First Day of School

Bittersweet: pleasant, but painful

This word accurately describes this new chapter in my life.  My firstborn, my pride and joy, my little love bug, my curious one has reached a very important milestone in every child's life.  

HE'S GOING TO KINDERGARTEN!!!  AHHHHHHHH!!!  

I have always said I will not be that mom who is wiping away tears after her child goes to school.  I've always looked forward to that day.  Maybe a bit selfishly b/c that means just a little more freedom for me.  Andrew is very high energy and high maintenance.  I would not be exaggerating if I said he wears me out.  He does!  So why is this moment bittersweet for me?  Because he's my baby!  It means everything is changing.  Nothing will ever be the same from now on.  While I may have more freedom in some areas, some freedom is taken away.  I have to plan things around someone's schedule again.  I haven't had to do that for 3 years!  This whole summer as we've been preparing and getting excited about this day arriving, I have been nothing short of excited!  But as I sit here and reminisce and think about this amazing creature, who, as I sit here typing is sitting just a few feet away watching Blue's Clue's, the tears are threatening to spill over.  I've never wanted to freeze my children in time.  I want them to grow up.  I want them have tons of fun experiences during this thing called life, but I know that as they are growing up, they will one day outgrow my lap, they'll outgrow their insescent need for hugs and kisses, etc.  But I'm getting off track now.  The purpose of this blog post was to post pictures of this exciting day!  But I can't post them without telling a little of how I was feeling about it all.  :o)  Now let the fun begin!

What does a sleeping boy have to do with the first day of kindergarten?  Every night, I check on my kids before I go to bed.  This particular night, he wanted to sleep on the floor b/c he didn't want to have to make his bed in the morning.  Where they sleep (as long as it's not in my bedroom) is not a battle I choose to fight.  I could care less if they want to sleep on the floor or the couch.  So, here is my sweet boy sleeping on his floor.  I was about to leave when I noticed a certain, new backpack lying right next to him.  I think he was excited!!!

I was a little bit excited too and wanted to be prepared, so I set the table the night before so breakfast would be quick and simple.

Cereal it is!

4 boxes to choose from...

...and 3 people chose the same kind.  I chose the boring Cheerios.  :o/  And Andrew chose the yummy kind!

The morning went by quickly and before I knew it, we were out the door and I was taking those ever typical, "first day of school" pictures.  And, just for the record, I will do this until their senior year of high school whether they like it or not!  :o)
My transformer loving boy showing off his transformer backpack and lunch"box".

I wish I could freeze this moment in time.  Oh wait.  I kinda did by taking this photograph.  ;o)

Gotta have a better view of that new backpack and lunch"box"!  Notice the new shoes too!  I didn't notice until I was taking this picture how well they matched the whole "Bumblebee" theme.

As we were preparing to leave, I thought about asking Daniel if we could stop and take a minute to pray with and for Andrew, but just the thought of it was bringing tears to my eyes and I knew I would be an absolute mess if we did that.  So I didn't pursue that thought.  Maybe I should have, but I chose instead to pray silently as we were walking to school.  Walking to school?  Yes.  I  decided since I had to walk 5 miles uphill both ways to school as a child that my children will do the same.  Just kidding.  We live just a few blocks from his school and Andrew requested that we walk to school.

We made it a family affair.

After a lot of "Hurry up's!" from me, we made it.  I have never been around a public school on the first day, so I was a little unprepared for how busy it was!  I was pleasantly surprised to see many other people making it a family affair as they dropped off their children!

We made our way through the crowded hallways to his classroom.  Their backpacks are hung in the hallway outside the room.

Here is his Friday Folder that we were told to decorate.  This was his "homework" before school even began!

Andrew did all the crayon artwork completely by himself!

He was so excited he ran straight to his table without telling me goodbye!  I made sure to get his attention before I left so there were no freak out sessions after I left.  :o)

Love that sweet boy!!!

The First 48

Whenever I hear The First 48, I always think "lower 48".  lol  This is nothing like the Lower 48.  What is The First 48?  Well, I'm glad you asked.  This was a very special session in which I went to the hospital and photographed Baby Bella within the first 48 hours of her life.  These are nor your typical hospital, newborn pictures.  This session captured a more intimate feeling between baby and parents.  I absolutely loved doing this session!!!  

When I first got there, my friend, Hallie, was on the phone.  So I took the opportunity to just grab some baby and daddy pictures.  Talk about preciousness!

By this time, Hallie was done on the phone so now it was time for some family pics.  

This is one of my favorites of the day!  They fit perfectly into the frame and I just love the serenity of the image.  

Now, I love all things baby so I had an absolutely awesome time taking these pictures!  I brought a few of my own things to add into these pics, including the pretty denim bow attached to the headband.  Where can you get a hair pretty like that?  At Whatsoever Things Are Lovely!  You can find her on FB or on Etsy!  Tell her Joni sent you.  :o)

This is another favorite.  I just love the essence that it captured.  

Now, there's just something about seeing a baby in his/her daddy's hands that will melt your heart.  These last two are also favorites.  I had a lot of favorites.  :o)

A big thank you to Ryan and Hallie McCord for letting me be a part of this lovely experience!

Beach Bliss

I would like to introduce to you Mr. & Mrs. Jesse Lile.  

I have known Ami since she was a wee little girl, so we go way back.  We lost touch over the years, but a few years ago, thanks to the great, social network, I came across her and we reconnected.  When I saw a picture of her and her boyfriend, I said to myself, "I would LOVE to photograph these two gorgeous people!!!"  However, it didn't look like that would ever happen.  They live in Texas.  I live in Missouri.   Fast forward 3 or 4 years and I found myself in Texas, on the beach, documenting their wedding day by way of photograph.  

Enjoy the journey of that day!

We woke up to a beautiful, cloudless, sunny day!  Usually, there is a lull while everyone is still getting ready after I have already taken pictures where I sneak out with the rings and the flowers and grab a few pictures.  I found the perfect spot on the back deck with the ocean in the background.  

Here, Ami and her mom, Rogena (who I have also been able to reconnect with!) share a special moment.

After Ami was in her beautiful dress, her dad came upstairs so they could share some daddy/daughter time before the ceremony started.  I took these in color, but I think the moment just begged to be frozen in time in black and white.  

I absolutely love the look on her face here!  It reminds me of a little girl gazing up into her daddy's face begging for his approval and wanting to hear him say she looks like a princess.  Priceless.

I found the perfect little spot on this public beach to take the groomsmen pictures.  And can I just say I loved their outfits?!!!  So simple, so beachy, so handsome!  The leis added the perfect touch!

I found out after I landed (and got lost in the airport) that I was on the same flight as the best man as he is from Missouri as well.  Rogena and Ami had to send him to find me.  Thankfully he didn't attack me in a bear hug like she told him to do, otherwise I might've freaked out a little.  lol

The handsome groom and his equally handsome best man, Jesse and Aaron:

I was in love with the flowers they used to decorate the "aisle".  

The look on Jesse's face when he caught a glimpse of his bride coming towards him just about brought tears to my eyes!  It is absolutely obvious they are in love!

The ceremony went without a hitch and the officiator had this cool, British accent!  They could not have asked for a more perfect day (except maybe slightly cooler)!  Check out that blue, blue sky with not a cloud in sight!

Sharing a laugh over something...I think perhaps she had tried to put the ring on the wrong hand.  Don't quote me on that though.  It was a few months ago.  lol

I took this picture of the MOH and then got the idea to add each bridesmaid one at a time to make a series of pictures.  I think they turned out really cool!

The entire wedding party.  And can I just say they were all amazing in the way the all pitched in and helped make things happen.  The preparation part of the day did not go at all as planned!  lol  Seriously, this was a great wedding party!  Especially the groomsmen and MOH!

Since the wedding party was quite busy the morning of, I had to wait until after the ceremony to get the bridesmaids pictures.  Even after standing out in the hot sun, they still looked beautiful! 

Almost the entire wedding party, with the exception of two of the bridesmaids, was from Missouri.  The matron of honor is Jesse's sister.  She was very instrumental in making things happen the day of the wedding.  Kudos to you Amber Geib!  

 Ami and Jesse will forever be one of my most favorite couples to photograph!  They are gorgeous!  They are willing to do whatever I ask of them!  They are both amazing people!  

 This was by far the most fun I've had while shooting the cake feeding part of the ceremony.  As they each held a piece of cake in their hand, I heard Ami say to Jesse, "Are you ready?" and before he even had time to blink, well, I'll let the pictures tell the rest of this story.  :o)

 They were fun to watch as they had their first dance.  There were tender moments, romantic moments and lighthearted moments.  

 As the sun was setting, the couple made their way towards the beach to feed some seagulls and I was able to capture some great shots!

The whole day was beautiful and I felt honored to be a part of it, not only as their photographer, but also as their friend.  

Congratulations, Jesse and Ami!