Meeting Myself Coming and Going

It’s been a busy time.

My eldest brother-in-love has been at MD Anderson, and we’ve been spending quite a bit of time with he and the family there.  And yeah - I still hate cancer.

I’ve been all over everywhere for business meetings.

And during this time, when we’re at the hospital in Houston, who decides to make his appearance in Austin, but our little grandson, Eli?  Weighing a sweet 8.8 lbs and measuring 20.5 inches long! He is absolutely gorgeous, and mom and dad are both doing well.  So proud of them.

Did I have my camera with me?  No.  We left so fast to go to Houston, and thought we'd return quickly, that I didn't take it.  Hopefully I'll get to take some great pictures of the little man soon!

I swore I would try to post every day, but our “every day” lately has been full of work/hospitals/flying/travel and of course, we went to meet Eli.  How cool it is to see ThatManILove hold his grandson!  And how cool it is to see YoungerSon rocking it as a dad, and his beautiful wife rocking it as a mom.  Isn’t it neat how parents just learn as they go, and they do an awesome job at it?  Awesome to watch. Awesome, I say.

We’ve had a friend in from North Carolina who ministers in Kenya during   a portion of the year...it’s so good to see her! 

So, faithful readers, I’ll get track on back soon, I promise.  Just hang with me here a bit while we get through this wee patch of taking care of business at hand.  And then, go pick up the Wonderdogs from the trainer.  God, I miss them so.

Until then, happy trails to you!

Get Along, Little Cowbaby

Thought I’d share baby Cole’s pictures with you.

Cole is one beautiful baby.  And I don’t say that lightly.

I tried to plan a little beforehand, and wanted to pay homage to this little one’s heritage.  His mom hails from a ranching background, so I told Cole's parents to bring their boots and hats.  Here, Cole is actually nestled in his daddy's felt.

And then I remembered my rope basket.  I store all the doggy leashes and toys in it.  I dumped it out, and voila. This basket is made from ropes that my son used - isn’t this a great idea?

 And yes, that felt hat was a wee bit dirty.  I told Cole's dad - if that's all the dirt he gets into in his life, he's way ahead.

I love this little cocoon I purchased through Etsy.

I promise this sweet baby is so beautiful I could put him in a box and he'd look gorgeous.

And of course, Zack the Babysitter Wonderdog had to get in on the action.

Babyface

Between July the 4th and now, it's been baby, baby, babies...and that's on top of my real job!


I love photography, and I love kiddos, so how can I go wrong?  

Baby Ada, our goddaughter, showing off in her 1st Birthday outfit!

And her new favorite thing, pointing. She turns one - today!

Little Ryder, ten days old, sleeping serenely on a basket.  What??

Way more comfy now.

With his sweet mommy, Julie.  I met Julie when she was 5, she's in her early 20's now.  Time flies!

Baby Yandel, son of friends.  So cute!

Little Mali with her mom, Whitney. So beautiful!

When you have a hobby like this, it's great when friends come by and bring their mini-me's!

Has Anyone Seen My Weekend? I Can't Find It...

Monday was a busy day.

I promised to do little Gavin’s 1st birthday photos, and we had so much fun.  Gavin’s parents and grandparents are so sweet, I love being around them.  And that always makes pictures so much easier!

And then, a friend from Houston came by to visit.   It’s always good to see ChristiLynn.

At the same time, our little friend Andi was working with ThatManILove at the kitchen table, doing land work.

And one of our engineering interns was hanging with us, well at least until 5 p.m., when he got his first call out to go to work in the oilfield.

Then our friend Jenaya came over, and she and ThatManILove grilled a London Broil and veggies.  And then the little sweetheart made homemade ice cream, oh yes, she did.

Me? I worked on pictures & laundry most of the day. And then, I cleaned up the kitchen.  (That's my job when others do the cooking, and I'm glad to do it!)

I need another three day weekend - one where I’m not busy 24/7.

Please?  Because the one I was just supposed to have?  Flat out disappeared. 

My Little Scene Stealer

Remember I had begged tried wanted been scheduled to keep little Kingston last weekend?

I did!! I got to keep the little tyke!  I was SO excited!

I had all these grandiose plans of taking millions of pictures within a three hour window and blowing his parents away with these cool, creative photos.  I got out the cowboy boots and the hat, and my favorite cowboy-themed decoupaged trunk.

And I tried, I really did.  He kept grabbing everything - which made for some really cute shots.

But me, plus a 6 month old, who has discovered he can hold a million things, including your props for his photo session?  Equals WORN OUT.

And did I tell you he is a droolbucket?  A teething wonder!


He let me dress him up for this shot.




























And dress him down for this one.

He loved laying in the sun (under the tree, of course.)

And he didn’t mind Zanna the Wonderdog giving him a facial.

And then, that was it.  As quick as you could say, "Where's my dang bottle, Janie?" Kingston ran out of good will, and got fussy.

I?  Got the bottle.  Quickly.  Before he started screaming instead of just fussing.

It was naptime.  And the little thing, who supposedly sleeps 20-30 minutes at naptime, slept 2 hours.  Oh, yes, he did.

Isn’t he beautiful?

I figured out another thing.  When taking a little boy's pictures, especially one that is 6 months old and super active, it might be good to schedule an assistant.

I need a nap.  And it's been four days since.

Sttttrrrrreeeeeeeettttttttttcccccccccchhhhhhhh....

Looks like Blogger had an owie, and my regularly scheduled post...didn’t.

I really am trying to post a little bit every day, but I guess you’ll have to wait until Monday for the next funny story in “Mi Vida Loca”!

Tonight, I attended my son’s engagement party.  It was fun.  His mom hosted it...no, not me, but his real mom.  I have the honor of being Younger Son’s stepmom, but that’s a word we use rarely.

I’m Janie.  (Big stretch there, huh?)  When he introduces ThatManILove and I to people, he says, “This is my mom, Janie, and my dad, TMIL*”  (*He really calls him “Dad” but introduces him by his given name.)  Sometimes, he calls me Mamarazzi.  I don’t have a clue why.  (Right.)

Two sets of divorced parents can be a tough deal, for the parents, the steps, and the kiddos.  Tonight, TMIL was stuck on location, so I went and picked up the grandparents, and basically...headed over to TMIL's ex-wife’s house for his son's party.

Was I scared?  No.  Was I nervous?  You bet.  I’ve never been inside her house, and TMIL wasn’t with me.  TMIL and I have been married for 10+ years, and they were divorced 7 + years before I met TMIL.  But, still, it’s kinda weird, you know?

There was no need for nervousness...she was amazing and gracious.  Her house is absolutely beautiful, and we were welcomed with open arms.  The party was fun, and it was good to see Younger Son’s friends and meet his fiancee’s parents.  And it was good for me to be out of my comfort zone, ya know?

There was a really funny moment.  Younger Son's grandmother was trying to take a picture of the couple, and trying to get the decorated cake in the picture as well.  Photographer Janie, who knows all, you know (ahem), lifted the cake at a slant and told the couple to hold it "just at this angle".  Grandmother was trying to catch the perfect smile from them, and thank God, a friend said, "Is that cake moving?" - and it WAS!  It was sliding down the cake sheet!  They straightened it up just in time, or that cake would have been on the floor.  It was quite the icebreaker, and it.was.MY.fault.  Oh yeah, baby, it's never boring around here!

Tomorrow?  A baby shower, and then, babysitting this little 6 month old Kingston for a co-worker.  (The little tyke doesn’t yet know it, but he’s going to be in another Janie photo shoot.  (DUH.))  It will be fun, he's grown so much since his last session!

Kingston was 4 months old here - isn't he beautiful!

And by then, hopefully, TMIL will be home for the weekend.

Y’all have a good one.  I hope Blogger lets me post this!  I’d hate for y’all to miss out on the ups and downs of my exciting day today. (Yawn...)

Happy trails, y’all!

Kiddos, Mudbaths, and Sweet Babies

I wrote this last night.   And then, somehow my computer updated, and it’s...gone.  Vamoose.  Andale.  History.  Quick.  But the upside is I had loaded all my photos to Phanfare, so that's good.  And the bigger upside - all my old files are back.  YAHOOOO!

My original post wasn’t that great anyway, really just gritching about how busy my Saturday was.  Busy, but fun.

First, I met a friend for breakfast/brunch. Nothing better than Mexican food for breakfast!  Yummmm.  Totally blows the diet, though.

As soon as I finished, I met more friends, and drank tea while they ate their salads and pizza.

And then, it was time for the birthday party for Cash, one of my 4 year old friends.  The invite said to come to the party at “the Treehouse and Dirt Pile.”  

Cash' space shuttle birthday cake.  Check out his shirt.  It's the truth!

And they weren’t kidding!  It is so much fun to watch munchkins...especially when they turn the “dirtpile” into the “mudbath.”  Here are some pix so you can join in the fun.

Not too bad...the boots might be history.

Yup, the boots are history.  Daddy thinks it's funny.

Just to show you how crazy it got!

Mudslide!  Big sister Brooke on bottom.

Brooke, still beautiful!

And when it was time to leave, I got a text from my sweet dog-walker, Casey, who’s just given birth to a beautiful little boy.  She wanted to snag a minute to take some pictures, so she met me at the house.  Zanna?  Loves little Rhyder...

Great timing...except for little Rhyder had one horrible tummyache.  We worked around it, but pretty much will have to reschedule.

I love babies.

Happy trails until we meet again!