50/52

"a portrait, once a week, for the year of 2014"

week fifty.

wow. i realize i only have two more week left of my 52 (weekly) photographs left, man how a year has flown. this week we set up the finally christmas decorations, including our little three foot fake tree. it's suppose to sit in this vase, but it's definitely not my style. so i used one of my photography props, a fishing pail, and put it on a wooden crate and it's perfect! and who wouldn't pass up the opportunity to put a kid in christmas jammies and force your pup to take some photos in front of the tree. at least one of the two liked it. ha ha. can't believe the holiday season will be here in less than 2 weeks. :)

49/52

"a portrait, once a week, for the year of 2014"

week forty nine.

look at this kid go! he is getting very adventurous not using his hands and sitting up for longer periods of time. i just adore this photo so much! keep growing little man, so proud of how far you have come already.

48/52

"a portrait, once a week, for the year of 2014"

week forty eight.

someone thoroughly enjoyed his first thanksgiving. we spent the weekend with my parents and my siblings were home. he was spoiled with never being put down and so many people to pay attention to him. it was a great holiday full of family, food and lots of naps.

47/52

"a portrait, once a week, for the year of 2014"

week forty seven.

we celebrated veterans day with a mini photo shoot with one of daddy's old hats he had lying around. just a little thank you to each and everyone that has and/or is still serving in our US Military. We can thank you enough and appreciate every one of you.

46/52

"a portrait, once a week, for the year of 2014"

week forty six.

this week, a very dear friend of mine was proposed to. i have known her since the first day of college, which was almost two weeks before everyone arrived because we met at cross country practice. since that day almost 8 years ago, we haven't missed a beat. she's the type of lady that no matter how much time has passed, you pick up right where you left off. she is the one that bring a smile to your face, that can devour an entire block of sharp cheddar cheese, and have random dance parties anytime, anywhere. she pushed me out of my comfort zone, and thus i joined the college dance team, dancing for the first time ever infont of numerous audiences. this lady has become one of my best friends and i'm so happy to see her happy. to see where her life will take her. marriage. kids? her future is so bright. and i couldn't be more thrilled to share in capturing some of her special life moments.

45/52

"a portrait, once a week, for the year of 2014"

week forty five.

we won't get a chance to take many more photos outside, the temperatures are getting chillier. we did manage to get a couple photographs for our Christmas card with this little guy and Harlee. i am always crazy early on getting them together. you bet the Halloween decorations came down and the Christmas ones are going right up! i'm just skipping right to it because it's become a hassle to take down and put up, so this way i'm good until next year! ;) heck i had the Halloween decorations up a month in advance. what's another month early?

44/52

"a portrait, once a week, for the year of 2014"

week forty four.

first halloween. of course, they had to put on their jammies so mom could take a zillion photos of them. the first photo i get such a kick out of it. it was right when i put him next to Harlee, the expression on his face is almost like he's saying "ha ha, mom made you put on jammies too!" it was great. and i just adore the second photo. though we were a bit too young to enjoy the sugary goodness, we did stay in for the night and cuddled up on the couch watching Sons of Anarchy (this mom is newly obsessed).

43/52

"a portrait, once a week, for the year of 2014"

week forty three.

looking back at my recent posts, i am loving a lot of black and white photos. this one is no exception. after photographing his 7 month update, i always try to get a photo of Harlee and him. i love this one because by now Harlee has given up on photos and began pouting. it made for a perfect picture to focus just on her. the diva of the house and honestly she is more work then my son since he's been born. 

42/52

"a portrait, once a week, for the year of 2014"

week forty two.

seriously. hands down. the best smile ever. my favorite photo of him. ever. no matter what happened throughout the day. even when nothing seems to be going right, this little smile can make everything go away. i know it sounds cheesy, and believe me, the smile back on my face is probably just as cheesy. but in all honesty, he gets me through each day. somehow. someway. even though this deployment seems like it's taking forever to end, he keeps me busy. if he wasn't here, i'd probably be going insane reorganizing our entire house a second time over, or buying too much extra crap thrifting that we don't need. and for that i'm thankful. or should i say my husband is even more thankful.

41/52

"a portrait, once a week, for the year of 2014"

week forty one.

it's one of those moments, you have been dreaming about since you thought about starting to have children. this was one of those sweet moments. i love converse shoes, if you haven't noticed. creating my own unique pair for our wedding to wearing the crap out of my daily ones until there are literally holes at the soles. since having a son, i wanted him to grow up in these babies as well. so naturally he has more then one color in every size from 2 until size 8. crazy mommy moment? yes, but oh so worth to see cute little feet in a pair of these.

40/52

"a portrait, once a week, for the year of 2014"

week forty.

look what we started! he loved those sweet potatoes! squash, carrots and mixed vegetables next on the menu!

39/52

"a portrait, once a week, for the year of 2014"

week thirty nine.

since my son was born, i've driven back to my parents house as often as i can. so they get some grandson time, and i secretly get some free time. but in all seriousness, it's sooooo wonderful to watch your own parents interact with your child and see just how much they love him. i could sit for hours and just watch them together. i hate to see how i'm going to be when my husband gets home and finally gets to play with him too. i have a strong feeling i'll want time to stop. forever.

38/52

"a portrait, once a week, for the year of 2014"

week thirty eight.

bring on football season. just means we are one season closer to daddy being home. i just love this thrifted hoodie i found for him. too adorable.

37/52

"a portrait, once a week, for the year of 2014"

week thirty seven.

it was this week that my parents said goodbye to their milking herd. my father and mother started their own farm at the young age of 19 and had rarely had a day off in-between then and now. i have learned hard work by their example. it was a bittersweet moment to watch each cow to be auctioned off. if only i could have read my parent's minds when that first cow was sold. they now will have so much more free time, and not have to get up every single morning and stay home every single night to milk. a complete change of pace for them. so proud to call them my mom and dad.

36/52

"a portrait, once a week, for the year of 2014"

week thirty six.

taken from my iPhone, i admit. but i this was the best picture this week. we were on our way to my cousin's wedding reception, and momma had a little fun playing dress up with her baby. i purchased these baby aviators just a little before he was born, and completely forgot about them. so i made it a point for him to rock them that day.

35/52

"a portrait, once a week, for the year of 2014"

week thirty five.

i have to admit, i cannot take full credit for this photo. it came from my camera, but was taken by a dear friend of mine. monthly, she has helped take photos of little man and i. such a blessing to be able to capture these images of us. i cherish each and every single one. i appreciate more then i think she realizes. because he will never be this tiny again. with each second he grows a little bigger.

34/52

"a portrait, once a week, for the year of 2014"

week thirty four.

i found it hilarious the things we do to our children for pictures. although i'm excited to say that this was not planned, and i caught this moment just at the right time. little man has so many friends born this year, i'm so glad that their moms and i can get together, chat, and do anything in our power to get our kids to smile for the camera. i'm anxious to see these two grow and how they'll interact with each other more. i see lots of play dates in our near future again. 

33/52

"a portrait, once a week, for the year of 2014"

week thirty three.

you never know how a newborn session is going to go. babies are so unpredictable, but that's what makes it so fun! i had the privilege of capturing the first week of life for dear friends of mine. this little six pound cutie gave us a run for our money, but i captured some awesome shots of daddy and daughter. editing these photos, my heart sank a little. realizing one: i don't have a 3 pound (let alone 6lb) baby anymore and two: never had the chance to take photos of my son and my husband together when he was little. it's photos like these that you want to last forever. so i'm so glad i can preserve these memories for other families instead and my "baby" will be a 9 month chunkier when daddy gets his photo chances.

32/52

"a portrait, once a week, for the year of 2014"

week thirty two.

this week my little sister travels out of the United States to study abroad. i'm so proud of her and the experiences she will have, she won't ever forget! it's one thing i do regret in my college years, i had the choice of studying abroad or graduating a semester early because i had all my credits fulfilled. i took the choice of graduating early and though it saved me money that i didn't have to loan out. i regret not taking a chance and seeing the world.

so i took a couple polaroid captures for her to take with her when she's over there. hopefully she won't miss her nephew too much. 

31/52

"a portrait, once a week, for the year of 2014"

week thirty one.

man do we love being outside. no matter how fussy he seems to be, the minute we step outside and he feels the wind on his face, he relaxes. it's crazy how often it seems to work on him. i have a feeling he's going to be the one we will have to drag inside before it gets dark out outside because he's too busy having fun playing in his sandbox with his toys. at least that's my hope. i got him mid-smile this week as i was about to cut the grass. love this goofball.