This is why...again!

I was working on the computer (imagine that), and Jake was busy with something behind me. I turned around and found him working on family pictures for the Project Life album. He used the paper cutter to resize them so they would fit into the plastic sleeves. I'm so glad I decided to take on this project this year. It's so meaningful to him.

After basketball practice this weekend, he told me to print all the pictures I took for the album. I love that he wants to call the shots (no pun intended) on this, too. He didn't make a basket this weekend, and the game definitely hasn't clicked for him yet. However, he is working on the dribbling which makes me very proud.

He loves to go which makes me happy, and a little progress is made every week.

How crazy is this next shot? We had a little fire in the kitchen.

We heard some loud popping sounds coming from the kitchen. Dan managed to get downstairs first to see the smoke pouring from one of the lights in the kitchen fixture. I don't have a smoke shot. I think Dan would have had a fit if I ran for my camera during a kitchen fire. Ha!  Here is the fixture below. The fire was in the closest light. The bulb still looks fine as you can see from the shot above. The fire was in the wires and had nothing to do with the bulb. The kitchen remodel was only done 3 years ago, so this really surprised us.

We should have replacement parts in 2 weeks and will need to have an electrician in to work on it.

I was very excited this week at the prospect of more snow. It was pretty disappointing that we only got a couple of inches...tops. It warmed up the day after and everything melted, so we got Jake out before bedtime to help with a little shoveling and play a bit before it was all gone.  It had a blast playing in the snow at night.

Here are a few more shots of my little Valentine. I don't think I posted these yet, but who cares. Look at my sweet man again. ;)

The only shot I got of both of my babies on Valentine's Day really was a terrible shot technically. Who cares! I love it!  So...check it out and don't judge me on the focus and lighting...

...or the bottle of soap on the table behind them. ;)

I couldn't resist doing a layout with one of the pictures from Erin and Jared's engagement shoot. Everything is available at DesignerDigitals.com. Email me for specifics, and I can link you.

Lydia and Molly came to the studio recently. They were so sweet and so cooperative...and I pushed them a went a little long. Who can resist!

One of the sites where I buy my backdrops is having a big sale. I went a little crazy. The deal was buy 3 get one free. FUN! I can't wait to get them and play. I'm always excited about some new looks with Jake as my model.

Ok...time to update my Project Life album. After reading a recent post by my friend, Jennifer (a PL creative team member), I think I might do the project planning digitally. Then I will have a file of the page that can be saved and just print the parts.

This is why...

This is why I'm doing Project Life this year. I leave the binder out in my office, and Jake will look through it at least once a day. He likes to help slide the pictures in the plastic sleeve. He's added a couple of pictures, his Valentine this year, and his name in his handwriting. Normally I do everything digitally. I'll be honest. It's cheaper and faster. The downside is that Jake doesn't see the album until it's finished. Some of them take 6 months or a year for me to complete. Now he gets to see the pictures right after I take them. There is something really special about that. I'm probably going to continue memory keeping this way until he is older.

I have a few other 365 pictures that I forgot to share. I won't share them all here. Some I like to keep private for various reasons.

Jake still loves to play with light sticks. I keep a supply of them in the closet thanks to the dollar bins at Target.

Sometimes I find myself in competition with him for the iPad. Jake has discovered Google. He came to me very excited and explained that he typed ET on a page and the movie case popped up! He will need to be monitored very closely now!

The awesome nurses and office manager at allergy shots have created a monster, I think. Every time Jake comes for a shot, they ask him how much money he found at the vending machine on his way in. He always finds something...until this week! He told them nothing this time, and the office manager planted some pennies in the shot room before Jake entered. He spotted them right away. Then another nurse threw in a few more when Jake wasn't looking. This was his haul today.

Izzy had her Valentine shoot, and I brought Jake in for a few together. They are quite a pair. He will be lost next year when she is in kindergarten!

Jake requests this Beatles cd every night after dinner. We work on dishes, and he plays his guitar and sings. His favorite song is I Want To Hold Your Hand.

Last weekend I met my bride and groom for their engagement shoot. After spending this time with them, I can tell this wedding will be so much fun! They were very flexible and didn't get rattled that we had to shoot their session in the rain. This was the only weekend they would be in town together until right before the wedding. It had to be done. They both looked amazing through the shoot. I was another story! Ha!

Here are some of my favorites.

I decided this next shot needed some sunshine and a little flare...so...I made some!

I asked Jake what my real name is. He thinks it's Gigi Katography. Love it!

Amazing!!!

Jake had his first basketball practice and game this weekend. He has never watched a basketball game, so he was really pretty clueless about what to do. However...he got a hold of the ball during the game, and then he knew! He ran it all the way down the court....and SCORED! He never dribbled. Who cares. He shot it underhand. Who cares. The kid scored the first basket of the season for his team!

Look at that proud smile! 

We went to the sporting goods store on Sunday and picked up a basketball. Daddy and Jake spent some time before the Super Bowl working on dribbling and shooting. I can't wait to see what he does next week!

Charlie came to the studio last week. It's always interesting to see what an 18 month old will do. I've come to the conclusion that it's the hardest age to shoot. They definitely have a mind of their own. Charlie did a great job!