Meghan had a gymnatics party at Gymkhana. Meghan and 10 of her girl friends spent 2 fun filled hours at the gym. Earlier in the year, Meghan attended a girl scout overnight lock in at Gymkhana and has wanted to have her birthday party there ever since. Last year she missed out on having a party because Michah was born. So this year we decided to go the extra mile for Meghan. I think the girls had the most fun jumping into the “pit”
I never thought I would ever say this… but I can’t wait until school starts. The kids have been driving me crazy. Summer camp is over so I have all three kids, all day long. I have to constantly be their entertainment and I can’t get anything done. It really is not as bad as I’m making it out to be. I do get to send the boys to daycare three days a week. But as soon as they get home, the kids start.
Meanwhile Michah is getting steadier on his feet and walks more each day. I have to watch him like a hawk to make sure he is not getting into anything he is not supposed to. Now that he is upright, there is a whole new world for him to see at his new eye level.
It totally amazes me what can hold Michah’s attention for a period of time. It could be the house fly that is just buzzing away. Or perhaps the flower in the garden. There really is something special seeing the world for the first time.
Jennifer Morelli is the winner of our European Crystal Bridal show drawing. We had a lot of fun meeting all next year’s brides who have just started planning for their special day!
Yesterday was Emily and Andrew’s wedding day. It was a small wedding. It was so small that I’ve actually had some bridal parties with more people than everybody in attendance at Emily and Andrew’s wedding. Despite the small size, about 30 people, it was one of the most romantic weddings I’ve seen. To me what mad the gathering special were the people. We got to know everybody there and everybody was special to the bridal couple.
I think this is just about everybody except me and Cory.
The reception was at Andrew’s Mother’s house. Here is the dining room all set for dinner.
We did get away to a little park for a couple of minutes.
Dr. Ted is our pediatric dentist. I wish he was my dentist. His office has lots of neat stuff. There is a play room for the kids who are waiting. But I think the best part of the office are the TV’s mounted in the ceiling. When the kids are in the dental chairs they can look at a TV on either the wall or above them. There are always a variety of kids shows playing.
Yesterday, both Meghan and Mathew had their checkups. Everything was fine for Mathew. But for poor Meghan it was another story. A quick exam of her mouth showed one of her permanent teeth had erupted yet her baby teeth had not fallen out. An x-ray confirmed that there was another tooth just waiting to emerge. Unless Meghan’s two baby teeth were removed, they would cause the adult teeth to come in crooked and daddy to have a huge orthodontics bill.
So out they came. Meghan was a real trooper. A lot of the credit goes to Dr. Ted. He’s great at keeping the kids calm and working fast. Before we knew it, the two baby teeth were under Meghan’s pillow for the tooth fairy! In the morning, there was $6.00 from the Tooth Fairy. $5 for the first tooth and $1 for the second. What a way to start her birthday.
Not to much later, Meghan got an Enchanted Call from Cinderella with a special birthday greeting. Unfortunately, a little bit later, I had to leave for Emily and Andrew’s wedding. I’ll try to post some photos from the wedding in the next couple of days.
It has been one year since Michah was born. Hard to believe. So much has changed. It does not matter that I watched first Meghan and then Mathew grow through the first year. Michah’s growth has amazed me. I forgot to mention that he started taking his first steps about a week or so ago. Everyday he is a little steadier on his feet. Thankfully, Meghan has decided she is going to be a mini-mommy. It is funny to hear her praise the baby and try to take care of Michah. Sometimes, I think I’ve got to watch her to make sure she does not over mommy him! Other times, she is a big help and allows me to get things done around the house.
One Innocent Baby:
Plus One Cupcake:
Equals:
What a mess!
I spent the day at Starved Rock. Yes, I know that its Tuesday, not a typical day for a wedding. But I didn’t have a wedding today. It was one of my rare commercial shoots. This week, Starved Rock is hosting a teacher conference being hosted by the Golden Apple Foundation. The Golden Apple Foundation was formed to foster educator excellence in Illinois. They hired me to spend the day photographing two different workshops being taught to teachers at Starved Rock.
One group was Science Teachers and the other was Art Teachers. Talk about a right brain vs. left brain difference in the rooms. The Art room was total chaos while the science room was orderly. The scientists were quiet while the artists were boisterous. I could go on but you get the idea. All in all it was a fun to have a different type of event to photograph. To top it off, I did get a chance to see my friends, who work at Starved Rock.
Another great wedding, this time for Allison and Brian. The weather cooperated and we had one of those great days. Cory, the summer intern I hired from Bradley, joined me at the wedding. I surprised her by letting her shoot some photos at the reception with a backup camera. Cory was surprised at how difficult it is to take photos in a dark reception hall. I think it gave her a new appreciation for what I do. I’m too tired to post any more, so good night!
Summer has begun to set in. Meghan has started at summer camp and really enjoys the days. Mathew wants to spend the day there too but he will have to wait until next year. Everyday at camp, Meghan has a swimming lesson. By the end of the summer, I bet she is going to be pretty good.
Meanwhile, work on the lower level is nearing completion. There are several little things to get done but we need to wait for some materials to arrive before they can resume work. The main thing we need is the counter for the bathroom sinks. We are having a custom double bowl counter with integrated sinks made. The guy who does this is on vacation and once he returns it will be a couple of weeks before the counter is ready to install.
Meanwhile, I continue to work on albums, and weddings. There is just so much to do and so little time. I fear this is a summer that I will not get to enjoy the way I would like.
Wow! That’s about all I can say about last night’s engagement session with Melissa and Jeff. We went to Millennium Park and had a blast.
