Lakyn Turns 1!

Lakyn is exactly 6 weeks younger than Becca. We were there at the hospital when she was born so it was extra fun to take some 1 year photos of her. We even got in the pool for a few minutes!

Becca’s 1st Birthday

We celebrated Becca’s first birthday with a BIG party! About 50 people were in our house. It was crazy but so very fun! On her actual birthday I made some cupcakes and thought I would do a little photo shoot with her. She wasn’t feeling it. 

 

For the big party I didn’t go with a theme, just some colors. I did pink, mint, and gold. I mad the rag banner that is on her highchair and the table. I used this tutorial from Pinterest. Becca’s Birthday Girl shirt was from Oh Sweet Sprouts on Easy. (LOVE THEM!) The tutu was Smocked Auctions  (it isn’t available right now but they always have some good stuff) and the moccs are Freshly Picked (My favorite!). The cake was from Amy Cake’s in Springfield. Oh my gracious it was so good. I don’t think I’ll buy a cake from anywhere else ever again, well as long as I’m in Branson. Joe doesn’t like cake that much and he was eating the leftovers. We did strawberry and almond vanilla with a buttercream frosting. The cake topper was from an Etsy shop, SweetEscapesbyDebbie. The tall candle was also an Etsy find, CohassetPartySupply. The massive balloons were 24 inch balloons from Party City. Getting those into the car was a nightmare. I knocked the top box off the cake and ended up having to put down all of my seats, the carseat was in the front (Becca was at home with dad), and sat with the smash cake basically in my lap. Along with the fresh fruit and flowers I had picked up. What an adventure! She wasn’t too interested in her presents or the cake because there was just too much going on. She was busy being social. It was lots of fun and was a good marker for the end of year 1!

Hank’s Baby Shower

A few weeks ago I got to host a baby shower for my cousin Tori and baby Hank! I couldn’t have done it without my sister’s help. She was responsible for Hank’s big brother Wyatt’s shower as well. You can take a look at that one here. We went with a fishing theme and I thought it came out really cute. It was a fun afternoon and we all got to go eat dinner together afterwards. We don’t all get to see each other as much anymore so anytime we all get to spend together is so special. The most exciting news though is that as you are reading this I am taking pictures of baby Hank! So, happy birthday Hank! We love you so much!!

Girl’s Weekend

This past weekend 2 of my friends who live out of town came to visit. We don’t all get to see each other very much so we spent a lot of time together this weekend. We started with dinner at Shogun where I found some fully cooked, shell fish only sushi rolls! Ok….so it’s really just a roll, no sushi because of the fully cooked thing but it sure hit the spot. And true to NWA form, it was called the Pig Sooie.

After dinner we went to Paint With A Twist. They provide the canvas, paint, and instructions. All you have to do is paint! It was a lot of fun although from a few of the pictures you would think we were very angry. I’m definitely not a painter but I like my picture more now than I did that night. I would recumbent going if you are looking for something fun to do that you haven’t done before!

 

See….angry. Actually, just really concentrating.

 

On Saturday I went to a wedding for another dear friend. Diana and I met in high school when we cheered together and it was such a privilege to get to watch her get married this weekend. And it was so much fun to catch up with two of my other fellow cheerleaders, Emily and Jess.

After the wedding, I met up with Ana and Kim and we saw Into the Woods. We ended the weekend with our traditional Sunday morning brunch at Cathy’s Corner. If you are in Siloam you MUST eat at Cathy’s. Best breakfast you can ever have. It was a wonderful weekend of friends!

Charlotte’s Baby Shower

At the end of September I got to play co-host with Valerie (you know her from here) at a baby shower for Robyn and Charlotte. We chose to decorate with burlap and pink. My sister let us borrow some gold vases and big mason jars. Valerie made some really cute bunting to place around the house, we picked up some fresh flowers, and I made the cake. It was simple but I think it was perfect for the day. Everyone had a lot of fun and Robyn got some great gifts. We played 2 games – a celebrity mother-daughter game and a baby themed Family Feud. For the celebrity game, I chose real life mother and daughters and tv show mother and daughters. You had to name both the mother and daughter to get the point. The family feud game was so fun! Val split the room into 2 groups and it worked just like regular family feud. Both were games not typical of baby showers and everyone said they enjoyed them!

  

 

 

My girl Charlie was born this past Friday on Halloween, Oct. 31. She has had a bit of a fight but is on the mend! She may get to go home this weekend. I can’t wait to meet and snuggle up with this girl! Love you Charlie!

Love,
Aunt Jess

 

Birth Photography….OH GROSS

This week I posted the above picture and captioned it “The official birth photography bag is packed and ready to go!”. I’ve gotten many questions wondering what birth photography is…and if it entails all of the horrific gross beautiful details that people are envisioning. (I can tell by the fear in their eyes that they are really afraid of my answer) If you haven’t ever seen examples of birth photography then get on Facebook right now and look up Lindsey Scholz. OR follow this link to one of my favorite birth photography blogs I follow: nolabirthphotographer.com

Birth photography is gaining in momentum right now. At least, the professional, formal version of it. Technically, everyone has a birth photographer, a husband, a sister, a mom, or a friend. But when you hire a photographer to take over this job it makes the day so much more special. You aren’t worried about someone missing the shots you want or dad not being able to focus on the new baby. Instead, there is peace of mind in knowing that there is one person who’s sole job is to capture every moment, every detail. This means that mom, dad, grandma, and aunt can sit back and truly enjoy every moment of the birth. It also means that you will get photos of details that you wouldn’t have ever thought of. I’m not sure what it is about a photographer’s brain, but we tend to just see things differently and have no idea that it is different from everyone else.

How it works: From 36 weeks until the day the baby is born, I am on call. Middle of the night, during the work day, taking a shower…doesn’t matter. My phone rings, I grab my bag and run (ok, I don’t run. I drive. Did anyone really believe that I would run?). My bag is packed with an extra battery, a change of clothes, a phone charger, and some vending machine change. I show up and start taking pictures. I will stay an hour or two after the baby is born. I take only the photos that mom has said that she is comfortable with.

So far I have lined up 2 births for this fall. Both are women who are extremely special to me. The first is my cousin Tori. As far as cousins go, our group has always been pretty close. We grew up not far from each other and genuinely enjoy spending time together. She is due towards the end of this month and I am on pins and needles in anticipation. I have her set to a special ring tone and text tone so I will know as soon as my phone rings that it is her calling!

The second is one of my closest friends, Robyn. She is expecting a little girl, Charlotte, and I can’t wait for her to get here! She isn’t due until the end of November so at the end of October she will get all the same special treatment. New ring tone, new text tone, and since we are good friends….all of those annoying texts asking how she is feeling and any contractions yet? (Don’t worry…when she gets annoyed she will have no problem telling me to shut up!)

Why do I think I will love this?? That is the easiest question I get asked. I was honored to witness the birth of some friend’s third child. I had no idea I was going to be in the room until it happened but there I was. And I can honestly say, not many other days have come close to touching how amazing it was. It is such a testament to the Creator. I also really love babies. And the details are my favorite things to shoot. Add it all up and I thought, well I can do this!!

Now I’m not so patiently waiting for the call from Tori so I can grab my bag and head to Springfield and meet baby Wyatt. I’m really hoping he comes on my birthday. I think Saturday, September 20 is a great day!!

P.S. If you read this whole thing, I love you.

The Braschler Bunch {Sneak Peek}

A few weekends ago I did some family portraits for our friends the Braschlers. More specifically, Nick, Valerie, and their two kids – Caleb & Caitlyn. We all went to JBU together and Valerie’s sister-in-law happens to be one of my dearest friends. Valerie is also a blogger. You can check out the Braschler Bunch here! It’s always fun hanging out with the Braschler fam, even if when I come over Caleb only wants to know where Joe is. Here’s a sneak peek at a  few of the images…