Nicole and Eric

This past weekend was not just a great weekend...it was a PERFECT weekend. For the first time in almost two months, I was home for the entire weekend. And, could I have ever wished for a better weekend?! There was beautiful weather, beautiful fall colors, and a beautiful couple to spend a few hours with on Saturday.

Nicole and Eric are getting married next September, and they've asked me to document their day by being their wedding photographer. On Saturday we met for their engagement session, and I was so excited that the weather and fall light were so perfect for their shoot. They were both raised in this area, and Nicole clued me in to some really great scenery that I didn't even know existed just miles from my house!

Nicole and Eric, thank you for choosing me to document your wedding day. I hope you enjoy your engagement portraits as much as I enjoyed shooting them. Below are just a few of my favorites.

Kelly

The serious portrait....which I LOVE. In this one, I think they look like they belong in an ad for Banana Republic.

The laughing portrait....which I also LOVE. I think they busted out smiling at the view they had of a six-month pregnant lady laying on the ground in front of them snapping her camera button like a crazy woman. :)

Amelia Bedelia!

I know these are a month old, but Kori was going to post them on Amelia's site and is having some issues postem them. However, Amelia's public is SO tired of waiting for new pictures, Kori! So, I'm jumping the gun and posting just a few of my favorites of my new niece! I'm sorry, Kori!


This is SOOO interrupting my nap and swing time, Aunt Kelly.



"I don't care if you like the brown, fluffy blanket, Aunt Kelly! I like the white furry one better!!!"


You look really silly with that huge flash on top of your camera, Aunt Kelly.



This is SO boring...are you almost done, Aunt Kelly?



I'm SO over this whole picture thing...I'm going to call one of my cousins to entertain me while you finish, Aunt Kelly.

Introducing Baby Rebekah!

I received an email today that Angie and Jarrod welcomed the newest edition to their family this week!

Rebekah Dawn Stock was born on October, 13th at 11:36 am. Just like her three older brothers, Rebekah was born almost a week later then her due date (my personal nightmare at the moment!). She was 7 lbs 4.5 oz. She was 19 3/4 in long. She has dark hair that is already 2 in long.

Congratulations, Stock Family!!!

The Irish of Arthur, Illinois

This weekend we had a full house! Karen, Emma, Anna, Ella, Kori, Ben, and Amelia came to visit! They came Friday evening, and for the most part the little girls spent the evening reacquainting themselves with Aunt Kelly's small toy colllection while the older girls caught up and talked about the Rankin girls that weren't there (Just kidding, Kim and Kendall!).

Saturday morning we went to Arthur to the Pumpkin Patch....60 acres of all things pumpkin and autumn. Karen wanted a few pictures of her girls; so, we dodged the other visitors and tried to get a few, but it was difficult. My favorite part of the day was on the drive up there. Emma and Anna rode in my car, and after passing a horse and buggy we discussed the Amish and how they lived similarly to Mary and Laura off of "Little House on the Prairie," one of their favorite TV shows. The girls were very astute in their observations: Mary and Laura lived in a log cabin and the Amish lived in white farmhouses...Ma's dress went all the way to the ground, but the Amish mothers' clothes did not, etc. Although they were good at spotting the Amish by the end of the day, they had more difficulty remembering what they were called. Until Emma actuallly saw the word spelled, the Amish of Arthur, IL, were affectionately known to the girls from Manito, IL, as "the Irish." I love them! :)

Here are a few of my favorite pix of the day!

Visitors!

Half of my family is here visiting this weekend, including Amelia! Let's just say, despite her being six weeks premature and not even being officially 'due' until October 7th, she's filling out quite nicely. Here's a picture of an outfit Grandma Cooper got her. We've titled it, "Do these stripes make me look fat?"

Kori and Amelia

Last weekend I got the chance to spend the day with Kori and baby Amelia! She is SO sweet! She never cries and is so content swinging in her little swing after eating. I will NEVER have a baby this sweet and quiet.

While there, Kori let me take Amelia's baby pictures. Amelia gave us a full hour of good pix and then let us know she was ready for a nap...in her quiet way, of course. I'm still in the middle of editing them, and I promised Kori that I'd let her pick her favorites to put on Amelia's blog and on her baby announcement cards, but Kori did let me take a few pictures of her and Amelia together. She said I was free to post those. So, here are a few of my favorites!







By the way, this picture is straight out of the camera...no editing! That's how blue her eyes are! Mom, Dad - why did you love Kori so much more then the rest of us that you'd give her such blue eyes and not the rest of us??? It's so unfair!

Thanks for checking in! Kelly