photogenic?

do any of you have a beautiful child in person... but that beauty just doesn't always translate into pictures?  poor little K!  ha ha!  she is a complete little doll.  honest to goodness, she really is a tiny doll.  she hardly weighs 30 lbs at 4.5 years old.  sweet girl!  but she just isn't the best when it comes to taking pictures... i should add, that she isn't the best at taking pictures when there's a flash involved.  case in point, check out these images of my, not so photogenic, 2nd child:

cheese, everyone!

 c'mon!  smile for the camera!

 ok, let's try that again.

 now, one with daddy!  smile!!

 one more time!

 now by yourself!

 one with mommy, perhaps?

 she even sneaks into other pictures, just to show those lazy eyes.  
 you'd think even a huge sundae would get those eyes open!  nope!

at least she stays true to herself!  ha ha!

with all those photographs of little K with her eyes closed, you'd have a tough time remembering how adorable she truly is.  just so that i don't scar her for life, here's a few great shots of my little girl:

baby crack

now tell me, what's better than waking up from your nap and watching a little Baby Einstein?

you can be crying and cranky and moody... and instantly, when you hear that music... hooked!  it's magic, i tell you!  we've had these videos for almost 7 years and it's been some of the best money we've spent on baby stuff.  there have been many times that we've called these videos baby crack.  granted the 3rd child has used them far less than the first (oh, life was SO hard back then with only 1 baby!  *smirk*) but they're still a hit whether you're 1, 4, 'almost' 7 and even 31.  ;)

check out this cute babester enjoying her flick!!

where does she come from?

i get this question all the time about little K.... "where does she come from?"  apparently our 2nd born daughter looks nothing like the rest of our family.  if it wasn't for all my babies looking identical as newborns, you would think that little K is part of a different family altogether.  however, if you dig just a little deeper, you'll discover there was once another little girl who looked eerily similar just about 30 years ago.

or how 'bout this one

i think my middle child fits in just perfectly to our little family.  whether or not she's a spitting image of her mother.  the one thing she definitely does have in common with me is our middle names.  she's also 'the joy in the middle'... and a whole lot more than that!

trash the dress!

i'm blessed to know not one but TWO amazing photographers. one is my sister in law, melanie. and the other is my good friend, charmaine. i'm lucky enough to take pics with both of these uber talented and gorgeous women. they are amazing. really. remember that post i wrote about 10 months ago on our 10 year anniversary? well, in honour of our decade long marriage (and still going strong!!) we took some pretty unusual but incredibly fun pictures with one of these said photographers, charmaine. she had taken similar pictures last summer with her husband for their 10 year and wanted to do some, where she was behind the lens, to generate some more business. and lucky me, she asked if i would like to do a session for her to use as 'advertising'. it didn't take me long to say, "YES"! we discussed the 'look' we wanted to achieve, which was edgy, sexy (yes i DID say that), almost an america's next top model photo shoot idea, and taking all these pictures in locations where you probably wouldn't take your regular wedding photos. we took these pics on two different evenings. the first night we were rained out. taking pictures in the pouring rain is fun for only so long. plus, runny mascara, although very haute, wasn't in my plans. we got a few great shots that first evening (the pictures with the wood piles and umbrella) but the money shots were taken the second evening. on the second night of shooting, we headed to charmaine's parents yard. full of old farm machinery, old vehicles, metal junk and overall, a fantastically AWESOME place to shoot! it was so fun! i just took her lead and went where i was told, channeling my inner blue steel! ha ha! we had a great time and i almost fell in love with M all over again for indulging me with these pictures (he doesn't like this kind of stuff as much as i do, but how many men do?). the night ended with pictures taken in a local gravel pit. and the entire shoot was capped off with me laying out on my back in the water. it was cold, don't be deceived by the angelic look on my face in some of the shots (photoshop/lightroom does wonders). if you are that curious, look closely at my arms and you'll notice many goosebumps! all in all, a fanastically fun experience that i would recommend to anyone. 1 year, 5 year, 10 year, 20 year, etc anniversary... heck, even the in between ones like lucky #7 and #13! just go for it! have fun and enjoy your partner! just think, there's no stress of having to entertain for 200+ guests at the reception!

without further ado, and without further novelas written, here are the pictures:

for more photos, check here.