Monday, March 30, 2009

5 Years Old

Today is Bean's birthday. 5 years old. 5 years ago she entered this world with all of her personality already beaming; I just didn't realize then how much of her personality was shining through. She doesn't like change, and didn't then either. I think that is why she refused to be born the way God intended...she didn't want to leave her comfy home. That is her today. Ask her to change anything, and she will immediately become sad, frustrated, mad. 5 years ago, she entered this world rather loudly. My husband jinxed us within the first 12 hours saying, "She hasn't made a peep!" That was the calm before the storm. She then proceeded to cry from day 2 through 4 months old...not all day long, but an enormous chunk...just ask anyone that was around. One of my brother's admitted to cringing when he saw us pull in their driveway because he knew Beanie would cry...and for a long time. 5 years ago...so hard to believe. I remember it all so vividly, and want to make a post recalling that day, for one day my little girl may just want to read or hear about her birthday once again!

On March 29th 2004, I was supposed to be induced. I got up early to be sure to look "pretty" for labor. I wanted my hair to look good, my make-up, contacts...I know...a little vain, huh? Well, that didn't happen. I call these little things in life God's jokes to remind me I am not the one in control...at all. While I was in the shower that morning, my water broke. I wasn't completely sure since the water was running, so I called Tom. He came in and suggested shutting the shower off. Sure enough, another large gush and I knew it was my water that had broken. It wasn't the slow trickle kind, it was continuous gushes. So needless to say, my hair was crazy, no make-up, no contacts, and I arrived at the hospital with a towel between my legs. I refused the wheel chair and insisted that I could make it on my own. Waddle away I went.

Labor didn't progress at all. Induction medicines were used, and Beanie's heartbeat dropped low. Oxygen mask, flip flopping positions were the name of the game that day. I requested an epidural, and it stunk. Well, I continued to have sharp pains, and I was hoping for none at all. Tough stuff, that didn't work for me either! Dilation was slow, and eventually stopped at 8. My little Bean wasn't coming out straight and wasn't fitting in where she should. After 21 long hours, I was running a fever, which indicated an infection of some sort, and it was finally determined that I would need a c-section. As crazy as it sounds, I was relieved. The surgery part was scary, but I just needed it to be over...too much pain, too much worry...just get me my baby.

During the surgery, I was very nauseous, and told the anesthesiologist that I was going to puke. He handed Tom a small little spit tub and told me to turn sideways and puke if I needed. I hit the bucket on spot, but happened to have a little more puke than that little bucket, so Tom's shoes were well decorated with my insides. We laugh about it now, but it was pretty disgusting. On March 30th, 2004, at 2:49 a.m. my little Bean was delivered. Boy or Girl? It's a girl! I didn't believe it; I had convinced myself that it was a little boy. What was her name was the next question. Tom and I looked at each other, both with tears streaming down our faces and said her name together...if you want to know her real name, you will need to ask during a session :). When I first held her, my heart was filled with love...a love I never knew before, a love I can't even put into words. Bean and I try to say "I love you more" and I always end up telling her that I love her more than I can even measure and one day she will experience that love for herself.

My first baby. You are five now. You are a complete joy in my life, and I have loved every stage that we have gone through together. I couldn't ask for a better leader in our family...you are paving the path well for your siblings. Your sweet, sensitive, questioning heart melt my own often. I don't deserve to have you as my precious gift from God, but I am so blessed and so glad that God gave you to me...to us. You are a delight to many, and I look forward to watching you continue to grow. I hope you enjoy being 5, even though you just told me that you miss being 4. That change thing for you...I love it!

Happy Birthday sweet girl. You are loved more than you know, by more people than you know!

A few shots from yesterday...

Did I mention that my big 5 year old girl, lost her first tooth yesterday? It has been wiggly loose for a couple of days and she refused to have it pulled...she swallowed it while eating chicken nuggets!




Smooches for my baby...




And who can deny a smooch from the cute little Cakies...she has been so sweet through all of the celebrating for Bean...she is now very excited for her own birthday...two months away!!!



Cakes showing me her tooth...looks like she has lost ALL of her teeth!


Birthday cake with the Birthday Girl!



This last shot is my favorite...it isn't the best in quality per say, but it is the best of the night. She has been telling me for WEEKS that she wanted a surprise party. So I had tried thinking of several different ways we could surprise her. But, she kept mentioning how she wanted it to happen, and my plans weren't going to suit hers. So, she planned her own surprise. She greeted each guest at the door, and once everyone had arrived, she went up to her room and waited for the entire party to hide. Once we were in spots, she would make her waltz from her bedroom for her surprise. This was her reaction...

...we were all just gathered in one room together...and then yelled "Surprise!" when she walked into the doorway. It wasn't quite what she was hoping or planning for. She had wanted us all to physically hide behind furniture, and then jump out. I hadn't understood that in her directions, and the above picture is telling us that we didn't do it right. Needless to say, I didn't make the entire party hide...when there are 22 members in your immediate family, there aren't quite enough hiding spots available.

Off to bed. Cakes is sick...back to back colds...annoying. Last night I was up for about 2.5 hours straight listening to her cough, and running to her room when she cried out in need. The coughing has calmed up there, so I should go take advantage of the peace and catch a few hours before another coughing fit arrives.

Thanks for reminiscing with me, and have a wonderful week!

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Lots of Events today...

and my Big Girl's 5 year birthday tomorrow (party was today!). Here is a quick shot of Great Grandma O (Tom's Grandma) with Little Man. Very precious.


Stay tuned for my sappy blog entry with pictures tomorrow! :)

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Adding a few...

to the last post...

Full body chub-ster! (The super cool blankets that have been in a ton of posts were made by my sister in law...they are super sweet...cars, stripes, bugs, sharks!)


Always sucking on his fist...


Meeting Uncle Lucas for the first time...



Snoozin' in Mimi's arms...


That is all for now...I am starting to feel as though I am neglecting photographing, well at least posting, pics of my girls. Bean makes it difficult...I have been wanting to do a Birthday session with her all week, and she continually asks if we could "Puh-lease do it late-er?" So, of course we still haven't done one...

She will be a big 5 on Monday...will write more about that later!
Have a great night!

Monday, March 23, 2009

The Kids...

Well, as you may have read or heard, the welcome back special sessions were booked...within a couple of hours. I ended up giving 7 away, because three emails were received within a minute of each other, and well, I just did! I am looking forward to those sessions. The first one is starting April 14th, so just a couple of weeks to go. I had a friend check out the online ordering (thanks Melissa) and she thought it was easy and pretty straight forward...so that makes me even more excited for all of you with your ordering!!!! Well, I really just wanted to post a few pictures of my kiddos for my Grannie, who checks this daily, and even a couple times a day...So Grannie, I love you and hope these keep you satisfied for a small while! :)

Tattoos...not my favorite thing...but certainly is one of theirs!




Playing with Daddy...


Beanie...always getting up close and personal...since she was tiny she has always had no concept of someone's personal space!

Cakies sleeping...on the couch, while Bean was at preschool.


St. Patrick's day get up!
(They are a wee bit Irish!)

And my big boy, Little Man. Lately we have been calling him "Butters"...short for butterball...not sure if this nickname will stick...doesn't seem like a nice one for when he passes this chubby baby stage, now does it?

We have hair!!!! Whoo-Hooo!!!!

...and quite a bit of it, being that just a few short weeks ago it was COMPLETELY bare!


...and we have SMILES! Loads and loads of smiles...almost as many as the amount of loads of wash that need done! Never ending is it! :)


Well, that would be all for the night. Back to Tom and Little Man! Have a great week!

Monday, March 9, 2009

Photo Sessions...Here I Come!

Yep, I am welcoming myself back from a much needed leave. Little Man was 2 months old on the 7th, and I am feeling anxious and ready for getting back into sessions with some of my favorite people, and hopefully meet new fabulous people who will then become my new friends!!!!

So, in the spirit of coming back, I am offering the first 5 people to email/call me to receive:
  • 50% off their session fee
  • $15 print credit
  • 1 Free 5 x 7 prints
  • 1 Free 8 x 10 print
  • 1 Free 11 x 14 print
Here is a little bit of the catch...
  • The session has to be booked within the months of April or May
  • Your session payment will be due within one week of booking your date, otherwise it will go to the next client.
  • Some of you have already nailed down dates with me for those months...EMAIL OR CALL to receive this same discount...and then of course send your payment! :)
Online Proofing and Ordering are HERE! This should help expedite the ordering process for you, and make it easier for you to share your precious pictures with your family. You and your family/friends will be able to order your pictures and pay online, and then they will be sent directly to you! What do you think about that?!?!?! Of course, if you aren't able to pay using credit card, we can arrange a different payment option!

Lastly, due to many different factors, prices have increased just a bit.
  • Session fees are $50 (up to 3 individuals in the session...an additional $5 each above 3)
  • Print prices have made a very small jump...please check them out here...

I am so very, very excited to be starting back with sessions again. I truly love what I do, and although it will be busy, I can't wait to start capturing precious memories for you.

Have a wonderful night! Going to hang out with my Little Man now! :)

***Update...the 5 sessions have been filled for the special pricing...actually I accepted 7 due to the fact that 3 of them came in within a minute apart...I will keep you informed if one comes open! :)

Gallery Wrap Sale...

The lab I use is currently running a 25% off sale on Gallery Wraps, so I am passing that same discount on to you. If you are interested in purchasing one, please let me know. You can use any past photo/image from any session that you had done with me. This offer expires Wednesday at midnight, so please have your request to me by Wednesday at noon. I won't be able to process any orders after that time.

Online proofing and ordering...coming soon! :)

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Babysitting...

We babysat my nephew the other night, and he was so sweet and so good. When his momma came to get him, he acted up a bit and ended up in a time out...I got a quick shot of him pouting saying, "I'm sad. Hmmph." It was too sweet...at least to me!

Love his pouting lips...



Super excited...Tom got me a laptop on Friday and it should be here within a week or so!!!! Yippee!!! This should help with finding more suitable editing time (like while the girls are playing, I won't have to be in the basement feeling guilty that I am not near them...I can just plop along beside them) and make posting easier also! Love my super sweet hubby!