Mr. E ~ Newborn

I know I've been promising these pictures forever. I guess good things come for those who wait :) I would like to introduce the handsome Mr.E - perfect in EVERY way!

We started out at the orchard but it was way too windy for a little guy so we went back to their home to get some better pictures.

he melted my heart!

love love love this series!

The session was short but so sweet! I wish this little one would stay itty forever but it's going to be fun watching him grow. Love you guys!

Let's Go Fly A Kite!

We did not go to church yesterday because I have a conscious about breathing around people in close spaces when I am sick. Late afternoon, about the time when the kids were going stir-crazy, I packed up the van with picnic supplies and told Scott we were headed out to buy a kite. At that point, I don't think he was going to argue.

It was a gorgeous afternoon. The kite was taller than 6 feet and I thought it would carry the boys away with it. That would have been something! We have these huge fields of green grass here in Maricopa that are perfect for flying a kite!

Jonah absolutely loved flying the kite. Simon and Trinity mainly hung out in the shade and ate their sandwiches.

Scott had never flown a kite before in his whole life! I'll get him trained yet ;) He looked like a professional out there.

I let Jonah take some pictures...a future photographer?

and finally, a good picture of Simon! It really was a good day!

*I have a list of 101 in 1001 started and this is one of them. The list is only about half done and really it's just stuff I want to do before I turn thirty. Check one off! I'll post the list someday.

MOMMY & ME SESSIONS!

FYI - I will be contacting those of you who scheduled a Mommy & Me Mini Session starting Monday, April 28th.

A Mommy & Me Session is 30 minutes of fun, playing, cuddling, and posing with your little one as I take pictures for you just for Mother's Day. A cd is included to print as you desire as with all my sessions. I still have openings.

This would also be a great gift for a special mommy/grandma in your life.

Please contact me soon if you are interested. May is already looking pretty busy!

sniff sniff

We've got the sniffles in the Stiller house :( and thus slowing me down quite a bit. I will be resuming normal activity next Monday and taking it easy for the next couple days (if you call babysitting for the neighbors on Thurs/Fri and throwing a birthday party for my mother-in-law on Saturday taking it easy.) We will be headed out to the Salsa Festival on Saturday. That should be a fun/crazy time. And because I have a hard time posting without some pictures...here ya go...

and my absolute favorite from the day...

In the near future, I will be blogging about this spectacular birthday party...

and I'm still working on a little Mr.!

first comes...

love...

then comes marriage...

then comes baby!

Autumn looking all radiant!

I think Mr.J is a little excited to be a big brother!

What an extremely gorgeous family!

after the session, we went to get some ice cream (a pregnant woman's must-have!)

*UPDATE: Mr. E showed up a little earlier than planned...all healthy and wonderful! I got to meet him last night for his photo shoot and he is so beautiful! Congrats again, my friends! Again...stay tuned to meet the little munchkin! I haven't even downloaded the pictures yet :)

"One Heartbeat at a Time"

My mom sent me the lyrics to this song and I looked it up on YouTube. Moms, get your Kleenexes as this is so true for me most days. Be blessed today and remember that you are making a difference!

a princess is coming!!! pt.2

She sounded nice on the phone. I really never know what to expect. I always get a little nervous before a session not knowing how it's going to go. When she greeted me with a warm smile and glowing personality, I was put at ease immediately and knew it was going to be a special session. As it was.

We started in the nursery that was only fit for a princess...

and a kiss for her majesty...

headed downstairs for some nice relaxed portraits,

then we headed over to to the country club for some great outdoor pics. Stay tuned for Part 3. Here's one for now:

I think her daughter is going to love this picture. Doesn't she look gorgeous?

Thank you so much for inviting me into your home to capture this precious time. I am so excited to meet the new little princess!

little bit of light...

I used to be really bad about comparing myself to other moms and still have to catch myself often. If there was any advise I could give a new mom it would be to not compare yourself or your children. My life is pretty crazy with three little ones and now with adding photography I started comparing myself to other photographers. There is always something Satan will "bug" you with to get under your skin and focus on yourself rather than on God and others.

I love this from Sarah Jane's Blog:

I see artists all around me who seem to just "do it all." But then I realize:

They aren't changing diapers at 6:30 am. (the neighbor boys got here at 6:30)

Or playing dress-ups at 7:30am. (that sound like fun)

Or cleaning crayon off the walls at 8am. (that just happened to me right now...haha!)

Or feeding breakfast to two hungry toddlers at 8:30am. (5 hungry kiddos!)

Or going on library trips at 10 am. (library?)

Or doing 15 bajillion loads of laundry at 1 pm. (i just had to strip the couch due to a gatorade spill)

Or scrubbing bathrooms at 2 pm. (did that one yesterday)

Or building wooden block villages at 3 pm. (the living room is covered in legos)

Or going to the park at 4 pm. (been there this morning)

Or making dinner at 5 pm and drawing a bath at 6 pm with kids in bed at 7pm. (we attempt to get them in bed by 8 but that's a stretch some nights.)

Just some shots from the playground this morning. I do try to get pictures of Simon. A new friend I met at the party over the weekend reminded me how amazing 3-year-olds are. They are always in their own little world. I needed that reminder and reassurance as Simon is fully 3-year-old ;)

We're in that "anything you can do..." stage with the two older boys. it can get pretty intense around here.

and in case you didn't get enough...

and one of Simon from our trip back from Window Rock because I love him too. We stopped at a store near the Petrified Forest because I wanted to see how much a big piece of petrified wood for our front yard costs...it's expensive. It sounded like a good idea. I love this picture of him. He was so excited.

a princess is coming!!!

there is nothing like family

I get to see her smiling face every Wednesday night as she takes her son to Cubbies with my boys. I was so pleased when I got a phone call from this lovely lady to take pictures for her family. I was even more pleased when she told me that her extended family would be there also!

I have always wanted Maricopa's motto to be "Utopia Cornucopia". It's kinda silly and Scott makes fun of it but there is such a wonderful mixture of people from all over the world. I know it's not perfect but it makes a great home! This family doesn't differ at all moving all the way from Europe! The mother and youngest sister were visiting. It was a bittersweet photo session and as one daughter said, "It's hard to smile because they are flying back tonight."

It turned out to be a lovely afternoon with lots of smiles. The mother loves the palm trees so we met at the entrance of Rancho El Dorado. I had such a good time. I felt like part of the family.

The gorgeous sisters made me a little jealous missing my own sisters. I can tell they are very close (and fun!)
I'm so glad I got to spend more time with you, S (and everyone else). I hope there are many more times we can get to know each other more and more. Thank you so much!