Last Day

of five.....sigh.

He is such a fun-loving kiddo.

Loves his sports and video games.

He wants to cling to being a little guy-not a fan of

independence in most forms.

He LoVEs to run and race.

He reads his dinosaur book so much it is falling apart.

He was sleeping with "sharkie" all summer.

His perfect day would be endless Wii time, lots of hot dogs/

bacon/pizza, perhaps a bit of "lets pester Bai", a game of "volleyball"

spinning on the chair, and raiding the candy bowl:)

He is amazingly kind and sensitive,

prefers silence to noise, avoids smells at all costs,

does math better than me, can eat his weight in pizza,

knows every star wars guy and Loves his momma:)

right back atchya buddy.

xo

One year olds

This summer these squirts turned one.

Like any good aunt, I dragged them into

a field and started going all paparazzi on them!

Despite the crazy location, we managed to

baby wrangle and get some really fun shots.

THe quilt has been in our family forever

and it really made the shoot.

We also surrounded the kiddos with lots of

hand knit good-ness.

Sooo looking forward to seeing these guys soon!

xoxo

The kids have

Been missing their cousins in Montana lately.

Not a day goes by that Piper doesn't point to a

picture from aunt Brenda and say "abby!!"

So I created this little video on animoto.com

MT summer video

xoxo

Happiness is:

a four year old with a lollipop:)

xo

So Awesome:

This couple.

Their excitement.

Their Laughter.

The anticipation...

His admiration.

I cannot remember the last time I photographed 2 people

whose love was so palpable.

I am excited for them to welcome baby j into their arms soon.

I am WAY excited for their joy to continue in a different form...

I am SUPER-Duper excited/touched that I could capture

this awesomeness between them...

before more awesomeness joins them.

xo

Sweet Tooth

I had soooo much fun in Montana this summer

First, I took part in an amazing workshop for photographers

run by Barb Uil from jinky art.

I left inspired creatively and business-wise.

these cousins were more than happy to partake in my

candy-themed shoot....pretty sure the sugar was the

attraction and not so much the camera:)

xo

Fun stuff

Oh, the joys of discovering the potty

this munchkin is cracking me up lately.

Finding her IN the toilet, playing...

not playing in the toilet, mind you,

prompted the old potty chair to make

its appearance.

let the games begin!!

xo

FDOS

THe Traditional First day of School photos were a bust;

we will chalk it up to poor sleep habits leading up to the

big day.

SO...

crocks and flops are pushed aside

and these piggies are school bound!!

Some Michigan goodies

Like I said,

we all had a blast celebrating the twins first birthday

Keeg loved being surrounded by family...and cake:)

Piper was the kissing bandit.

and Bai was all about her uncle Jonny:)

xo

Happy Birthday to you...

These little boogers turned one this summer....

We L.O.V.E.D. being there to see them devour that cake:)

xoxo

DO not ENter...

says the sign on my office....

I am an editing machine!!

I have tunes blaring

oodles of amazing photos on my screen

and an occasional tear in my eye.

have i mentioned how much i love my job???

xo

I am BACK

I have left the beautiful Michigan summer....sigh.

And I have a zillion photos and memories to share...in time.

But as the ultimate welcome home gift, I was given the

opportunity to aim my lens at a wonderful family.

In an instant I fell in love with the eldest's freckles and spunk

AND all the fiesty-ness that a certain 3y.o. had to offer

Seriously, how can you be upset when she is THAT cute?

Yes, she chucked and I mean CHUCKED my bubble machine...

and bubbles.

but those curls and lashes melted me.

I love my job.

I love that I got to capture the sincere love that exists

between these 4 individuals.

xo

Absolute Sweetness

So I managed to squeeze in a session last week...

one A.Dorable little girl + her Uber fashionable Momma:)

We had a really great day-sooo many great shots.

I swear I am now taking bubbles to Every Session!! Isn't this FUN!!

YOU HAVE to click on the photo..it deserves to be viewed

SUPERSIZED

This shot melts my heart...wet full lashes + happy grin

(courtesy of a dip in above photographed fountain.)

Shhhh.

xoxo

Can You Guess

Where I am???

I will give you a hint....or two

lots of children and cameras....

there is a distinct Aussie accent in the air...

i promise to share more soon:)

Piper Fix

Not a ton of time to post pictures.

Having fun with family and friends:)

ANd trying to get kiddos in bed before 11..yikes!

Vacation

is more work than being at home!!

This is Now

Today.

June. 2010.

what started out to be couple of quik individual shots

turned into a jump on one another photo-fest!

what I love about these photos is that they show sooooo

much of who they are right now.

The arms around Pipe's belly; someone is always trying to

hold/carry her.

Pipe being kinda serious lately; teething, making faces.

Buds is goofy and pesty and wiggley and GOOFY.

Keeg oscillates between big sis and clinging to being small.

Bai wanting all the attention, has to wear sparkl-ey shoes,

and glitter-y make-up; loves boys & i am scared for her teens.

Brady's numerous bruises and marks from goofing around.

Keegs loose teeth; someone pinching Pipe's cheeks;

Chaos. Movement. Everyone talking...LOUDly from the pool water

permanently in their ears;

Silliness. Pushing Limits. Wanting to be much bigger than

their little bodies and minds.

Living in swimsuits.

painted fingernails and toenails...even Buds;

Noise.

Absolute deafening noise of any kind...

Expressing silliness or irritation or just their presence.

Minimal compromise. Maximal sib rivalry;

YET Love.

in quiet but pure forms.

puff of air kisses from Pipe;

a look, an I Luv U drawing,

a beaming smile;

a hug, a wave, a middle of the night snuggle.

These 4 kiddos are pure heaven and spice

all at once:)

Too Cool

Uncle Jonny got to hang with this little guy for a bit.

This photo was taken RIGHT after the group shot of

all the cousins....

note Ri-man is much happier with his uncle than the gang!

2 more

shots from a recent session on the beach.....

xo

School Celebration

I really Love the School my children attend.

They do a great job on many levels but I think the

way they celebrate a child's birthday is kinda cool.

First, they welcome the siblings to take part.

then they give the child the earth and have him/her

walk around the sun (4 times since Bai turned 4)

The sun is represented by a candle and the months of the year

surround it as she walks.

They also have a fake cake and they light candles & sing.

Bai tried to blow them out 3 or 4 times so the teacher

asked if her siblings wanted to help her:)

The birthday child also gets to choose a friend to sit

with them and kids seriously campaign for this;

birthday friends start thinking about this months before....

see the second part of this post to see who Bai choose!!