Fast Forward.

Remember this tiny face?  (Yes, it still makes my heart skip a beat.)

Well, she’s been doing a little growin’….

A little smilin’……

All in just three short months.

One thing hasn’t changed though.

She is still the sweetest little soul you ever did meet.

See you in three more months Baby M!  :)

Teensy Tiny Turkey

While the rest of us were preparing to give thanks, someone else was preparing to give birth.

(See her here —>) Any Day Now … « Kay’s Corner.

And are we ever thankful that she did.

Could he be any more perfect?

I highly doubt it.

This session was done on location, and the warm colors of the family’s home were so very inspiring.  I have to admit, I thoroughly enjoyed getting out of the studio for a bit of “fresh air!”

Welcome to the world, Baby Atlas!

Naturally, I couldn’t resist his big sister, and snapped this little action sequence …

…And I’m still giggling.  What a softy I am when it comes to silly girls and sweet little boys.  I should have known that with these two, I never stood a chance ;o)

Alaska Jack

The sun was shining…. the air was warm… the falling leaves a vibrant display of wonder.  It was an absolutely perfect, it-doesn’t-get-better-than-this day for a family photo session.

Only this session wasn’t booked for that day.  It was scheduled for the day after.  Which was cold, windy and wet.  An absolutely miserable, not-a-prayer-of-seeing-any-sunshine-or-a-square-foot-of-dry-ground day.  So out the window all my outdoor plans flew, and onto the camera went my low-light lens.  You know what though?  Everything worked out fine … because you see, this little guy brought his own rays of sunshine with him.  And just like that, the day suddenly didn’t seem so gloomy.

He knew this day was special.  He knew he was here to have fun.  I bet he even knew that his mother had specially coordinated this session with their trip back “home” from where they are now living in Alaska.  This was a big day, rain or shine, so little Jack gave the camera all he had…

Which was wonderful :)

It was quite an honor being asked to shoot his Six Month Session, and humbling that they wanted to take time out of their family vacation in order for me to do so.  This was one of those situations in which your answer is a whole hearted, “My pleasure.”

Four generations.  Isn’t that incredible??

After all the fun, Jack was ready to end the session with a Mama Snuggle.

Which we all know, is the best kind there is :)

One Week.

Over the past week, my husband and I have spent countless hours trying to decipher and repair what was wrong with our computer, which was insisting on freezing rather than functioning.  We recovered, repaired, and reinstalled until our eyes were crossed and our fingers were twitching; however, no matter what we did, we found ourselves still stuck in an endless circle of fixing what wasn’t broken, and not fixing what was.  The end of the world was undoubtedly nigh.

Who knew that one little teensy weensy faulty SD card reader could cause so much trouble?  Just one more thing to add to the ever growing list of Live and Learns….and a story which thankfully ends well, since I keep back up copies of everything, and we are now back to a good-as-new, fully functioning computer!

Even more important, and thankfully longer lasting, were the images I was able to capture of my children one golden after-school-noon.  November sunshine is beautiful, warm, directional light …. a light that I was not about to let go to waste.  So, when the kids and I found ourselves in the midst of a backyard exploration, I made sure to have my camera at the ready.  Here are just a few of my favorites.

Is there anything better than exploring the woods on a fabulous fall day?

We love you autumn!  Thanks for sticking around for just a bit longer.  (Next week is good for us too, if you’re asking ;)

Big Sister, Little Sister

Meet Big Sister.

She is one smart little cookie.  (She spelled her name all by herself ….. and she wasn’t even four yet.)

She also has impeccable taste in books, and being that we had a little extra time on our hands, we read The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein together.  (Or at least the first part of it …. let’s see if we can finish it next time Addi!  :)

Meet Little Sister.

She is made of so much sugar ….

and just a little spice….

Definitely made of all things nice.

Separately sweet, but just right together ….

being one of the girls….

I don’t think there’s anything better.

Congratulations on the new addition!  I have a feeling she’s going to fit right in :)

Hawaiian Honey

First and foremost, before I do anything else, I would like to begin with a public service announcement.  Well, two actually.  (Plus some baby photos that are sure to make you reconsider your decision to not have another one.)

1. Toy Story 3 comes out on DVD and Blu-ray today.  This is a big deal.  Ok, so it’s a HUGE deal.  Children have not forgotten that this day is coming, so if you did, don’t worry — there’s still time to pretend that you didn’t!       Amazon.com: Toy Story 3 (Four-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy): Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Ned Beatty, Michael Keaton, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Lee Unkrich: Movies & TV: Reviews, Prices & more.
2. It’s Election Day!  Don’t forget to use your right to vote (if for no other reason than to celebrate that those political campaign phone calls will finally be coming to an end!)
3. Today I will introduce you to a rule breaking newborn.

I say “rule breaking” because in every What To Expect book I’ve ever looked in, kind-hearted publishers always seem to be trying to prepare us new mothers for what our newborn will actually look like.  We are told not to expect the chubby little cherubs that are the trademark of a three-month old.  Heart-tuggingly sweet faces, yes …. but just with arms and legs that are less chubby and more chicken-like.  Not this little one though — she had other plans in mind.  At just seven days old, meet…..

Chunkalicious.

It’s ok if your heart melts at the sight of her.  Mine certainly did.

In case you’re wondering, yes, those are real smiles.  No gas here.

I’d like to know her secret.  Are those blessed Hawaiian genetics to be credited?  Did her mother add some secret ingredient to her morning oatmeal?  Does the family have an “in” with the stork??  Whatever her secret …. her mama did an amazing job baking this little bun in the oven!

Congratulations to Mama L on a beautiful baby girl — I truly enjoyed meeting her.  Now, go cuddle that cute little chunker :)

“pooky”

My Liam loves to talk and tell stories.  He loves it so much that he’s often in a hurry to tell you more, and so rushes through his words so quickly that he’ll sometimes skip a sound or two in order to reach the end result sooner.  The “s” sound is apparently one of the phonemes he has deemed as being of lesser importance, and so words like “smell” and “smile” often are rattled off as “mell” and “mile.”  It is in this way that we have come to have spooky, I mean, pooky Halloweens.

I must admit that I have to agree — this Halloween weekend was one of our pookiest!

Jade took her role of clown very seriously …. providing a wide range of talents and facial expressions that you might expect a goofy clown to have….

Liam took his role of Super Ninja Extraordinaire no less seriously than he did on Friday (see previous post ;)

We carved pumpkins …. giggling at the gooey grossness, and (thankfully) resisting the urge to wipe some on a nearby sibling.  Morgan, the ever observant, reasoned that a spoon would be a much better alternative to bare little fingers ….

Can you guess who designed which pumpkin?

So it was, after a whirlwind weekend of cookie making, pumpkin carving, face painting, and photo taking, it was finally time for the grand finale of TRICK-OR-TREATING!!  (Again!  Only this time Jade was able to come with :)  It was a grand old time, filled with shrieks and excitement — Even when Liam was somehow overlooked in a crowd of trick-or-treaters, and left standing alone by the door, with his bucket still held out …. waiting like a poor sweet little lone ninja.  The family soon realized their oversight and were quick to remedy it, which suited Liam just fine and he walked back to us exclaiming,  “I was waiting and she shut the door on me!” giggling all the while.  He truly has the heart of a ninja warrior…  Only his has been dipped in sweetness.

As for next year, he’s going to be Wolverine.

Very pooky, indeed ;)

Dare I Ask? {trick or treating + book of the week}

Winning the lottery would be incredible.  Being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize would certainly make your day.  Having Halloween fall on a weekend…..well, when you’re a kid, it doesn’t get much better than that.  An entire weekend filled with fun and festivities — starting with some early trick-or-treating fun for the little tykes this afternoon!  A big thanks to the town and businesses of Osceola for putting on the fun!

This was the first year that Morgan was really able to get into it, and you could tell that his expectations were high.  Two minutes in, his patience was well rewarded.  Things were off to a great start!

Big brother Liam, er, I mean Super Ninja Extraordinaire, was able to tag along as well.  Orange pumpkin signs were used to denote participating businesses …. but my unlikely duo were willing to try any door.  You know, just in case ;o)

Granted, there were a few tricks in our day …. as in one or two bathroom emergencies, and costumes that wouldn’t hold their exact placement (I never realized ninjas were so particular about their face coverings) … but thankfully there were many more treats than tricks.  The biggest treat?  Seeing all the familiar faces in town, toddling around in their adorable/fierce/I really need to pinch your cheeks now holiday apparel.  What a great time — and the weekend is only just beginning!  (Thankfully Jade does not need to be in school for the rest of it.)

Don’t forget to take a break from the sugar this weekend to cuddle up with your favorite monsters (or princesses/super heroes/fuzzy creatures) to read the Fun on Friday book of the week:  The ABC’s of Halloween by Patti Reeder Eubank. Filled with delightful ghosts, witches, and pumpkins galore, this book is sure to set the holiday mood (with a little alphabet practice as well!)

Amazon.com: The ABC’s of Halloween (0077031054678): Patti Reeder Eubank: Books: Reviews, Prices & more.

Happy Reading, and may your holiday weekend be filled with more treats than tricks!