Exciting times ahead!

2010 is coming to a close so quickly. Like a lot of you, at this time of year I like to reflect on all that has happened over the last 12 months and think ahead to the new year.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to meet and work with many different families this past year. Each photo shoot was a unique chance to get to know more people and provide them with lasting memories.

In the new year I plan on making a lot of improvements to my business. I'm really excited about these changes and can't wait to announce them so stay tuned! :)

Although I am on a bit of a 'baby break' right now, as some of you know, I am still doing a few shoots here and there including a maternity shoot last weekend for a friend (pictures below). If you're looking to book a shoot within the next month or so please contact me ASAP so that we can discuss details to avoid disappointment.

Thank you to each of you that has played a part in making this year a great one! I hope that each of you has a very Merry Christmas celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ with family and friends. Looking forward to working with you in 2011!

10 Days

I can't believe we've been of a family of 5 for 10 days now. I also can't believe that Christmas Eve is 10 days away. Holy doodle!

It's been a pretty crazy 10 days, but not completely insane. :) We've even managed to have a bit of fun! Yesterday while Leah was at school Scott helped me with doing some shots of Erika. She was such a great little model. I was really impressed! After the little shoot it was time to get Leah. She then helped Scott bake up a storm! They made Scott's fave (cookies - this time it was chocolate peanut butter...of course with a few plain peanut butter for me) and tried a new recipe - cinnamon buns!

The cinnamon buns were SO delicious and super easy! In fact, too easy. I think they're going to become a regular thing in our house if I have anything to do with it. :) They look and taste like store bought!



Today we had all 3 kiddies at home. I discovered this morning that I had received my package of goodies from Sassy Sweet Pea of bows and other hair accessories for the girls. This only meant one thing - another photoshoot :) After Josh went down for his nap I fed Erika and then tried out the headbands on her. I am SO loving them already! I can't wait for her to wear them out in the world that is outside of our house. :) Here are a few pictures I snapped of her today. My inspiration for the last one came from a picture that I have of myself at around the same age. I love it!

Blessed (and the Giveaway winner!)

As I sit here I still can't believe that we have 3 beautiful children. Yes, you heard me...3. Our newest little miracle, Erika Jeanelle, made her grand entrance into this world on Saturday, December 4th at 4:57am - 9 days before her due date - weighing in at 7lbs 9oz.

I know that a bunch of you out there have been asking me about the delivery details so I'll get right into that. :) For those of you who don't handle those things well, you can do a quick scroll down to the bottom to see some pictures of our babes. :)

A week ago today I went to see my OB for my 38 week appointment. After telling him that I REALLY didn't want to be induced this time he examined me and found that I was 3cm. Later that day I went for my first acupuncture treatment. A friend of mine had recommended doing this as she swore that was the reason that she went into labor. I was a little bit freaked out about the whole thing, but it turned out to be really simple and totally not painful at all. I booked another appointment for Friday and then I waited. Waited for some kind of sign that it had worked or for something to happen. Nothing.

On Friday morning I went for another round of acupuncture. After having nothing happen on Monday I was a bit skeptical that this treatment would do anything, but thought it was still worth a shot. Later that morning Josh was super cranky and with Leah at school I thought I would put him down for a nap early and have a bit of a nap myself. (Did I mention I had been out at my company Christmas party Thursday night until 2am? lol!) I woke up around 1:00 and thought my back was hurting a bit, but shoved it off as just being uncomfortable because of sleeping on the couch.

After having a bit of dinner at my parents' house and picking Leah up from a birthday party my Mom took her down to their place and Josh and I went back home. Scott had been unexpectedly working late and was supposed to be home just after 7:00pm.

At 7:00 my phone rang. Scott was calling to let me know that he was just off the train and would be home shortly. The conversation went a bit like this:
S: "I'm just getting off the train. It's going to get a bit loud here in a minute."
*train whistle*
T: "HOLY CRAP!"
S: "I told you it was going to be loud."
T: "No, that's not it!"
S: "What's wrong?!"
T: "My water just broke!"
S: "Seriously??"
T: "Yeah, seriously!!! This honestly isn't happening!"
S: "Are you sure?"
T: "Uh yeah I'm pretty sure....it keeps gushing!"
I honestly could not help but stop laughing about the whole ordeal. We hung up and I immediately called our neighbour, Jen. She came over right away and helped me a huge deal by dealing with Josh because well....I was pretty much useless. lol! I had no idea that when your water breaks it just continues to gush. Every giggle I made (because again, I thought the whole thing was pretty funny!) and every step I took it gushed a bit more. My favourite line from Jen was "um....are you going to change your pants?" hahaha! it looked like I had been in a flood up to my waist!

After I got my pants situation all sorted out I called our friend and Doula, Kerri. We agreed that we would pick her up at about 7:45 on the way to the hospital. Then I started to panic. I hadn't finished packing my hospital bag....on purpose! I figured that if I had finished packing it all the way I would go overdue again. As I scrambled to grab things, the phone was ringing off the hook, Jen was changing Josh's poopy diaper (sorry again, Jen!!) and Scott was coming in the door. Scott's parents were on their way to keep an eye on Josh at our place and Jen had offered to stay with him until they arrived. "Just tell me what you want me to do", she said. I immediately blurted out "come with me!" I think she was a bit confused/unsure what I was talking about but agreed to come to the hospital after she put her little ones to bed.

We arrived at the hospital where they put me in triage to check things out. Did I mention that I still hadn't had any contractions/pain/discomfort at this point? No contractions showing up on the monitor either so they were in no rush to admit me. They did discover however that my water had in fact broke so that was it, I was being moved to a delivery room. This was all very different for me so I wasn't sure what to expect. Turns out that they don't put you on the monitor again or examine you until you start having contractions. Little bit frustrating, but whatever. I walked the halls, sat on the birthing ball, did weird little stretches like I was going to be in the Olympics and then sat and waited. Nothing. Nadda. Zip. Super frustrating. We all sat around and enjoyed some Coke as we waited.

At midnight the nurse said they recommended that I try to get some rest because it could be a while still. If nothing happened by the morning they would put me on the drip (which I TOTALLY didn't want because that would mean an induction). Kerri and Jen went home and Scott and I tried to sleep. He slept and snored while I tossed and turned and prayed that I wouldn't need the drip in the morning. At about 1:30 my stomach started to feel kind of gross. Thinking I had to use the washroom, I sat on the toilet and well...tried to push. After a few minutes of no success I went back to bed and tried to sleep again.

2:00 rolled around and I thought 'oooo that feels like cramps!' I got out my amazing little iPhone and opened up the 'Contraction Timer' app and started to time these little cramps. Sure enough each one was about a minute long and they were 2-3 minutes apart and started to get worse. I woke Scott up and we timed together and then I told him to go get a nurse. At that point they hooked me up to the monitor. Called Kerri at 2:30 and told her things were getting regular and she should come back.

The nurse checked me and said I was about 3-4cm but things were definitely regular. I went back and forth as to when I should get the epidural and then decided to just go for it. After all, we weren't sure how long it would take for the guy to get there because it was the middle of the night. To my surprise he came pretty quickly and did the procedure. Oh happy day! :) I guess that was at about 3:00. Things were still pretty regular and more intense after that, but I definitely wasn't feeling it the same way that I had been. I was able to have a conversation with Scott and Kerri, laugh, etc.

At about 4:30 I told them both that I thought I was feeling pressure. Kerri asked if I thought it was enough that I should have them check me. I wasn't sure. After it happened a few more times I thought 'oh yeah, I'm sure now!' She went to get the nurse who examined me and told me that I was fully dialated. I was kind of in shock! Scott called Jen and told her things were REALLY happening...like right now and she needed to come right away.

4:45 and I was ready to push when Jen came in the door. The next few minutes were a bit of a blur but I know that it wasn't too long/that many pushes and there she was - our 2nd little girl, Erika Jeanelle, was born!

It was a great experience including no tearing! One that I'm still in awe over as I can't believe I didn't have to be induced and that she was smaller than the other 2 :)

Thanks to Kerri, our Doula, for all her support and encouragement. I'm sure I would have pushed that babes out on my own if she hadn't recommended that the nurse check me.

Thanks also to Jen for being there from the beginning to the very end, going back and forth to the hospital, being my photographer, supplier of M&Ms to my husband, etc. :)

And of course thank you to my husband for being my biggest supporter through this 3rd labor and delivery. I love you!

I'm so blessed to have all of these people in my life and also to have our sweet little one join our family. :) It's nearly bedtime in our house which means diapers, pajamas and a feed for the wee babe. Hope things go a bit better tonight! :)

Just before I get to the pictures, the winner of the $20 gift certificate towards Jady Baby's products (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sarnia-ON/Jady-babys/118142738218405?v=wall&ref=ts) is..........oh ok...I can't pick just one. Way too complicated to figure all that out. So 1 person wins for being the closest with the weight guess and 1 person wins for being the closest with the date guess. :)

Jennifer Gilbert who guessed 7lbs 10oz

Jennifer Hodgins who guessed December 3rd

Congratulations to both of you!!! :)

Enjoy the pictures!

All Grown Up...Really?? & A Little Giveaway :)

With only a few weeks left until I have my 3rd little one I'm sitting here thinking, 'really? am I SERIOUSLY old enough to have THREE kids?!?!' I know that I got married young (20), but I can't get over the fact that my hubs and I have been married for just over 6 years, we have 'grown up' jobs, pay bills and manage a house.

It's not just us...all our friends seem to be all grown up too. In fact, a few of my friends from church youth group are now having their 2nd or even 3rd babies. A few of my friends from that circle are just starting their families and I'm so happy for them! One of those friends is Victoria. She's just about 32 weeks pregnant with her first - a little girl that they are going to name Charlotte.

Yesterday Victoria, her husband Kyle and I braved the cold and brisk wind to go out on the town for some maternity pictures. We had originally planned to do the pictures at a few older buildlings in downtown Newmarket and then I realized that the Santa Claus parade was going to be doing that route at the same time! I thought it was kind of funny that we had to change our plans for Santa. :) We did manage to get a few shots in at the locations that we had hoped for, but then went over to a great older church and wrapped up there.

I'm so happy to be able to give Victoria these special captured memories that she'll one day share with her beautiful little Charlotte.

GIVEAWAY DETAILS!!!
Everyone loves to have a little bit of fun, especially when you don't have to do a lot of work for it, right? So I want everyone to throw their two cents in and take a guess at some details about baby #3!

Some of you may have seen me mention this week on Facebook that I had received a pair of booties from Jady Baby's. I am SO excited to use them on my little one and on future newborn photo shoots!! I am so impressed by the quality of Jade's products and so I'm giving away a $20.00 gift certificate towards the purchase of her products! Check out her products on her website: http://www.wix.com/jadybabys/designs


Just one example of Jade's products - Booties (think Robeez, but handmade by an Ontario Mama in a variety of fabric options!)

Here is what you need to do to qualify:
1) Answer the following 2 questions (you must answer both) either by commenting on the blog (please include your e-mail address so that I can contact you if you win!) here or on my Facebook fan page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tara-Collyer-Photography/125613657465024?ref=ts
- When will baby arrive (just a date)?
- How much will she weigh?
2) You need to also 'like' Jady Baby's fan page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sarnia-ON/Jady-babys/118142738218405?v=wall&ref=ts
3) Last but not least...if you aren't already a fan of mine on Facebook, you need to 'like' my page too :) http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tara-Collyer-Photography/125613657465024?ref=ts

The person who's guess is the closest to actual details of the baby's birth wins! It's THAT easy! :) Oh and to make it even easier (maybe...), I'm providing you with the following details:
- Due date: December 13, 2010
- I was induced at 6 days overdue with my 1st and 5 days overdue with my 2nd
- 1st was 8lbs 11oz, 2nd was 8lbs 12oz
- I never had any kind of Braxton Hicks, etc with the first 2, but I've had them for SEVERAL weeks this time (although apparently that means nothing)

Can't wait to see the guesses! :)

Oh How Fast They Grow...

I'm sure many of you remember me posting pictures back at the end of June of my friends twin girls who were a month old at the time (see pic below). They were born at about 4 1/2 lbs and just over 5lbs. They were definitely the smallest little babies I had ever held, especially compared to the toddler-size children that I seem to have. lol!

I have really enjoyed watching them grow and change over the last 6 months. I'm still constantly in awe of how perfect they are considering how many things could have gone wrong. I remember praying for their Mom and them constantly that they would all be healthy and safe and be born at just the right time.

When I was asked to take Christmas pictures for them last weekend I was really excited! (I love repeat clients!) The girls were SO good about having their pictures taken. They looked where we wanted them to, they sat with their big brother and didn't scream and they didn't puke either. :)




On a similar note, I'm excited/nervous to have another little babes entering our family soon (I'm 36.5 weeks! YIKES!). My due date is December 13th, but I'm not sure what to expect with this baby as my other 2 were overdue. I've been told that because this is my 3rd and because my soon-to-be middle dude and this baby will be so close together that I should expect to go on time or early. Kinda wondering what other people think....maybe it's time for a little contest. :) Stay tuned!

Family Memories

It's at this time of year that we start to build up towards a lot of family time. I really enjoy this time of year because it means that we get to see some family members that we don't usually see often. This year with prepping for baby #3's arrival things have been quite a bit busier and I've had a hard time getting into the Christmas mood. I find it so stressful trying to find that perfect gift.

A few weeks ago while shopping with my Mom we had a discussion about Christmas. We both agreed that Christmas shouldn't be about that 'perfect' gift or trying so hard to please people. Shouldn't it be more about spending time together and enjoying each other's company?

This past weekend I had the pleasure of meeting and working with a family that is really taking that thought to heart. It was so sweet to see them interact with each other. The way they put their arms around each other, the looks they gave each other when their eyes met and their hands fit perfectly together.

Carmen puts it into words so wonderfully "spending quality time together as a family and making great memories are very important. No matter how big your struggles in life are as long as we have each other and GOD is there giving us strength, courage and hope we will be able to overcome all struggles."

It was very important for Carmen and her family to have not only memories of time together as a family, but photographic memories as well. I am so honoured to have been able to capture these memories for you, Carmen. I hope that these captured memories will bless you as much as you have blessed me by really hitting that important message home for me and my family.

Big Fam Fun!

Today I wrapped up part 2 of a photo shoot with a big family - 14 people! Katherine contacted me because she wanted to have a custom shoot put together. We did a lot of different shots with different groups of people in her family. Lots of coordination and a check list (thanks Katherine!) kept it running smoothly and made sure that we didn't miss getting what she wanted.

It was great to work with a group this size! One of my favourite parts was when Katherine jumped on her husband's back for the 'couples' picture. This got the kids attention and when it was time for a shot of the grandkids they copied the idea. Lots of laughs! :)

In order to get one of the individual shots at the end I had to get down on my belly (not to worry...no baby was harmed in the making on that pic! lol!) on the coooold bridge. But...I thought, 'hey...I can't ask my client's kid to lay down on the cold steel bridge if I'm not willing to do the same.' so...I did it. Trying to get up reminded me that I am in fact 35 weeks pregnant (tomorrow). lol!

Thanks so much for allowing me to work with you guys! Hope you enjoy your preview!