Hissyfits Photography Blog

So many of you have asked about “the blanket” I have been using with Brighton! It is from Pier 1 several years ago. I was talking to one of my photographer friends about it and she asked around on a forum she belongs to and managed to find one for me that was brand new – still had the ribbon tied around it! That in and of itself is crazy but when you consider I got it a good two years after it came out, it is even crazier!

Anyway, I came across these rugs at Land of Nod last week. They aren’t exactly like the blanket and they are obviously smaller (and expensive!!), but they do have the same feel! Either one would work for a backdrop if you had a little one laying on it!

I tried and tried to get the photo off of their website, but I couldn’t, so here is the direct link!

A face. She has one. A darn cute one if I do say so myself. I just have trouble getting any photos of her that I think are anything better than snapshots. Know what I mean? It is challenging to be mom and photographer. I can’t get her positioned and then back to adjust my settings and fire off my shutter before she moves! So I just don’t. But this morning I had “the blanket” out and so I took advantage of  my alone time with Pudge. {That’s what I call her!} Did I get anything fab? Not really. But this one caught my eye!!

We are all absolutely smitten with this baby girl!

Normal day,

let me be aware of the treasure you are.

Let me learn from you,

love you,

bless you before you depart.

Let me not pass you by

in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow.

Let me hold you while I may,

for it may not always be so.

One day I shall dig my nails into the earth,

or bury my face in the pillow,

or stretch myself taut,

or raise my hands to the sky and want,

more than all the world, your return.

~Mary Jean Iron

{Please kindly ignore the fact that this photo is overexposed – so much so that part of baby’s face is missing ALL detail!}

Sedona, July 25, 2010

I first read this quote here several months ago. I read it again here this morning. And so today I think of just what a normal day around here is. Get up – generally after Huntler bounds in and wakes me from my slumber. Fix breakfast – and when I say fix breakfast, I mean pour a bowl of cereal for Huntler and a bowl of Goldfish for Gentry {she is not so much into the typical breakfast foods, obviously}. Give the kids a bath or a shower. Throw their clothes in a pile on the floor so they can dress themselves while I put in my contacts and brush my teeth. Put away the remnants of breakfast. Brush teeth. Fix hair. Pack lunch. Tie shoes. Load up. Drop Huntler off. Tuesdays and Thursdays drop Gentry off right after that. Sit in the wretched heat waiting for 8:30 to roll around so that Gentry can go in her classroom. Rush home. Feed baby. Work out. Or not. Shower. Make the bed. Do laundry. Unload the dishwasher. Fly around like a crazy lady because the three hours of preschool has gone by all too quickly and it is time to go get Gentry already. Feed baby again. Fix lunch. Pick up a little bit. Run the sweeper. Take out the trash. Leave 30+ minutes before school even gets out to go sit in the car pick up line to get Huntler because we learned after one day of waiting in the actual line that it is FAR too hot and mommy gets FAR too grouchy waiting in the heat. Feed baby while updating Facebook numerous times while waiting in the comforts of our air conditioned car. Load Huntler into the van and drive home. Unpack his backpack and sort through all the papers. Unload his lunchbox and see what exactly he ate. Fix snacks. Chat about the day. Play Transformers. Play trains. Play dolls. Work on alphabet with Gentry. Piddle around while we wait for Daddy to get home. Listen as the kids run at top speed to the exercise room to hide from Chris when they hear the garage door go up – every single day! Greet Daddy. Feed baby. Rummage around for something for dinner. Stand around holding baby while Daddy fixes dinner {I don’t cook – simple as that}. Eat. Clean up. Brush and floss little teeth. Lay out clothes for the next day. Read a chapter in a book. Hugs and kisses. Lights out.  Feed baby. Attempt to make it through General Hospital on DVR and fall asleep myself!

While every day isn’t EXACTLY like this, this is fairly typical of life around here! Certainly nothing extraordinary or fancy, but it’s ours. It’s our normal. And although at times I grow weary from all the laundry and the cleaning that two minutes later gets undone, I can’t imagine my life any other way. For so long I have dreamt of that “rare and perfect tomorrow” instead of being grateful for today. I am working hard, so hard, to learn to live in the moment more. It’s a constant battle that wages within me.

Because I haven’t shared any photos lately, here are just a few from last night. We took the kids to the splash park.

This little guy is LOVING school! It’s hard to believe he is a kindergartner now. I won’t lie, the first day was rough. It was. But since then? Well, let me just say that we’ve found a groove and the six and a half hours he is gone just fly by! He is learning so much already. He has told me all about how “adding an ’s’ makes more of something” and how we have “those plate-thingies in our blood.” Yeah, learning about blood cells and platelets in health already! With the good inevitably comes the bad. You know, those naughty kids that you have to sit with at a table who teach you all kinds of things that your mother would rather you not know? Yep, all of that. But such is life! We just have to be confident that we have taught him right from wrong and that he’ll make the right choices. Right? So far my biggest concern is that the disruptive chatter boxes will have him talking out of turn or when he shouldn’t!! So far, so good!! He seems to know the rules and hasn’t had an issue yet!! We are so proud of how well he is doing!! He is so independent and responsible anymore!

And this one? Well, after her second day of school I had to have a 30 minute “meeting” with her teacher. Turns out she was placed in the wrong class. Are ya kidding me? I even called a couple of weeks before school started and talked to the office staff who assured me that her class was for 3 1/2  AND 4 year olds. Wrong. She is the only four year old in there. Her class is geared toward those kids who will have another year of preschool. Crap. My very first thought was that she needed to be moved to a different class. But then I took a breath and realized that was not the way to go. I know she doesn’t act shy and from the way I write about her you would never guess she was timid, but she is. And although at the time of this “meeting” she had only spent six hours with her teacher and classmates, she was connecting. She was talking. She was playing. She was making friends. As her mom, I made the executive decision right then and there that even though she wasn’t going to be working on everything she needed to be to prepare her for kindergarten next year {yes, they are only one school year apart because of their birthdays}, it was in her best interest to stay put. At least until Christmas. Her teacher has agreed to work with her on writing her letters and sent some stuff home with me so I can work with her. When she goes back after Christmas break I may move her up to the older class if there is a spot available, but for now, more than anything she needs the confidence of learning to make friends on her own. She is spreading her little wings and we are so, so proud of her!

And this one? Well, she is eight weeks old today. Already. And filling out quite nicely, as you can see. She doesn’t miss a feeding, I can assure you! Brighton continues to be such a good, easy baby! She smiles CONSTANTLY and has really started cooing and talking to us! She wants to laugh so badly but just can’t quite figure it out yet!! She prefers to sleep on one of us – and does for the most part.

And that, my friends, is the low down on what is happening around here!! Full, busy days that leave this mama flat worn out at bedtime! I would rather snuggle into bed with the remote and my hubby than sit at the computer editing images and updating my blog! Living in the moment, you see?

I have been writing and rewriting this post in my mind for days, yet I am only just now finding {making?} the time to put those random thoughts into something real and meaningful. It has been an emotional week around here – and it is only Tuesday. The little one who was my baby for so long is growing up before my very eyes – and I hate it. I hate how fast all of my babies are growing up. Huntler had a kindergarten “run-through” yesterday where he spent the morning at school meeting his classmates and teacher and familiarizing himself with the space that will now become his home away from home. Brighton is no longer a sleepy newborn but an alert, aware baby…drinking in the world around her while our love for her continues to grow with each passing day. I am so desperate to hang onto this time in our lives yet it seems to be slipping by all too quickly…

A sweet friend of mine “said” something to me on Facebook this morning that really resonated. I had posted about how emotionally draining this morning was going to be taking Gentry to her first day of preschool. Her comment said something to the effect of, “Being a parent is a million letting go’s…” How incredibly true is that? Gentry girl is ready to start this new phase in her little life, she truly is. But I am not ready to let go just yet. I am honestly not sure that I’ll ever be. Change is hard and despite the fact that we have had a lot of it in our lives, it doesn’t make it any easier. With all of that being said, I know she is going to thrive. She is going to spread those little wings of hers and grow in ways I can’t even begin to imagine at this point. And I am excited for that for her. The experiences that await her and the fun that school will bring to her days most definitely outshine the boring hours spent at home soaking up the air conditioning. Don’t they?

And so I sit here now wondering just how her morning is going. What is she doing? Has she talked to her teacher, or anyone else for that matter, at all? It’s been over two hours since I dropped her off and my mind has been on her the entire time. Much like Huntler’s first day of preschool, big milestones bring about deep thought and lots of emotion.

Here is a snapshot from this morning…she looked SO cute! And although she is very shy and timid, she was excited to go!

And here are some of my faves from our trip to Sedona last week!! I am working on editing images of Huntler and haven’t even started Brighton!! I am obviously quite a bit busier these days and my turn around time is a bit longer!! The fact that Gentry girl totally worked it for the camera and gave me so many great shots that I couldn’t stop editing images of her doesn’t help!!

Because I know someone will want to know, the dress is from here! I had different, fun plans for our photo shoot in it, but since we aren’t going to be making the trek to Kansas this summer after all, I had to improvise!

If you are a Facebook fan you have already seen this one!! I originally edited in color but was really struggling with it so I converted it to black and white! I have since re-edited the color version {above!} and am much happier with the results!

This next one is one of my absolute favorite images EVER. EVER EVER. As I was sifting through the hundreds and hundreds of photos I snapped while we were away, I found that many of my favorites were of the kids simply being themselves. Not that that is something new to me, that is actually always my approach with my photography, but I was reminded of just how much I love capturing kids in their element.

Is it just me…

Or is she so flippin’ cute you could just scream?

Love this next one too. A lot.

Yes, she can cop an attitude with the best of ‘em. I am not so sure that four is going to be any easier than three was. And three was hard.

So this next one is totally posed…

Yes, it’s a cute shot. But as the mom of this little bean, it doesn’t do anything for me. It doesn’t make me smile or bring tears to my eyes. It doesn’t take me back to the moment it was taken. Quite simply, it doesn’t evoke emotion. It won’t be an image I get prints of. It does however remind me of why I love this gig so much and how exciting it was to get behind the camera again! All of the shots above this one? THEY evoke emotion. THEY make me smile. THEY make me reflect on our weekend in the mountains and relive our time in those locations. THEY bring back memories. THEY capture every single facet of Gentry girl’s personality. THEY are quite simply the portrait of her at four.

Gentry,

While you challenge me each and every day, I am so grateful for your strong personality. You are a girl that is going to go far in life. As you are wrapping up your first day at school right now, I am excited to come pick you up and hear all about it! I am beyond excited to see where this next year takes you!

Love you to the moon and back!

Mommy

Someone turned four last week. Crazy how when we moved out here she was only eight weeks old. Now she is four and will start preschool next week. Where oh where has the time gone?

We headed up north to the mountains for a mini vacation and to for me to shoot the kids this past weekend. We had a WONDERFUL time! I have over 650 photos of my littles to sift through as well as get the laundry put away and the house picked up, but I had to edit just one!

And while there are plenty of her smiling and being ornery, this one caught my eye. It.is.so.Gentry. Pouty little attitude!!

So many more to come – of ALL my little loves! I haven’t printed photos for us or our family in FOREVER so a big goal over the next couple of weeks is to edit images from our trip and get prints ordered! The wallets I am carrying around are over two years old! OOPS!!

As I sit here and my fingers dance across the keyboard, I am in complete denial that my baby is already over two weeks old.  Where have the days gone? I am forever in awe and disbelief at how swiftly the hands of time pass. I vividly remember so many thing from my own childhood, high school and then college, getting married, going into labor with our first little love. So many of the details are crystal clear and yet years separate today from those memories.

I am feeling nostalgic. My mind has been unable to focus on anything other than my sweets lately. It hit me like a ton of bricks that in less than one short month Huntler will be in kindergarten and the little spitfire that was our baby for so long will be heading off to preschool. Many tears have been shed as I think about these huge milestones that are literally just around the corner. I want to freeze time – to bottle up each of my kids exactly as they are now. Despite the fact that there are days that I want to run away and other days where I contemplate shipping a child or two off to visit grandma in Kansas, I wouldn’t change one single thing about my life. {Well, other than I would magically transport us back to Kansas, but that goes without saying!}

I have so much I want to share – so many thoughts and moments I want to take the time to write about and forever document. Yet I seem to have no desire to sit here at the computer! Each day the hours tick quickly by and my good intentions turn into yet another day my thoughts didn’t quite make it out of my mind and onto my blog. To put it simply, I just want to sit and hold my baby and hang out with my other two lovelies. And so I do. I didn’t take the time to just sit and hold Huntler or Gentry. I was too busy, too preoccupied to sit and I will forever regret that. And so with Brighton, I sit and snuggle – for hours on end.

We are doing so well. When I last updated, my emotions were so raw and my mind spinning out of control. As the days have gone by and I have now pretty much bounced back to my “old” self physically {plus about 20 pounds I still need to shed!!}, things are looking up. Of course I am homesick and would pack up tonight and move if I could, but that isn’t an option. And so we are settling back into our “normal.”

Huntler and Gentry continue to adore Brighton. They are maybe even a little “overly attentive” if you get my drift! Gentry is such a little mama – always wanting to feed her and help with diaper changes. She is my official wipes getter!! And while Huntler isn’t quite as hands on, he is still so loving and doting and very in tune to what she needs! I wouldn’t expect anything different out of either one of them!

So many of you have commented about photos. Let me just say that indoor photography is NOT my thing. At all. I avoid it at all costs. And outdoor photography when it is 115 degrees isn’t ideal either. I have all sorts of ideas and thoughts, but the reality of me pulling off even a quarter of those is slim! These were all taken last week…

Not me – this post. I have been meaning to update for a week now, but to be completely honest, I just haven’t had it in me. I spent last week soaking up every single second I could with our family in town. But since my parents left on Friday morning, I have kinda been a wreck. My homesickness is about a million times intensified and I honestly just don’t want to do anything but sit around and hold my beautiful baby and feel sorry for myself. Ridiculous I know. I have a wonderfully amazing husband who has been more than patient and supportive and would move mountains for me if he could. I have three happy, healthy, gorgeous kids. My life is pretty perfect. But you all know how desperately I want out of here and to move home…

I hope to get my act together and do a real post, complete with tons of photos and all the details, but until I get there, this will have to hold you over!

We had the baby last Sunday, June 27th. It couldn’t have worked out more perfectly. To my complete and utter shock, baby did NOT come early and we were induced! The kids got to stay home with their grandparents who were then able to bring them up to the hospital.

Meet Brighton Monroe. Seven pounds and fifteen ounces of pure baby girl cuteness! She is absolutely perfect in every way and we are all completely smitten with her! Huntler and Gentry have adjusted every bit as well as I knew they would – they ADORE her. And I mean ADORE. They tend to her every single need and are great little helpers.

And that’s it for today! Thanks for checking in on us and I apologize for keeping you on pins and needles by not updating until now!!

Once again, it’s been a long time since I have ventured over here!! Just wanted to post and say, still no baby. There hasn’t even been any change since 35 weeks…I am now 38. Baby is high. Not dilating. The little bean is in no rush to meet us whatsoever!

And so we wait! At least another week!! If it hasn’t arrived by next weekend, I will be induced. Still crossing my fingers my water breaks or I start contracting on my own before then, but I am not overly hopeful!!

And here is a quick snapshot {meaning I did NO editing to this!!} from our trip to the zoo last weekend. Yes, the zoo. We had a somewhat cool day down here and we made a spontaneous trip! Even trekking around there didn’t make me contract!! Huntler is his father’s son…the little map reader!!

Hello! Hello! Hello! I am still here. And still hugely pregnant. I know I haven’t updated in a long, long time – but there is really nothing all that exciting going on around here! I haven’t been on the computer all that much – other than the random Etsy searches I frequently find myself caught up in bookmarking all sorts of items I think I “need” and updating Facebook of course! It is HOT HOT HOT and we are laying low and soaking up the air conditioning and enjoying some pool time! Throw in wrapping things up with Gentry’s dance class, the summer movie program and daily naps {for me} and that is pretty much how our summer is going! I can’t believe we are already well into June and will be meeting our sweet baby soon. Or so I hope!

My entire pregnancy has flown by at warp speed, but now that I know this baby could literally come at any moment, life is suddenly moving in slow motion. Or as slow motion as it can with two kids! I am trying to keep us occupied though and my mind off of it…as though that is possible!

Quick update…I will be 37 weeks tomorrow. At my appointment last Friday I was dilated to between a 1 and 2. At that point the doctor said the baby’s head was down but still “floaty” and it hadn’t dropped all the way yet. But who knows now? I know it is shifting and moving because I have had some sciatic nerve pain. However, that is gone so I am guessing I either got used to it or the little bean moved even more. And then there are the contractions. I’ve been having them for months and months with this baby. Last night I was absolutely certain I was going into labor because I was having real {not Braxton Hicks} contractions every 3 to 4 minutes. They were low and they hurt! And they sent pain shooting through my hips and legs. After two hours, I was convinced that we should probably head to the hospital, so I got up and started getting my stuff together. And then they spaced out and eventually stopped hurting. Go figure. However, I am pretty sure that they had to have helped to dilate me a little more and move the baby down. It was going CRAZY the entire time!

So there is that. I go back on Friday morning and if nothing else, I’ll try to just post a little blurb about any changes! Keep your fingers crossed!! I hate to complain because  I have had a super easy pregnancy other than having trouble sleeping and the occasional aches and pains. But let’s get real here. It is hot. And I mean triple digit HOT. I am huge. And I mean HUGE. And I am just anxious – so curious to know whether this little kicking machine is a boy or a girl. To put a name with our baby and a face with the name!!

I snapped this today – 36 weeks and 6 days. {And on a side note, I now see why I have to straighten 3/4 of the pictures I take – I can NOT hold the camera straight to save my life!}

One more thing…if you want to enter the little contest I have going on, there is still time! There are 42 guesses so far! I love it!! Just scroll down to the post below and it will direct you! For some reason some people aren’t able to log in, so if you want to play but can’t, just leave a comment or shoot me an email and I can enter your guess for you! The more the merrier!

Saturday night I took Huntler out swimming for awhile. Chris was working and Gentry was sleeping {a rare nap} so Huntler and I spent a little quality time out back. He was sooooo cute and I got so many adorable shots of him while we were out!! Here are just three. I just don’t have the energy or desire to edit much lately so I’m just not! I HOPE that once the baby is born I’ll have more energy and be able to get caught up on some things! Or not. Pretty sure that third child is going to throw us all for a loop!!

Before I post these, for any of my photographer friends, could you tell me how these look on your screen? I am still trying to find my editing niche with our new computer!! I have the brightness turned down and while these look good on our screen, I have NO idea what others are seeing! THANK YOU!! {I also want to add that the first two probably  need to be cooled down a bit on the skin tones – I totally see that now…}

Alright…that’s all I’ve got for today! I need to get some laundry put away and then find my spot on the bed to snuggle into while the kids watch too much TV and I sleep. Just keeping it real.

For months now I have thought it would be super fun to set up a little contest for all of those interested to log their thoughts on “what” they think this baby is and when it will make its grand entrance! Now that I am over 35 weeks, I decided it is time to create the game and get this party started!

Let me preface this with some information. When I was at the doctor on Friday, I had not started to dilate at all. Despite the tons and tons and tons of contractions I have been having, nothing is happening.

As far as my guess goes, I say girl simply because the vast majority of people I talk to think it is a boy!! I have had dreams where it has been a boy and dreams where it has been a girl, so in the spirit of fun, my guess is girl! There is no intuition or anything like that, simply a good old fashioned guess!

And the weight? That number popped up in one of those aforementioned dreams! Because someone will want to be scientific in their guess, I’ll go ahead and share that Huntler was 6 pounds and 11 ounces and Gentry was 7 pounds and 8 ounces. I gained less weight with Huntler than I did with Gentry. And I have gained more weight with this baby than I did with Gentry. And the nurses and doctor are all convinced it is big! {I weighed 9 pounds and 2 ounces so I am bracing myself!!}

Length? Total guess. And no, I cannot remember how long Huntler or Gentry were!

And the birthdate. My actual due date is July 1. Huntler was 8 days early on his own and I was induced 5 days early with Gentry. Once I reach 36 weeks, they will let me deliver whenever I happen to go into labor. Obviously, I am hoping for sooner rather than later on that one! Anyway, originally I picked June 20th as my “perfect delivery date,” but I moved it up to June 10th!! I will be 37 weeks on the 10th. Chris, Huntler and Gentry all have birthdays that fall on the 20th or 30th of the month – and I just think it would be fun for this baby to have a birthday that fell on a date that ended in “0″ too. If the 10th comes and goes and no Baby Thumper, then I am aiming for the 20th!! It happens to be Father’s Day this year too!

So there is that. I should also say that Chris is not guessing a gender. He doesn’t want to. But because you can’t leave that part empty, we just left it with the default of “boy.” Huntler and Gentry picked most of their stats on their own. Huntler thinks this is one big baby!!

For those of you whom I don’t know playing along, be sure to leave your first name and last initial and put “blog reader” or something to that effect in your entry!! Hopefully that way when we figure out who wins, it won’t be super confusing!! I’ve never done this before so you’ll have to bear with me!

Alright…so here is the link:

ExpectNet

Our game is called: LittleGrahamCracker

I am pretty sure you have to register in order to participate, but it is super easy!! Let me know if you are trying to play but can’t figure it out and I will gladly help you get going!

Now…I was NOT going to post this photo because I really, really do NOT like it, but the truth of the matter is that I am too tired {lazy?} to put on a cute outfit and redo it. So this is it. And to be honest, this is totally keeping it real. I have bought like one maternity skirt and two shirts and that is it…along with a few things my mother in law ordered for me. Seriously. I have been wearing regular clothes pretty much my entire pregnancy. It is more than obvious from this photo with a good chunk of my stomach showing!! But it is hot. The kids don’t care. Chris doesn’t care. We see no one most days. And I do NOT dress like this to go out in public…I do try to make sure that most of my stomach is covered!

This was taken at 35 weeks and 1 day.

And what fun is a contest without a little prize package? With the help of my super talented mom and sweet friend Julie, I have created a fun little gift for the winner of this! I did in fact take individual photos of each item, but I am once again too lazy tired to edit each and every one…so this is going to have to work! Plus, I am neither good at nor enjoy taking photos of “things!”

Yes, most of the items are girly. It is so much harder to make boy things – that is the only reason!!

So here is what the winner gets:

TWO fabulous “Messy Pins” made by my uber talented friend Julie! She is in the process of switching her shop over from Etsy, but here is the link to her new locale! She hasn’t added much yet, but I am sure if you don’t win and really, really want a messy pin or clip or headband {we have TONS of headbands and LOVE them!!}, she’ll totally hook you up! Just tell her I sent you!

My super crafty and creative mom whipped up some goodies of her own! The little white top is absolutely DARLING!! It is a lap shirt made by Gerber and is size 0 – 3 months! I can’t believe how tiny it is! She stitched cute rick rack all around it!

She also sent the cute little monkey burp cloth – it has an equally cute pattern on the back {which you would be able to see if I had the energy to post more pics!} and is made of flannel.

The magnet clips are just that – magnet clips.

And under those magnet clips? A set of three girly washcloths. They are made from different flannel prints and have terrycloth on the back! DARLING!! It has been hard for her not knowing what we are having because she can’t make anything up yet! Anyway, if you see something from her goodies you have to have, shoot me an email and I can help you out!

And of course I added a couple of my own pieces! The headband and the two yo yo hair clips! They are on alligator clips. I have about 50 of the yo yo’s made and ready to go, but once again, I am just lacking ALL motivation to complete them. So, if you love them, I am sorry but I am just not in the mindset to be crafty these days! My time is spent soaking up my little loves before our world is rocked and resting!

Whew! So there is that! This is ONE prize – winner gets all! Obviously it isn’t stuff that everyone could use, but if you win, take what you want and share the rest!!

And thanks again Mom and Julie for your additions!!

Have fun!! I can’t wait to see everyone’s guesses!!