Yay!

So, that surprise that I mentioned a few weeks ago...is FINALLY here! Just visit my website to see the beautiful work of talented illustrator Richard Wagner. www.sheilanielsenphoto.com This illustration captures my vision for my photography. My vision is to capture real moments. Sure, there are times that I enjoy setting up a "scene" & making a portrait...but what is most important to me is to capture children in their "moment". Each child goes through phases & stages. I want to capture those moments. To my husbands dismay...our middle son went through a phase where he liked to wear my shoes, or his sisters dress up shoes, (now he's on to his "cool dude" shoes). Our daughter went through a stage in which she had to take this little doll everywhere...that lasted for a couple of years...over time...that doll was played with less & less...tossed aside like Woody on Toy Story. Those stages pass so quickly & soon our babies are toddlers, then they are starting Kindergarten or getting married. I want to capture all of those life moments.... As you will see in the illustration...it's just a boy & a girl...just wearing something that they are "into" at that moment...but not wearing those clothes in a place that they would be expected to wear them. They are carefree. That's what childhood is about...we only have a moment in time to be carefree. I want to capture those moments...I want parents to be able to look back at the photos of their children & feel a little tug on their heart & remember the way their son would drag a blankie everywhere. Or when their daughters favorite activity was to hunt for lizards.... Check it out. Rick worked so hard on the illustration & E did a great job implementing the flash & working on the "backend" schtuff. My poor husband has been so busy & has been putting up with my insufferable nagging. That, alone, deserves kudos. I love you darling hubby of mine! Thank you for putting up with me!

Amazing Senior

I say amazing because this young man is just that...not only is he great loooking & a tri-sport athlete, (he'll probably die if he reads this!)...he is a sweetheart. I just kept thinking, "Oh! I hope that I can raise my kids to be just as great!". His parents have done a great job! I was so glad that mom came along! We had fun giving him a hard time & getting him to relax. He was such a great sport! His wardrobe was great! Not many guys show up with so many fun shirts to choose from!

Sweet brothers!

I had to share these sweet boys! They were so refreshing! The boys found a ladybug & forgot all about me for a few minutes. I threw together a quick storyboard with some of the ladybug photos....

Widget madness

I went widget crazy tonight. :) Being a photographer...I like to know what is going on with the weather...so, I added a weather widget. M is our family weather person. She loves to know what the weather is doing, what it's going to do and why. We recently bought a fabulous weather station for our home. My favorite feature is that it will tell you what the weather for the following day will be...you don't have to get online & look it up...I can just walk over to the little station & check it out! We're still trying to get the darn rain guage to work.
E was out washing off our new patio & found this little tree frog. The kids have been sick & stuck at home for about a week...so, this little guy was a bright spot. J slept most of the day & he even got up to hold him for a bit.
Ugh. I have been going through the hordes of baby boy clothes & put them on craigslist tonight. It's such a tedious job & it makes me sad. My (younger) sister is pregnant & I was hanging on to them until she found out what she is having. We are so excited that they are having a little girl. Not that it made a difference either way, but we're excited for another girl in the family. I have a baby clothes addiction...I do not know why I thought that my son had to have so many clothes. There are so many that he never wore. I thought that he would be little because the first two were so tiny (& still are).... Well, I am going to place a photo order & get to bed....

We're so competetive

I came across this little typing speed test...I took it & of course, E had to try to beat me. It is probably the only thing that I can beat him at! Come on Summer...I know ya wanna!

77 words

More from SeamsSewNeat

Thank you so much Shae & Beth! I LOVE everything! I asked Shae to make K some fun/funky wrist cuffs. They turned out great! K loves the cuffs. He plays likes to spin them on his wrist. Check it out w/ the matching diaper cover! So cute! Shae made several & they are all fun! J even has a GREEN one that he loves. Green is his favorite color. :) I have yet to get a photo with him wearing it. He slept with it on last night. So sweet! The cuffs are reversable too. She made some girlie covers & leggies for baby girl sessions. I LOVE what she came up with! She is so amazingly creative & talented! The texture in this purple cover is fabulous! I had to try it on K to see what it looks like! The kids got a kick out of seeing little brother in "gwirl unnerwear" (Jase speak). Check out the little baby leg warmers. I love nakey buns...so cute! I am a baby leg warmer junkie. K has TONS! We have wood floors, so they are great for getting around. They are also great for quick diaper changes, (yes, I usually have him diapered). Oh, can you tell that K is getting into this modeling thing? Look at him posing!

UPDATED PHOTOS: Shae & Beth made me some more beautiful covers, (they went above & beyond!)...K wasn't in the mood, so I just started grabbing covers & putting them on him. Click the photo & into the next one. Check out the cute idea Shae had to add the frog, etc. She also made them reversible! Some are girl on one side & boy on the other. I love versatility & practicality! Shae made some fire wrist cuffs to match the diaper cover. She made a big cuff for J to wear too...I would have taken photos of those, but J & M took those as soon as I got them out of the bag. They wanted to have matching cuffs, so M thanks you too Shae! I am off to bed...M had the yucky virus that's been going around...she is on the mend & now J has it. I am seriously sleep deprived. J NEVER gets sick...so, I am so surprised that he caught it. I felt like a horrible mom today. I had a session. I was only gone for an hr & a half tho. Then I felt more guilty because it was a nice relaxing session with two adorable boys, (J was home sick w/ dad & I was having fun. What kind of mom am I?!). I will spend tomorrow proofing & then let mom & grandma see the photos...then I might share a few! :)

Bubbles!

M & J had fun with the bubbles that Uncle Corey & Aunt Anwa (Andrea) got J for his birthday. J likes M to make the bubbles so he can chase them. I was showing the kids the photos & J was very impressed that it looked like he was tooting a bubble. He thinks that he has a superpower now. Hysterical. Not really, but it is when you're a 4yo boy. One of the differences with my older two is that M is usually facing the camera & J is NEVER facing the camera. Drives me crazy. 80 percent of the photos of J are of his backside. Once again...I have posted WAAAAY too many photos.... I can't help it! I can't pick a favorite!

Our new baby

Meet the newest addition to our family. We pick him up in about a month. Yay! He is 4 wks now. We have been waiting several months for him to be born & to get photos of him. His name is Blue. Thanks to Audrey for taking some snaps for us! Blue is a Blenheim Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, (isn't that a mouthful). Cavalier Kings are so sweet, loyal & great with kids. For now, we will visit our neighbors Cavalier Kings. They have a male & a female. J can hardly wait until Blue gets to sleep in the room w/ him & K. I don't think that he gets the fact that he will soon assume the responsibility of being the pooper scooper. :) The kids are already calling him "Bluey". It seems that the male children in our family end up with nicknames that have "ey" on the end...so "Bluey" it is!

My desk

I totally forgot to post photos of the beautiful desk that my wonderful husband made for me. He still needs to put the drawer on, but I'm not in any hurry.... I love the little cubbys in the side. You can leave the slats in & have small cubbies, or you can take the slats out & have shelves. He made a slide out table for my Wacom tablet. SOOOO much easier than it taking up room on my desk. I can just slide it back in when I am not using it. He also made a slide out for my printer. I can't wait to post photos of his latest project. He is extending our patio. It is so close to being finished. The forms have been laid. We're just waiting for the concrete to be poured. That will happen next week. We will hold off on the next project until fall. We save the indoor projects for the rainy season. That's when we hope to have our counter tops put in. I have been dying for new counter tops since we moved in. We have some UGLY teal counter tops right now. Everything upstairs has been updated, except our ugly counter tops & kitchen cabinets. Baby steps....

SeamsSewNeat

My friend, (& fellow photographer), Shae made these sweet little diaper covers. I am planning on using them in those sessions where moms would like some mostly nakey baby shots without exposing their parts. These covers are the perfect solution. They are fun & stylish! I will be purchasing more from Shae so that you will have a variety to choose from! If you would like to check out more from the multi-talented Shae...here is a link to her products on her myspace page..... http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=173335575

Check out her latest blog! They have a store front now! Yay girls!

Encouraging words

My beautiful daughter is known for her brutal honesty in her childlike way. As I was dressing she came into my room as I was making noises that showed my dismay with how my clothes were fitting. Apparently, she wanted to encourage me because she says, "mom, you're only chubby up to here" & she holds her hand up to her neck. Wow. I was actually not too dissapointed with my post-pregnancy progress until she said that! haha! I am wearing most of my pre-pregnancy clothes. I started cracking up & gave her a hug. She responded by saying, "what?". I wish that I could keep my babes little forever........

Friends

This is Kiah & her crew. I have photographed Kiah on several occassions. She is always a blast! So beautiful, fun & carefree. My dream for Kiah is to be a stylist...more specifically...my stylist. She always has the best outfits! Here are a couple from the session....

Cool Dude shoes

These are J's "cool dude shoes". He picked them out today & wants to sleep in them. We told him that it's ok to take your shoes off to sleep...you won't stop being cool. :) I wanted a few photos of him in his cool dude shoes...M was running around yelling "take some of me too!". I have TONS of photos of her in her cute boots...so, she's really not deprived. :)I will probably make a storyboard out of J's shoe photos. K was being cute & vegging on sis's stuffed cat & another of K from a few days ago. I love that you can see his little tooth. :) Oh, Summer...I posted TWO blogs for you! :) Aren't you proud of me?

Headshots

I have been doing a lot of headshots lately. This young woman contacted me wanting professional, yet approachable headshots. I was so excited when she said that she wanted a few indoors, but also some outdoors. We shot a few in my studio & then went over to the Art Center for a few more.