at home with Genevieve

comparison

noreply@blogger.com (janae') — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 22:27:00 +0000

i've been working on product menus and price comparisons for the photography business the last few days. meaning i'm diving deeper into who my "competition" is in charlotte which just kind of makes me feel sad and grumpy. i don't want to be anyone's competition -- if anything, i want to shadow these photographers and learn how they got to be so awesome! but seeing their work and their prices along with some of my absolute favorite photographers across the US, it makes me get a little low when i look at my own work. now i truly love some of my recent "legit" photography shoots, but i'm still kind of a newbie and i don't know when i'll phase out of that. or if i'll ever feel that i'm not a newbie anymore.

but anyways, one of the photographers i follow on Facebook posted this quote today and it had me going through my growth from the past year. and i'm happy with the growth. i always wish there was more and i was better, but there is definitely growth.

so for now, i guess i just have to keep doing what i'm doing and trying to learn and push myself. i wonder what my photos will look like in february of 2013??

genevieve's interpretation of COOL DUDE!

noreply@blogger.com (janae') — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 21:58:00 +0000

lazy last days of winter.

noreply@blogger.com (janae') — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 00:59:00 +0000

so grandma has been gone for a few days and we're supposed to be cleaning up and getting ready for G's other set of grandparents to get in town. you guys love me right? it's not like it has to be spotless ;) you like slept-in sheets, i'm sure.

but we've been lazy. it's been pretty cold and rainy (except for the SNOW in northern charlotte last night!) and there hasn't been very much to do. all the fun outdoor activities are calling our names, but we've been frequenting the libraries and making up games at home. as a native floridian, i never thought i'd wish for warmer weather, but i'm wishing for spring. i can't wait for the trees to be green again, the flowers to be in bloom and the weather to be nice enough for daily trips to the park.

in what-has-genevieve-learned-this-week news, she can unzip her clothes enough to be almost naked and she loves loves loves sunglasses. we're working on teaching her to do 2 thumbs up when we say "cool dude," but she's been doing 2 index fingers up instead haha. HI-larious. :)

guess who's here?!

noreply@blogger.com (janae') — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 03:24:00 +0000

GRANDMA! :)

genevieve is spending the time giving tons of kisses and stealing all of grandma's technology, like her camera and phone. heehee

umm..yikes??

noreply@blogger.com (janae') — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:09:00 +0000

okay, i am the first to admit that LOVE the Vampire Diaries. and Ian Somerhalder isn't exactly hard to look at. ;) but seriously, all i could think about when i saw these pictures on Entertainment Weekly was "holy cow! they are literally able to put porn on the front of magazines and it's not considered porn!"

seriously??

he's literally touching her boob on the front of a magazine! is NOTHING left to the imagination anymore? what was wrong with the super sexy but still CLOTHED photo like this one?:

i just. blechk. these aren't in the top rack hidden by a protective screen. these magazines are the ones within view of my child, who will soon be old enough to ask why they're all naked together.

UGH. what is wrong with creating the idea of it without actually showing it? i'm all for sexy, but SEX is a whole other thing entirely.

dinner distraction.

noreply@blogger.com (janae') — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:20:00 +0000

so i have this thing with owls. i love them! and i have a daughter, so i now have a legitimate reason to have cutesy owls all over the house. even on her dinner plates. but i did not factor in HER love for all woodland creatures and the effect that would have on dinner time.

my child saw the owl on her plate, pointed and squealed at it, then proceeded to face plant into the plate over and over again to give the owl kisses. then did the whole process over again when she saw the squirrel next to it. so freaking sweet! but she ended up eating like 2 bites of her dinner because all she wanted to do was kiss the owl.

plain IKEA kid plates it is, then! ;)

clearly...

noreply@blogger.com (janae') — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:59:00 +0000

we're working hard today. ;)

even though i woke up with a painful crick in my neck yesterday, today is actually the first day in almost 2 weeks that i feel well enough to do much of anything! the house needs some serious love since my mom is coming up on saturday. YAYAYAYFREAKINGYAY!!!! :) i better get off the computer and get to it!!

minis with the playgroup

noreply@blogger.com (janae') — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:51:00 +0000

we got all the kids together (minus one who was sick), for a little valentines day mini photoshoot.

it seemed like an absolute disaster. they were so grumpy, territorial, clingy, you name it. most of them cried the whole time and i thought i wouldn't have any photos to show for it. but i got some CUTE ones! :) i love our little group.

18 months old.

noreply@blogger.com (janae') — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:32:00 +0000

happy belated half-birthday, my sweet!

you are as silly as ever and smart as a whip. you've started to distinguish between your chair (highchair) and your big girl chair (the portable high chair at the dinner table). you only use that at dinner time and eat with a fork and a plate right at the table with us. and you try and steal my food when you finish yours btw... ;)

you are 24 pounds now, wearing a size 5 shoe (but they're closing in on being too small), 18 month size clothes and still a size 4 diaper. your hair is getting so long! it's long enough to look crazy, but short enough that we can't do too much with it. but it sure is cute. we still get stopped at least once every day by someone commenting on your hair.

you are starting to understand a ton of what we say. complex commands are common practices for you now and while i've always tried to talk to you like you understood me, i can tell you really can now. you still aren't talking though. absolutely no real words. i guess we're just going to sit and wait and try not to worry about it since there's really nothing we can do. we've been doing flash cards, reading and reading and reading, and i've asked you if you can say every word a thousand times but you just give me that sly little smirk and refuse. one of these days you'll start spewing words, i'm sure of it.

this was taken when you were over the chair. you sat at the edge and stuck your hand out to me, wanting help getting down. like, "come on mom, i'm done with this." you're such a little person now. :)

i love you, my booger!!

code orange revival recap.

noreply@blogger.com (janae') — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:27:00 +0000

Code Orange Revival from Elevation Church on Vimeo.

discovery place dance party.

noreply@blogger.com (janae') — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 22:04:00 +0000

discovery place kids + dance party + genevieve?

= cutest.

elevation church.

noreply@blogger.com (janae') — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 02:47:00 +0000

our church is in the middle of a 12 night old-school revival right now. IT. IS. AWESOME.

credit: Elevation Photography eTeam

all of the weeknight messages begin at 7pm, saturdays at 5pm and sundays at 6pm up through january 22nd. they all stream live at elevationnetwork.com you have GOT to see what's happening in this church. each night that i've been (3 of the 4 so far), i've felt so moved by the Spirit and so incredibly proud of this church that i call home.

i've also decided to take the plunge and ask to join the Elevation Photography eTeam this sunday. one of my resolutions was to join an eTeam and i've found myself standing in the middle of the worship experience wondering how i would adjust my exposure to accurately capture this moment haha. so i think that means i should probably do it. i admit, i feel REALLY nervous and insecure about it because there's already an amazing photographer at my campus -- Cheyenne of Love the Schutzes. yeah. amazing, right? but this is what i love and i would love to get involved that way within my church, so...here i go. *deep breath*

this is what we did this morning.

noreply@blogger.com (janae') — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 20:40:00 +0000

i wanted to do a little miniature valentine shoot + i needed another mini example for Studio Britt + i needed some valentine-style product shots for the new poppysmic stuff. so yeah, she's SO FREAKING ADORABLE. :) (and no, the last shot did not make the cut for etsy product shots haha)

busy busy dizzy!

noreply@blogger.com (janae') — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 01:39:00 +0000

quoting one of my first blogs posts of 2011 -- "Because nothing says "New Years Resolution" like overdoing it the first week."

yep. that would be me right now. first i was busy just because poppysmic had an insane couple of weeks, but then i kind of dove into my housework and projects and my little businesses. i think it's because we came back from christmas after 2 weeks away from home and my house was NASTY. so i've been cleaning and scrubbing and organizing every spare minute trying to get it worthy for 2012. ;)

plus, i've been trying to get Studio Britt looking better and more legit. because let's face it, the biggest *headdesk* moment when looking for a photographer is not being able to get past the amateurish blog layout and session storyboarding...well, at least it is for me. so i'm trying hard not to be that newbie photographer. i've got a new, sweet blog design, updated the logo a bit (i think i'm going to have to pay someone to do it for me because i can never design for MYSELF), signed up for an online image gallery for client proofing and switched the whole thing over to www.studiobritt.com. momma's looking legit now! ;) and hopefully my camera replacement will be in the mail tomorrow afternoon. it started smoking christmas eve (yeah, that happened.) and it's been gone for a week. i feel naked!

anyhoo, that's what's going on in britt land right now. i'm also crossing stuff off my resolution/26-by-26 list! already made a pinterest recipe just this week (Baked Pesto Chicken YUMMM) and my recipes are on the kitchen table slowly getting organized during nap and bedtimes.

genevieve is doing all kinds of new toddler things, too! she's playing pretend ALL the time now. i bought her some ikea play veggies and she feeds her baby dolls, me and herself. (i think a play kitchen may be in order come birthday time) she's moved from her high chair to a little portable high-chair booster seat on a chair at the kitchen table and uses utensils and plates with us now. i've started tucking her in after we read a few stories at bedtime and just walking out instead of rocking her a little bit. i'm hoping the next step is getting the crib converted to a toddler bed. and just yesterday, we were at Romp & Roll (like a MyGym play area) and she learned how to climb up, sit down and slide the big slide all by herself! we've been working on it for weeks but she just didn't understand the little steps -- until yesterday! such a pro ;)

i haven't died!

noreply@blogger.com (janae') — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 04:41:00 +0000

i'm just really busy with Poppysmic this week (yay!)

i've already shipped out 2 orders this week and there are 4 wreaths in the works on my kitchen table as we speak. i. am. exhausted. but in a good way :)

project 52 2012

noreply@blogger.com (janae') — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:53:00 +0000

i'm starting a new project this year that's photography based -- project 52! instead of one photo every single day, it's one photo per week that goes along with that week's theme. i'm going to be following along with M4H for this project, so if anybody wants to do it with me -- go for it! :)

Resolution

clearly we know what this resolution is about haha. i've already listed my goals for the year, but i thought this was a cute interpretation of one of them: grow StudioBritt. as you can see, genevieve is already forming a camera collection just like her daddy. the peanut doesn't fall far from the butter...or something. ;)

365 project in review

noreply@blogger.com (janae') — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:53:00 +0000

well, i know i missed days. days i didn't think about this project at all. and probably a quarter of the days where the picture came from my iPhone. but this whole project helped me grow, helped me learn and has given me thousands of pictures of my baby, my life and my family to cherish forever. :)

january

february

march

april

may

june

july

august

september

october

november

december

17 months old.

noreply@blogger.com (janae') — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 21:01:00 +0000

seriously?!? i just..i can't possibly have a 17 month old. i distinctly remember coming home from the hospital yesterday with an 8 pound 5 ounce bundle of attitude. ;)

oh wait...that child does seem to have some attitude. maybe she IS mine.

so yes, this is my sponge -- i mean daughter, genevieve. if you do something in front of her, she will likely attempt (and probably succeed) to copy your actions exactly. she pretends to: take pictures with her camera, clip her nails, put on her socks, then her shoes, hats, jackets, scarves, pretends to eat when she's not hungry, attempts to help empty grocery bags and suitcases, finds missing keys, phones and remotes. she knows what her diaper is and where it goes. cleans her hands with anything she believes is hand sanitizer. knows how to easily navigate an iPhone and iPad, plays toddler games on my desktop computer, turns on Pandora and starts dancing before the music even starts, can play Blue's Clues on Netflix ON MY PHONE by herself and can also start it on the TV. she's started trying to "help" mommy go potty (peeing alone is so 2 years ago...) including getting toilet paper off the roll, rubbing it on my leg and then trying to find an open space to drop it in the potty. i'm slightly grossed out and slightly amazed that she's doing this -- i think it's time to break out her toddler potty so we can start practicing for real.

she knows what Poppysmic means and actually makes the sound when i say the word. she's started trying to jump, she pats her knee or belly when she wants to clap but is holding something with one hand. she plays peekaboo by herself and with us, she knows who baby jesus is (found him on different nativity sets and kissed him each time!). knows what a present bow is, how to put them on presents when asked or throw them in the air like confetti. ;) she waits at the top and bottom of stairs because A) she needs mommy's help getting up/down them and B) i've asked her to. she knows to go to the front door when i say we need to get the mail. she's quickly learning how to open a door by the knob -- baby proofed knobs will be in the house very soon!

she uses plates and silverware now. still haven't mastered not spilling a cup with a straw, but we're getting there. she makes huge towers with blocks and is very deliberate about keeping everything balanced.

still not talking though. i'm trying really hard not to be concerned because she babbles like crazy and she's clearly very smart, but i will be asking her doctor about it next month at her 18 month appointment.

MY CHILD IS AMAZING! :) love her <3

2012 resolutions

noreply@blogger.com (janae') — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 02:35:00 +0000

okay, since i loved my 25-by-25 list so much -- i'm doing it again for 2012! this time i will list them now, on new years eve, and then see how i've done next new years eve. :) shall be fun! why don't you do it with me and link back to this post? i think it would be awesome to see everyone's hopes and goals for the year!

i'm going with "26-by-26" since i'll be turning 26 this year, only 6 weeks from the end of the year. i could easily get the list to over 20, but the last few were harder to come up with. :P

26-by-26

1. grow Studio Britt (basic, but i'm only shooting friends right now -- momma wants some strangers! lol creepy)
2. grow Poppysmic with new items
3. make a plan for baby #2
4. get another pedicure!!
5. actually get a professional family photo done
6. read 12 books, 1 for each month. (more reasonable!)
7. plan and go on a 5 year anniversary trip without G
8. take a trip out west to see the Marshall clan
9. visit the Columbia Zoo
10. see a show at the Blumenthal
11. join an Elevation eGroup
12. join an Elevation volunteer team
13. correctly tag & label 365 Flickr photos
14. finish photo blog setup
15. paint kitchen table
16. organize hall closet
17. sew dress for G
18. finish year 1 book (April deadline)
19. moms weekend out with girlfriends
20. see mountain snow
21. take a light factory photography class22. take G to Carrowinds
22. start writing my stories again. (it was a fun, creative outlet that i'm not used to and i got a really good response, so why not.)
23. make at least one pinterest-inspired recipe each month
24. organize my recipes (for real this time! haha)
25. read my camera manual cover to cover
26. finish reading all the forgotten books in the house i've bought and left unread

a belated happy anniversary!

noreply@blogger.com (janae') — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 02:18:00 +0000

yesterday, the 29th, was kyle and my fourth wedding anniversary! our staple is usually going to a japanese steakhouse and a movie, but kyle switched it up this year. he surprised me with a night at The Melting Pot (FONDUE!!) and a movie. we haven't been there since our first married valentines day. and we had such a nice time! i forgot what nice, relaxing dinners felt like. :) we ate our way through 4 courses for 2.5 hours then went to a 2.5 hour movie. getting home after 1am is definitely a first for us since G was born! but apparently she wanted to give us a present of her own since she slept in until 10 the next morning. TEN!!! happy anniversary to us! haha :)

2011 in review.

noreply@blogger.com (janae') — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 03:16:00 +0000

here's a major photodump of our year in review. this has been the busiest and probably the most fun year of my life. last year was the scariest and most life-changing, but this year was a year of growth, self-acceptance, and LIFE. beautiful life. i moved several times, including to a new state, launched 2 businesses and grew exponentially within myself and my family. it is amazing to look back at pictures from january and see a BABY. a baby with a few curls that seemed like a full afro back then, who could barely move and now i have a fully mobile toddler with a very full personality. to look back at pictures of myself and see someone hiding a lot of pain, resentment, fear and bitterness due to PPD to now, when i am happier than i can ever remember being. :)

my resolution for 2012/my 26-by-26 list will hopefully be done in time for...ya know...new years. ;) so i'm working on that, but i'll be taking a break tomorrow to celebrate my FOURTH anniversary married to the hubs man. :)

ENJOY OUR YEAR IN REVIEW!

2011

my not-walking, not-crawling, barely any hair baby in a tiny, 700 sq foot apartment in Tampa.

moved in with grandma & grandpa for a few weeks.

moved into a Brandon townhome, we stopped breastfeeding and G learned to crawl.

surprise move to Charlotte, NC and a new car!

family visits quickly become very precious.

Florida roadtrip for G's FIRST BIRTHDAY!

we join a playgroup. our lifeline :)

our first beautiful fall and my girl learned to walk.

traded in for a more travel-worthy, family growing car. daytrips to the mountains.

halloween with the sweetest friends and cutest kids.

hosted our first Thanksgiving in Charlotte.

all the buddies saw santa. and will now need therapy. ;)

how's your christmas going?

noreply@blogger.com (janae') — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 02:38:00 +0000

we've been having a fabulous time and genevieve has been spoiled rotten! our house is going to look like a daycare when we get back, and genevieve has some SUPER cute new clothes that you'll be seeing in pictures soon enough. :)

mostly she's spent the day climbing stairs and chasing Van around.

and present time at both sets of grandparents houses has left her absolutely exhausted, blessed and not wanting for anything. :)

once we get back in town, i'll be sure to do a full post with pictures (maybe before if i can get the pictures organized on the drive back! kyle and i are going out for our anniversary on the 29th and then we'll be headed back to charlotte this weekend. looking forward to the beautiful weather we've been missing! hope everyone's christmas holiday has been wonderful!

merry happy ho ho ho.

noreply@blogger.com (janae') — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 11:00:00 +0000

headin' out.

noreply@blogger.com (janae') — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +0000

genevieve and i are headed to florida today! and we won't be back until new years. :)

since kyle will be working some of the christmas worship experiences at church, us girls are going down early to spend more time with the family, and he'll drive the van down on the 24th. we'll do christmas, we'll do fun, we'll do family, we'll do our 4th wedding anniversary and then we'll all head back up together so he can be back at work by the 2nd. i'm looking forward to a nice, long vacation with the fam, but not so excited about the heat waiting for us or the fact that i won't have access to my computer for the entire trip. luckily i'll be able to unload the photos onto kyle's laptop, but there will definitely be a delay in posting for a while.

i am so hoping i remembered to pack everything! we're traveling light (just a carry-on, diaper bag and carseat) until kyle comes down with the car.

i hope everyone has a fantastic holiday and finishes out the year with a bang!

satan, i mean santa.

noreply@blogger.com (janae') — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

so. the santa visit. i mean, the pictures alone can give you a very good idea of what it was like. the playgroup mommies decided it would be too adorable to get all the kiddies together for a santa picture. we knew there might be crying, might be a little chaos..but it's only once a year and totally worth it, right? ;) holy lord. it was hilarious and pitiful all at the same time. since we were a group with 6 kids (we are a sight to see walking through the mall with all the strollers and same-age babies), we got there early and were first in line. so at least there was minimal waiting. santa was a real sport, probably because it was 10 in the morning and his spirit hadn't been crushed by a thousand children yet. when they were ready for us, we put the kids most likely to try to escape (genevieve and sophie aka "crash") on santa's lap and made a run for it before the screaming started.

yeah...it started when they saw santa and figured out we were handing them over to him.

a few of the kiddos had individual shots with santa, but we didn't since we'll be seeing the original Britt santa next week! and i'm not forking out 25 bucks for a crappy shot when my own camera got a better representation of the experience (my own opinion, of course haha).

oh well. i bet next year half of them will be sitting on santa's lap telling them what they want while the other half will be screaming just like this year. genevieve got upset when i first put her down, but she seemed to just go numb while we were taking the pictures. i'm thinking it was the screaming babies and laughing mommies. ;)

if you want to see one of the pictures we all chipped in to get (5 bucks a piece isn't too bad for a crappy picture haha) -- this is one of the better ones: