Him.

I love this child like you would not believe. The way he talks (that sweet Southern drawl gets me every time). His lanky not-a-baby-anymore stride, swinging his arms and humming. The sparkle in his eye while he tries to sneak another cracker before dinner. His pride in his accomplishments... "I did it aww by mysayelf." The way he's NEVER hungry for soup, or spaghetti, or sandwiches, or vegetables of any kind... but how he's ALWAYS, miraculously, hungry when we mention ice cream. His squint-eyed giggle, that sends me into fits of laughter myself.

How he always brings me the blue light-saber and asks me to be Luke Skywalker... and he'll be Darth Vader. And how he immediately tries to "chop my arm off". ;) The "little boy sounds" I hear him make while he's playing pretend in his room: "fyoom! pshhht! krrrk!" And then, always, a crash.

His amazing hugs, that are so tight you almost fall over. The way he runs with abandon, not a care in the world, his "surfer-hair" flowing in the wind. The way he says, "Watch me this time!!" and runs even faster.

The way he sleeps. One arm around Rabbit, the other hand clutching a Star Wars or pirate figurine. The way he crumples his beloved blankie into a ball and holds it close when he's sleepy. The way he thanks Jesus every night for "Mama an' Daddy" and how he innocently prayed every night for two weeks: "Dear God, please let Mama say it's only one day 'till my birthday."

Well, my "baby" just turned four (::stacey weeps now::). Seems like only last week I was rocking him in my arms, singing "You and Me" by Lifehouse.... now he knows all the words and sings it back to me. :)

Ahh, my big boy. :) I just love him.

Jersey Girls

I must tell you. I had a BLAST with these two gals!!! We hit lots of local spots on Clearwater Beach for this session... including splashing under the pier! I know Nancy has been waiting ever-so-patiently on this preview, so just for her I'm showcasing a bunch of images here. (Your gallery will be up before you know it!) :)

Take a look at these beauties.... like mother, like daughter!

I loooved this graffitti under the pier. :)

Loved all the signage too!

And perhaps my favorite....

Ohh I have so many more super-fun shots! I wish I could blog the whole darn session! And can you really believe I had this much fun with COLOR?! You just never know about me, do ya? ;)

Whew! So much drama lately.

I think I'm ready to pop. :) I've been having contractions for over 2 weeks now. Little girl wants OUT! (Signs of a Diva in the making?? I hope not!) This turkey is not finished baking at just 30 weeks. I've got 10 more weeks to go! So, per doctor's orders, I'm drinking lots of water and lying down as much as possible. That means I had to go buy a laptop so I could proof in bed! (Yeah, you read that right... I'm technologically stubborn sometimes, so I haven't owned a laptop until now!) For that reason, I'm limiting my April sessions (I'm almost booked up anyhow) and scheduling mostly for May at this time. I'm also simplifying and shipping all orders instead of hand-delivering as I normally do. And if you need me, I'll still be available via email or phone... but I'll probably be answering from my cushy bed with my feet propped up!! LOL

I do have a tidbit of good news though. I finally passed that darn glucose tolerance test! Woohoooooo! I'm so tickled, honestly, you have no idea the sadness that went through my heart (and tummy) at the thoughts of no more lemonade and popsicles. LOL! I have lived on that stuff for 6 1/2 months now!! I flunked Round One of this Glucola garbage yumminess (aka Orange Triaminic + two cups of sugar). So as a result, I got to go to the lab for Round Two of this icky-sweet drink. Which meant fasting from midnight the night before the test, until the three-hour test was over. Let me just tell you.... almost 11 hours without food, when you're pregnant and FAMISHED, in a hot lab that has obviously never heard of air conditioning.... it's like shoving bamboo under the fingernails. Torture! (You can bet I hit the nearest fast-food drive-thru on the way outta that lab, that's for sure!) BUT, thankfully I got the call today that I PASSED! I'm not a gestational diabetic!! Of course, I celebrated by eating a handful of these wonderful yummy treats I found today... Starbucks Vanilla Bean Truffles. Mmmm, Heaven.... seriously.

Anyhow, here's a quick self-portrait in the bathroom mirror. Just in case you were wondering how gigantic I'm getting...

And yep, I cut my hair! I blame the pregnancy hormones, but actually, I really like it, and don't regret it one bit! THANK YOU PATTY!!! You are THE best. Muaaah!

Okay, back to bed I go. :)

Before | After

Just four days before baby Soren made his entrance into the world.....

With soon-to-be Big Sister Sophia....

And, after Soren's arrival..... just look how much she adores her baby brother. Stole my heart, it was so sweet to watch!

"Delicious" is the word his Mama used to describe this little guy... and boy was she right. I just wanted to eat him up!

I admit, I was a little worried because he had passed the 2-week "curl-up-easy-and-sleep-a-lot" magic age, but I'm tellin' ya.... this little guy curled and slept like a champ. I had no reason to worry, that's for sure!!

Enjoy your delicious baby boy, Bethany. :)

Blessed beyond measure.

I have had the privilege of having Laura as a best friend for, oh, about 25 years! I really can't remember when we met, of course it was when we were little kids... but it just seems like I've known her since birth! I can't remember NOT knowing her. We have had SO much fun through the years. Our birthdays are on the same day, one year apart. So we had lots of birthday parties together. We've kept in touch no matter where life has taken us... my moving all over the country, our weddings, the birth of four (soon-to-be five!) babies, and everything that comes afterwards. We're really "kindred spirits", as Anne of Green Gables would say. :) I can remember hanging out in her bedroom drinking Coke from a glass bottle, calling up the local radio station to request our favorite New Kids On The Block hits (LOL!), dancing, teasing our bangs, and modeling for the camera like we were ready for the cover of Teen magazine. (Yep, I have a few early photos that I found at my Mom's house... my "budding photography career" at age 14! Remind me NEVER to share those embarrassing shots with you, by the way.) ;) Whew, the flashbacks! And the big hair!!

We still joke about all those summers we spent together... especially the bean patch. ;) Since she had a pool and we didn't, we'd get calls during late summer like this one... "Hi Stacey, do you and your sisters wanna come over and swim tomorrow? Good! Well, we gotta pick beans first....." :/ That stinker. She just wanted six extra hands to help her in the string bean patch!!! And I'm afraid we weren't very much help either.... bean-pickin' just wasn't my thing. Good thing there was a hammock about 10 feet from the edge of the garden.

Anyway, when I was in KY a few weeks ago, I got the chance to hang out with her family and photograph them again. All five of them this time, not just her three beautiful daughters! Take a look..... sort of a "day in the life." Without the bean patch. :)

Playin' on the bed.... what better way to spend the day?!

I loooove this one.......

Couldn't resist this one in her crib. She was a HOOT!

Then we headed out in the SNOW!

*sigh* They're growing up so fast on me. I remember when they were born, when they were babies, and when they were toddling around. Now it's swim meets (gold and silver medals for these girls, by the way!) and preteen stuff. I don't wanna even know about the boys. Don't even tell me!!

Yep, COLOR from me. I couldn't resist, what with all their gorgeous "bundled-up-ness" and all...

And what better way to warm up... than with a nice warm BUBBLE BATH?!

"Mommyyyyyy!!!" ;) The littlest one needed a towel every time bubbles got on her chin.... which was every 5 seconds, LOL!

This last one just tugs on my heart.... what sweet bliss.

I'm so proud of and happy for you, Laura, my sweet friend. Your life has been blessed so richly. I love you to pieces, and I hope you enjoy my little peek into your life... your fun, crazy-happy, laughter-filled morning with your family. XOXOXOX

Love, Stace

Shhh, I have a Crush...

I have a confession: I have a serious crush on this man. I can't get him off my mind. I think about him all throughout the day, and find myself daydreaming (yes, instead of proofing sessions, shhh!) about when I'll see him next. My Crush gives me butterflies in my stomach whenever he looks at me, and everytime he calls me "Sugah" or "Stacey Jo". I swoon over his deep Southern drawl, and the way his lip curls up when he's about to crack a joke that he knows will get to me. My Crush is the smartest man I've ever met; he just amazes me sometimes. He works so hard at his job, even with times as tough as they are in his industry. He's unbelievable. My Crush is extremely generous, compassionate, and a loyal, true friend. He lives every day to the fullest, and never, ever gives up on something he wants. He's an amazing father, the absolute best I've ever seen.... and his son adores him with every breath. He's my tall, dark and handsome Prince Charming. He's energetic, sweet, and completely hilarious. My Crush makes me laugh out loud even when I'm in a rotten mood, and he's so patient with me and our life, even when it gets hectic and all out of sorts, my Crush is there to put things in perspective and get things back on the right track again. Some days I need to pinch myself to see if this is really real... our wonderful, crazy, sweet life together.

I'm just so glad I snatched this man up almost 10 years ago!! ;) Happy Birthday to my Husband, my Crush, my Sweetheart. Chris honey, you just keep getting better and better. And I LOVE YOU to pieces.

XOXO,
Your Not-So-Secret Admirer

(Just a snapshot, since he's quite camera shy.) Imagine that, being camera shy in this house?! ;)

And I'm coming back to add a photo of our little birthday celebration..... Sweet Parker made this cake all by himself (well, with just a *tiny* bit of my help, but not much) and helped me frost it, and put ALL of the sprinkles on by himself, AND stuck in every single candle he could find! I think we offended Chris by having so many!!! LOL! ;) But just look at Parker's proud face as his Daddy gets ready to blow out the candles on his extra-special cake. It was worth every single crumb and eggshell I had to clean up, to see my two boys together like this. :)

Did I say Brrr already?!

I meant, "Brrrrrrrrrrr!!!" This is the most snow, and the chilliest weather, that I've seen in over ten years!! Yes, I'm a spoiled Floridian now. Suffice to say, my blood has thinned considerably since moving away from Kentucky.....

Check out that cold little nose! :(

Parker LOVED the snow, by the way!!

Excuse the quick snap here... my camera and I were pelted with snow a half-second later! ;)

And if THOSE images don't make you shiver in your flip-flops, check these out....

This is what we woke up to the second day. I photographed these in the hayfield across from my parents' home. In three layers of clothing. LOL!

Imagine my delight when our plane touched down in Florida and we stepped out into 74 degree weather. Ahhhh, feels like summer! :)

Brr...

Just letting y'all know that I'm out of the office.... from Tuesday 3/4 until Tuesday 3/11. (I'll be checking voicemail and email periodically during this time.) I'm in Kentucky visiting, photographing and actually.... RESTING. Can you believe that?! I've gone three straight nights with more than 4 hours sleep. Which is no small feat for a pregnant woman, no matter where she is. ha! But I'm having a great time. Parker is in hog heaven, playing with four of his cousins and their dogs. :)

Now, I hear that we're in for a snowstorm... they're calling for up to 5 inches by tomorrow. Good grief! What is this thin-blooded Florida girl gonna do?! Um, drag the kids out in it and take pictures, what else? :) To be honest, Parker has NEVER seen snow... besides the bit of accumulation on the sides of I-77 over Christmas vacation. But not enough to actually get out and walk in it... and touch it with his fingers. He's never made a snowman, never made a snowball or a snowangel. (Sandangels, yes!) So we're actually quite excited about the weather! As long as it clears up in time for us to fly home Tuesday, that is. ;)

I've already had a blast with my camera (and so has my sister) while I've been here. Keep your eye out for some maternity pics soon. ;)

Stay warm!!
Stacey

Tub Time.

I have to post this shot from the other day.... just 'cause I love it so much. :) And I love the light that comes in from that bathroom window. Ahhh.

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Fly on my wall.

And these are just from today.....

-I was putting Parker down for his nap this afternoon, tucking the sheet up around him and leaning down for a kiss...
P: "Mah-muh? Will you lay with me, an' snuggle me, an' scrrratch my baack in shapes??" (We can't just scratch, we must scratch in circles or triangles or hexagons, or whatever random picture he thinks up...)
Me: "Yes, baby, but only for a minute then you have to go to sleep, okay?"
P: "K." (and I begin scratching circles and triangles and what-have-you.) "Mah-muh, will you drawl a hula guurl?"
Me: "What? A hula girl?!" (but I do it... with my fingertip I trace arms and legs and the grass skirt and everything.)
P: "Hey, don't forget her brawl!" (LOL!! A bra?!)

-After I finish scratching the hula girl (complete with bra) and then the pirate (with peg-leg by special request), I flatten my hand and just rub his back for a few seconds. He stops me and says, "Hey, dat wasn't on my list!!" Good grief!

-Listening to the baby with my monitor/headphones getup this evening....
Me: "Shh, now if you'll be real quiet we might be able to hear her movin' around."
P: "I can't hear nuffin!"
Me: "Well, maybe if we call her name she'll answer us?"
P: (speaking INTO his headphones now) "Ava? Aaaava Caaarrroliiiine! Are you deyr??" (moving the headphone back to his ear to listen, then back to his mouth, etc.) "What? What did you say? You said you wanna come outta Mah-muh's belly? Mah-muh, she wants out! Way'll, you can't come out yet!!!!"

Now you really want to know where my son got his sweet Southern accent? It's not completely from me, since my hillbilly accent has melted and changed over the years (and ahem, over our nomadic moving all over the East Coast). CHRIS's accent, on the other hand, is still extremely strong. That man is North Carolina through and through!

-Walking down the hallway while Chris was on Parker's bed reading his bedtime story to him....
Chris: "Mama Bear an' Papa Bear an' Baby Bear went for a walk yonda' in the woods, while their oatmeal cooled down." (giggle) "......well, since Goldilocks didn't eat a very good breakfast, she was miiiighty tard, so she went upstairs to find herself a bed to lay down in."
Me (from across the hall): "Goldilocks was WHAT?!?!"
P: "She was TARD, Mah-muh!!!"
Chris: "Somebody's been sittin' in my cheer." (Now, Chris got this one honest from his Daddy. Papa Donnie still invites me to come sit down 'right-chere' in this 'cheer'. ;) And I simply grin and sit down. Right-chere.

Ahh, I love my sweet life. :) There is just so much to laugh about!!

I hope you're all having a great weekend!

*eta: had to come back and add this image..... what's a post on a photographer's blog, without a photo?? :)