Christmas 2010

Our Christmas was great. We saw lots of family and had our own little Christmas fun at home too...

Waffles with ice cream and strawberries, our Christmas morning tradition.


Playing a new game...



Opening presents of course. A quote from Marlie... "I just knew I was going to get the best Woody doll ever!"



Don't get me wrong, Christmas with a 3 year old is not without its rough moments. Not pictured are Marlie's epic meltdown on Christmas Eve. Holy. Moly. And also her biting Shane's nipple (through his shirt mind you) while he read to us about the birth of Jesus from the Bible. I mean...what in the?

But for the most part I must say it was nice. My favorite part was when Marlie was looking out the window at all the snow and said "Hey guys, are you thinking what I'm thinking?....Snow!" So we all got bundled up and headed out side.

It was a gorgeous white Christmas this year. A big fluffy snow that stuck to everything and was sparkly and beautiful.



We put Marlie to work shoveling the sidewalks...



and built the cutest, squattiest snowman you ever did see...



We even took the sled to the park. I think this is my favorite shot of the day...





I don't know about you but I always get kind of down when Christmas is over. Especially this year since I have finally been taken down by one of the many winter colds that have preyed upon our family this season. Blah. Today I'm resting, taking advantage of Shane's last day at home, and soaking in the last bits of the Christmas holiday. I have a wedding to shoot on Friday so I've got to kick this cold fast.

Hope your Christmas was wonderful!

Merry Merry

Christmas must be near because...my yummy pine tree candle is burning. Because...I'm getting excited and so are Marlie and Shane. Because...my aunt is in town which only happens once a year. Because... I am itching to spend some down time wrapping up all of the gifts. Because... I have six packages of cream cheese in my fridge (cheesecake and red velvet cake!). Because I'm feeling all warm and fuzzy like. I just love Christmas time. Merry Christmas to you and yours!

* Awesome Christmas card design by Russ Mohr at Art in Stereo.

Mike & Christina + Lucas

On a warm fall day I met up with Mike and Christina for a maternity shoot. We were meeting for the first time. What a sweet couple and a beautiful mama.



When I saw her purple dress and cowboy boots I got pretty excited. Great fun choice for a photo shoot.



And then just before Thanksgiving I got to meet their new little man. Hello Lucas.



What a sweet little guy!





Congratulations guys! He is adorable.

Christmas cookies

Oh man. Winter hasn't even been around that long and its already trying its best to bring me down. Marlie had strep twice last month followed by Shane having some sort of horrible stomach virus and now Marlie has a nasty cold. Ug. Praise the Lord, I have been spared so far. I don't know what else I can do, we wash hands like crazy, we squirt hand sanitizer, I wipe the doorknobs and light switches with Lysol wipes. Its enough to make me want to never leave the house and bathe Marlie in Purell jell.

Poor Monkey Pants is as crusty as can be. Her lips are so chapped and her little nose is raw. I hate it. Our days are full of me trying to figure out what we can do next to keep her entertained and our spirits up. Today..Christmas cookies.



Marlie is really in to baking lately so she loved it. I love those little hands.



Just sprinkles and m&ms this time around. I know my limits and icing + snot would have put me over the edge today. She likes the sprinkles best anyway.



I don't think we'll be sharing these with anyone since I'm sure they are made of at least 2% boogers. But Marlie likes them. Now... what are we going to do tomorrow?

Molly and fam....baby two on the way

I've been photographing Molly and her family since she was pregnant with little Keegan. I can't believe he is about to turn two already! We met up on a chilly fall morning to take some photos of the family of 3 before they become 4.



Keegan is such a sweet little guy. Love this one...



Have you ever seen a more perfectly round belly?





Thanks for another great shoot guys!

this one time I made a felt wreath

Last year felt rosette wreaths were popping up all over the blogosphere. They are so cute and I've been wanting to try making one for a long time. My friend Emily made this adorable one for Valentine's Day.

I needed a new Christmas wreath so I decided to start a few weeks ago because I had been warned that this project is pretty time consuming. And its true, there are lots and lots of felt circles to draw and cut out....



I decided to make a crisp white one and then added some colorful felt balls. Just cuz...I don't know...tis the season for colorful balls I guess. I finally finished it today and I'm pretty happy with the results. Cute!



Click here for the design sponge tutorial that I used. Happy decorating!

Turkey Day thanks and a deal for you

Yesterday was a wonderful Thanksgiving. I meant to blog about all the things I was thankful for, but I was too busy enjoying them to blog :). It was a chilly and wet day, we watched Shane play football with some friends, I baked pies, we saw both of our families. It started snowing big fluffy flakes out my mom's picture window as we sat eating our turkey as if to say "winter is here!". It was great. I really am so thankful.

Today is Black Friday and I am inside plugging away at work and hoping to avoid any sort of shopping. Some years I have it in me and this is not one of them. Have fun if you do venture out! If you choose to stay in and do some internet shopping then I have a deal for you ...



Today or tomorrow if you purchase 2 or more name collages then you get free shipping. That's $10 off each sign! Just enter holiday2010 in the coupon code box and the deal is yours. The code will be expired by Sunday, so get on over to the shop and cross some gifts off your list. Happy shopping!

its a...

I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. Its just hard for me to picture a little guy around here I guess! Everything looks healthy. To quote the ultrasound tech "Oh, he has a beautiful aorta." That's great news!

Miss A - the family pop star

My niece's birthday was last month and instead of getting her another toy or craft kit or something I told her I would take her out for a pop-star photo shoot. She is the family pop-star after all, and has been in to getting her picture taken lately so I thought it would be fun. And it was so fun!







I cannot believe this is the same kid that used to scream and wiggle and do anything to get away from my camera.



Move over Miley. This shot was totally her idea. She is reaching out to her fans in the front row if you can't tell...







Happy b-day sweet miss A. You are such a hoot!

melted

Potty training is different for every kid, every house, every family. I know for some people its not a big deal. In our house its been a bit of a dramatic, fit pitching, tear inducing, monster of a deal. Pee pee in the potty, Monkey Pants mastered that months ago. Poopy is another story. This summer I bought her a little craft kit and it has been sitting by the potty with the understanding that as soon as she pooped in there we would bust that baby open and craft away.

Yesterday was that big day. We danced around, clapped, cheered, went out for ice-cream and excitedly opened her little craft kit together. She painted and glued and giggled and asked me to paint with her.



Last night we were chatting nose to nose in her bed, one last snuggle of the day. Suddenly she got this huge smile on her face and said...

"Mommy, thanks for my heart box."

I started to explain to her that she really earned it and I was so proud, but before I could finish she interuppted...

"I know, I know mommy, but thank you so much for painting it with me."

And then I melted.

the Munson fam

I met with my friends Scott and Sarah and their little girl Charlie, that you've probably seen on this blog more than once, for a shoot recently. They are still adorable...



But this time Sarah's parents and whole family came along too. The weather was perfect and the trees were at their peak color.



Gotta love a family that can kick off the heels and climb a tree. Mom's idea, and they happily obliged.



Have you ever seen three prettier sisters?



Its a good thing that we put James in some of the family photos...



because these two got engaged this past weekend. Congrats Emily and James!



What a fun shoot. Thanks guys!

Art in Stereo...the coolest Christmas cards

A few weeks ago my friend/fellow photographer Bailey Mohr did a family shoot for us. A few of my favs...







And you know this one is getting blown up big. Sometimes you just need someone else to get a good shot of your kid and did she ever...



Part of the reason that I wanted a family shoot done this fall was because after seeing my friend Russ's Christmas card options I really wanted to get some this year. Check them out...





What are you waiting for? Go here for the deets and get your order in!

hello Friday

Its Friday again. My day to plug through work and do a few things around the house. Fridays are never quite long enough it seems, but much needed. I'm feeling a little more than ragged around the edges today. It has been a long few months of working really hard and struggling to keep up. One day at a time, one step in front of the other. But, things are looking up around here...

A. I am 17 weeks along and finally feeling much better. Holy moly that was a long 17 weeks. The nausea is gone for the most part and I have a little bit more energy.

B. I am on the down slope of my huge mountain of editing. Hang with me dear clients, I am working as fast as I can!

C. And this is the big one... On Monday I am treating myself to something I have been wanting to do for years. A cleaning service is coming to shape up our dirty house! I've been opting for sleeping and editing during nap time and night time around here instead of scrubbing and sweeping so it is much needed. I can not wait.

And of course this weekend is Halloween which means candy. I like candy. Especially of the chocolate and peanut butter persuasion so Monkey Pants better hide the Reeses. We are headed out of town for the first part of our weekend for some time with family. A weenie roast is on the schedule and that always means a good time. Plus I get to have some qt with this little puddin pop and that makes me happy...



That's my nephew Charlie. He came over a few weeks ago for a little fall shoot. I just love him.



Its hard to believe that this time next year I will have one about the same size. I must say, one of the perks of having a spring baby is that they are perfectly round as a pumpkin just in time for fall. Happy Halloween!

fall mini shoot day

This fall with having three weddings to shoot in two months I knew I was going to be really busy and not able to do very many full individual shoots. So, when people contacted me about fall shoots I encouraged them to sign up for my fall mini shoot day. The 8 slots were filled pretty quickly and I didn't even have to advertise it. Pretty smart eh? Especially since this fall ended up being full of preggo nausea and exhaustion.

The weather was beautiful, the trees were beautiful and each family was fun to work with. A few of my favorite shots...

















Thanks to everyone who came out. And to Beth for helping all day!