Lily is 3 Months Old!

Wow, time is flying by! I can't believe that Lily is 3 months old already and getting so big. It is so fun to watch her discovering new things everyday. I tried to do a 3 month photoshoot with her on Friday, but it didn't go so well. I'm going to try to do some more tomorrow. I'd like to get outside for some more natural shots, but it is supposed to rain all week long so that may not happen. For now I will leave you with a couple of shots that I did manage to get on Friday. I usually don't like babies in headbands, but I've recently developed a liking for them as a photo prop. I wouldn't take her out like this on a daily basis, but I think it made for a pretty cute photo.

Play Date with Hailey and Carter

Today was a very busy day! We spent most of the day visiting with Hailey and Carter and had lots of fun. Ella and Hailey are finally at a point where they actually play together, interacting, and not just playing side by side. It was really cute to watch them chasing each other around and playing dress up. I guess it won't be too long until Carter and Lily are joining in the fun too. I can't believe how fast time is going! I only had a few minutes to edit a few shots tonight, so here's a little peek into our playdate today.
Carter and Hailey snuggling in the rocking chair. Carter just hanging out. Lily has discovered that she can get her fist in her mouth and she now does it all the time. Carter was practicing standing up...this shot was right before he fell over. Ella was pretty proud of her princess costume that she put together all by herself.And finally, Lily and Carter, hanging out together.

Changing the Blog

As I mentioned the other day, I feel the need to have two separate blogs now - one for my family photos and one for my other photo shoots. I also decided to change my title from photo of the day because, let's face it, I am really bad at posting photos every day. I am doing pretty well at taking the photos, but by the time I get the kids in bed I rarely have the energy to sit down, edit the photos, and post them before I crash. Then I feel really bad and guilty because I didn't post my photo of the day. So to take some of the pressure off of myself and so that I don't have people wondering where my daily posts are, I am just going to blog when I have the time. It will be bits and pieces of our lives, hopefully at least a few times a week and maybe more. So just to confuse everyone, our family blog is at this new address (where you are now): www.themckinleyfamilyblog.blogspot.com and my other photo shoots will be blogged at www.meganmckinleyphotography.blogspot.com. How is that for confusion? If you're still reading this, thanks for following me!

Studio Style Shoot

Today I was supposed to have a lovely outdoor fall shoot, but the weather didn't want to cooperate with us so I had my first ever studio-style shoot (with someone other than my own kids). Victoria and Owen were great little models for me and let me move them and pose them and take lots of photos, even though Owen was more interested in playing like any normal three-year-old would be. Despite my nervousness, I did manage to get some good shots and I hope the Becks will be pleased with them. What I realized is that studio-style shooting is way more difficult than outdoor shooting - well, at least for me. I think that if I had an actual studio with proper lights and proper backdrops it would be much easier and probably a lot of fun, but my makeshift studio really provided me with some challenges. Nonetheless, I am pretty happy with how the shots turned out and I hope that the Becks will be too. Take a peek!

I Think I Need Another Blog

Just to cause everyone some confusion, I think I may be moving my photo of the day blog to another address so I can use this address for my other photo shoots. I'd like to try to keep my family blog separate from my "professional" blog and I think that moving this one to another address may be the best way to do so. But, since I don't have two separate blogs as of yet, I will be posting a couple of preview photos from today's shoots here for tonight.

I did shoots for two different families today - the Shannahans and the Mullins. The Shannahans were my first shoot this morning and I had a great time. This was my first official shoot for people that I didn't really know, so I was more than a little nervous, but Megan and Steven made me feel really comfortable. They were really easy to photograph and their son, Jacob, was incredibly cute. Just so you can see how cute he (and the whole family) is, here are a couple of the shots that I have edited so far.

I then spent a bit of time this afternoon at the Mullins, taking some photos of Hayley and Kyle. These two cuties were full of energy and they even came up with a lot of their own ideas about what poses would look good. They let me take a ton of photos of them and even laid down on the wet grass and leaves when needed. They were so much fun and I am loving how their photos are looking so far. Here's their little preview:

Gotta Love the Dollar Store!

I LOVE the dollar store. I buy a lot of things there. I have to admit that when they starting carrying items that cost more than a dollar, I was kind of ticked off. I liked being able to just pick up whatever I wanted and know that it was dollar. And I liked the fact that you could take your kids in, tell them to pick out whatever they wanted, and it would never cost more than a dollar. I know, I know, two dollars isn't much more, but that's not the point. I am now at a point, however, where I am beginning to enjoy the extra items that they are carrying. I'm still ticked off that some of the same old things that used to be a dollar are now more, but I do enjoy that I can get some "bigger" things there for a much cheaper price than I would pay elsewhere. A perfect example of this? Santa suits! They are carrying children's santa suits for $2. I picked one up for Ella's dress up trunk, not expecting much, but it is REALLY cute and Ella really loved it. So yes, I do love the dollar store!
Here is my Ella trying out her suit (don't mind the pink socks):Isn't it totally cute? All for $2!

Fun with the Bumbo

Lily has been doing such a great job at holding her head up and supporting herself that we decided to dig out the bumbo tonight. I expected her to like it, since Ella always did, but she did not! This was her first reaction - I think it's fear:

Then it turned into outright screaming:

When we took Lily out of the bumbo, Ella immediately wanted to sit in it. Notice the look on Lily's face. I think even she knows that Ella is WAY too big for the bumbo.