Almost time...

...for me to get back to work. So, for the first special of the year I'll be submitting new images of the children I photograph to the Millers Professional Imaging Baby & Child Portrait Contest.

Check back on April 1st fot the details!

Also as part of my time off I've reviewed and revamped my pricing & added some new items & collections. This will be released on April 1st as well. Check the website for that information.

Day in the Park

Yesterdays weather was so beautiful we spent part of the afternoon at the park. Of course the little one fell asleep on the walk to the park.

And Big Sis just has to check everything out, and make sure things are good, in the stroller. ( I think she was trying to plot how she could get the lil' one out, and steal the stroller back)

Miss Anna, enjoying the 'sun bright'. She's growing so fast.

She love giving Sissy lots and lots of loves...usually followed by a pinch or some other form of sisterly torture.

And it wouldn't be a day at the park without some running and throwing grass.

We are so glad that spring is on its way in. It's definately been a long winter cooped up in the house. And with the upcoming move there's plans for lots and lots of time outdoors.

~1st Hair Cut~

This past Saturday we went on a family outing, mostly so I could get out of the house for a bit, but we also needed groceries. In an attempt to make Anna feel as special as we think she is, and give her some special attention of her own, we took her to the mall and got her 1st hair cut. While we were there she also got to pick out some earrings of her own.

She looks terrified, but really was about to fall asleep. And she did at one point during the little session.

She's so proud of her new hair cut, although you can hardly tell she got any off (about 1 ").

It was shortly after this that she fell asleep with the gals hand under her chin. Must have been just enough of a resting spot.

A Day in Our World

My how time is flying by. It's hard to believe that our little bundle is already 1/2 a month old. It doesn't seem possible. She's changing so much everyday.

Life is great, we're still adjusting to baby time & a slightly jealous toddler, but overall we couldn't ask for anything better.

And although she's acting out a bit more, Anna really does love her little sister and trys very hard to be so helpful. Anna thinks the baby needs a diaper change every 10 minutes, attempts to calm her when she's crying by telling her to "listen, shhhh", always wants to hold her or her hands, gives lots of kisses, and even thinks she can nurse the little one.

Anna's had an ear infection and cold this week, so along with being cooped up in the house because of the weather, we're trying to stay away from other people so we don't swap germs. But a mom can only take so much of being tied into the house, so yesterday we spent a little while out on the back patio in the sunshine with some sidewalk chalk.

It was miss Grace's first time out in the sunshine and she just slept. It was such hard work laying in her little chair after about 5 minutes she decided she was starving & had to come in the house and have a snack. ;)

It wouldn't be a day in the sun, if Anna wasn't playing with trucks and tractors. And of course that means running over the chalk with the trucks.

I'm really looking forward to this weekend and hoping that the weather isn't as stormy as they are predicting, although we could really use the rain. I could really use a little time to get out and shoot things, I've got the creative/artsy juices running through my veins again (oh, so glad for that!). So until the next post...

Finally, a free moment

I finally have a free moment to add a little update; the little one is sleeping and our oldest daughter is having a Grammy & Grampa sleep over weekend. We've been home for almost 1 week now, and life has been hectic and chaotic since we left last Thursday morning.

After a relativly short labor with minor complications, our little girl arrived at 6:57pm via c-section. She was 9lbs 2 oz and 20.5 inches. We weren't planning on a c-section, but knew that there was a strong possibility.

It just meant a little longer hospital stay and a longer recovery, but both of those are such small things compared to the big picture. We're so blessed having our 2 little girls.

I'm finally feeling better and able to move around much easier, and have a bit more energy. (...notice the non-brushed hair of a 2 year old and the scattered toys...just one of the many things mommy didn't get around to on that day...)The first week was definately a challenge with the numerous appointments we had to be at and the wonderful winter weather that decided to fall.

Hopefully I'll be able to get a small newborn session in with miss Grace while Anna's away this weekend, but if not, maybe I'll at least be able to get a few shots to post here.

Thank you to all our friends and family that have left messages, dropped by for visits, checked in on us and kept us in your prayers. Lots of love & hugs!

Today is the Day

Today is the day that we're going to meet our baby girl. We're headed to the hospital within the next hour and hope that things go quickly & smoothly.
I'll post some photos once we're home.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl

Today is my little girls 2nd birthday. It seems like it has all flown by so quickly, yet I can still remember parts of her special day like they were yesterday.

We had her party yesterday. For some reason, I never take my camera out and use it to capture the day. I think it's because as the mom I get to 'run' the party...so we let Daddy try out the camera (at least he'll know how to use it at the hospital after the little one comes).

Our party theme was 'cupcake party'. I used mostly lime green & hot pink for the decor.

What 2 year old doesn't like balloons?!? So we decorated with tons of balloons (well not tons, but 2 pacakges) including the huge ones with rubberbands attached. They make for interesting boxing matches.

The giant cupcake (a french vanilla, made with cheesecake pudding & homemade buttercreame & marshmellow fondant), surrounded by the little flower garden of smaller cupcakes (chocolate fudge cake).

A moment before the guests arrive with her favorite person in the whole world...Daddy!

And another with mommy & baby Gracie. She loves her lil' sister already (however, I look less than thrilled...hmmm...mental note, don't explain the camera while being the subject)

Playing with one of the giant balloons. She had so much fun chasing her friends and tearing through gifts, she fell asleep trying out her new chair and quilt, about 5 minutes after the last person left, and slept for 2 1/2 hours!

Happy Birthday Lil' Miss Anna Bug!

Some Practice Shots

I've been a bad blogger this past week or so and haven't posted anything new. Even better than that, I haven't hardly picked up my camera, and when I did, it took me until now to get the photos offloaded! And only because I needed to clear some space so I could use the camera today for the lil' miss' 2nd birthday party (those will post tomorrow).

Here are a few from last week. I was trying a few new things and just hanging out with my little girl. The weather was actually nice enough to go out and play for a little bit without freezing our buns off.

Trying to capture her attention before she ran the other direction...it actually worked.

Trying a little sunflare...wish she would have looked at me for that one, but nope...too busy digging in the dirt with the BBQ tongs. Then there's the "ooooohhhh" don't interupt me while I'm digging in the dirt with the tractors face.

And the aforementioned tractor...this was actually my husbands when he was a lil' fella. An actual die cast Tonka, we pretty much have the whole construction crew covered.

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And one I didn't actually take, but an updated photo of our Lil' Baby girl, who will actually be arriving this week. If not sometime before, it will be Thursday and we'll have many photos to post after that.

She's actually sucking on her fingers in this shot. At 37 weeks 6 days, they are guesstimating her to be between 9 & 10.5 pounds when she arrives in this big wide world.

A new design...

I just finished up a 5x7 Birth Announcement and posted over on my design blog. I'm trying to occupy my time with something other than waiting impatiently for our little girl to make her arrival. I'm still undecided on her announcement, but at this rate, by the time she arrives I will have several to choose from!

To view the back of this announcement visit the Design Blog .

*Miss Anna is 2*-Looking back...

My little girls 2nd birthday is quickly approaching. So with the help of my dear hubby, we did a little mini session over the weekend. It seems like not so long ago she was just coming home from the hospital.

...Our Little Miss 1 week old...

...and at 6 months...

...and at 1 year...

...13 months...

...and 18 months...

...And now she's almost 2...

Now that she's two, she's going to be a big sister; either shortly before, or very shortly after her birthday. It's amazing to watch her grow and learn everyday. Everyday she is smarter than the last, with more attitude than the day before. Our Little Buggie is very independant and strong willed...we've got our work cut out for us for sure, but wouldn't trade a minute (well maybe just 1 minute) for anything. She's the absolute sunshine of our lives.