J Cooper Photography

Just finished up a session with one of my all-time favorite baby dolls. She came all the way from South Africa to see me. Ok…not just to see me. Her mom is one of my bestest friends and this baby girl just tugs at my heart. I have at least 50 images to edit for her gallery, but these two jumped out at me as soon as I loaded them onto my computer. {Sigh} Love this girl.


I’ll have plenty more to share in a few days!

I’ve seen this around on several of my favorite blogs and I’m going to try it out. Maybe having a specific format will keep me current with posting. But here is my disclaimer: I may not actually get this done every Tuesday. It may at times creep to Wed. or Thurs., in which case it would become 10 on Wednesday, and that cute alliteration will be completely missed. And I may not actually have 10 interesting items to share each week. In which case it might be 7 on Wednesday…which again…doesn’t have that same nice ring to it. But let’s just give it a whirl anyways, shall we?

1. “The Club” has been framed and drywalled and is in the process of receiving several messy coats of mud before we fill the entire second story of our home with dust when the sanding begins. I picked out THIS new rug for the room this weekend. I heart green. I heart polka dots. I figured it was meant to be.

2. Sam had his last bottle Sunday. Monday morning I handed him a cup of milk when he woke up to which he had this reply: lunge from my arms…fall to the floor…roll to belly while screaming at the top of his lungs…throw the cup as far as humanly possible…pound fists against the floor. Lovely, huh? I actually laughed. It was pretty cute in a pathetic sort of way. I guess my inkling that he was getting a wee bit attached to his ba-ba was correct. Happy to note that he has given in (mostly) and seems to be coming around

3. After the above mentioned incident, Sam walked around double fisting 2 baby doll bottles for the rest of the day. He intermittently sucked on one and then the other…he held them tight for at least 3 hours. Again…funny and pathetic all rolled up together. But definitely photo worthy.

4. 21 days until I have a first grader. How did I get so old?

5. I think I’ll make lemon poppy seed muffins for breakfast. That sounds nice.

6. I know you think I’m already running out of clever thing to say.

7. We did a family photo session with one of my FAVORITE gals last night. I am so excited to have finally gotten some images of my little family. After the session Sara was showing me a few images on her camera. She kept squinting and asking, “What exactly is A doing in this shot??” Yeah…welcome to my world, girl. I’m glad I’m not the only photographer who gets those crazy “smiles”. I can’t wait to share some of the images she took. Of course we took Charlotte along since she is like family now…it only seemed right. We had so much fun. We spent the night laughing and of course talking shop. See how much fun we had?!? Of course she emailed me this within minutes of being home…because let’s face it….I look darn hot (snort). Had to post it though because it DOES pretty much sum up our fun night

8. I am debating the purchasing of a new lens. The internal struggle is really getting to me. It is like an all out war between my split personalities. Do I get the Nikon lens which will cost me my life’s savings and possibly my soul (or one of my children)…or the cheapo version which I will probably hate (but at least I can keep my kids)? Decisions, Decisions…

9. I just spent $84.00 on 2 pairs of shoes for my almost first grader. I find that to be nauseating to the 10th degree. Have you ever noticed how hard it is to find a nice pair of leather shoes (sans Hannah Montana) for a child in a size 13. Once they cross over into the “big girls” section it is all glitter and pleather…”stinky shoes” as my girls like to call them. In case you are wondering….we ended up with THESE for now and THESE for later. Kind of boring actually. But at least Mylie Cyrus isn’t emblazoned on the sides

10. I just finished a banana. It was about 1 day from being truly ripe. Have you ever noticed that bananas are really only good for about a day…there is a fine balance between not-quite-ready-for-consumption and throw-in-the-freezer-for-banana-bread. I think I jumped the gun.

Alrighty folks. That’s all I’ve got!

I’m seeing double…twice! Nothing like an early morning session with TWO SETS of twins and TWO BABIES! No need to work out later that day…I got my exercise just trying to keep them all in the same shot! And talk about cute kiddos with their matchy matchy outfits and hairbows…good work moms! And I got to put my freshly painted chairs to use again…love that. I’m pretty sure I need one in every color…don’t you think?

Can’t wait to share a few more pictures of the play room too. We (I use that term loosely) made great headway this weekend!
wiring – check
drywall – check
beadboard – check
attic door – check
flooring purchased – check
lighting purchased – check

I bet you want to see a picture huh? Be back soon!

I woke up in a bit of a funk today. Maybe it’s sleep deprivation or the saw dust getting to me. But I am determined to snap out of it and get on with enjoying the day. So I took a 5 minute hunt through my house with camera in tow…looking for evidence of happiness. There was plenty to find.

The evidence (from left to right):
1. a kitchen table full of creative pursuits
2. new packaging for client goodies
3. happy birdies with a funny story
4. a vintage find for “the club”
5. creative tidbits cluttering my countertops
6. a reminder of my favorite people
7. a finished project (GOODBYE GOLD!)
8. the aftermath of little girls and dress-up
9. pretty baubles made from special hands
10. hard work
11. lazy mornings
12. back to school shopping with my favorite 1st grader

Lesson learned: Happiness isn’t too hard to find.

We lost our dream house on Sunday, June 28th (the fact that I know the date shows just how scarred I was by the turn of events). Monday, June 29th we started making our wish list…things we want to do to our current home to help ourselves fall in love with it all over again. The love is still there…just buried deep within the clutter of everyday living. I still love the fresh white woodwork, the hardwood floors, and the bright open floor plan. When we bought the house my husband was salivating over the vinyl siding and 30 year comp roof. But truth be told…I’m an OLD house kind of gal. So we are working on adding in a bit of character and charm (and a bit more functionality) to our space.

First on the list: “The Club”

About a year ago my husband realized there was a great amount of space being under utilized in the attic adjacent to A’s room. We began dreaming about the ultimate playroom for the girls tucked into the eaves of the house. We thought it would be a little cubby…barely enough room to stand up. A window above our garage was just visible through the crawlspace. A few weeks ago we had an architectural engineer come and look over the space. And lo and behold…he gave us permission to cut out the roof rafters (we were slightly concerned about a massive avalanche). His crew framed out the space during the couple of days my girls went to my sister’s house. My sweet hubby has been wiring and insulating all week…and this weekend…the drywall goes up!

A has a giant hole in her room where the door will soon be installed! This is the view into the room before the beams were removed (we cut a hole in the “roof” so you could see the hidden window).

And this is what that area looks like now!

I am so in love! We are going to build a window bench, with cubbies for toy storage, under the window. I’ve got a vintage chandelier to hang from the top of the peak in the roof. And the girls just helped me pick out these cute chairs and some comfy pillows to match


The space is “T” shaped. Looking from the doorway to your right is a smaller cubby space.

I’d like this to be a reading nook…complete with a bookcase and a little lamp.

Looking from the doorway to your left is another small space. This one leads to another decent sized room that will be used for storage. (This means that everything in our store room can go upstairs…our store room will get finished out complete with the built-in desk and cupboards that are currently in our basement family room…and our family room will get a new “L” shaped sectional…WHEW…tired yet?)

I’ve also purchased a great woodland vinyl decal set from Target (couldn’t find it on their website) and THESE great chalkboard decals too. Some polka dot Pottery Barn curtains, buckets, and frame mats should complete the look. I’m still trying to figure out flooring options. Anyone know a great source for cute carpet squares?

So that’s “The Club”. Can’t wait to show you our progress!

Hard to come home from a fun filled weekend with a few of my all-time favorite gals. I met these girls in high school (a few of us go back as far as elementary school, 4-H, and even kindergarten!) I always look forward to seeing them as they are all genuinely beautiful women inside and out. We gathered together in Minnesota for the weekend and I didn’t even get one mosquito bite from their state bird! But whoever ordered the chilly weather is in deep trouble. Our 4 hour boat ride (although arguably one of the most fun activities of the weekend) was so chilly we were forced to add socks to our flip-flopped feet and blankets tucked under our chins!

Our sweet, innocent driver “Kyle” was having his 19th birthday. Poor boy…stuck on a boat with a bunch of 30-something gals gossiping about their pasts. We took a few photos with him and offered to tag him on facebook. But after seeing his look of sheer horror and hearing his comment, “YOU guys are on facebook”, complete with utter shock….we politely dropped the subject

After the ride we did our best to wash the fishy smell off so we could head out to dinner at Chino Latino. We had so much fun people watching, laughing over the menu, and screaming at each other over the loud roar. If you are in the Minneapolis area you should definitely check it out…lots of fun!

We did a quick trip through the Minneapolis Sculptor Gardens, ate at some cute little cafes, and spent COUNTLESS hours pouring over our yearbooks…amazing how much we THINK we have changed…but really haven’t.

Must mention I flew Northwest…yeah. May have to be the last time. Our flight got delayed 5 HOURS going up there and they lost our luggage coming home despite the fact that we had a direct flight. But heck…I got TWO $5.00 meal vouchers so I guess I’m good.

So in honor of our weekend, girls…a fun new “senior quote” just for you

AK/AP/AF/LC/KT/LG/CABO2016
BreathRight/Taunttheflame/MOA
ColbyR/FBstalking/ITGSHS.COM
SPfries+Smores/boatboy/MN09

“Stay Sweet” gals…love you all!

…for a girl’s weekend. I picked up my own girly girls yesterday. We made it back to the house this afternoon just in time for me to pack up for my next adventure. My sister (The Librarian) is my hero for this week. She wore my girls out so thoroughly that they came home to me the epitome of pure exhaustion which translated to LONG naps at my house…which makes me insanely happy

While we were gone for 24 hours, a crew completed framed out the girl’s new playroom. Don’t worry…I’ll be photo journaling the entire project (hurray, hurray!) Next step…electrical and drywall.

Be back Sunday with lots of pictures of my fun getaway!

I’m beginning to wonder about this milk thing. I gave Super Sam more whole milk last night…followed by another round of Screamfest 2009. Hmmm….this morning he’s back to his normal sunny self though. He seems to be tolerating cheese and yogurt fine…anyone have any thoughts?

Just popped in to share a different conversion from last night’s mini session I’ve still been unable to figure out why my images aren’t clear on my blog. This photo is tack sharp in CS4 but if I re-size (even with an extra unsharpen mask) it loses clarity once I load it into blogger (I’m hosting it myself). So who knows the magic secret??

Which one do you like better? Color vs. Vintage?

My little buckaroo. When did you turn into a walking, jabbering, little boy?

I’m trying to rejoice in every new step…honest I am. Trying to remember each new thing. How you’ve learned to point with that chubby index finger at the pages in your books. How you say “Hi Dada” with a tiny, squeaky voice into your play cel phone. How you look when you smile with your teeth pressed together crooked and your nose wrinkled up. Honest I am.

But can you slow down? Don’t you realize how quickly you are becoming your own little person… stretching the boundaries and searching for ways to conquer the world around you? How your once tiny fist now holds my fingers with force. How you walk with a purpose. How you laugh from the deepest depths of that chubby tummy.

Let’s savor this month of silliness and long cuddles.

Let’s remember who’s boss. And Mommy says to quit growing baby, ok?

{Pioneer Woman’s VINTAGE action}

Just coming back to share a few more snapshots from our Fourth of July celebrations. I had grand plans for an entire sibling mini photo shoot…even bought Sam a new pair of plaid shorts for the occassion. But just as the family fireworks extravaganza was about to start…my little guy lost it. Maybe it was a reaction to the whole milk we gave him at dinner, my loud and crazy family, the loud booms echoing through the streets, or a combination of the whole spectacle. But whatever was wrong…he was determined to LET US KNOW. And by the time we got him calmed down (2 1/2 HOURS LATER)…the show was pretty much over.

So this year I’ll have to settle for a few quick snapshots I took with a camera in one hand and a screaming baby in the other!



The biggest smile I got that night from Mr. Grouchy Pants (this we BEFORE the major meltdown). As you can see…he wasn’t feeling it.

A’s safe spot just inside the door the The Big Pink House. Apparently Sam wasn’t the only one.

Maybe I’ll dress them all back up and try again for a cute family shot. Or maybe we’ll just hope for less screaming next year