KY lifestyle child and family photographer

Well, I’m SORTA participating in a 52 week project. What is that? Basically, you take a picture once a week for a year. I’ve tried the 365 days of gratefulness and, well, that’s just too much to keep up with. I will say though, I think the main point of the 365 days of gratefulness is to take time and document the things you are grateful for and I am continuing to do that. Similarly, the 52 week project is to give you the motivation and even a reminder to document your life. The ladies over at Chic Critique have a 52 week project focusing around Glimpses. Each image will document a little glimpse into their lives. Even though I’ve been taking a picture of Steff almost every day with either my camera or my phone, I’m afraid that I won’t remember to always do that. I’m terrified of life passing us by without taking the time to enjoy it, appreciate it, and record it. So, this makes me grab my real camera at least once a week to document what’s going on.  Also, my absolute favorite blog, Styleberry, is also doing a similar project (and did last year as well). I’m warning you, her blog is addictive. It’s one of the few that I make sure to keep up with.

Soooo….here we go (note that sometimes I will say a lot and sometimes I will say nothing at all)…

Week 1:52

Starting solids. Ask the parents you know, read books, read online sources, they all have a different opinion. Once our pediatrician said to not start solids until 6 months, we were dead set on following his advice. But then Steff’s sleep (which hadn’t been great for us) started getting progressively worse. Then he started giving us the “give me your food or die” eyes. Then the Mommy guilt set in for eating in front of him. He was already showing all the other signs of being ready for solids. That’s when we decided he was ready. He wasn’t ready before that. It was nice because we felt completely confident in the decision once we started. We celebrated his 5 month birthday with sweet potatoes. We’re cooking and pureeing all of his food in batch and freezing it in little cubes. When we’re ready to feed him, we take a cube out and heat it up. Easy-peasy. So far we’ve tried sweet potatoes, avocados, rice cereal, butternut squash, peas, and now bananas. He hates peas unless it’s mixed with squash and cereal. He LOVES bananas and says “mmmmm” every time (which he hasn’t done with any other food). We love making his food. It’s so easy and so cheap!

I adore this picture. Love the way his hands are folded and the way he’s looking up at Bret. I especially love those big blue eyes and the sweet potatoes all over his face.

Week 2:52

Okay, so you have all seen this first picture. It’s the official 2:52 picture. Steff got to see his first real snow. He sat in his bouncy and just stared out this window. I also love Bret and Steff’s relationship. It’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.

Week 2:52 option 2

I was torn between the picture above and this one. This picture was taken moments before he rolled from his back to his belly for the first time. I put his favorite toys just out of his reach (I know…evil mommy). Who knew that’s all it would take. He had been rolling from his belly to his back for a while, which was causing lots of sleepless nights. There was a big celebration in our house this day.

3:52

I love him. And his slobbers.

Where have I been!?! To tell the truth…I don’t know. If you see my mind, ask it, and then let me know what it says. I would love to pretend like I have it all together. I want to be fabulous at being a mommy, a wife, a business owner, a photographer, a house keeper, oh…and maybe even a friend, sister, daughter, oh…oh…and blogger. But, well, it just doesn’t seem to be in the cards to be fabulous at it all. So, I’m trying to be awesome at mommyhood and good at wife and business owner/photographer and ok at everything else. One thing at a time…one thing at a time. I have so many things I want to blog about (my baby…his birth story…making his food…being a mommy…all the wonderful sessions from last year and this year) and I’m telling my crazy mind that I will indeed do it. You just wait world…I will be fabulous at it all. Or at least, I will learn how to pretend. Does that count? For now…let’s settle for some fun updates.

1. YES…I am still working. To tell the truth, I wasn’t sure if the business would survive my maternity leave. I was so nervous, but knew it’s what we all needed. We made it through and I was crazy busy with one thing or another right up to Christmas and after. Determined to fit in as much as I could. We’re now in the slow time that all photographers have and I’m getting ready for rest of 2012…which is already looking to be off to a great start.

2. MINI SESSIONS ARE UP ON THE CALENDAR! I have a couple locations blank. I wanted to finalize a couple things before announcing those locations. Don’t forget that some mini dates book up faster than others. April, July fair sessions, any Keeneland sessions, and October holiday sessions (I know…October is early for the holidays, but it’s truly the best time to do it and I have an AWESOME location this year). See the calendar HERE.

3. If you are wanting a Signature Session in June, you should be thinking about booking now because that month is going to be jam packed. We have minis, a bachelor/bachelorette party, my sister-in-laws wedding, and vacation. Busy…busy month.

4. Have you seen my new assistant lately? He’s getting chubby. I keep telling him to lay off the chips and chocolates, but he just won’t listen.

5. He’s sitting! He’s sitting! We like to say “go Steff…go Steff…go go…go Steff”. Yeah…he’s pretty much celebrated 24/7.

6. We’ve started solids and we’ve so loved making his food. It’s easy. You know exactly what’s in it. It’s healthy. It’s cheap. I have to admit, Bret has done most of it. I came home one day and he was steaming and pureeing up a storm. I didn’t complain.

7. He loves to bounce and occasionally passes out while bouncing. Sleep has been a struggle for us from the beginning. Granted, not for anyone else, but he hates to nap in this house. I *think* we’ve kinda figured it out now. Steff isn’t the “needs wind down time” type of baby. He’s the “party until I pass out” type of baby. And party doesn’t just mean nice, calm playing. It really means dancing, singing, wrestling…with mommy and daddy…while also wearing them completely out.

8. I love these two. I could cry just typing that. Yes, having a baby can make things a little more stressful between a husband and wife, but goodness, I wouldn’t have it any other way. He’s the daddy I always thought he would be. Steff adores him. He even wimpered when Bret was leaving for work the other day. It was so cute and so pitiful at the same time. I never imagined how much my heart would grow with the birth of Steff, but my oh my has it.

Now…I promise to try and be the blogger I’ve always wanted to be too. I’m working on it…I’m working on it. Just hang in there with me. I’ll love you for it always.

Peace and so much love,

Cilla