J Cooper Photography

I thought I would post about some cute ideas for Christmas gifts as I find them!  Check out these adorable FABRIC FLOWERS!!  These would be SO CUTE in my girls’ new shared room….

Check out LEILA’S FLOWER GARDEN to get some of your own!!!

So last weekend the girls had a little play date with one of their most FAVORITE friends.  I couldn’t resist a little merry making with them…so we decided to build this fun little gingerbread train!  I love that so many stores are now carrying these kits.  If you have been reading this blog long, you will already know that I am a miserable failure in the kitchen.  I mean…I took 4H and all…but I’m more of a “warmer upper” than a cook.  In fact…just a few days ago I tried to bake the girls a treat and had to scrape charred blueberry muffins from the bottom of my muffin pan.  Me and the kitchen are just not that tight.  So these little kits…they ROCK (although I must mention that the EZ build tray wasn’t as EASY as it proclaims to be).

I’m laughing loading up these photos too.  It looks like I stylized this photo shoot…the way they all coordinate in their MJ duds.  When Allie showed up at violin group lessons earlier in the day we had a good laugh…her mommy is a fashion nut too.  And she had just come from getting a hair cut and had these amazing perfectly-curled-curls in her hair.  My girls just sighed when they saw her…she has a SERIOUS fan group at my house!

I’m surprised how many of the tiny treats actually made it onto the train….they were shoveling it in pretty fast.  When they asked to eat the green frosting straight out of the tube I had to put my foot down though.  (They wanted me to squirt it right into their mouths)…gag!

There isn’t much cuter than little school aged friends.  Check out A’s smile.  Is that cheesy or what??

Now go get crafty with your own kids….you won’t regret it!!

First off….THANK YOU for the many many votes over the past week!!  We are back to our regularly scheduled program here on the blog (can I get an AMEN!)  I did NOT make the final round in the Matilda Jane Photo Love contest.  And you know what?  I’m ok with that.  I appreciate the great outpouring of CYBER LOVE from all of you though   And although my ego is slightly battered (just kidding…I’ll be fine) I’m ready to move on!

So how are your Holidays going?  Here are a few sneak peaks at some of the festivities at the Cooper house.  We didn’t go “all out” this year as I am desperately trying to keep the holidays “simple”.  But we did put up a couple of trees, gathered some nature for our mantel, and unpacked a few of my most favorite things (I could almost break out into song here).

This is a glimpse at our main tree.  It is flocked with little pine cones and berries and full of handmade ornaments.  Someday I would love a big, gorgeous, fancy tree.  Except that I’m not really gorgeous or fancy so this tree really probably just suits our family perfectly.

Our dining room buffet….a bit of greenery and a canvas greeting (I’ve since added some cute ceramic doves…a STEAL at Good JuJu last week!)  Scroll down for a photo of the cute little birds!

A tree fit for 2 little princesses.  During Black Friday my SIL and I drove all around Colorado Springs looking for a tiny pink tree.  I’m not sure what it is about Colorado ladies but there was a RUN on pink trees this season.  Not one left in ANY store anywhere!!  It was pretty comical.  The night we got home from our long drive, I made a quick late-night trip to Walmart to grab some groceries.  And LO and BEHOLD what did I find??  My pink tree!  I guess the Kansas City folks haven’t quite caught on to the latest trends in colored trees this year!

This little tree just makes me so happy in their playroom.  Over the years I plan to collect tiny, sweet ornaments for it.  For now we’ve got it covered in tiny balls and pom pom trim from the dollar store

On the other side of my dining room is an old dresser-turned-buffet.  I made a little snowy scene inside this cloche using a branch dusted in faux snow, a vintage postcard, and a tiny bird

A scrawny little tree in our entryway.  This used to be our main tree when we lived in our little Rancher in Prairie Village.  It has a bird theme…natural elements, little damask tin birds, birdhouses, etc.  I have a serious obsession with all things bird.  Except that in real life I don’t really care for them much

My little doves.  Which cost me exactly $6 at Good JuJu this month.  I also bought a vintage tree skirt that is wrapped nicely around our “tacky tree”  (see yesterday’s post).  I HEART GOOD JUJU.  If you are a Kansas Citian you must go there and peruse all the fun things they have to offer!

A bowl full of festive odds and ends on my sofa table (out of the reach of little hands who might try to eat things!)  I saw an arrangement on a coffee table at Pottery Barn similar to this.  I LOVED the mercury glass ornaments but at $20 a piece I wasn’t willing to commit to them.  I found these replicas at Hobby Lobby 50% off which made them $3 a piece…ah the thrill of a bargain

That’s it for now!  I hope you are enjoying these weeks leading up to Christmas with your family and friends!!!

You know I couldn’t pass up the chance to get in ONE MORE PLUG!!!  Voto por mi entrada, por favor! {Maybe I’m less annoying in Spanish???)

VOTE HERE if you haven’t done so already!  Or go find another place to vote   CONTEST ENDS TONIGHT!!

And a bit of merriment just for fun We call this the “tacky tree” but secretly it is my favorite

{edited to add}  Well gosh…I just noticed poor green Rudolf has been noosed.   That’s kind of sad isn’t it?

Ok folks.  I know I promised.  But here’s the deal.  Can you help me kick it into HIGH GEAR???  Can you call your grandma…email your uncles…tweet your girlfriends…post on facebook….ANYTHING??

PHOTO LOVE is back in FULL FORCE!  The contest has been narrowed down to NINE finalists and I have until WEDNESDAY at midnight to get as MANY votes as possible.  I’m a bit SHOCKED that I made it…winning sure would be fun {GRIN}

I know MANY of you have voted and passed on my information.  And I am so VERY VERY GRATEFUL!!!  I would just KISS you if you’d continue to spread the word.  And PLEASE VOTE AGAIN!!!!  If I win I am going to have to come up with some SUPER FUN GIVEAWAYS to celebrate!!!

CLICK HERE to VOTE FOR MY PHOTO.  I’d be honored if you’d take my photo and post it anywhere you think you might find willing voters…your facebook page, blog, website, etc.  You can vote several time as well as long as you vote from a different computer…so get creative

And the BEST NEWS…this will all be over soon and we can go back to the regularly scheduled program…you remember right?  My random ramblings about my cute kids…sounds nice doesn’t it?

We are home from the hospital and my little man is doing just fine!  THANK YOU to those of you who called, emailed well wishes, and prayed for him!

It was an EARLY morning.  I snatched him from his crib from a peaceful slumber at exactly 5:30 am and put him directly in the car (that my sweet husband had thoughtfully warmed up for us!)  I couldn’t believe how much traffic there was on the interstate at that time as we drove downtown!  What are all those people doing at that hour?  I had no idea that so many people were up and kicking at that ungodly hour.  We were able to park right in front of the same day surgery wing and head right in for his pre-op appointments.  He charmed all the nurses with his sweet smiles and big brown eyes.  They were all going out of their way to entertain and spoil him   We had a 1 1/2 hour wait before his surgery and he really did quite well.  Towards the end he was getting VERY antsy and pointing to the diaper bag screaming, “ANACK, ANACK” (read: “A SNACK” mommy or I’m gonna really lose it!)

The hardest part was handing him over to the nurses.  But the Dr. assured me afterwards that the nurses had a great time with him back in the OR.  He’s such a charmer

I spent less than 30 minutes in the waiting room and then I was being paged back up to post-op.  WOW.  Talk about a SCREAMFEST.  Apparantly, the combination of his young age and the short surgery made it difficult for him to come out of the anesthesia.  And he was MAD!!  It would have been kind of humerous except that I was juggling all of our bags, coats, and a screaming/flailing 27 lbs. toddler.  Meanwhile, the nurses were pushing apple juice and Teddy Grahams on him.  That’s when he really lost it…he HEAD BUTTED me and split open my lip!!!  I’m laughing as I type this.  Pretty comical really.  The nurses heard it across the room and came over to tell me that the medicine would “wear off soon” as I wiped the blood from my mouth.  What a morning!

Somehow we managed to make it to the car and drive through traffic home.  We spent about an hour at home watching Noggin and holding his Teddy Grahams (he just held them to his lips but wouldn’t eat them).  Finally he fell asleep and slept for about 3 hours.  Then he woke up…ate some lunch…and has been RUNNING all afternoon!  No rest for the weary at our house.  Our little man is BACK!

I didn’t have much time for photo journaling between the cuddling, reading books, and head butting…but I managed a few to document the morning

THANKS AGAIN for thinking of us this morning!

If you wouldn’t mind…can you say a prayer for our sweet little guy tomorrow?  He is going in for surgery tomorrow morning at 6 am to have tubes put in.  I know he will be just fine.  But I’m planning for a LONG day.  We will need to leave our house by 5:30 am tomorrow morning to have him downtown to Children’s Mercy on time.  And no food or drink…that ought to go over just great with my “give me my waffle now or I’ll kill ya with my crying” kid.  I’m hoping we will be home and finished up by the time J even goes to preschool.  And I’m praying for some nice, LONG naps {for everyone}.

Here are a few more snapshots of him from yesterday.  If I had realized he was going to give me so many cute little smiles in front of the tree…I would have changed him into his Christmas outfit

And whoever taught him this “CHEESE” thing…you’re dead meat.  Aunt Kris?  Grandma?  Come on…who was it?

Thanks for your prayers!  I’ll be sure to post tomorrow to let you know how our little man is doing!

This little man can build {and don’t worry…there will be REAL blocks under the tree for him from Santa}.  I never realized how different little boys could be.  Sure I had heard the stories.  My friends had warned me.  How did those chubby little fingers learn so much dexterity so quickly??  Mr. Sam has realized that he can dump his shape sorter and use those wacky little blocks to build a tower.  I’m amazed that he knows to flip the circle, triangle, and moon to their “flat” side so that he has a flat surface for his building to grow.  I didn’t teach him that.  I wouldn’t have even thought of it.   In my organized mind a shape sorter is for sorting shapes.  But my little man can really think “outside the blocks” {pardon the pun}

On a side note…Sam has learned how to say “CHEESE” for the camera.  Kind of funny as I NEVER ask people to say “CHEESE”…predominantly because the face you see above is the typical result!!  But as soon as I got out my camera and pointed it in his direction he yelled, “CHEESE” and scrunched up that little nose.  {It WAS pretty cute}.  Then he ran as fast as he could over and peered over my shoulder to see his image on my camera.  He pointed and laughed and yelled, “CHEESE” some more.  So funny!

Can’t wait to see what he can do with a REAL set of blocks!

1.   Sorry to miss my 10 on Tuesday post.  I have been so busy this week shamelessly plugging my Matilda Jane PHOTO LOVE ENTRY that I completely spaced it.  In case you somehow missed it {as if that was possible}…you can VOTE FOR MY ENTRY HERE.  I really don’t know what the grand prize is other than a trip to Ft. Wayne, IN in January to see the Spring line.  I’m hoping there is clothing involved.  Or Matilda Jane cash.  Or at least a nice party.  I have read on several other photography blogs about the grand prize and everyone seems to have a different idea of what the winner will actually receive.  Not even sure what happens from here.  I’m assuming there will be several steps towards narrowing down the choices.  But we have made a VALIENT effort…for which I am so VERY thankful!  And I promise from this point not to utter another Matilda Jane word.  {come on…you know I am totally lying}.

2.  In the spirit of Thanksgiving and the holidays…and saying THANK YOU.  Thank you to all of you who have sent nice emails, voted, asked your mother-in-law to vote, put my picture on your personal blog, emailed your peeps about my photo, or called me to say “time to move on to another subject”.  Consider this your BIG CYBER HUG!  I truly do appreciate all the support.  I thank God everyday that this little job landed in my lap last fall.  It has provided a huge creative outlet for me while allowing me to keep my priorities on the little people in my life.  And to my clients…THANK YOU for allowing me to capture your family heirlooms.  That is the biggest compliment of all.

3.  If you ever need to be humbled…just talk to my 5 year old.  I showed her MY ENTRY {oh come on…you knew I was lying} on the Matilda Jane site.  I thought she would get a kick out of seeing her own sweet little face.  When her image popped up she exclaimed, “Oh Mommy…it’s almost like you are a real photographer now!!”  To which I replied, “why yes, Jules….almost.”

4.  WE HAVE NEW NUMBERS!  Our agency emails or calls at the beginning of each month with our new numbers.  We don’t have substantial movement as it has only been 2 weeks…but any movement is GOOD movement to me!

5.  I’m really missing sewing these days.  Feeling like my poor machines might be lonely locked up in that cold basement closet all alone.  I think I can hear them crying at night.  It’s starting to get to me.  Fortunately, Mr. P has been hard at work on my sewing space/office.  The framing and drywall are done.  This weekend we are moving on to the taping and mudding…followed shortly after by the ceiling hanging and floor installing.  I can’t wait to get it all finished and unpack my seam ripper!

6.  We have SO MUCH STUFF I would like to get rid of right now.  I’m thinking that a garage sale in Kansas in December may not be a swell idea, however.  Do you ever just want to throw it all at the CURB?  We’ve got some furniture and decorative stuff that I have been hanging onto for years that needs to find a NEW HOME now.  And the fabric.  Have mercy…someone come and un-bury me please!  Now that I’m not sewing for a business the fabric is really weighing me down.  I hate to just trash it as there are some really fun prints and I have a lot invested in it…but I just don’t have the time to photograph it and list it all.  Any suggestions?

7.  I’ve got a voracious reader on my hands in the form of a quirky little 7 year old.  She devours books.  I would like to restock her library a bit for Christmas but I’m having a hard time deciding on a series that would be a good next step.  She LOVES Junie B. Jones but they are so easy that she now has all 25 books completely memorized.  She’s at a reading level O if you have any clue what that means {I’m not really sure myself which could be part of my problem with the book selection}.

8.  I really wish I had more photos to share.  I actually haven’t picked up my camera yet this week {GASP}.  I have been busy finishing up editing and making OUR Christmas cards.  That was a chore.  Our cards.  Oye.  I had a serious case of photographers block on our cards this year.  I guess I shouldn’t share the final product yet as I hate to ruin your complete surprise and amazement {insert sarcastic chuckle here} when it comes in your mailbox…but here’s a cute image that didn’t make the final card.

9.  Does anyone in Kansas City who lives in a BIG rambling OLD house want to do a house trade?  Yeah.  Didn’t think so.  I am really struggling with this whole house thing right now.  We have a great house…don’t get me wrong.  It’s just not the house for {us} I think.  I should really live in an old house…with creaky wood floors, quirky doorways, and little nooks.  I can try to be a hip, modern mom but it just ain’t the truth.  I like old.  Old likes me.  And we are really beginning to miss each other.

10.  Did you notice I went FIVE whole numbers without mentioning the MATILDA JANE CONTEST!  Ok. Ok.  Really…I’m done!!

This is the annoying post where I display SHAMELESS self promotion and BEG (or ask nicely) for your votes

Awhile ago, a clothing company I adore called Matilda Jane, announced a PHOTO LOVE photography contest.  I was chosen as a finalist (before you get too excited…so were about 40 other photographers nationwide).  Each finalist was sent the SAME dress in their choice of size and told to submit ONE photo.  Seems easy enough, right?

I dreamed, brainstormed, and planned until I was blue in the face.  I stalked several cute kids, scoped out new locations, and gathered my props.  I found it was hard to force creativity.  I’m a “let’s head out on a whim” kind of photographer.  So, the planning was really starting to eat me up inside (I’m being dramatic here…it’s only a contest folks).  So I told myself, “self…grab your cute kid…head out to a field…and just be yourself”.  So that’s what I did.  Although I did knock on the door of an unlikely “neighbor” to ask permission to use the decrepit playhouse on her property.  She thought I was completely nuts (I was beginning to wonder myself too)…but she agreed.  I took about 150 shots in a 20 minute window.  I was on borrowed time with my bookends at a neighbors house and my model only cooperating long enough to earn herself a Barbie.  Right at the end of the session she leaned over the baby carriage and I asked her what was inside.  “Shhh…the baby is sleeping”…..

And there you have it.  My entry.  And if you would be SO KIND to head on over to the MATILDA JANE to VOTE FOR THIS PHOTOGRAPH…I would love you to pieces!  (add my photo to your shopping bag to VOTE!!!!  It will ask you to confirm your vote and you MUST hit SUBMIT for the vote to register!  You will end up hitting SUBMIT TWICE so be diligent!!  You can only vote from each IP address ONCE…but feel free to visit other computers to place additional votes if you want to share more love!!!)

If you have a blog, or an email list, or an army of people in your back pocket who love to vote for random contests….I’d LOVE your help!!  Feel free to “steal” this image from my blog and plaster it anywhere you think there might be willing voters

Voting will end on December 6th

Pretty please…and THANK YOU!!!!