Halloween Low Down

Here they are in all their Halloween Glory: a skeleton, a little lion, a bigger lion and batman!
You are going to call me crazy, but I really hate trunk or treats (if you are unfamiliar with this concept, it is where groups of people gather together and park in a row. Then they open their trunks and give out candy. Kids walk from trunk to trunk gathering candy at a record breaking pace) Come on?!? What happened to the good ole' days where you had to traipse across town and back for a mere half a pillowcase full? I decided this year that my boys were going to get a real taste of what trick or treating should be. After knocking on doors for 45 minutes, to only find a handful slow moving seniors, we gave in and hit 2 great trunk or treats. The boys loaded it in...which really means...I LOADED IT IN! hahahahahaha...Here are a few shots I caught of our trick or treating adventures.

There is nothing like the rear end of a baby lion...walking next to the rear end of a daddy lion...

oh, and if you are wondering what I went as, I went as Halloween Bling. I simply wore Halloween pants, a flashing necklace, dangly spiderweb earrings, and a skull headband. I know, lame, but it worked.

Autumn Love = Bubba

Although he might be hyper, crazy, and often smelly, we still love our Bubba. Isn't he so cute in the leaves.

The Halloween Conundrum

Weeks ago I had planned out in my mind that I would have a beautiful baby girl dressed as the cutest glowworm for Halloween. OBVIOUSLY, that is not going to happen considering she is still quite content lounging in my belly (in a Mike Meyer's-esque voice I keep thinking get out of my belly). Either way, she is in there and now I have to come up with a last minute costume. Yesterday they held a costume contest at the Rec center (where I am currently teaching aerobics). I quickly pulled on a full body leopard print leotard, black leg warmers, a cut up belly shirt, a bangle bracelet and long dangly earrings. I thought I looked like a rockin' aerobic instructor...umm plus a giant belly. I taught the class, got pretty sweaty and then walked out towards the office to sign my time card. While walking to the office I strolled past 3 high school girls. Immediately one girl turned towards the other and whispered (in an all too loud voice), "Ewww Gross!" Apparently I didn't look as good as I thought I did.

Conundrum: I need a costume for tonight's Church Party!

1. The aerobic outfit is out! I cant go around unintentionally grossing people out.
2. I have a cheerleader's outfit. I could be a pregnant cheerleader (but is that really a good idea for the Church party?)
3. I have a basketball uniform. I could paint my belly to look like a basketball and keep it exposed all night. (Once again, should I be showing off my belly at church?)
4. If you have any last minute ideas, please drop me a line!

LET THE CONTEST BEGIN!

Disclaimer: If all this talk of pregnancy and it's many gooey facts makes you queasy, then do not pay any attention to this post.

Contest: Upon weighing the facts of my elephant long pregnancy and the expected arrival of my baby, you are invited to enter into this once in a life time contest. You guess the date and time of when little baby girl Summerill will come, and the weight. The closest guess will win one of a variety of random crafty objects that I make. The prizes are listed below, but not limited to (as in, I could come up with other odds and ends kicking around my house):

1. Super Cutesy 1/2 Apron in trendy fall prints
2. 2 matching bug ribbon clips for your daughter's hair...or the daughter of a friend
3. A sweet pair of pink drop earrings
4. 1 large flower clip for all ages
5. 1 plate of my famous, bake sale sell-out, cookies!

HISTORICAL FACTS:
-All my boys were born at 38 weeks.
-I have actually never gone into full blow labor on my own...My water has always had to be broken first.
-With my boys I have always dilated over 2-3 weeks, and then eventually sent into the hospital because I was so far dilated and effaced, but not having regular, increasing in intensity, contractions. (With Henry I was 6 1/2 Cm when the doctor sent me to the hospital, but when I arrived there I was 8 Cm...all without having hard contractions)
-My doctor said Henry was measuring small and wanted to move my due date back a couple weeks. Henry came at 38 weeks to his original due date and weighed over 8 pounds!

CURRENT FACTS:
-As of Friday I am 75% effaced and 3 cm dilated
-I have Braxton Hicks every day, and I have only had one day that had 1 hour of uncomfortable contractions. I have had no strong uncomfortable contractions in a few days.
-I lost my mucus plug Saturday morning at 9:00 am (it was gooey, and bloody, and seriously GROSS)
-According to my last period, my due date is Oct. 31; however, this is debatable because that period was irregular and lasted longer than my normal ones. I spotted for 5 days and then had a full blown period...So, If I went from when the spotting ended and the full blown period started, my due date would be Nov. 6 (give or take a day).
-I was measuring small with this baby, and the doctor wanted to move my date back to the 14th. I vetoed this idea right away.
-If I walk or do aerobics, contractions start immediately; however, when I stop, they stop.
-Over the last few days I have had increasing back aches, and (not to gross you out) diarrhea.
-Last night I felt utterly compelled to clean every inch of my house, including vacuuming out the light fixtures. (I often feel this way and try to deep clean my house every 2 weeks at the latest).

Leave your guess in the comments section. Remember to include:
1. Date of Baby's Arrival
2. Time of Baby's Arrival
3. Weight of Baby

ITS ALL DONE!!!

Have you tried to access my photography website lately and were left disappointed because the link no longer work? Ok, for the 2 of you that have, I have finally finished my new website! My last website got a but, crashed and burned, so I picked up the pieces and pretty much started over with a new one.

Here is my address: http://www.erinsummerillphotography.com/

Check it out...

Send your friends...

Forward it on...

STAY TUNED: I will be having a holiday contest and giving away a free photo session and prints! Look for future updates in November.

when...oh when?!?

My boys all were born at 38 weeks on the dot! My due date by my calculations is October 31...which puts me past the 38 week mark; however, my doctor says I am measuring small and he wants to push my due date back to the 14th of November. I scoffed at him and said "yeah right!" So I told him I would be willing to settle on the 6th...which would put me at 38 weeks now. Thus, the point of my blog, why isn't she here now? WHEN...OR WHEN will she be here?

Ask the Audience: Any blog friendly labor induction suggestions (except from Tanja...your suggestions are OUT...you know what I mean)?

p.s. this lovely tummy is not mine...just a stock photo of a pretty belly friend.

I love the Hammerstads

I love Nick and Emily Hammerstad! They are the cutest couple. Recently, Nick's family was visiting from Washington and they let me shoot them. I think these turned out great! They were a lot of fun to shoot, and very relaxed...that helps out with natural looking photos...and I was able to catch some great senior shots of Nick's niece. Isn't she lovely?

the Robinsons.

I have been pretty busy shooting these last few weeks. It seems everyone wants to get in before I have the baby. I shot this awesome family last week and I loved, loved, loved how the kids shots turned out. Way to go Robinsons!

Thank you Wendy!

He Said, She Said

RINNNNNNGGGG! Blast that darn phone. I rushed to it and grabbed it just before it switched over to voicemail. A deep throaty (as in too tired to sound un-froggy) voice warned, "You are in so much trouble." I hadn't expected that, Mark is normally a very mellow man...never filled with rage. In a slightly walking on eggshell approach I responded, "What? Are you joking with me?"
"No!" was his immediate angry reply.
I racked my brain, what did I do to cause such irritability? Nothing came to mind so I probed, "What are you talking about?"
Mark then launched himself into a full detailed story of how I, without knowing, embarrassed him.

Mark's Side:
Since we haven't started daylight savings time yet, the mornings have become increasingly darker. Mark didn't want to wake me when he woke, so, with the lights off, he quietly pulled his clothes out of the drawer and just as quietly dressed. Since October came in with a bang, the mornings have been pretty nippy. Mark slipped on a light jacket, grabbed breakfast and headed to work. Upon arriving at work, he promptly hung his jacket and sat down at his desk.

My Side:
My body is gigantically out of proportion. I refuse to buy any new clothing this late in the pregnancy and I am often forced to wear Mark's old T-shirts. Since Teddy's birthday was earlier in the week, I pulled on sweats and a T-shirt that day and went about frosting cupcakes and making dinner before family came over. I quickly changed before visitors came by so I wouldn't look like the gigantic scrubby housewife that I secretly am, and I stuffed the t-shirt and sweats back in the drawer...(At this you might think ewwww, but really I am blessed with almost never having Body Oder, and because of that, I can often wear clothing a few times before I wash them. This especially applies to my favorite sweats and a T-shirt. I figure I will throw those back on when I clean house the next day...or when I get around to it).

Mark's Side:
A few hours into work, Mark leaned back from his computer and relaxed. He loves Fridays simply because he can dress casual. That was the one great thing about working in Hawaii...almost every day is casual day. While leaning back, Mark glanced down at his T-shirt. (I am sure at this point the eyes bugged out of his head) What is all this crap all over my shirt? He thought to himself. Upon closer inspection he noted that it was white frosting, very similar to the frosting I had used a few nights earlier on Theodore's cupcakes. Embarrassment filled him like a dam breaking and he quickly reached for his jacket, pulled it on, and zipped it up. It was at this point he decided to call me, his wife.

My Side:
It had been a few days since the party and I had gotten really busy with back to back photo shoots. Today was the day for the great scrub down. Each floor would be cleaned from top to bottom. I jumped out of bed, opened up Mark's drawer to find a t-shirt and thought it odd the ones I normally pick up were gone. I figured he had worn them while working on the bathroom in the basement (it's under construction). I felt a little miffed, because frankly, not much else fits comfortably...and I hate feeling uncomfortable while cleaning. I managed to find something else that would work and I set off to cleaning. It was at this point that I was interrupted by the incessant ringing of the phone!

Ask the Audience: Not that I am asking you to pick sides, but come on?!? Who doesn't look in the mirror before leaving? Do you think Mark's embarassment is primarily his fault or mine? To this question, I feel the answer is obvious...but I will try to stay neutral.

Did I mention I am having a GIRL?!?

hehehehehe...the best part about having a girl is decorating her room! I painted he walls an awesome light green that I found at Home Depot: Celery Sprig. Then I hung bright pink, with orange accent curtains, that are decoratively pulled back with giant bright orange Gerber daisies. I picked up some white furniture at yard sales and added room decor in bright pink. IN the lit up corner are 3 paper lanterns that are bright pink, orange and lime green in color. Then I added pillows around the room in the same three matching colors. The crib bedding is mostly pink with lime green accents. I have to admit, I had a lot of fun shopping for (at yard sales of course) and decorating her room. Oh, and if you wanted to know how much everything cost me, the grand total was: $135.00 (Yes, that includes all the furniture in the room...even the crib)

Still here...

Yes, I am still here. No baby. Just a fat belly. And today a female driver flipped me off.
Explanation:
I was driving out of the Walmart parking lot. I was driving up my lane and slightly accelerating from the 2 mph roll to about 15 mph. As I was accelerating towards the exit, I noticed a woman cutting across the painted lanes of parking at the Walmart (yes, I know we all do it). She crossed over 2 parking lanes and was heading in my direction, since I was in the correct lane to exit. I realized that she didn't see me as she came within 5-10 feet of hitting me, so I slammed on my breaks. I also honked...(I do not believe that honking is rude if it is to indicate to another driver that they might hit you). She turned, looked at me and sped up faster and pulled in front of me.
I just continued driving behind her and carried on my conversation with Mark, who sat in the passenger seat. Following the female driver, we both exited the Walmart and pulled onto the main road. At the nearest stop light I pulled into the left turn lane and she continued straight. As we waited for the light to turn green, she continued to throw death glares in my direction. I asked Mark why she would be so bugged since she was the reckless driver breaking the law in the parking lot? He figured it was because I honked at her. The light turned green and as she sped away, she flipped me the BIRD! Now come on?!? If anyone is flipping anyone the bird, shouldn't it be me? Since she did almost hit me as she illegally crossed over the parking lot lanes?

Ask the Audience: Do you think I should have honked to indicate to her she was about to hit me? and if not, what would you have done? and thirdly, why do you think she flipped me the bird?

TRUE STORY!

It is one minute before midnight, and I am still up because I have a list of items I need to get done around the home...one being: update blog. 2 minutes ago I had such a strong, make me feel like I might puke, contraction that I actually considered going to the hospital. But, alas I am sure it is just my overstuffed body playing tricks on my desperately seeking to birth a baby mind. Either way, to pass the time and see if this is truly false labor, I have chosen to share with you a true and somewhat embarrassing moment out of my day.

I teach aerobics every Tuesday and Thursday morning at the local recreation center. I enjoy teaching there because unlike the big fancy meat market gym, there are little or no mirrors, friendly patrons who don't care if you are a little late, and (oooooohhhh...here comes another contraction.....hold on....) Crap! Now I can't remember what I was saying. Anyway, I like teaching at the rec.
Today I showed up for work, popped in a good CD and set up my equipment. My dear friend, Wendy, who is always very worried about my 9 months pregnant condition, took the risers from underneath my step and only left the step top! (If this atrocity doesn't make sense to you, then let me explain. This is like taking the chef out of the kitchen and giving him an easy bake oven to teach a class with...needless to say I felt like a pretty lame-O instructor for only teaching on a low riser of a step) I started the class and anytime I tried to start jumping jacks or plyometrics, Wendy shot me death glare...like if the plyometrics were going to kill me, she was. So I toned it down a notch and we completed a class of what I like to think of as Geriatric Aerobics.
We cooled down from the cardio and I was instructing the class to get out weights and a mat for toning when two very good looking young men came walking in the aerobics room. Yes, I thought it a little odd, but found myself dumbstruck when they came walking towards me. I smiled and thought about what witty thing I would say to them when I noticed their shirts. FIREMEN! What were firemen doing in my classroom?
"Mam, is there some way we could help you?" The first one started in. "We have an ambulance outside, and we can get you to the hospital right away." I stood there dumbstruck, beet red and soaked in sweat...Thinking back now, I suppose I did look like a woman in labor. I kindly declined their offer, but it didn't sink in. "There are two of us here, and we are trained in this sort of thing." The other fireman chipped in. I stood there mortified, in front of a classroom of sweaty women. "No thank you," I declined again and then found myself sharing my health history with them as I tried to reassure them I wasn't going to pop a baby out in the middle of the community rec center.
The firemen finally left and out of the corner of my eye I caught Wendy cracking up! She set me up! The firemen work out there everyday at the same time and she had them come in and check on me. Now the game is afoot! I too will one day have my fit of laughter...my revenge!

Moral of the Story: Towel off before two cute gentlemen approach so you don't look like a giant awkward sweat bomb! (oooohhhhh...here is another one......I will post later with more info)

Do you ever feel bad when your younger kids get the shaft?

When George, my oldest, turned two, I spent weeks planning an Easter Birthday extravaganza! At that time I was also 9 months pregnant and days away from expecting my second. Yet, despite the similarities between George's 2nd and Teddy's 2nd, Teddy ended up with the short end of the stick, the lack luster party, the 'what can I throw together today' birthday celebration. I do feel slightly guilty that Teddy didn't have the all out, Easter Egg hunt, 20 toddlers running wild, birthday party that George did; but, then again I realize now that I was slightly crazed to have thrown such an extravagant party for a 2 year old.
This time around, there was no Easter Egg hunt (come on, let's face it, it would be too weird for that in October). Instead, we had friends and family come over for dinner, cupcakes, and ice cream. Teddy chowed down his chili smothered potato, blew out the two candles on his cupcake and then tore into his gifts...ignoring all the cool cars and stuffed toys for a piece of candy he found! All evening he answered a short growly "two" when asked how old he was and that my friends pretty much sums up the chain of events, so it was pretty easy to catch the important moments on film. Here they are below:

2 Times the Trouble

It is hard to believe that Teddy is going to be Two! It seems like just yesterday (I know totally cliche') we were bringing home a fat bundle of baby. A baby that I had set my mind on only calling Theodore or Theo. That quickly evolved into Teddy, or as we more affectionately call him, Teddy the BEAR! He is quite the bear at almost 2 years old. Once he decides he wants something or wants to do something, there is nothing you can do to change his mind, except ignoring the tantrum. (See Picture Three for Evidence) Because he is so inquisitive, not a day goes by that something in my home isn't broken or destroyed. He follows me like a shadow, and is always quick to give a 'sorry' hug when he knows he has done something that I find undesirable. But, with his torn apart messes, he also has learned to be a great helper around the home. I am always amazed when he helps put the laundry away in the right drawer, or he finds the right cupboard for the dishes we are putting away. We love our bear. Happy Birthday Teddy!

You can have your Cake and eat it too...

Isn't this cake a masterpiece? I remember the good old days when my sister Leslie lived in Orem and worked part time as a cake Creator/decorator...the days when her young son would find cake cut off treasures in the garbage...the days when I always had somewhere to go to dig into leftover frosting. Ah yes, such sweet memories.
I watched as the master cake decorator set this cake up and squirted on the last few touch ups. I had my finger ready and waiting to sample the greatest tasting frosting ever! Not only was this cake an artistic beauty, it tasted the part too. Of all the weddings I have shot this summer, by far this cake tasted the best! In case you were wondering, this cake was made by Michelle Larson of Eagle Mountain.

3 1/2 weeks to go and I am feeling a vent coming on...

I am sitting here in front of my laptop and feeling a bit on the ornery side. I have decided to vent. If in anyway this post offends you than I have to simply say: GET OVER IT! (and I am a bit sorry that you feel bad)

1. I don't like being poked in the arm 20 times by my almost 2 year old. He wants to tell me something, and I just don't understand quite what his gibberish is saying, so he pokes...and pokes...and pokes... And in addition to the incessant poking, he says, "Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom..." over and over again. Then I find myself saying "What? What? What? What? What?" over and over again. I simply just don't like being poked more than once in a conversation.

2. Henry's sweet cute teacher (who I think is great besides this one incident) gave almost all the kids in the class a special reward for doing the monthly homework, but didn't give Henry one. He came home crying. He spent the month doing his homework. Two days before it was due, he told me at least 5 times he needed to turn it in. Together, we put everything in the folder and sent it in. Henry returned the day of the special reward with nothing but a note from his teacher saying he forgot to turn in his calender. Thus, no reward. I have no idea what she is talking about, so I asked her and she said that every month a number calender is sent home. The kids have to write the numbers and send it back. I swear, Henry's homework folder never had one in it...so we had no idea about it. She just said that's too bad. (this is where I wanted to flick her and say give my kid a treat because he did everything he thought he was supposed to...but instead I just thanked her for her time and walked away.)

3. We were recently invited to go somewhere, and we simply couldn't attend. In the evenings, after Mark gets home from work, I am often shooting an event. When we are invited somewhere, I check my calender and if I have already scheduled a shoot, we just have to turn down whoever is inviting us. This doesn't mean we don't want to go, it just means paying off debt from Mark being unemployed is the most important thing. It doesn't mean we don't like whoever is inviting us, it simply means I AM WORKING! So, when whoever invites us somewhere gets upset and starts to guilt trip my husband (because frankly, these tactics don't work a bit on me) then I do start to feel like I really don't want to spend time with whoever invited us to spend time with them.

4. For the final time, Stephanie Meyer's fourth book was a piece of C%#$! It was poorly written and inconsistent. The only reason it was a best seller is because of media hype. If you want to read a good book, read Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson, or The Thief by Megan W. (My prego brain just forgot the last name...but it still is an excellent book).

Thanks for your time...now I feel better.

When It Rains It Pours...

I know you are probably getting sick of picture post after picture post, so I thought I would share my thoughts and sediments of the impending weather. I HATE THE COLD! I really, really, really, dislike temperatures below 70 degrees...I know, so you are probably wondering why I would ever move to Utah. I often ask myself that question too. And I suppose had my husband been a stinkin' rich millionaire, we would have stayed in Hawaii. Having said that, I try to make the best out of a bad situation. The other day when the rains came down and the sun never came up, I called up a good friend and said, "Hey lets play in the rain." It was utterly cold and completely the epitome of all I dislike in cold slushy weather, but at least I got some good shots out of it.
I am not quite sure how I will make it through the winter. By the time February rolls around I feel like I am going to eat my own face out of home bound boredom (which I probably bring on myself because I wont leave the house let alone even open my blinds). If you have suggestions for breaking through the winter blues, please, please share....

Cute.

Here is another group of shots I am working on for my site. These girls were so cute. I love having friends with good looking kids!

My friend's Kids

I have been working on a 'New Website' (which hopefully will be up and running in the next few weeks...and will run in place of my old website...which by the way is not working right now) so my friend Alecia stopped by and let me shoot her kids. Take notice of the last picture of the baby...HAHAHAHAH...I didn't even notice until I posted it on my blog.