Jun 27, 2011

30 weeks down, 10 to go!

30 weeks today :) It's hard to believe. It's really starting to go by fast. It's almost July and I'm due early September so it will be here before we know it. I'm curious to see when he will be born. Part of me thinks he may come on the 28th of August. I have a reason for thinking that but I'm not gonna say why unless he comes on that day. I know, confusing right? Sorry. None of my kids have come on their due dates. Ethan was 4 days early and Gracelyn was 5 days late. Maybe this one will come on his due date ~ Labor Day. It would be fitting :)

Lincoln is almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage) and is about 15 inches long. His brain and nervous system are going through major developments. That's what I just looked up online :)

I'm feeling pretty good - a little tired the past few days but other than that I'm feeling great. I was having sciatic nerve pain there for awhile but it's calmed down the past couple weeks which has been great.

Here's my 30 week belly bump photo. I got a couple new things this past week at Motherhood Maternity, including this super cute dress.


Ethan wanted to get in the picture too :)



It was a beautiful weekend. Saturday I had a photo shoot - my first Senior Picture session. It was for one of my old daycare parents oldest daughter. I headed to Grand Blanc and met them downtown in hopes that I could find some good spots for pictures. I did :) Found a couple spots I loved by some buildings and then I knew of a few gazebos and such too that we drove too. The photos turned out great and it was loads of fun. Here are a few favorites.










And here are two I took of sweet Rachel. I used to watch her at my daycare when she was just 2 weeks old! I watched her until she was 2 and we had lots of special memories together. She was my first full time child and I fell in love with her. It's hard to believe she's going to be starting kindergarten this fall! Is she cute or what?



Later that evening we dropped little princess off at Gma and Gpa Petke's house and took Ethan on a date. Mom and Dad (and Aunt Kristy) went to dinner at the mall and then took him to see his very first movie - Cars 2. We weren't confident he would sit through the whole thing but thought we would try since he loves Cars. He lasted about 30 minutes :) The movie was 2 hours. Daddy took him out once he got bored and they walked around the mall and got some ice cream together. Luckily we were able to get 2 movie vouchers since the boys weren't able to stay in the movie - that was nice of them. So, now mommy and daddy will get a free movie next month on our date night out :) It was still so cute to see Ethan in the movies....eating away his popcorn.

We picked up our girl on the way home and headed back home. Some fireworks were just starting and we could see them from our driveway great so we thought we would let the kids stay up and watch them. They were both terrified of them - ha! They both started crying and they ran in the house so fast we were cracking up. So cute how innocent kids are - Ethan kept telling me, "Too loud....too loud." Oh well, maybe one year they'll like them :) We decided to watch from inside the house instead and they were ok with that. Ha!

Sunday morning we headed to church and it was a great service. We all gathered together outside the church after service and prayed and broke ground on our new church! We are just starting the process of a new building and it's gonna be awesome :) I love our church and the people so much - it really feels like home to me. I've never been able to say that about a church before but I can now and it's so wonderful. I've built so many great friendships through being involved and just love it. I love the realness of our pastor, that he wears jeans on Sunday's and isn't fake. He grew up atheist, was heavy into drugs and drinking and I love his heart and his testimony of how God turned his life around. He doesn't act like he's perfect and someone to be put on a pedestal. He's just an ordinary guy who loves Jesus!

After church I had our babysitter/friend Amanda come over and do some weeding. Jeremy and I have been working on it for weeks off and on and still have lots to do. I asked her a couple weeks ago if she was interested in doing some weeding for some money and she quickly said yes please! She's saving up for a car :) So she spent a few hours here yesterday and filled 2 yard bags of weeds and is coming back Wednesday to work some more. I can't wait until it's all done and we can get some mulch - it will look SO much better.

Jer went golfing with the boys yesterday afternoon and then they (my bro, my cousin and his gf) came back for a BBQ. It was fun and I made strawberry shortcake for dessert. So so good!

Well, my hubby is going out of town this week. Sigh. It's for business and I'm of course glad as it could lead to some great deals (he's in sales) for GMG/him/us but I so don't like being away from him. His flight leaves very early Wednesday morning (6am - ugh) and he gets back Friday afternoon. We've been apart maybe 10 nights in our almost 8 years of marriage (half of which was me in the hospital having our babies) so I always get sad when he's gone. The kids will keep me busy though I'm sure and we'll have a nice long July 4th weekend when he gets back so that will be fun. He's going to Tennessee and it's supposed to be super hot while he's there.

Well, that's about all for now. Hope you all have a great week!

Jun 22, 2011

My gorgeous children

I sure am enjoying taking photos of my babies. Memories to cherish for a lifetime! They are both so beautiful that I find myself staring at them often in awe - wow are they so adorable!

Here's a few photos I took yesterday of the kids. I was mainly shooting Gracelyn for her 2 year pics but had to get at least a few of my cute boy too.






I've been borrowing my brother in law's 50mm 1.4 lens and I'm in love with it! I'm saving up to buy one for myself with the money I make on the side with photography jobs. I can't wait to get one - it shoots such beautiful photos!

Speaking of which, here are a few photos from my last session I did a couple weeks ago of a little cutie named Trevor, 10 months. I got some beautiful photos - I was really happy with the them. Here are a few favorites!






I'm really enjoying doing this on the side for a little income. I love being able to capture precious moments of little ones and their families that they can cherish for a lifetime. I now have a facebook photography page so if you haven't 'liked' it already, I would love for you to come check it out!
Here's the link, you can copy and paste it if it doesn't let you click on it.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Keri-Harrison-Photography/153751698031138


I'm doing my first Senior Picture session this weekend for one of my old daycare clients - her oldest daughter. I always get a little nervous when it's something new that I haven't done before but I enjoy trying new things - it's the best way to learn - practice! I'll be sure and post some photos from the session afterwards.

Aside from my recent hobby and love of photography, life is wonderful. My babies are doing well and they are healthy and we are blessed.

Most of you know that we had a recent trip to the ER with Ethan. He was suffering from allergies and had a really bad reaction one day that caused one of his eyes to completely swell shut and get extremely swollen. It was so scary. We got some allergy testing done and the results were that he is allergic to grass. He is now on some medication during the summer months that should help prevent the symptoms from happening again. He's been on the medication for a little over a week now and it's definitely helping - he hasn't had any more reactions and is able to be an active 3 year old boy and play outside and enjoy it. I'm so grateful.

Aside from that little adventure, the kids are doing great. I love being home with them everyday and wouldn't trade it for all the money in the world. Being their momma and raising these kids bring me so much joy - I'm so blessed to call them mine.

I'm 29 weeks along now with our little Lincoln and feeling good. He is constantly kicking and moving around and I love every kick and punch! Such a miracle. Time really seems to be going by fast and he'll be here before I know it. I've been washing baby clothes and filling his dresser and closet with his freshly cleaned clothes - it's getting me excited :) I see my midwife again tomorrow which I always look forward too. She is wonderful and I always look forward to hear his little heart beating away. I'm already at the point where I go every 2 weeks so it's really exciting. Here's my latest belly bump photo.



A friend texted me last week asking if I knew of anyone that needed a double breast pump because she was selling hers. After finding out how much she spent on it just a year and a half ago and how much she was asking for it I knew I wanted it! I only have a single breast pump and it's been one of my biggest regrets as far as baby purchases go. I get a lot of milk in the first few months and having a double breast pump will make things go much faster for me and allow me to sleep more too. I'm really excited about it. I ordered new tubing and shields and some other accessories today as they recommend buying new replacement parts for sanitary reasons when buying a used pump.

My other exciting find this past week was a glider. I've always wanted one and had my eye on one at Target that was $200. As much as I wanted one I was unsure of spending the money seeing as this is our last baby. You really only use it for the first year while nursing and then it doesn't get much use. I liked it though because it was much cheaper than most at Babies R Us' and it was black wood to match the nursery. I've been holding off though - just thinking about it.

Well, I went garage saleing this past week with a friend and I found a super nice glider - not black but a beautiful cherry color with beige cushioning for $30!! She had $40 on it which was an incredible price but I talked her down to $30. I couldn't believe it and left so excited! Between the glider and my double stroller that I got when Gracelyn was born off Craigslist for $20 - I've saved hundreds of dollars. A great feeling! The nursery is really coming together now and it's really exciting. I have a few things to hang on the wall but other than that it's ready for Mr. Lincoln. Yay!

Nothing else too new going on. We took the kids to Auburn Hills tonight to 'On the Border' - a Mexican restaurant Jeremy and I love because Barney was coming :) We've been telling Ethan about it for weeks and he's been so excited. It was so great. We were able to actually go out to eat with the kids without it being crazy. Barney kept them very entertained and we even got their picture taken with him. It was so precious to watch the look on Ethan's face when he first spotted him. You can just see his little mind turning - amazed at seeing Barney. It's funny how innocent they are and how they think he's real :) We couldn't help but smile when Gracelyn stood next to Barney to get her picture taken. She looked so little and sweet.


Each month they have a new character that comes to the restaurant so we are going to try and make it again. Next month is Elmo which the kids will love also - should be fun :)

Here are 2 more photos I took tonight of Gracelyn playing in the rain puddles - my beautiful girl - she is stunning!




Well, that's the latest with us. I hope you all are well and enjoying the life that God has blessed you with!

Much Love,

Jun 9, 2011

Happy 2nd Birthday Grae! at OneTrueMedia.com

My baby girl was almost an hour old 2 years ago right now :) I can't believe she's two....this sweet girl of ours that brings us so much joy, love and laughter! I love her to pieces and I sure love being her momma - feeling really blessed tonight to call her mine and to God for giving us the gift of a precious daughter. She's amazing!

Enjoy the little video I put together :)


Jun 3, 2011

Photos Galore :)

Do you love my blog makeover or what? I thought it was time to change it up and I'm lovin' it. It's simple but I like it. Especially my new header. I just love to watch my kids love on each other - it's the sweetest thing ever. I even have my own signature now at the end of my posts - I'm moving up in blogger land :)

Anyhow, I have lots of photos to share with you.

Last night I did a photo shoot for a friend. I did photos at her baby shower, and then when little Drew arrived and then last night I did some 3 month photos for her. She had family in town from out of state so we got photos of the cousins together, sisters and the whole gang.

I took a boat load of photos and then came home and picked my favorites and then edited them this morning. I was super excited with how they turned out. I had some great natural light and captured lots of great shots. So fun! Here's some of my favorites from the session.

Sweet boy

Smiling boy

Jacob - 3 years

Troy - 7 months

Jacob, Troy & Drew ~ cousins

Rebekah & Drew & Rachel & Troy ~ Sisters & Cousins

Rachel & Troy

Rebekah & Drew

Ian, Bekah & Drew :)

The Whole Gang

Troy

Jacob - is he cute or what? I love his curls!!


I was so happy with how the photos turned out and my girlfriend loved them also - yay!

This morning I did a little photo shoot of my own precious kids. Oh. My. Goodness. I could not get over their extreme cuteness and I got some amazing pictures. Especially of Ethan...which I was really happy about because Gracelyn has been easier to photograph lately. Ethan likes to be on the go and doesn't always want to sit still for pics but he did so great and I promised him an m&m if he let momma take some photos :)

Here's Gracelyn's "Cheese" face. So funny!


Here are some of my favorites of Ethan. Is he the most gorgeous little boy you've ever seen or what? The girls are gonna love this kid!






Sibling Love - oh how I can't wait to add Lincoln to the mix :)






Are they too cute for words or what? I am so in love with these little people - wow I just can't get over how stinkin' adorable they both are. Love them to pieces!!

Tomorrow I have another photo shoot...I'm headed to downtown Northville to a cool spot I know of to do some photos of little Trevor who is 9 months. I'll be sure and post some of his session once I have them edited and ready to go.

My brother in law Mark has been letting me borrow one of his camera lens this week and wow does it take such amazing photos. I'm so glad I have it for these sessions I've been doing this week. I am now saving the little money I'm making on the side for doing photography to get this lens. It costs about $400 but I think will be worth every penny! My in-laws surprised me last night with early Birthday money to go towards my lens. They are so good to me! So, I am now more than half way there to getting my new lens and cannot wait!

Hope you enjoyed the photos and have a great weekend!