Boy Oh Boy!

Wow, I could hardly believe this was the same baby that I photographed last fall.  He has grown so much, is laughing out loud, and still has the cutest chubby cheeks ever!  It was so much fun taking his pictures the other day, he was such a big boy.

Family Fun at the Beach(or not)

About a week or so ago I went out to the beach to take photos for this lovely family.

But when we got there I knew it was going to be no fun!  I have taken pictures there a few times before and have never dealt with this.  There were these flies, little little knats or something all over the place.  They were all over us, biting, biting, biting, everywhere they could.  We could hardly keep them off.  The poor kids did the best they could but I was as uncomfortable as I am sure they were.  We worked with what we had, tried to get some quick shots in and call it a day.  Overall, it turned out okay, but I would love to try again without the flies. 
Here are a few from what I got.

Hope everyone has a beachy fun time with no more blood sucking, bite itching silly flies!
P.S.- I still have the dots from the bites all over my legs.  I painfully itched for almost a week, it was horrible.

I Heart Faces "Smiles"

Who wouldn't love a theme about smiling?  I know I sure do.  Little smiles, big smiles, half smiles, sideways smiles...I love them all.  Capturing them is so much fun too!  I love to see genuine smiles, ones that you know are real.  The picture I chose for this week is of my youngest little girl.  She makes me smile just as much as I love watching her smile.

Now why don't you go over to I Heart Faces and enter too?  It's so much to smile about!

Disney on Ice

Friday night we all went out to see Disney on Ice.  I really wanted to do something fun for the girls since we hadn't done anything big lately.  Even though we had to deal with the rain while walking in and out of the arena, it was still a fun time for all.  Even Aislynn started clapping and dancing by the end.  I don't think the girls had a favorite act, they seemed to enjoy them all.  I couldn't believe the moves they were doing, especially being on the ice.  Some of you reading this may not know that my husband and I were on a country/western dance team in college.  We did polka routines and jitterbug.  I used to be thrown around in the air(not so much these days) and some of the moves they were doing on the ice we did on the ground.  I just couldn't imagine being on skates and doing the same thing.  That's talent right there.  Here are a few pics of the night.  If you ever get a chance to go and take your kiddos I would suggest doing it.  It was a family night of fun!

Too Early for That

As I lay down on the couch yesterday it hit me.  That aweful feeling of something sitting in my chest burning my insides.  Yes, it was heartburn and it's starting waaayy too early this time.  I am just now 10 weeks and not ready for the annoyances of pregnancy to hit this early.  I think with each pregnancy things have happened earlier and earlier.  With McKenna, things went really well.  I did have heartburn but that's all I can remember with her.  I thought it was one of those things that you just had to deal with.  I wasn't much for asking for medicine or taking it for that matter either.  I didn't even know the doctors could give you something to make it better.  I was in nursing school at the time and I was so oblivious to my own self.  Finally around 36 weeks and months of waking up in the middle of the night because of the food trying to make it's way back up I decided to mention it to the doctor.  She wrote me a prescription for Zantac and after just taking it for one night I could sleep through the night and get the much needed rest I had been missing all those weeks.  What was I thinking not asking for anything?  I know better now and I will be asking for all those neccessities at my first official appointment.  My goal is to make it through this pregnancy without being too whiny.  Sometimes I think we get caught up in how uncomfortable we can be and forget the whole reason of going through all these body changes.  We are growing life inside us and it's a miracle every single day.  I guess that's why I work in Labor and Delivery, I am still in awe at what a gift it is and how it all happens.  Each and every time a baby is born is another miracle right before my eyes.

A Post for Nana

I know that you keep asking to see more photos of the girls, so I figured I would dedicate a post just for you. I know it's only a few photos but I hope it will hold you over for a few days. I think the best way to see them more is to move out this way...we are ready. Just giving you something to think about at least. Also that way, you could take as many photos as you wanted...all the time. Hope you have a great weekend! Talk to you soon.



And I couldn't leave out the newest addition:

Fix It Friday #51

Just thought I would do a quick fix for Fix It Friday over at I Heart Faces. I just love the colors in this photo.
Here is the original:

And here is my fix:

Have a wonderful weekend and play along too.

Double the Blessing

Yesterday I had the privilege to meet these two sweet baby girls and their family.  They were pretty good sleepers that's for sure and they loved snuggling one another.  Even though they kept us on our toes with the little messes they kept making, it was all worth it!  How can anyone resist this sister love?

It all started in week 7

What's the worst thing about being pregnant during the first trimester? That's right, NAUSEA! Well, it hit me to the day of week 7. I have to admit, it's not as bad as it was with McKenna, and even Kambry for that matter. But, it's still there, and annoying, and I do what I can to get through the day. The mornings are always my worst, I have to keep eating to feel okay so I think I am already gaining and I don't really like that. My friend gave me her supply of Preggie pop drops and I really like them. I guess just having something handy always helps.

I am definitely staying busy though. With three other little ones running around the house I haven't been able to take naps like I wish I could. I am a little tired but not to the point of being exhausted or anything.

Kambry seems to be most excited about the baby. She is already telling me to eat so I can feed the baby and she puts her hand on my belly even though I tell her it's so small right now all she is touching is my belly fat. It's so cute though. She is determined that this one is a boy. I hope she's not disappointed if it's not though. We still haven't decided if we are going to find out the sex or not. Originally, we had planned for this one to be a surprise. I guess we still have a couple months to decide though. It's a tough decision because we do have three girls and sometimes it would be nice to know if we do have a boy on the way or another girl and can reuse all the stuff we already have. On the other hand though, it's one of life's great surprises. It will be a decision we will have to think on. For now, it's still up in the air.

Fix It Friday #50

Once again I just had to participate in Fix It Friday over at I Heart Faces. I just love the challenge of taking a photo and turning it into something with a little post processing. Since I am still hooked on Picnik here is what I did:

Original:

Edit #1: Using curves I brightened quite a bit until I got the look I was wanting. Then I went to the touch up tab and used blemish removal and then a little airbrush on her face to smooth it all out. Finally increase contrast a bit and voila...my result.

Edit #2: Took the previous photo and using a preset curve did a faded daguerrotype on it.

I hope that you will join in on the fun too! Go to I Heart Faces now.

Day One of 9 Months

What a great day it was! The sun was shining, the air was warm, and the girls were happy and playing in the yard. I knew this was the day, the day to break the news to the hubby! He came home from a long day at work and needed to get his four miles in for his training. I was originally going to surprise him when he came in the door from work but when he called to tell me he was on his way I didn't hear the phone and he arrived without me even knowing. So, I just delayed the "news". I couldn't quite figure out how I wanted to tell him but I knew I wanted to do something other than just come out and say it. So, I decided to make a shirt. I went to Wal-Mart and bought a plain shirt and an iron on transfer sheet and tried to get creative. I made a collage on the computer and then printed it on the paper and ironed it on to the shirt. I thought it would be totally obvious but I guess my man doesn't pay as close to attention to detail as I do. When he was in sight from his run I got the camera ready to catch his reaction. I ended up having to point to my shirt to get him to look at it. Here he is on tape.

And here is my collage I made so you can see what he was looking at. We are all so excited for this new arrival.

Wedding Preview

So, as I mentioned before, I nervously shot my first wedding this past weekend. Even though it added a little stress to my life, it was fun, a great learning experience, and worth every minute. I am still in the process of editing but I wanted to post a few of my favs so far. Please be brutally honest with me, it's the only way I will get better. The wedding and reception were both indoors and that proved to be more difficult on me but I managed the best I could. I would love to do an outdoor wedding one day in the future.

Life Happens

I have been such a bad blogger lately. Just when I think I am going to have more time to get back to the blog, I get busy again. Spring is in full bloom here and the days are just so beautiful. We have been trying to spend lots of time outside and the girls are just loving being able to run around and play and not be all bundled up.

Just yesterday we finally gave the yard it's first cut. It's amazing how much better it looks just by trimming things up a bit. We also made some homemade m&m ice cream and sat outside and ate it in the warm weather. I can't wait to have even more days like that.

Well, for all of you bloggy friends out there I have a bit of news for you. Some of you may be surprised and some of you probably knew it was coming. Our family will be welcoming it's 4th addition in early November! We are all very excited. I have some posts from the past few weeks that I will publish later on. I am trying to document my weeks as best I can. I also have a post on how I told the hubby, it's kinda funny.
In addition to being busy with being pregnant and sick off and on, I got the wonderful pleasure of shooting my first wedding on Saturday. It was such a beautiful day and I can't wait to get them edited. I hope to put up a little peek in the near future. It's just so hard to narrow them all down. I think I took around 800-900 photos. For all you wedding photographers out there, how do you do it? It was very tiring, but totally worth the experience.

Easter Time

Wow, spring break just flew by and I don't know if I really did anything productive. Now, it's the last day of the break and an important day at that. It's Easter! What a great way to start Spring. The girls had a wonderful time coloring eggs, decorating cookies and enjoying time with the family and a few friends. We indulged with a ham, mashed taters, corn, green bean casserole, rolls, and stuffing. In the end I believe we were all stuffed. Aislynn cleaned her plate too! After lunch we all went outside for some egg hunting fun. I have some photos to tell the story: