My favorite part of yesterday was reading your comments. It was so encouraging. and beautiful. and touching. and hilarious. Yes, I see humor in lots of inappropriate situations…like when my parents accidentally left my sister Norn at a Wendy’s in Florida. Let’s just say that someone in our family got in trouble for laughing when we figured out she was a-missin’. And it wasn’t my brothers.
So yesterday really made me chuckle when I thought about one simple fact: you guys were thanking me. ME! You were thanking me and encouraging me and telling me that I was normal….as I talked to myself. yelling at myself. telling myself to be normal. online. the ironic thing is that schizophrenia runs in my family. that’s not a joke. just pure irony.
But back to the point…your comments really lifted me up. And I can’t thank you enough for them (and the countless emails I got) telling me that everything will be ok. In reality…not my hormone-induced-freak-out….things are ok. Things are actually better than ok. When I step back from my body, from my situation, from myself….the fact is I have a healthy, beautiful baby. And I have a home that does get a decent amount of cleaning….but the point is that I have a home. A safe, comfortable home. And I have wonderful, encouraging friends (some that I get to see in real life and some online). And I have the blessed option of staying at home with Will. And I have great family members that I love (and like as people too). And I am married to my best friend who tries to understand how I feel when I freak out and say that my world is crumbling down around me. And even though I complain about sleep…well…that’s my own fault. Because I want to do other things…like blog…when I should just take a nap. You can’t blame me for that, though. But still…I am blessed. Beyond blessed. And like I’ve said before…I don’t deserve it….but I am thankful for each and every one. And I do want to thank you each specifically. If I could, I would hold your hand in mine and tell you a heartfelt expression of gratitude as I looked into your eyes. You really were a breath of oxygen in my lungs. You were the wind beneath my wings. Seriously. THANK YOU.
On to more fun stuff….a Will Bower photoshoot! (what else is that fun?!?!)
Will’s first fall. I love fall. The boyfriend loves fall. I’m hoping that the passion for this season is genetic.
I love these toes. I love taking photos of them. I find myself downloading hundreds of feet photos. Which would be weird if I wasn’t so abnormal.
I especially love these feet because Will’s next-to-pinkie toe (the piggie that had no roast beef…poor dude) is longer than the one that stayed home and the one that ate the cow meat. It’s a little quirk about him that I love. And if someone ever tries to steal Will from me, this will be one identifiable thing that I will tell the cops. right after I mangle the kidnappers.
I also love his little hair situation. It reminds me of a bad toupee. I should have totally dressed him up as Donald Trump for Halloween.
You can’t see this but these photos were taken on the end of our driveway. Everytime a car would drive by, Will would practically fall over straining to see it. He loves watching cars. Even if he’s cranky, wet, and hungry, he will quietly sit in a chair in the driveway and watch vehicles pass us by. It’s our failsafe. And yes, there have been situations in our home where the baby is screaming and I am flinging baby food about…obviously attempting to quiet him…and then someone will yell “CARS!” and we run outside and magically Will’s alligator tears disappear and the world is right again. You would have thought that we cured cancer or solved the economic crisis with the amount of celebration that goes on in that moment.
Sometimes I brainstorm about the different shoots I want to set up for the little man. I just want to capture each moment. Well…not each one. But the firsts. Do any other moms feel that way? Like you wish that you could freeze time and get a photo of it? It’s very much what I imagine Lindsay Lohan wishes about her life…frozen forever when she was just that cute chick in Mean Girls.
Will tried to eat the leaves. I would run up and grab them out of his mouth and then run back to get the photo. And by the time I got back, he was opening his mouth for another one. And so I ran. and ran. and ran. Don’t worry…I didn’t burn any calories. Well not technically since I had 17 mini Snickers yesterday. Blasted leftover halloween candy.
Also, I just wanted to let you guys know that I am very excited about something. Something that I have been saving my pennies for for a very long time. Something that all the revenue from this blog has been dedicated to….and it literally has me twitterpatted. I am very very excited. And hopefully it will be the start of something that I have wanted to do for a while now.
I hate to leave you in the dark, but I promise I will shed full light on it soon. Until then, just know that I thank you and love each and every one of you. And taking photos of babies is super fun. and makes everything better.
I know I’ve said this a million time before on this blog, but Will is one of the cutest babies I have ever seen. I think it’s those huge, gorgeous almond shaped eyes. So precious!!
Thanks for posting your beautiful pictures!
Will is a gorgeous little boy, and he’s lucky that his mom is such a talented photographer! It’s been fun watching your photography skills grow over the course of reading this blog.
I love, love, love the 4th to the last pic. The one in color of his face close up. There is nothing better than baby cheeks! You are such a terrific writer; it’s great how you can put your thoughts and emotions in black & white.
I’m thinking you’ve invested in a top notch camera and are going to start a photography business. It would be only natural. Just a guess;)
I love Will’s toupee hair. My son had blond hair that came in old man style. He had the DEEPest widow’s peak ever. Seriously, his hair line receded halfway up his head. Bad thing is, now he’s 3.5 and what was once male patterned baldness has turned into a two-toned hairline. He has two peaks of bright blond in the shape of a W on his head. Poor kid.
I love these pictures of Will. I especially love the one towards the end that’s the close up of his face. He is adorable.
I am hoping your new thing that you have been saving your pennies for is to start your photography business. You are a natural behind the camera and if I lived in GA, I would give anything to have you photography my little Mason.
I heart you katie bower. I wish I lived near you and we could be friends. Our little boys are aout the same age and would have loads of fun. and we could eat snickers and drink wine and take pictures. of feet.
I love the middle photo with his sweet little face looking to the side – his eyes are beautiful! My 6 month old has a bunch of hair right on top — and we say it looks like a comb over– so normally I style it in a mo-hawk so it has some kinda style. Love the funky hair growing in. I love you blog too – thanks for sharing!
My goodness, he’s adorable!!!
Super cute photos. Go mama go! And, LOVE your weekly quote at the top this week–isn’t Anne of Green Gables the best!?? Have a wonderful weekend with your boys!
I think it’s so funny that you said his toes would be the thing you would tell cops to look for if he was kidnapped. I do the same thing with my boys. I look at the cute little things that make them different; the freckle on my Colin’s hand, stuff like that and think, “That’s what I’ll tell the police if he gets kidnapped.” So funny!
I can’t wait to hear what you are saving for! I would guess camera equipment too. 🙂 When will you tell us?
I’m excited to hear what you’ve been saving for!
These are such beautiful photos, Katie! And I can’t wait to hear what you’ve been saving for!
Eating the leaves sure made for quite an adorable picture! My parents bought us a Canon SLR for ‘Christmakuh’ early this year and I’ve been reading all about it and practicing on my dog in anticipation of our little one’s arrival any day now. I can’t wait to take pictures of her!! 🙂
Oh KB, we love you too. I posted your blog yesterday as a link in FB for other mamas to read, and I think a few moms really appreciated knowing they are not alone in their close-your-head-in-the-freezer-door moments. Thanks for being so candid and open. And for being wonderful you!
You are rocking the photography thing! And your post yesterday was so honest and every momma everywhere can relate! Will is lucky lucky to have you as his momma/personal photographer (my Ansley probably thinks the camera is part of my body). Anyways, thanks for being you!
I feel like I tell you this everyday but Will is the cutest darn baby ever!! He’s just perfect. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
he is such a beautiful child! he really is. i love the leaves. i especially love the pic of his back. so sweet.
hope you’re feeling a lot more settled today! excited to hear your news!
Wow, I love this photo: https://i554.photobucket.com/albums/jj424/allbowerpower/Baby/IMG_7027b.jpg
He’s such a cutie. 🙂
I wish we had fall here in Los Angeles. It’s been in the 90’s the last two days!!! Ugh.
You always take wonderful pictures, but I especially (so jealous it almost hurts) love the closeup of Will’s face with the blurred leaves in the background. That’s called boca, right? I wish I had spent more time trying to get outdoor photos of my guys when they were 7 months & couldn’t get away quickly. Now I take them outside & they run different directions! & always towards something unsafe! Indoor shoots always involve something ugly (babyfences & toys galore!) & they never want to stand together for a shot. Ah well, I keep tryin’.
🙂 To everything you just said.
Hey, I missed yesterday’s posts because it was my birthday and I didn’t really spend much time on the computer. So now I’m catching up. And I’m sure your 100+ comments mentioned this (didn’t read that many!) but baby #2 is SOOOO much easier than baby #1! Because I would freak out about Sophia’s sleep issues (refusing to when she was exhausted!) but now I can see that she is really ok. She’s three now and beautiful, smart, loving, funny, and basically the best 3 year old in the world. 😉 So when Jonathan won’t sleep and I know he needs to, or when he wakes up in the middle of the night and still wants to nurse (almost 7 months!) I know he’ll get over it too. And I understand the worry about not spending every minute playing or reading, but you know what? It’s ok. Will is great and will be great 😉 Thanks Katie!
these pics are incredible! do you shoot with Nikon or Canon? I love my Canon digital rebel, but i am in the market for a new one soon and I can’t decide which way to go!
Also– was this a 50mm lens? love the depth of field you captured!
my fav is the one of him turned the other way with his cute little sweater <3
ohhhhh, is it a new camera or lens!?
Will is super cute in these photos! I love the toe photos! I have tons too! I have to take photos of my son’s first – everything! First time he sucked his thumb, picked up a toy, sat unassisted, a monthly photo, every outfit. My iMac is running out of space…It is getting a little crazy, but I don’t care. I love them.
Okay, beautiful pics, but I have to ask…. How do the piggies go at your house? Cause I don’t have any that eat cows meat. Are we doing it wrong? We’ve got one going to market, then one staying home, one having roast beef, and one having none, the weeing all the way home. How have we missed cow’s meat? 🙂
Isn’t roast beef cow meat? Just another way to say it? Like bacon and pork and pig meat…which obviously wouldn’t work in this situation because little piggies don’t eat pork…unless they were canabalistic pigs. hmmm.
xo – kb
Hi Lyndsay,
I shoot with a Canon Rebel XSi. and yes, it was a 50 mm.
xo- kb
Gorgeous, gorgeous baby!
Beeeautiful!! I, too, am guessing and hoping for a Katie Bower Photography announcement soon! You are truly talented 🙂
Katie you had me LOLing at the toupe and Donald Trump comment! (so much my husband looked over at me and said “baby, you’re weird”) haha. Love me some pictures of Will! My guess is you’re starting a photography business 🙂
Gah!!! That little sweater is A.DOR.A.BLE. Will looks so stinkin’ cute! The pic above the one where you talked about him trying to eat leaves is my favorite 🙂
Katie,
Will is the most adoorable baby i’ve ever seen. You starting a studio, right girl? Somethin’ to do with u’r photography, rt? Lukin fwd for that 🙂
Where is his sweater from? He looks so warm and cozy. And cute 🙂
It was from Baby Gap Elyse. We got it last year and blogged about it (and the other cool wardrobe items he got) here.
xo – kb
Your photos are absolutely amazing. You have a real gift.
Hmmm… Me thinks that Ms. Bower got herself a new camera. Since you’re a Canon girl (I won’t hold it against you as long as you don’t hold my love for my Nikon D90 against me), does that mean that you’ve scored yourself a new 50D? Or, perhaps you went the full monty and got a 5D Mark II? If that’s the case, even this Nikon girl will be ooozing with envy.
Oh, and thanks for the extra helping of Will. Although, there’s not enough of that cuteness to fill me up. 🙂
I remember that post now. “Hey, if I am gonna become a dairy cow…my offspring is gonna be one also”. So funny!
I started stalking Target, Gap and Old Navy clearance racks when I was pregnant. It is just so hard to pay full price for things when you know they will go on sale…
that’s the same one I have 🙂 good to know i can capture shots like this someday when hubby and i decide to have babies!
Hi! I just stumbled onto your blog yesterday and I’ve been clicking around a bunch (should be working…or wrapping presents, lol). Love it–you’re so talented and hilarious! I saw on another post where you talked about photoshop actions. I was wondering whether you used any for these photos? And while I’m at it, do you have any tips for shooting kiddos inside? Camera settings, etc? I have a Canon rebel with the standard lens and no external flash. I know almost nothing about photography and usually just end up shooting in full auto so I can at least capture the moment. I think it’s amazing that you said you are a total amateur, I wouldn’t believe it at all! Ok, sorry for the novel 🙂
OMG, he is so adorable!! and anyway, you are like an expert or a genius in photography! I love all the photos!
Awwww … Will is the cutest baby boy ever. I love all the photos of him. The way you capture his joy and innocence is just fantastic. You are super talented girl!!! Is there any chance you might want to visit Los Angeles sometime !?? I guess i need to have a baby first hehe
That photo of his back with the hoodie on it’s the cutest thing EVER! He look so so tiny, I wanna put him in my pocket.
Cheers from Brazil, Katie =)
lookit how tiny and cutie he is <3 he is such a big boy now 🙂