The End

This is the end of this blog, but a new one is coming! I'm rolling Gabe's Mom, Greg's Wife, and Wish I Might into one! For those of you who follow along, when the new blog is up and running, I'll make one final post with the new address. And, for all my facebook friends, I'll send you a link! It's just too hard to manage 2 blogs and a website... I am still in the planning stages, but when I'm done, I think my life will be much more simple!!

Wanted to get this down...

I'm working on Disney pictures for a blog update, but over half of the pictures were taken in RAW by mistake! (Greg: Honey, what's all this crap on the screen on your camera? -while pushing buttons- Me: It's a HISTOGRAM! Don't touch it!)hehehehe... So, I need to figure out how to process RAW in Photoshop 7. I think I need to use a plug in, but I just haven't had the time to mess with it yet.

I did want to get this down though... This morning Gabe and I were sitting on the couch watching some TV (or as Gabe calls it, 'TD') and he looked up at me and said, "Mommy, I'm so glad you're here". Oh my goodness. That was the most wonderful thing I've ever heard.

He has no idea how much that little statement made me feel so happy. Of course, he probably meant, I'm glad you're here and I'm not at daycare today. On Thursdays and Fridays he'll say, "No Monica's, right Mom?" It's not that he doesn't enjoy daycare, but I think it's that he enjoys our days at home together. So do I, buddy, so do I. And, I'm so glad YOU're here too.

It's been nearly 3 years since this awesome boy became a part of our family. I can't imagine one second of my life without him here. I can't imagine a day in my life where I didn't hear his adorable toddler voice.

I'm so glad I'm here too, buddy. So glad.

Gaber Update

Just a few fun facts about the Gabers right now...

•He's doing a great job going potty on the potty chair. We're still working on #2, but, he'll get it!
•Gabe starts preschool in 2010! I can hardly believe that's coming up in January. AND, he gets to have Mrs. Hoobler!
•Gabe's vocabulary has sky-rocketed. He talks in complete sentences, but still has problems with l's, r's, and y's - totally normal for his age.
•Gabe is still a pretty picky eater. He's expanded his horizons a little bit, but not much!
•Rewards and punishments have been working out pretty well - when Gabe misbehaves we do one of three things... Option #1 is timeout. Option #2 is putting a toy in time out. And, Option #3 is taking a sticker off of his chore chart.

We've started a "chore chart" for Gabe with the following "chores":

Check to make sure Jinxi has food & water (we just have him go look and then we fill it up if she's out)
Go to the bathroom to get his brush in the mornings
Take his dirty clothes to the hamper
Pick up toys before bedtime
Listening (this is one that's had a few stars taken away!:)
Being good in the store
Pooping on the potty

Once he fills up his chore chart, he gets a special prize - like a movie or a new M.A.S.K. guy.

Saturday, we leave for Disney!! Gabe is super excited about it. (so are Mommy & Daddy!) I can't wait to see my little guy's face when he sees Disney. Greg's parents and my mom are going as well. My dad's had a late harvest this year, so he has to miss it. We are all getting really excited. There will be a TON of pictures when we get back!

Biggest reason for my absence...

Wish I Might has had quite a busy Summer/Fall. I am extremely blessed that people have been wanting to book me for photography and I'm already taking Christmas card orders. I am loving every minute. I have taken senior sessions, engagement sessions, family sessions, and a couple of weddings. I am feeling really proud of starting something myself and having a business that I created.

Along with all those good feelings, come a lot of other feelings... Like guilt - spending too much time at the computer, stress - wondering how in the heck I'm going to get it all done, and worry - about my skills... I mean, I feel that I have an eye for it, but I've not been in the business long. I still have a LOT to learn. I feel like I learn more with each session I take. And, each session has its humbling moments. Like, "DOH! I should've focused better there... I knew better than that!" or, "You dork! Didn't you notice the telephone pole behind her that's now sticking out of her head?!" It's kind of a tough business too. There are a lot of "snobby" photographers out there... But, to be fair, there are a lot of really nice ones out there too who understand that you're still a newbie and you're learning. I feel like telling the snobby ones, "hey, you started SOMEWHERE!" And then, there are photographers out there that think they can charge UNBELIEVABLE prices and you just wonder how they ever got to that point. I keep my prices pretty low, for the simple fact that there really are a lot of photographers out there. People can go to any town and find a photographer... heck, they can come to my town and find a few! :) But, I feel like, especially early on, I need to keep my prices pretty low. Next year, however, they're going up a bit! This is a lot of work!

I've been throwing the idea around about saving up for a studio... I really feel like that's something I want to do. Greg and I had a talk about our goals for Wish I Might and I told him that's something I saw long term. The next week, I got a call from one of my friend's moms. She is a church secretary and they're remodelling their vestibule. When they cleaned out the closets, guess what they found? A Lowel studio lighting kit. Guess who she called? And guess who has it now? And, guess what that's perfect for? Maybe starting up a studio in the future? Crazy, huh?

So, now, over the winter, in all my free time, I hope to find out how to use this stuff!

My life's been pretty busy lately. I am loving it and I'm anxious to see where this journey will take me. I hope it leads to a studio someday... we shall see.

Happy Halloween!

Wasn't he the cutest Toodah ever? I wanted to make sure I got this down... This is how Gabe sang trick or treat:

"Twicked or Tweet, smell my feet, give me somefing good to eat. If you not, I don't care, I'll pull my underwear down!"

He learned this from his buddy Will last year, and this year he started singing it again. It was so funny! We had a great Halloween. Gabe and his friend, McCarthy (my BFF's grandson), went trick or treating together. We drove them around in the suburban, or as I like to call the "super ban". We had a really great time. It was another one of those moments where I just stopped for a minute and remembered a time when I wondered if I'd ever be doing this. If I'd ever hear a child say, "C'mon, Mom! Let's go to diss house!" My heart was warmed so much by this excited little guy tonight.

After trick or treating, we headed over to Poke's house for the 6th Annual Hurloween. Gabe and I stayed for supper and visited for a bit, and Daddy stayed to hang out with the guys. Gabe had a busy day today, so he pretty much crashed as soon as his head hit the pillow. Hurloween was fun... I had a really nice compliment from Poke about my photography. We love Poke and Cari. They are great friends and it's nice to know we've got an ongoing get together each year with such great people.

Well, I have to say, shocked... two posts in two days?! Wowza!

Oh, and.......... we're leaving for Disney in 7 days!!!!!!!!

Yes, We're Still Here!

Ok, so I've been like the worst blogger ever. I haven't updated in so long. Life has been so busy for us lately. Fall has been CRAZY busy. My photography business has really been picking up - I already have 2 weddings for the beginning of next year. And, when I say next year, I mean I have one on January 1st and the other on January 2nd! One of them is rather small, so it shouldn't be too much work, but the other one will be a full day. Am I nuts? Yes, I think so. The good news is, I'm learning more and more with each session that I take and I'm liking each session better than the one before.

Ok, now onto the Gabers! He's really growing and changing so much. He's saying things like "I have an idea!" or "I pet Jinxi so she more comfortable!". He is doing great potty training. We still put a diaper on him at night, but daytime, he never has accidents. Right now, he's REALLY into his M.A.S.K. guys. M.A.S.K. is a cartoon Greg used to watch when he was little. Honestly, the animation is pretty crappy, but Gabe (and Greg!) love it. I love watching Gabe play with Greg's old toys. Greg's mom had saved some of them and gave them to Gabe. He just loves them.

This year for Halloween, Gabe is going to be Woody from Toy Story. He looks SO adorable in his costume! We took him out to my mom and dad's tonight since my mom has to work tomorrow. He even sang, "Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat... if you don't, I don't care, I'll pull down your underwear!" But Gabe says, "if you not, I don't care, I'll pull my underwear down!" Too funny.

Well, I did just want to get an update out there because it's been almost 2 months exactly since I've posted. I'll try harder. I'll make it a priority, I promise!! :)

Gabe Singing...