Ethan's First Scrape

Why is it such a killer on a Mommy the first time your kid gets a scrape?

We were loading up the car last night to hurry off to Lucas' soccer practice. We were actually on schedule (maybe even a few minutes early!), which is not the norm for us.

I held Ethan's hand as we walked through the front door onto the porch. The car was parked right off the porch in the driveway. I let go of his hand to turn and put the diaper bag into the open car door (he was a good 3 or 4 feet back from the edge of the porch, mind you), and bam. Quick as a wink he stepped off the porch (one short step) and fell face first onto the concrete driveway. I turned just in time to see his little face hit. I was struck with fear in the second or so before he started crying. I picked him up so fast that I actually saw his face before the blood started to come to the surface. He actually didn't cry as much as I thought he should have, which no doubt made it a little easier on me.

His little nose took the brunt of the fall. He has a little scrape on the tip of his nose and a good abrasion right under his nostrils. Gil actually joked and said he looks like Hitler with his little red "mustache". He was a trooper, tho. We discovered afterwards that he had a little scrape/bump on his forehead, too. He has a little bit of a runny nose right now, and what a terrible place to have an abrasion! Poor guy sees me coming with a tissue and runs the other way!

I was afraid of what he would look like this morning, but it looks so much better than I thought it would. I thought he might be all bruised, but his abrasions scabbed up overnight and he doesn't look too bad. But I'm still not posting a picture. Just not something that this Mommy wants to run across someday while looking back through my blog!

Thank God he won't remember a thing. Hopefully my memory will fade, too, as I am so hard on myself with things like that. But aren't we all?

Ryan, Grace, Charlie & Bridger

I photographed these guys about three years ago when Charlie was just a few months old, and I had the pleasure of photographing them again with their new little addition, Bridger. What a sweet family. Bridger is adorable (and the best baby), and I had so much fun photographing Charlie. She is so cute - I just wanted to squeeze her in two!

I LOVE this shot of Charlie! She was amazing in front of the camera - so natural and easy going. She just played and let me capture some great moments.

We did this same photo when Charlie was a baby, so we did it again with the four of them. So cute!

I discovered this when I was editing this photo - this is actually the same photo as above, just cropped. Look closely - I love that you can see my reflection in her eyes! Gorgeous.

Thanks so much, you guys! You are the best! Enjoy.

Brandon and Brian Schlegel

I had the pleasure of photographing Brandon and Brian Schlegel for their Senior Portraits. I couldn't have asked for more polite young men. They were both very courteous and easy to photograph. I loved that they had so many changes of clothes - most guys just do one or two shirts, but these guys had some great looks - casual, dressy, athletic - love it! Thanks, you guys, for a great session! Enjoy your sneak peek!

Fun fishin' stuff

Lucas has been asking me for at least a year to take him fishing. Last summer I had the excuse of being pregnant and having a newborn baby. So we finally got a little trip to Marble planned for this past weekend. We went to a little lake so the kids could actually fish and hopefully catch something. We ended up only fishing for about 15 minutes before it started pouring rain. Figures.

This spin fishing stuff is definitely not what I grew up with (although I know it was when I was Lucas' age). And I am certainly not used to taking a lawn chair fishing. What's up with that?

Ethan hung out with Grandma for the short time that we were there. I'm not sure his little boots ever touched the ground!

Austin - what a trooper! It ended up not being all that bad - in the 15 minutes that we fished, we caught 4 fish! Gil helped Lucas catch a fish, and of course I don't have any photos because I had walked back to the car to get our rain jackets. Oh, the irony of it all!

Me and the boys

I wanted Gil to take some photos of me and the boys, so we set out a few days ago to do just that. I have such high expectations, so that results in being disappointed much of the time! I had several shots in mind that I really wanted to capture. We arrived later than we had wanted, so the light was going fast. Ethan wanted NO part of the whole photography thing. He did not want to be held, so I just let him down to his own exploring. And, of course, I was grumpy since everything wasn't going according to my grand plan. I'm glad I don't have clients like me!

Gil was great - he was running around trying to get a few shots to salvage the night. Ethan found a few little piles of bear scat that he thought was just right to pick up and examine. Yuck. Lucas was sweet and sat with me for a few shots and then we just called it a night. Maybe we will try again. With one year olds, you kind of just have to take what you can get!

I volunteered to photograph a luncheon on Tuesday for the MS Society. It was called Women on the Move and was at the Aspen Mountain Club. What a spectacular place. Even on a nice August day, though, it was quite chilly up there. It was 50 degrees, and I'm quite sure that didn't factor in the wind chill. And of course I left home without a jacket (it was 80 degrees when I left home!).

What a fabulous Colorado day.

The food was really good, and beautifully presented, as always.

The guest speaker was Michelle Theall from Women's Adventure Magazine. She shared her struggles and triumphs that she has experienced since she was diagnosed with MS a few years ago.

Greg and Sheri Smith also spoke and shared some of their life experiences in dealing with MS. Greg has had MS for about 10 years, and is in the minority since women are more likely to get it than men.

Cox Family

I had the best time photographing these guys over the weekend. As soon as I walked into the lobby of their hotel and met them all, I knew it was going to be a fun session. And fun it was! These guys are the best! And great looking, to boot!

Kelsey is such a beautiful young lady. I can't believe she is only a Freshman. Dad is going to be beating the boys off with a stick (if he isn't already!).



And what about these two handsome guys...

LOVE Nolan's freckles!

Conner is going to be a Freshman, also. This guy's eyelashes are to die for. Knock-the-girls-socks-off to-die-for! Yikes!

Great job, Jerry and Bette. What a handsome crew you started! Thanks to all of you for a wonderful session! I hope you enjoyed your stay in our neck of the woods!