Jackson, distorted

If my blog is Stephanie, Overloaded, my son can be Jackson, distorted, right? Goes with the theme, eh?

I tend to zoom in on EVERYTHING - I did buy a 24-70L for a REASON, right???!!! I need to work with the wider end of this lens - it makes for some fun, funky pics.

Of course, if I had the 5D, I could get even funkier...

Yes, he's nasty & yes, that's a burnt stick. Don't ask.



Okay, okay. He thinks he's from Lord of the Rings. I think the stick holds special powers.

Princess Party

I've been terrible about posting client pics on my blog. I apologize! I'm being a blog hog.

Here's a few from a recent birthday party - the girls were treated to a full blown princess makeover! Aren't they precious? They were so much fun! I'm still proofing, so I'm not going to list each princess here, but each & every one was absolutely beautiful.







And last but not least... the birthday girl! I thought this looked so dreamy in BW.

First Grade Round Up

I can't believe Tucker is done with first grade! My baby just keeps getting bigger and bigger.

His last day of school was Thursday. Me & Eric sent Jackson & Cassidy to MIL's & went to watch the "1st Grade Round Up". Tucker was so stinking CUTE! The cowboy hats they are wearing were made out of newspaper. Fun, huh?! These aren't the greatest pics, but I was standing up in the back of the room - and lots of parents heads were in the way. (What were they thinking, blocking my photo op? HA!)



After lots of singing and quite a bit of dancing, I'm starting to think I've got the next American Idol right here in my house.

Here's Tucker & his best buddy, Austin. I have a feeling these 2 are gonna be friends for a long, long time. Silly boys!

Backlighting

I love this picture. Lord knows I struggle with backlighting - partially because it's tough to meter properly, partially because I'm stubborn & hate reflectors almost as bad as gray cards & tripods! But I feel like I pulled this off. Maybe it's my mommy goggles. I thought the tilt was too much at first, but now I'm really, really liking it.



Confession - I have NO pictures that I have taken hanging in my home. I'm thinking I might actually print a few. This one tops the list for me.

AND YES, I'm going to print the blue one :) Thanks for all the comments & emails on that, you guys are so funny! Definitely real life! (around here anyway!)

Outtake? Not necessarily!

I can't believe I have totally forgotten to post this.

A little background info: I was bound & determined to get "the perfect shot" of my 3 children for my mom & my MIL for mother's day. Enter blue seamless paper, Bluberi Boulevard for Cassidy, and Blue/White Button-Downs for the boys... it all sounds like a recipe for Blue Perfection. Right? Wrong.

Cassidy refuses to sit anywhere remotely near her brothers - she'd rather sit on the battery operated John Deere tractor. (which, in case you forgot, SOOOO does not go with my blue theme, people) I'm literally about in tears. Tucker's mumbling "when are we gonna be done?" Jackson wants to sit "right here" (visualize him pointing to the exact OPPOSITE spot Mommy indicates to sit) and Cassidy is a runaway Bluberi Boulevard Bandit. Ugh. Sheer, unadulterated madness.

I'm so upset by this point... near tears.... I'm wanting this perfect shot of my children that has eluded me for, well, FOREVER. "I take 100,000 pictures a year, and all I want is ONE of all 3 of my kids, TOGETHER". Boo hoo.

Enter hubby to save the day. He grabs Cass, stands behind the backdrop, and hangs her from her ankles.... "you want a pic of the kids together, SNAP IT!"



HA! Our version of Blue Perfection.

Jason

Meet Jason.... What a cutie pie & oh my goodness, so FULL of energy. I'm loving crazy color on these.



And is it totally wrong that I love this one of him??? I'm sick, I know.

I got the message...

...I think she'd had enough. But it's anybody's guess.

More feeble baseball attempts...

I hope I don't run off my 2 blog readers with all these bad sports pictures. I get points for trying something new, right? :o)

I love watching Tucker get up to bat... he gets up to the plate, so determined & focused. This is the first year he is hitting off a pitching machine, but he's doing pretty good! He hits this stance just as soon as he gets to the plate. It doesn't matter if the coach is ready to pitch to him or not, he's PREPARED! :o) Daddy must have drilled that in his head.


Sometimes that focus pays off with a hit....


And sometimes it doesn't. My heart just drops when he strikes out. You see, Tucker is so much like me - I've always been a perfectionist and tend to beat myself up over the silliest things. I always worry that after he strikes out, he's going to be disappointed - as soon as he's within my sight, I'm studying his face as he pulls the helmet off. He will just shrug his shoulders & smile. I just love that kid to pieces. He's so stinking smart - I hope he never sweats the small stuff. :o)

I've decided that some people just make sports photography look easy. (Ahem, EMu.) It's so not.

I'm determined to keep trying new & different things, no matter how bad it looks in the beginning. So here's a couple that I liked... I will post some action shots later if I find any I like. :)

Meet Cade. He likes to rattle the dugout cage. So mischevious, that one. :)


These were all piled up in the back of Eric's truck. He thinks I've lost my mind when I start shooting a pile of baseballs. That's okay - some people just don't understand my love for photography. :P

The Hot New Party Accessories

Who knew my loot bags at Jackson's birthday party would be such a hit? :o) The kids loved the Bubba teeth & holographic glasses. I've been so partial to black & white lately - but I couldn't help myself, this calls for lots of color!

Okay, okay.... I can post both, right? Right.


Funny thing happened on the way to the party - Tucker & Jackson decided to raid the loot bags a bit early. The little robbers were chewing their looted gum & decided it would look nice in their hair.

Daddy: "Now we're gonna have to go home & shave your head after the party. You're gonna be bald!"
Tucker: "NOOOOO! I don't wanna be bald!"
Daddy: "Well, too bad. That's what happens when you get gum in your hair."
Tucker (looking terrified): "Daddy..... is that what happened to Nick?"

Hee hee. Uncle Nick shaves his head. :o) We got such a kick out of that. Probably not funny to the general public but I wanted to blog it so I'd remember. :o)