The Joy of Love, Day 2: How They Look

I'm a dollar short and a day late (isn't that the saying?) but I'm here, posting the Joy of Love Day 2 Challenge photo from willette {classic children's portraiture}: How They Look.

Starting now I will get an email from Willette Designs with an "assignment" as well as useful tips for photographers to better myself. This class is taking place all February long! YAHOOO!!! What a great way to force me to not only document the lives of my loved ones but also to update my blog! Today, Day 2, was meant for capturing your love in their essence... catching them "how they look".

Max, my love, has a favorite position he assumes many times a day... flat on his stomach on the couch/floor/bed with his legs slightly spread, a dazed look in his eye. If I haven't heard a peep out of him for a while I can just call out "Max! What are you doing?" and when he replies "Just laying here!" I know exactly what he means... this is comfortable for him. This is rest. This is relaxation. This is how he looks...

Kindergarten Basketball

Check out that defense!

Go Max!

It's so fun to watch 5 and 6 year olds play basketball. Their mouths hang open while they dribble. They have little interest in passing because they want to shoot the ball themselves. They jump for joy with each basket made. They twirl down the court on their way to play defense... well, at least Max does. It's just dang cute.

My scanner isn't working so I had to take a picture of the pictures to post here, but you get the idea... cuteness! Now if only we could get the games pushed back to 10am instead of 8am it would be a perfect season... :)

Presenting the Sharks...

Happy New Year, 2011! (and a Short Christmas Recap)

Happy 2011! Wow. 2011. Shouldn't we be flying around town with our jet packs, hiring our very own robot maids and such by now? I can't believe it's 2011. Weird.

We had a wonderful Christmas and start to the new year... since we were busy doing "holiday things" it's been hard for me to find time to update the blog; since I'm here now I'll just give you a run down of some of the fun we had over break...

Our first holiday duty was attending the SCCC Christmas Brunch. We enjoyed chowing down on breakfast (pancakes, biscuits, bacon, fruit, etc.) and lunch (salmon, salads, veggies, etc.) with our friends, the Hoskins. Santa was there to welcome us as well, and babysit the kids so it turned out. Half the time we had no idea where Max, Fiona and Chelsea were. When we hunted them down we found them spying on the carolers and hiding with Santa. Thanks for looking after them, Mr. Claus!

The three of us at brunch

Fiona, Max and Chelsea

Another highlight of the Christmas season was that we had so much snow so early in winter. Typically January and February are our big snow months, right? Well someone needs to tell December to relax cause we had way below normal temps and tons of snow! Max got to go sledding on all that white stuff over break. I mean this hill at SCCC is STEEP people. I giggle the whole time watching him head down toward the huge Sycamore trees cause I'm so nervous! Don't worry though, my dad -the big kid- went down, too! Brave. I wouldn't dare! They had a great time. I'm sure we'll have more opportunities to do that this winter...

Max heading down the hill!

...and there goes my dad, head first!

On Christmas Eve we did the traditional thing at my grandma's with all the cousins/aunts/parents/kids. Max was really into it this year. He loved being with his cousins and opening gifts from his Mimi. She gave him money. This is his reaction. He is cheering, "I LOVE MONEY!" Nice.

Christmas morning came WAY too early for me. Max is always an early riser but usually lets Chris and me sleep, no problem. Remember last year when I got up at 8 only to find him in the dark on the couch playing his DS waiting patiently to open gifts? Not this year! Before the sun, he was up. And before we knew it he was running into our room telling us all the fun things he got in his stocking. Seriously? No waiting for us? Dang.

Two of his favorite gifts this year were roller skates (Lord help us!) and Aqua Sand. The skates were from Santa. Max needs a LOT of practice. He is great on carpet. On the wood floor he's terrifying to watch. The Aqua Sand was from Papaw. Um, I think we need to keep it at Papaw's house then because it is MESSY! Messier than Moon Sand! Clean up is awful. I hate it; he loves it. Go figure.

On NYE we went to the Winships. The Hollis family joined the fun too! Kelly and I told the kids that when we were younger we used to go out onto the street at midnight and bang pots and pans. Man did they think that was cool! So they did it! Max told us about a week before NYE that on the 31st we needed to "party all night long" because it was going to be a new year. This was his third year making it all the way to midnight. It's easier for him than it is for me... why?

Kelly, me, Nicole on NYE

our self-portrait

Right before NYE Max had one of his cavities fixed at the dentist (after what was a terrible first attempt a week prior). He is now the proud (and I do mean proud) owner of a 'pirate tooth'... see it below in all it's glory! He thinks it's awesome.

Happy New Year, all!

Christmas Party

School is out for Christmas break! Two long weeks of sleeping in (yeah, right!) and being lazy! Yesterday was Max's Christmas party at school. They had a book exchange, played games, made crafts, ate snacks and got to wear jammies. Fun! Before the party started I got the chance to walk around to all the kindergarten classrooms with Santa (yes, the REAL Santa) and deliver gifts to the teachers from the PTO. It was so fun to see how kids react to Santa... some stared in awe, some hid in fright, some ran up to hug him... a few even dared ask him if they were on the naughty or nice list! It was fun!

Of course a perk of being the PTO president is that I can coordinate these kinds of events and have Santa spend a little extra time in Max's class. He visited Mrs. Dillon's class last so he could take his time answering kids questions and even posing for photos. It was a great kick-off to break!

Max shows Santa his book from the exchange

Santa reminds the kids they have one week left to get on the nice list!

Santa and Mrs. Dillon's Kindergarten Class

As we were cleaning up from the party and leaving the classroom at the end of the day Max, the sentimental kid he is, got teary-eyed and turned back to the room and murmured "see you later, classroom. I'll miss you!" True story. Oh! And on Thursday they had a snow day and Max said "Oooh... I love snow but I also love school; it's a tough decision". The kid loves school, ok?

It's December 5, 2010... Our Anniversary! Today We Celebrate 12!

Dang, 12 years married? That makes us sound so old! Let's not forget we got married young!!! OK? I don't want anyone thinking I'm old here!

The last few years we've been lucky 'cause the 5th falls on a weekend. Of course this year it's on a Sunday so we decided to celebrate on Saturday the 4th instead. We like to head out of Dayton for our anniversary each year; this year Chris drove us to downtown Cincy for shopping (um, my favorite thing ever!) and dinner at the original Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse.

So... I always do the "traditional" thing for our anniversary; whatever the very wise internet tells me the yearly gift was traditionally, I buy. The 12th anniversary is silk or linen. Seriously. I was at a loss. I wasn't going to buy a stupid silk tie or something lame! I wanted something unique and meaningful!! Every year I come up with something... this year I cried at the mall (yes, really) because I couldn't think of ANYTHING! So I made Chris agree, no gifts this year... but then I felt bad because it would the first without gifts, plus knowing Chris, he'd get me something anyway. So I racked my brain for thoughtful/heartfelt gift ideas in silk or linen. Then I had a great idea! Photographs are a big part of our lives! Am I ever without a camera? So I decided to take abstract pictures of things around our world and spell out "LOVE", change the photos to black and white, have them matted in linen (YAY!) and get them framed. I did it all in one afternoon... it was a bit overwhelming, I won't lie. I will spare you the details of me running all over town and just show you the result... can you see "LOVE"? L= a tree on 741 between Springboro and Mason, O= Chris's beloved tractor wheel, V= the frame from the first big piece of artwork we bought for our home and E= a metal fence (random but it works).

Chris of course came up with a crafty idea as well; the last several years he typically buys a charm to add to my Tiffany charm bracelet each anniversary. This year before dinner, we went into Tiffany's, up to customer service, and the lady handed him a bag. I opened the charm, a sweet little snowman with a Tiffany blue scarf; Chris was quick to point out he was wearing a silk scarf! Of course he is!!!!!!! I love it! It's currently being put on my bracelet and will be shipped back to me in 2 weeks...

We had a great time and an awesome dinner! I could have skipped the whole meal portion and just eaten the dessert... hot chocolate lava cake and homemade peanut butter cup ice cream. We devoured it. Fountain Square was all lit up for Christmas too and it was snowing! So pretty. I only got one picture of our night though... this very lovely self-portrait of the two of us! Beautiful? haha.

Happy 12 years to us!!!

He's 6!

November 30, 2004... doesn't feel like it was 6 years ago, but the calendar says it was! The older I get the sappier I get on birthdays. Not because of the aging factor so much; more because of the realization of how fast time flies by me. If I were blowing out the candles today I would wish for a pause... a BIG pause in time. My baby is 6 today. 6!

The good thing about all this realization is that I now make an earnest effort to soak in every moment, especially milestones... riding the bus, losing a tooth, reading alone, turning 6. Soak. It. In. And take a deep breath!

We celebrated Max's birthday with his friends back on November 14. He wanted a "carnival theme" so we tried to take advantage of nicer weather by a few weeks and have the party early. We gave Max an early gift of soccer goals so kids could play a game, rented a huge bounce house, had hot dogs and cupcakes, and went on a treasure hunt. It was so fun!

Over Thanksgiving we were in Texas. Max got to celebrate there as well. We went bowling, had cake... and on Thanksgiving Day he and Isabelle ran in the turkey trot. They really ran too! So impressive! They got medals and all... best part, of course!

Tonight we are having a party at home with family. Max turns 6 at 5:07pm and at that time we will jump up and down and celebrate, following will be dinner, cookie cake, presents and hugs. I can't wait! Turning 6 is so fun!

Max is truly a blessing in our lives. We struggled to have him. He is God-given and we are so thankful! I will never take him for granted. He makes my heart sing and my eyes smile and today, especially, I want to celebrate all he is... smart, funny, charming, silly, cute, flirtatious, precocious, sweet, stubborn, bossy, happy, healthy... and ours. :) Happy Happy HAPPY Birthday Max! We loooooooooooove you so!!!

What a week so far...

I'm going to spare you all the details of the back yard drama that started last week and continues now... I'll create a whole new exciting post for that! Betcha can't wait! ;)

This week has been fun, amid the stress from the aforementioned project! Max got over the weird "fever virus" going around his school, he is participating in Spirit for Life week to raise money for the animal shelter, I launched my new website and I got some new things for my photography business... and I have pics of everything to share with you!

Let's start with school and Spirit for Life. The kindergartners voted; the animal shelter beat out two other charities as top vote getter and now they are raising money for the cause. Each day is a new opportunity to wear something different and fun and bring in a dollar to give to the charity. Max missed "crazy hat day" due to being ill but luckily the next day was "mismatch day" so he could wear it and still fit in with the theme! I admit, I was glad for that because I spent $17 at Hobby Lobby on "stuff" he could use to glue and stick to make a super crazy homemade hat! The next school day was "silly sock day" and he went for it! Tomorrow is PJ day... wouldn't that be your favorite?

So most of you know my website is alive and kickin! Visit colleencaptures.com to check it out! Chris spent hours and hours and late hours putting it together for me. I love it! I have several photo sessions lined up over the next few weeks so check back often to see updates! FUN! I'm so proud of it!!! I've been taking pictures every chance I get, and have been trying to master the silhouette... yes, it's more difficult than it seems. Here are my attempts from a few nights ago...

And to kick off my new venture I did a little shopping, of course... I ordered a custom made camera strap cover from Polka Dot Bungalow that I can't wait to get!!! I also made a camera bag purchase, a big one, but worth it! I got my new Kelly Moore classic gray camera bag in the mail today... ooh la la I love it!!! I was so excited to open it! It's gray with purple interior and has plenty of room for my camera, lenses, phone, etc. And since I am very excited about a newborn shoot I have coming up in a few weeks, I ordered this sweet teal blue hat from Neisha's Blue Baby Boutique. It came with two flower clips so I can make it work for a boy or girl and she threw in a cute little puppy dog pin as well. I cannot wait to use this thing! My friend Jenn's mom is crafting some knits as well like blankets and booties so I'll be doing more newborn shopping through her, too!

Whaddya think??

Check back soon... most of our back yard work will be done this weekend... it won't be completely done for a few weeks but I'll have progress pictures to share!