Did I really just win?!

Wow...I can't believe my photo was voted the winner. I have always loved to photograph my boys, but it wasn't until four months ago that I made the leap to do this professionally. (Which is why I don't have a website or blog for my photography work...only a Facebook page.)

Thank you Click It Up A Notch for helping me grow in photography and inspiring me to do better work. And thank you to my friend, Amanda Lassiter, for introducing me to this wonderful blog and encouraging me to be brave enough to enter a photo.

For those of you that are viewing my blog from Click It Up A Notch, I am truly embarrassed that I haven't been keeping it up to date. This is my blog of my kiddos (feel free to check it out if you want), but come back soon and hopefully I will have something for my photos up and running soon. Until then, swing on by CMD Photography on Facebook.  

Thank you again!!!

Colt is 5 Months

It's been months since I have posted and lots has gone on. I've gone back to work, I've started a photography business, Colt started rolling over and even took his first bites. Wyatt turned four and Colt is now almost 6 months old. Wow is time flying.

Well, to document Colt's 5 month occasion (Aug 9th), I captured this beautiful image of him and Daddy. It depicts his personality to a tee. Not only do I love this photo, it has easily become the most favorite photo I have ever taken. So much so, I have decided to enter this image into the Click It Up A Notch August Photo contest. Wish me luck!

So here's to another month of (hopefully) great photography. 

My Superhero

My sassy 3 1/2 year old has become infatuated with superheros this past couple months, so we have embraced it. So much so, it will be the theme of his birthday party this August. (Yes, I know it's still 3 months away, but this mama has had fun brainstorming ideas while on maternity leave.)

Last night, Mimi found a very special surprise for Wy-man. A retro Superman shirt with detachable cape. How fun is that? (Thank you Gap!) Wy-man couldn't wait to wear it this morning to show all his friends at daycare.

The beauty of maternity leave is that I have extra time in the morning for cuddles and photo shoots. ;-) So today we took 10 minutes to have fun in the front yard before leaving. And this was one photo session that Wy-man was ecstatic to participate in.

He couldn't wait to show me his super powers and how he could "fly." Man I just love watching his imagination at work.

Thank you Mimi for making Wy-man's day. I can't wait to capture photos in his Spiderman shirt too.

The Baptism

 "We prayed for this child and the Lord has granted us what we asked of him." - 1 Samuel 1:27

*****

Colt's baptism was such a special day for us! Finalizing the date was a last minute decision since we weren't sure when he would be born. I had created this very special baptism invitation while on bedrest and was just waiting to fill in the date. Once he arrived, we had to move quickly!

It worked out perfectly that my sister and her family would be in town since they would be Colt's Godparents. (They planned to be in town the weekend of the 25th since my original c-section date was scheduled for March 22...but since Colt came on the 9th, we decided to have him baptized rather than waiting until they were able to make their next trip to town.)

Of course the baptism didn't work out the exact way I had planned (Wy-man refused to wear his adorable linen jacket that matched his khaki pants AND he was eating Cheez-its at the front of the church), but it was perfect in my book. It was the action we were taking in front of our family, and more importantly our Savior, that mattered.  

Colt was a champ as Pastor Aaron craddled him in his arms...

 ...and blessed his innocent little head with the holy water.

*****

It was a magical morning and we couldn't have been more happy to have family in town to witness the event.

Nana and Papa from Wichita were able to make it to help us celebrate.

We even tried to get a nice family of four photo taken since we were all dressed up...but of course Wy-man wasn't interested in cooperating. But an "okay" photo none the less.

After church we headed back to my parent's house for a yummy brunch in honor of Colt. I must give a big shout out to my wonderful mother for hosting us all!

I had the brilliant idea to take more photos, which of course Wy-man still wasn't having. But, we still had to document the special occasion - his ornery-ness and all.

Of course I had to take photos of Colt with his wonderful Godparents. He is lucky to have an aunt and uncle that love him so much, and that were willing to take on this responsibility for both him and Wy-man.

And since Wy-man didn't want to take photos, Mike and I took photos of the family without him. ;)

Mimi and Papa even took the opportunity to snuggle our little man...I mean, who wouldn't?

Great Grandad Mick was able to be there as well.

We even attempted a large group photo and believe it or not, it turned out great!! (This was the ONLY photo Wy-man behaved for ALL morning!)

Heidi and Kelby Krabbenhoft (long time friends of the family) came over for the occasion as well. It meant the world to us to have friends take part in this special day.

My mom made such a wonderful spread of food (we were missing the egg bake in this photo)! We even had a champagne cake that was SO scrumptious.

After everyone had eaten I snapped a few photos of the man of honor! Mimi had embroidered him a beautiful blanket to commemorate the special day, and Aunt Ashley bought him a handsome baptism outfit. (Let me tell you, finding a preemie baptism outfit sure was a challenge!)

And yes, Colt's eyes are really yellow in this photo. His jaundice was still pretty severe at this time...I thought about photoshopping his eyes, but then decided against it. I wanted this photo to be completely honest.

And before Ash, Seth and the boys got on the road, Austin and Will were finally able to hold Baby Colt. We had had such a crazy weekend (with the shower, birthday party and the baptism) that they hadn't gotten to hold him yet.

So they took the opportunity to have some cuddle time while mom and dad loaded the car for their trip back to Joplin. They did great with the baby and I was able to capture some cute photos to document it!

It was an amazing morning for such a special occasion. We are blessed beyond belief and I am ecstatic that Colt is a child of God! Thank you to everyone that helped make this day perfect for us!

Luke Turns 2

While Ashley and her family were in town for Colt's shower and baptism (post to come tomorrow so check back), her youngest son turned two! So we had the honor of celebrating Luke's second birthday with him.

Ashley has three adorable boys but Luke is a heartbreaker with his curly brown hair and deep brown eyes. He is such a ham for the camera when he isn't giving you the 'stink eye'!

Mimi outdid herself once again with her frog party just for Luke! She made spghetti for dinner (Luke's favorite) and we celebrated with a froggy cake.

Luke was mesmerized by the candles and loved blowing them out. (I think we relight them seven or eight times.)

Wy-man even got in on the action for one round!

And after blowing out the candles, he sat there patiently and waited for the cake and ice cream to be served!

But enjoyed devouring it once the cake arrived!

Of course, all the boys got in on the gift opening action!

Luke ended the night with a little from cuddling mom while the big boys went to a basketball game with Papa and their daddies. It gave us girls, and Luke, some nice quality time as well. 

Happy Birthday Lukie! Aunt Courtney, Uncle Mike, Wyatt & Colt sure do love you!

Sip & See

Well it's been a while but finally able to share some photos of Colt's Sip & See Shower thrown by my wonderful sister and mom. The bad thing is...I got so caught up in the shower that I only took photos of me with the hostesses (I even forgot to include the baby), and of course I had to capture the fabulous decorations (prior to the shower starting). 

*****

Exactly two weeks after Colt was born my sister came into town and hosted a wonderful gathering at my mother's house to celebrate his arrival. I just love these ladies!

The shower theme was based upon Colt's bedroom - green, turquoise and frogs and the invites coordinated perfectly. Wy-man was even included in the process - they used his fingerprint to make the frogs.

From there, mom went out all in her decorations. (I tell her she needs to go into Event Planning since she sure knows how to throw a party!)

Since the shower allowed people to come and go as they pleased, there were different stations set up around the house - from food stations, to candy, to gifts, to thumbprint art - they thought of it all!

Each area was adorn with these fun decorations hanging from the ceiling.

They utilized the photos from Colt's hospital stay and newborn photo shoot as decorations. The photos were even hung them from frog clips. I tell you, the details were impeccable!

The candy bar was also a hit including all turquoise and green treats. And if you look closely, there are frog accents on the glassware containers.

The bassinet was also arranged as a focal point of the shower, matching the theme of course. It was a perfect place for us to lay Colt down to sleep during the shower so that he could still be admired...but he was adored so much he was held the entire time by all the ladies so we never even used this beautifully decorated area.

Diapers were the one thing we really needed so this diaper cake was perfect. And what do you know...it matched the theme too and was a perfect decorative element for one of the food tables.

There was food galore - practically anything anyone desired. From the fruit and veggie table, to the gourmet grilled cheeses, meatballs and chips & dip area and concluding with the garlic mashed potato bar.

But who could forget the dessert table that included a chocolate fountain with many different goodies for dipping. There were also cupcakes, cotton candy and even mint chocolate popcorn. Man, it was all so yummy.

However, what would a Sip & See be without cocktails? Mom and Ashley made blue martinis with the martini glasses rimmed in green sugar! (But, I totally forgot to take a photo of them). :(

*****

It wasn't until I got home that I realized I didn't even take any photos of the guest of honor (who also matched the theme in his blue and green frog onesie). So I quick snapped one of him all snuggled in his car seat sleeping. It was a tough day getting swooned on by all the women!

*****

All in all it was a wonderful shower. Colt and I are very blessed to have some many wonderful women in our lives. This day showed us once again that we are cared for. Thank you to all that came.

And an even bigger thank you to my mom and sister for hosting such a wonderful party. We love you with all of our hearts! 

Do I Dare Compare?

Wow...where has time gone? Today marks Colt's one month birthday. It is going way too fast.

*****

This morning when I woke up I decided to take a trip down memory lane. I can't tell you how many times I am asked "Does Colt look like Wyatt when he was a baby?" and unfortunately I never really had the answer.

To me they look totally different. Wy-man was darker complected with a bunch of dark hair, whereas Colt had much lighter hair (not nearly as much of it) and seemed so much more tiny - even though they were under a pound different at birth.

So as I tabbed through my tons of photos of each precious child, I remembered this great idea on of my dear friends did with her children. (But I have to say...she executed it much better having her babies in the same pose. I didn't think of that, so you will have to muddle through with the comparison shots I was able to come up with.) ;-)

It wasn't until I started putting the images side by side that I realized how much my babies did look a like. (At least in my opinion.) I will let you make the decision for yourself - and let me know what you think. 

 
I often wonder if my boys will have the same mannerisms or have two completely different personalities. Whatever they both become, I know I will love them with all my heart.

I hope you enjoyed this comparison as much as I have.  Cheers to a great week!

Thank you again, Kendra, for this great idea. Everyone should check out her blog. Whether you know her or not, you will enjoy her stories. She's such an entertaining writer and she inspires me every day to be a better mom!