage (although with her body type, she may never get to that stage, lucky girl).  Her and her husband are so young and in love and I love the anticipation of that first life changing event of your first baby...you can see it in their eyes...the nervous excitement.  They have no idea what's going to hit them.  And I mean that in a good way.  Here are some of my favorites.

See what I mean...beautiful baby for sure.


The fall leaves were perfect that day.

Love this.

Seriously love this.  Might be my favorite belly pic ever.

Beautiful mama to be.


Okay, so I had a hard time picking my favorites...she is glowing!

I love this.  I told them to look at each other and he couldn't help himself and had to go in for a kiss.  How sweet is that?!

I can't wait to meet their beautiful baby boy.  What a joy to watch her go from cute little high school girl to a glowing pregnant woman with a man who adores her.  They are blessed beyond words.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Photo Friday ~ 42 ~

All of this week's photos were taken while we were on our weekend getaway to the Smokey Mountains.  I've been going there since I was born and it's so nice to continue the tradition with my kids now.  My grandma was born and raised there and some of her brothers still live there.   My grandparents have a home there that we stay in and it's on the same road as all of my uncles and some cousins.  My daughter made friends with one of her distant cousins who is the same age as her and it was so sweet to see them together.  She cried for a long time when we left because she was going to miss her so much.  There's so much for the kids to do there and they loved it.  There are "chickens on the loose" as my daughter says...they literally aren't penned in and were following us down the road at one point.  There are also goats which I'll share some pics of later.  And it's just the type of place where you can let your kid walk down the road alone to visit the goats and not even worry about the fact that something bad could happen.  And she could just walk down the road to play with her cousin, and we could have a little bonfire anytime we want.  There's something so special about letting my city kids experience more of the small town country life in that way.  They love running wild!  Here are my favorite pics.

 This is just one of the stops we made on our drive over the mountain.  I seriously can't do the beauty of it justice.  

This is on the bridge of the photo above.  I love his sweet little face here.

I like this picture because it looks like a watercolor.  But it's actually the reflection of the leaves off of a mountain stream.  Gorgeous.

Right by my grandparent's house was this old truck just sitting in a field.  As soon as I saw it I knew I had to get some pictures by it.  The kids were not in the mood, but I still got some really good ones.  I'll share more in a separate post, but I love this of my baby.

Love, love, love this.

While we were there I bought this hat for my daughter and she wore it every morning because it was freezing there in the mornings.  I love it.  And the other day she told me her favorite thing about herself is her two big teeth in the front.  So I figured I'd better post a few more pics of them.

On top of the mountain.  The leaves were beautiful.  And I like how you can see the road that we just drove up on in this picture.

One last picture of my girl.  Seriously, I could take pictures all day with the beautiful leaves for a background.

Next week I'll try to post some more pics of our vacation.  I have so many more to share!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Leaf Love

I've been neglecting my blog this week.  We went to the Smokey Mountains this past weekend and had a wonderful time.  I somehow took 400 photos in 4 days and two of those days were spent mostly in the car.  I haven't even had a chance to go through them yet.  I've been so busy with photo shoots!  I'm feeling incredibly blessed to be able to do what I love and get paid for it!  The rest of this month is going to be crazy busy too, so I just wanted to get something on here before I get too far behind.  I'm planning on blogging all about our weekend getaway, but it will have to wait for now.  Here are a few pics of my kids in the leaves from last week.  When we came back all of the leaves on my favorite tree were on the ground, so I'm glad I got these!  I'm totally in love with the colors of these leaves.  Almost makes me forget that summer is long gone and we're headed for the dreaded winter.  Fall is the time of year that makes me stop and savor the moments because it's so fleeting.  There nothing better than the crunch of the leaves mingled with the giggles of my favorite people.  And my son keeps commenting on the smell of the air.  And I remember when one day when coming home in the van, he finally noticed that the leaves on our tree had turned red and was in such amazement.  Yeah, it is pretty amazing...




Enjoy the leaves this week.  Take time to savor the sounds and the smells because they'll be gone in a blink.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Photo Friday ~ 41 ~

I feel like this week's post has two parts.  The outdoor vs. the indoor.  I have been doing almost all of my photo taking outside lately since it is gorgeous and it feels like a crime to even bother with an indoor shot on weeks like this.  My favorite is one I just took a few minutes ago (I'm writing this on Thursday evening) of my daughter outside.  I'm sorry, but outside photos will almost always beat out indoor ones for me except for the very rare occasion.  Here it is.

World's Cutest First Grader.  I actually got a bunch of cute pics of her and my son, but I have so many that I may save them for a later post.

Another nature shot.  I'm on a roll with these lately.  And I used to not like any of my nature photos.  But I think I've really been enjoying the beauty of God's creation so much more and slowing down to take a look at  it through my lens.  I think with nature shots you have to take a moment and really look at your subject and decide what angle you like best, where with kids, sometimes you just don't have time because they move so fast.  I'm starting to appreciate the difference.

On to the indoor shots that I mentioned.  This week I decided to get some shots of my kids in their natural habitat.  You know, like the wild animals that they are...except for these photos are of them sitting in front of the tv.  I swear they get outside and run around like maniacs for plenty of hours per day, but I have tons of photos of them like that.  So, I'm trying to get photos of them doing the other normal things they do, which involves watching a show when my daughter gets off the bus.  She is never ready to talk right away...she needs some time to relax.  Then sometime after dinner, usually when we are cuddling at bedtime, she'll think of 1001 things she forgot to tell me that day.  And that's okay.  It's actually one of the favorite parts of my day, those few minutes spent cuddling and talking.  I'm going to try to get some more photos of them just being them around the house, it's a new little challenge for me...and I won't be editing them much either...I just want them to be natural.  So here you go...

I love her lips so much. 


Engrossed in her show.  I don't even think she noticed I was there.  Phineas and Ferb can do that to a person.

My boy...equally engrossed.  

I love his "just woke up from a nap" hair, and his huge hands, and his Fred Flinstone feet.  I sometimes like pictures like this better than the ones where they are looking at me.  

Enjoy the beautiful fall weather and gorgeous leaves this weekend!  I know...I was just complaining about summer ending and dreading fall, but I'm kinda loving it right now!

Monday, October 11, 2010

Mister All American ~ A Photo Shoot ~

Senior boy photo shoots can be intimidating.  I wasn't sure what to expect when I arrived at this one...would he like having his picture taken?  Or would he just want to get it over with and not try anything I suggested?  How on earth do you pose an 18 year old boy that makes him look "cool" or whatever word the kids are using these days, but still make his mama happy?  These were the thoughts going through my mind while I waited for him to arrive.  But all of my worries were completely unfounded, for I met one of the most polite, talkative, fun spirited, all American guys you could imagine.  He's handsome, plays lacrosse, is an Eagle Scout, skis, and golfs.  Pretty much every mother's dream.  We met up at a boy scout camp where he worked in the summers and we had the place to ourselves, so we just drove around and hopped out when we saw something that might work for a background. Definitely a fun way to do a photo shoot.  Much better than planning it all out...except for my worrying for nothing the whole day before.  Here are some of my favorites.

This might be my favorite.  I'm kinda in love with this background.

Or this one.  I'm having a hard time deciding.  The reflections of the trees off the lake were amazing.  And he's got a pretty amazing smile too.


I really wish I could remember what was so funny.  He was probably laughing at how terrified I was because we were on a dock and I have this fear when I take pictures that I'm just going to back up and fall off of stuff.  Like fall off a cliff, or step in a giant hole, or say, fall off a dock, because I tend to just not pay attention to where I'm walking when I'm taking pictures.  So, yeah, I was a little nervous.  But it was worth it.


I am so in love with those orange trees.  Appropriate for his Syracuse shirt, which is where he hopes to go to school.




I really love senior photos.  What a fun time in a kid's life, just on the cusp of adulthood without all the responsibilities yet.  Full of hopes and dreams.  What a perfect time for a photo shoot.

Friday, October 8, 2010

Photo Friday ~ 40 ~

This week I have three very different photos to share.  I did a senior photo shoot last night and it was the most perfect weather for it.  I snapped this photo of a spider web when I noticed that I was standing right next to it.  Now, if you know me, you know that I have quite the spider phobia.  I mean, it's bad.  I can't even hardly look at a picture of a spider.  I don't even like the fake ones that are everywhere for Halloween.  They just give me the creeps.  I hate them.  But...I like spider webs.  As long as there isn't a spider in it.  I think they are just so beautiful.  How can I love something that is created by something I despise so much?

I can't explain it, I just know that I really like this photo.

Another picture from my senior shoot.  This guy is a skier so he brought some of his ski equipment to use as props and I snapped this self portrait of me in action in his goggles.  I like how it has my minivan and my stool in the picture...very me...I have to take a stool to photo shoots because I am so short that if I don't stand on it I get a bunch of photos looking up at people and they look like giants.  He was sitting in this picture though,  which is why I am hunched over like a hunchback.

My baby hanging out on the steps.  He wanted me to get a picture of him on the number 4 step (the 4th step up from the bottom) because he's 4.   He posed himself like that.  I don't even want to think about that fact that someday soon he won't fit on those steps.

Have a great weekend!  

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Black House

When my daughter was little she had an imaginary friend named Alice.  This was when she was very little, probably like 2, I think it was before my son was born and while he was a newborn.  I remember having to push her on the swings.  Then, she progressed to her imaginary horse, Sarah, and I think she actually has two horses now, I think one named Bella too.  One is light brown and one is dark brown, I think, I can't really keep it all straight ~ it's kinda hard when you can't actually see them!  I always thought that it was sort of an oldest child thing to have an imaginary friend, but lately my son has been talking about his imaginary house.  Yes, his Black House.

It all started one day when we were in the car and he started talking about his black house being far away.  And he was telling me how to get there...you turn left, then left, then straight, etc. (he likes to tell us which way to turn).  I didn't really know what he was talking about at the time.  I just figured he was remembering some house we had passed before.  Then it kept happening.  He kept talking about his black house.  And that's when I realized that it was his imaginary house.  It's a strange house.  He plays video games there.  That seems to be the most recurring theme.  And when you flush the potty it makes a weird noise.  And it's far away, "It takes for a long time to get there", he says.  Mommy can't go there.  I don't know where he comes up with this stuff.  All I know is that I love it and it's so interesting to hear what goes on there.  If we ask him about it he'll either completely blow us off or he'll get into it and start telling us all about it.  I wish I could remember more of what he's told us about it, but it's honestly all so random that I can't think of it now.

I think it's really funny that both my kids have such vivid imaginations.  I don't really remember being like that as a kid, maybe they get it from their dad.  Either way, I think it's awesome.  Maybe they will end up being authors or something.  Or actors.  But there I go getting carried away with my imagination.  ; )

Friday, October 1, 2010

Photo Friday ~ 39 ~

This week is all about my boy.  The other day he found a squirt gun in the garage and I had to get a picture of him with it.  You see, we don't believe in buying our kids violent toys.  We try to minimize any exposure they have to violence on television as well.   Our kids are pretty sensitive and get scared easily and I think that's fine.  So many shows and movies are so violent and scary and I just don't think it's necessary at their ages.  Don't even get me started on the violence in video games...that's why my kids will never own a video game system.  Yes, my husband has one, but he does not play violent games in front of them, and I'm planning on fighting that future battle when I get there.  And I really don't see the value in buying my little boy a bunch of swords and guns and things like that.  But, he will still turn a stick into a gun or pretend fight with a baseball bat, and that's fine...boys like fighting...I totally get that.  Maybe someday when he's begging for those types of toys I'll change my tune, but he's never asked for one at this point and I think that's awesome.  Back to the squirt gun (bought by Grandmama and used at the pool) that he picked up the other day.  I think it's like inborn that boys just know how to use a gun.   Check out these photos of him with it.

Who is this kid?  I think it's funny how he closes one eye when he plays with it.

Um, yeah.  This makes me laugh because it's so not him.  He'll probably end up being a cop or something and then I'll have to eat my words.  Check out the way he's sitting in that chair.  He's so much like a miniature little man sometimes.

Okay, there's my sweet boy.  And lest you think that he just poses all cute and smiley like that all the time, I just need to explain that he was throwing his shoes at me while I was taking these.  I have to take one for the team sometimes to get a true smile out of him.  I think it was worth it.


I had to include this because it's so him.  He thinks he's hilarious and he had to do a little booty shaking for the camera.  

I love him.  The end.

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