Sweet Baby Landon

Saturday morning, I went back to see Torrie. Except this time she had this cute little butter bean with her that she calls "Landon".

I call him pure bliss.

I'm not even 1/3 of the way thru little Landon's images, but I couldn't help but post just one.

And my favorite so far, too, I might add.

2009 Year in Review

2009 was good to me.

Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally good to me.

Like, almost-one-of-the-best-years-ever good to me. Yeah, THAT good.

I looked back at the 6500 images I took (no joke, it was that many!!) and tried to find the best picture of the year. Something that highlighted the year.

But, when I started looking, I couldn't find one. I could find 32 of them. And then at one point I narrowed it down to 15, but I couldn't find just one.

Then, I asked myself, "Why do I have to pick just one?".

And that tiny little thought led me to 158 images that I compiled into this amazing slideshow. Which to me, was a 5 minute smile chiseled into my face.

As easy as you'd think this would be for me -- a photographer, mind you -- it was so hard trying to weed out the "unimportant" images. We had alot of important stuff happen over the course of 2009. There were birthdays, and milestones of a first tooth loss, there were sporting events and life events of babies being born. There were holidays and vacations.

But my all-time favorite times from last year were the in-betweens. The Halfdozen sledding trips and snow forts, the family trip to the Ohio State spring game, the night all of us went to dinner at TGIFridays and Cassanos, and our Yahtzee games. Then, there were the summer nights of the kids playing in the backyard, or the hot afternooons at the swimming pool. The lazy Saturday afternoons of sidewalk chalk drawings and the backyard football games.

How is one person suppose to choose a favorite? I couldn't. And believe me, I tried! Chris always makes fun of me for have 100 favorites of something -- movies, colors, foods, shoes. "They ALL can't be your favorites...", he'd say. But there was just no way for me to have only one favorite.

I hope my family gets to look back at the gazillion (that's really a word) pictures that I have taken over their lives and appreciate the moments that I was able to capture.

It's like memory insurance.

One day they'll be old, with kids of their own, looking back at boxes full of pictures. They'll tell their kids "man, I remember when we went here"....or "remember how mad mom got when we broke that clock?"

I want them to feel their hearts swell when they look back at these pictures and remember how much they were loved. Then maybe, just maybe, they'll have a tiny idea about how it felt to be their mom.

Maternity Session with Torrie

I think if I had to do it all over again, I'd definitely opt for some professional maternity photos. Something to look back on to see myself beautiful, with this tiny miracle in my body.

There's only one picture of me pregnant with my first daughter.

One.

It was Christmas of 1997 and I was (what felt like) 100 months pregnant, but in reality I was 8 months and 3 weeks. My husband (at the time) and I were spending Christmas Eve with my grandparents and my Grandpa INSISTED that all the grandkids get a picture taken together.

And if you knew my Grandpa, when he spoke you knew to listen.

Every Christmas you could practically count on the same picture being taken. It was as traditional as pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce. So, all 6 grandkids stood up in our prearranged line.

Except this year I had to move from the center, to the end. My enormous frontside was wreaking havoc on the symmetry of the picture.

There wasn't much to choose from for maternity clothes back then. Most of the shirts looked more like Grandma's Chintz pillow cases with sleeves. All the pants had elastic waist bands that, I'm pretty certain, cut off the circulation to your lower appendages. And my attire was no exception that day. I wore a white ribbed, knit top and a pair of hideous black, knit pants. My hair was dark and long -- to the middle of my back -- and completely out of style. And it was well before I knew what make-up was or how to use it. I reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally could've benefited from some foundation, blush and mascara. To say the least.

I stood there, on the end cap of the traditional picture, with a big smile on my face ready for Grandpa to snap away. He put the camera up to his face, and then lowered it again. And as he peered over his camera, he said,

"Ericka, you look like a big Oreo."

Probablynot the thing to say to an overly-hormonal pregnant lady. And it definitely wasn't the most flattering compliment I've ever received, but I have to admit it's pretty funny now. And, it was actually pretty accurate. I DID look like an Oreo. A double-stuffed one, to boot.

But, that's not the case nowadays. Pregnant women are gorgeous and without all the knit. Torrie was no exception. She was glowing, she was super-sweet, and absolutely adorable.

I shot this entire session in the nursery with one single window. The light just poured in and was just as beautiful as Torrie.

Catching up....again

I feel pretty ashamed that I haven't blogged since November 16th. I'm usually pretty faithful about blogging -- even if it's about absolutely nothing.

No, seriously, I am.

Chris can tell you.....every time I pick up my camera to take a picture of just about everything he'll turn to me and say "you're gonna blog that later, huh?". It's like second nature to me -- well, it WAS until I got hit with the holiday rush.

So, rest assured that it has nothing to do with me not having anything to say. I can guarantee you that. Quite the contrary, really.....TOO much to say.

So, let's back up a second here....

November gave me a mad rush of holiday photo sessions and card designs. One of the coolest parts of my job is opening a card from a client and seeing my images on the front of it. It's truly rewarding.





Back in October, me and one of my best friends (and fellow photographer, I might add) did a creative swap. I took her family photos and she took ours. Which meant I had to design our own Christmas card this year, too. (I say "had to" like it's a big chore or something! I love it -- who am I kidding!??)

It's alot different editing your own family session than when you do it for a client. I bet I arranged these pictures on this card a hundred times -- and I still don't know if I'm satisfied with it. (But, man, I have some cute kids!!!)

I have been truly blessed this year and the success of my business. Thanks to a supportive fiance and my amazing clients for that. It still seems a bit surreal to me to think that I'm the owner of a successful business. Since walking away from my Corporate America job in July, I have been living my dream.

Anyway, back to the chaos....

So, along with my mad rush of photo sessions, I also had the mad rush of Thanksgiving. This is a holiday that is normally hosted by Granny. But this year was a little different. Granny is 84 years old and last year it took her 3 days to recover from the event. So, this Thanksgiving, I did it. All by my big girl self. I had a house full of all of our closest family and friends with (what seemed like) 100 kids.

I fixed my first turkey ever (two of them actually) which was the most delicious, meat-falling-right-off-the-bone-turkey I have ever eaten IN MY LIFE. (Not to stroke my own ego or anything, but it was pretty darn good!!!) Sweet potato casserole, green beans, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, corn, and rolls....warm and golden brown.

About a half hour before dinner started, and before anyone showed up that day, in walks my Grandma and my Uncle Mark, one of the most influential men of my entire life. Just in time to carve the turkeys, too.

So, Granny got a break, I got a surprise and everyone got to eat some good grub! Everything went off without a hitch and it was an absolutely perfect day.

Until the day after when Taylor got the flu. Green bean casserole looks a whole lot different floating in the toilet than it does in the dish, that's for sure.

Then, to add to our massive holiday craziness. Chris and I went on a cruise -- a 4 day cruise to the Bahamas -- in the beginning of December with some of his co-workers for his company. And, I have to say, it's pretty nice being on a beach in a bikini knowing everyone at home was freezing.

It was my first ever cruise and we had an amazing time. The first day at sea we spent on a privately owned island called Cocoa Cay. Which we wisely spent basking in the sun on the beach sipping Pina Coladas. That night was the formal dinner and the last day we spent in the Bahamas. Most of that day was spent snorkeling (so amazing!!!) and hanging out on the yaht with some amazing people. Absolutely amazing.






Ever since we got back from that cruise it's been a mad rush for Christmas. It's hard to believe that Christmas is even here already. Where did the year go?!

The Doyle Family

Geez-o-peets.

This session was by far one of my favorite sessions ever! This group of kids -- count 'em 5!! -- was so fun and easy to work with -- they did anything asked of them and the smiles never left their cute little faces.

I had such a hard time picking my favorites from this session!! But, I think I have it narrowed down to these:

(Would you believe me if I told you these two were twins?!?!???)

Aren't they all just adorable!?

Heather, their mom, is one of Chris' best childhood friends. They practically grew up together and have remained close all these years. And, she's the only one that gets away with calling him "Chrissy"....so you know she's special. =)

14 Days of Thankful -- Day Three

One word.

Leftovers.

Last nights steak and potatoes became steak, mushroom, and onion omlettes today.

And why is it that I cannot cook a meal without making a huge mess?? I swear that most times it looks worse than if a tornado would have actually ran through my kitchen.

14 Days of Thankful -- Day Two

Today was pretty easy to find something to be thankful for. Well, most days are easy for me to do that. EVERYDAY I'm thankful for my family and our health. EVERYDAY I'm reminded of how lucky and blessed we are to have each other.

But today? Today I was thankful for our calendar on the refrigerator.

Yep. As minor as it might be to you or Joe Schmoe down the street, for me it pretty much runs this household.

Since Chris and I are both divorced, we have to keep track of which days the kids are with us and which days their with the other parents. That schedule alone is a task that Grandma Barker can't even get straight.

Yeah, this system is a hot mess, I'm sure of it. The days the girls are with us are marked with a thick, pink line and the days the boys are with us are marked with a thick, blue line. Any activites for the girls get written in purple and any activities for the boys get written in green. (Well, except for this month...a little elf took my purple pen and didn't return it.) Birthday's are written in black and any other miscellaneous information gets written with a pencil -- unless it's a definite commitment, then it gets written with a blue ballpoint pen.

Believe it or not, this month is a slow month. Our calendar normally looks like we're in the Witness Protection Program.

At least I look organized. Sort of.