Welcome to T h e . B l a y l o c k . F a m i l y

glimpses ~ week 8

2012-02-25T15:42:00.001-06:00

check out the glimpses | 52 project at the chic critique forum

fifty two on friday ~ week 8 (time)

2012-02-24T06:00:00.000-06:00

Cliche yes but time really does fly by when you are having fun.

Head on over to see how Karol Quinn, Baltimore, MD Photgrapher interpreted the theme this week.

P.S. If you get a chance head on over and vote for me over at the chic critique cover contest, I am #44. Thanks so much!!!

glimpses ~ week 7

2012-02-20T12:46:00.001-06:00

It is not unusual to see or at least hear Darth Vader in our house these days. He is addicted to Star Wars in every way right now. He insisted on doing his reading lesson as Darth Vader today...

check out the glimpses | 52 project at the chic critique forum

launch

2012-02-18T14:05:00.001-06:00

I have mentioned before that I recently joined a new forum, Chic Critique. They requested image submissions for the launch of their online magazine.

Theme: Launch | to release, catapult, or send off. | To put into operation or set in motion. | To enter energetically. | To spring forward : to take off.

This image is my unique take on the theme. Wish me luck! There are some really great images, which made me second guess entering but in the end I figured I have nothing to lose by putting myself in the mix. After all, if nothing else I came away with an image of Jordan that I love.

Be sure to check out the rest of the submissions. I am always amazed and inspired by all the different takes that everyone has on the same theme.

fifty two on friday ~ week 7 (pink)

2012-02-17T06:00:00.000-06:00

With a little lady in the house (especially my lady) it was pretty easy to find pink inspiration in my home this week. This is her favorite dress right now. When she saw it at the store she literally gasped and proclaimed, "it is perfect!"

The kids were sick with the flu so we had a less than awesome week. I am so grateful everyone is healthy again.

Head on over to see how Cathy Kuhlman, Philadelphia, PA Photographer interpreted the theme this week.

happy valentine's day

2012-02-14T17:12:00.000-06:00

sunshine

2012-02-12T09:24:00.001-06:00

When the weather is yucky for a few days and then the sun comes shining through the clouds she tells us she put it out for our family...I love that so much!

glimpses ~ week 5

2012-02-04T06:00:00.000-06:00

check out the glimpses | 52 project at the chic critique forum

fifty two on friday ~ week 5 (on the shelf)

2012-02-03T06:00:00.000-06:00

Head on over to see how Karol Quinn, Baltimore, MD Photographer interpreted the theme this week.

glimpses ~ week 4

2012-01-30T11:13:00.000-06:00

Winter weather makes me and the kids a little crazy. It is too cold to go outside and we get tired of doing the same old stuff inside. I am always searching for fun stuff to do with the kids. Last week I decided to have a bathtub party to pass the time. It was a huge hit. They thought it was hilarious that we were wearing our swimsuits in the tub. They loved the bath paints, especially painting me. Jordan told me that it was the best party he had ever been to and he can't wait to have another party in the tub.

check out the glimpses | 52 project at the chic critique forum

fifty two on friday ~ week 4 (warmth)

2012-01-27T07:11:00.001-06:00

Every day I pass birds on a wire on the way to drop the kids off at school. In my mind, they were always cuddled up close together... keeping each other warm. Of course I put off taking a picture for the theme until Thursday. When I showed up Thursday, camera in hand what did my little eyes find on that wire? No birds? Arghh.

Seems silly but I panicked a bit because I had no idea what I would photograph since I waited until the last day AGAIN. I remembered one other spot where I saw some birds hanging out and it was on my way home. I drove that way home and was happy to see they were there all up on the line. Not cuddled up like I had envisioned but there. I like to think they are together, in part for the warmth of each others company.

Next up is Amy Moisuk, Slices of Life Photography please be sure to check out how she interpreted the theme this week.

glimpses ~ week 3

2012-01-22T19:05:00.001-06:00

of course jordan loves to play outside in the snow and when drew is out he has to follow. when i took a peek outside i saw both my guys working on the driveway so i literally ran upstairs as fast as i could to grab my camera. i think they must have made only one or two swipes of the driveway together because i just barely caught this shot before jordan was done helping.

jordan is all about being just like daddy. he wants to be and do everything just like him. the other day drew had a backache and then a few days later i was putting jordan down for bed and he told me his back hurt. i was rubbing his back when drew walked in and i told him jordan's back hurt. he, of course, quickly put 2 and 2 together and realized that he was just copying him from days before.

be sure to check out the chic critique forum to see what others have posted for their glimpses project.

fifty two on friday ~ week 3 (words)

2012-01-20T07:21:00.001-06:00

does xoxo count as a word? it is going to for today, ok? a migraine and my original idea for the theme not working out the way i hoped equals me sitting at the computer late on thursday night, inserting an adorable random pic from the week and ~~forcing it to~~ hoping it would fit the theme.

leah's pronunciation is at a really cute stage right now. she is a talker. a great talker. i love to hear her talk. she says some things incorrectly and it is really cute when she tries to say it the right way. she has a really hard time with the letter "f" which most times come out as a "b". At the dinner table last night she she was telling us that at swimming lessons she picked up a ring in the swimming pool with her foot but it sounded like she said she was picking it up with her butt...it was very, very funny.

her favorite word right now is super. everything is super. the other day i hit my head on her bed and she said, "you ok mom? it didn't hurt super much right? just a teeny tiny bit right?" it was very cute.

she is also known for telling everyone in the house that she loves them super much! love that.

be sure to stop by and visit and say, "hi" to stacy vitallo, of d'lara photography, downers grove, il to see how she interpreted the theme this week.

joshua ~ 6 months

2012-01-17T01:13:00.000-06:00

my baby nephew, he is perfection. i am madly in love with him!

glimpses ~ week 2

2012-01-14T13:50:00.001-06:00

our winter blast of snow left the kids more than excited to get outside to play. jordan has been singing "it's beginning to look a lot like christmas everywhere we go". we only made it outside once since the snow fell and that was more than enough for me. jordan wants to get out again so he can build a swimming pool. i think i will wait until it warms up a bit before we head back out to play again.

be sure to check out the chic critique forum to see what others have posted for their glimpses project.

fifty two on friday ~ week 2 (landscape)

2012-01-13T06:00:00.000-06:00

i cannot believe we did not have our first real snow of the year until two weeks into january. mother nature finally blasted us with some winter weather.

landscapes are really not my thing. i did not know if i was going to participate until the last minute this week. i drove to the shipping canal near our home while the kids were at school and took this shot from the car. i tried a few different apertures and a few different shutter speeds to make sure i got something i liked before i drove off. when i saw this in my view finder i knew i had something i could live with and post. i have to add that i did not convert this to black and white...this is how dreary the day actually was.

january 10 on 10

2012-01-10T07:43:00.004-06:00

i am really excited to have joined another talented group from all around the world for a project called 10 on 10. our inspiration for the idea originally came from the talented shannon harrison of jack and ruby studios. the idea is taking ten un-scripted personal images, over the course of ten hours and posting them on the tenth day of the month.

this month i took mine on the hour. that will probably not happen again. it was entirely too stressful. i actually had to turn my car around on the way to drop jordan off at school because i forgot my camera and i knew the clock would strike 12:00 while i was dropping him off...oh the drama.

i’m looking forward to documenting our less than perfect family life, giving me a chance to take notice of all the little things that tend to get taken for granted. once you’ve looked through my ten on ten, head on over to see how north atlanta lifestyle photographer, jan madert spent her day.

glimpses

2012-01-07T20:13:00.002-06:00

recently i joined the chic critique forum, another forum for photographers, in hopes of getting some honest feedback from some amazing photographers on my images. they have a great project they're starting this week called glimpses 52 project. it's a fabulous way to catch "glimpses" in my own life of those little details that we can easily miss if we aren't looking for them. each week i'll post an photo here and I will link back to their site. it is basically the same as 52 on friday but another group, we are not linked in a circle and it is less formal.

leah literally changes her clothes at least 10 times a day. she is very picky about what she will wear. while it is very very cute and i am sure i will miss this stage when it is gone, which i know will be in a flash, she sure can make a mess.

this is a typical leah outfit. baseball cap and high heels...love it!!the dress is at least 2 sizes too small and i had it hiding way up in the closet to give away. i am sure she enlisted the help of her big brother to drag it down for her as soon as i turned my head. got a love the team work the two of them have when they want to work together. i showed daddy this pic because i thought it was cute he said the dress was waaaaay too short, ha ha that is because it is a 24 month dress and she is 3 1/2. got to love her style.

fifty two on friday ~ week 1 (new)

2012-01-06T06:00:00.000-06:00

some of you who followed along last year may have noticed that i stopped at week 51 last year. that is because i started this little project a week late into the year. i had so much fun though that i decided to do it again. there will be a few of the same ladies from the last time around but most of them have moved on to other projects. this group is amazing. when i look through the group i thought about dropping out more than once because i am more than a little intimidated. in the end i am staying because i know staying in the group will only be an inspiration and will help me to grow. i can only get better.

the theme this week is new. nothing kicks off a new year like a brand new baby. photographing her was a rare wonderful treat.

now be sure and head on over to visit jenn duguay, valleyview,alberta photographer. her images are always a treat

happy new year

2011-12-31T07:13:00.001-06:00

I had every intention of keeping it at 12 then I got carried away. Here is a recap of several of my own personal favorite family images that I took in 2011! I hope everyone has a safe and Happy New Year!

fifty two on friday ~ week 51 (winter)

2011-12-30T03:02:00.000-06:00

she is all decked out in her winter gear, and ready to go out and have some fun.

next up is the very talented Meghan Boyer, Maryland Lifestyle Photographer.

merry christmas

2011-12-24T22:07:00.001-06:00

we hope you have a very merry christmas! love ~ us

fifty two on friday ~ week 50 (memories)

2011-12-23T06:00:00.000-06:00

"forever is composed of nows." ~ emily dickinson

This year I wanted to start a tradition of sleeping under the tree some time before Christmas with the kids. We did not do anything fancy, no movie or popcorn or anything like that. We kept it very simple. The excitement of the pull out bed and the tree was almost more than these two could handle. They were so excited! Jordan could hardly believe that there was really a bed inside our couch. It took the kids forever to fall asleep. I was so sore when I woke up the next morning, heck I don't think my body has forgiven me yet. But it was worth it all. Drew told the kids he was not going to sleep with us and Jordan told him he had to because in his words, "it was a family event."

The other day my mom asked me what I think my kids will remember about the holidays. My hope is that they will be joyful memories. I know that they are not going to remember what toy they got and who they got it from. I hope they can remember that they were always loved beyond measure. My hope is that they will remember some of our traditions. Traditions of being together, being loved and being happy. Traditions that build strong family bonds, and hopefully they will be wonderful and vibrant family memories.

Now head on over and see what my friend Misty Setzler, Lubbock, TX Photographer has come up with for the theme this week.

waiting

2011-12-22T09:33:00.002-06:00

Leah had her first official play date with a friend a couple of days ago. Her best friends at school are Mikey Brown and Bella. For the longest time when she told me she was friends with Mikey Brown I thought she was telling me she was friends with a boy named Mikey who was the color brown. It made me laugh that she was pointing out his color every time she talked about him. One day when I was dropping her off at school, I saw Mikey and it finally dawned on me that she calls him by his full name. Silly mom.

They are so terribly cute together. They are the perfect pair. He barely talks and she is the queen of gab. She will walk into the room, grab his little hand and off they go. In the morning when she is getting ready for school she will pick out an outfit and say, "Oh, Mikey will love this!"

I forgot to grab my camera on the way out to our play date with Mikey but I did get this pic of her patiently waiting. All dolled up and ready to go. You can't tell but the shirt has little cupcakes on it and when she put it on she said, "Cupcakes, oh Mikey loves cupcakes!" as she clapped her little hands together in excitement!

fifty two on friday ~ week 49 (music)

2011-12-16T06:00:00.000-06:00

When I think of music I think of dancing and when I think of dancing I think of my little girl. Anytime anywhere she loves to dance. With or without a partner, a dance floor or even music.

Here, we were playing in the yard and she grabbed Jordan's hand and asked him to dance, I was lucky enough to snap a picture.

Now head on over and check out what Misty Setzler, Lubbock, TX photographer came up with for the theme this week.