Apple Orchard Photo Shoot /// Minus The Apples

This. 

This has to be my favorite time of year.

Oh, I love it so much.

I thought Sunday was the perfect day to take the kids out to the Apple Orchard for pictures,
it was sunny, the weather was beautiful and we had no plans.
I have been wanting to take recent pictures of them and I thought the Orchard would be a lot
of fun - plus a perfect bribery for the kids- you know, apple donuts, apple cider and the playground afterwards.

The funny thing is, there was no apples at the apple orchard.
Well, actually there was one, we saw ONE on a tree, that was it.
The owner said they lost nearly all of their apples during a freeze in April.
Good thing they sell apples in their shop from other places in Illinois so we had some for pictures
and for the kids to eat, too.
The kids cooperated really well for me, no snapping around or losing my patience, no tears from anyone. It was a good day.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

There are a whole lot more pictures from yesterday but I'll save the rest for another day.
Hope your week is off to a great start, Happy Monday.

{Photo Shoot}

Okay, now when I say photo shoot I don't mean like a
real-paying-job photo shoot but a photo shoot nonetheless.

I'm not quite there, yet.  Just wanted to clarify.

Anyway, this is from a photo shoot last weekend with my cousin's little girl.

She just turned 4-years old last month.

I am pretty happy with how they turned out.

I say pretty happy because there are a few things I could/should have done
 differently and things I should have taken into consideration ahead of time...
 but it's all a learning experience.
And I'm okay with that.

It was hot and the sun was really bright. Note to self: start earlier next time.

I think there are some really cute ones and we picked a good spot for pictures.
I love the last one myself.
Oh and the candy necklace?
Not only do they taste good, it was a big hit!
I had to wait to snap pictures between bites many times....but that's okay.
I am so stocking up on candy necklaces now.

*     *     *
Hope everyone has a happy, happy Monday!
And make sure & join me here tomorrow for Virtual Coffee.

Photo Shoot: Part 3 (and some pointers from me!)

I wanted to share a few more pictures form our little photo shoot at my uncle's barn a couple of weeks ago as well as a few things I learned that might help you with your own photo shoots.

This was the first real "Photo shoot" I attempted with the kids. I mean, obviously I am always taking pictures of them but I actually scheduled this one and planned ahead what I was going to do. 

 I also followed some of Maegan's advice on taking your kids' portraits; I let them know when/what/where it was going to be ahead of time and tried to make it sound like it was going to be a fun thing and a special day for them.

What I did wrong:
I wanted to get an early start before it got too hot and before the sun was way too bright...well, I didn't.
I wanted to be at our "location" by 9:30 but it was more like 10:45.

I had a hard time finding something to take for Wyatt as far as a toy/something to play with.
I asked him to pick something but he didn't so I didn't really have anything for him to do.
Wyatt plays with a lot of different toys and is interested in a variety of activities but I just couldn't come up with that one thing to bring along.
Next time I would buy something new for him and give it to him when we got there, nothing big... just something different/new that would hold his interest as he was bored fairly early on.


What I did right:
Brought extra clothes and a few props: blankets, baby doll, books, cars and play cupcakes.
They ate a snack and had a drink ont the way out there.

Candy worked great as a bribery/motivation. I thought the gum balls made a cute prop and doubled as a great bribe for Wyatt. He is only allowed to chew gum on occasion so he was pretty excited about getting to chew the gum once we were finished with the pictures. They kept him motivated to cooperate.

Charlotte's favorite thing ever are books. Books, books....any kind of books.
I grabbed a stack off of her book shelf and she just sat there and flipped through them on her own.
 I love vintage books and they made a cute prop, most of all, books are the first thing I think of when I think of Charlotte.

So there ya have it... just a few things that did work for me and a couple things I will do differently next time.
Happy shooting to you! I will share some more pictures of Wyatt next time.
Hope everyone had a great weekend and is enjoying a lazy Sunday.

Sneak Peek: Part 2

So I can't leave my boy out...here's a few pictures from our Photo Shoot yesterday.
And can I just say?
Those of you who get amazing photos of your own kids I have so much respect for you. It's hard.
Really hard when they are your own. But there are a few that I really like.
And I could be a little bias but he is pretty cute. And sweet.

I feel really sentimental looking at these pictures.
Five years old...going to kindergarten in just a few short months. Wow.

I know I have touched on this briefly before, but we went through a lot to get pregnant with Wyatt.
A couple years of appointments, tests, procedures, surgery, stress, tears, the unknown, doctors, the money, insurance dealings...so much.
 And just so this isn't getting too sappy.......

I wondered throughout my whole pregnancy if the baby was going to be Asian. Seriously.
I didn't obsess over it, but it was always in the back of my mind.
The day of the appointment when I "conceived" one little step was skipped. They would always have you sign this little thing before the procedure...you know, so you would know whose DNA was going to end up in there (for lack of too much explaining) but that day they didn't have me check it and sign it.
She forgot.
I thought of it as soon as the procedure started...uh-oh...too late now.
On our way out an Asian couple was walking out too and I looked right at the man and thought....well, if this works I hope I'm not carrying your baby.

And I wasn't. But if I was, I couldn't have loved him any less.
Happy Friday to you, hope you have a fantastic weekend!

{Sneak Peek}

We had a little Photo Shoot this morning out at my Uncle's Barn.
It's the perfect spot. Horses, stables, privacy, fields.....
It was a little hot and the kids were a little goofy but I had M&M's for bribery.
Just a sneak peak at some of Charlotte's pictures.
{I have a lot of editing to do, hope to show some of Wyatt's tomorrow}.

You totally want to go have a picnic with cupcakes for dessert right now,  don't you?