Cupcake Princess

Here is my favorite pink princess Chloe. I love you Buzi.

Chocolate and Marshmallows

On Saturday morning, I was off to meet the Anderson family, one of my first real clients. This is the third time I have photographed them, the first time was when Kim was expecting Logan, second when he was born and now he is 1! I cannot believe how fast time is going or how much the kids have changed since the first time I met them.

The girls met me at the door with huge smiles and anxiously led me through the house and to the backyard. Emma and Jillian are so adorable, with all of their little poses and silly faces but Mom and Dad busted out the big guns when it came time for 'the money shots' with chocolate and marshmallows! The girls were freezing but one mention of the sweet stuff and they were all business.

Logan woke up from his nap and he was ready to go too. He is so big, he is walking and looks like a little man. (Made me realize that Declan truly looks like he is in the 5% for his age!) Enjoy your sneak peek Anderson's and thank you again for having me come out!

Look at those eyes people!! So handsome : )

The family!

This was when we were letting the girls be silly.

Fun on the swings with Mom and Dad

2010 Chicago Marathon

We finished! I have the worst luck with the weather and the marathon. It was hot, again! Our day started very early getting out the door at 5:45 am. We drove down to Soldier Field and walked to the Charity Village because we ran for Children's Memorial Hospital. We said goodbye to Grandpa Jay, Grandma Ne, Dede and the Wright's friend Andy who was also running it.

We made our way to the starting line but didn't cross it until 30 minutes after the start because their were so many people! (Your time doesn't start until you cross the line) So we did great until a little more than 1/2 way or 13.1 miles. We both felt nauseous so we walked/ran for a bit and it didn't seem to help. Finally, when it lifted we were able to run a little more but kept a slow pace because of the heat and lack of shade on that part of the course.

Kyle hit his wall around Comisky Park (sorry, US Cellular Field) and he sat on the sidewalk. I started crying because we needed to finish and I wasn't going to let him stop. He got up and we kept going. We made it to the home stretch down Michigan Ave and we knew we were almost there.

My mom came and met us on Michigan Ave and walked with us for a bit. We turned the corner and there was Karen, Brent, Myrl and Grandma Ruth waving and screaming at us. We ran down to the finish line and crossed the line together. Our official time was 6 hours, 27 minutes. Here are some photos my mom took of the day. We wanted to thank everyone who donated and came out to support us yesterday, it meant so much to have all of you there with us.

Skyline shot with Dede

So happy to be back with our baby!

This kid loves his Grandpa Jay

Who are those two in the blue?!

Oh, Deer.

As I was driving to this mysterious place called Oostburg yesterday in Kyle's car I couldn't help but notice the EMPTY TANK (thanks a lot hun) so as I got closer, I prayed this town had a gas station or else I would be hitchin' it home. My new iPhone (praise him!) only showed Pizza Ranch restaurant on the map so as the miles ticked down to 19 until empty I grew increasing nervous but thank you lord, there was a gas station just past their block.

After the fill up, I met Zach and his mom, Bridget, at their beautiful Victorian house in Oostburg. People, this house is gorgeous, almost completely restored and updated. We talked a little before we got started I learned that Zach's parents have lived in the house since Bridget was pregnant with Zach and we took advantage of all character the house and property had to offer. Then, we were off to Zach's grandparent's home right on Lake Michigan, no exaggeration. Like out the back door, boom-water.

From there, we went to a shack that Zach's grandpa had built. Zach opened the door and there was a deer hoof sitting there. I flipped out. To make things worse, as we were shooting in the woods, the buck that Zach (he is a bow hunter) has been tracking for awhile ran away in the distance-this is when I went from flipping out to full on buggin'. Zach laughed at me and called me "City folk" because deer don't eat meat he said. I said I wasn't concerned about him eating me, more impaling me with his antlers. Bridget and Zach both got big laughs out of my skiddish-ness.

Anyways, it was great to explore a new town and meet some great people! Enjoy Brills!

Running Against the Wind

Well, after 5 months of training, the 2010 Chicago Marathon is almost here! This morning we had to take the monsieur, it has been awhile since he has gone on a long run with us but we had no sitter for today. We bundled him up the best we could to brave the 50* temp and 25 mile per hour winds. He seemed super excited to go this morning, as were we. I had a great run, Kyle's knee is still bothering him so please send him your prayers. This coming week is basically a rest week, only 5 miles on Wednesday. I am sooooo pumped about the 10th. I can taste the finish line already! See more below...

I have been playing more with depth of field and ISO's on my camera. I have also been practicing on Photoshop, I feel like I am starting to get more comfortable with everything. Again, more below...
So, even though I live less than a block away from a grocery store, I choose to drive 10 miles to Sendiks. Gas be damned, I need good produce. Kyle and I have pretty much cut out all processed foods (with a few exceptions) so good, fresh produce is a must. So, Declan and I were driving to Sendiks on Wednesday and I noticed this field. The wildflowers or weeds or whatever was growing there was blooming and the sun was bouncing off the tall grass. I damn near died. I gotta shoot this field, I thought. I often get these grand ideas for shoots with my baby but rarely follow through because there is laundry, full dishwasher, life, etc and I forget.

Friday came and Declan was in a great mood. Even though I had a huge list of things to do that afternoon, I pushed it aside, grabbed my kid and my camera and off we went. It felt so great to do something I wanted to do and for those 45 minutes I wasn't worried about anything. This field is right next to a bank and a chiropractor's office. There were people in the window looking at me like I was a nut job dragging this baby into a field.

Sampling the local greens

Oh. My. Gawd.

I have a senior session later today and then took next weekend off to prep for the big day! Watch for a sneak peek tomorrow morning.