C'est la vie

say the old folks, "It goes to show you never can tell."

10 Years and 4 days of marriage.

Then:

Now: Dan and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary last Friday. We had a great time spending the day together, eating at a resturant without crayons, and sleeping through the night and well into the morning, courtesy of grandparents keeping our kids. Overall, I think our mood was one of accomplishment. Personally, I felt like someone should have rang our doorbell and handed us a trophy. In an era where divorce seems more common than not, having 10 years under our belts feels pretty good. And its been pretty fun, too....

We've been places together and had experiences that were amazing.

Riding the tube in London.

Watching the sunrise in the Grand Canyon.


We got us a family of two pretty cool kids (with an even cooler daddy)...

Lil' Knox Davies

Little Lucy Claire

We've worked our way through 10 countries, 9 collective years of college, 8 cell phones, 7 jobs, 6 bedding changes, 5 kitchen tables, 4 cars, 3 houses, 2 apartments, 1 truck and a partridge in a pear tree.

And it all began here...

It was a teenage wedding, and the old folks wished 'em well

You could see that Pierre did truly love the mademoiselle

And now the young monsieur and madame have rung the chapel bell

"C'est la vie," say the old folks, "It goes to show you never can tell"

They furnished off an apartment with a two room Roebuck sale

The coolerator was crammed with TV dinners and ginger ale

But when Pierre found work, the little money comin' worked out well

"C'est la vie," say the old folks, "It goes to show you never can tell"

They had a hi-fi phono, boy, did they let it blast

Seven hundred little records, all blues, rock, rhythm and jazz

But when the sun went down, the volume went down as well

"C'est la vie," say the old folks, "It goes to show you never can tell"

They bought a souped up jitney, 'twas a cherry red '53

They drove it down to New Orleans to celebrate their anniversary

It was there that Pierre was wedded to the lovely mademoiselle"

C'est la vie," say the old folks, "It goes to show you never can tell

"They had a teenage wedding, and the old folks wished them well

You could see that Pierre did truly love the mademoiselle

And now the young monsieur and madame have rung the chapel bell

"C'est la vie," say the old folks, "It goes to show you never can tell"

Just Sofia

Just a few more weary days and then..

Summer will be over! Until then, we will just grin and bear the heat! This past weekend started with a lil' apple pickin' at Grammy and Pap's house.

The Fruits of her labors (pun intended :-)

Liz and Sofia were also in town. We got together for a lil' redneck riviera swimmin' in my mom's backyard.

This might as well be me and Liz-our kids look like us, what can I say?

I think I said the word bubbles, which to Sofia, is hilarious.

Hold Me Closer, Tiny Dancer.

This weekend was chopped full of great photo opportunities, but instead of getting organized, I'd rather skip to this morning! Lucy started ballet camp. Not just any ballet camp, either, but Disney Princess Ballerina Camp! Its as if they asked a 3 year old what the greatest thing in the world would be and then created it! I signed her up back in April (the second I heard it existed!) and she has been looking forward to it ever since. It helped us learn the concept of "July" since she was having to countdown until this week arrived. She'll go everyday this week and be introduced to all types of dancing. Tomorrow is "Sleeping Beauty's Pajama Party" (they get to wear pjs over the leotard) and the last day is "Cinderella's Ball" where the girls will dance in their fanciest dress and make a build a bear with a tutu on. Seriously, its like she died and went to heaven. A very sparkly, shiny, poufy heaven. More on the rest of our latest adventures in the next post...

Big Brother to Be..and in other news...

Maternity Portraiture is probably my favorite genre of photography. It hearkens back to my college painting classes when I first became interested in the way human life creates itself inside another, and the outward changes it makes on a woman's body. However, it wasn't until I became pregnant myself that I truly understood how incredible it is to have it actually happen to you. I think now that gives me a better viewpoint when I am behind the camera and have an expectant mom in front of the lens. It wasn't until I had been doing maternity pics for maybe a year that I had my first experience with a mom of one, expecting baby two. That, folks, is a whole other ballgame. The first pregnancy is all about the mom, the room, the names, the car seat brand, the expensive maternity clothes and diaper bag. The second however, is a gift. Experiencing pregnancy with your child is totally different. Not only are you watching your body change, but you are watching the your baby turn into a sibling. I have found that most kids accept this with open hearts and complete willingness to take on that challenge. Now, I am not saying they don't ask when the baby is going back to hospital months later or try to pawn the baby off on friends and neighbors! That happens, too! But, there is a special bond between a pregnant mom and the first child. That's where the pictures above come in. Caleb will be the big brother to sister Camden early next month. He talked to her via the belly all during the session and informed me that she, too, likes the Wiggles.

And in other news of the week...Knox has had his first celebrity named after him. Now, as if people don't confuse me with Angelina Jolie-Pitt enough (I mean, the resemblance is uncanny, right?!), she had to go off and use my otherwise semi-unique boy name. I figure at least people will be able to spell it correctly now. Lets hope he doesn't turn out wacko and force my Knox to have to change his name to avoid any connections.

Itty Bitty Bundle

Meet Landon. He's 3 weeks old and has the most beautiful blonde hair. Landon let me hang out for a little while and snap pictures of him with very few complaints. His mom and dad are lucky I didn't pack him right up in my camera bag and take him home with me!

All the World is Their Stage!

I photographed Addie Grace yesterday. It was a beautiful evening outside at the Factory, and it was funny to see I wasn't the only photographer taking advantage of the picturesque weather! If I am counting correctly, this is my 5th session with Addie Grace! (props to mom and dad for supporting the biz!) I would pay big money if a hair stylist could make my hair look like hers!

One of the awesome perks that comes with knowing your "customers" is being able to haul the kids along side while working. Nothing makes a kids smile like another kids, so Lucy and Knox are quickly becoming great assistants! Hopefully, they never ask for monetary compensation! Lucy and Addie Grace had fun winding up the session with some stage performances!