I always get nostalgic when I travel to my old stompin’ grounds. A flood of emotions & memories, and this time was no different – Except for the realization that I am getting old.
I went to high school with Jill, and she now owns a house in the city where we grew up. I travelled there today to meet her baby girl, 13 days old, but still 2 weeks from her original due date.
Mom and Dad are so proud of their precious Emily, and you can now see why.
I have to admit. Newborn shoots are my favorite!
And the awesome cocoon, you ask? Another amazing creation sent from my friend Anne Marie of Ambernee Crochet!
I promised that I would merge this blog for personal and business, so I need to make sure I stick to updating you on the boys!!!
January 2010 (but including Christmas pictures):
BB – It is so hard to believe that he is almost 4. I am old enough to have a 4 year old. 2010 is going to be a very hard year for me. Did I mention he is going to be 4?!?!?
BB Facts:
When he wakes up in the morning, the first thing he asks for is cereal and milk.
Every snack MUST be in a bowl.
He would stay in his ‘jammies all day, everyday, if we let him.
It is like pulling teeth to get him to eat any fruit and veggie. The exceptions are carrots and green beans.
He LOVES to learn, and he asks questions all day long.
He hits and lays on his brother and then tells me he does it because “I love him and I want to play with him”.
His favorite show is World Word.
He has a girlfriend at preschool, and her name is Lexi.
He is still obsessed with trains, and Cars the movie. The other day he asked me what I did at work today, and I told him I was in training most of the day. I should have known better. His response? “Mom, why were you making trains at work today?”
And my current favorite thing BB does – At night when he should be sleeping, he sneaks downstairs, gets 3 carrots out of the fridge, climbs up on the couch under my blanket with me and says, “I love you my sweet mama“. Then he goes back to bed at the next commercial.
Nj – I am in denial that in 1 month he will be 1 year old. That is all I am going to say about that.
NJ Facts:
He has 3 1/2 teeth. The second top tooth is currently coming in.
He dances. All day long. Whenever he hears music, he dances. I hope he does that for the rest of his life.
He is still army crawling, and has the raw knees and arms to prove it. When he gets mad, he will get up on all fours.
He pulls up on certain things, and loves walking with assistance.
His first word was DOG. He now says HI, BYE BYE, Dadda, and Dog.
He still screams. His giggle will erase any bad day. He is so happy.
He will hold his bottle, but will do anything in his power not to have to. As soon as he sees your hand, or notices that he can prop it on his belly and let go, he will.
I think he is going to prefer wine when he is older, because he won’t leave my wine rack alone!
Mom fact – I did not take one picture of my kids in January! I think it was a refreshing break for everyone, but you better believe February will contain at least one special “denial” session.
And we can’t forget our Chesney. He’s getting better.
This year has brought us MANY ups and downs. It is time to say goodbye to this decade, and look forward to the fun and exciting things that the next decade will bring for both our family and My Bluegrass Baby Photo!
What are your New Years Resolutions? I told Nate this morning that his #1 should be to work really really hard on trying his best not to do anything dumb to make me mad everyday…not quite in those words. I love him.
I have many New Years Resolutions…get better at sending birthday cards, get organized, read more, be more patient with my husband (see above), amongst others.
Now on to the fun stuff. Our 2009 year in review! My challenge: only 1 picture per month!
January: Waiting on the arrival of Nj and Leigh!
February: The death of my grandfather
March: Happy Birthday Nate & Nolan Jude!
April: Brayden turns 3!
May: I am an aunt!!! Happy Birthday Leigh Susan! And our car accident
June: Nj’s 1st trip to the beach and his baptism!
July: Summer Festival fun, and BB learns how to swim!
August: Lake Trips & Soccer Games!
September: My Bluegrass Baby Photo is officially LAUNCHED! Our 10 year High School Reunions, Nolan starts solid foods, we have to put down our precious Aly.
October: Trip to Chicago & BB’s favorite time of the year! HALLOWEEN!
November: The “Truck”
December: Tree Hunt & SANTA!
I could have done without the death of my Grandpa and Aly, and the car accident that has left me mentally and physically “altered” – but nothing can top the birth of our miracle baby and devoting time to my passion. Here is to an AMAZING 2010! Happy New Year!
Of course we chose the coldest day of the year thus far to get this shoot together – not to mention a busy one. Black Friday!
This is absolutely one of my favorite families. ALL 4 of them are beautiful! You may recognize the little ones – they are all over the website, and as soon as I get a spare second in my day, these will make it to the website too
Let’s shake it up and start with my FAV
flippin’ adorable
Jaxon, you are so darn cute
And let’s talk about little Presley….
Can you believe she is 6 months old?
Lucky kids. They will all be drop dead gorgeous – how could they not be?
….wonderful time of the year….or so we tell ourselves. every year.
I am not going to lie. The Holidays are SOOO stressful (you know you agree with me). This year even more so. But I have to take a step back, count my blessings, and then continue forward. Despite all the crap that 2009 has dealt me, there were some GREAT moments in there. And many of them DO happen at this time of the year.
Ah, the Festival of Lights for example:
Nj’s 1st!
And the tree hunt!
This picture makes me cry There should be 6 of us in this picture…
Here was our family picture from last year – I miss my girl
back to this year…
Yes, I frequently go out in public looking like Rainbow Bright threw up on me See stress comment above? Color makes me happy!
Can you believe Leigh is almost 7 months old?
It IS a wonderful time of the year – not sure it is the MOST wonderful time of the year…but I will take it!
Remember Joey Lawrence when he was on the show Blossom? His signature line? Whoa! If you don’t know what I am talking about, you obviously weren’t a tween in the early 90’s – seriously – Google it. He was H.O.T.
When I was taking these pictures, that line kept going through my head.
My baby is 9 months old.
Whoa.
I am not even going to talk about what is going to happen in 3 months. I refuse.
Sorry I have been MIA on the blog. I ran out of Picasa storage, and am still dragging my feet to make a commitment to a new means of photo storage. I swore to myself that I wouldn’t pay Google anymore to host my pictures. I caved. I admit it. I am a Google whore. But that is another post for another day
My 1st blog photo lesson! Let me make it clear that I am NO photography expert. I did not go to photography school, what I know about photography I have taught myself through books and the wonderful world wide web. I am not perfect, but I am trying to get better day by day.
That being said, I get photography questions on a daily basis. There are a few things that YOU can do to make YOUR everyday pictures just a little bit better without all the studying and research.
Today’s lesson – Turn OFF the flash, or direct the flash elsewhere.
I despise flash photography, you will notice that I don’t take many pictures inside or at night. Direct flash makes photos very flat and lifeless.
Example of a photo taken with a direct (on camera) flash
Here is almost the same exact photo taken less than a minute later, same camera, same camera settings, same lens, the only thing I did was add an external flash and bounced the light off the ceiling instead of directly on Nj.
What a difference, huh? It is still not a perfect photo, but notice that the harsh shadows are gone! Sooo, turn OFF the flash during the day, whenever natural light is available. And if you have taken the plunge and purchased a DSLR, invest in an external flash for night and indoor photos!
Did this help anyone? Let me know if you would like more mini “lessons” from me on the blog in the future!!
I am still coming off the high I got from this session! Amazing light, amazing people. I always fall in love with people who bring “props” Bringing things from your life to a session definitely makes photos more personal.
Can I also tell you how much I love this location?!? These were taken on Brandon’s Grandfather’s property. His Dad grew up on this land, and he had so many stories about his childhood. It reminds me of how much I loved my Grandparent’s house growing up, and how sad I was when they had to move.
Ok, Ok. *Enough* you are saying, I know! On to the pictures!
The guitar. Oh, the guitar. So awesome.
My favorite
Isn’t Ezra adorable?
I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this
And Heidi is GORGEOUS, don’t you agree?
Another favorite
Thank you Heidi, Brandon, & Ezra – you made my day!
There is sooooo much to be thankful for this year! My beautiful new son and niece, the ability to start up my photography business, my new assignment at work, and the pregnancy of my best friend. And also the unfortunate moments – thankful my Grandfather lived a very long and fulfilled life, thankful no one was seriously injured in the car accident Nolan and I were in, thankful my Dad has a job but is still stuck in New York, and thankful that we were able to give our precious dog, Aly, a wonderful home for the short 5 1/2 years she lived.
I am thankful for my husband, and our ability to live and give our children a comfortable, happy, and safe life. But most of all, I am thankful for my boys. BB may be a rambunctious 3 year old, and Nj may be the exception to EVERY rule in the book, but they are ME, they are MY LIFE, and I will forever be eternally thankful that I am their mama.
I have a feeling you will see this little guy on a stage someday! He is such a ham! I have never shot a child so young that was so willing to pose! His sister was another story, she ran from the big black scary monster as fast as she could But I still caught a few frames of adorableness
Oh those eyes!
My new FAVORITE!
Thank you Amber for contacting me! It was so great to see you again and meet your children. They are beautiful!
It wasn’t easy. As I told you in Nolan’s update post below, getting a view of this child’s teeth is like the paparazzi trying to photograph Leonardo DiCaprio. It wasn’t happenin’. Trust me that on most days, any of you would LOVE to be a fly on the wall at our house. After standing on chairs, dancing like monkeys, bribing food over his head, and sacrificing a bird,he finally gave the camera a glimpse…but it took a lot of perseverance (and about 50 frames) from Team Wolff.
It is my favorite time of the year – the time for family, and time for giving. And in the spirit of giving, I am giving away 25 5×7 flat Photo Holiday cards, designed by ME!
The rules:
1. Browse through this blog, and comment on 3 or more posts
2. Post this giveaway link on your blog, facebook, or twitter – then comment to this post with the blog link or instructing me where I can find it.
3. I will randomly select 1 person who has completed the 2 steps above on Saturday, November 28th, 2009.
4. The winner will send me 1 photo with a few ideas of what they would like to see on their card. I will design, and allow 2 edits to the chosen design. This must be completed by December 9th, 2009, to allow for delivery.
5. If the winner needs more than 25 cards, you can absolutely purchase additional sets of the same design (sets of 25 only).
6. The final design will have the My Bluegrass Baby Photo logo and website on the back.
7. All applicants must have a USA address!
Want to see a sneak peak of our Holiday cards?
Have a wonderful week – and happy commenting and sharing
He now has 2 bottom teeth! These have yet to be photographed, because he doesn’t like to share them with his entourage.
And as you can see here – his eyes are no longer blue – I was for SURE that all my kids would have blue eyes. But as we all know, Nolan likes to be the exception to every rule. He has his mamas eyes.
And he has lots of hair. The ladies go crazy for it.
He is also signing! So far he signs for “milk”, and is now signing for “more”. Yea, I am pretty sure both of his grandfather’s taught him that other wonderful expression.
He is not yet crawling, because he has figured out that he can just roll everywhere. And unlike his older brother, he also falls asleep in unexpected places, such as the jumparoo…
So there is your Nj update!
A few fun shoots are coming up! Become a fan of my facebook page by clicking on the logo below so you get the first sneak peaks!
When I talk to other photographers, most of them tell me that their least favorite photography subjects are children. They don’t sit still, they can’t pose them, ect. That is the reason I LOVE photographing kids. They don’t put on fake smiles, they don’t pose like statues. They are just living with what they are given, and that pureness makes the best photos
Meet Ryan…
…he is going to be a ladykiller one day with those blue eyes…
…his parents adore him…
…he adores his parents…
…and a second after this frame was shot, I let him fall face first into the mulch …
As I sit here looking at our Halloween decorations, and wishing they would put themselves back into storage, I am staring at this cheap, felted, dirty Frankenstein costume. It needs to be thrown into the garbage, but the 3 year old won’t allow it. Because he is the Halloween king – and he takes after his Papaw. He is a pack rat already. He tells me that he wants to be Frankenstein again next year. I try to explain to him that this costume won’t fit him next year, and of course, he has a comeback, as he always does…”But Mom, Nolan can wear it in a couple years“. Darn 3 year olds and their sensible logic.
Halloween was a blast for BB as usual. Friday they came in costume to visit me at my office, and BB had a big time as usual – we then had an awesome photoshoot with our best friends (pics to come later!!!) and dinner, Trick or Treat on Saturday, and Max’s 1st birthday party on Sunday (pics coming on that one too)! Whew – I am still exhausted!
