dreams really do come true

And no - I'm not talking about Disney dreams.  Although we're in preliminary talks for our first Disney excursion with the littles.  More on that to come, I'm sure.

Saturday was great.  We had a lazy, pajama day at home.  I took a nap while Hannah slept mid-day, and then I got cleaned up, and Jack and I went to the store to get a fall tablecloth and napkins for an upcoming fall birthday celebration.

On our way home, the light near the entrance to our community turned red, so I decided to "save time" and take a right into our neighborhood, rather than going the long way around.

In the front of our neighborhood, we have a beautiful street lined by trees on both sides, and the lighting and the colors of the leaves felt like it couldn't have been more perfect than on Saturday afternoon.  Jack and I rushed home to grab my camera and Hannah Bear and Daddy, so we could head back out to that perfect spot.

I've dreamed of taking pictures at this spot since we moved to this neighborhood -  we've been here for four years.  It's gorgeous.  Winter, spring, summer, fall - just beautiful.  Lucky for me, I was able to get everyone ready quickly, and Brad agreed to come along to help with traffic control.  It's not a busy road, by any means, but people coming and going to the clubhouse need the road, and we wanted to be safe.

I'm so glad we went.  I didn't get the best pictures - but the kids had fun running around, posing for Mama, and chasing the local geese:)  We had to share this beautiful spot with a couple of girls posing for Homecoming pictures (their moms have good backdrop taste), and a man who was walking the road for exercise.  I didn't care - it's that pretty.

See for yourself...

So, as I was saying - this was a dream come true.

Now I'm only hoping that the leaves will remain on these trees long enough for our family photo shoot coming up next week!

Baby Dylan ~ 8-9 Days Old

Very quickly, you must know that Hannah Bear apparently caught on to how adorable I thought her, "I dropped the rice," statement was because this morning, as I put on my makeup and she sat on the couch eating her waffle, she randomly announced, "I dropped the rice," just to see me smile.

Have I ever told you how much I love that girl?

*****

Approximately six weeks ago, my nephew was born.  Throughout Ryan's entire pregnancy, I was busy planning for our newborn photo shoot.  I couldn't wait to get my hands on that tiny, squishy little man.  To strip him down to his little bare tushy, bend him in all sorts of adorable ways, and just take picture after picture.

We were all set to take his pictures one week to the day that he was born.  And then I injured my eye.

I was devastated.  And determined all at the same time.  So I went over the next day - wonky eye and all - to take newborn pictures.  Dylan was eight days old.  Neither Dylan nor I were very happy that day.  He was tired, but wouldn't sleep.  He did not want to bend and be squishy.  But take pictures we did.

{I'm a sucker for tiny feet}

{a personal favorite - it made the announcement}

{mama love} 

 {thumb sucker}

{Packers in his blood ~ but NOT from my side}

Since I didn't get any squishy, completely bare pictures during our first attempt, the kids and I went back the second day to see if we'd do any better.  We took some more adorable pictures, but Dylan still did not want to sleep.  Or squish.

{serious thought}

 {again with the tiny feet}

 {oh.my.word.}

{I told you.  She's jealous.  She wanted to pose, too.}

So, while they might not look like the Pinterest pictures I've been hoarding for nine months, they make me smile.  And I think my sister likes them, too.

just beautiful

Last weekend, I headed over to my sister's house to take some pictures of her precious baby belly.  We're nearing the end (or rather, the beginning!) of this thing, and I wanted it documented for her.  We rescheduled this appointment a million times - if I'm being honest, she wasn't really thrilled about posing for such pictures as she's not feeling especially beautiful.  But, oh - she is!

       

{getting to this picture led to some very hilarious outtakes!}

I keep trying to tell her that she will look back on these photos with nothing but happiness, but she seems unconvinced.  She's uncomfortable, and in pain, and she's ready.  We're all ready, really.  I say this as though I've been carrying a big baby around in my belly for the last nine months, but honestly, I just want to meet my nephew.  I'm ready to watch my sister fall into this role of mommyhood and fall in love with the little man she's made.  And, I want all the little newborn gear to fit him for his newborn photos, so he better hurry!  I'm so, so eager:)

Fall Photo Shoot = FAIL

Coming home from work on Friday afternoon, I was mesmerized by the afternoon light.  I knew that if I hurried, I'd be able to take some great pictures of the kids.  The images I was planning in my head were beautiful...sun flares, fall leaves, and us, me and my little lovelies on a Friday afternoon.

I ran by the house to grab snacks and juice.  The littles aren't happy without snacks and juice, so while I was there, I quickly decided to grab a toddler arm chair and the pretty quilt I used in my sister's photo shoot to jazz up our session a bit.  I grabbed my tripod, my camera, my good lens, and I was out the door.

I quickly picked up the kids from school, racing against the setting sun, but as usual, Jack had "an idea."  Instead of heading to the park we usually go to after school on Fridays, he wanted to go to the park by our house.  No problem.  We have time.  We'll make it, I told myself.

We got to the park, which happens to have a beautiful field right next to it, and I started to unload the kids, their gear, and our photo shoot supplies when I realized I may have made a mistake.  It's a lot to carry without someone there to help you.

We finally wrangled our way to a spot, and set up shop.  I was ready to go...the sun was getting lower and lower in the sky.  We had to hurry.  I've learned this lesson before, but apparently, it's one I needed to learn again.  You cannot hurry toddlers.  It can't be done.  And when you try?  Disaster.  At least, in my case.

While I got my sun flare, I didn't get the pictures I'd had in my head.  I didn't make it into a single one of them.  The tripod was never even set up.  I was sweating hard enough just trying to get pictures of the two of them looking at the camera.

See how they're both looking longingly at the park off to my right?  FAIL

See the beautiful sun rays?  Now see how Jack is not looking at me and Hannah won't let go of her juice?  FAIL

Hmm...again, beautiful sun rays, but Jack has his completely disinterested smile and Hannah is not making eye contact.  FAIL

And now, she's rolling on the quilt while her brother dreams of the park.  Oh, and look, I've finally achieved an actual sun flare.  FAIL

So, there you have it.  The good news is that I did get a few shots that were, of course, worth celebrating.  Maybe just not the ones I'd planned:)

I think I'll keep them.  And this adorable video I captured before I was worried she might fall off that springy horse:

{Video: Hannah on the Springy Horse}

Maybe our Christmas card photo shoot I'm planning for this weekend will go much smoother.

Fingers crossed.

Jack's Latest Photo Shoot

The week that I took Hannah's newborn pictures, I was very much into using my portrait lens and doing mini-photo shoots with my kiddos.  One afternoon while Jack and I were out on the deck, I grabbed my camera and went to town.  Here's what we came up with:

I could just eat him up.

Newborn Photo Shoot

When I had Jack, I didn't leave the house for what felt like months.  I just couldn't get it all together - I wasn't feeling well, I was nervous about having to feed him in public, and the list of things I all of a sudden had to carry with me felt too overwhelming.  Needless to say, he was seven weeks old before I had his first professional pictures taken, and it's one of my biggest regrets.  I hadn't realized that you're really supposed to get newborn pictures taken within the first two weeks.

I knew that if we had more babies, I wanted to have newborn photos taken, but I also knew that they are very expensive.  The more I practiced with my camera, the more I thought I may be able to take the pictures myself.  If the project ended in failure, I could always rush to a studio...really, what was the worst that could happen?

Turns out the worst that could happen is that Baby may not sleep as soundly as you'd hoped and may go to the bathroom on every backdrop you have:)  But the pictures I got of my little girl at just 13 days old?  Let's just say, I'm very pleased!

Not bad, right?