Babies, babies, everywhere!

I just finished up some photos from the other day of my first twin shoot ever! These little girls are four months old, and so adorable! I was a bit worried about what to do with 2 babies, but it went fine! It was fun, and they did need little timeouts, just like I thought they would, but when one was sad, often the other wasn't, so I could take photos of the happy one while mommy took care of the other! It worked out great! And we managed to get some really cute ones of them together too, so that is icing on the cake! Here are Baylee & Chloe.

I love all of these, but I really love the last one of Mommy holding them each over her shoulders at the end of the shoot. They were worn out! Having your picture taken is a lot of work! :)
Mommy, I should have the proof book early next week!

Jessica

Looks like we're having a....

We just got back from my 17 week Dr. visit, and they were only planning to check the heartbeat, but I asked if they minded to do a quick ultrasound and see if they could tell what we are having. They were super nice and happy to oblige, and the Dr. was warning us that he might not be able to tell, but he would check. We told him we understood, but we were so anxious! So he looked, and Johnny and I could both tell even without the Dr. telling us that there was a little something there that wasn't there with the girls! The Dr. typed the note on the picture and printed it and handed it to Maddie Kate, and she read it slowly, "Looks....like....a.....boy!" and she was so excited! I don't think Ava really understands any of it, but she was happy along with us. My Dr. said he was surprised at how obvious it was, and that he was almost 100% sure that it was a boy. We called all the grandparents and aunts and uncles, and we let Maddie Kate tell pretty much everyone that we called. Everyone is so happy, most everyone says, "Oh, good for Johnny! I bet he's so happy!" Which is totally an understatement! Actually at first I think he didn't believe it, he had convinced himself it was a girl, even though I kept telling him I thought it was a boy!
We go next week to have a detailed sonogram done, and they are providing free 4D ultrasounds now, so we'll get to have one of those in a few months I guess! We had one with Ava, but we had to go on our own and pay for it, so it's nice that it's part of the deal with the Dr. this time, so that's pretty cool!

Things sure will be different around here! Johnny won't be so overrun by the girls now, (he's already talking about hunting and fishing and football...) and I will have to figure out how to be a mommy to a little boy. I also have a nursery to redo! That should be fun!

Hopefully next week after the next sonogram I won't be on here telling you it was a mistake! ha! :)

Jessica

Labor Day Picnic and a 3 mo. old baby shoot

This is Ava with her first real ponytails. So far we had only been able to pull up little ones on top!
Yesterday we went to my home church's Labor Day picnic that they have had every year for forever, and it was nice to see everyone, since I don't see them too often! Someone had set it up so the little ones could play a version of flag football, but they were all to little to actually play! Here's Ava wearing the flags!

My friends and I try to take a picture of our kids together there every year, actually I guess this is just the 3rd year, since they were all born around the same time in 2005. They were so hot and sweaty and dirty in this picture!
These kids were all born within 2 months of each other, except for the boy on the far right, he's a year older. Now 3 of the moms of these kids are pregnant again (one of them is me) and are due within 3 weeks of each other! We sure know how to time it, huh?! :)

I have a preview for a mommy! This is Benjamin. I did his one month pictures a few months ago, and we did his 3 month ones a few weeks ago, and I know his mom is anxious, so here's a little preview for her!

He is such a cutie and did such a good job! He didn't hardly cry this time, though he did take a few little naps, which was fine with me! Whatever they need to do to not be sad in their pictures!

Jessica

Haircuts and a High School reunion

I guess I haven't had any crazy Ava stories lately so I haven't blogged much about our family. Maddie Kate is doing well so far in 1st grade and learning how to read. She has her first official spelling test today, and she knew how to spell the words on Monday, so it's wonderful that we haven't had to study them hard or anything. She has had homework everyday this week though, and that is something I guess we are going to have to get used to! Maddie Kate and I went to Jamie's on Tuesday and had our hair cut, and we decided to try out bangs on Maddie Kate, something she has never had before. Here is a pic of us with our new do's! (I know, I don't look different!)
I had the opportunity to take some photos at Mt. Vernon High School's Class of 1997 Reunion (which was the class right after me, so I knew a lot of the people there) earlier this month. Here are a few photos of the classmates that showed up for the big night!
This last one was cute, so I wanted to share it. In their Senior yearbook, these 6 were the "Class Couples" and this is the pose they did for their picture back in high school! So they wanted to re-enact it. I thought it was sweet that they were all married now with kids!

For any of you 1997 Reunion people who might read this: I will email you the links for the pictures very soon! Thank you!

Another Fabulous Senior! : )

I finished another senior today, so I thought I'd put up a few pics for her to enjoy while she waits on her proof book! I had so much fun with this session, and learned so much! This is Paige, and she was totally wonderful to work with. She knew how to pose and is adorable, so that made things easy for me! They had some friends who had a pond with a dock, so we got a lot of unique shots there, and I always love new locations! As you will see, I had a very hard time choosing favorites, so there are LOTS of pictures!
I LOVE laughing pictures!!!!
They warned me that this cat was going to be terrible, but he just sat there and looked at Paige and me, and acted very calm. He did a great job! I must say, this is the first time I ever took pictures of a cat!

I think this session went great! I was very pleased with the results! Paige, you are too cute!

Jessica

Senior Session

Just finished up a Senior and thought I'd leave her a little blog preview. This is Cassie, she was so sure she couldn't have her picture taken with a serious face, but I think we proved her wrong! She did great, and I think the session went very well. I am pleased with the results, and as always, here are a few of my favorites:



Thanks for a great session, and I'll call you later this week with the proof book! :)
I had a wedding this weekend, and it was so much fun! I was so tired by the time I got home though, I had been on my feet for about 10 hours, quite a big day for this pregnant girl! But I think it went pretty well, so it was worth it!

Just thought I'd tell ya...

that I spent some time updating my flash website this morning! I don't think I had changed it since early June, so it was time for some fresh pictures. I probably won't worry too much about the old dial-up site anymore, I think most people are moving to faster internet, and I like the flash site so much more! There are new pictures in all but one of the galleries I believe, so there's lots to see if you are interested!
By the way, I have managed to get through the morning without Ava doing anything terrible... so today has been a much better day! :)

Jessica

1st day of 1st grade/NO WAY AVA!/ and a Senior

This is my sister tossing Ava in the air and catching her! It was just a fun picture so I thought I'd show it to ya!

Okay, I just have to start this post with telling you that I am having to redo the entire thing because Ava was sitting on my lap and trying to type with me, and I kept telling her no. Somehow she pushed something that deleted all the typing and photos, and right after she did, blogger auto saved for me, so all was lost! If there is a way to retrieve it, I don't know what it is! So here we go again, I'm going to start all over!
I think since I'm on the subject of Ava, I will tell you what she did this morning. I thought she was watching Dora, and I realized that she wasn't even in the playroom. I go looking for her, and she was in my bathroom up on the shelves that we have next to the sink, and she is covered in blue toothpaste and black eyeliner! Also, the sink and shelf are covered in toothpaste, the toothbrush holder is full of water, and the water is still running because she said she needed to wash her hands! Well no kidding, she needed a bath to get all the toothpaste off and out of her hair!
What could possibly make you think this was a good idea? Kids are crazy!
Maddie Kate started 1st grade on Friday, well, registered for it anyway! I don't understand how I have a child in 1st grade, she was just born a few days ago, wasn't she?
I am not thrilled at having a kid old enough to be in 1st grade, but I am sort of looking forward to having a routine again! This summer has been nuts for us, maybe now we can settle down a little and I can get some work done!
Friday night was the premiere of High School Musical 2, which was a very big deal for Maddie Kate. She has been counting down the days ever since she heard there was going to be a second movie when they announced it last spring. So I let her invite some buddies over to watch it.
They were so cute, getting up to dance during the songs and going crazy! Probably partly due to the pizza, soda, cotton candy and M&M's I let them eat.... During the finale, they all got up to jump around, and we had the surround sound on pretty loud, so I couldn't really hear anything else. Then somehow, I hear someone screaming! I realize it is Ava, stuck under the footrest of the double recliner on the sectional! She was under it I guess when the girls got up to dance, and it smashed down on her just enough that she couldn't get out! She was so sad, with giant tears streaming down her face, I had to hug her a long time before she got over it! It was horrifying for her!

Time for Senior Pictures! I have several more to edit, and several more sessions coming up, so there will be lots more in the next few weeks. This is Amanda. She is in our youth group, and I feel like her session went smoothly, and we got some good shots!
I really like this one of her laughing. I love laughing pics!
If you are interested in having Senior Portraits done with me, just check my website for the sessions that I offer at www.jessicahollisphotography.com
and email me at info@jessicahollisphotography.com or call #618-625-6787. I am currently booking September and October sessions!

Jessica

Ava Strikes Again Plus Lots More....

The other day while I was getting ready, Ava walks into my bathroom with some suspicious goo all over her hands and one foot. She held her hands together, said, "Mommy, I breaked it!" and pulled her hands apart quickly. I notice the goo on her foot is yellowish, and realize it must be EGGS. So I go into the kitchen and here's what I find:
I knew it wasn't the greatest thing when she figured out how to open the fridge, but so far all she had done was get sippy cups out! Then a few nights ago, Valerie and Jennifer were babysitting while I took some Senior pictures, she escaped from them and went into my bathroom, somehow reached the hand soap, and proceeded to "wash" her hair with it! No water needed! The girls were laughing about it when I got back, and I said, "See, everyone just thinks I don't watch her good, but she can be gone and doing something insane in an instant!"

I am 14 weeks pregnant now, starting the 2nd trimester, hoping to get some energy back, and you can click HERE if you would like to read about a 14 week old baby!

I thought I would be posting a few Current River pics by now, but I still don't have the water camera pics on CD from Alisa, so I will post a few I took when we were no where near the water!! They aren't as fun maybe, but there was NO WAY my camera was getting wet!

This is the girls on the last day, all ready to head home! Can you tell which one Johnny always says is going to be the class clown?

This is my family! I am the oldest of 6 kids, and I am married with 2 kids, and one of my sister's is married, so it makes a total of 12 people so far. Starting at the left: Troy, Logan, Daddy, Ben, Mom, Tony (bro-in-law), Kimmy, Me, Johnny, Ava, Maddie Kate and Alisa. We are standing in front of the house my parents rented for all of us to stay together in. It was pretty cool!
This is Ava with my Dad. We went down to Blue Springs before we went to Lambert's and home. It's very pretty there!
Johnny took this pic of me and Maddie Kate walking to the spring. I keep telling him he has an eye for photos! :)

Last night we had the youth group over for one last get together before the college students move away to school and the other kids start back to high school/jr high. I must say, having the kids over is always fun, but I didn't feel too well last night, which made me mad. I wanted to have fun! We have 2 girls going to the Bible College in Nashville, TN plus my sister Alisa is going too, so there is going to be a huge hole in our youth group and in my friends!
This is Jennifer, Valerie, Me & Ava, Alisa, and Heather. Jenn, Val, and Alisa (we call her Sweed) are all going away to school this weekend. Heather was away last year, but is going to stay here and go to Rend Lake this year, so at least everyone isn't leaving!! :) I will miss you girls!!! I love you!
This is the crew. Several kids had already had to leave before we took the picture though!

Lastly, some JHP pictures. These are of a family that I shot a few weeks ago at their home. They have a beautiful home and a beautiful family! Actually, I used to babysit for them, and the mom was Maddie Kate's kindergarten teacher last year. Here are some of my favorites!





These kids are so sweet. When they got tired of pictures and didn't want to participate, mom and dad got them to tell me about their Disneyland trip this summer, and they perked right up!I thought they did a good job!
As promised earlier, lots of Senior pics coming soon....

Jessica