August 26, 2008

10 on Tuesday: Snapshot Edition

For a long time I got caught up on always taking a correct photograph, even just of my kids, hanging around the house or whatever.  Thankfully, over time, I've gotten over it.  I actually take a ton of snapshots.  I shoot a ton and while a lot of them land in a file called "proof once my children are older, out of the house and I'm bored in my empty nest", I do proof some and print some, but I barely ever share them so I thought it would be fun to share a few on a 10 on Tuesday post...

1.  Little T, swinging at the park this morning.  No more baby swings, she's all about that big kid swing.  Right after this we blew lots and lots of bubbles....it was fun.

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2.  Ty, on his way out the door on the first day of school.  His bus leaves at the crack of dawn, so it was still dark.

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3.  This one is for my mom....she bought this for Taryn for her birthday and wanted to see what it looks like all hung up in her room....so here ya go Gee Gee....

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4.  Our Taryn's dog Kylie.  Follows Taryn everywhere.  All.the.time.  When Taryn is outside with me or Jase, Kylie sits by the door and waits for her to come back in.  When Kylie hears her voice getting close, she starts to spin around in circles like a big 70 lb tornado dog.  This is Kylie's signature loving head tilt...

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5.  Jase installing our new storm door, and T painting the front walk while he works.  I love the new door, lets in tons of light.

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6.  Just one of many reasons Little Dude loves hanging out in Taryn's room...

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7.  Jason helping Teagan learn how to sit.  Love my boys.

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8.  I can do it, I can do it, by myself.  I hear this 1,008,632 times per day.  Damn that Barney.

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9.  Little dude now loves sitting up his crib.  It cracks me up to walk by his room and see nothing more than his cute little mohawk and eyes peeking over the edge looking out at me!

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10.  One of our prizes from winning the bump contest on the nest.  Still don't know what we are doing about Jamaica.  Its been a little frustrating trying to figure it all out, while we'd love for the whole family to go on the trip, we just can't justify putting ourselves in debt over it.  Figuring out who is going to go, well, that's been a pretty constant debate.   We also haven't had much luck in dealing with the marketing company handling the trip for their client (the resort)....she is nice as can be but replies to us without really saying anything or answering our questions even though she uses a lot of words.  Kind of politicianesque LOL!  So, for now, it's still all up in the air.  Love, love, love the gift basket though!  I also heard from the Bump magazine last week, they needed to confirm the spelling of our names.  Good thing they called cause boy do we have some doozies!  The publication will be released this fall, can't wait!

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Thanks for stopping in!  =)

August 21, 2008

when squash attacks

I usually just rinse him off after lunch, but the squash attacked and he needed a quick bath. He was so funny, he tried to dive over to the other side and attack a few dishes from lunch :)

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August 20, 2008

yo blog lurkers

you guys are rocking the comments for 10 on Tuesday!!  I'm so excited so many people came out of lurkdom to comment!!  I'm loving all the advice on cloth diapering and put the bug in Jason's ear about it.  I must also say it totally makes me giggle to hear my mother-in-law talk about my husband's baby hiney!!  Yeah, if you didn't read the comments to the post below before, I bet you'll click on it now!  HAHA!  Seriously though, thanks for all the great ideas and advice (please keep them coming!). 

All these new comments and lurkers coming out of hiding makes me wonder who has been with us the longest here on the blog.  Does anyone remember my blogger days, or even further back, my old old old blog on .mac?  Yeah, you'd be a real old timer then!

While I'm here, check out Teagan, yet another image for the crib series...big boy sittin up in his crib, peeking over the edge...funny face and all.

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I need to stop proofing images of him at night, it makes me wonna go wake him up!

August 19, 2008

10 on Tuesday

1.  Went to visit the school this morning for Taryn, went good.  Clean, well organized, great teachers, very positive experience.  Taryn did ok.  She was shy, wanted me to hold her and hid behind me a few times, but she did ask the teacher if she could see the potty.  She was thrilled they had no only one, but two!  And each came with a step stool, something else she was worried about.  She was fine while we were there but got quite upset on the way home saying she didn't want me to leave her there alone.  So hard.  We can do this right?  I'll try and focus on getting her a new backpack, a new lunch box and she needs her own water bottle, of course, she wants that to be pink too.

Thank you for all the warm well wishes, your stories and your comments / emails, they mean the world to me!  I have the best blog readers!!!!

2.  Little dude, hanging out in Taryn's room yesterday afternoon.  He gets so excited being in there, so much to scoot around and get in to.  I just love his funny little face, mohawk, drool....him.

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3.  I bargained with Ty yesterday.  I got to take a few pics of him and if he cooperated, I agreed to take a photo him in his new skull sweatshirt hoodie (insert me rolling my eyes here, all while being a good sport).

His end of the bargain:

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And my end of the bargain (hey - I never said I would crop out the skull!!):

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4.  An out take....normally I wouldn't process one with his eyes closed like this but holy moly look at those lashes!!!  Why oh why don't I have lashes like that?!  Soooo unfair.  The worst part is, he hates them, tells me he wants to cut them!  He better not.  So long we even have to have his lenses curved on his glasses so they don't hit.  Totally unfair.

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5.  Thank you blog readers for all your advice on Teagan hating his carseat.  We made the big switch and now we're wishing we would have done it much sooner.  We opted to buy Taryn a new larger seat and move Teagan into her Britax Roundabout.  He's now upright and happy, no more screaming in the car, happily looks out his window and plays....totally different kid, it's crazy.  Taryn got a new Graco Nautilaus and she hated it for awhile because it really ticked her off she couldn't get out of it.  She still slides the bar up and down, which drives me crazy, but at least she can't get out of the seat.  That was another issue we were having, her constantly taking her straps off.  But, the larger seat and the cupholders have won her over with the new one.  She's still griping about it some, but the crying has stopped for the most part.  It's comfy for naps too.

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6.  Last night, first night in the ducky tub.  Yeah, he's got carrots all over his face and an icky color cast on him, but you would too if you were sitting inside a big yellow duck!  Taryn was less than thrilled to pass it on, it was her favorite until she literally couldn't sit in it anymore because she was just too big.

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7.  Teagan has had nonstop diaper rash since he outgrew Swaddlers.  I'm seriously considering switching to cloth diapers.  I need to convince my cute husband though.  Our deal is that he does laundry, I do dishes, so he's gotta be on board...I just feel so bad for Teagan's tush.  Oh yeah, and the effect that disposables has on our environment =)  Anyone have any great cloth diapering resources that can help me build my case??

8.Playing peek-a-boo with mommy...

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9.  We're having even more family photos taken next month, can't wait!  I've been trying to come up with some fun clothes for the kids to wear.

A few ideas for Teagan, I bought it too!  He's gonna look like such a cute little man =)

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Here is what I bought for Taryn, I went with the brown shoes...

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I'm still working on Ty...as you can probably guess, he's a bit tougher.  If he doesn't actually like what he's wearing, it'll show.  We must come to an agreement we can both live with.  Wish us luck, we have a few weeks to figure it out.  Jase and I will go fairly simple, so we're easy.  It sure was fun shopping for such cute stuff for the kids though!  Anyone got any great ideas or links for "cool" clothes for pre-teens???

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10.  Be sure to stop by tomorrow to check out a new book sample I just ordered for the business - cute stuff and I'll share some pics!

August 18, 2008

the most wonderful time of the year

It's that time of year again.....this is my all time favorite!

Ty and I took off for the afternoon to hit the mall and shop for school clothes.  We totally took advantage of the tax free weekend and all the back to school sales.  I was bound and determined to make it as painless as possible because Ty is in that awkward age where friends and clothes are becoming very important.  While we don't always agree on clothing choices, I was careful to let him choose his clothing (within reason) and purchase things he was comfortable in and he thought were 'cool'.  I even smiled when he chose a hoodie with a skull on it.  And anyone who knows me can tell you that when it comes to stuff like skulls on clothing, that I was being a very good sport!!  ha!  Gosh it was easier in Louisiana because he wore a uniform, I wish they would institute that here.  It would make my life so much easier and avoid the "what are you going to wear tomorrow" and the "oh uh-hu, you're not wearing that" battle at our house.  Anyway, we had a good time, until we couldn't find pants that fit him.  I had to face reality....I'm having a really, really hard time with the fact that my baby now shops in the men's department.  No more boys department.  How can that be?!?  I'm not coping well.  Guess I should have seen it coming, he's almost as tall as I am.  Seems like just yesterday he was tiny in my arms, just like Teagan.  Sigh....times are a changin'.

Speaking of change, tonight was Teagan's last night in the sink bath tub.  He's totally outgrown it, bustin at the seems, splashing and ready to move on to the ducky tub.  I had to take a few shots of him tonight...the end of an era...

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My boys....remember this?  They still cuddle after bath each night, I love this time that they share.   Cuddlebugs...

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They grow and change way too fast than could possibly be good for this momma's heart.

August 15, 2008

forgot to post this one...

gosh I love him

Must take more photos of him this month, he's getting ready to take off soon, crawling is just around the corner.  He already scoots all over the place and has been really close to getting those knees up.  My days of a captive subject are limited....sigh

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August 14, 2008

still kickin

Thank you all for all your well wishes, comments and concerned emails, I appreciate it.  Yesterday morning when I got up I still wasn't feeling 'right'.  My doctor decided he wanted to do an EKG just to ensure there wasn't any heart damage.  Thankfully everything came back clear and it looks like it will just take me a few days to shake the joint pain, burning sensations and an overall fried feeling.  I was reminded how lucky I am to be alive, much less walk away without serious injury.  I still can't believe it happened, but I can promise you it's a sensation I'll never forget.

I think what sticks with me the most is that I was home alone with the kids.  Tyler could have seen his mom electrocuted, and that thought breaks my heart.  I'm so, so thankful, he wasn't faced with that.  He knows what to do in case of an emergency, but you never want to have to find out.  My worst fear is that something will happen to me when I'm home alone with the kids.  Especially if Ty were in school and it was just me and the two little ones.  Ahhhh, you can tell this has set my mind reeling with all the 'what if's'.  I've been hugging the kids and Jase a little harder and Ty has certainly been more needy and clingy, having a full understanding of what happened.

On a lighter note, my friend Alli was convinced I'd wake up with some variation of super power yesterday morning, and, that she was destined to be my sidekick!  I half expected her on my door step by breakfast!  We spent quite a while discussing this and I told her that I'd planned to only use my powers for evil.  Little does she know that I woke up with long distance x-ray vision and can see what she's doing right now, even a few blocks away!  BWAHAHAHAHAHA.  LOL!  Hey, maybe T will let me borrow her cape?!  Thanks Alli for making me laugh through all this, it's exactly what I needed!

And because I feel like I can't post without a pic.....here is little dude, chillin in the Bumbo.....

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Have a great day!

August 12, 2008

shocked

I got shocked by lightning today.  I am so thankful to be alive tonight. The odds of this kind of thing happening are next to none, only about 20 times a year, fluke kind of thing. Leave it to me.

It was storming outside and I had Ty turn on the weather channel so we could watch the storm approaching. It was a bad line coming our way. I normally would have been wearing Teagan that time of day, but Ty asked if I could put him down on the floor with him so he could play. Thank God I did. Since Taryn was napping and Ty and Teagan were playing, I decided to go into the kitchen and wash out some bottles. I was talking to Ty over the kitchen counter (it looks into the living room where they were). I had my hands on the metal edge of the sink and the water was running, plus the dish washer next to me was on. Lightning struck, it was very loud and very bright right outside our living room window. I immediately screamed out in pain and shock. I felt it enter my hands, travel up through my arms, down my body and hit my heels hard. I was barefoot on the tile. I don't know if it was 5 seconds or longer, I kind of lost all my senses but thankfully didn't go unconscious. I jumped away from the sink as soon as I could force my body to and my arms were just straight out, I couldn't put them down. My entire body hurt and tingled and all the hair on my arms was standing straight up. I was in shock but I snapped to when I heard Teagan crying, I asked Ty if he was ok, was Teagan ok, did he feel anything, not sure if it was just me or not since the baby was crying. They were both fine, didn't feel anything and we checked on Taryn. I'm so glad Ty was home, he's usually playing in the afternoon during nap time instead of hanging out with me and Teagan. I was so scared and called Jason right away. Thankfully, I'm ok, I have a headache, all my joints hurt and my hands and heels still feel like they are on fire.

It hurts to even walk on my heels and the hands hurt. My joints are the worst, my armpits and the bottom of my torso. Once it hit my waist it shot out and down really fast through my legs, but from my hands to my waist it was like slow motion to me. When it hit my heels it felt like it was going to travel back up, but it didn't, it just felt like it burned the hell out of my heels. They are red but not open wounds. Thank god it was me and not Ty, his smaller body may not have handled the voltage as well as mine.  Or what if I had been wearing Teagan as usual?  That thought scares the crap out of me.  It really scared Ty.  Everything just feels really "fuzzy".....I feel kind of fried, I'm not sure how else to describe it.

I mean, I knew not to sit on the phone or a laptop during a storm like that, especially next to a window, but not washing dishes in the middle of your house, I learned that lesson the hard way.

What a crazy day.

August 11, 2008

6 months

Already.

Remember this?  And this?

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How's that for some belly for you mom?  ;)  Little dude has got some new ankle rolls....see em? 

I get the urge to wake him up at night sometimes, I miss his little sweet face so much.  He's so excited to see us every morning, all happy and chubby and snuggly and drooly.   I could just cuddle him all day.  He makes us all smile, and coo, and quack like a duck, a million times a day, cause he loves it.  He rolls and scoots all over the place, on the move.  He laughs at the simple site of his sister walking by and she always stops to tell him how cute he is.  He  grabs on to Ty's nose with a giggle every time it's within reach, and then laughs before he even reacts cause he knows what's coming.  He's a veggie lover and a distractable nurser.  He's a binky boy, and a blankie boy, and a momma's boy.  His half birthday fills this momma with sadness, because its going by too fast.  But I'm thankful to have savored every moment I can, even the tough ones.  And I'm in love with how much fun he is, happy and healthy.  Lovin life....

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August 09, 2008

sneak peek

my mom has been asking for a shot of little dude's belly chub

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heehee...probably not what you had in mind huh mom?  :P

see the eyebrow scowl?  it's the grass, he didn't balk at it, he just scowled the whole time.  his daddy dressed him today, i think he looks so cute in his "little man shirt", as my friend alli calls it!

August 06, 2008

bless you

ahh

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ahhhhhhh

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CHOO!

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TEE-HEE!

As you can tell, it doesn't take much to amuse me these days.  His face in the first shot cracks me up.  Oh sweet baby, how I love you.

If you are curious about why my baby is wearing a Christmas hat, in Texas, in the dead of summer, check out the post below!  The mini sessions are going fast - book today!

ANNOUNCEMENT: AUSTIN HOLIDAY MINI SESSIONS

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((click image above to enlarge))

It may seem early, but my schedule is filling up quick.  I decided to do a few holiday mini sessions this year at a drastically reduced price!  Be the envy of all your friends with the cutest Christmas photos around and don't forget photos make great gifts for grandparents!  For only $250 (the normal price for just the sitting fee) you'll get a complete mini plus all kinds of goodies, including holiday cards!  Book early, they are sure to go quick!!

Oh, and yes I realize it's slightly ridiculous to have this poor baby in a santa hat when it's 103 degrees outside in August...but he doesn't care, little dude is just happy to be here.  So there :P  Check back tomorrow for a few outtakes of him in his santa hat, it won't disappoint, I promise!

August 03, 2008

I've been a bad blogger...

here lately.  Not normally like me, I love blogging and relish the 10-15 minutes a day it takes.  It's my time, just for me, and I love having it.  But, me time hasn't been abundant.  Jase was out of town for a few days while his dad had surgery.  My father-in-law is doing good, so good, they let him go home already.  We are so thankful and pray the biopsy comes back clear.  Then as soon as Jase got home from Corpus, we had to gear up for Taryn's 3rd birthday party the next day.  We're in birthday party overload.  Somehow it happened that our little 3 year old ended up having 3 parties.  Not intentionally, it just kind of happened that way.  Prepare yourself for birthday party pics overload this week....we had A LOT of fun!  And then somewhere in the middle of all that, I managed to hurt my back.  It was a little sore yesterday during Taryn's party, but today, it's full on pain.  I think I did it while lifting Taryn...ouch!

I meant to post this last week and just didn't get to it.  I am doing a series of images of Teagan in his crib over the first year....man what a difference a few months makes!

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Stay tuned for lots of birthday pics tomorrow!

July 29, 2008

mmmmmmm, pears

Ever had one of those days where every.single.thing was a struggle?  Today was one of those.  Just a frustrating day, kids running a-muck, too many things on my plate.  But it's now 9:37 pm and all I hear is the sweet sound of kiddos tucked into their beds, sweet joy!!  Come on ya'll....I'm not the only one right??

Thankfully, Ty's arm is much better today!

And Emily, "y'all" comes from Louisiana too  ;)  I've been saying "y'all" and "fixin to" for a good 20 years now!

My little dude.   Mmmmmmmm, pears are good.  Eating with the little dude is a full body experience, check out the pears between the toes!

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(pardon the wacky color - used my speedlight and chandelier lighting - ick)

10 on Tuesday

1.  Tyler, oh Tyler.  Yesterday while riding home from his buddy Kayleigh's house, he misjudged (again) our driveway while going too fast on his bike.  The damage was two fold, thankfully Ty is fine as far as we know, he goes in to have his arm x-rayed later today.  It's so hard to know what is a serious injury with this child.  He has hypochondriac tendencies.  Seriously y'all, the child once iced a mosquito bite.  I'm not makin' that up either!  Every little thing is major.  If you ask him on a scale of 1 to 10 how much something hurts, it's always a 9, always.  After talking with the nurse yesterday, we decided the x-ray could wait until today because he didn't appear to be in major pain, had minimal swelling, etc.  Hopefully it's not fractured.  I did go purchase him a sling for his arm and oh, good lord, did it feed the fire.  He was like a kid in the candy store buying that darn thing, it validated his injury and he was just darn giddy.  Everything tonight revolved around his cast, er, uhm, I mean, sling.  Not to minimize his pain or injury, but if y'all only knew what we go through with him.  Every night it's something, usually at chore time or bed time.  Mom, look at this scratch, Mom, do you see this red mark, Mom, my neck hurts, Mom, I think one of my legs is shorter than the other.  Good grief.  I'm sure my mom is going to chime in here and tell you I was the same way as a child, including a somewhat warped version of a story about a 2 hour bath to remove a band-aid when I was his age, but that's a story for another day, just know that Ty comes by it honestly.

My SUV on the other hand, did suffer a break, actually two. 

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2.  Taryn has a new imaginary friend, Sparky the dog.  Sparky is pink and sooo much fun.  Taryn leads her around on a leash all day long.  Her little 3 year old imagination is exploding.  Reminded me of Ty's imaginary friend named "Chris" (after my step-brother) when he was about 3.  Chris lived under my bed and was constantly bringing home new "babies" for me to take care of.  Chris was needy, and hungry, and thirsty.  Funny that when we moved, Chris and his ump-tine babies stayed behind.  I was kinda thankful, they were high maintenance. 

3.  Since we're taking a trip down memory lane....when Ty was 3 he had several pets.  A fish he named "fish stick" and a hermit crab named "flap jack".  Funny kid, he came up with those all on his own and it still cracks me up 8 years later.  Confession, he actually had 4 or 5 gold fish cause they kept dying.  My theory is that once they heard their name they instantly had little fishy heart attacks and went belly up.  Just a theory, I have no proof.

4.  Taryn was so cute on our way to the movies the other day for our girls day out.  She was convinced that all the cars on the road were going to see Wall-E too and they were racing us there.  Then out of nowhere she tells me she wishes her "best friend kylie could go to the movies" with her too.  Kylie, is our dog.  Correction, Kylie is her dog.  Formerly Jason's dog before we got married.  Formerly the family dog.  Now "her dog".  Mommy, my dog is hungry.  Mommy, I'm going to let my dog out.  I love my dog.  Jase messes with her all the time and claims ownership, but Little T lays down the law.  Kylie is HER dog.  The appearance of Sparky has not changed her love for Kylie one tiny little bit, they co-exist, but according to T, they don't play together.

5.  For Ty, this has been the summer of new friends, riding his bike, playing outside, light sabers, legos and nerf.  But this will also be the summer that his mom taught him how to cook.  Back story, before school let out, one night at the dinner table, he sweetly asked me if I would write down the recipe for him so he could "give it to his wife to make for him when he gets married"....sounds sweet on the surface right?  But when I stopped to think about it, that's not the kind of man I'm raising.  I want him to be thoughtful, intentional, honest, kind and self-sufficient.  My goal is to teach him how to cook it for her!  So, that's what we've done this summer, I started to teach him how to cook.  Everything from simple stuff like scrambling eggs, making mac-n-cheese, grilled cheese to homemade meatballs, my lasagna and so much more.  And he's good at it too.  Ok, so sugar and flour sometimes look alike and he gets a little mixed up.  He loves it and I've loved too.  It's been fun and I'll admit it's been nice having someone else in the kitchen that isn't limited to stirring with big spoons while perched on a step stool.  He even prepares lunch sometimes totally on his own.     T's convinced he makes the best grilled cheese evvvvvvver.

6.  Good luck to my mom and step-dad who close on their construction loan today for their new beach house!  I'm very excited for them and cannot wait to see the end result!  I'd link her new blog but she'd physically reach through the internet and cyber smack me, so I won't.  When we went to the beach with them earlier this month we got to go visit their lot and do a ceremonial ground breaking...

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Larry has a spinal cord injury due to an on the job accident 10 years ago.  He and my mom are building a new house that will be handicap accessible and much more functional for them, unlike their present home.  Its a house with a purpose that will change their lives for the better.

7.  I cried yesterday standing in Teagan's closet.  I had to remove some of his 0-3 month clothing because I literally couldn't fit one single thing that actually fits him until I did.   Sad.  My baby is getting big too fast.  Correction, my last baby is getting big too fast.  I'm mourning that baby stage and it physically hurts me to know that each day that passes, I'll never have a baby that small in my house, in my arms, again.  It's sad but he's also so much fun now.  He loves it when anyone quacks like a duck, kisses his belly or just even looks in his direction.  He's becoming quickly addicted to his sister's antics and she's addicted to his right back.  He snuggles with intention now,  he looks up at me with those big blue eyes and lays his sweet little head on my chest, complete with a big, drooly smile, melts my heart every time.  Oh, and when he's tired, his cheeks hang low...

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8.  Thank you to those who posted advice about Teagan hating the car so much.  I'm following your suggestions and purchased a new carseat for Taryn and moving Teagan into the Britax Roundabout.  Poor kids getting a hand me down, but it made more sense to move T to a bigger chair (we bought the Graco Nautilus) and give him hers.  Crossing my fingers it works!

9.  And a product rave from me.  I bought an Itzbeen and just love it.  Perfect gift for a new mom, I bought mine at Target some time ago.  What I love about mine is that it lights up, great for night time feedings and diaper changes.  It times everything from how long baby has slept, to diaper changes, to feedings, and more, plus if you are nursing there is a toggle switch to keep track of what side you last fed on.  It was especially helpful when I was having supply problems with nursing.  I'm horrible at keeping track of how long Teagan nursed, so this really helped me.  Pretty cool.  Someone out there is thinkin.

10.  hehehe....this makes me giggle.  Aren't 3 year olds fun?!

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July 26, 2008

it's only girls, and not the boys

Taryn asked me yesterday if I would bring her to see Wall-E so today we are taking off, just us girls, no boys.  They have to stay home, causing us to do a little booty dance and sing "its only girls and not the boys".  I haven't been to the movies in probably 7 or 8 months...so yeah, I'm a little excited!

Since I can't post without a pic, check him out...love his chubby baby neck...

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I may have to do "10 on {insert day here]" every day next week if I am ever going to catch up on blogging!

July 22, 2008

10 on Tuesday

1.  I dedicated myself to going through my massive email inbox Monday night.  It was baaaaad thanks to all the vacationing we've been doing.  1432 messages down to 405, not bad.  So if you receive a random reply to a message from me, that's what it's all about ;)

2.  T's birthday was nice.  Relaxing, quiet and nice.  We didn't even leave the house and it was just perfect after the weekend we had.  I can tell you this, the first time we sung Happy Birthday this morning over donuts, she hid under the table in fear.  By the end of the night, she was begging us to relight the candles and sing to her over and over again.  Funny girl.  I took pics, but they are at the end of a very long list of things that need to be proofed.  I'll catch up someday, she might be 33, but someday.

3. Random snapshot of Riley, one of our kids many cousins.  He made the trip to the beach with us and as a result got tortured with my camera just like the rest of the kiddos.  That's the price you pay for going on vacation with us dude...

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4.  Thankfully, Alli is still speaking to me after I linked her blog here.  I bet she got a ton of hits over there, bwahahaha.  If you check out her blog, you'll see we aren't the only ones recovering from the Shamoo trip from hell.  Poor thing lost her camera.  It's time to learn to use that DSLR girl, this is a sign and I'm just the person to help ya!  Thanks for coming by for T's birthday today, it was great to catch up and watch the girls play sans the evil Shamoo.

5.  This shot brings tears to my eyes.  I love it that much.  We got to see Jason's brother, parents and grandparents in San Marcos last weekend.  Jason's grandmother was holding Teagan and his Grandfather walked up behind her and started to play with Teagan's hands.  He does this all the time and I just love it.  I'm so thankful to have captured it.  His grandparents are such amazing people and we are so thankful they get to be a part of our children's lives. 

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6.  Little T fending off the paparazzi at the beach...

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7.  Ty has been avoiding the camera...but I managed to corner him a few times recently.  Love this one, some different processing for me and I'm not digging the crop, but it's my boys and I love em, so here ya go...

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8.  I don't think I ever shared this on the blog, this is a display of gallery wraps my mom has in her house.  It's at the bottom of the stairs and I just love it.  Old photos, look how little Taryn is, but I love the grouping, sorry the color is a little wonky since it's pics of pics in a hallway, but you get the idea.  I love the way my mom displays memories.  She has photos everywhere, big and small, snapshots and portraits.  Memories everywhere, they just surround you like a big hug, wedding photos, birthdays, snapshots of anything and everything, walking through her house is like meeting an old friend around every corner, tucked in on shelves and everywhere in between.  I love that.

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9.  Check back tomorrow for a post about the cute little one year old triplets I photographed at the Slidell mini sessions.  Oh, and some business news and specials I'm running!

10.  I saved the best for last.  My wonderful step-brother and his beautiful wife Dana.  I had to twist (and pull) their arms to get them to let me do this, I think I even used it being my birthday to convince them.  Pretty low, but hey, it worked.  I even had my mom hold them hostage while I ran to get a new memory card midway through because I knew they would attempt to escape with the diversion.

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You two are wonderful and beautiful in so many ways, your marriage and love for one another, your love for your children.  We miss you.  8 years is way to long to not be in front of the camera together...thanks for humoring me!

Until tomorrow...

July 20, 2008

worst vacation ever

I am so glad to be home.  Our little over night excursion to San Antonio was stressful and just plain miserable.  I don't know what happened, but my sweet girl was just plain difficult.  Actually, the word difficult doesn't do it justice.  I'd say possessed but you guys might think I'm a horrible mother.  But in all honesty, that's the adjective that first pops into my mind.  Awful, just awful.  Dinner with Alli, Mike and Lily would have been nice if I could have participated, but Teagan decided to scream through dinner....which I'm sad about cause I heard Lily used tortillas as a frisby....dang it, I miss all the good stuff!!  Seaworld was miserable, waaaay too many people, even at night.   It was so bad, we decided to not return this morning, instead we were armed with a plan to hit the Riverwalk and the children's museum.  But after an hour of Taryn's horrid behavior, we just couldn't face it, so we came home.  It was bad y'all.  I just kept praying in the back of my mind, please let her get sick and not let this be a "turning 3 thing".  Is my kid the only one who gets really mean right before she gets sick?!? Yes, I actually hoped my child was getting sick, see, I am a horrible mother.  Between Ty's complaining, Teagan screaming in the car, Taryn constantly unbuckling herself from her carseat and screaming when we made her get back in, the last thing we needed was for Taryn gets a case of the trots.  Nice.  I lost track of how many times we stopped.  Too many.  Karma coming back and biting me in the butt for hoping my child was about to get sick instead of permanently ornery.  Especially when she figured out all she had to do was say she had to go potty to get out of her car seat and then giggle that she tricked us.  Not fun.  Five and a half hour drive that should have taken less than two.  This is the last Stradtner family vacation this summer, that I can promise you.  I told Jase there is no way I'll request a vacation, a road trip, nothing.  I may not even leave the house this week at all come to think of it.

Since y'all had to read through all that miserable non-sense....I do have something cute to share with you.  I left the 5D at home and threw the Nikon D50 in my bag (with the 50 mm 1.8 lens).  Once we got to the hotel, I was sorry I left the 5D behind, our room was ultra modern and cool with amazing light.  I think the rice cereal and bananas are going straight to his cheeks ;)

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ok, this one is far from correct technically, but it's about the moment....look at my big boy sitting up!  I'm in shock, he's only 5 months old and sits up for about 5 or 6 minutes at a time.  He does so good.  Surprising since he's been behind on a lot of milestones since he came early.  Also makes me a little nervous since Ty did this and then walked at 9.5 months, ran by 10 months, climbed out of his crip by 11 month...he was on physical little guy and it was tough.  But, it's fun for photos and he loves his new perspective on the world...

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Ok, I'm off to try and sleep off our horrid getaway and prepare my brain for Little T's birthday tomorrow!!

July 17, 2008

deep down, y'all knew it was coming....

it was inevitable...

here it is...

the time has come...

the oh so predictable...

baby in a basket

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HA!  What I love about this is that his sweet little face is looking up at Ty who was "spotting" for basket tippage.  You can see the love in his eyes can't ya?  I feel the same way about Ty, so I know just how Teagan feels.  Gosh I love them both.

ps - When I was done proofing this photo, I ran the VIBE "Glow" action on it and really like the effect.  Check out Ren's stuff, it rocks!

July 14, 2008

Guess what we did tonight?

Well, this proves it....rice cereal = torture.  We decided to let Ty feed Teagan cereal for the first time (who was thrilled with that idea!).

My poor, sweet, unsuspecting, boobie fed baby...

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A slight glimmer of doubt in his eyes...

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AACCCCCKKKKK!  WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!?!?

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Oh, sweet baby, who held onto your favorite boob forever tonight just to be sure it was still there for you, you are so, so funny.

July 11, 2008

We're Home.

After a wonderful 8 day vacation in Louisiana and Orange Beach, Alabama, we're home.  It was so wonderful to see our family and spend some quality time with everyone.  It was a blast showing off Teagan too.  I took so many photos, and it still doesn't feel like enough.  One thing I learned, it is A LOT harder to travel with 3 kids than it is with 2.  Well, maybe it's my kids, but man, does Teagan hate the car.  Makes it really, really difficult.  But we did it.  And it was still tons of fun.  Now we're home and in our standard "let's all be depressed and start counting the days until the next gee-gee visit" moods.

So that this post isn't a downer, I'll leave you with this until I get to proofing some of the pics from our trip...(including all those fun Slidell mini-sessions, Steph's trash the dress and I even managed to twist the arms of my step-brother and sister-in-law enough to get them in front of the camera together for the first time in years!  go me!).  Thought this might make you smile......

HANDS UP, OR I'LL SHOOT!

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Super T is vicious, and I mean, vicious, with the water hose.  No mercy.  Especially not for her older brother.

ahhhh, I'm off to sleep in my own bed, sweet joy!

July 10, 2008

5 months old today

He's my happy little man...loves peek-a-boo.  He's filled with belly laughs and drooly smiles.  He watches us all, figuring us out with his big, bright blue eyes.  He's constantly chewing on his fingers, usually two, sometimes three.  Rolls over both ways, hates the car and stares at us in envy as we eat real food.   And I'm totally in love with him...

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Going by way, way too fast.


July 08, 2008

trash the dress, stephanie fisher style

I love, love, love working with other photographers.  Nine times out of ten, they are totally up for anything and everything.  I was so psyched that our first thing to do once arriving at the beach was to meet my longtime online buddy Stephanie.  We started this whole photography journey around the same time and it was so fun to finally meet her and her gorgeous little girl in person.  So after a quick dinner, we hit the beach for a quick trash the dress session.  It was Teagan's first time at the beach and he was so chill about it....

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A couple of confessions....first, I love it that my husband is always willing to wear Teagan, even when I only pack the girlie print sling.  By kiddo #3, he's pretty chill too, and such a trooper.  Second, I was pretty nervous about my camera and the sand.  So much so, that I took an absurd number of photos without even looking through the viewfinder trying to protect it from the sand and breaking surf when in the water.  Third, looking at these I'm dying to do a destination wedding. 

On our way down...

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love the bucket for a touch of whimsy - haha!

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For what it's worth, she totally dove in to the surf.  We had a blast!!

July 07, 2008

33 sounds pretty good to me

I had an awesome birthday, thank you for all the well wishes.  First, my wonderful little dude gave me the best birthday gift ever, he slept through the night for the first time!  From 8:30 pm until 5:45 am.....way to go buddy!!  Then I had several mini-sessions and a big family birthday party after that.  My husband even took over camera duty for awhile at the party, how cool is that....I love finding photos on my camera.  A great day!

I promised sneak peeks before I head to the beach for a few days of relaxation.  The Slidell mini-sessions were a huge success, we managed to dodge the rain and it was fun to hang out with some old friends....thank you to everyone who booked one!

First up, little Bradley.  Remember him at 3 months (and here)?  And 6 months (and here)?  I can't believe how much he's grown...could he be any cuter?!?

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Next up, the tripletsThe last time I saw them, they were itty bitty little peanuts.  I can't believe they're a year old already!  I got a bunch of shots of them, but I have to share this one, it cracks me up!  Their mom is brave and decided to let them dive into cupcakes at the end of the session.  They loved em!

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and big sister Hannah with MacKenzie

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Next up, Fletcher.  He's the adorable little boy of Mary with Paper & Ink Studio.  I was so psyched when Mary booked one of the mini-sessions, I finally got to meet her.  I hired her to do some custom work for me awhile back and I'm consistently amazed with her talent.  Is Fletcher seriously cute or what?!

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His parents are pretty cute too!

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last but not least, my little buddy Aiden (click here and here).  I've been photographing him since he was just a tiny little thing too, it was fun to see how much he's grown since we moved and catch up with his parents...

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love the lashes

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Many more of everyone to come...but now I'm off to the beach!!!!



July 01, 2008

My Mommy Is Tired

Just a few more of my funny little dude.
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I bought this little getup to use during our family photoshoot with Michele, but I couldn't resist breaking it out after the last few days of exhaustion.  I got quite a few emails asking where I got the shirt.  I designed it in photoshop and then uploaded the graphic to Cafe Press.  Easy smeeshey.  Jase says he wants one that says "The Daddy is Too".  ;) 

June 30, 2008

Yeah, this pretty much says it all.

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June 20, 2008

the dude


Love his sweet little face. 

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We had our nest baby photo shoot this morning and during the session I figured out why the dude loves eye contact with the camera so much.  I noticed while bing photographed, that I could see our reflection in the lens.  He's just gazing at the cute little mug looking back at him LOL!  I can't blame him one bit, I could gaze at this sweet little face all day long. 

Ty leaves on a plane by himself tonight.  I'm sad.  He's excited.  What in the world am I going to do without him for two entire weeks??

June 13, 2008

Happy Father's Day

Refresh your screen for a little new blog header Father's Day style =)

I've had this idea in my head for awhile and finally cornered my cute husband.  Can I just tell you how much I adore them?!

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Happy Father's day to all those dad's out there!!

June 11, 2008

Four Months Old

Already.

He's my sweet little man.  The drooler, the blower of bubbles, the mohawk sporting, big belly laughing at everyone except Ty, little man.

Piggies are such fascinating little things...

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June 04, 2008

ask me anything

Ok, so I thought I would post this thread, even though it feels a little silly to me.  I get a ton of emails with lots of different questions, everything you can imagine, personal, business, photography related, you name it.  I'm embarrassed to admit that I presently have 499 messages in my inbox (it was 852 until I cleaned some out last night).  I'm even more embarrassed to admit that there are quite a few of those messages with questions that I've not replied to.  I have good intentions, I really do.  I open them and then promise myself I'll go back when I have two free hands (which is kind of rare around here) so that I can quickly type out a long, detailed reply.  Only, I find my long winded replies are few and far between, especially as I find most of my online time happening during the "one handed nurse and surf" as we call it around here. 

Annnnnd, since I've never done a FAQ post here, I thought it would be fun to mix it up a little bit.  Joy asked me in the post below about the vendors I use, so I'll be sure to answer that one, but seriously, ask me anything!  Personal, business, photography related or not....I'm pretty much an open book, so ask away!  And maybe I'll make my way through some of those emails and pull some of those questions and answer those here too.

Oh, my favorite color is green....there, no one has to ask that now ;P  Yeah, I'm sure you guys really wanted to know that!

And because I can't have two posts in a row without a pic....Mr. Teagan, sporting some cuteness....

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Contact Information

Who am I?


  • Hi, I'm Lyndsay Stradtner, wife to my cute husband and best friend, Jason. Mom to Ty, age 10, Taryn, age 2 and Teagan, he's brand new! Follow along as we rebuild our lives after Hurricane Katrina, relocate our family and photography business to Austin, Texas, raise our children, love each other as much as possible and revel in the chaos!

Copyright Notice

  • All images on this site are © Life in Motion Photography. Please do not use any image from this site without written consent.

In my camera bag

  • Canon 5D
    50 mm 1.2 USM L
    24-70 mm 2.8 USM L
    100 mm 2.8 Macro
    Speedlight - 430EX

    Nikon D50
    50 mm 1.8

    And I'm a Mac girl =)

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