Archives for January 2011

Check out these photos. I was able to follow around a couple very talented creatives for a couple of days while they were here in Glens Falls.

Check out Edshoots here and a couple video snips from John Howe’s video’s here. I sure can’t take any credit for the fabulousness of Ed’s photos but I was able to help out and learn some amazing things, oh and I managed not to break any of his equipment, permanently anyways!

Here’s a few shots I took along the way.

The creatives (EdShoots and John Howe) and BYU athletics guys doing their thing.

Jimmer doing his thing!

A few shots of my family enjoying the pick up game in Crandall Park in Glens Falls.

Because I know you are sitting on the edge of your seat to find out how the potty training went I am going to tell you so you don’t fall off your seat. We figured out through trial and error that there were some performance anxieties and she just wasn’t relaxing. (Could explain the lack of pooping for two days. Just maybe.)

We finally let her take her potty chair out of the bathroom. Her and I sat it at the tea party table instead of her regular chair. We had a tea party and she freely peed and pooped in her chair. She loved it and decided to sit on the chair while eating lunch. Promptly after lunch she said, “I want more tea party.” I helped her move her chair back to the tea party table where she sat, peed, and got up. I think “tea party” might be her new code word.

A little more practice to insure the potty becomes a habitual part of life and we should be smooth sailing. *smiling* *whistling* *optimistically skeptical*

I started the week by telling you how I was the potty training bomb. Well whatever. Reality hit. I can’t change a thing so there’s no looking back but I don’t think I will go forward with my, “How to throw the perfect potty party, I’m so amazing posts.” Seems ill-fitting at this point.

What’s not fabulous about this? For a girl (me) that had her first baby while living in Provo and now calls the Glens Falls, NY region home, this is pretty fabulous!

It’s official! I’m coming to Alaska! Photo sessions will be offered in the Matsu Valley from June 16-23. I will be in Seward on July 1-5 and will be offering custom photo sessions there as well. A limited number of sessions will be offered. I would like to accommodate other locations as well but will need to plan that soon so please contact me ASAP. Your session fee is required as a deposit in order to reserve your session in my schedule. As a mostly available light photographer I am sooooo excited to enjoy Alaska’s summer light and to come home for the summer!

So be thinking if you want a photo session for your whole family? Or a siblings shoot of your children? Do you have a baby being born in June? Or a baby turning one for a smash the cake session? Also being offered are High School Senior Sessions for the Class of 2012!

The possibilities are endless and I can’t wait!

I’m coming to Alaska to shoot U! (haha, lol, rotfl, I crack myself up)

And a picture from my Mom because posts without pictures are boring and this bear is sooooo cute!

Ok, so I don’t really believe that EXTREMELY pessimistic view but sometimes it seems that way. Hazel did amazing on Monday and used the potty perfectly before nap. Then she woke up. She had wet her pull-up but that’s ok, not worried about that. We were going to follow Teri Crane’s method and practice using the potty all afternoon. She had one accident an hour after she woke up. I thought that was great because after an accident we could work on getting to the potty. Well 3 1/2 hours later was the next time she did aaaaaannnnyyything! Ok, so I got a little discouraged at the lack of pee. I was pumping her full of liquids. Nothing. We had fun. We played. We celebrated. No pee. No poop.

Yesterday morning comes. Same thing. Pee in the pull-up. No biggy. Not worried about overnight. 4 1/2 hours later and she finally peed! F.O.U.R and a H.A.L.F! How in the world are we supposed to practice and learn how to use the potty if she only pees every 4 1/2 hours??? At that rate we would only have what like one accident a day. Hey, I could live with that. We won’t wear diapers OR be potty trained.

So there’s the story and then Mommy had a very slow epiphany. Can you even have slow epiphany’s? I thought of my little scoocher, the girl who didn’t crawl but just got around on her bum and who didn’t walk until she was 17 months old. Some have said that it’s due to her broken fractured leg at one year. I think it’s more because until then she couldn’t do it perfectly. I think she stumbled once when she started walking and then was practically perfect. I have seen other little kids start walking the minute their feet could hold them up. Hazel would never stand for that. Pun intended.

So how do I let her be perfect at using the potty before she learns to use it? How do I encourage her and help her to understand that mistakes are ok? I don’t yell at her or even get upset when she pees on the floor but tonight she won’t even go to sleep because she is afraid of pooping in her bed but doesn’t want to put a diaper or pull-up on. I think she’s trying to please everyone but is worrying too much. Oh. My. Goodness. I have a girl on my hands.

So today’s tip is a bit unorthodox. Here is my tip. It’s a book. It has nothing to do with photography and everything to do with having a 2 ish year old.

Potty Party. Here’s a quick glimpse. My fairy princess and her tea party. It’s pretty funny how much she loves tea party’s when we don’t even drink it. haha.

Love it!

I used Teri Crane’s Potty Party method for potty training my son and today was the big day for my daughter who is just over 2 1/2.

I learned many things from Scotty’s party that I’ve incorporated into Hazel’s. I’ve taken some pictures because I think it’s pretty funny to see the mess that is my house. My philosophy, better one day a disaster then for 1-2 weeks because then I would lose my sanity!

Teri’s method can be kind of expensive if you buy allll the things she says. I have found several ways to cut down on the cost without cutting corners on the method. I will share some of those along with pictures in the next few days but for now I’m going to rest so I can survive the second half!

Later! Wish me luck!

For the past week or more a friend from high school’s family has been in serious distress. Their youngest child and only son was in a dirt bike accident and he was in critical condition. I found out last night from a text that he did not make it.

My friend is VERY pregnant and was not able to fly out west and be with her family. My heart just hurts for them. They are an amazing family and will pull through this but I just wish I could hug them all. I know he is in a better place. I know that Heavenly Father loves them and has a bigger plan then we can imagine. I am so grateful for eternal families.

As I type, my husband is out fixing our car, my daughter is sleeping, and my son is next to me on the couch. Other family is far away or down the street.  There’s not a whole lot significant happening in our lives at this very moment but all I can keep thinking is to hug my dears a little tighter, call my brother’s a little more often, and take pictures through it all so I always have my perfect memories. Maybe this is a bad plug for photography. I think everyone should hire a professional photographer to capture those moments, but more then anything I love pictures because of the memories they hold and that can be done by anyone with any type of camera.

If nothing else, please take a photo everyday of the one’s you love.

What cute little melting snowmen!

I have an exciting announcement coming. I’m hoping to have details by early next week. Isn’t Friday the best?

Well I think that Glens Falls, NY and the surrounding area have received our fair share of snow this January! I’m loving the snow if it would just stay in the 25-35 degree range. Much colder then that and you can’t get out to enjoy the snow as easily. It’s a little funny that I would say this as I once lived in a place that was known to get below 40 below zero. Yes. I did say BELOW 40 BELOW zero.

Here’s a fabulous day for you, a two hour delay for Hudson Falls school, my son home for the day since morning pre-k was cancelled and now off to the story and library with my beautiful babies!

Here’s some more fabulousness for your viewing pleasure!

My dad has the most contagious smile. I’ll never forget the time we went white water rafting and they take a picture along the route like they do on an amusement park ride. My dad had the biggest, best smile! I think these pictures are the essence of what I want to remember from my Christmas!

Snow day! Woohoo!! Last week there was a snow day and we had to drive to Albany for Scotty to have a procedure done. Today is a snow day and I have to go to the hospital for a test (nothing big). At least it is at the Glens Falls hospital. We have bad luck with snow days I’ve decided.

One of the things I love the most about shooting (taking photos) in the snow is the reflections. Snow is bright and has an amazing reflective quality. Find places that reflect when you are out playing with your kids. These earmuffs are a great example. Also, the side of a vehicle that’s clean is a great and easy one to find. Happy reflections!

I’ve posted a couple of these photos before. Yesterday I was speaking with a business associate. He said to me that he is always trying to find a way for me to photograph his family. He has taken to heart “lifestyle” photography and really wants me to photograph his family doing something together. He said, “You’d have to come and hike a mountain with us because that’s what we do.” I said, “Okay!”

I love to tell stories. I’m posting the following series of photos to illustrate the beginning of a story I told for my family. The other half of the story is the photos from when we decorated it as well as Scotty’s birthday tree. You can check out the slideshow of all the photos here.

If you are wondering what this man was, “What would our family do for a photo session,” then here is one idea. As it’s not tree hunting season anymore some other ideas would be building a snowman and having a snowball fight, or decorating Valentine’s Day cookies, or making your favorite logo’s airplanes. The ideas are limitless. The most important thing is that it should be true to who your family is!

What tells your family’s story?