Curls!

Here's a sneak peek for the "G" girls I was priviledged to photograph this past week. Another girl with natural ringlets - love it!!!

Happy 3rd birthday Reece Allen!!!

Do you not just fall for those eyes?!!! How we love you Reecey!!! We thank God for bringing you into our lives and making the world a happier place to live. Reece is definitely a lovable, huggable ball of energy! He keeps us on our toes and is a daily reminder of how unique God's children are. We love you Reece Allen and are so blessed to celebrate another birthday with you!

Erasing your child's artwork

Anyone out there wondering how to remove ink pen from your computer monitor..........try rubbing alcohol. It worked on ours without any evidence of destruction (so far). I put a SMALL amount on a cotton ball and tried on the corner of the screen (making sure not to get any in the edges of the screen). Until next time...........

FURtography

These two characters aren't in the spotlight of the blog (unless they've been misbehaving), so I thought it was time I gave them a spot!

MCS (Middle Child Syndrome)

Does he look likes he suffers from MCS? I've been anonymously (well, by dad) requested to put some more pictures of the "other kids" on this blog. Apparently I post too many of my "baby" so this is an attempt at levelling out things a bit (seriously, that's just not possible with more than one child - someone's always going to feel like he got the raw end of the deal).

Reece really didn't show any symptoms of MCS until he began feeling threatened by a moving Jackson. Trying to potty train didn't alleviate any of the symptoms either - we're putting that one on hold (though he showed some interest in it today - go figure!).

Other SYMPTOMS of MCS include, knocking your newly walking brother flat on his back, spitting on things, shooting your pretend guns at anything that upsets you, falling limp on the floor in a spastic attack, and throwing things at anyone/anything (to name a few).

The best proven treatment for MCS is lots of UNDIVIDED attention from either parent. We've been trying to make Reece feel special by letting him run errands with just one of us at a time.

Some positive side effects of this treatment include hugs, kisses, and loving comments :) Reece is definitely my "lover" with a heart of gold!

With three children, someone had to be the middle child. Reece holds a special place in my heart! I love you Reecey Allen :)

Happy Father's Day!!!

Happy Father's Day Daddy!!! We love you and will miss you this week!!!

Happy 5th Birthday Lucas Elijah!!!

Wow!!! It's hard to believe that 5 years ago today we had our first child. So much has changed in only 5 years. It's almost crazy to think we were going to "get established" before bringing children into the world. God had other plans for us that have unfolded so beautifully and miraculously. We love every day of being parents (though some are more trying than others as God is growing us with these challenges to overcome). It was really neat to see how excited Lucas was in anticipation of his special day. He began the day fishing with his dad and Reece. He chose the restaurant, Uccello's (thank you for NOT picking McDonald's!) for dinner. They sang to him (which made Reece literally bury his face in my lap and Jackson burst into tears and only minor embarrassment from Lucas) and he shared a HUGE strawberry shortcake with us all. Thank you God for giving us this child to teach and love - he's been a true blessing to us!

Contagious!

Here's a sneak peak from a recent session.........is her smile not contagious?!!!! And such beautiful ringlets of red hair.........love it! Thanks to the B girls (and their parents) for inviting me to their home - I had a wonderful time capturing some shots of these girls!

Just a thought...

Maybe the crying in the pictures below (from Jackson's first birthday) are really due to his newly found ear infection!!! Are you kidding me?! What kind of a mom doesn't realize her child has an ear infection and then finds out at not one, not two, but THREE well-baby visits?! That's right folks, this child must tolerate pain well because this was the third well-baby visit we've been to that he's been diagnosed with an ear infection (well, once it was a double!). He really never shows any symptoms other than not sleeping through the night on a regular basis. Other than that, he checked out just fine yesterday! He's slowed down a bit on the growth chart (well his head hasn't :) He's 90-95th percentile for head circumference, 50th percentile for height, and just the 10th percentile for weight (just under 20lbs). He is now forward facing in his carseat which is so much more comfortable for him (and easier to get him in/out. I've also been weaning him and getting ready to start whole milk as soon as our free stock of formula runs dry.

Tradition continues...

So this is the reaction I get from ALL my children on their first birthday to their cake...........seriously!!!!! What's so bad about cake? Do they not like the texture? Who knows!!! Of course he ate the cake once I was done taking pictures and I fed it to him. The only reason he has frosting on his body is because my assistant photographer (Tim) forced his hand in it - thus causing the sad face. Little does he know his mom is having a harder time with this milestone than he is (holding back tears.......). You can view more from this shoot at www.whitneyjillphotography.smugmug.com