updates

Well, I'm back from Hawaii! For those of you who didn't know I was going, Johnny & I have been saving our frequent flyer miles and our Marriott reward points for five years to go somewhere special on our 5 year anniversary - and crazy enough - we had enough to go to Hawaii for less than a couple hundred dollars! (besides food & entertainment obviously). I'll post pictures of that soon, but meanwhile here are some updates of the kids, as promised. I'm really motivated to blog more. My friend Rebecca just blogged a year in review entry because she said she just can't remember things well and she doesn't want to forget! Well, neither do I and I am looking forward to looking back on these entries with fondness in my heart, remembering how precious these days are - even though sometimes they feel a bit rough around the edges. ;)

Also... I thnk that part of the reason I am hesitant to blog sometimes is because I think people think all of my pictures should look professional. Well, the truth is I rarely shoot professional quality pictures of my own kids. (I'd like to do more though!) I generally use my little point & shoot camera and don't do any editing - so be prepared for some everyday pictures from now on! Its the only way I'll actually post things!

Well, to start with, here are some pictures from March - before Easter... hehe.. I know, I'm bad!!


This is a picture of Addy playing hide & seek. Not only does she hide in the most obvious places (with her entire body sticking out of the hiding spot!) She totally lacks creativity. She'll go to the exact same place over and over again. I thought it was just because she's young (almost 3 in these pictures) but I think she's just... simple. :)




And a few of the little man... already I forgot why I took these. Probably just because he makes such silly facial expressions while eating. :)








Johnny & I went downtown to celebrate my Aunt Linda's 50th birthday party. We took a couple of pictures beforehand but none really while we were there.



My mom and Dad:



John Michael also got his first haircut! His hair is quite thin and not very long... but it was growing funny over his ears and he had random long peices throughout his hair. I thought about cutting it myself but I kind of like the certificate and experience of the "first hair cut." $25 dollars later I'm thinking that experience is definitely a once in a lifetime thing!!



Me & my handsome big boy! They didn't cut much off but he sure looked older afterwards!



I love these hats my mom bought the kids from Hannah Anderson. Addy has one too and calls it her bunny hat. We have names for all of her coats & hats... She has a monkey coat, a polar bear coat, and a few others. She loves animals!



The night before Easter my parents babysat the kids so that Tara (my sister), Adam (my bro-in-law), Johnny and I could go see a movie. I so wish they lived closer. We love hanging out with them. We didn't get any pictures of them but here are some my parents took of the kids.

They went to Tyler's Tender - the kids love it there! Its a little train restaurant that has a train you can ride on in a circle, a stationary train and if you sit at the bar a train delivers your food to you just like in Mr. Roger's Neighborhood!!



On that note I'm off to bed... its already late and I'm trying desperately to get readjusted to Chicago time!

Coming up: Easter pictures, Addy's mini birthday party and a trip to Atlanta!!

not my kids

i know i said i was going to write about my own kids... and I will, promise!  But two dear friends (who are also family!) had their babies in the past week... and I would be remiss if I didn't announce it on my blog!  

Last Thursday Travis & Amy welcomed a baby boy into their family.  Meet Canon James!  Amy, Travis, Sadie & Canon are all doing great!  ( pictures ruthlessly stolen from Joslynn's blog!)

And this Thursday (as in yesterday) Donnie & Shannon welcomed another baby boy into their family!  Meet Caleb John.  Again, Donnie, Shannon & Ajai are all doing great.  

Both girls went early... Amy only a day (but still!) and Shannon went 6 days early.  Lets hope it rubs off!  I'm not holding my breath though...

Congratulations guys!

okay okay!

I've had several people write and ask when I'm going to blog about my own kids... Truth be told, as much as there is to blog I haven't been very good about taking nice pictures of the kids. I've been pretty content with just snapshots and genuinely happy with myself if I even take those! So, I'm not sure how long this blog will live once I have three children ages three and under... but for now I'm prepared to satisfy my reader's requests. :)

Aaahhh, where to start!? Adeline turned three on Easter Sunday. She insisted on having a Diego cake this year. I guess thats what I get for asking her!



My mom decorated it and it was so worth it since Adeline absolutely loved it!













The kids don't get a lot of sugar... I'm not anal about it but I avoid it whenever possible and since I rarely go anywhere its usually pretty possible! Here are the kids having a taste of cake. You can tell Addy isn't sure she is supposed to be doing this:




She was really into her birthday this year which made it all the more fun! She kept listing all the things she would have for her birthday - a Diego cake, presents, balloons and party hats! So, of course we made sure we had all of that (and more!).

And it wouldn't be a party without presents, right? She got PLENTY. Her favorites were a little moving pig animal from Tia Tara & Uncle Adam and her playhouse (those big ones that go outside) from my mom & dad. My personal favorite was one of those nice inflatable pools that we can use this summer! It comes with a filter too and I got a cover to go with it so that we don't have to change the water out every day like we do with our other pool. Thanks to everyone on Johnny's side of the family who went in together to get it for us!



John Michael even got a gift. He loves his little lion. We tell stories about lions to the kids all the time (i don't know why - but they sure love them!) Thanks to Ryan & Diana for thinking of him too. :)



Doesn't she look happy with her loot?



Overall it was a wild success. I wish I would've gotten a family picture but that seems to be impossible when you're the one taking the pictures! Maybe next time.

Until then we'll enjoy our big three year old!!

baby mania

Well its baby mania on Johnny's side of the family!  I'm so excited to be having babies around the same time as all these gals - who are also dear friends!

I figured i better get on the ball and post these since word on the street is Amy's contractions are getting serious!!

Here are some pictures of us and when we are due.

Amy - due April 18 (36 weeks in picture)

Shannon - due April 28 (35 weeks in picture)

Mary - due June 6 (6 1/2 months in picture)

Michelle - due September 18 (18 weeks in picture) -i'm so huge.... i might hide in a hold when i'm in my last month!

2 month old shoot

a few of my favorites from a recent photo shoot... color shots coming soon!

photography jobs

I was so excited when my friend Lori asked me to do her maternity pictures.... because every photographer loves it when she has a gorgeous subject... and Lori & her husband CJ are the definition of striking.... not to mention she has to be one of the cutest pregnant women I've ever seen!!

in no particular order:

This one (below) is my favorite. :)

But this one is in 2nd!

stay tuned for a sweet 2 month old photo shoot. :)