Happy Birthday, Dad!

Last week my family got together to celebrate my dad's 70th birthday.  The kids had such a blast together, but they can get pretty crazy.  (I'm always relieved to have my nephew, Cam, to keep things under control when the kids are downstairs. Thanks, Cameron!)

I know it was a great evening for you, Dad, and I'm glad! You deserve it! We love you so much!

Here are some of my favorite shots from the evening.

 
I got the boy registered for kindergarten. Wow...that was a lot of paperwork! 

I am really excited for him. He is so ready now.  We've been working on basic math and letter sounds on some new apps that I bought for the iPad.  I'm actually pretty excited about how much he already knows.  I was very surprised that when given a letter sound, he can almost always pick the appropriate letter.  His favorite new app is this one:

Super Why

We finally have a weekend that is not crazy busy, so I think we are going to work on shoe tying.  

Dan and I took him to the car show last weekend. We had dinner after at our favorite downtown pizza place...Vito's.  Jake ended up covered in chocolate gelato!  I really thought this shirt was ruined.  It took soaking it in oxyclean water with an oxyclean paste on each spot, but I finally got it clean.  

Jake loves hanging out with Rick and learning new games on the Xbox.

Julia and Kristin came to the studio last weekend.   This session was a hoot!  I'm glad I asked my babysitter, Livi, to help out.  We needed the extra hands!  

"Hmmm...I can't decide if I like my pretties better or your pretties better!"

After our studio session, I went to Mike and Kathy's house for a home shoot.  I knew my nieces would make it special...and they delivered.  This is my favorite of the two of them.

I love this one, too!

There will be more to share soon!

Back in action...

It seemed like I waited forever. The order was placed on December 22, and the new iMac arrived on January 8.  Forever, right?

I am really proud of myself. I spent 4 days adjusting to this platform, reformatting EHD's, uploading software and plug-in's, transferring files, etc. I had a list of questions that google was just not answering for me, and I had a calibration conflict. That's when I called in a professional...my friend and fellow Shutterclub member, Jeff Hirsch.  If you are changing platforms, he is the guy to call. He knows PC and Mac and can hold your hand through the entire process, if necessary.  Like I said...I'm proud. I did this mostly on my own.  I'm so glad that I did. My images look amazing on this monitor. This iMac makes sense...the way files and images are moved...everything is user friendly. I'll never go back!

Jake has been busy just being Jake.

He took the guardrails off his bed...just like his sister did many years before him.  He was ready.  I was worried, but it's been great. There hasn't been a single fall, and they've been off for over a week. If you know anyone local who would like a free set of guardrails, have them call me.

My busy guy likes to climb in my lap at the end of meal time and when I'm working.

Sometimes a guy just needs a snuggle from mom.

I've had problems keeping him full, so he decided to take matters into his own hands.

He's also very protective of his candy and sent a strong message to his sister on this bag.

Like I said...I can't keep him full. After a big spaghetti and meatball dinner, I caught him doing this with the leftover pasta while helping to clear the table.

We enjoyed the very little bit of snow we had right before the New Year.  Our winter weather has been very disappointing. This year is shaping up to be like last year...very little precipitation and above normal temps. I'm not getting much use out of my new Coach books...a great find at a discount store!!

The little bit of snow we had was very wet and great for packing. This is Jake's very first snowman.

Jake struggled a bit with the cold air and was not at all happy when I called him in from the snow to do a breathing treatment.

 

Kate really enjoyed her holiday break and even threw herself a party to celebrate her 21st birthday.  I was so impressed with the job she did. She planned, invited, decorated, arranged, and baked to perfection!  I showed up and took the pictures. :)  

 

 Rick spent quite a bit of time helping her in the kitchen the weeks prior to the party. I was pretty impressed with him, too. ;)

Even Izzy couldn't believe how much Fun Dip that tummy could hold.

I started shooting again right after the first of the year.  Lily and Emma came to the studio.  Their mom sent me a picture of the outfits she was planning on using, and I just happened to find the suitcase right before the shoot. I thought it would match...it was perfect!

I had a home lifestyle shoot for Natalie, Jon and family.  This is my favorite shoot...especially with a newborn.

A few days later, Jon brought the kids to the studio so we could get this shot.

Noah came to the studio this past weekend, and I hope to have some peeks soon! 

These sweet girls are 6 months old already. I can't wait to have them in the studio next weekend!

After their session, I'm heading to my sister in law's house for a lifestyle shoot with my nieces! Fun!