Here’s my cutie.  I decided to take a few pictures of her after my latest photo shoot.  She *really* wanted this towel and was so upset that I didn’t give it to her.  I didn’t think it would look great in the pictures . . silly me! LOL  Anyway, I relented and handed her the towel after a few seconds of intolerable crying. ;)  That’s when I snapped this pic.  Doesn’t she look like she’s lost her best friend here?!  Oh yes, the drama! LOL

I had the privilege of photographing my sweet friend and her family this past week.  She has the most adorable children and they were a blast to photograph.  I’ll have to come back later and add some of the pictures of her two oldest boys dressed as “Dash” from “The Incredibles” movie.  They were hysterical showing me their muscles! LOL

Here is my stunning friend and her newest little man, “J” ~

The very sweet, sensitive, polite and cute-as-a-button “K” ~

The spunky, energetic, fun, adorable “K” ~

The proud father with the new man in town “J” ~

In memory of my sweet girl, Halle Jamison Schneider.
Born into Heaven on October 21, 2001

Funny, I bought a Tinkerbell outfit for Kasen’s *back-up* Halloween costume.  I also bought an adorable
Panda bear costume that she won’t even try on (shrugging shoulders
here), hence the back-up costume.   Yet, when this costume came in the mail, she started stripping
her clothes off, so she could put this one on.  Go figure!

It was certainly not easy getting pictures of my little cutie in her
costume.  I do feel my clients’ pain when their children don’t
cooperate as easily as the parents would like.  Trust me, I do
understand!! LOL

LOL  This child just cracks me up!!

And here is my happy girl, once again!

Now, if I could just get a picture of her in that precious Panda bear costume, since it IS the one that Daddy picked out!  Wish me luck!!

P.S.  Remind me to tell you of the fiasco of trying to get Kasen’s picture taken by a professional photographer at Mother’s Day Out today - like I said, feeling your pain!! LOL

or should I say tough pumpkin?! LOL  This little cutie was such a delight at the park yesterday.  Even though she didn’t share her smile . . . hardly ever LOL, I love the look she continued to give me. :)  Those eyes just mesmerized me.  Sooo soulful for such a tiny thing!

It was wonderful meeting this family once again, and this time, I had the honor of meeting this little sweetie’s grandparents.  Such a nice and caring family.

Here’s a little sneak peek.

First pic of the afternoon - see how she’s checking me out! LOL ~

Here’s a teeny tiny bit of a grin for her parents. ~

Walking with Grandma - I added a painted effect because I love how this picture evokes such tenderness. ~

This one cracks me up - “No more pictures!!!” LOL  I guess that means we’re done! ~

That’s all for now.  Have a great weekend everyone!

Yes, it was another successful play-date!  Wonderful company, great fun for the kids and a totally enjoyable morning different from the routine.  Kasen and I met Rayne and Sadie on Monday morning at the mall.  They do have a terrific play area for children and nice comfy couches for the parents! :D  Of course, how much time did WE have to actually *sit* on the couch?! LOL  Well, some parents did spend the majority of their time on the luxurious seating, watching their children quietly play and interact.  Rayne and I, on the other hand, were chasing, corralling and *suggesting* to our children where it would be best to play . . . away from the entrance, away from the other children’s strollers and at least where we could see them!  Absolutely, I would say that Sadie and Kasen always give us a run for our money.  Whew, they are F.A.S.T.!!!  However; I wouldn’t have it any other way - gotta love that spunk!!

And what would a play-date be without pictures?!  Soooo, here they are:

Kasen climbing into the cup of coffee ~


Sadie checking out this neat cup of coffee and wondering why on earth is Kasen IN the cup! LOL ~


It looks like Sadie is trying to push the cup, maybe she thinks it’s the teacup ride at Disneyland! ~


Taking a snooze after her morning coffee ~


Okay, enough of that, time to move on ~


Not only was there coffee, but there were red hot peppers to climb on also ~


Sadie being her beautiful self, taking a break from all the fun ~

Rounding off the morning with an early lunch at California Pizza Kitchen!  The girls really do enjoy each other’s company!  I can’t tell you how much that pleases me to see them have so much fun together. ~


Rayne, thanks again for a wonderful time.  We really should do this more often.  I promise that next time I’ll be ON TIME . . . hopefully!! LOL

Where’d you get those peepers?
Jeepers creepers, where’d you get those eyes?

Is that song in your head now?! LOL

Look at these eyes. . . and those pouty lips.  His poor parents, how could you ever say “No” to THIS face?!

I had to share some pictures of these wonderful children that I met in August.  I know I’ve said I would talk about this trip and I will.  I just want to be sure that I convey how special and heart warming it was to meet so many incredible families.  So, when I have more time to gather my thoughts, I’ll blog about what brought all of us together, since it’s very near and dear to my heart!

For now, here are my new friends.  Aren’t they gorgeous?!

Are they the terrific twos or the terrible twos?  I won’t answer that . . . . yet! LOL  Actually, now that K is two, I am seeing major strides in just overall development.  I see it in her vocabulary, her receptive skills, her coordination, but there’s still that overwhelming frustration that you can only define as "being two."  K definitely knows what she wants and when she wants it, and more often than not,  there is no convincing her otherwise!  I’m smacked in the face with this when we’re out shopping and she wants something that she can’t have, or she wants to go right instead of left, left instead of right, wants up instead of down or down instead of up, the list goes on . . . .  and then the infamous meltdown will commence.  The sales associate will look at me, grinning, with a certain gleam in her eye that only mothers and grandmothers possess and ask "Is she two?!"  I try to act calmly, smile back and with a half hearted laugh, say "Yes, can you tell?!" LOL  Then I’m bombarded with war stories of children and grandchildren and what his or her major crime was at the impressionable age of two.  I guess it IS nice to know that you’re not alone on this journey, to know that others have walked the path before you . . . and survived. LOL

For right now, I’m really embracing *two* - it’s the most unbelievable thing to watch your child take in the world.  New words are floating out of her mouth every single day, new gestures and games are erupting faster than I can write them down, and the kisses, hugs and "Wub You" would melt anyone’s heart.

Yep, it’s terrific to be two AND terrific to see life through a two year old’s eyes - the wonder, the amazement, the excitement and the joy.  We saw it all at K’s two year old birthday party.  An afternoon filled with amazing friends, the most precious children, fun and laughter . . . and don’t forget the chocolate cake!  Well, I’m the one that did the forgetting.  After almost everyone left, I realized that we had ice cream and didn’t even take it out of the freezer!  Oops!!  Anyone want to come over for a scoop? . . . . we have LOTS! LOL

Here are some pics of K’s special day - it really is too hard to host a party AND be the photographer, so we just got a few shots - more thanks to my husband than me.  So, I’m quite pleased that we got any at all!

The yummy chocolate cake ~

I forgot that I had these confetti tubes and we got them out after most of the party left.  They shot confetti in the air and then there were little poppers that popped on the concrete.  Big, bit hit with K! LOL