Still here!!!

I've been very busy this past weekend with my vendor table setup. It seemed to be very successful and several people requested more information in the mail. I had a few moms who said they plan to contact me really soon to book a session. Also, two different moms expecting twins! HOW FUN?? Also, a mom told me about a beauty pageant coming to the area in November and that they are looking for a photographer for that event. She's going to email me all of the information I need and if it sounds right, I'll be shooting at a beauty pageant in November. I'm very excited!

Now I need to focus on cleaning this house and getting back into the swing of things around here. I took J to Mother Goose story time this morning at 10:30. He did so good. The lady sang nursery rhymes and J danced and clapped along with the other kids. After the nursery rhymes, she handed out stuffed animals to all of the kids and read Old MacDonald. My baby boy was naming animals and making the sounds. Next she handed out the magnets from Old MacDonald and all of the kids went to put the magnets on the board. Except for my J! He immediately saw all of the little pieces and started to clean them up! He grabbed them all and was putting them back into the basket. OCD?? HAHAHA!! All of the kids got along well and J had a ball. He was very tired after storytime and was ready to fall asleep in his lunch. He didn't put up a fight for naptime at all. HOORAY FOR ME!! Tomorrow we are going to check out a new playgroup. I love seeing J play nicely with other kids :)

Mmmmmmmmm!!!

Saturday night, J and I made Rice Krispie treats! A childhood tradition! He loves to help in the kitchen, so he was so excited! I gave him his own littel bowl and spoon and let him "mix up" some rice krispies, while I did the work with the stove. Daddy was the photographer at this grand event. However, I shoot with only one focal point and he was not aware which one it was so every single picture is out of focus. But I still think he did a pretty good job and the settings on the camera helped him a good bit ;)

"YAY!!!"



Mixing his rice krispies


Taste tester!


Waiting to help Mommy flatten the treats


Sticky flattening!! He was such a great helper :)


First Taste


Mmmmmmm, more please!!!


He wanted to flatten them all night :)


We weren't sure if his tummy could tolerate the treats, so we gave him a small piece and he didn't have any type of reaction! YAY for rice krispie treats!! I think this was a great way for us to mark the end of summer and say hello to Fall. Now if only this weather would cooperate! I hope it isn't this hot at the end of the week b/c I'll be sitting outside for hours at my vendor table this weekend...

Flashback Friday

My two boys. I love them so much.

Busy Bee!!

I've been so busy lately, proofing pictures from a recent session and getting things ready for my vendor table at a huge consignment sale next week. Also, I have to go through J's drawers this week to clear out all of his clothes that are too small so that I can sell them at the sale. I told a friend of mine that I was selling his old clothes and she said "Aren't you going to have more kids?" Yep I am, but I have no idea when that will happen, and keeping those clothes around will only add more pressure to an already tough situation. So off they go and WHEN we do have another child, he or she will get a new wardrobe (secretly hoping for another HE!!)

Anyway, here's a little sweetness for ya! J and his blankie! He sleeps like this every night. Blankie over his head!!

He's so much fun!!!

We played tag just before bed tonight. J ran until he was out of breath!

Watch how he peeks his head out of the side of the highchair and then takes of running!!

Flashback Friday

4 months old. Look at all of that hair!! Oh gosh I miss having a baby!


Praying for all of the people in the path of Hurricane Ike.

Great Lens. Great Lighting!!!

DISCLAIMER: Picture is straight from my camera, and certainly not perfect by any means! Just wanted to show the results of shooting in my driveway! This was taken with my favorite lens, 28-75mm, and in my favorite spot, our front porch! I love the lens b/c it is pretty sharp! Check out J's eyes, how they look like glass mirrors. I didn't do anything to his eyes at all in photoshop. They also look great b/c of the light in his eyes, thanks to the awesome lighting I get on my front porch. The sunlight reflects off of our pavement and makes his eyes shine so bright. I can get good light in his eyes at other locations, but never as good as I get on our front porch! I'm tempted to drag out some backdrops and do an entire session in my driveway! LOL!

So for anyone reading and trying to get some better pictures of their children, here are a few basic tips that I've learned so far.

1. Try to avoid a distracting background.
2. Get out of direct sunlight (I'm sure some are saying really?? Direct sunlight is too harsh)
3. Try to take pictures in open shade, perhaps under a tree, or a covered porch.
4. Face the light and get light in the eyes. What you see is what you get, so look for light in the eyes before taking the picture!

Have fun!!

Time for a sibling??

I guess 2 yrs old is the magic number for when you should start thinking about a sibling for your first born?? Just this past week I've been asked by several people (mainly strangers!!) if we plan to have more kids. For instance, the other day at the YMCA, while we were checking in, J was rocking my friend's baby and giving her the pacifier. A lady commented on how much of a sweet big brother he is! He loves babies and he's learned to be so gentle with them (I'm sure it's b/c they don't take his toys). When we are in stores, if he sees a baby, or even just a car seat covered with a blanket, he will put his finger to his lip and whisper "Shhhhhh, a baby!" Everytime people ask us how old J is, we tell them that he will be 2 in December, and 9 times out of 10, we hear the sibling talk! I don't mind though. It's good to dream right?!?

It's just difficult for us to say when. With infertility, you can't just say, "Okay, J is old enough now, so let's try for another." I have never known what it was like to just say I want a baby now, and be able to make that happen. I wish I could. Ladies, if you have been blessed with the gift of fertility, don't take it for granted! Thank God for the blessing! It seems so much less stressful than what we have to endure. I am indeed ready for another baby, but I'm not sure if I am ready for all of the emotional ups and downs that will come with trying. My endometriosis is topped with pelvic adhesive disease, so everytime I have a laparoscopic surgery to remive the endo, I get more scar tissue on my reproductive organs. My right ovary and fallopian tube are completely covered in scar tissue. I have a hormonal imbalance due to the endometriosis. All of this works against us when trying to conceive. My Dr has already told me that my best chance of conception will be by bypassing all of my damaged organs and going straight to my uterus (which is healthy) via IVF. Financially, we can do it. Emotionally, I'm just not too sure at this point. So many what ifs. So why don't I just adopt again? I'm sure some people will think that. Ever since I was a child, I longed to feel my child growing inside of me. Not saying that since J didn't grow inside of me, I love him less. I love that boy so much that if it was possible for me to love him any more simply b/c he grew in my womb, it would probably be a crime! But, as a woman, I know that it is hard to let go of what you know your body is supposed to be able to do. I feel like God is not done with us. I'm not ready to let go of hope. So now the research begins again. I will visit my Dr for my annual check up, and get my info for IVF again. I have already had a mock transfer, so it's up to me and my husband on when we decide to go on. The only thing is I feel like God is telling me that we can do this ON OUR OWN!! So I won't put a date on this IVF thing just yet. Just keep us in your prayers.

10 on Tuesday

1. Today is going to be a day of chores, chores, and more chores! Hopefully J enjoys his new nursery rhyme CD I bought for him yesterday.
2. I ordered a 16x24 canvas as a sample for my clients. Most people like to see exactly what it is they are ordering. So I ordered (actually got it free with my business account) a huge canvas of one of my favorite pictures of J. It came in the mail yesterday and I am in love!!


3. I let the canvas company decide which type of border would be best b/c I had no idea if I had enough room in the frame to wrap the actual picture, but they decided to wrap the actual picture and I love it! The trees and grass wrapped around the frame looks so nice. I mainly ordered this to have on display at my vendor table this month, but now I'm looking for the best place in my house to mount it!! Did I mention I love it?? Oh and BTW, if you ever order a canvas this big, make sure that the picture you are ordering is as close to perfect at you can get it. J had an itty bitty piece of lint on his cap, that I did not notice even after staring at this picture for months, but it's definitely printed out on the canvas. Nice little speck on his hat. I can only imagine how horrible this picture would have looked if it was out of focus. So keep that in mind if you ever order a canvas (or a large photo!)
4. J's foot seems to have turned in more since his appt. How is that possible? I think we need to get him a pair of everyday hightop shoes b/c I can tell that he needs the ankle support. Please pray that his legs will straighten by Jan! And if not, please pray that he will take to the braces without any problems.
5. I have been dying to learn how to knit lately. Can anyone recommend a good book for beginners. I mean seriously, BEGINNERS!! I don't even know what type of needle to use. Um, do they call them needles? Or sticks with a hook on the end? Oh boy!!
6. Our garage door is still broken from the tornado in April. I need to give them a call today and see what the hold up is. I'm sure they are not still working on tickets from April!
7. Can someone tell me why "Please" is such a tough word for J to say?? Oh never mind, I know why. He's smart and he knows that saying "please" is nice, and he doesn't like to be nice all the time! But when he says please, it sure is cute! I think I will buckle down on him now since I know he can say it but doesn't want to say it! He seriously HATES speaking English.
8. A friend of mine came over to visit yesterday with her 4 y/o son (who reads like a 10 yr old!!!) and of course, J was very talkative (in English I might add). My friend commented on how he whispers when he talks and that he will have a small voice like I do. LOL! And seriously, the 4 y/o had just turned 4 in July, I am so impressed by his reading skills!
9. Both dogs need baths and haircuts today. So much fun for me and my back :D
10. Hurricane Ike looks like it will go to TX instead of La. Good for La b/c they are still recovering from Gustav, but not so good for TX, especially if Ike regains strength. Keep the families in the path of this storm (and the islands devastated by the storm already) in your prayers.

Celtic Fest

Daddy forgot to purchase tickets for the circus this weekend, so instead, we took advantage of the BEAUTIFUL weather today and got passes to the Celtic Fest. We had lots of fun. J jumped (read: held onto the net for dear life!!) in the space jump with the other kids, ate a corn dog, watched a sword fight, danced to a childrens band, and rode on a very rough train ride! He even got a chance to sit in the biggest rocking chair in MS! Fun stuff!

Flashback Friday

Taken when he was 11 months old. Check out those legs!!

Get the sillies out!!

J woke up with a MAJOR case of the sillies!! He's been giggling all.day.long. I had to stop and pick up a check today and he laugh everytime I stopped at a red light! Then we stopped at the store for a few things for dinner tonight. He demanded to ride in a car cart "CAW CAW CAW PEEEESH!!" So in the car cart he went, although they are terribly hard to steer. We ended up getting trapped in an aisle b/c there were boxes on the floor. I had to push the cart back and forth to get it away from the boxes and we were stuck in between two display cases. I would have been embarassed if it wasn't for the hysterical laughter coming form the stuck cart! J thought this was the funniest thing ever. And when I said "Uh Oh, mommy got us stuck." he cracked up even harder! It was awesome. He sang silly songs on the way home and watched Wow Wow Wubzy while mommy put away the groceries. I wish you could have heard the belly laughs from him watching wow wow wubzy!! So then it was nap time. He giggled at the ABC story and then I put him in his crib for his nap where he immediately started to laugh uncontrollably! I had to run out and get the camera to record this scene. This is the tame version! He was laughing so much harder before I ran out to get the camera!

DISCLAIMER: There are certainly clear outlet covers on that outlet behind his crib, and yes we know it's time to convert his crib to a toddler bed, but momma's not quite ready yet ;)

The sweetest thing

Every morning, J wakes up and has his own little concert in his crib. Singing, dancing, clapping, jumping! So much fun to listen to. This morning I think my heart melted. Instead of the usual made up songs and silliness, I hear this in the sweetest voice....

"A B C D E F E"

Yeah, he said E twice! But hey, he's good! LOL!

Tuesday's Perfect Moment

The other day we headed out to the park for some pictures of J and Daddy together. For several pictures, I wanted to get down on J's level to get a good picture, but everytime I got down on the ground, J took off running to me to get himself a good seat on my lap!! A lady picnicing nearby, though this was hilarious!! I made sevreal attempts to capture what I wanted before he would take off running, so of course I was laughing as I went through the series of pictures today while editing. Here's one that I found in that series...



Completely out of focus. Lighting is awful. In a normal workload, I would just delete this picture b/c it is all wrong. But I love it. I love the joy on J's face and the happiness of Daddy's face and he watches on from the background. The fact that he's in his military uniform adds to the emotion in this capture, IMO. So why not put the photography rules aside and love this as a snapshot of my boys? It may not be the perfect picture, but it is most certainly the perfect moment!

Here are a few more from our "session"







And since I hardly ever post pictures of J and I, here's one for ya! Daddy took it and it's completely in focus! I'm so proud :D

Perfect Moment Monday

I Capture
Perfect Moments.

My blogger friend, Lori, is encouraging bloggers to post about perfect moments that we notice around us. Today, my perfect moment was when I woke up and saw the news that New Orleans may have escaped the worst of the wrath of Hurricane Gustav. A hurricane that meteorologists expected to grow to a category 5 and hit New Orleans and leave it devestated, took a path to the west of New Orleans and made landfall at a category 2. God is in control! There is still the risk of flooding and tornadoes as Gustav passes through the state, but it seems as if New Orleans did survive this one. I want to thank my other good friend, Michelle, for the prayers. They certainly were felt! Let's continue to pray for the people on the coast and also pray for those in tha path of Hanna, which is officially a hurricane as of this morning.