And the winner is.....

Those that entered, thank you. It was a hard descision, but if you read this sweet sweet poem that this mamma wrote for her two kids, you would see it was well deserved.

Congrats Katie!

"Big Brother"
Just as you look at her hands in awe,
I look in awe at both of you!
How blessed I am to be your mom,
You fill me with a love I never knew.

This picture is worth a thousand words,
And each fills my heart with joy!
How proud I am to be your mom,
My sweet little girl and boy!


And a few from a recent photo shoot.

Big News

I do have one of the best jobs on the planet.

I never have to worry about walking to the front office without someone to hold my hand.

One love letter a day finds its way onto my desk.
One from last weeek read:

"I like you as much as you like me.
When we meet each other again, we always
will be best
friends.
Love,
Karen"

Creativity and inspiration are my goal from 8:30-3:00.

But I am now saying good-bye for a while, and taking another great job of being a photographer.

So next year, I am dreaming of spending a bit more time with CJ, at the same time doing something I am sooo passionate about!

And the best part is, I still get to hang out with kids all day!

Saturday at Arianne's

Thanks Arianne for such a great event on Saturday! Good people, good food (aka goldfish) and great kids. So for all of you who are looking for a sneak peek to hold you over until the images are done.... here you go.

And to make it a little fun, let's have a contest.
I usually do polldaddy.com. It has come to my attention that this poll system is a bit flawed, and that it is not so hard to cheat, if you are computer saavy. So for this contest, I will be picking a comment. So post a comment about your favorite image. The image with the winning comment will win an 8x10 of that image.

spike
sisters

run

pigtails

mamma

daddy

bubbles

brothers

big brother

baby

umbrella

My Nephew Milo

People always ask me....

who is that crazy little girl on your website in boots? and head in a red bucket? Yes, that is my niece Avery. Avery's posse came down with their mamma, my sweet and beautiful sister. We had a fun mini session so they could rush go play with CJ.

Brother Rainn. Lots of kissing torture going on with these two gals.

How do I pick just a few...

The best way to describe this family is love, love, love.
Twins with huge brown eyes, and tons of laughs!
By the way, this hot mamma was responsible for the hair cutting fiasco. (hee hee)
Thanks Tracy, I absolutely LOVE my short hair.






Sweet sweet twins

When I grow up....

CJ: When I grow up mama, I'm gonna be a soldier.
mama: wow, how brave.
CJ: and then I am going to grow down, and be a boy.
mama: oh, I am so glad.

Miss P, all grown up!

Funny how fast time goes by! I used to teach dance at a private school while in college. One of the fourth graders I taught, had a younger sister who is graduating from High School this June. When I drove up to meet her, I half expected a little girl to be dropped off by her parents, and this amazingly poised girl dirves up herself!
But she was tons of fun, and so together with her plans. I had a lot of fun hanging out with her.

Brady

This baby was just lucky it didn't find its way home with me. I fell in love with him!

Everytime Brady's older sister and CJ play, I kid her and say, "so Kaylee, you coming home with me right?" And then the sweet smile wipes off her face and she really gets scared, like I am serious. I mean, look how much fun we have together. This was when Brady was eating, and Kaylee was "eating" the camera!But I would take her home she is sooo good and sweet, and I love her. And now I have one more of her to love.

I lost two pounds!

(Well I sorta cheated)

My sweet teaching friend, Nancy Chung,  inspired me to do something I wouldn't have ever thought to do. Kindness is contagious. If this inspires you, comment about something you did and who knows, maybe it will catch on!

For Brooke

A small sneak peak as I am editing your photos.
PS I love your babies!!

I am trying my hardest, but....

i cannot keep my son from eating dog food. And it kills me, because it takes all my energy to see that he doesn't get hit by a car running away from me, or is friendly but cautious of strangers, that he eats healthy food all day like carrots and apples, and then the area I am failing hugely at is the snacking on our labs meals.

Successes; 1. Locking the door in which we store the food with dead bolt.
2. Explaining in great detail that it will make him sick.
3. Giving him the responsibility in feeding the dogs.

Failures: 1. Giving him the responsibility in feeding the dogs.

He usually asks me, "mamma, just one, one, just one." But tonight, after dropping the bowl of dog food on his way to give it to our lab, he gracefully snatched a handful and started munching away furiously so that I couldn't stop him. What could he possibly like about it? I mean he doesn't even eat chicken! Even after brushing his teeth, he still smelled like my dogs.

Well these two boys were a blast, and I am sure their mamma has some stories to tell about them at three. I will just say now that I was thrilled that they were looking for something other than a smile and perfection. She said to me, "Noel, I am looking for something that is just them, who they are right now." And that "them" was hillarious. We climbed trees, went on the swing, ate oranges, wrestled, jumped, raced, played leap frog, and had a BLAST! Oh, and if you are looking for framing, Kerri is over at Framer's Workshop in Lake Forest, and they do a BEAUTIFUL!! job. I have used them many times.