I think I have gone...

...CRAZY in my old age. I was feeling guilty because we moved to our new house the week of GTO's birthday, so he never had an official birthday party. So what do I do??? I decide to have a Halloween carnival at our house with 30+ kids from GTO's 2nd grade. So if you don't hear from me next week, you can check the local psych wards. :)

It should be a lot of fun. Thankfully, the weather cooperated so we will be playing lots of exciting carnival games outside. The kids will win tickets and then be able to shop for prizes at the end of the party.

I am sure I will post all about it next week. Please wish me luck, or should I say sanity? :)

I hope everyone has a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

HOODRATS

Almost every year we have attempted to get a picture of all the grandkids on hubby's side of the family. My mother-in-law has them framed in her hallway and it is neat to see how the family has grown, and how the kids have grown and changed each year. Every year, we have coordinated their outfits...navy and red outfits, girls in red and the boys in green, colorful sweaters, hats and scarves, and white shirts and Santa hats. This year we decided to keep it simple and have them wear different colored hoodies. We all got together, but we were missing my oldest nephew because he came down with H1N1. Since we still had all the girls together, my sister-in-law and I went ahead and snapped a few pictures of our girly hoodrats. :)

The two little girls are always loving on GTO. He loves that the Diva always attacks him with her bear hugs.

And it seems for one more year, the Diva will still be the baby of all the hoodrats. I think we need to add to the lucky number seven grandchildren. Eight is great, right? Any takers???

TAKE TWO TUESDAY

Laughter is the best medicine, right? I find myself in fits of laughter every single day. I hope all people laugh out loud on a daily basis. It is good for the soul.

I love stupid, silly humor.....I still laugh at America's funniest home videos, I love funny blogs, silly you tube videos, and especially outtakes from T.V shows and movies. In fact, I have decided to create my own version of outtakes from my photo shoots which I will call Take Two Tuesday. All of these images will be completely candid, unedited shots that I have unexpectedly caught on camera.

And now I present to you this weeks outtakes... This very well could be a new way to induce labor.

"Don't worry brother, I will stop the train for you."
" I don't have much of that on my head...Can I borrow some of yours, sis?"
As soon as I was wrapping up pictures from this session, this little girl stood up and said in her sweet raspy voice, "Hey, do you want to take a picture of my butt crack." As she bent over, I was in fits of laughter. Kids say the darnedest things. :)

And I couldn't post outtakes without posting one of my favorite outtakes from my two.

If you don't want to be man handled, you should just comply with giving her a kiss.

Please join along and post some of your silly outtakes as well.

HAPPY FALL

Once Upon A Time...

...Princess GiGi dressed in whatever her Mommy chose. Once upon a time, Princess GiGi requested hairbows everyday, along with perfectly matched shoes. Sadly, my once upon a time has turned into A VERY RARE OCCASION sometimes, and I will take what I can get especially when it involves a custom princess outfit. Interested in this beautiful set??? You can find it HERE.

Attack of the Killer BEES

Debuting my two Halloween cuties...

2009 - Beekeeper and Bumblebee

I decided this year to re-use one of GiGi's dance recital costumes for Halloween. I thought it might make my life a little easier. No such luck. Do you know how hard it is to find a child size bee keeper suit???

My kids love acting the part in their costumes. GiGi was still quite proud of her stinger, and GTO loved getting attacked by the bees.


Congrats to Amanda for being the first one to correctly guess the costumes. Please e-mail me your address and your Halloween surprise will arrive shortly.

Halloween Giveaway

I think it is time for another fun giveaway. The FIRST person to guess the coordinating Halloween costumes that my darling kids will wear this year will be the lucky winner. There are clues listed at the bottom of this post. Close friends and family members who already know - please don't spoil the contest by posting. :) I will post this years costume pictures and announce the winner on Friday. The winner will receive a cute Halloween surprise. For now, enjoy the pictures from the past.

2005 - Little Red Riding Hood and The Big Bad Wolf

2007 - Dorothy and The Tin Man

2008 - Tinkerbell and Captain Hook

Clues for the 2009 costumes:

1. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
2. Stripes
3. Collector
4. Sticky
5. Attack of the killer _______.

Clothing Options for Photo Sessions

I get asked several times per week what to wear for photo sessions/family pictures. Now that the cooler weather has swept in, it is a fun time to layer your outfits. Layering always looks great in photographs and gives you the option of adding more fun color to your clothing choices. Always remember to accessorize with hats, scarves, shoes, and jewelry for added color contrasts. Don't get too matchy-matchy with coordinating family outfits. Bright, bold colors mixed in with a few neutrals work well together. And last but not least, just because you are using these pictures as your Christmas card doesn't mean everyone has to dress in a shade of red and green. I have seen many Christmas card templates that are NOT red and green that are beautiful. I have included some clothing options below for the entire family.

Dad Options

Mom Options

Girl Options

Boy Options

And if you like a more traditional Christmas picture look....

FALL FAMILY PICTURES

Have you booked your family's fall pictures or Christmas pictures yet? If you haven't done so, schedule now. Photographers across the nation are getting booked up through the holidays as this is their busiest time of the year. Schedule a date, discuss location with your local photographer, and then plan outfits etc. (wardrobe options post to follow).

A few weeks ago, I ventured out with these three G's for some fall photos. Their Grandmas were requesting some updated photos so we did a quick shoot and it went really well. Three kids looking in the same direction and all smiling = success. Hopefully, I will be this lucky when taking their Christmas pictures. :)

And I couldn't post without including a cute little pumpkin head. LOVE HER!

WAY BACK WEDNESDAY

October 2004 - GTO, AGE 2

4 months of growing...

Another adorable baby, growing and changing, right before my lens. I have loved this part of my photography hobby/job. Seeing all these newborn babies change so fast and being able to capture it, has been so rewarding for me.

Remember Baby K from a shoot back in June?
Four months have passed, and now she steals my heart with her gummy grins. It was a very windy day at our shoot, but Baby K didn't seem to mind. She was all smiles and fun!

She really likes to stand, and I liked her Mommy's polka-dot shoes. I need those shoes! I wish I would have photographed those beauties! :)

This is one of my favorite shots. She is so adorable!

We captured a few shots with mommy and daddy this time as well. I wish I had some candid shots from when my kids were little. I know these will hold a special place in their heart for a very long time.

M & A - I can't wait to see how she changes in the next few months. Thanks so much for being a repeat customer!

Saturday Sweeties

Since I missed Foto Faces Friday, I thought I would share Saturday Sweeties instead.

I love costumes and Halloween is probably my favorite holiday because of all the dress up time, fall weather, and month long of fun. GiGi's closet is filled with dress up costumes and GiGi and the Diva were so happy to be princesses together.

The Diva and GiGi are cousins who are 5 months apart in age. They are very close and always have a ball together (usually spent dressing up). When they were babies, they attended the same daycare, and have been at the same preschool for the last 2 1/2 years together. This is the first year that they have been apart since GiGi is at a new school, and we miss our DIVA so much. The Diva has the funniest personality and gives the best hugs (she squeezes very tight). She is always grinning from ear to ear and her excitement for life is always evident.
I know first hand what is like to have a cousin as your best friend. I have so many fond memories of growing up with my cousin, and she is still my best friend. (miss you, Laura!)
I know these two will always be close and share a lifetime of memories together.

Picture Boards

These picture boards have been a huge hit, and I am loving my shelves. I have even switched out a few pictures recently. Remember, this is what it looked like last time I posted...

And here are how my shelves appear today. Since my shelves are on a large blank wall, I added two 11 x 14 pictures to the top of the shelf to take up more of the wall space.

I even added another shelf in the kid's playroom with all of our lake pictures. I like to decorate with items that reflect who we are as a family and the lake is a big part of our life, so I like that it can be seen around our house. Again, these will be easy to swap out as I capture new adventures each summer.

I have even received pictures from a couple of clients/friends to show their completed shelves. I am sure you know this little boy. These are his pictures from 3 months - one year. I love the tin ledge that Angela used in her house.

Jan Ette used smaller ledges to display her beautiful girl.

As I receive more pictures of completed shelves, I will post pictures to give you ideas.