Beautiful Fall Day

I tend to not have my camera on me as much as I should because it can be so big and cumbersome.  But the other day I had to meet a client at the park for a quick head shot shoot, so I had it on me.  The sunlight was just gorgeous and luckily, Jordan was in a good mood so I took the opportunity to snap some shots my babies.

Reagan is such a good, mature big sister.  She is so helpful, both around the house and with Jordan,who, at 20 months is VERY busy~slash~BRATTY!!!! She has so much more of a strong willed personality than my other two did, complete with tantrums, screaming and kicking!  What's a mom to do? Just laugh at it and march her out of the store with a look on your face that says, yep, I know what you're ALL thinking... :)  I think a lot of it is that she's trying to be more independent and with that comes more messes than I wish to clean and more chasing than I want to do.  But when I give her the length of the leash, she truly is more sweet mannered.  Time for mama to let the little birdie go!

Here's another thing we have to work on, getting rid of the pacifier.  All of my kids were paci babies and I successfully broke them  of it, and it's just harder on me than them.  This was her face after I took it away so it wouldn't be in her mouth for all the photos. :)

Reagan, my compliant child.  She loves the camera, is always ready when I'm like, Reags, over here, mama wants to take your picture. :)

Jordan REALLY loves Reagan.  When she comes home from school Jordan runs up to her, arms open and shouts, "Reagan!!!!"  It's the cutest thing.  And she lifts her up, even though Jordan's about 3/4 as tall as her.  I hope they stay close forever.

That face is TOO funny.  She's like, I'm coming to get ya!

It is VERY rare that I can get a photo of all three kids and I'm so happy I stopped in our neighborhood right before getting home to snap this.  The sun was amazing and Jordan actually stayed in one spot.  She loves her older brother and sister...probably more than me, but I'm ok with that.

When she gives kisses now she says "Mmmmmmmmwuah!!!" It's adorable.

Trick or Treat~Another Halloween Come and Gone

Halloween isn't my favorite holiday, but I do it for the kids.  They love to dress up and go around trick or treating, what kid doesn't right?  Try as I might to get them to be more creative with their costumes, it's all in vain, especially with Ethan.  He is still enamored with anything Star Wars related, so this year he had to be a Clone Trooper (I don't even really know what those are). :) Reagan chose to be a "Funky Mod" girl, at least that was the title on the costume.  And Jordan? Well, she was the costume that was warm and on sale at the Children's Place. :) Woo hoo, I'm so not creative mom of the year, that's for sure.

I love that Reagan lets me make her up all pretty still, I hope that lasts a while longer.

And this was all I could get of our pink kitty!

Fall has come...and gone

And once again...I'm behind on blogging. :) I enjoy being busy but lately it'd be nice to have a pajama day where I have no where I have to be.  Yay, today is that day.  So time to do a little updating.

At the end of August, I bought a new camera body for my photography business.  I LOVE it it.  I instantly noticed I was getting crisper images and better color.  And I got a smokin' deal on it too, being gently used.  Of course I needed to test it right away on my favorite model.  Reagan is always ready and willing and such a photogenic little thing.  The other two kiddos don't comply as well when it comes to sitting still for some test shots. :)

 Then the school year started up again.  Mr. Ethan is now a 3rd grader.  How did that happen.  He is doing so well in school, both academically and socially.  I love hearing from his teachers that he is kind to others, a trustworthy student, and eager to learn even if he gets frustrated.  He tends to befriend those that may not make friends as easily.  I love his sweet, gentle spirit, we need more "men" like that.

 And our little Reagan girl is a big Kindergartener.  She came into the school year already knowing how to read, write, know shapes, colors, sounds and even had the privilege of reading a book to her class.  That was big.  She's my mellow child, so compliant and probably the best big sister to Jordan EVER.  I rely on her so much, much more than Ethan.  It's a boy thing... :)  She is sweet and calm, but has a feisty streak too.  She won't let people push her around but she's also very kind and on the quiet side.

And I'll cover Miss Jordan in my next post... :)

Not So Little Anymore...

Our little guy Ethan just turned 8. Where did the time go? He's almost as tall as me, sheesh, but skinny as a rail, yet eats ALL the time. :) Odes of things to come, I'm sure. Ethan is such a delight to our home! I love his sensitive personality, his gentleness, his love for legos and dinosaurs and his readiness to forgive. We are so proud of how well he does in school and how he relates to his friends. His love for Jesus just amazes us, wanting to read the Bible he was given in Sunday School all on his own! We love you, Ethan, thank you for making us see the world through rose colored glasses... :)

Blown Away by a Busy Summer!

So...my little venture into branching out in my photography has completely snowballed into this busy work schedule I never even dreamed would happen. It started out trying to expand what little portfolio I had by doing photo shoots for free for my friends so that I could experience working with different types of people outside of my family. And from there it has just grown, word of mouth, FB has been a great source of free advertising. But referrals are the biggest compliment to me, not only did they like the work I did but they enjoyed their experience with me as well. My entire summer I have been booked solid. The only times I've taken a "break" I was traveling out of town. And I'm still booking jobs well into October, even November. I can't thank my wonderful friends and family for letting me "practice" on them, for spreading my name and love for photography to their friends and family. And to those who have helped guide me on the professional side, as well as the technical side. I am so appreciative to everyone's help and love, it has not gone unnoticed. And to my family for their patience, all the babysitters and time in front of the computer editing photos! It means the world to me. Thank you God for the gift, unknown talent and time to do it!