…or at least that’s what Aidan tells me he is. I don’t even know where he heard that! This little guy - he seriously cracks me up with all the random things that come out of his mouth. Another example - the other morning, I noticed Aidan staring intently at my head. I had no idea what he was looking at, so I just stared right back at him. Then he says, “Mama have crazy hair!” Just out of the blue. Uh, thanks Aidy. At least he’s honest - right?!

And then there’s his fascination with sports. My sister, Tanya, tried to tell me that Dan + I did it to him, but I don’t think that’s true. We may have introduced sports into his little world, but he has taken it to a completely new spectrum. For example, in our home, we have every single kind of sporting equipment you can imagine. Football - check. Soccer ball - check. Volleyball - check. Child-size hockey sticks + pucks - check. Child-size golf clubs + balls - check. Basketball (regular size) - check. The list literally could go on and on. We even implemented a rule that no sports may be watched in the morning or right before bed - he just gets too excited. Frantically excited. He’ll say, “Aidy play hockey now on ice.” (The ice is our kitchen floor…because the puck slides better than on the carpet.) Then he’ll say, “Aidy wins! Best player! Where’s Aidy’s trophy? Stanley cup?” No joke. This comes out of his mouth on a regular basis. He has 2 of his own little jerseys, but he’d rather wear his dad’s “real” jerseys, even though they look like dresses on him.

It gets even worse. When I take this child to the park, he doesn’t want to play on the playground - he doesn’t care about the swings or the slides too much. He wants to run the bases on the baseball field, or he wants to play soccer in the real soccer net. He would literally stay out there all day if we let him. Yesterday, I took him to a local park to play soccer with me, and we were there TWO HOURS. I had to make him stop and take drinks. And he didn’t want to leave. So, this is my world. I’m not going to be a soccer mom. I’m going to be a hockey/football/soccer/baseball/etc mom. Try that on for size. I can only imagine what our future holds. In the short term, he’s been enrolled in swimming lessons and gymnastics for many months. When we get back from our vacation to NYC in a couple weeks, we’ll be moving on to soccer. Wish me luck.

A few pics from our trip to the baseball field. Oh lordy.

(And please forgive his, um, outfit. I think he must have picked out his own clothes that day!)

A couple of weeks ago, a big group of us participated in the Race for the Cure here in St. Louis. For those of you who may not know, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer back in ‘03. I was in training to join the Army at the time. It was an awful experience, obviously, and it was really hard to be away from her for most of her battle. My mom has been the one stable, support system my entire life. She’s the only parent I’ve ever had. So when I called that day from Fort Meade, Maryland, and got the news, I was terrified. I was heartbroken. People told me the survival rate is good for breast cancer. She told me she caught it early - she’ll be ok. It didn’t matter. All I heard was CANCER. Nobody wants to hear that. Especially when it’s your mom - your friend. A mom who has always been there for me no matter what.

But she made it. She survived, and showed everyone how brave + strong she is. I’m so very thankful she is able to walk this race with us - that we could celebrate this triumph together. Because I truly don’t know what I would do without her. And I find it quite ironic that the race in St. Louis is always held either on or near her birthday. Fitting, eh?

So here she is. My mom. The survivor.
Love you!

Putting Tanya’s number on….

Aidan got a “In Celebration Of” paper, too.

In that enormous crowd, we just happened to find the super nice woman who signed us up at Mid Rivers Mall!

I think they estimated about 60K people there…This was the view in front of us.

And the view behind us…

Several weeks ago, I headed back to my old stomping grounds in Columbia. I love that town, and it always amazes me how much it grows every time I visit. I didn’t fully appreciate all my years of college I spent there, but I appreciate my rare visits now. I’m really hoping that one day, Dan + I will have Mizzou football season tickets, so our visits will be much more frequent. Maybe Aidan will be a Tiger one day, too.

So my reason for visiting Columbia? Another session with the sweet, fun couple Manda + JR. If you missed the first session, well, let’s must say I’ve known Manda her whole life, and I’ve known her mom + dad my entire life. Our moms have been BFFs since high school. (And let me tell ya, that was a LONG time ago. *wink* (Oh man, I hope they don’t read this!)

Anyway, on to the pictures. And I really like this session. Anytime I wanted to try anything, their response was always, “Sure!” And they had some pretty fab ideas themselves.

How cute are they!?

This was totally my idea, and JR was all for it. Manda, on the other hand, was not too excited. But no worries. She survived 3 attempts at this shot and never got hurt. Who says white boys can’t jump?!

My fave from the session. I love the look on her face.

Early this morning, I had a session with one of my favorite families…including their adorable 1-year-old daughter, Kaitlyn. I photographed her when she was about 3 months old, and WOW has she changed. Here’s one of my favorites of the day.

Here’s a quick look at this incredibly sweet couple. I was lucky enough to photograph their wedding last weekend. Can’t wait to show more! Coming soon…

I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to get this post up! I’m so behind with updating the blog. I had a session with this great couple on an evening filled with tornado watches. I’m so glad we made it through with no rain…or tornadoes. I’m not a fan. Emily + Lucas - I’ll see you in August!

Last week, I headed out to Columbia again for part 2 with Amanda + JR. Here’s  a quick sneak peek of the session.

These two braved the crazy St. Louis weather this week so we could squeeze in a quick engagement session before the rain began to pour. I’m so glad it held out for us! Here’s a quick sneak peek of the session. More to come!

Poor Aidan has really been neglected on the blog lately, poor guy! He doesn’t much like having his picture taken anymore. He usually runs away from the camera. However, I captured this little gem when he was trying to get into a shoot I was doing with another child. Technically, it’s so not great. But when my lil man gives me a smile like that, I could care less! I’m just glad to have captured it. Can you see the mischief in his eyes? I think he gets it from his Dada. Am I right?!

Well, I recently had a newborn session with….yup, you guessed it, my sweet baby nephew Clayton. Have I mentioned how much I love to snuggle him?! Here’s a sneak peek from his session…More to come. And I have non-baby pictures coming soon, too! I know, can you believe it?! Several engagement sessions to be posted soon!

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My nephew, Clayton Archer Teeter, was born on 5.28.09. He’s a miracle baby. After many complications throughout my sister’s pregnancy, we were all so thrilled to meet this amazing little guy. And I was even more thrilled to be there and see him make his entrance into the world. This is her 6th, yes, that’s not a typo, child. She’s an amazing mom, and I guess after that many children, you’re down for anything. She’s been gracious enough to let me share this with the readers of my blog. I’m SO excited to post this. Thanks for watching.

(And yes, I can do this for clients, too. Contact me for more information.)

Baby Clay arrived May 28 at 5:55 p.m. He weighed in at 7 lbs, 2 oz., despite being 3 weeks early. I can’t wait to share his birthday slideshow, but here are just 2 for now. He truly is a miracle baby.

Now I’m going to go take care of my own baby, who is NOT feeling well. Poor guy is running a slight fever and been pooing a TON. We’re going to the doctor in the morning. He’ll be so excited because he gets to play with the Legos.

Just wanted to put a little update on the blog because I’m a little out of the loop. My sister is having a baby, and there have been some complications. Please keep her + the baby in your thoughts/prayers. They could use them. Thanks! I promise I’ll start returning emails as soon as I can. Sorry!

Here she’s killing time reading People Magazine.

On Saturday, I photographed another beautiful wedding for a truly sweet, fun couple, Beth + Mike. I was so glad we only had a few minutes of rain, which was just before the ceremony began at St. Stephen Catholic Church in Caseyville, IL. Then it was off to Forest Park where the wedding party braved the blasting heat and a million other wedding parties. I had a blast with these guys! The evening ended with some super yummy cupcakes ( I even had one!) and lots of dancing at their fabulous reception at Windows On Washington. Thanks so much for making me a part of your day!

This is my nephew. And I must admit, I haven’t seen much of this smiley face in the past year or so. The other day, I had a session with only him, and I was delighted when he decided to show me his “happy face” as Aidan would say. This little guy just celebrated his 5th birthday, and I think 5 is going to be a fabulous age for him. I see many more happy faces in his future this year.

I have many more to share, but I have lots of people waiting on wedding pictures, so here’s just one for now.