Hissyfits Photography Blog

So tonight marks my last client session until after  the baby. I have struggled with this decision to take some time off  for awhile now…I mean REALLY struggled. It is so incredibly hard to admit that I can’t do it all – that I am only human after all and I do in fact have limits. It stings a bit. But now that I have made up my mind and the emails have been sent {I had to turn away several shoots}, I find comfort knowing I followed my heart. That I did what is right for our family. Now is the time to focus on my little loves – to prepare them as best as I can for what lies just around the corner. To prepare myself. To rest. To play. To create memories. To remember why it is I found such a passion in photography anyway – sweet little Huntler and sassy Gentry girl. They are the fuel that keeps me going.

So after all of tonight’s photos are edited and the session is wrapped up, I am done. At this point I don’t know when exactly I’ll be back in the swing of things and ready to take on client shoots again, but when the time is right, I will know. And I’ll be back with every bit as much love for freezing time as I am leaving with. In the meantime I will continue to take photos of my sweets of course – I am not putting my camera away for good!! But my focus will change. It has to for me to be the kind of mom I want to be. I so desperately want to slow down, to take time to smell the roses. I get so caught up in everything that I THINK has to be done that I forget how precious this time really is…how fleeting childhood truly is. Huntler starts kindergarten in three months and Gentry will head off to preschool. Where have the last five and a half years gone? I blinked…

That alone is reason enough for me to accept that life ebbs and flows and now is the time to grab on as tightly as I can. I don’t want my kids to remember me as glued to the computer or off on photo shoots all the time. I don’t want to be that mom. I want to be the mom that is 150% invested in their every day lives. The reality that this little bean will be here in no time at all has really pulled everything into perspective for me… For that I am beyond grateful.

And speaking of the little bean, I had another doctor’s appointment this morning. And I don’t think the “little” bean is really all that little! I have gained FOUR pounds in two weeks. FOUR POUNDS. I about fell off the scale when I saw that I broke the 150 pound mark! YIKES! But such is life – and you can bet I’ll be on that elliptical before I ever even make it in for my six week check up! {It did make me feel good when the nurse practicioner said I was so thin she could see my uterus through my skin and that I was “all baby” and that she would give anything to weigh what I weigh at eight months pregnant!}

The baby is good. It is just getting big. As am I. I am measuring just a little big but nothing that causes any concern. And she THINKS it has its head down but it could obviously flip again at any point. And while this came as no surprise to me, she thinks it is going to be a bigger baby. When she asked how big our biggest was and I told her 7 pounds 8 ounces, she just smiled and said she was pretty sure we aren’t going to have another 7 pounder. I braced myself long ago for that – I too think it is going to be a chunky little thing! So long as it’s healthy, that is ALL I care about!

I feel huge. And awkward. And yes, I am still cramming myself into my regular clothes!! My velour jogging suits have gotten a TON of wear in the last few months!! Thank goodness we keep having these cool spells and I can still wear them!!

All that black in this next picture? My stomach sticking WAY out!!

Alright friends, I am off to get my camera bag packed and a few props ready to go for my shoot tonight! Gentry is doing a bit of “modeling” for an Etsy shop {much more on that later!!} so we are going a bit early to get some shots of her!! Crossing my fingers that bribing her with a chocolate chip cookie from Subway afterwards will work!

Happy Friday!

I complain a lot about living out here. I know I do. Not constantly, but frequently. I can’t help it – that is simply where I am in life. I could pretend that I love it here and I want to raise our kids here and spend forever cultivating our life in the desert, but that wouldn’t be keeping it real. What’s real is that tears flow frequently and my heart breaks often because I long for home. For Kansas. For the family that awaits us with open arms. For the country roads lined with trees as old as time. For the wheat fields swaying in the summer breeze. For the dandelions. For the fireflies. For the memories just waiting to be created. That’s real.

The truth of the matter is that life doesn’t always play out like that fairytale we envision when we say our vows. And while we may not always be where we pictured ourselves years ago when daydreaming about the future, that’s okay. That’s life. That’s real. Do I love it here? Of course not. Would I pack up and move tomorrow if Chris said we could? In a heartbeat. Am I sad for my kids because I know what they are missing out on not being close to cousins and grandparents? You bet. But will my heart break and tears fall freely when the time comes to say goodbye to our life here? Without a doubt.

When we moved here I made a promise to myself that I was going to get us involved. I was going to join a playgroup and we were going to make friends and meet people. That was three and a half years ago. That playgroup and the people we met? They are more than just people – they are friends. Forever friends that have given comfort. Friends that have provided encouragement and laughter. Friends that have shared advice on everything from the best doctor to directions to the new Carter’s store. Friends that have had babies. Friends that have closed the chapter of their life in Arizona and have moved on yet still stay in touch. Friends that see your faults, listen to you whine and yet still love and encourage you anyway. They are the constants in my life here {other than Chris and the kids of course!}. They are the bright spots on dark days. They came into my life at a time when I really needed them and I will forever cherish the place they hold in my heart because of that.

Meet Lindsey {and her man}! She is one of those friends. A forever friend. I remember the day I met her like it was yesterday. It was a Valentine’s playdate at my house – 2007. She showed up looking all cute and trendy with her bowl full of strawberries, a toddler holding her hand  and a baby on her hip. I can’t believe that was over three years ago. I can’t believe that day I made a friend whom I love and my kids adore. Lindsey gets it. She gets that our family is what seems like a million miles away and I can’t get back there fast enough. She knows how hard it is to be pregnant and miss your mom. She understands…wholeheartedly. I love that about her.

And Lindsey, if you do not have this image printed big and hang it in your home, I am going to do it for you!! I LOVE THIS MOMENT!! This is exactly why I love this gig – freezing real life snippets like this for people to look at and remember long after they have passed!

Lindsey and Bobby aren’t from Arizona either. They moved here from California –  she left behind her family too. Her mom. Her sister. Her dearest friends. Her life. Sometimes you don’t have a choice…I get that. But she too made the decision that they were going to meet people, to make friends. They were going to make the most of their life here because that is all you can do. Shortly after we joined the playgroup, she joined the same one. One decision. One simple decision that has created a friendship that will last a lifetime.

I had fun shooting Lindsey and Bobby! I RARELY photograph adults so it was something new and different. And easy! Oh my gosh! It is so easy to take photos of people who listen and cooperate without having to bribe with candy or a trip to Toys R Us after the shoot!

These two  have three beautiful kids…Jakob, Aiden and sweet Lucy.

Jakob and Huntler were in the same preschool class last year and while they knew each other beforehand, they grew to be good friends over the course of the year. But when Huntler returned for another  year of preschool, Jakob moved on to kindergarten. He is sweet and shy…much like Huntler. He rolls with the punches and is low maintenance. He enjoys school and is soaking up all of the new knowledge like a sponge!

And then they had Aiden! Their Aiden is the equivalent to our Gentry. Cute as a button but ornery as all get out! This little guy gives his parents a run for their money numerous times a day! Personality just exudes from his little body! He is so candid and real…

And eight months ago tiny little Lucy joined the world and won the hearts of her parents and adoring big brothers! Happy, adorable, petite little Lucy girl!

It’s been so fun watching these kids grow up! Jakob wasn’t in school and in a few short months he’ll be starting first grade. Aiden wasn’t even one yet when we first met him and now he is four. Lucy was just a dream and now she is here. It is amazing how much has changed and how much we have all grown in the last three years.

When my mom gave me this vintage white bowl at Christmas, I had a vision. A vision that involved a baby girl and strawberries! I had no idea how it would all play out and it was admittedly a bit more challenging than I had pictured {I’ll blame that on my large stomach and inability to get up and down in a timely fashion!}, but it was fun to bring an idea to life!

Little Miss Lucy was VERY interested in the strawberries…she couldn’t shovel bites in fast enough! And her outfit? Well, about two minutes into this set of photos it was gone! But the thing is, it was okay. I know Lindsey well enough to know that she would be able to just roll with it…that a few strawberry stains weren’t going to be a big deal! And they weren’t! Lucy girl was so focused on the strawberries I had a terrible time getting her attention for a few photos! In most of them she is far more interested in the strawberries and hanging out of the bowl to get them than in having her picture taken! But I did manage to get this one!

And this next one? It just makes me giggle. Laugh out loud really. Because it is Aiden. It is 150% orneriness and personality. LOVE it!

And of course a few of the fam! I will be perfectly up front and honest here in saying that this is the first time I have ever shot more than four people at a time! For some reason I have just never had any more than that involved in a session. It was challenging for sure…but I love a good challenge from time to time!

I kid you not when I say this is the first frame I fired off at our session {other than the one I took to check my exposure and get my settings right}. FIRST SHOT = FAVORITE SHOT.

And then we changed it up a bit! I promise Bobby’s eyes are opened in this one!! His allergies were really bothering him and I felt so bad! {Note Aiden and his ornery grin!!}

Lindsey {and fam!},

Thanks for meeting up with me for a fun family session! Thanks for humoring my ideas and letting me experiment with your family. But most of all, thanks for being such a good friend. I meant every word I said – while I can’t wait to move back to Kansas, my heart will break when it comes time to say our goodbyes. You have been such a great source of strength and encouragement in our journey out here and I am forever grateful our paths crossed. Big hugs!

Enjoy your photos!

I know my blog posts have been fewer and further between lately…so much for my goal of posting every.single.day. HA! I feel like I am doing good to get a post up a week these days. Some weeks are easier than others for sure! I have no idea how I am going to keep up once the baby gets here! Maybe by then I’ll be able to stay up past 7:45 at night?

Anyway, I have had this post on my mind forever and am finally getting around to putting it together! My aunt just opened an Etsy shop {named after her first granddaughter, Ansley Jane} and has some darling goodies for sale! If you have something specific in mind that you don’t see, you can totally contact her and see what you can work out! Tell her I sent you!!

As many of you know, I have a “thing” for sweets and these cupcake and gumball machine bloomers are beyond cute!! And at only $12.50 a pair…that is a STEAL friends!!

And these? Wouldn’t these ladybugs have been PERFECT for Gentry’s first birthday?

And these? LOVE them!!

And since we don’t all obviously have girls, she has some cute creations for little guys too! This elephant is too cute for words!

This is just a small sampling of what she can do! Head on over and check her shop out! You won’t be disappointed!

HELLO! HELLO! Still here and doing well! Just busy! And taking a little time to breathe! Kind of. I am still busy with party planning hoopla and chasing after two littles all day. Not to mention being pregnant and worn out!

Speaking of being pregnant, I went to the doctor today for my regular check up. Everything is just fine and dandy. I actually met with the doctor today – only the second time I have seen him my entire pregnancy! Anyway, he thinks the baby is high. At least from the measurements? I had to laugh! Everyone has such a different opinion but almost everyone, including me, thinks the baby is low! I seriously have NO clue whether it’s a boy or a girl…at all. I have thought both but I am completely clueless! But that’s how I want it to be! I don’t want to have an opinion because I want to be completely surprised!

Anyway, during my weekly Target outing today I spotted some super cute butterfly nets in the dollar bins and of course had an instant photo shoot play out in my mind! Just so happens it was somewhat cloudy today {at least it was ALL morning but the first five minutes we were out shooting the sun came out!} and I managed to bring my little dream to life! Once that sun popped out it got hot. Not to mention that it was prickly and pokey and totally uncomfortable where we were! Jeans and tennies would be MUCH better suited for trekking around, but it is far too hot for jeans these days and tennies just aren’t as cute as sandals!

Anyway, we are going to go back out and try this again with Chris’ help so that I have some assistance, but I was still super happy with what I captured today!

I also bought some new actions for editing and am LOVING them! I had so much fun playing around with different effects on these!

This little “field” is right in the middle of suburbia. And FULL of ladybugs. There were no butterflies to be seen {which I was totally expecting} but I am super thankful there were more ladybugs than you can imagine because that kept the kids occupied!

Now I am kicking myself for not picking up two or three more of these for props! Another Target run is in my future! And by the way, Gentry’s uber cute dress and sandals are also from Target!

Alright…just a short little post for tonight but I wanted to pop in and not totally abandon my blog!

Let me begin this post by saying that my kids ADORE this little guy. And I mean ADORE. We spent yesterday morning with him, his too cute for words big sis and their sweet mama. Huntler and Gentry haven’t stopped talking about them {but mostly Baby James!} since. They have an affinity for babies. Especially Huntler. He is going to make SUCH a great big brother! He actually wants to name our baby James if “it” is a boy and dress him in the exact same outfit. Mary, you have a great sense of style because this is exactly how I dressed Huntler when he was tiny and how I’ll dress this one if it is a boy!

I have known the mama of this little guy for awhile now, but only last fall did we find ourselves reconnecting again…through our mutual love of photography. Mary is an amazing photographer {I think she was a tiny bit hesitant for me to share the link because she is in the process of getting her blog set up now…but you’ll get it how you want it soon Mary!!}. She has a great eye and she can totally nail exposure! Believe me…I have seen her straight out of the camera shots and they are fab! Anyway, you may be wondering why I would be taking pictures of her little guy when she undoubtedly has thousands of her own?

Well, you see, we have a little trade going on. The plan is for her to come up to the hospital and take pictures for us when we have the baby {depending on the timing and everything she may even be there for the birth!} and I am in turn taking photos of her kids! My style is very different than hers so we thought it might be fun to switch things up a bit! I truly enjoyed editing every single one of these. No stress. No pressure. Just embracing my style for what it is and going for it! Thank you for giving me this opportunity!

Mary, I truly enjoy you and your friendship. I am so thankful that our passion for freezing those priceless moments in time has strengthened our friendship. It is so much fun to have someone to chat with, bounce ideas off of and learn from! And once we get our new computer, you can rest assured I am going to start shooting in RAW! Thanks for the mini lesson – it looks amazing!

I hope as you look at these images you’ll remember our afternoon at City Hall and how sweet and cute James was!

I won’t lie, this next one was a total happy accident! I was bent down {very awkwardly and uncomfortably I might add} to attempt this and it happened in a flash! It is a miracle my exposure was correct and that he was in focus! You don’t realize how much harder it is to squat and get in picture taking position when you are seven months pregnant!

There is something about this next one I just love. His look is so real, so innocent. And he has those same big brown eyes my own little guy does!!

I couldn’t decide whether or not I liked this last one in color or black and white so I decided to try it both ways!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I am taking it off from blogging in an attempt to get MANY things done! I am already working on party stuff for Gentry’s party in July {I want it all done before baby comes}, cutting out sets of ruffly pants, editing, crafting, Quicken…the list goes on! Hoping that somewhere in there we also do something FUN for my birthday…come Monday I’ll be the big 3-0!!

Ummmm….how darn cute is this little guy? Spent some time with him and his mama last night! I can’t wait to share more!

Okay. So let me be super honest here. So far I have 322 photos in my “April 2010″ folder. THREE HUNDRED TWENTY TWO. It is April 7th. Those are just our personal pics. I could spend days editing those alone. But let’s be real. There is one me. There are two kids to take care of. There is one who is ever growing inside me and zapping my energy like crazy. There is a house to keep up with. There is laundry to do. There is an outside calling our names before the summer heat sets in and we can’t go out because we’ll bake. There is quite simply, life. The way I see it, I have two options. One is to just forget Easter ever happened because I don’t have the time or energy to edit 30 photos. Or I can share snapshots from our weekend. I am opting for the latter. So here they are…all of these are straight out of the camera except for three of them.

Yes, I have snapshots!! Yes, I get blurry pics!! Yes, I underexpose and overexpose!! No I can’t take a straight photo to save my life and have to straighten everything!! Most of the time I just don’t share those photos! I tend to worry, since this is a photography blog after all, that others will criticize and judge. However, the more I think about that, the more I realize that those aren’t the kind of people I want in my life anyway!

So here you go! Saturday afternoon we dyed some eggs…

Girlfriend was ALL about the stickers. I am pretty sure she spent a good 20 minutes stickering up just one egg.

And the boy? Well, he is “past” the sticker stage. He was meticulous and thoughtful in his egg dying and decorating! We bought a monster kit for him and he had so much fun creating little monsters and critters!

And then there was Easter morning. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to have some photos like the ones my friend Lacey took of her girls…but let’s be real. It was 8:30 in the morning The sun was already blaring and harsh. And we don’t have easy access to cute cobblestone paths and loads of huge trees. So instead we have the swingset and satellite in our pics! Maybe next year will find us in Kansas with a fabulous egg hunt photo shoot! {By the way, the dress is from Target and I made her hair clips. EASY PEASY – they are just flowers from Michael’s that I hot glued to alligator clips!}

And then we ventured around front to find some shade for some posed pictures. But before we could get those taken, we had an egg catastrophe. Gentry was handing Huntler one of his eggs and in the process dropped it on the cement. This is what followed…

And then he tells her she has to be more careful.

And a few frames later he is totally fine and ready to go!! {She prefers to be in control and put her arm around him. She isn’t so big on him putting his around her!!}

And after this we headed to Denny’s for breakfast and then church! But later Sunday evening, I had this grand idea to have another egg hunt and try to capture some better shots once the sun had started setting. HA HA HA HA HA! About five minutes after we got outside I realized that was NOT going to happen, so I just snapped the kids playing and being themselves!

Poor Huntler. He is smarter than smart but he seriously lacks in the whole athletic department. I don’t care if he is never the high school quarterback, but I DO want him to at least be able to ride his bike without training wheels before he learns to drive and master a somersault. Last week we worked hard on the somersault thing. Gentry does them left and right and has for awhile now. But Huntler could NOT get the hang of it. Well, by the end of the week he FINALLY got it. Finally. He is so proud of himself!

Now we just have to work on that whole bike riding thing! We attempted that again last week too. Chris was helping him and I ran in to grab my camera. I was super quick, but by the time I made it back outside, he was already picking up his bike and crying. He was hurt and done. Chris made him hop back on just so he wouldn’t be scared, but that lasted all of two seconds and he was ready to go in.

So, my friends, that is it for now!! Hope everyone is having a wonderful day!!

Energy. Ohhh the energy of this little guy! How I wish he could give me just a tiny bit! I can still hear the sound of his little flip flops hitting the pavement as he hopped, skipped and jumped from one place to another during our shoot last week! In fact, he was skipping so much that I asked his mom if he had just learned how! You see, Gentry recently figured it out and has been skipping all over the place ever since! But Tucker? Nope. He is just a little ball of energy who is always on the move!

Tucker ROCKED at our session! He was so good! And he listened so well! And the smiles he would flash? Priceless!!

I love these two! I cropped them opposite because I think they would be so cute hanging one above the other!

As we rounded a corner and this bike rack came into view, I almost let out a little squeal of excitement! What a FUN element to work with! And so boy. Oh so boy.

LOVE LOVE LOVE this black and white one!!

The little guy does have some serious faces too…

And this one just makes me smile for some reason!!

We ventured up onto a hill during our time together too! For anyone interested, I started shooting in “evaluative” metering mode but when Tucker was way too underexposed because of  all the backlight, I switched to “spot” metering and had MUCH better results! I love it when I take the time to think things like that through and experiment a little during a session! That one decision made all the difference in that entire series of photos! And it took all of three seconds to do!

I LOVE this light!! For real. One of my personal goals is to get out of the open shade and start shooting in light more often! Now that I see the results first hand, there is no holding me back!!

And a couple with mom! Tucker is going to be a big brother this summer and his mom looks AMAZING. Seriously April, you look great!!

Dad wasn’t actually planning to be in any pictures, but I sort of insisted that he get in on just one!

Thanks Tucker and Co for taking a little bit of time to hang out with me the night before you left! It was so nice to meet you all and I wish you all the best! Good luck this summer with the birth of Baby #2!

So today I am officially 27 weeks. And today also happens to mark the beginning of my third trimester {I have a handy dandy iPhone app that keeps me in line!!}. All I can say is WOW this pregnancy is flying by!! I am so, so lucky to be low maintenance when I am pregnant. No morning sickness. No extreme swelling. No high blood pressure or gestational diabetes. Simple. This little kidney scare is about the most drama we have ever encountered.

And speaking of the baby’s kidneys, we went in yesterday for our level two ultrasound. After my big breakdown two weeks ago in the doctor’s office, I have honestly been okay. I know of enough people that have been told their baby has dilated kidneys that while somewhat concerned, I wasn’t stressed or worried. My line of thought was that in the whole scheme of things that could be “wrong,” this was minor. The tech reconfirmed that yesterday when she said the exact same thing.

So let me first say how fun it was to see the baby again! And NO, we do not know what it is! The tech didn’t peek either – she avoids looking when the parents don’t want to know! I know many of you were hoping we would find out, but now that we are down to just 13-ish weeks until it is due, there was no way we were going to give in!! The baby is currently breech with its bottom down and its legs almost folded over its little head. When we were talking about that she said that it appears we have a very active baby and it will probably flip and move time and time again before it finally gets its head down! I had to laugh! I know I have mentioned this before, but at our 8 week ultrasound it was wiggling all over, at our 20 week ultrasound it was wiggling all over, and two weeks ago at the doctor the random new nurse {who sent me into tears within seconds of meeting her} had trouble getting its heart rate because it was moving all over. Yesterday was no different. She could feel its kicks and punches through her little wand! I can assure you that this little one moves ALL the time!

The tech explained to us the range of “normal” kidney measurements for this stage of pregnancy and what they consider out of that range is anything above 7. Baby’s left kidney was measuring between 5 and 6. It was noticeably larger than the right kidney which only measured .4. Since we have no idea what they were seven weeks ago, there was nothing to compare these readings to, but since they fall in the “normal” range, we are fine. No more ultrasounds. No follow up. She was extremely thorough and checked everything else while we were there as well…explaining everything as she went. Baby looks just perfect! {By the way, she also said that she sees probably one case of dilated kidneys a day – it is super common.}

Baby is a total CHUB! She was showing us the back of its neck and it already has three little fat rolls! Its head was tilted back which obviously makes them look bigger, but it was quite apparent that the little bean is getting all of its nourishment! That and the fact that according to all the measurements it weighed 2 pounds and 8 ounces already and is measuring almost two weeks big! I’ll be curious to see what I measure tomorrow at my regular appointment because two weeks ago I was right on! The tech even asked how big Huntler and Gentry were {Huntler was 6 lbs 11 oz and Gentry was 7 lbs 8 oz} and if I had had my glucose test yet! This one may not be quite as scrawny as the other two!! However, I weighed 9 lbs and 2 oz when I was born, so I guess I can’t be too surprised!!

After all of the measurements were taken, we got to spend some time looking at its face. She even flipped over to 4D which was so fun! We never had anything like that with Huntler or Gentry so it was really neat! This photo may not mean anything to anyone else, but we love it!! It doesn’t look that great scanned in, but the original is amazing! You can see the baby’s face soooo well! It’s head, eye, nose, mouth, chin!! LOVE IT!

The few people that have seen it think it looks a lot like Huntler. What do YOU think? I really have no clue. One day I think boy, the next day I think girl! I will say that when Gentry was born the nurses went on and on and on about how much she looked like Huntler as well! They even had {have} the exact same little stork bite birth marks in the same places. Kinda crazy!

And here is a leg and foot. That is the big toe all stretched out and I think maybe an arm reaching over its leg. Not sure on that! You can’t see it in this shot, but in the others the head and face are on the very right side of the image – folded in half for sure!

Before we left yesterday I snapped a couple pics of myself in the mirror!

And that’s it for today! Off to feed my littles breakfast and get started on some editing!! I’ve been super busy lately and have all sorts of images to work on!!