Where Have I Been?

Oh you know.....busy doing a little of this, a little of that. Especially THIS! :)

Yesterday

Yesterday she played with blocks, gummed her food, gnawed on my finger, and smiled a lot.

Today she grew a tooth. And bit me.

New Studio Flooring!

Several weeks ago, when the kids and I went to visit my parents in Wisconsin for a week, my husband stayed home and worked on our beautiful new studio flooring! Well actually...he worked on the flooring for our entire downstairs. It was quite the project and he did an amazing job! Here's a little peak at the beauty:

Bathtime Baby

Is this girl not the most adorable child ever?

I thought so. :)

Ramblings

Today I....

got up, talked on the phone to a friend, had another phone call while on the phone, didn't answer, took a shower, had the faulty bathroom light turn off while IN the shower, had the faulty bathroom light turn back on, was thankful, dried my hair, shoved cereal in front of my kids, added blueberries, felt like a better mom, realized it was special K cereal, felt like an even better mom, considered how I should be the one eating the special K, realized it was all gone, ate nothing instead, endured much whining, sent my daughter to the mailbox to mail 2 cards, sent my son out to put up the forgotten flag, sent my daughter back out to retrieve cards from neighbor's mailbox, instructed my daughter to put them in our mailbox, endured much whining, got in the van, applied makeup at the light, applied more makeup at the next light, finished applying makeup in the drive-thru, ordered fries and a Coke, met some friends at the park, forgot to eat my fries until they were cold, baked in the sun, drank my Coke, felt bad about drinking Coke around my super-healthy friend, applied sunscreen to 1/2 my kids, applied sunscreen to 1/2 myself, burned my face a little, gave some of my Coke to my kids, wished I hadn't, wished I had another Coke, fed my kids a snack in the car, fed them more snacks, made it home, got everyone inside, endured much whining, got everyone into their respective 'rest time' location, browsed Facebook, browsed CafeMom, made a business call, considered working on more business stuff, browsed CafeMom again, wrote a blog post, published it, couldn't believe kids as cute as this could cause trouble....

What have you done today?

Love/Hate Relationship

The other day I found myself standing in line at a U-Scan. There were 4 open U-Scans and about 2 or 3 people waiting in line in front of me. As I proceeded in line, I began to consider how much technology has changed the American way of life even in my own lifetime. We used to stand in a line of customers to get to a person, not a machine. We used to hand over our cash instead of swipe our credit cards. And speaking of cash, have you ever noticed how you begin to hate people that carry it these days? Don't even try to deny it. You know you do. I mean, it's so....slow. And if there is loose change involved? Forget it. You might as well have just stayed home.

It's so strange to realize that my children will never know any differently. While I was born into a world full of technology, my children were born into a world RUN by technology. Engulfed in it. Unable to carry on without it. Yet we love it, most of the time. I find it to be a very unique conundrum.

And on a totally unrelated topic, check out this adorable poodle who stopped by for a visit while I was out shooting on Saturday. So. Stinkin'. Cute. If only I wasn't allergic.....

Danielle | Indianapolis Senior Photographer

Head on over to the senior blog to check out the latest Indy Photography senior!

The Cutest Thing

Thanks so much to Gray Photography for bringing this video to my attention. It is by far the cutest video I've seen in....well....quite a while. You definitely must watch it.

Happy Saturday to ya!

Appreciation

"I must be looking really great today," I thought to myself as I headed south on US-31. A couple of teenage guys had glanced at me a few times from their red two-door vehicle in the next lane. I'm 25 now and I drive a mini-van. Teenage guys don't typically flock to those traits. So naturally, I assumed my beauty was radiating from my driver side window. But then I glanced in the mirror and immediately new why they were looking at me. My hair.

You see, today is Cow Appreciation Day at Chickfila. And since Chickfila happens to be our very favorite fast food restaurant, naturally we participate in this event every year. On July 9th, if you dress like a cow, you get free food. And since I'm all about free food, it's a mandatory calendar date for us each summer.

This year I made myself a smock dress, layered it over a pair of black leggings and threw my hair into pigtails complete with cow hair ties. It's okay if you never want to speak to me again. I know I'm a dork. My three oldest kids wore their cow t-shirts (from last year's CAD) and Savannah wore a dress nearly identical to mine. We were quite the herd if I do say so myself.

We met up with several neighboring herds friends from church and enjoyed our absolutely free food! Reagan was sad that she didn't get to see the cow up close. Keaton and Sienna sighed with relief. And Savannah just gulped down bite after bite of chicken and french fries. It was a pretty good time. And speaking of time....there's still time left if you want to participate! Hit up your local Chickfila for dinner dressed in cow attire and enjoy your meal on the house!

Hold On, Back Up.

Today, because you love me dearly, because it's Friday, and because I am totally 2 full days behind on life....could we pretend for just a moment that today is actually Wednesday? You know, the 7th of July? Eh hem....thank you very much. Now then....

Dear brother.....Happy Birthday!

(Does it count if I thought of you a lot on your birthday?)

Rest

This weekend - kind of on a whim - we took off for a mini-vacation. On Sunday we drove to Holiday World where we spent the day with some extended family. There was lots of sunscreen applying, free soda drinking, water playing, and rollercoaster riding. That night we headed to our hotel in French Lick. Monday morning we woke up and hit the waterpark just steps away from our hotel room door. We spent the entire day there with the exception of one long afternoon family nap. Tuesday was basically the same, minus the family nap. The kids loved every second of it and we loved almost every second. Pictures will soon follow, but for now....we're home. And we're exhausted.

Keiper Girls

Man, can we please talk about perfect weather?! After those few weeks in the upper 80s and 90s every day, this past week of temps in the 70s has been a very welcome change! I had my third session in a row on the canal this week with these darling little girls. They were so pleasant and fun to photograph. And Liz and Jeremy, it was so great to meet you! I'm glad you found me on Facebook. :)

Adorable pink dresses from Lucy Jane Studio.

This is probably one of my favorite pictures of all time. Are they not the cutest things you've ever seen??

Corbin | Indianapolis Baby/Child Photographer

I first met Corbin last November when he came into the studio for his Christmas/4-month pictures. He was a smiley giggle box! This past weekend, I was thrilled to discover that his personality has not changed a bit! Kristy and Dean, it was great to see you again. I'm so glad we had such a beautiful day to work with! Corbin, thanks for coming to see me again. It's always a pleasure to work with you. :)

Did I mention Corbin is a July 4th baby?

Rachel and Leesha | Indianapolis Family Photographer

Rachel and I met a few years ago in a Bible study. We kind of lost touch until we found each other on Facebook. (Isn't Facebook great like that?) I was so excited to be able to photograph her and her daughter last week on the canal. The day was just perfect with gorgeous weather and a cool breeze. Rachel, thanks so much for allowing me this opportunity to capture you and Leesha is a special way!

Happy Saturday!

Natalie | Indianapolis Model/Fashion Photographer

Natalie and I have been friends for....well....forever. Our moms were friends before we were born, so we grew up together. When we each graduated from college, we moved in opposite directions - me to Indiana and Natalie to California. After Natalie married last year, she and her husband moved to Arizona. And a few weeks ago, we were both back in Wisconsin visiting our parents at the same time. Since Natalie is G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S and I was wanting some fashion shots for my portfolio, I asked if she would do some modeling for me. Having had a bit of experience with this before, I didn't have to twist her arm too hard to get her to comply. We hit the streets of Eau Claire and managed to squeeze in 6 outfits in under an hour. Natalie was fabulous!

Also, I must mention that Natalie and her husband Johnny are excellent musical performers! You should really check out their website or visit them on Facebook!