May's Favorite Face

It's people's choice at I Heart Faces this week, and they want to see your favorite face photo from May. I decided to go with something a bit informal, but very real. This is from Mother's Day morning. As you can see, I'm still sporting the jammies and glasses (oy!) But honestly, what says "Happy Mother's Day" better than breakfast in bed that you have to share with your three year old? He drank most of my orange juice, too.

Check out more great faces from May over at I Heart Faces.

16 Weeks

Things are moving right along in the KSP maternity ward. My belly is looking quite a bit bigger than it did last time I posted (Due, in part, to the fact that I've just stopped trying to hold it in. If you've got it, flaunt it, right?).

Can't wait to find out if this baby is a boy or a girl so I can start buying props. Just what I need more props. I should post a picture of my "prop closet." Yikes! And it is meager compared to many photographers. The problem is the prop closet is, in fact, the closet in the baby's room, which means sometime between now and November, I'm going to have to clean it out and start storing my props somewhere else. Double yikes! Wonder if the homeowners association would complain if I added an extra floor to our house?

And if you're following along with the text (these pictures will eventually go into a photobook along with the text pages), here's the 16 Weeks text.

More YELLOW at I Heart Faces

The photo theme this week at I Heart Faces is YELLOW. (And you thought I was the only one obsessed with this color.) I went back and forth on which yellow photo to enter, but settled on this one of Max chowing down on his ice cream at the fair last summer because it is super summery and, as you may have guessed if you are a regular reader, I'm all about summer. Also because I love the crisp focus on his eyelashes in this shot. The kid has lashes to die for and he'll NEVER appreciate them. (I also love this picture because any picture of Max eating is a true-to-life depiction of him, as that is pretty much all he ever wants to do).



Check out more yellow entries over at I Heart Faces, and have a super summery week (unless you're in Chicago, in which case you'll be having rain and cold along with me).

Sharin' the Love with Lexi and Andrew ~ Chicago Children's Photographer

Remember the Share the Love contest from February? I finally got to meet up with the adorable winners, Lexi and Andrew, this weekend. We thought the rain was going to get in our way, but the day turned out to be sunny and beautiful.

Lexi and Andrew were two super fast little kids. They were too busy checking out the all the cool stuff at the Chicago Botanic Gardens to care much for me and my camera. Can you really blame them? But the good news is my camera is faster than a speeding toddler so I was still able to capture them in all their kiddie glory!

Thanks for coming out to see me and giving me my workout for the day, Lexi and Andrew!

Hello? Summer? Are you there? Are you there?

I'm not sure we ever had Spring, just a lot of rain. Now I feel like Horton searching for his Whos in the great patch of clovers. I keep searching for summer amongst all the rain and cold. We found one day of it yesterday, but today we're back to the clovers a hundred miles wide. But no worries. I'll find summer. I'll find it or bust!

Tuesday's (tardy) Top 5

(Better late than never right?)

So I have a confession to make. I might be edging, ever so slightly, toward the possibility of potentially becoming mildly obsessed with designing the most fabulous (but budget-friendly) nursery evah. I'm not going to say that I'm obsessed. Not yet. I'm only 15 weeks. If I were obsessed now, where would I go from here? But every great potential obsession needs a jumping off point, right?

Here are some of the AWESOME websites that are fueling my obsession (a less cynical person might say they are inspiring me).

MY TOP 5 NURSERY INSPIRATION SITES (as of today)

5. Honey & Fitz. This blog is written by a lady whose obsession with decorating is so far past mine they are not even on the same planet. Seriously, I love everything she does, but I'm not sure we could be friends. Still, the nursery she designed for her son Knox is totally 100% fabulousness.

4. Project Nursery. The name is pretty self-explanatory here. It's a website dedicated to nursery design. The highlight is the real nursery gallery where you can see the rooms others have designed for their own (real-life, not Martha-Stewart-grown) little ones.

3. Buy Modern Baby. This site reaches farther than just nurseries, but keeps its focus on only things "modern" for baby (think sleek, funky, possibly head-scratch inducing).

2. Oh Dee Doh. This site is actually the children's branch of a larger site called Apartment Therapy, so it's not surprising that Oh Dee Doh's focus is on "small living," i.e. living with kids in small spaces. They are currently running a contest for creative and stylish nurseries and kids rooms that measure 75 square feet or less. Can you imagine putting your baby to sleep in her walk-in-closet nursery or nook in your bedroom/living room combo? Move to New York (or Chicago) and you can!

1. Pinterest. I just discovered Pinterest but I am already so so SO hooked. I can't even explain it. I was trying to explain the site to my sister tonight and the best I could come up with is that it's a place to waste time looking at lots and lots of beautiful things. And you get to put them all into your own little collection to drool over any time you want! Gah! I already have a healthy little pinboard started for BSv2 (Baby Shores version 2)'s nursery inspiration. I'm sure it will continue to grow. If you want a pinterest invite, let me know and you can procrastinate with me, too!

And since no post is complete without a picture. Here's the very first thing I ordered for the nursery. It's a book end (have I mentioned the nursery is going to be book themed?) from CB2. It's yellow and funky and fab. And this is only the beginning!

What's bugging ewe?

Ha ha. I kid. I kid.

Seriously? You're still reading this?!?

Happy Mother's Day

I've gotten to know some pretty AWESOME moms through this little photo adventure. I hope you are all having a FANTASTIC day! Here's a taste of how I started my Mother's Day:

Mother's Day started early:

But sweetly:

My first "child" stayed close by:

While my boys made me this:

The little one wanted to share:

But he had to pay the price:

Ah Bliss:

Tuesday's Top 5

Mother's Day is coming up (have you purchased your KSP portrait gift certificate for the mother in your life?), so I thought I'd use this week's Top 5 to celebrate my mom (Hi Mom!). So let's just get down to business, shall we?

THE TOP 5 REASONS I HAVE THE BEST MOM

5. My mom is funny. When I was in high school this meant she was always making the other kids laugh while I cringed in the corner, and now she'd probably say I like to laugh at her as much as I laugh with her, but one way or another, my mom is always good for a smile.

4. My mom taught me good things. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Tell the truth. When God closes a door, He opens a window. Thin Mints are better frozen. You don't have to wear underwear with pantyhose, but a slip never hurts. Call your mother at least once a week. The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Rhoda are must see tv, even in nick at nite reruns. You know, all the important stuff.

3. My mom is selfless. She is a giver. I'm pretty sure that when I was a kid and teen this meant my mom often went without new clothes, nights out, a new car, free time, and countless other things, just to make sure my sister and I had what we needed. Thanks, Mom.

2. My mom is my biggest fan. There's a country song that says (yes, I love country music), "I'm the spitting image of my father, and when the day is done, my mama's still my biggest fan." I'm telling you, whoever wrote that lyric must have known me. Without any hesitation I can easily say that my mom is the captain of the Katie-is-Great cheerleading squad, far outstripping my husband, my father, my sister, my son, or even my cat. And not just because she consistently reads and comments on my blog. I think if they made Katie-foam-fingers, she'd buy the lot. (And yes, I am the spitting image of my father).

1. My mom is...my mom. She brought me into this world, and (as Cliff Huxtable would say), she can take me out. Doesn't get any better than that.

I LOVE YOU MOM! CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU THIS WEEKEND!

November Newborn

Booked a newborn session for November 2011. Why so early? Because it's my own newborn session! Baby Shores v.2 is on the way and due November 9th! I can't wait to meet our second little one AND to share lots and lots of newborn pictures with all of you! I'm already prop collecting.

For now, I've been trying to document the belly and some random thoughts here and there. My belly's not too big yet, but definitely growing faster than it did with Max. Stay tuned for more BSv.2 updates and mark those calendars for the first week of November!

(p.s. click on the link below each picture to be taken to a version with my random ramblings)

(p.p.s. not sure what I was thinking with this first picture. yikes! can you see "needs a tan"?!?! but I can't redo it now.)

[5 weeks]

[9 weeks]

[12 weeks]