Play Pics

It was a beautiful day and Monday after school is free for us so I get the idea to head over to my friend's gorgeous backyard and take pictures with their Easter outfits on.  Well, apparently, I can't take any posed pictures of my own children.  NOT EVEN ONE of them was a keeper.  Will would not sit or stand still for more than a split second.  If I asked anyone to touch anyone it turned into an argument.  So, I gave up and let them play on their playset.  THEN...they started posing for me left and right and having FUN.  It turns out these are probably more interesting anyway...but my wall remains empty...waiting for that portrait.

This year rather than giving my money to the Gods of Gap, I decided to custom order some clothes from my friend Jenn during her adoption fundraiser.  Check out her Etsy shop.

feeling the love...

I think almost everyone who reads this blog received my email last week about my new photography business.  If not, here is the link...
http://www.cookieclicksphotography.com/

I also have a cookie clicks photography blog...there is a link to it on the site.  I decided to keep it separate from our personal blog as I want this blog to remain our little family 'scrapbook'.

Thanks to my wonderful husband who has been so supportive.  He has not expressed even one ounce of hesitation in my new endeavor.....although he did jokingly mention that he had to wear a short sleeve shirt to work last Friday on casual day (it seems I have neglected the laundry due to my 10pm- 2am office hours, ha).  He must have some serious confidence in me. 

I have had so much fun starting this business and am so passionate about it.  People that know me know that I am so very indecisive and I don't have one teeny tiny ounce of indecision about this.  What has made it even more fun is my friends and family who have shown such an interest...or atleast pretended to, ha.  My friend Christina (whom I met eating cold refried beans out of a can on a late night in our dorm in college) said something like "This just couldn't be more perfect for you...I'm so happy for you."  My big sis (and only sis) Cathy sent me an email telling me how proud of me she was and some other nice things...although it was sent late night and red wine may have been involved.  :)

So, thank you all for listening...

Not Quite Yet, Little Buddy

Keep trying...

Twirly

A Few Pics

Here are a few pics from the past couple of days.

Seriously cute girls...

Look at these girls...don't they look like sisters?  They are sweet little cousins with beautiful eyes and curly hair!  And...incase you were wondering what they were looking at, they noticed another little girl in the kitchen taking some icing off of the birthday cake!  :)

Lucky Dog

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

(btw...double click on this photo to see cute Snoopy tee from Target and Will's funny expression with his tongue out)

Spring

Look at these flowers we found coming up in our front bed last week...this makes me happy...especially since they are purple and I've always wanted to capture little raindrops on flowers.

We're on Spring Break right now so we've been doing some crafts.  Here is our Easter tree...

Another little craft...Will the Easter Bunny with 3 chicks Emmie, Katie and Allie...

It's A Passion....It's A Curse...

When out to lunch with my friend Jenn today, we discussed photography...of course. I'm always asking her questions and bringing up photography...sorry Jenn.  Anyway, we both discussed how we have ALWAYS loved photography.  When we look back at old pictures from a long time ago we can see that we always tried to 'create' that 'perfect picture'....blankets hung behind our subjects, little props spread around, different angles taken, etc. 

I remember having my purple LeClic camera years and years ago and taking pictures of my cat with hats on.  I would even dress up my poor nephew with glasses, hats and props (sorry Ryan).  My dolls and stuffed animals were also captured around a table in a birthday party....come to think of it, my cat was the guest of honor in that picture with her birthday hat and all....sorry Boots.

It's a passion...or maybe an obsession...whatever.  It will get you out of bed while on vacation before sunrise...even when you're not a morning person...just to catch the great light.  The problem is that when you love your camera and love photography, you are constantly 'seeing pictures' in your head.  You want to capture everything.  You see the light on the leaves of a tree and want to grab your camera.  You see sweet smiles and DO immediately find your camera.  You notice moments between friends and family and want to capture them.  Today, the 'trigger' to my photography obsession was this little cap of Allie's...

(Faded Daydreams Action....apparently now a favorite of mine)

Fresh Air

Here are some pics from our little visit to the park today.  The most interesting part about these pictures?  Check out Allie's shoes....I just found out she had them backwards while looking through these pictures.  Poor girl...victim of this clueless mommy of four.

Yes, Will was there also....this was the only time I could get him to sit still for a picture.

Coveted Couch

The girls always argue over who gets the 'little couch' when watching tv. I'm not sure why that is...I would want the big couch if I were them. I guess because they want to be closer to the tv.

Now, we have yet another contender for the coveted seat in the house.

Tough Guy On A Bike

Yesterday Rich took Will for his first bike ride on the back of his bike. We think he enjoyed it but we really couldn't tell because he was so very tired at the time. This was the look I got when trying to take pictures. I love it...doesn't he look like such a tough guy with that cow on his helmet, pacifier in his mouth and that look on his face?

...and because I can't help myself in PhotoShop, here is the same pic with some black and white editing...further portraying his 'bad boy' image, ha!

Closer to 2

Our little love is turning 18 months in just a couple of days. Do you know what that means? He is closer to 2 than he is to 1. How did this happen? I'm pretty sure there is no denying that he is a toddler now.  Our baby has grown into this little person in the blink of an eye.

He brightens all of our days with his smiles, cuddles, giggles and love.  He wants to hold hands, he wants to please...he wants to help.  He loves his big sisters and they adore him.  He admires his Daddy like no other.  He loves to hear the back door chime when Daddy comes home and runs to it saying "DADA, DADA, DADA!"

When he wakes up in the morning, he wants to snuggle and chat before rushing out of bed. He continues to surprise us every day with new things that he has learned.  He loves to explore and he loves to play, play, play. 

Thank you little buddy for bringing even more sunshine into our lives over the past 18 months.  I hope the next 6 months go by nice and slow.  We love you William Joseph!

What he doesn't do much of these days is stop to look into my camera....as he is way too busy for that!  Here he is exploring our backyard as I followed him around with my camera...