I'm excited for our 2016, Jacob is starting school in a week, AHHHH!!! I also have something new going on, but I have no solid details so I'm keeping it zipped till I have more to share!

I'm stealing this quote from my cousin, who saw it from someone else's blog. As I was adding all my images, I thought of it and it took me a crazy amount of time to find, a CRAZY amount of time, I don't think it's the even the one I was looking for, but dang! Close enough. Anyway, I obviously remembered it for a reason and I think it applies to our lego moments, letting Winnie outside moments, raking the leaves, soccer games, school, washing the dishes...all those mundane moments.

“Life is made up of ordinary days” is a favorite quote of mine. I can still remember my first moment of “ordinary days”. It was soon after coming home from my honeymoon. The year before had been full of meeting my husband, being wooed, getting engaged, and planning a wedding. And an extraordinary day…all eyes were on us. Then, we were just another couple, learning, growing, going to work, and paying bills. Days, months, and a year went by, and then a new adventure: I was a mother to be. Well, the baby arrived, the grandparents glowed, the gifts arrived, and then Dad and grandma went back to work and I began a new set of “ordinary days”. This extraordinary event happened 3 more times in the next 10 years. Now, with each child came more “ordinary days” and some “extraordinary ones”: first teeth, walking, potty training, school, puberty, driving, graduations, and a wedding. The quote”extraordinary days” are few and far between, but the “ordinary days” are what make up the in-between. Those are the days when seeds are sown, prayers are prayed, and forgiveness is exchanged.

 AND I LOVE little miss Charlotte!!!! She walks like she is going to take over the world or stomp it to the ground. STOMP STOMP STOMP!! I could seriously watch her walk around all day long!!

I'm betting the next Dorton will be just as amazing! Alright enough from me, look at the pics!!!

But Jake and those chickens move fast, so I couldn't manage to get ten good shots of him so my one pose is technically two poses this month.  We volunteer at school to help take care of the garden and the chickens during the summer, so the boys also help me with watering, (unfortunately not weeding) and we are usually all soaked by the time we leave.

So I started with what I always do, which is bounce the light off a wall. Whenever I'm taking pictures of kids, this is the easiest thing for me to do, stick my light on a tripod and bounce, because the kids are usually bouncing off the walls too. Setting up a direction light when you are always moving just doesn't work.  It fills the room with light but sometimes it can look flat, which is why I wanted to try some new things.

Jakey is my very unhelpful reflector assistant

Then I tried putting my light right behind me, about five feet away from Nathan, ehhh... 

For the next two, my softbox is placed at a 45 degree angle behind him at camera right. The softbox is just out of the right-hand side of the frame and is very close to Nathan.  A reflector is also just out of the frame on the left-hand side.  A little dramatic lighting for you.

Now the light is behind him off to camera left, about four or five feet above him, with a reflector at a 45 degree angle in front of him.  This is horrible for a portrait but the plane looked awesome.

The light source in this photo is slightly to the right of the camera and is three feet away from Nathan, I felt this was the most flattering. And then dad came home just in time to join the fun!!  In all, I would have preferred some ambient light as well, which I did not have and you can totally tell by how large Nathan's pupils are, boo.

This feels like a totally weird post for me, I feel like I should write a lesson plan and include diagrams. oh well...

This perfectly describes how I have been feeling. I, more than anything, have wanted to start a personal photo project (since January) but none have seemed right. No way can I keep up with a 365, I enjoyed following several 10 on 10's, but for me, I needed more direction! I came across this idea through a random email, and I felt challenged!! Right after I had my epiphany, an old friend decided to catch up with me on chat. Denise, who lives a day ahead of us in the Down Under, is photographing with me and hopefully keeps me from falling off my photography wagon!!  She also started a facebook group so several of my friends and hers can join us and inspire each other!!  I am super excited about all of this!!  SO the project is...

One pose. One location. 10 shots.
 

Every month on the 15th, I plan on making a blog post and I hope you decide to follow!!

I want to keep my project personal, so my 10 shots are going to be of my family so I can document some of things special to us, and one of those things is our walks.  

Nathan has decided he wants another dog, so I came up with a BRILLIANT plan for him to get his second dog.  He has to walk Winnie every day for 6 months. Guess what, no way will this ever happen!! But that is our little secret!!

Anyway, my one location is the stroller, my one pose is the boys in the stroller, and the change is on my end as the photographer.  It's a loose interpretation but roll with it!!

 We also celebrated Grace turning 6 months, and I got to say she has the most beautiful little face and big eyes!! I remember Jack being the same, it's a toss up on who takes the cake on cutest baby ever at 6 months old!

Now, I of course am behind in my blogging, Christin and her family are my first of this year and I couldn't have gotten off to a better start!!

Melissa is super critical and brutality honest in a mean way BUT I mean that in the best possible way, she understands, it works for her in a good way! Dave is a gentleman, so I knew he would like them all and she would hate them all!  I think they ended up agreeing on twenty of them, which totally beat my expectations!! Not that any of this matters because it will probably take them five years to actually get married so I bet I'll be taking another batch of engagement pictures when they finally set the date! ;)

But in all serious, my family and I LOVE Dave and Melissa and can't wait for the big day! And remember you two, Nathan wanted you to have your wedding on his birthday so he could eat cake twice that day! Just a friendly reminder!!

All I have to say is these kids were beyond fabulous!! I feel like this session was done at hyper speed, jumping, running, and funny faces, I loved every second!!

Here she is! Miss Mary Etta Estelle Warmke, my itty bitty Goddaughter! Big Brother Frank made an appearance as well, we got along great after he told me to "shoo!!!!" It was pretty funny, we shared some cheese, crackers and apple slices, and he drove a truck on my head. It's all good!

The Coleman Family, Martha called me so they could get some updated family photos for grandma! 

My sister-in-law Rae and I planned to do photos for Christmas since we were all getting togther for Thanksgiving. How lucky were we that it snowed that day! Magical and perfect for Christmas cards!!!  Plus we needed an updated picture of them because my boys LOVE their cousins!! Jacob likes to carry their picture around and talk to them :)

The Hrdlicka Family, James had just turned three months old! He had a busy day Christmas cheer, pinball machines and finally a nap!

Lets start with a senior!! Meet Alison!!! It's so much different shooting a senior verses a two year old! OK, turn your head...now bring your hand up to your face, maybe underneath your chin...Smile, no no serious this time...that is looking really good. Kay, hold still right there! Not a two year old! The ever gorgeous Lucy!!! That baby in there, my Goddaughter, to be continued...

Finally their very first family photos, the Heard family. So the third picture down, please notice Grahams snot bubble. HaHaHA LOVE IT!! It's a horrible picture but how could I not share it. Claire, Graham, Laura and Ryan, love 'em as much as I do a good ol' snot bubble!  POP!

They kinda make you want to fall in love again! My cousin Cody, and soon to be wife Brittany! So many pictures, so very hard to narrow down!

This will be the third year that I make it my goal to blog about each family individually. Obviously last year I was unsuccessful, so why repeat this insanity when I clearly keeping failing each year? Because each of these dang families deserve their own blog post! Last year I did manage to do a few families before I gave up and this year I'm determined to make it even more.  There are even a few people still waiting for pictures...from last year..family and best friend, someday...someday...soonish ;)

So I originally planned to do a huge massive blog post that had all my sessions, I worked ALL day on it, when I was done it wouldn't save. I made the pictures smaller, nope. I deleted some of my lesser favorites, which was hard, nope. I thought about collaging some of the images but that made me angry, I selected my favorites and they should all fill the screen instead of being shrunk down.  I deleted session after session and finally it saved these five families. I will be blogging the rest over the next few days and I hope you all enjoy the images as much as I have!  

Nicole, my cousin, and the session I'm starting with, nagged me (sometimes thats the only way) to get her pictures done from the family reunion, way back from the beginning of the summer.  Joe, Nicole, Maddie and Ellie also came to visit us in the fall, so of course I wanted to do some more photos for them! Already she is planning a spring session, so Chicago friends I'll be seeing you in the springtime, I know a couple of babies that need their pictures taken!!

In the fall

It is always a dream come true when a family treats their session as any other day at the park.  The first thing Melissa said to me was "we just wore our everyday clothes" and I'm thinking "awesome!" And that's exactly what their session was, awesome. We went to one of their favorite parks, and it was really great just sitting back and watching them be together. Thank you Penningtons, I honestly left that day thinking about how much fun I had! 

This gorgeous girl has her momma's eyes!  I knew Melissa way back when we worked in the video department at Dierbergs.  It was fabulous meeting her family and catching up over the past...15 to 20 years...good lord! Seriously Maddie has got some drop dead gorgeous eyes! Seriously she has the best personality too! She was not hard to warm up to!

The Lee Family! I have been photographing this family for a long time now! Isabella has always been very quiet around me, but this year, totally different! I love her little personality!  James, who is not going to fall in love with your big smile!!

Right after the Lee Family, I had the Conaways, we celebrated fall and Maggie turning 18 months! Maggie was born a week after Jacob, so whenever he hits a milestone I think of Maggie too! I always look forward to hearing from them, they are such a sweet family and I love how Rosie, their dog, always joins us for our shoots (still their first baby)!

Anyway, we did a little cornfield, a little bit of s'mores, and then a little bit more cornfield. I had a great time with them as always! I love how tall Winston has gotten and all his wonderful smiles!!

So here you go my absolute favorite brother and sister, Claire and Graham!!!

I'll keep my chit chat to a minimum because really the images speak for how much I loved spending the day with my cousins family (and because you'll be scrolling for a while, I couldn't stop, too many favorites!!).  

Scarlett turned two in July and these images are to celebrate her!  

A few from her Birthday Bash!!

Charlotte is such a good mix of the two of them, I can see both Todd and Shannon in her face. 

Stay sweet Charlotte the Harlot :) 

It is so wonderful that this family gets to enjoy one of each. Lucy and Chris, I can't wait to meet my new cousin!!

yea that about sums it up!!

“When you fly across the country in an airplane the country seems vast; but it isn’t vast. It’s all connected by roads one can ride a bike down. If you watch the news and there’s a tragedy at a house in Kansas, that guy’s driveway connects with yours, and you’d be surprised by how few roads it takes to get there.” -Donald Miller

Maggie at 9 months

Graham turns One

Baylor also turned One!

Winston is a running Two!

My cousin Rosalyn at 4

Oh look! Here's Maggie again but now she is One! And I just have to say she has many fabulous expressions!!

Mixed within all these sessions I was able to spend several days photographing Nathan's school!

Field Day and Screen Free Week

The End

I have known Todd for a long time now and he has become a great friend of mine.  And being such a terrific guy of course he ends up with a terrific girl, and they are a fantastic couple! I feel like they are just oozing with a lot of love for each other and now they have this sweet little girl who will do nothing but benefit from having these two as her parents.  Todd and Shannon keep me cracking up all the time and I can't wait to hear all the fun  stories Charlotte will give them as she grows up!

Let's start back in September...

With Jack, who turned ONE!

Then I met the Griffin Family, whose little boy Brody wanted nothing to do with me but was completely captivated with the fishing rod that I brought!

The Bolen Family. Stephen sent me this message after I sent him a sneak peek, "Oh my goodness. They're both happy! At the same time! And you got it captured forever!!!"  So that pretty much made my day, and now that I just read it, it put a smile on my face!!

I think the notorious duo came next, my firecracker and the ever so handsome Graham! I think it went as expected!! Ha!

An old friend recommended me to her sister and I had the pleasure of meeting their new addition to the family, Braxson!

Yesterday, I took little Miss Charlotte's newborn pictures but here are the before and some of my favorite people Todd and Shannon

My cousin Chris, lovely Lucy and their son Frank, who I will get to smile for me next time!!

Mr. Winston, so ready for Christmas!

Gabriel, who also is celebrating turning one!

And finally James, who wonderfully slept through all the noise his big sister made and all her kisses!

I loved all my sessions this past fall! It was great seeing all these little faces again!!! XOXO

My Tough Cookie!  I think I could stare at his fat little legs all day long! Love 'em!!!!

We had a little impromptu photo shoot today, and I knew if I didn't write this blog tonight, it would never get done.

We extended Nathan's day at school, so now I have a little alone time with this one, and he has a little alone time with Nathan's toys :) I kinda feel like I only have one child again, Nathan goes to school, Jacob and I take a nap, then we play, pick up Nathan, Jakey takes another nap, and Nathan and I have our time together.  Not too shabby! (but now secretly dreading summer!)

So let me get stats out of the way.  He has two bottom teeth that showed up around Christmas time, "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, my two front teeth!" He still prefers the army crawl but the last two days he has been getting up and doing a normal crawl.  He gets up our stairs pretty well and he pulls himself up on everything, and gets into everything! And he eats everything! I'm so glad I finally have an eater!!! He can annihilate a clementine and he loves beans! The "it" toy right now is Nathan's Buzz Lightyear car, it makes noise, he can ride it, he can pull himself up on it, and of course it's one of Nathan's favorite things as well.  

Nathan is kind of my baby, I call him my sweet boy and he calls me his sweet girl, and every night we cuddle before he goes to sleep.  One night we decided I would put Jacob to sleep, and man was that the worst idea EVER! Like Nathan and I have our routine so does Jacob and Dad, and I fucked it up, and we couldn't get Jacob asleep till ten.  Nathan is a kinda a crybaby (sorry Nathan if you read this when your twenty, LOVE YOU!) and Jacob did not even wince when he got his shot today, he just keeps on trucking! Nathan says "carry me" and Jacob say "put me down woman!!" Nathan says "I hate dinners" and Jacob says "nom nom nom!" One is peaceful in the car the other is not, one hates being splashed in the face and the other thinks it's so much fun! But sharks and dinosaurs still eat the baby in rock'a'bye baby and Jacob loves it, so there's one thing they have in common.  

He can kinda sit

He army crawls

He grabs my hair and rips it out

He does not like to snuggle

He loves Winnies disgusting soccer ball

He adores his big brother

He chews on everything but he has no teeth yet

He loves taking turns doing airplane with his brother

His nickname is the "bomber" (given by Nathan) because he spits up and drools so much

His back is ticklish

He changes his outfits about three times a day

He likes when Winnie kisses his hand but not his face

He likes watching Mad Men with Daddy

He loves to splash in the bathtub, sitting still is not an option

He loves attention

He yells really loud when he doesn't get attention

He always has a big smile when get him from his crib

He is not fond of car rides

Nor is he fond of Mommy's picture days

And he is a super sweet  and happy baby

I can't say we have been any busier than usual but I can't seem to get anything done, and I'm trying to think of what we have done in the last three months because that is the last time I blogged about Mr. Jacob.  He shared his 4 month birthday with Brian's 33rd, around his 5th month he got to meet his great grandma, and his 6th month was about the time we went pumpkin picking.  Jacob is just an incredibly easy baby, the months are just flying by with ease and grace! ;)

What I really love about having a second is watching my sons together and how things have changed between them.  It's amazing to see how much Jacob looks up to his older brother already and Nathan has become really loveable with him.  Jealousy was a big issue at first because if you know us you know Nathan is definitely my child, but now, and has been for a while, that jealousy is a non-issue.  I can tell Nathan is looking forward to when Jacob can play with him!

Now I'm going to add a zillion photos

And how could I forget! He loves to bounce, it's all he does all day long!

If you have looked at my other blog posts then you have meet Jack, Jack and this cutie are friends!  Meet Joseph!!  Just like the Bujnaks, the Sepers are a great family, that have a lot of love for their son.  I keep meeting such wonderful families that really make taking pictures a lot of fun!  When Joseph was playing with a few sticks his parents commented "that is so Joseph!"  he had this very intent and concentrated look on his face, which I can relate, Nathan is very serious about playtime!  It makes me so happy that I can capture those little things that parents see in their children.  We found this great little nook at Tower Grove Park that was just magical, except for the mosquitos!! Other than that really everything about this session was magical!! I loved all the kisses and smiles I got out of Joseph, Megan and Adam.

When you have your very own very small "photography business" you don't expect to get too many seniors.  I lucked out because my aunt is such a talker, and she talked me up, she has always been very supportive!  Eileen is my aunt's massage therapists daughter, and if you need a massage I hear she is very good, my aunt followed her when she started her own business, which is Yue Ma Massage.  Eileen and her mom, Yue Ma, were wonderful to work with, I really enjoyed talking with them and planning our session.  They were very comfortable and relaxed and open to all my ideas, and I loved that I got to try so many different poses and areas around the SLU campus.  I guess I forgot to mention that Eileen is not actually a senior but started as a freshman this year! Anyway, we started off at the Moolah Movie Theatre, which is such an amazing building and then heading over to the Chipotle across the street because they had this great orange concrete wall (see very open to ideas Ha!) then we double backed and strolled the campus, which is so beautiful. For as long as I have lived in St. Louis, I can't believe I have never visited the campus!! It was a hot day so why not finish up in a fountain!! I hope Eileen enjoyed the day as much as I did, I can not express enough how much fun I had and how invigorating this photo shoot was!! I would love to do some more fashion type shoots around the downtown area, I hope I don't have to wait for all my one and two year olds to grow up!! Ha!  Some of my moms can pretend to be senior models right?! If I have any takers let me know, especially someone that owns a satin purple jumpsuit, wink wink!! The first few are on me!!

This seemed just right for Miss Claire and Graham, I wouldn't put anything past her, Graham should sleep with one eye open!

I don't think Laura was planning on bringing Claire for Grahams pictures but I'm glad I convinced her, she sat still for a good 5-10 minutes before she played in my big dirt pile! Ha!! Seriously she did great!!

Graham is six months now, well not now but he was when I took these...anyway I have a feeling Graham is going to be much calmer than Claire, he just seems quieter and easygoing, and I bet his mommy appreciates that!! Laura you'll have to let me know if I'm right!  Laura is a good friend of mine, and even better because our kids are around the same ages!  We spend a lot of time texting back and forth about our children, and their fun little idiosyncrasies (this is said with a small amount of sarcasm).  They keep us hopping for sure!! I look forward to when all four of them are playing together, I think definitely our two little boys will be ready for swimming next summer!

I think Dotty was surprised that she was surprised at her surprise birthday party!  Just a couple of years ago she threw her husband a surprise party too and I was lucky enough to photograph that as well! I know the Hills because David Hill has become a good friend of our family, he took my son fishing for the first time this year and his niece is in the same primary class as Nathan.  Their family is one of many different talents and love for each other, and I'm glad I got to be a part of Dotty's special day!

I can always count on Jack to ham it up for me, he gives me the greatest faces!! 

AND I'm really looking forward to seeing him in a week and a half to do his one year photos!! So now you can tell how really behind I am on my blog posts because this is 3 months old!!!

One of the things I remember about this session, and maybe this is because I am soooo tone death, but Christin has this amazing voice!!  She started singing to Jack and oh my goodness! His face lit up and he started bouncing and clapping, and it was wonderful!! My son tells me not to sing, so I am in total envy of Christin, she will never hear "Mom, just stop" from her son!!!!

Christin is always very prepared for me, I always know to check out Pinterest and see what ideas she has, but this time around, probably because they just moved, she was a little less prepared.  Which is totally fine, this time we spent more time capturing Jack totally in his element.  Jack likes mirrors, so we took a couple of those, some of him playing in the living room, and he also really loves bath time, so I took a lot of those!! It's fun just to watch them play sometimes, and I really loved our carefree session!!

I can't wait to see Jack up and running next week!

I'm always excited to take pictures for Jody and her family, but when she told me her ideas she blew my mind!!

Jody wrote me and told me she wanted to do a Mad Men/60's theme for Winston's one year family photos which is so absolutely original and wonderfully exciting! My mind was racing with a ton of ideas after she emailed me with a complete storyboard of the look she was going for!!  I was super excited to do these pictures but I was completely terrified as well!  Jody put a lot of thought and effort into her idea and I wanted her to have  the pictures to match her design.  I'm so glad she trusted me enough to do these images for her. 

The first thing that came to my mind was location, obviously the perfect place was at the Moonrise Hotel in the Loop!!  I really couldn't imagine a more perfect place.  They ended up getting a beautiful room and making a weekend out of it, which was fantastic!! It gave us plenty of time, plus a little down time (I don't think Winston was all that jazzed about his tux), and we were allowed to roam the hotel.  We had a gorgeous day but I think we finished just in the nick of time, there were literally cardboard boxes flying at my head when I left the hotel!!

Jody, Greg and Winston thanks again for a spectacular day!!

Yeah! Glad to hear he wants to come back :) I thought he was very curious, friendly, and comfortable today. He spoke freely to myself and others and was very receptive to seeing new things. He wants to jump in on some lengthy things he sees going on, so that is great. I will have to work through a few shorter things with him so that he 'knows the ropes' and will be successful at the abundance of activities I have to show him :)
I do not know of this doorbell ;) But he was seriously taking things in today. He wanted me to show him things (which I love). I presented Nathan some puzzles, matching cards with beautiful bird pictures, some pouring work, and some basics of carrying chairs and rolling rugs. He was eager to do them, and equally as curious about the surrounding 'going ons'.

I didn't cry when I dropped him off today but this email almost got me!! PROUD MAMA

How is this even possible! Nathan started Preschool today!!!

When Nathan and I drive in the car, he asks me a lot of driving questions, we talk about the names of the roads, merge lanes, overpasses on the highway, he tells me the speed limits, left turn signals, the cars driving in the opposite direction, and lefts and rights.  So really before I know it he's going to be driving!! Ack!!!  Brian's grandma used to tell him she was going to put a brick on his head so he would stop growing so fast, so now we tease Nathan the same way, because really he can't grow anymore!!! I love this age, I mean look at that face!! Ack!!!! again!!

I love the school that Nathan is going to, and I have every confidence Nathan will do wonderful and love every second, my biggest fear, which is totally silly, is when he needs to do number 2 :) He takes off everything, shoes, pants, underwear.  Lets just say I hope he doesn't sit in anything wet when he puts everything back on! Sharing the bathroom with other children aged two and half to six years...Ha!! I guess he'll learn. 

My friend Melissa steered us towards this school, which is a Montessori school.  When we first visited the school, I loved the idea of students learning concepts from working with materials, rather than by direct instruction. Brian and I were able to do just that during a "Silent Journey" that we participated in.  I really felt at home then and now that we are enrolled we see how much of a little community it really is.  Today Nathan brought birdseed for the class and next week he will bring in veggies for the class to prepare.  They have chickens and gardens that the children help take care of, and so many other great practical and environmental lessons.  it's really wonderful and so exciting!! I can't wait for him to come home and tell me all about his day!! 

p.s. I have gotten completely behind on my posts so this weekend be prepared because I am going to blog you to death! I have had so many wonderful photo shoots since June that I still need to share, plus an update on Jacob!

Happy Birthday Miss Scarlett!!

I had such a great time photographing her, she could not have looked any cuter! Nicole and I came up with so many wonderful ideas, she had a fabulous antique red chair that was just perfect for the two girls, and since her birthday party was watermelon themed we finished up the shoot with what else but a watermelon.  The girls dived right in and it was the perfect ending to the day.

I know this is not quite what Nicole was envisioning but they are so funny, the girls were definitely not all about working together for mom's picture!

I hope she had a wonderful birthday today and I am so happy I get to photograph these lovely ladies!!

It seems like he has been part of our lives longer than three months! He has these huge doe eyes,  and a huge open mouthed grin (which he would not let me take a picture of), that I adore.  His face lights up around Nathan and he watches him non stop, and Nathans new thing happens to be "Watch and Learn" and then jumps off the bed or does some other stunt.  I think I might be in trouble when Jacob starts moving o_O  Jacob is also starting to grab at things...not really grab, but feel, I guess.  He'll see something and put his hand on it.  He is very observant and loves loves attention, he'll give you a big grin if you just look his way.  I have a feeling he is going to be a big time thumb sucker too, he has been practicing that trick more and more.  Downfalls, he is a restless sleeper and still not sleeping through the night, momma is getting tired of that! Nathan has also gotten in the habit of saying "that guy woke me up," that guy being a cabbage patch doll that he had originally named Jacob.  Could he really mean the real Jacob...I think so!! :)

Happy Independence Day Everyone!!

Happy Two Month Birthday Jacob!

I love looking at your cute little face!! And I love how you recognize us and smile!

You are still an itty bitty little thing, but I know when you start growing I'll complain that you are growing too fast.  You're a fantastic baby but you should really work on sleeping through the night! LOVES!!

This is the only ball Winston plays with. We lost it for a couple of days and Winston went through a mini depression.

I finally found it behind the toilet, so Winnie and ball are reunited!

Nate and Paige are our friends from Minneapolis, that came in for a little St. Louis visit Memorial Day weekend.  Their little boy Harrison needed to make his debut and at the same time they were able to meet Jacob! I'm sure they had a lot of people to visit, so I'm glad we were able to spend a little part of the day with them.  Harrison and Jacob are only two months apart, and seeing Harrison reminded me how fast our babies grow and the things I get to look forward to.  Harrison was a very dapper little man in his super cute bowtie, I can tell he'll be a charmer! He has so many wonderful little expressions and we had a lot of fun spending time with him and catching up with his parents.  I hope the next time the Young family comes for a visit we get the chance to see this little man again, he is a handsome fellow and it's obvious his parents are smitten with him.

Laura and I have been trying to schedule pictures forever.  I have been nagging her since Graham was born, and finally at three months she was ready.  And then she got the stomach bug...and the next weekend after that something happened on my end.  Then we scheduled for the 14th of April and I went and had a baby.  FINALLY we were able to get together and take pictures!!!! 

Lets start with Claire...Claire Claire Claire...she is a firecracker!!!!  She is by far the most entertaining and rambunctious child I have ever met, and I love her to pieces!  If you turn your head for a second she'll be in the street, in a ditch or barking at a dog through the fence.  I think I laughed the whole time I worked on these images, she's a hard girl to keep up with but we always end up with something!  I really don't think she bothered to look my way even once, and I think we only got one shot of her and Graham together, stinker!!

this is what Nathan and I call a "pit stop"

Then there is Graham, who was more quiet of course and all smiles when I got to their house.  As soon as I try to take his picture though, those big smiles disappeared...another stinker!  He really does have a great smile and I'll get a picture of it someday!!

And lets not forget Chester

Little Miss Isabella turned two!!

When her mommy asked me to do pictures a week before my due date, I thought she was cutting it a little close!! As it turned out I went into to labor the very next day! I'm very happy we got to take these before that happened but unfortunately they had to wait five weeks before they got any pictures, and now almost eight weeks later, I'm finally getting around to this post.  Good thing they are friends of ours!! 

Isabella has the sweetest smile and she is such a little cuddle bug.  When she is being shy she sticks her two middle fingers in her mouth, such a cutie!! Isabella was being a little shy around me that day but I hear she is a little chatterbox.  Nathan and I don't get to see her nearly enough, hopefully this summer we can enjoy her a little more!!  Two is such a fun age and I hope Ben and Emily enjoy every minute of it!!

When Nathan first met Jacob he asked if he was just a head, Jacob was swaddled up in my arms and all Nathan could see was his face, I couldn't pick a more perfect beginning to our new addition.  This month has been a whirlwind, when I think of all the things that have happened it seems like ages ago, but at the same time I can't believe it has been a month....and a day.  Jacob looks more like Brian than I think Nathan did or does...he has Brian's skin tone and he is a side sleeper just like Brian.  He has my ears, feet and hands though.  He also has short skinny stick legs like my Grandpa Tugboat, Jacob is all torso.  Nathan was such a beefcake when he was born, chunk all over especially his chubby cheeks, but Jacob is a little scrawny thing, I nicknamed him Gollum.  His measurements for his month checkup put him in the 18th percentile for weight and 22nd for height.  Jacob is a great baby, except he has his days and nights mixed up and he spits up a lot!!! I never used a burp cloth with Nathan, now I do a load of laundry a day full of burp cloths and blankets. Other than that there isn't much to say about Jacob, we stare at each other a lot...he is starting to coo, which is such a sweet noise.  Second babies are soooooooo much easier, you start to wonder why you stressed out so much with the first.  But with Nathan being my first, and everything he does being a first for me, I'm sure I will always freak out no matter what he does, poor Nathan will always see the craziest of me.  Nathan really has been wonderful, he has been nothing but sweet to Jacob and I love every moment seeing them together!! One of Nathan's new traits is let's make a deal, no matter what I say, I get "how about this deal." Usually it involves daddy doing all the work while I play, or instead of this or that for dinner it's "how about this deal, I eat buttered bread," or if we need to go somewhere, "how about this deal..." So far it has stayed cute..  I have made it all sound like peaches and cream though, and of course it hasn't been, that first week was a hot mess of stomach bugs, and "nobody loves me," this coming out of Nathan, literally broke our hearts and put us in tears.  And as always the lack of sleep leaves you wondering what day of the week it is...still.  We are however blessed with fabulous friends an family, I think we would have starved had it not been for them, and Nathan spent nearly a week out of town with grandma, his aunt and cousins, which was a very special time for him.  Thank you all for all you have done for us!!!

Miss Rosalyn just turned three!! I can't believe our babies are getting so big!! My cousin Tim is the opposite of me, I am surrounded by boys and Tim is in the company of three lovely ladies! 

While this park was perfect for this little cowgirl, it was also very distracting!! Nathan tagged along on this little adventure and Faust park has an amazing playground.  So two three year olds were definitely not interested in following me around so I could take Rosalyn's picture.  Instead Nicole and I followed while they played.  We ended up cutting our time a little short, since they had exhausted themselves and were feeling a little hungry. I still have so many ideas I want to try with Rosalyn, she is such a doll and Nicole is always up for trying some of my ideas so I'm going to call this session To Be Continued...

This is the second time I have been honored to do pictures for the Bujnak family! I meet Jack a little before Christmas last year at 3 months and I was quite smitten with him. Now at 6 months...I mean really, can he be any more handsome! And his smile!!!! Mom really knows how to get those laughs and giggles!! I can not wait to see his little personality grow, future baseball player, soccer, or super star Gap model!!

Christin and Dennis are so easy going and fun, I am so lucky to have met them and photograph the wonderful family they have made!!

No more than ten days till I can sleep on my back again! Can I get an AMEN!!

This picture makes me laugh a little because it certainly does not illustrate how I feel, which is rotund and uncomfortable! I'm like the guys with the big beer gut, except I'm the old man that wears his pants over his belly not under. I look pretty sexy in Brian's comfy pants pulled up to my ribcage. I also have a pretty nice waddle and Brian helped me put on my socks today.

Lately my little model has been telling me "You can't take a picture of me everyday!"  So this is me, during Nathan's nap, with a tripod and a timer set up on our dining room table, running over to the window and looking serene and in love with being pregnant.  A little ridiculous, lol,I could really use a camera buddy, any takers?

Recently I photographed Mr. Winston, who just turned 9 months.  I was greeted at the door with a big smile and him bouncing up and down, of course this could only mean he was super excited to have his picture taken!!!  Jody and I used to work together, we have both kept in touch and I have been lucky enough to photograph this little guy since he was a few weeks old.  Jody and her family recently moved and as I was driving to their new house I became more and more excited!  They could not have picked a more perfect place for pictures and their house is phenomenal to boot!! It helps that Jody is such a creative person and has so many wonderful ideas.  She is a furniture thrifting, do it yourself guru!  I cannot wait till everything starts blooming around their house and I can snap a few family pictures.  We were pretty lucky to have a close to 60 degree day in February so I got her out of her pjs and dragged her and Winston out of the house that day for a few shots. 

Winston was so wonderful that day, he smiled the entire time...well almost, the old suitcase freaked him out when it was open, I think it might have had a mildewy smell that he was not fond of.  I can't get over what a cutie pie he is!! 

Our Snowmageddon began when Nathan and I were in the post office, when we arrived there was no sign of snow but by the time we walked out my car was covered!!  Nathan usually doesn't spend a whole lot of time in the snow, this has been yet another year where I have not bothered to buy snow boots and Nathan does NOT like snow getting his socks wet.  He has, however, figured out he could scoot around in my boots pretty well and has found a new love of playing in the snow.  No more worries about socks getting wet!!I

In the evening as we were eating dinner, we talked about the snow man we would build the following day but he insisted dad build him one right then at seven o'clock.  Brian, being a good sport, went outside with him and they built their snowman.  I think the only reason we could coax him back inside was because it had started to sleet and his coat was becoming one big icicle!! 

As soon as he had eaten his breakfast the next day we were out the door.  Nathan, the dogs and I spent most of day outside decorating the snowman, shoveling snow and talking about Jack Frost.  He was still wearing my snow boots so I had to wear Brian's and now, of course that the snow is all melted, I ran out and bought a pair of rain boots to get him by hopefully through next winter. 

Nathan loves singing to his baby brother, his favorite version being...

   "When the wind blows the dinosaur will come,

   When the bough breaks the dinosaur will come and eat the baby!" 

He is very creative, I'll give him that, there is also a waterfall that washes away the baby, a dog that thinks the baby is dog food, and alligators as well.  He has a sweet side too, he loves feeling his brother kick and he talks to him and says "see you later alligator!"

When I first found out I was pregnant, it was my intention to take a picture every day for my entire pregnancy, well it lasted about three weeks.  So here I am at 28 weeks!!

This hasn't been the easiest pregnancy, there have been a lot of hiccups working up to 28 weeks.  I realize now Nathan was a piece of cake from start to finish!!  With Jacob the first trimester and into the second I was constantly nauseous. My doctor decided to put me on "cervical rest" due to a low lying placenta and told me no contact sports. I kept thinking Nathan is three, he is a contact sport!!!  I'm sure Jacob is going to come out having already had 10 concussions!!! :) My glucose test came back just over the normal range and I had to do the follow up 3 hour test, which ended being normal, but oh my goodness all those needles!! I have also had a horrible time sleeping, I am NOT a side sleeper!!! I think I get about four hours of sleep a night since I am always awake by 4:30, really I think I have had more than my share of discomforts.

The hardest part of this though was at our 20 week ultrasound.  They found a shadow on the bowel, which could mean a lot of different things. It could be a fluke but Down Syndrome or Cystic Fibrosis are also possibilities. It's here I don't know what else to say or how to describe what I was feeling when I first heard and how I feel now.  I have had to let go of one expectation and replace it with the possibility of another, it has been frightening to say the least. Because of the low lying placenta and the shadow, I have had/am having more ultrasounds.  We had the second ultrasound two weeks ago.  Things have moved to their correct places :) so now I don't have to worry about a c-section, and they also did not see the shadow, also encouraging.  Brian and I have decided not to do any further genetic testing. The doctor that saw me after the second scan encouraged it for my own peace of mind but I really feel more testing will not accomplish any peace in my mind.  I'm sticking with a positive attitude instead :) and in another two weeks we have another ultrasound just to check Jacobs growth.

More recently Jacob has been moving much more and sometimes it feels like he is vibrating!!! My Google searches have assured me that he is not having a seizure, but I'm convinced it is from all his concussions :)  As of now I am enjoying him and feeling him kick, that's always the best part, when you feel like they are there!!!

2013

I have four resolutions this year

    1 To create a website... and done!! Last year a friend of mine asked if I was "rockstar enough to have a website yet," it was just the little push I needed to get this whole thing in the works.  It doesn't hurt that I am in mega nesting mode, my files were screaming for organization! So welcome to my very first blog entry and my new website www.melindatakesphotos.zenfolio.com I would love any feedback that you have!!

    2 The next two resolutions will be the hardest for me.  A few months ago, and I am sure a lot of moms have already seen this, I read an article "The Mom Stays in the Picture".  It's a wonderful post by Allison Tate, and I am completely guilty of this.  Since I am a stay at home mom, I rarely clean myself up, my wardrobe consists of a lot of sweatpants and incredibly dark circles under my eyes, the last thing I feel like doing is having a horrid picture taken of me.  But I have and am having a boy and I know there will be a time when I am the last thing on their minds.  When I started my website I noticed I barely have any photos of me with or without Nathan. I want my sons to know how I feel about them and how much I love them, plus I want a way to remember the hugs I give them before I stop getting them, sniff.

    3 To keep up with this blog!!  This has been the scariest part of beginning a website "the BLOG".  It has plagued me for a few weeks now, and I have been reading a lot of different blogs lately trying to decide what course mine should take.  Should it be business or personal? I want to feature photos that I take for other people but I also want to keep this blog for me and my family to document the milestones we reach together.  I would love it to become an interaction between me and other moms/photographers where we can share stories and pictures. 

and 4 try to survive being a mother of two!!!