This baby girl was SO beautiful and photogenic. It was during a time where I was having to work hard on a lot of sessions to get the children happy. Just something in the air (this was in December). Anyways, she just smiled her sweet little smile the whole time! She had so much joy in her heart. Here is one more photo of this gorgeous baby. I just love it when people bring balloons to a photo session, too. They always bring so much color and fun to the afternoon.

So, this weekend was beautiful and in the 50s/60′s here. Today, there is a huge snowstorm and the roads in Boulder are super icy. Looks like a snow day for me:) Can’t wait for some of the shoots I have coming up! Just waiting for some warm days to roll in.

I spent the weekend doing a commercial shoot for a baby product company. Commercial photography is what I really love. Well, when it is a maternity, baby, or children’s product. We shot at the new Whole Foods in Boulder, and WOW, that place is AWESOME! Can’t wait to post the photos! We still have a few more models to get through though, so it could be a week or so. Especially if I can’t even get out of my house.

I have not been keeping up with the blog as much lately. I have been really focusing on getting everything in my life organized, which is tough since I am a super unorganized person. But I came across this beautiful photo that I have never shared. Isn’t she the sweetest little thing? Here are some photos of her from 2 years ago! Wow, time just flies by.

This is the job I dislike most as a photographer. Every now and then, I go through my computer and delete old photos. I wish I could hold onto every single photograph I ever take, but there is just not a computer with enough memory to do that (or is there???). Either way, everything gets backed up about ten times after I shoot, so I have a million storage systems and I just can’t hold onto to everything or my office would be taken over by them. So, I have to go through, and actually delete beautiful images of newborn babies, 1 year birthdays, someone’s very first step-and it is hard. That is what I spent half my day doing. Sigh.

Anyways, I was going through my old photographs and saw this session. They were one of the very first set of twins that I ever photographed. So sweet.

On a happy note, my friend needed help with  babysitting today, so I have not just one but three beautiful little babies playing so nicely together in my house today! It makes me feel like I could totally handle triplets, but I know they are just having a good day.  In all honesty, it is hard enough for me to handle 1 baby. I am giving a big shout out to all you supermoms of multiples.

Have a great weekend!

xoxo

stacey

Can you believe it, we did these photos just a few weeks ago in Boulder? It was December, in Colorado, and I got a 6 month old baby into his birthday suit to take photos! See, that is why Boulder is such a great city to live in. In Chicago, where I am from, once it snows the snow stays for months. It is sooo cold there all winter. The snow then gets dirty and everything looks so depressing. Here, it snows, you feel all snuggly and warm sitting at home by the fire for a few days, and then a day later the sun comes out and everything is bright and beautiful. Then, the next day all the snow has melted and you are walking around feeling like it is spring. Being a photographer in Boulder is the best. Today it is 52 degrees out! The hard thing is that I don’t know which days exactly are going to be warm, so it is difficult to schedule to ensure that the family is going to get a nice day for their session, but I am usually more flexible and open during the winter anyways, so it is easy to move things around.

Anyways, I am looking outside wishing that I did have a session today. Elijah is off school, though, so I may take the kids to the park later just to get out and get some fresh air. If you have been reading my blog lately, you know that both of my kids got that awful stomach virus that is spreading like wildfire here. It comes on for a few days, mellows out for a few days, and then comes back with full force. Elijah was so bad at the beginning of last week, and then went to school for a few days, and then all of a sudden on Saturday he started acting delirious. We were getting ready to go to the North Boulder Rec Center pool and he started acting so strange. He had a 104 fever. He was totally out of it, and the fever had popped up so suddenly. Poor baby.

He is doing ok today, though he is still not better. I think I am going to just open all the windows today and get some fresh air circulating through the house.

Isn’t Kaegan just so cute and so chubby! And I love his hair! Here are his newborn photos-he has changed so much!

Happy Martin Luther King day! There are some great activities going on in Boulder, today. Check it out here.

Such a beautiful, sleepy newborn! We probably only got a few photographs of Sam actually sleeping, but that is ok, because he is such a sweet, calm baby when he is awake! His eyes were so clear and present. He is an old soul, for sure.

I have to now get through day 6 of Amelia with the stomach flu. Thank goodness I did not have any newborn sessions this week! The first two days hit Elijah sooo hard, and then he was totally well. The first few days were  mild for Amelia, which made me think that I had super-powered breastmilk fortified with all the antibodies that she needed. But, that appears to not be the case, as it came back and is hitting her so hard right now. All night she was up being sick. I have changed my clothes at least 10 times since last night. She is such a little trooper! I do have to say, though, that stomach viruses are the true test of parenting. When your baby is that sick, you get no sleep, you stay awake just rocking them and walking around to try to comfort them a little, and there is really nothing that you can do but just be there, you know? Send my little baby some good energy if you can…

More to come of little Sam!

Yes, those are mine. I feel so lucky to be able to say that, because I have the sweetest, most loving children in the world, and I am so happy they belong to me. It is a little sad that I do not take photos of my own kids that often. I had been meaning to do this shoot forever with another Boulder photographer, and it just did not work out because we were both so busy. And then I was going to do the shoot with a friend that is a fabulous photographer in Denver, and of course we could not make that work either, so finally, on the coldest day of the year, I dressed my children up, took them out to the field-and they lasted exactly 2 minutes. Bad idea, mom. I would have canceled any kind of outdoor baby session if it were that cold, and yet I decided my own children would be able to take it. Wrong. But I did at least get this one beautiful photo of Amelia that day.

So, a few days later, when it was slightly warmer, I got them all dressed up again, hauled all the props that I wanted to try and use out into the field, and was able to get in a good 10 minutes of shooting.  I totally feel for my clients now. It is A LOT of work preparing for a portrait session. You have to get the kids cleaned up, fed, diapers changed, children bribed, baby bottles packed, etc… And on top of doing that for the kids, you have to somehow find the time and space to take a shower, put on make up, do your hair, and have clothes that are not wrinkled and dirty (does any other mother out there feel like they always show up places looking ridiculous?). And then husbands are the easy part. Give them a pair of clean jeans, a nice shirt, and pop the baby onto their laps as they are figuring out how to download their next android app. Well, that is what it looks like in MY house anyways. So, suffice it to say, I decided that this would be just to get photos of the children, and not the whole family this time.

And it was fine. But I, nor my big camera, hold that awe and newness for daughter anymore that normally comes with babies I don’t know as well. She just wanted that big globe the whole time, and if we tried to do anything else or if we tried to get her to look at us she simply ran away with the globe. Though, our Christmas card still rocked this year.

We will be planning a family session with a photographer who is not mommy for the spring.

xoxo

stacey

I could not believe it, I photographed this beautiful little family just hours before they got on a plane for a 20 hour flight to India! They were so calm and ready, I was in awe. There is no way I could do a photo shoot the same day as traveling, but I am just not that together. They really wanted to get six month photos and are going to be gone for quite awhile, so even though it was new year’s eve, we had just had a huge snow storm and it took me an hour to drive from Boulder to Lafayette, we still made it happen, and got so many beautiful photos.

Sohum is such a sweet, calm baby, I bet they had no trouble traveling with him. I took Amelia last year at 6 months old to WPPI Las Vegas (the big photographer conference). At the time, she was still colicky, and it was NOT easy. I think it was the week after that trip that we realized why she was so fussy (something in the breastmilk, combined with being hungry-we should have started solids for her WAY earlier). But, we had thought about going to New Zealand at the time, and really, there was not way we could have traveled that far with that baby. I think Sohum would be easy though:) I hope you guys had a great trip and are having a great time in India!

So, last year at this time I had a photography studio and just never used it. I much prefer shooting in people’s homes. Who wants a family photo with a plain black or gray backdrop? Where is the personality in that? If you have not seen this website, it is SO funny and cracks me up every time I see a link to it on Facebook: Awkward Family Photos. Hopefully, none of my photography ever ends up there:) I would rather come to your home, and play with your baby on your bed and have you guys snuggle and play and have fun where you are most comfortable. So now, that is what I do. And I love it.

Well, the kids just got over the stomach flu. Thank goodness it was just 24 hours! Elijah had it sooo bad. We almost took him to the ER last night because he had not kept down a single drop of fluid since the night before. But, he started getting better around bedtime, and had a good night. It is just going around Boulder right now, so beware. I had about 10 friends tell me that their children just got over this, too. We will begin a new hand washing policy here in the Potter house. I just can’t deal with them being sick every other week, poor babies!

More tomorrow!

I just need to get one photo up today! I have been busy with TWO children sick with the stomach flu. This is not the best winter so far in terms of illnesses. Elijah has never been sick this often. It has literally been every other week. And poor Amelia too. I feel so sad for them. So just one photo of this beautiful newborn, more to come!

Whoo hoo! My nanny is finally back and this is the first offical day I am back at work! I actually am not totally happy with it. Because with work comes a whole other level of stress that I don’t handle very well. I love, love, love my job! Don’t get me wrong. I love shooting, getting to know new families, playing with kids and babies, seeing each family grow. That is all perfect. I love photography. But… the emailing, phone calls, ordering, editing, designing, website updating, etc…is all a lot. If I could only do the photography part, that would be wonderful.

Same thing with my kids. I love, love, love my children! But, the tantrums, the illnesses, the whining, the never-having-my-body-to-myself, now, that is not the best part of the parenting job, right? The kisses, the snuggles, the learning, the new lights that I see go on in their heads, the sweet words, the LOVE-that is the fun part of being a parent.

I know I have written about this endlessly, but it is all about the balance between doing work and family. And because it is the one thing I strive so hard to work on from day to day, I end up needing to write about it.

So, today was great. I am not too busy right now, and get to catch up on a lot of work but not be stressed at the same time. Right now I am shooting about twice a week-which is my ideal. Last month I was shooting EVERY SINGLE DAY. It just made my head spin! But, now, my wonderful nanny is back in Boulder and so is my amazing office manager, and things are once again running smoothly. I *might* even go work out today. Let’s hope.

So, this beautiful child is my dear friend’s daughter. My son and Mckenzie have grown up together. They are little soul mates, and have always played so well together. I have asked Danit for years to let me do a little mini shoot of McKenzie, and she FINALLY let me! After like 3 years! Doesn’t she look a little like Mary Kate or Ashley Olsen? She is just so happy, sweet, fun, loving, and full of life. Every single photo in her gallery makes me smile. She is just so joyful, and I really do love her. I got that first portrait blown up and framed for my friend for Christmas.

We did these photos right before the weather turned bad. It was a beautiful Boulder day. I can’t wait for more of those! For now, it is sooo cold here and I am booking mostly indoor sessions.

Hopefully another post tomorrow!

xoxo stacey

I know I said in my last post I would be blogging every day over break. Yeah, that did NOT happen. See, my nanny went to Disney world, and the high school girl that was supposed to help out here sprained her ankle. So I have been a stay at home mom for two weeks and man, it is HARD work. I give praise to all of you moms out there that do this full time. It is so much, and it is hard to believe that stay at home moms still don’t get the credit that they deserve in our society. My own mother was made to feel that taking care of 5 kids and a big household was not “work,” and was pressured to get a job when I was very little.  I am hoping those days will soon be over, and people begin to realize how important it is for babies to actually spend time and be close to their mothers. It really seemed to be an 80′s thing. Women felt pressured by society to be “as good” as men so they sacrificed having kids, or raising the kids they did have, so that they could work and feel worthy. I remember my mom going to her job every day wearing big shoulder pads so she could try to blend in with the men better. She was quite an inspiration for me, though, rising to success in a field that was completely ruled by men. She always told me that I could do anything, and I have always done whatever it is I most wanted to do. So for that I am grateful. But no, I did not get to see my mom much when I was little, our house was a wreck ALL the time, and we ate a lot of frozen food.

So, for that reason I am quite proud of myself. I just totally forget about getting anything office related done last week. It was hard enough to just keep the house clean, the laundry folded (it is still not folded, but rather a huge mountain of clothes in our laundry room), the kids fed and clean and happy, and dinner on the table. I did though. Seriously, I rocked it. I did a lot of fun Boulder things with the kids, kept the house clean (though I made sure the cleaners came an extra time, so you could say I cheated on that one), and did not totally fall apart. I actually loved it-to a degree. I am just sure that I would not make a good full time stay at home mom. I LOVE my family, but I am not the best at housework and it makes me miserable.

I like the balance that I have found in the last year, though. I have a nanny 25 hours a week so I can shoot, edit, respond to emails, blog, do random errands,  meet with my office manager, and do office work.  That way, I spend the morning with my baby girl and we have a ton of sweet time together just her and I. Then, I try to stop working right at 3pm when Elijah gets home from school, so that I can spend that time with him and Amelia. It is a good balance, that is working so far.

I always thought I wanted to be a stay at home mom, but quickly realized that mothering is so passive. I needed some kind of creative outlet. I love mothering, it truly is my most important job and I take it very seriously, but I need to do something in addition to that, and I feel good about the lifestyle I have created. I get to be with and raise my children, but I also get a lot of support from other people to do that and to do exactly what I love (photography). So, for now, I like it.

But, if you are wondering why I have been away from the blog for so long, that is the reason. I actually had 5 or so shoots over break, so it will take me a few weeks to get caught up with sneak peeks. I don’t actually feel behind on anything except the blog, so that is good. So, I can’t promise another sneak peek tomorrow, but I *probably* will have one up:)

This is Jaxon. How sweet and beautiful is he? I loved this shoot! I posted one other photo a few weeks ago. Most Boulder families that I photograph tend to love outdoor nature sessions, and Jaxon’s mom was all about doing both. So we started off at Wonderland Lake in north Boulder and then we drove a few minutes up the street to those warehouse at the end of Broadway-the ones that are all colorful-and it was perfect!

xoxo stacey