New for 2012

Well after quite the year I've had, I have been reflecting on what I want to do when I grow up. It's actually something I have thought about for a while now and I seem to always go back to this. I have decided I want to continue my education learning photography and persue this business :) I am very excited about this. I absolutely LOVE taking pictures, playing with photoshop and making people happy with the pictures I have taken for them! I am quite excited to take 2 classes through UWM starting this January. First is a detailed class on using my camera better. I usually get close to the right settings but I don't always understand why I am setting the camera the way I am. The second one is a portrait class which is what I love taking. I heard it a good idea to specialize in one aspect and I am thinking maternity, newborn and children. Not that I wouldn't do anything but I think those are the areas I want to focus on! :) I would LOVE LOVE LOVE at some point to be able to create enough business to do this fulltime but that wouldn't be for quite a while - although I do have 4 sessions scheduled over the next month or so.

Now time to start saving for a better camera, lighting, backdrops, a better computer, props...anyone wanting to invest into this business please just let me know! ;)

Here are a few pictures I wanted to share that I have taken over the last year or two. I have done photos for corporate events (Whitefish Bay BID group, the JCC, and Northwestern Mutual to name a few), family portraits, children, newborns, and senior photos. This is me just starting out and looking back, I am ready to keep learning and take better pics!

Ugh just spent 30 mins waiting for photos to upload....cancelled it and I will try again tomorrow when it's not 11pm!

Bring On The Holidays!

Now that i am working, it is easier just to add photos and tell everyone what we have been up to the last few weeks instead of writing a big long entry!

Grace has gotten so good at sitting she just doesn't want to do anything else!

Cute winter hat - she's got a lot of brains since this hat fits 12-18 month ;)

Grace got to meet her great grandma Mary and great grandpa Bill a few weeks ago. It was really nice she got to meet them and she loved them both! Grandpa Bill even got her to fall asleep in his arms :)

Trying on our outfit for meeting Santa on 12/3 - definitely more santa pics to come!

Grace was very interested in Nanu's mustache!

I just love this pic!

When I figure out how to add a video I will of her in this jumper-roo. She LOVES it and goes nuts in it!

Auntie Meg came to visit - we always like that!

It seems like Grace just can't help but smile. All you have to do is look at her and she smiles at you. It keeps our blood pressure low in the house :)

Mmmmm carrots

She's rediculously happy in the morning

Fell asleep at the table during Thanksgiving :) too much turkey

She also can't stop eating her toes. As soon as you go to change her diaper and get her feet out of any kind of pant shes got them in her mouth socks and all!

We enjoyed to company of Auntie Ann at Starbucks during this Thanksgiving break!

Bath time - Still LOVES her bath. I can't wait til she's older and will enjoy it with toys!

My little moo at Halloween this year!

Big girl sleeps in her crib with her sleep sacks!

I thought pushing toys off the highchair tray wasn;t til she was older but I was wrong!

Ok the pictures are not in any kind of order and to be honest, after I started downloading them I wasn;t sure if I already added some of these!

Pretty girl

I take the girl out of the car, put her in the stroller, turn around to grab her bag and a damn mosquito bit her forehead! AHH! I freaked her out of course as I reached towards her to shoo the bug! I hate mosquitos.

Covered Bridge park, Cedarburg

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Loves to eat everything!

Cousin Bella read "baby Grace" a book. Bella kept saying, "Baby Grace, you are so cute. I love you Baby Grace" xoxo

Ive been sewing baby taggie blankets :) Ive got all sorts of different fabrics and ribbons - it's super fun!! annnnnd, Im making money selling them!

Starting to sit up with assistance in her bumbo at 12 and a half weeks!

bff's

Kate and Josh Lewis - most beautiful Maine wedding!

I got a dance out of him :)

We got a bell boy to let us in the honeymoon suite and we made a heart out of rose petals :) FYI - take the petals off the bed before you roll around in them!

Me, couin Molly, sister Meg and Ryan

Erik and Lauren with Grace at our 10 year HS reunion. Love them! ;)

Yeah...

Ok didnt get photos up yet. Baby girl woke up just as I was starting to do them! They will go up tonight! ;)

3 Months Already!

3 months...wow. Time does fly! It's funny when I was pregnant, 3 months felt like an eternity! It was 3 months until we told friends and family I was pregnant and definitely the last 3 months of pregnancy was like 3 years. And here we are told with a 3 month old who I feel acts older!

Grace is so bound and determined to sit up all the time now. She's not so much into laying in your arms like a baby and can only play on her back for so long now. She started pulling herself forward a few weeks ago and finally she seems strong enough so we pulled out her bumbo chair and she loves to sit in it! Its a foam chair with a high back that helps them sit up with a little assistance. It's awesome! Plus it has a tray to attach which we will use when she starts to eat real food. I am guessing since she sits up so well and is healthy size (weighed in at 14 pounds at the moms group this week! Holy hell!) that the peditrician will allow her to eat solids at her next visit which is at 4 months. Yea can't wait!

So I took Grace to Covered Bridge Park yesterday to take some 3 month pictures. The place is beautiful and I LOVE going there. There's a covered bridge (big shock I know) and the cutest little stream and foot bridge over it. The trees are starting to change but I bet next week they will be awesome! Pictures were going well until two dudes showed up with a case of beer and decided to sit on a park table and drink. If I wasn't the only other person there, I would have stayed but I didn't feel like waiting around until Dumb and Dumber got drunk and obnoxious. So we didn't get as many pictures as I was hoping but I got some cute ones. I'm hoping next Mon or Tues when Ryan is off too we can go back and maybe I can convince him of family photos :)

Well i had a job for a month. It was great working at a flower shop. Things were going well until the other girl who splits the job duties with me quit. The owner couldn't get her stuff together and couldn;t work out a schedule that was time and money worthy to me so sadly it didn't work out. I miss working although I love staying home with Grace. It's quite the back and forth in my head on what to do. Part time, full time, nothing...not sure. Just going to see what cards are delt to me coming up. I am really enjoying photography which I have always done as a side hobby. I know someone who has turned that into a full time professional job and still think about that a lot. I would though need to take a refresher course on my camera settings and probably invest in a better camera. Again, need money to make money! Can't I just win the lottery ;)

Here are a couple pics I took of Grace yesterday and recently. None are edited and some are from my phone fyi. I want to edit some of her 1 month and 3 months pics and get them printed soon. We need more pics of her on our walls :)

A Few Pictures of Love

LOVES to watch her pay mat lights and sounds!

Baby girl is a month old!

I really love the age blocks we got as a gift!

Well back to reality! Ryan and I spent a wonderful Labor Day weekend in Maine for his sister Katie's wedding and it was awesome! Beautiful place and the wedding was just perfect! Katie and Josh looked fab and the weather couldn't have been better! A HUGE thank you to Tim and Mary (Ryan's parents) for helping us get to the wedding and spend a nice weekend away with family. Ever since meeting Ryan all I heard was how awesome Maine was and his family loved going and I was so excited to have a chance to go too. Leave Grace behind was hard but a good decision. With my shellfish allergy, I was too concerned about people handling her and shellfish "germs" getting back to me. It was also a nice weekend away with the hubster.

I got a job! A very part time job at a florist and I love it so far! It's easy, I'm not responsible for anyone but myself, FUN, and I don't have to take any work home with me at the end of the day! It's like nothing I've had before hahahah! It's perfect for me right now. I get out of the house and we make a little extra money! Plus I get to play with flowers!

That's it for now~ ttfn