a special family

More than just neighbors... good friends. Kristen has a heart of gold... about as good as they come. Joe -- well... he's naughty, but Kristen's goodness has rubbed off on him over the years, I suppose! The types of neighbors that would do ANYTHING for you and the types of friends that you would trust with your most valuable possessions (such as children!). Can't say enough good things.... it was fun to do a session with them... I can't wait to show the gallery... it's going to be good!!

It's Halloween!
I'll go through the halloween pictures and post a couple tomorrow. Jack was a fireman (for the second year in a row) and Addie was three different things. For Thursday's party at school she was a black cat. Today she was a ballerina princess in the morning and for trick or treat she wore a cheerleading costume. We carved some great pumpkins - Addie's was a ghost and jack's was a firetruck (I win the Mommy of the Year award for that one). They were so excited to see them all lit up.
Fun, fun...

Let it... WHAT?????

SNOW???

Dear friends and clients in CNY,

It is October 28th. There is snow on the ground. I am leaving. Thank you for your friendship and support of my business. I've had enough. Come to Aruba where I'll be living in my parents' timeshare (hi Mom and Dad) for a week (not sure where I'll live the the rest of the year). I like doing beach photography.

Snow in October. Does this mean that I wont see the sun until April... or is it May? The next time I will be able to wear shorts is when? June??? Oh, that's a long time from now. Let's talk about the sun again... I forget... what natural benefits does it have? Oh yes, Vitamin D??? Well... I guess I can go to GNC and stock up on Vit D pills. My plants? Yes, I will get to cleaning them up when? Late May?? June they'll bloom again? What about April like the rest of the country? No, not here in CNY. What... it's 80 degrees in Dallas right now? And, Jen, you were complaining about that? Sure, I understand. It is supposed to be FALL. AUTUMN. FALL... the season of plenty, the season of colors and bounty and all things "cool and crisp." NOT SNOW. SNOW HAPPENS IN THE WINTER.

Ugh.!

I do know two kiddos who were excited beyond belief with the white stuff falling from the sky... please pardon the snapshotty pictures here, but this is what you get from me... lack of creativity --- it is supposed to be AUTUMN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As a stark reminder of what our beautiful and sunny life was like yesterday, I present two more pictures,

my... what a difference a day makes!

Katie and Ben

Can you appreciate this image (click on it to make it bigger)??? I think it may be too small to see how cute it is. This is Ben (the groom on the end in the white vest) who is with his two brothers. Here they are beating each other up, (or at least doing a good job of pretending). Perhaps this is the way life was as they were growing up... as it should be in an house with three boys. Katie (the bride) would have no idea about growing up with three boys... she has 6 sisters.

Fun, fun wedding. Full of love, family and friends! Best wishes to katie and ben!!!

a visit from Ohio

What a nice visit we had last weekend with Nene and Papa. Glorious weather (although a bit on the chilly side), a visit to the park, a trip to the playground, McDonald's pancakes... we miss you and can't wait to see you again soon. Thanks for coming to visit!

swamped!

Whew. Busy.

Not enough hours (uninterrupted) in the day. So many things I have to do, so many things I want to do...

I finally downloaded pictures I took when my parents were in town last weekend... some cute ones of the kids and their Nene and Papa. Will post those soon, Mom!

In the next day or so I will be posting some deadlines for holiday ordering ---- hard to believe the holidays will be here before we know it. Prints, Christmas cards, gift albums, etc... if you haven't placed your order yet, start thinking about it...!

Tired -- need sleep! Going to bed now!

Pink, cute and roly-poly!

I thought Addie was a big baby (she was HUGE). Then, I though little Maeve (hi Maeve's mom!) was a big baby. BUT... this little (big) guy tops them both. By a ton. He is so big and so adorable that I just wanted to bite him (it's a term of endearment from my childhood -- no harm intended!).

He also has two sweet as cupcake big sisters... cuteness all around for this family! What a joy it was to meet you!

2 weeks new

I met a sweet, sweet little guy on Sunday. He is all of 2 weeks old!


I always love watching new Mamas adore their new babies... new life is so magical and no one knows that better than a mom.

He won't stay so little for long!


love the lighting in this one:
I hope little Baby B slept ALL night for you guys! Enjoy him - he's beautiful!

Three kids on a crisp fall day!

Cuties! Oh what fun we had traipsing through the woods today. The air was crisp and the leaves were crunchy. These three kiddos were such great sports. I'm just posting a few quick pics, saving the rest of the really cute ones for mom.

Two silly, sweet sisters and one ornery and cute brother!
Thanks for having me over this morning!

They make a great "pear!"

So, I can't take the credit for that cute title... AJ is the one who said something similar to that while I was making him hold the pear with the rings on it!!! Pretty darn cute, though!
What a gorgeous day/evening for a wedding in Skaneateles. The colors, the decor, the florals - all WOW! Great wedding party, great everything!
Tiffany and AJ chose to see each other before the ceremony. I was with AJ while he was waiting for his gorgeous bride and he was a little nervous!

Congrats to Tiffany and AJ!!! You guys planned a beautiful wedding! Best wishes!

Fall Cuteness

Couldn't have been a more beautiful afternoon today. Great day for a leisurely walk by the canal to snap some pictures.
Just cute. Cute, cute, cute!

Oh, to be soo cute...
There were a lot of "dirty" words that were thrown around to try to get this little guy to smile. Lots of potty talk and bathroom noises, if you know what I mean!!! We were somewhat successful -- I'm saving some big smiles for Mama.

I don't know where to begin...

Oh what fun! What a gorgeous day for pictures. Mild temperature, beautiful colors on the trees and a soft light shining down! I will have the hardest time proofing this family's pictures because there are TOO many that I love. The stars were aligned just right for me today!!

The sisters having fun...






Great smiles!
The family (see Mickey the dog??)
I just love this!
Had to "throw" in a couple of the boys being total studs catching the football.




Thanks!!

almost 10 pounds

So sweet. What a good little baby boy. It was such a joy to meet him and his adorable family. This little guy is 6 weeks old and he was almost 10 (yes, TEN) pounds at birth!!!

Here are a couple of quick favorites ---
A sweet and tender moment with Mama adoring her son...

Followed by Mama getting soaked by pee-pee! That is what happens when you take a diaper off a baby!!

Dada loves his little guy...

I love, love, love this shot!! I *think* I remember Dad casually laughing and saying that this shot would be the Christmas card this year!! Hummm... think it will hold true??
Thank you, thank you for inviting me over on this absolutely gorgeous fall afternoon!

Week full of emotions

I just returned home from Ohio to attend my grandfather's funeral. It was a long few day full of emotions. Friends and family who visited the funeral home recalled Pop's jovial nature and unconditional love for his family and enjoyed sharing stories of happy times from days gone by. Everyone who visited talked about what a great guy he was, how giving he was and how much he'll be missed. Indeed, he lived a great and full life and we are all better for having been a part of it.

There is joy during times likes these, though... and for me it was getting to meet Baby Lily, my younger brother's first child. She is 10 weeks old and such a cutie! Addie would have LOVED to meet her --- hopefully we will see Lily again soon. Of course I couldn't resist taking a *few* pictures of her!!!

I loved how she loves her daddy!!! She smiles big for him!

Pretty in pink.

big alert eyes!

Ahhh... asleep at last!

It was great to get home and see my own two little munchkins. I quickly found myself back in my "firemom" role and I have a nice new fresh coat of polish on my nails (in five different colors) thanks to Addie. Life IS good!