Porchtraits

My friend Sherry is a landman by day and a photographer by evening and weekend.  When she asked if we were interested in a porch photo shoot for a donation to the food bank I was all in.  I didn't want it to be anything fancy, just a look into a moment in the life of self isolation.  I chose my leggings and the hunter ankle boots that I have been wearing everyday since winter just won't go away.  In 7 minutes she captured great (and natural!) smiles and gave us photos I'll remember for a lifetime.

This is our very first family photo with Leo.  He looks like rag doll teddy bear.  It is also the only photo of James' isolation mustache.

Looking at these make me smile. Though it will probably not be our favorite year of all time, it will be a year that we always remember.

#stayhome

Our Spot 2015

For those that are new around here, our special spot is on the covered deck of the Wainwright hotel at Heritage Park.  This happens to be the place where James and I had our wedding reception 10 years ago.  

You see, on our wedding day, it rained.  Not like sprinkled, but rained and rained, and RAINED.  It poured.  Did I mention it rained?  I was so excited for the all the outdoor pictures at Heritage Park and I got none. Except for this one on the covered patio.

It has always been my absolute favourite picture from our wedding day.  We used in our wedding thank you cards and it also still sits on the mantle in our family room.

Once we decide to have our annual photo shoot at Heritage Park this year it was a no brainer that we were going to recreate that photo.  I'm so glad we did.

I find it interesting that both James and I thought I was on the right in the original and we didn't realize we were wrong until we were looking at the photos a week later.

Check out some of the other pictures taken in this exact location by clicking here.

Family Photos - 2014

On a very cold afternoon at the end of September we all got in our dress up clothes and headed out to family pictures.  This year Tomie took us to Sait and it was the perfect combo to nature and urban.

We started off outside and tried to keep the tuques of the kids spikey hair.

In years past, getting photos of the kids together was tough.  This year, we got more than I ever could have imagined.

I love this picture of me and the boys.  What I don't love is my hair.  The wind blew the crap out of it and it went from curly sue to flat freda.  I just made that up.

This was my second favorite family photo.  My favorites will be saved for our Christmas card!

This is the scarf you've seen through out the fall challenge. I had just bought it the day before and boy am I glad I did.  The boot socks were also a late addition given the weather.  I still wanted to wear my dress!

These pictures are all taken in the parking garage of sait.  It is all window at the top so perfect for indoor photos.

My little hockey fans!

This may be my fave photo of James and I.  Love my hubby.

I highly recommend Tomie if you need a family photographer!

Family Pics 2013

A few weeks back we all got in our best duds and headed to fish creek park for the annual family photo. This year was an extra special year since we did extended shots with James side of the family. We used Tomie Horton Photography for the second year in a row and I highly recommend her. She has young kids of her own so understands the challenges of photographing young kids.

Here a few of my favorites.  Not my very favorites as those are reserved for our xmas card!

Here is one of the 3 group shots we got. With the number of un-photogenic people in this picture I think we got a great shot.  And honestly, I think the other 2 are equally good.

 

 

This is by far the best photo of the 2 boys we have to date.  Ever.  This year was so much easier than last year when I was ready to throw in the towel after only 30 minutes.  This year was night and day to last year.

 

 

 Now let me tell you about this little model.  He was fantastic. Smiled for the camera and did exactly what he was told.  He even let us spike his hair.  Now in two years when they are both this good I will be a happy mama.

 

 

Cooper lost interest relatively fast after the red barn shots.  He wanted to run around and play in the dirt, not sit around with the adults and smile.  She still managed to get some great shots of him.

 

Copper was tickling me with a piece of grass.  This is about where he started to take a turn.

 

 

This year was a total success compared to last year.  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't exhausted and sweating at the end, but it did go well.  Carrying a 35 pound 3 year old while wearing heels will run you down, not to mention making funny faces and trying to get the kids to smile from behind the camera.  Here's to hoping that each year from here on out gets easier and easier!

 

 

 

Family Photos

Setting the scene..... again.

It was a Sunday morning.

James was running late.  As usual.

I got all of 15 minutes to slap on some makeup and comb through my hair that I had curled the night before.

The kids got up early.

They didn't want to get dressed. Especially when that meant putting on 3 layers of clothing.

The above led to frustration and a mommy meltdown.

It was chilly outside at 10am.

Guess what everyone - It's family photo day!!

We showed up at the outdoor photo shoot and I was frustrated and grumpy that I already felt exhausted from trying to get the kids ready and make it to the photo shoot on time and we hadn't even taken any pictures yet.

It was a balmy 5 degrees when we set out for pictures.  The weather app on my phone said we were working towards a high of 17.  I was optimistic.  I bought some cute cardigans from H&M and hoped and prayed that the boys would cooperate and put on their non McQueen attire for the pictures.  They didn't cooperate.  But they did wear the shirts in the end.  1 point for Mom!

Since it was chilly and we were trying to avoid jackets, we let G wear his favorite blue cars shirt as layer one.  We then put him in a long sleeved striped shirt, and finally followed up with the sweater.  Cooper had the same layers, short sleeve, long sleeve sweater.

The jackets and tuque were nicely packed away in the bag with the snacks and drinks in case the kids got cold and hungry, aka grumpy.  And they did.

Within the first 5 minutes, both boys were eating their jam sandwiches and wanted nothing to do with the picture taking.  It was a struggle to say the least.  I even told Tomie, our photographer, that I didn't care if the sandwich was in the picture.  It seemed to be the only way that we were going to get a family picture with Cooper in it.  She persevered.  And I'm glad she did.

Grady started complaining almost right away that he was cold.  We got through about half of the shoot before he demanded his jacket and tuque.  I tried to put Cooper's on to so they would sort of match, but he wanted nothing to do with it.  He stayed in just his sweater.

Tomie suggested getting in the car and heading to another green area around the corner but there was no way I was getting back in that car until we were ready to leave.  We used a white barn, a green space, the park, a back alley, and a fence all within walking distance from the park which was a bonus. 

At one point I thought the shoot was going terrible and I asked her if she had enough photos yet and she told me it had only been 30 minutes.   I guess not.


I was done mentally.  The kids wouldn't listen, they didn't want to sit together and when they finally did, Grady threw a hand full of dirt in Cooper's hair.  It felt like a train wreck.

In the end, the pictures do not show it.  Tomie did a great job! Check out the finished product at Tomie's website.

The first picture was the last picture of the day.  Tomie wanted to try one more time to get the boys to stand together.  I guess they had no more energy to fight it.  Also notice that by the end of the photo shoot that Grady was down to just his Cars t-shirt (very fitting for him) and Cooper had lost a layer as well.  As much as I prefer the pictures in the cute little sweaters that they will never wear again, the picture of them in their every day clothes is just them.  There is something to be said for that.

Oh and if you didn't notice, Cooper is wearing sweat pants. The poor little guy has such a big belly that he can't wear jeans and I tried so many pairs of elastic wasted cargos and he hated them.  So sweats it was. Let's call them a 'dress' sweat pant.

Despite what felt like a disaster of the morning, I am so happy with the finished product and look forward to seeing the rest on our disk.   

Thanks Tomie!

Family Photos

I can not say enough good things about Fuller Edge.  They took Grady's one year pictures so of course we called them up when it was time to do Cooper's.   When we went for Grady's we didn't expect to get 2 canvases.. but we did.  So we knew going in that we needed to get some matching ones for Cooper with the intention to split them up and have one of each boy.  We got more great choices than we could have asked for.

Canvas #1

Here are the first 2 canvases together. I LOVE them!  I think they match perfectly.

Notice Frosty 'hiding' on our TV??

Since we have 2 of Grady, we got 2 of Cooper's.  I fell in love with this picture instantly.  James wanted a different one on canvas, but in the end I won!

Canvas #2

These 2 are in our playroom downstairs.  They don't 'match' as well but I love each individually!

Here are a few others from the photo shoot.  Cooper and his baby blues.

A family picture where everyone is smiling.  Everyone.  Even the kids.

I love how this pictures captures Grady's fun spirit.

What a big boy Grady is!  He was quite concerned that a train may come.

I am not going to lie... I love how this one captured my red shoes!  We hung this one in our bedroom next to a similar picture of Grady except he is up side down.

 

We didn't plan to get 2 more family pictures framed... but we also didn't plan on getting the canvases last time around.  Like I said, there were just too many great photos.  I hoped to take a picture of these 2 on the wall but we won't get them up until after Christmas since my card holder is currently hung there.

What I love most about Chad and Erin at Fuller Edge is that not once did they tell us to stop, look, and smile.  Not once.  All the pictures are natural, and I think it shows.   I have 2 very unphotogenic people in my family,  not mentioning any names......  cough Grady cough James..... so it is a miracle that so many turned out.   The cartwheels and somersaults that Chad did to crack Grady's shell and get him acting like himself may have helped.  They stopped at nothing to ensure that we got the best family pictures possible. 

There is no doubt in my mind that in a few years we will be back for more Fuller Edge photos!

Extended Family Photos

When we were back home visiting my family last month we had the chance to take another round of family picture.  Last summer we had pictures done for my mom for Mother's Day and we have since added 3 members to our family.

Chantelle - my brother's fabulous fiance who will officially be joining the family next summer when they get married.  I have the pleasure of welcoming her to the family.  And I of course will be wearing one of my fantastic new dresses to thier wedding!

Taiya - My brother and Chantelle's super cute daughter who puts Cooper to shame by already being a better sleeper than him at 6 months.

Cooper - My adorable son who I was pregnant with in last year's picture. Need I say more?

Linsday Rae Photography did a fantastic job on the pictures and I loved just getting the opportunity to spend some time with everyone and having a few photos to show for it!

Not the best picture of our family but the best will be appearing on our xmas card ;)

The one thing I didn't consider is how hard it was going to be to work with 4 kids.  My brother's girls did great - especially Madi who is a natural in front of the camera.  My kids... not so much.

Cooper didn't sleep great that week so I am blaming his lack of smiles in any of the pictures on that.

Grady either didn't smile of did his 'cheese' face in every picture.

Best one of the 2 boys

My brother's family all wore pink.  Apparently I missed the memo that said my family was supposed to wear blue since we were mostly boys and his family was supposed to wear pink because they were mostly girls.  I wore pink anyway!

Good Lookin' Family

See what I mean about his kids being naturals!

Aren't my nieces just he cutest???

And finally a picture of all the grandkids.  Not the greatest... but what can you expect with 4 kids.  At least none of them are crying (yet) and most are looking at the camera.  I'm not sure what Grady is staring at blankly.

My brother and I's offspring

I hope we can keep updating these family pictures over the years as it is such a great keepsake for everyone.

Thanks for organizing Mom!

Cooper's Newborn Photos

We had Cooper's newborn photo's taken the Sunday after he was born at 6 days old. We used the same photographer as we did with Grady and again think the pictures turned out great!

Here are a few of my faves....

Little Cooper with his eyes closed. Surprisingly he wanted to be awake through most of the photo shoot.

Here is a full body shot in his little model pose. He is laying on the same blanket Grady did for his photos over 2 years ago! Cooper was a little more cooperative and allowed us to remove his diaper. Grady was not so cooperative.

Daddy and Cooper.

Grady and Cooper. Love this one.

Mommy and Cooper

Here is a side by side comparison of Cooper and Grady.

In real life I think they look a lot alike. In the picture... not so much. I think it looks like they have the same nose in the picture but that is about it. I hope they grow up to look like brothers, but that would mean they both look like their Dad. I'd be lying if I said I didn't hope Cooper ends up looking just a little like me :)

All in all the photo shoot went well and we are thrilled with how the photos turned out.

To see more photos from the newborn photo shoot, click on the Picasa link on the right or go to this link.

Maternity Photos

We had maternity photos taken last Thursday and Leah from This. Life Photography sent us a sneak peak today. After seeing these photos... I just can't wait to see the rest!

Family Photos

For Mother's Day my brother and I teamed up and arranged for us to have family pictures done for my Mom. She has hinted that she would like them and we thought it was about time that we she had them. In steps Lindsay Rae Photography. We met with Lindsay mid week and in one short hour she was able to take some great photos of our family.

This is my favorite group shot.

I love how the look on my mom's face is pure happiness as she looks onto her children and her grand children.

Lindsay captured our individual little family of 3 (soon to be 4)....

...and my brother and his daughter Madison.

She took pictures of the kids together.

And apart.

I couldn't resist posting this picture of Grady. Now that we are sucking our thumb in full force again, I think it is very appropriate!

I am so lucky and proud to belong to this family!