Where have I been you ask?  This pretty much sums up my life as of late:

The Mychalowch Family is moving!  Buying and selling a house now ranks at the top of my stress level list.  To say we suffered a few bumps and bruises along the way is an understatement.  We were fortunate enough in this crazy market to sell our home and closed on it early this week.  It was bittersweet.  Exciting because we are starting a new chapter and sad because we lived in that home for 11 years.  It is the only house my youngest has ever known! 

And, today, we closed on our new home!  It is a day for celebration to say the least.  The support along this journey that we received from our close friends, family, from our agent, and even our mortgage broker, has been tremendous…overwhelming even.  With the ups and the downs that took place, we could not have asked for a better and more loyal group of friends standing by us and people working along side of us.  If, by the way, you are looking for a super fabulous real estate agent in the Oakland County and surrounding areas, I cannot say enough good things about Kim Nagy-Street with Birmingham Max Broock.  Simply put, she is Uh-Ma-Zing.  She stood by us through every bit of craziness.  I am forever grateful for her patience, talent and new friendship.  Now the fun part begins for us!!  First stop?  Restoration Hardware!  Lovin’ their stuff right now!

Before we moved out of good ‘ol 30719, I took a few photos for the scrapbook.  Because I want my kids to remember everything about their young years.  The ugly “macaroni” chandelier in the bathroom that I grew to love (it wasn’t really macaroni, but it looked like it!); the bedroom wall where naughty Luke etched his name into the paint with his fingernail; the super steep and awesome sledding hill where one of the boys was bound to end up injured every winter; the stair that our stubborn beagle, Harley, decided to gnaw on one day; the claw foot tub that held many calgon-take-me-away soaks; the very worn oil lanterns that lit up many late night gatherings with friends; the u.g.l.y. brass fixtures in the main bath that I never got around to updating; the tree next to the deck with a hole carved out where a mama raccoon would take up shop every spring to bring little raccoon babes into the world; the weathered sign adorning the gazebo that reminded us to live, laugh and love.  While only images our family can appreciate and recall countless memories from, I wanted to share a little slice of “me” here on the blog.  Thanks for checking in!  Will be back around these parts soon….if the massive amounts of boxes and paper do not consume me!

Logan wrapped up her Baby’s First Year plan with me back in December.  Yes, I have been an uber blog slacker.  But when I realized I didn’t blog her one-year session, I had to post.  The way her cake smash panned out was hilarious.  Let’s just say she wasn’t a fan!  I warned Mom ahead of time that not all babies dive in, some are just completely overwhelmed and confused.  I always give warning because there are such high expectations that baby will be covered in cake by the end of the session.  Logan is one of those babies that wanted absolutely nothing to do with sugar!  She was, actually, okay until she touched the cake….then it all went down hill.  Mom & Dad have great photos for the scrapbook and a hilarious story to share with her when she is older.  For me, its not about the icing covered face….its about the memory…..and showing this set to Logan 15 years from now should cause some giggles.

I started photographing Joseph when he was three months old and he just recently turned TWO!!!  I am honored that Mom & Dad trust me with Joseph’s milestone moments and sincerely look forward to their visits!  There is no question that Joseph is all boy….he’s on the go, go, go…pause and rest are not in Joe’s vocab.  Sorry “B” Family, but being the mom of three boys, I can assure you that relaxation is not in the cards for you anytime soon! 

Happy New Year peeps!  Wow.  My last post was on November 29th.  I’ve been just a tad bit busy!!  While December is usually my month to take off, I ended up working the majority of the month.  So then it was my plan to take this first week of January off….and that didn’t happen either!  I finally feel like I am getting caught up, feeling like I am starting 2012 off on the right foot.  I do have a lot to blog about, but its going to have to sit tight for just a couple more days.  I promise I won’t leave you hanging for a month and a half again! 

Below is a scan of January’s “Parenting Is” spot in Metro Parent.  This shot is from a session with one of my favorite families (shout out to the “Z” Fam!).  Dad and little man Jonah are missing from the shot….and now I cannot recall why!!!  Eh, boys – - they probably took off early to watch some football!  Enjoy Z Family….if you haven’t snagged a copy for yourself yet, I have a few for you!

Also below is a scan of the newest cover of Metro Baby.  While I nearly forgot that I even took the set with this little one (this Metro Baby shoot was nearly a year ago!), I’m super excited about how the cover turned out.  Baby Akira is such a gorgeous little babe – I could have spent all day photographing her!!  Yesterday I shot the 2012 covers for Metro Baby….but I promised I wouldn’t blog the images until after they are published in print.  Heads up, they’re super cute!!!

Check back again soon!

 You’ve met the “S” Family here on the blog before.  But this is the first glimpse of Baby Tayah.  The “S” Family has been coming to me for what seems like forever.  I’ve witnessed their children grow taller, mature, throw temper tantrums, shed crocodile tears and belly laugh.  The last time I posted about the “S” Family, I honestly didn’t think I would be seeing them again…..didn’t think I would have the opportunity to photograph and meet Baby Tayah.  Lucky for me, the building of their new southern home would not be complete before Baby Tayah’s arrival and I would have another opportunity to document this newest, sweetest moment in their lives.  With that said, the “S” Family will be moving a few states away in just a few short days.  I will miss them terribly.  I am thankful for Facebook, where I can stalk them to my heart’s content and watch their kiddos grow from miles away.  Best of luck “S” Family.  I hope the move is seamless!  

I last posted that the OpLove Today Show airing would happen on Thanksgiving. There’s been another change up! It will now air this Friday, November 25th at approximately 7:50am. Happy Thanksgiving!!

This first image is just perfect.  I think its my new favorite for the moment!!!  Erin is a serious little one.  I was (no joke) sweating trying to get her to give me some sort of giggle.  But even after I did win over some smiles, this first one really captures Erin’s curious and apprehensive stage.  Love it!!

Ahhh, Miss Bella!  She makes the craziest set of faces.  You may recall her wicked stink eye from six months ago (see here)…..and if you’re wondering….yep, she’s still got it (see bottom b&w below)!!   We had to do her session in two doses…it was all just too overwhelming for her!!  Its tough being one, you know.  It just proves that kids have their own agenda and, as perfect as you want the day to be, sometimes you just have to sit back and let your little one call the shots.

Baby Lucia came into the studio a couple weeks ago.  Sweet little bundle of yummy goodness!  I generally prefer to photograph babes less than 10 days new, but Lucia came in at 14 days.  She took a wee bit of time, but she did great!  Congratulations again Mom & Dad….your little one is divine!

Miles Turned One!  I feel like he has changed so much since his nine month session.  He looks like a little man now…longer and fuller hair, chubbier cheeks and the gummy grins have been replaced with sweet chomper smiles.  His one year session was in early October and the weather was just perfect (so many October sessions were shifted around due to non-cooperating weather).  Miles was on his game with the countless expressions….just love this little guy!!

You can see Miles’ 9 month session here and his 6 month session here

Okay, seriously….enough already with the gorgeous hair.  Every one of my seniors this year has had to-die-for-hair.  And its just not fair.  Meet Kaitlyn!  Kaitlyn is in her final year of high school at Lake Orion.  I had a blast with her! 

I received news yesterday that the Operation Love Reunited spot on the Today Show will now air on Thanksgiving Day and not Veteran’s Day.  So, if you’re like me and are planning on cooking your socks off on Thanksgiving morning, or your kiddos hijack the remote and refuse to give it up until Santa makes his appearance at the parade, go ahead and set your DVR! 

On a completely unrelated note, here’s the newest addition to our family.  His name is Flippy Pipplebottom (don’t even ask).  Well, actually he’s not the newest.  We started with Flippy Pipplebottom and he looked lonely and sad….so we added Hank-Bo-Bank to the fish family.  Even after bringing in a play mate, Flippy still looks sad.  Quite a pathetic looking little fish, isn’t he?  The fish were purchased a couple months ago as a reward for my five-year-old and now reside in his room.  A reward for what you ask?  Honestly, I cannot even recall….that’s parenting for ya!

I met Caleb a few weeks ago and, while Caleb’s gallery is going to be available in a few short days, I just had to blog about him.  I learned a few tidbits about Caleb from his mom pre-session.  “Very Curious, loves keys” – check.  Caleb was quick to ask to hold and inspect my keychain, inquire about and push all the buttons and was quite disappointed that my car did not beep when pushing the lock button.  “Has very curly hair…its his trademark” – check.  Caleb’s sweet curls are to die for.  “Shy at first, but warms up quickly” – check.  Caleb was right at home in the studio, showed me his trucks, rode my tricycle in circles and asked nearly 3,002 questions (hey, he’s three!!).  I truly enjoyed hanging out with Caleb.  As sweet and cuddly as newborns are, three year old boys ROCK!

**10 comments earns Caleb a complimentary 5×7.  Leave him some L.O.V.E. below!

While I am very behind on blog posts, Elisyn deserves a bit of blog love….and so much more.  Tomorrow morning, Elisyn will be having open heart surgery.  I cannot pretend to understand the logistics of it (for I am no surgeon), but I know that since I met Elisyn last week, she has taken over my thoughts.  Mom and Dad, as you can imagine, are under a great amount of stress.  I hope these photos make you smile….if only for a fleeting moment. 

Jeff and Jaime’s hearts and arms stretch larger than Montana and Texas combined.  They truly give LOVE a new definition.  J&J – simply put, you are amazing.  Please know I will be thinking of you and Elisyn (and the rest of the “K” Clan) tomorrow and will be stalking your blog for an update.  xxxx

For more information on the Inspiration Through Art program, please visit: http://www.inspirationthroughart.org/

I am so excited to be sharing such good news with you all!  If you’ve visited my website before, you know that I participate in an organization called Operation Love Reunited.  While it really is so much more, in a very basic nutshell the program offers complimentary photo sessions to military families.  It is such an awesome organization!  To read about OpLove, please visit: www.oplove.org

NBC’s “The Today Show” will be featuring a story on Operation Love Reunited on Veteran’s Day.  OpLove’s Admin asked participating photographers worldwide to submit images for submission to The Today Show for their story.  I am totally geeked for two reasons.  (1) OpLove is a fantastic organization and I cannot say enough good things about it.  I am sincerely honored to be a part of it.  To say the families I’ve met thus far have been absolutely amazing would be an understatement.   NBC’s broadcast is such a wonderful opportunity for OpLove and its photographers.  What better way to get the word out to people!!  (2) Out of the 1000′s of images submitted to OpLove for consideration, admin had to whittle submissions down to their favorite 50 to submit to NBC for their story.  OpLove admin chose images I took from the family session below to be submitted to The Today Show.   So, so, so awesome that I made the cut, right?!?

While I do hope NBC chooses to include some of the sweet moments below, I am just uber excited that OpLove is getting the coverage and recognition it so very much deserves.  If you are a military family, or know of a military family, with a service member who will be deployed soon, is currently deployed, or will be coming home soon, please consider pointing them to www.oplove.org.

Set your DVR’s for recording on Veteran’s Day, November 11!!