Sock Monkey Madness

This weekend we threw a shower for my dear friend Jessie who is having yet ANOTHER boy to add to this collection we have going.  I won't lie, this little group of friends has thrown our fair share of showers and they just keep getting better if I do say so myself!  The theme for this shower as you will plainly see is Sock Monkeys!  Jessie seems to have a place in her heart for anything monkey as it relates to "Baby Lord" so we went with it…to the extreme!

Here are some of the details from the shindig…

What would a baby shower be without a lovely Mom to Be?  This is Jessie, and yes I swear she is 28 weeks pregnant even though she only looks about 12 weeks!  Oh to be tall!  The charming little baby is Violet, who you've all seen before, she's our only little girl so we slightly obsess over her whenever given the chance!

 
Congratulations Jessie and Kevin we can't wait to welcome Baby No Name into the world.  He certainly has an army of boys waiting to beat him up…I mean be his friend.

Play Date

Mr. Bennett had his first play date the other day.  It's never too early to start molding his keen social skills right?  I mean who would I be to deny him these opportunities?  Okay, MAYBE play dates at this point are more for me than for him but calling it a play date somehow seems a little less selfish.

Unfortunately Bennett decided to sleep through the majority (ok, all) of this little encounter…we'll get em next time!  Here he is with his friends Violet and Thomas.  Violet is the only girl in this little circle of friends, so she is a HOT commodity among the lads.  Bennett better wake up next time or Thomas is going to run away with his girl!

 

Welcome Baby Bennett!!

Well, my stubborn little boy decided to make his way into the world on Tuesday.  We had to coax him out, but this Mom is certainly not complaining.  Everything went extremely smoothly and then all of the sudden I had a healthy 8lb 9oz little boy in my arms.  We still hadn't officially decided his name so Chad demanded we decide before we went any further.  Bennett Joel was the consensus, and he is absolutely precious.

Here are some pics from our time in the hospital.  I would have shared them sooner but the hospital's WiFi was less than desirable and I couldn't get online.  TRAGIC.

This was Mr. Nolan meeting Baby Brother for the first time.  He thinks it's pretty cool at times and then at other times he chooses to ignore the fact that there is a new human being in our lives.  He does however enjoy the "big brother" presents that have come his way!

And a little something for Momma!  Nothing better than that sweet Tiffany Blue to brighten your day!  Woohooo for a husband with a good idea!!

They told us we were leaving the hospital around 11:00 or 12:00, and we actually didn't walk out the door until around 3:00.  So why just sit around, might as well do a small photo session!

Finally getting ready to go home, where the real fun will begin!!!

The most frequently asked question is "Does he look like Nolan?", so I thought I would do a little comparison for you.  You be the judge!  Nolan is on the left, Bennett on the right.  Unfortunately in Nolan's picture you can't see his full butt chin, but as you all know it is most certainly there just like Bennett's!

How about Wednesday?

So tomorrow is the big day.  Stubborn Baby Brother has decided to not make an appearance on his own so my Doctor has decided to induce me.  I have mixed emotions about this little adventure, but end result should be a baby tomorrow sometime so that is exciting.

We were dropping Nolan off at my Mom and Dad's tonight and here is how the conversation went:

Me: So buddy, do you think we should meet Baby Brother tomorrow?
Nolan:  Ummmm, how about Wednesday?
Me:  How about tomorrow?
Nolan: How about Wednesday?
Me:  I sure hope not buddy.

Please note that Nolan has no idea what day of the week it is and also please note that tomorrow is Tuesday, so NO waiting until Wednesday is not an option in my book.  Unfortunately I feel like kids have a way of knowing things and this makes me wonder if this little induction process is going to take until Wednesday to produce this child!  For the first time in Nolan's short little life I really hope he is WRONG!

Countdown Gone Horribly Wrong

I wanted to share with you a little countdown we had going on at home anticipating the arrival of Baby Brother.  Everyday we would cross off another number, and with every "x" I would hope that we wouldn't have to make another one the next day.  I will admit I had some wishful thinking that we would only make it to around day 14 or so, but of course I was willing to be patient and allow Baby Brother time to adequately bake.  Key word of that last sentence….WAS.  My patience is long gone at this point.

Here is the countdown…..

You may be looking at that thinking…What? I don't get it? Looks fine to me.  WRONG.  Let me point out what is wrong with the picture.  We have now crossed off Day #1.  Day #1 = August 11th…his due date.  So as I sit here writing this Baby Brother is officially LATE.  And now I have to redo the chalkboard and start with negative numbers.  FYI...I don't like negative numbers.

Jack of All Trades

We had a little family outing at the Magic House recently.  I can not lie, I might like that place just as much if not more than Nolan.  It really is so much fun, and Nolan loves to "pretend play" so it's a perfect fit.

Our first stop was the construction zone where Nolan was quite the construction worker.  I'm pretty sure he would have spent the entire day in this exhibit if we didn't make him move on.  And what can I say, I'm a sucker for a guy in a hard hat and safety vest!

We then moved on to being a plumber.  Most kids would come over and put one pipe together throw it down and move on.  Not Nolan.  Please note the large masterpiece in the top right corner, that's right that was left courtesy of the Struckmann Family.  You are welcome Magic House, just let us know when you would like us to stop by and demonstrate again.

Next we found ourselves in the children's hospital exhibit.  Nolan was practicing here for baby brother's arrival.  He fed him, listened to his heart and then slightly suffocated him!  We might need to work on being gentle in the future.

We saw this sign hanging and it kind of made me chuckle.  Considering Nolan asks about 500 questions a day right now at 2, I can only imagine he'll blow this statistic out of the water at 4!  Yikes.

Brian and Kristin…Part II

Talk about a job…trying to pick just a few favorites from each phase of this wedding was nearly impossible! After much deliberation this is my attempt to give you a glimpse into this amazing day from the beginning until the sweet end.

Thank you Kristin and Brian for letting me shoot your special day!

Brian + Kristin = Happily Ever After....Part I

You may be wondering why I haven't posted anything in a while, or you may have not even noticed! But today I am back from my sabbatical to share some pics.  A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of shooting a wedding and I vowed to not do anything else picture related until I went through and edited all of these pictures.  When you are dealing with like 800 pictures...this is no small task.  I typically like to wait until I'm done with all the editing and then pick a few of my favorites to share, but I have been "convinced" to share a few prematurely.  Ahhh the peer pressure.  So here is a small sneak peak, rest assured there will be more to come...hopefully by this weekend!

A little background:

This whole wedding was Awesome.  The wedding and the reception were at Neo on Locust, such a great space and a photographer's dream (great lighting...thank you Kristin!).  After the ceremony we hit a few downtown spots like the Stadium, The Arch and Forest Park (all pics you'll have to wait to see). 

It was a HOT day but this wedding party rocked and I didn't hear one complaint. I think they were too busy battling the heat with adult beverages...but whatever, no complaints!  Did I mention it was HOT?  The reception had a tinge of a baseball flare...again something you'll have to wait to see but I know you'll love.

Can you even take the suspense? Maybe I should consider writing novels, cliffhangers like this have got to be worth some moolah!  Enjoy!