I’ve got 5 minutes left before it’s over, but just wanted to say “happy mother’s day!”. I think every mom out there should have at least one photo taken with your kids. Not for you, but for them.

To say I’ve been swamped would be an understatement. But, I’m just finishing up this session and couldn’t resist posting one! Once I get caught up with editing, I’m sure you’ll be seeing more of these two (and probably a whole slew of other blog posts that I need to get caught up on).

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Life Songs

“ABC”

by The Jackson 5

Welcome to a little blog post series that we like to call Life Songs. I am thrilled to be a part of this life stories project with eleven other talented photographers! In this series, we will be documenting our lives with a different theme song each month. The images in the posts will be taken from a less traditional approach, showcasing “real life” in our own ways. This month’s inspiration is ” ABC” by The Jackson 5. It might be worth finding it and having a listen as you browse our blog circle. See the link to the next photographer in the circle at the end of this post.

I bought my first iPhone a few months back, mainly for the camera.  I don’t have a small point and shoot camera, and I hardly ever take my work camera with me, so the iPhone seemed like a great choice.  And I must say, I am in LOVE with it!  Seriously, love.  My husband calls it my nerd phone.  He still uses a rotary phone (OK – not really, but he is a little old school when it comes to this type of stuff).  Anyways, all photos in this post were taken with my iPhone and edited for fun with instagram or snapseed.  I can’t wait to get some lenses  for this thing so I can take some macro shots and wide-angle shots with it.  How crazy is that that they make lenses for a camera phone!?!  I love it!  I heard another photographer use the term “iPhoneography” once.  So, that’s what this is.  :)

Back to the song this month – “ABC” by The Jackson 5.  Everyone knows this song, right?   I had this fun idea to take a photo of something my kids love that has to do with each letter of the alphabet.  Definitely a personal post, but kind of a fun one, too!  I’m going to post this, and if you want, see if you can figure out the method to my madness.  The letters are in order,  answers are at the end.  I cheated on some and just used the letter because, well, I honestly couldn’t think of anything my kids like that starts with “X” and a couple others, but hey – at least it lets you know where you’re at.   And yes, I skipped X and Z.  I’m a little OCD and they didn’t fit into my collage.  

A – The letter “A”, found on a box when we were hanging out looking at old planes at the Blaine airport.
B – My kids love it when I read them a book before bed.
C – Candyland! We play it at least twice a day (whether I like it or not).
D – One of our Dogs. Yes, we put bunny ears on her for Easter. She looks thrilled, right?
E – Eggs. One of the only foods my kids will eat without complaining.
F – My kids both love flowers. We planted a garden last week and every single day they ask if our carrots have grown yet.
G – Giganotosaurus. My son loves dinosaurs, specifically this one, named Laura.
H – Hotdogs. Just call me Martha Stewart – I make octopuses out of hotdogs. My kids think I’m awesome.
I – Icefishing. They love playing out on the ice (and sometimes fishing a little, too).
J – Julian Marley. My daughter LOVES to listen to Boom Draw and plays it anytime she can get her hands on my phone.
K – Kool-Aid. They usually don’t get it (mean mom) but it doesn’t stop them from asking.
L – My daughter’s favorite light-up shoes.
M – She also loves My Little Ponies.
N – They both love going to “school” at New Horizon.
O – My daughter takes after me and loves owls.
P – Both kids LOVE to paint! They ask me to print out about 20 pictures/day so they can paint them.
Q – Ummm…that one stumped me
R – Rain boots! Both kids would wear these 24/7 if I would let them. Doesn’t matter what else they have on. Apparently rain boots go with everything.
S – My son LOVES sharks! Seriously obsessed. I bought him 6 shark outfits for his birthday. Hopefully he still likes them when July rolls around.
T – Trucks. My son also loves Trucks.
U – They both love their umbrellas, too. Rain or shine, they always have them with.
V – The letter “V”
W – Water. Probably can’t tell from this photo, but it’s one of those capsules that turns into an animal when you put it in water. I bought about 10 packages of these from target. We do a couple a day. Cheap entertainment.
Y – Yogurt covered raisins! A favorite snack in our house.

So, there you have it. A little about my life, my kids, my new phone, and some good brain exercises.

Please be sure to check out Tessa Linden Photography. Tessa’s take on this months theme can be seen here. Each photographer from our group will be linking to the next photographer’s take on it – lots of great posts you won’t want to miss!

You probably recognize her from her newborn photos and her 4 month photos – you can’t miss that gorgeous head of black hair!   Leela came back in to see me in March for her 8 month session.  Totally adorable as always – she always has the best outfits.

Advanced warning – this might get to be another long post. I’ve been taking Arybella’s photos since she was 3 months old. She just finished up with her one year session, and we ended up doing a cake smash along with it. I LOVE doing cake smashes at one year! You just never know what you’re going to get. She didn’t want too much to do with the cake (although she did seem to like the frosting!), but it was still a lot of fun. I’m posting a few favorites from each of her sessions below (3, 6, 9 months and 1 year). You can see how much she’s changed in just a short 9 month time span. The one thing that didn’t change is the serious look she gave me every time I got the camera out – LOL!

And her one year photos!

I met up with Lucas and his family for his newborn session back in March. He was two and a half weeks old at the time, so we got a lot of awake shots. He has such beautiful eyes, and it looked like he was just taking everything in. Big sister Gracie had fun playing with the train set while Lucas was getting his photos taken, but she popped in for a few pictures, too. I absolutely LOVE the first set below – she looks like such a proud big sister. The last one in the set totally cracks me up – he’s obviously telling her something HILARIOUS! And you can tell from the big yawn at the end that he did finally zonk out. Even smiled in his sleep – such a content little guy. I can’t wait to see what he’s up to at his next session!

Taylor came in for her second session a few weeks back (her first session at 3 months can be seen here). It was so great to see her again for her 6 month photos, and so fun to see how much she’s changed in just a short three month span. Sitting up like a pro now, full of smiles, and like most 6 month olds, completely fascinated by her own two feet. I love this age.

I met Charlotte for her 6 month session this past weekend and couldn’t help but post one photo for now. She was so full of smiles – look for more from her session soon!

I met Natalie and her parents back in March for Natalie’s one year session. First I have to say that I absolutely LOVE the outfit that they chose for her! White or cream colored dresses on baby girls are so beautiful. They look great in color and black and white, and just have such a timeless feel to them. And it looked adorable with her red hair. I wasn’t sure if Natalie was totally up for photos, but we ended up getting some great smiles out of her. Even her serious looks were cute – I don’t think this girl could take a bad photo.

Doug and Shannon
– I had a great time meeting you guys! Thanks for having me take Natalie’s 1 year photos!

Meet my newest cousin, Jill! Six months is one of my favorite ages, so when Jon and Jen asked me if I’d take some photos of her, I couldn’t resist. It’s so much fun to have another baby in the family. I just love her chubby cheeks and her big blue eyes. This was just a quick session – hoping I can borrow her and take some more in the future.