J Cooper Photography

Well she’s turning FIVE whether I like it or not.  I begged and pleaded but she just grinned at me and said, “you can’t stop me.”  So tomorrow is the day….five.  It sounds so old doesn’t it?

She is an absolute HOOT this little one.  She’s dramatic, silly, and very affectionate…always ready with a hug and always asking for a snuggle.  She’s adventurous, quick on her feet, and about as GIRLY as they come.  She’s our resident princess…loves pink, pink, pink…and anything that sparkles (particularly lip gloss, eye shadow, and glue).  She loves dresses and tights…funky prints…and fancy shoes.  She’s complex.  She’s mischievous and sly and sometimes down right naughty.  But when she wants to melt you heart she has the sweetest puppy dog eyes.  Dare I say she’s manipulative?  She is.  And she’s funny, and smart, and lovable too.

I think it’s hard to be stuck in the middle…shadowed by a successful older sister and adorably cute younger brother.  But she has handled the transition with grace (mostly) and a confidence that defies her almost 5 years.  This past year has been filled with “me too” moments as she has worked diligently to master all the things A can do….kicking the soccer ball, writing her letters, “reading”, and learning her violin songs.  The other day I came downstairs to a new masterpiece laid out on the kitchen table.  A pretty little girl in a dress…and transcribed in broken words across the bottom…”I love you because…”  When did my baby learn to spell “because”?  How have so many little moments already slipped by?

I have big hopes and dreams for the little girl.  BIG DREAMS.  And I know she has them too.  When I asked her what she wants to be when she grows up she said, “a puppy of course!”  Bewildered I repeated the question…”no really…when you’re all grown up…what do you want to be?”  She replied…”yep.  a puppy….a grown up one!”

I love taking my camera out to document the changes I see in her through the years.  She is always a willing subject for me…she craves the attention and definitely knows how to work the camera.  She’s full of poses and silly games that make me laugh.

If I could just bottle up all those giggles and pull them out on a rainy day….

I love this girl.  I love her sense of style (the more pattern the better right?)…her love of tuna and Cheetos…and her Brooklyn accent.  I love how she scrunches up her nose and throws her head back to laugh with her whole body.  I love that look of stern concentration on her forehead when she is working on a new word or playing her violin.  I love how she gets so excited about play dates, and presents, and anything deemed “fun”.  I love that she loves me.  I love this girl.

I have lots of prayers for my little Jule.  I pray the world can handle her spirit…it can’t be contained.  I pray she never loses her sense of adventure and fun.  When the world gets critical and mean…I pray her sense of humor will guide her and help her to overcome.  I pray that she’ll remain tender hearted.  That she’ll always see to other people’s pain before her own and live out a life of compassion and humility.  I pray that she’ll always wear stripes with polka dots.  I pray God will use her in ways I can’t even imagine…to change the world for Him.  My little girl….my little Jules.

Are you sure you won’t stay 4 forever?  Just one more year?

We love you Birthday Girl…more than you’ll ever know.

1.  How is it that Tuesdays seem to come twice as fast as any other day during the week?  Didn’t I JUST do a 10 on Tuesday post?  Wow.  Life is getting the best of me!

2.  I am being used.  At first I just suspected it but I wasn’t really sure.  Now I am positive.  All the phone calls I have been getting.  Yep.  People are using me to get to know Charlotte.  I thought they all wanted fall family sessions…but there has been a recurring theme…”you ARE going to bring that yellow couch right?”  So now I know the real reason for the calls.  It’s the couch.  Not me.  But I’ll get over it.

3.  Mr. P has my little man back at the Drs. office tonight.  Will the ear troubles never end?  For those of you who have gone down the path towards tubes…how was your experience?  This little guy has had so many ear infections.  And with the last round it took FOUR different antibiotics to kick the infection.  And it still came back about a month later.  I’m beginning to lose my patience and am wondering if we might have more luck with an ENT.  Any suggestions?

4.  THREE DAYS until the big “Pumpkin Princess” party.  I can’t wait!  The 3 week period in between the girls’ birthdays is KILLER.  J spends most of that time moping around wondering why she can’t hurry up and turn another year older.  This year it was especially bad.  I did most of the planning for her party while I was planning A’s (easier to just torture myself and plan them simultaneously) so I’m surprisingly calm about her party this year.  We will be decorating mini pumpkins with princess foam stickers, eating orange foods for dinner (mac and cheese from Noodles), and opening presents.  If anyone knows any fun pumpkin related games I’d love to hear them!

5.  Mr. P just came home.  Little man has a double ear infection.  Do you know a good ENT in the Kansas City area?

6.  Adoption update:  Our home study paperwork is all turned in…it is being typed now!  We will have our home study visit sometime in the next week and attend the final adoption workshop.  We have been officially approved with All God’s Children and will receive our dossier (immigration papers) requirements next week.  We’ve got our loan all worked out and are ready to get going on the next round of paperwork!  I would love to be finished up with all of that by Christmas and be on the official WAIT LIST then.  But I know God has a plan in the timing and I am trying REALLY hard not to stress unnecessarily about the time line (wink).  Since we will be getting a baby less than one year old…I keep thinking…over the course of this next year a mother on the other side of the world is going to make the most loving, self sacrificing decision to give up her child.  God in His infinite wisdom is preparing our child for us.  But the sacrifice is HUGE.  And my heart is breaking for a mother who is facing one of life’s most difficult decisions.  Join us in praying for our baby.

7.  I’ve had EIGHT photo sessions over the last 3 days.  The weather here has been COLD and dreary but that hasn’t stopped my clients from bringing the BEST SMILES in Kansas City!  I have SO much to edit and share!  Major cuteness overload!  I will try to get sneak peaks onto the blog as quickly as I can work!

8.  I decided yesterday to haul out all of my fall decor and spruce up our house a bit.  I was so excited until I opened the box and though “wow…this is it, huh?”  I think the last time I bought fall decor items must have been in 1989 cause it was a SAD sight.  I’ve been having one of those nesting kind of weeks where I am terribly dissatisfied with the state of my house.  I’d love to say that I am always thankful for what I have.  But I am keeping it real here folks.  Sadly, I’m not.  I’m working on it though…and I might hit Hobby Lobby too…that can’t hurt

9.  I am really anxious to get my basement studio finished up so I can drag out all my sewing supplies again!  I have some fun ideas for a fund raiser this spring that would involve LOTS of sewing.  Please tell me there is still a market for some “take a bow” duds??

10.  As soon as I type this I am heading to Walmart.  I have a love/hate relationship with that place.  I hate its bigness, the fluorescent lighting, the stupid yellow smiley, and the fly infested fruit.  But I’m a bargain shopper at heart.  “Always low prices”….sigh.

{I apologize profusily for boring you with a post sans photos!  I promise to be back shortly with something more fun to look at!}

Kansas City has just skipped fall temperatures all together this weekend…straight to WINTER temps!  But that didn’t stop these fun families from coming out in the frigid air for some family photos.  We had kids, families, even business professionals!  And of course Charlotte came too…she wouldn’t want to miss the party   All of these families earned a FREE mini session just by purchasing MATILDA JANE clothing at my fall party.  Sound fun?  I’ll be hosting another show this spring and I have BIG PLANS for the mini sessions…email me to get on the email invitation list!

Enjoy the sneak peaks!  I’ll have galleries up shortly!

Stay tuned on the blog for LOTS more family sessions over the next few weeks.  I have 3 more to share just from this weekend!

STAY WARM!

Thanks to my WONDERFUL friend Sharon I got to head to Gymboree with a couple of my most favorite friends for a little shopping spree this week.  We had such a great time picking out some cute duds for our kids!

And I have a few GYMBUCKS left over.  The first one to email me gets them!  Ready…set…go!!!  (you must use them online tomorrow as redemption ends Oct. 11th)

And a cutie pie pic of my little man sporting his big boy crew cut.  I think he was saying “hey mom…I’m sticking my finger in my ear cause it still hurts…take me to the dr. already!”  Oh wait…he doesn’t talk.  So maybe the ongoing ear infections are part of his lack of speech.  Or maybe if his over obsessive mom would just leave him alone he could get a word in edge wise.  Who knows??

So email me ALREADY if you want the GYMBUCKS!  There are cute clothes out there just WAITING FOR YOU!!

1.  The busy season is upon us.  My weekends are now devoted to chasing toddlers around the park for countless hours trying to coax giggles out of them.  My October is JAM packed with WONDERFUL family sessions.  Have I mentioned I love my “job”.   This weekend I’ll be hosting the Matilda Jane Mini Sessions…can’t wait!  And if you are a client and would like to use an image from a previous session for Christmas cards…NOW is the time to order!  I am offering a GREAT price on 5×7 flat cards this year…check out the products category here on the blog to see my 2009 templates!

2.  A little someone I know will soon be turning FIVE.  She is beyond thrilled.  Me…not so much.  I like my children’s clothing sizes to be followed by a big T.  You know…2T, 3T, 4T.  Size 5 is just too big.  And five year olds go to Kindergarten.  That’s just not acceptable.  She’s our resident princess.  What if she turns five and decides pink is for sissies?  The planning for the “pumpkin princess” party is just about wrapped up so we headed out for a little almost-five-years-old photo shoot this weekend.  Just a sneak peak…of course there are MANY more to share soon!

3.  A few days ago I pulled a note card from my stationary box to write a thank you to a friend.  A was standing nearby chatting away as I wrote when she stopped and looked at me fairly perplexed….”That’s strange Mommy.  You have the same stationary as the Tooth Fairy!”  Oops.

4.  This weekend I took the girls to The American Girl fashion show put on by the Junior League.  Can I just put in a plug for this company?  (They aren’t even paying me or anything for saying this)  But I HEART American Girls.  I know they are pricey.  I know that I could buy 5 outfits at Target for the same price as one teeny tiny AG party dress.  But I don’t care.  My girls will play with their dolls for HOURS in the most creative and imaginative ways…take that Miley Cyrus.  My girls LOVE dolls.  And I’m going to support that habit until their 13 if they’ll let me   Here they are with one of their best buddies before the fashion show.  J got “Chrissa” as an early birthday present so she would have a doll to take to the event!

5.  I’m wondering what is “normal” for a 15 month old boy to say?  To all the moms of boys out there…how much do/did your little guys speak at that age?  A had well over 200 words at 18 months so I am struggling with the limited vocabulary of “uh-uh” an “dadgagda” that comes out of Sam.  He must know that I am getting a bit concerned because today he seemed to pull out all the stops and say all sorts of words I had never heard from him (or hadn’t heard in quite some time).  His pediatrician said he should say “mama”, “dada”, and one other word.  Really?  I haven’t really counted up his words lately….but I know he can’t identify and say “octagon” and “trapezoid” like my oldest could (and I’m not kidding…she was freakishly into shapes as a toddler).  These are the words he says regularly: Mama, Dada, Anna, moo, more, uh-oh, What’s that (whadat).  Other words I have heard recently that he doesn’t say as often:  Coco (his stuffed monkey), cracker (taka), quack quack (cak cak), woof woof (uf uf), meow, yogurt, no.  But sometimes he says something once or twice and then I never hear it again.  Tell me this is normal?!?  You’d think he was my only child but I just don’t remember.  I don’t want to be one of THOSE moms at the pediatrician’s office that gets talked about after she leaves (who am I kidding…I am SO that mom!)

6.  Yesterday was a long day at our house.  I was tired.  I was grumpy.  It was SO Monday.  Last night I realized I really wasn’t a great Mommy yesterday.  Can I call a do over?

7.  This little girl LOVES her brother.  And what does HE love?  Blueberry muffins!

8.  I have been working on combining the girls into one room.  We won’t be making the big switch just yet…but I wanted to have an idea of how to combine their bedroom sets into one room.  Some of the pieces will have to be stored…there just isn’t room for everything.  The girls wanted bunk beds.  The REALLY wanted bunk beds.  But I just couldn’t do it.  I had visions of A catapulting off the top bunk in the middle of the night.  Plus she is a sleep walker….and sleep walking and ladders just don’t mix well.  So I began scouring Craigslist for matching twin beds.  Everytime I saw a listing it was immediately snatched up before I could get my hands on it.  Most of the beds were $100-$200 too which was more than I was willing to spend.  Then I found a listing for 2 matching headboards for TEN DOLLARS EACH!  Jackpot!  A few coats of creamy white paint and I think these will be a perfect match to their other cottage furniture!  They are so ugly right now.  But hopefully they will turn out cute.  And if not at least I didn’t spend much more than a Big Mac!

9.  I HEART FALL!

10.  I’ve got a FUN idea for a contest brewing so be sure to CHECK BACK here this week to enter to win something I KNOW YOU WILL WANT

My fall family season is in full swing!   The leaves in Kansas City are changing and the temps are cooling.  And I am getting to spend some WONDERFUL afternoons with some of my favorite families!  Nothing beats running through the park with a gaggle of little boys.  We raced, rode the tricycle, threw leaves, and munched on Smarties…life is good!

I met the oldest from this family when he was just a wee toddler sitting in on one of my Kindermusik classes.  Now he is a BIG Kindergartner and brother to TWO more!

The next in line was this little man.  I just wanted to run my hands through his silky locks {sigh}.  Mom wanted to capture a few images for his third birthday and I think we caught a couple of cute smiles!

Next was the littlest cutie.  He was feeling a bit touch and go…wasn’t a huge fan of my big black camera.  But who needs smiles when you’ve got this soulful look down pat?

Is he just kissable or what?  But don’t worry…the smiles did make a few appearances

Wondering how one family could have such gorgeous kiddos…well it doesn’t take a scientist.  Good genes folks.

At one point I asked them to snuggle up under a big tree…love how they all plopped into this cute pose!

And this one needed some good old fashioned black and white editing.  I LOVE their expressions!!  What a great memory from such a fun afternoon!

Thanks for hanging with me R family!  You guys were great fun!  See you soon!

Come on…you know you’d love to vote for these sweet faces right?  I may be more than a bit biased…but they are AWFULLY sweet cute aren’t they   I just couldn’t help myself…come on…show them some love!  (heck…you can vote every day if you want!)  Click HERE to vote!  There are two ways to win…through the “fan favorites” and “judges pick”.  A trip to the professional Gap photo shoot would be pretty coo

You thought you were fast you little forest fairy…but I caught you

Those sweet little curls and that sparkle in your eye…I thought for sure you were going to sprout little fairy wings out your back at any moment!

Thanks for my evening exercise little munchkin…I’ll run around the park chasing you ANY time!