Zach - 1yo

This little man is growing up SO fast. I can hardly believe that when he was born, he weighed less than five pounds! One year later...and after doing his newborn, 3 mos, 6 mos, and 9 mos pictures...I'm convinced that he is ALL smiles. He hasn't had a single session that's disappointed us in the smiles category! I think he gets that from his mom!

My favorites are below, and you can see a few more by clicking here.

Take care and God bless!

Colby

Sorry...this isn't the most exciting post! I tried to make it an actual story...but I'll be honest...I actually bought a new lens and was playing with it!!!

Hi. Did you know there is NOTHING more fun in the world than taking out EVERYTHING from my diaper bag?...or maybe my baskets on the changing table?...or the books off of my shelves.

Geesh. There are so many goodies in here. I could do this three or four times a day.

OK...maybe there is ONE thing that's more fun than emptying my diaper bag or baskets....watching ELMO on TV!!!

Is it over? Where did Elmo go?!!!

OK...it's on again! To celebrate, I will continue sucking on my fingers....another thing that I LOVE to do.

Ikea, Mother's Day, and the ROCKET

This past weekend me and three friends made the sojourn to Chicago-land to hit the great store of Ikea. All four of us had a list of essentials....and we came home with the essentials and a BIT more. :)

In the course of discussing who would drive our group to Ikea, my new friend, Sara, mentioned that we could take her mini-van, which she told me REPEATEDLY in the email was 'awesomeness.' I teasingly informed her that if you had to reiterate constantly that something was 'awesomeness' that maybe it wasn't. She told me that I was SO wrong, and that it really WAS 'awesomeness.' OK, Sara!

To make her feel better, I told her about my old days at Deere and how when you were told you had to go on some trip the first thing you did was race to the fleet car sign-up sheet. Our fleet was made up of six brand new Grand Prix and one poor, lonely mini-van. Because I was one of four new hires, it was soon deemed that senior members of the staff could bump us from the Grand Prix's; so, I literally spent a whole summer of my life riding around with three other guys across the Midwest attending really exciting classes like '4WD hydraulics.' We nicknamed our beast "The ROCKET" and made the best of it.

Sara decided she liked that name and has now named her own loser-cruiser "The ROCKET" Yesterday I got the mail and found a Mother's Day card from Sara....below is the front of the card...with a note on the inside saying she "just couldn't resist when she saw this card!"

If you'd like to see a few more pix of our big IKEA trip, go to Sara's blog by clicking here.

My Mother's Day Shopping Trip

So, I'm totally being lazy and letting my friend Sara

Colby and the Circus!

The circus came to Windsor! So, Carolyn and I took Colby and Henry and had a great time. Here are a few pix from our big outing!

We started the evening off with a pony ride. Colby kept saying, "Whoa"....

There were camels....


...and a balancing Elvis....

...and pretty girls up in the air....

...and Henry to entertain us!

We even ran into "Care" and "Woss"....as Colby calls them.

Overall, Colby was enthralled with the whole thing. She sat on my lap and watched all the action. Or, perhaps she was plotting her escape..."Yes, finally I have figured out how to ditch this crazy mother of mine!!!"

I took an old camera with me to the circus and discovered it had an old memory card still in in from this last fall. So, kind of like finding money in a coat you haven't worn in six months, I found a few gems of Colby from this fall and winter...including her fall visit to the field with Poppa McCormick! I can't believe how much her hair has grown since harvest!!!

Krista & Brett | Engaged

One day I got an email from Krista. Her mother's friend's daughter (follow that?!) is getting married next summer, and I'm shooting their wedding. Krista and her fiance', Brett, had pretty much decided on a photographer for their own wedding, but her mother's friend had said she should check out my site...and she did...and she and Brett happened to be coming to Champaign that weekend for a game; so, we met in Tuscola. Fortuitously, I had picked my favorite Tuscola hot spot, Flessor's Candy Kitchen, for the meeting. Partly because I like the old-fashioned atmosphere...but mostly because I try and score a green river soda whenever I have an excuse. We met and talked. Brett and Krista were both raised on farms, and we chatted about red vs green equipment, remodeling old farmhouses, and good ol' country baking. A few days later, Krista emailed me and said they wanted me to capture their wedding. I think I owe the decision to Brett, who told Krista, "I think we should go with the farm girl!" Thank you, Brett!

Brett and Krista, it's been fun getting to know you, and I cannot WAIT for your wedding! You're both gorgeous, inside and out, and I especially can't wait to see what kind of goodies you have planned for the big day, Krista!! Krista is multi-talented...accountant by day, professional baker/cook at night. Click here to check out her own blog and score some great recipes!

Below are a few of my favorites from their engagement session. Click here to see a few more.

See what I mean about gorgeous! Krista is stunning and has ice blue eyes!

And, then there's the handsome devil Brett.

Correction: they BOTH have the bluest of blue eyes.

Krista and Brett are going to have the BEST wedding images. Of course, first they're so photogenic, but second, they've also scheduled a lot of time for pictures. Not only are we doing all of their pictures together before the ceremony...but they also want to have a 'day-after' session, where they bravely get back into their dress and tux again for a more relaxed, casual photo session. Their engagement images were taken at Allerton Park in Monticello, IL. It was a photographer's dream. I'm going to try and talk them into making the 2+ hour drive back there for the day-after session. Just kidding, Brett and Krista.

And, of course, at the end of the day, my absolute favorites are the images of the couple relaxed, laughing, and enjoying their time together.

Thanks for checking in! Blessings! KM

(PS - Thanks, Jan, for sending such a great couple my way!)

New Colby videos

Colby vs the Kitty:

Our Southern Baptist: