Since moving into our new home, we’ve had quite a few animal visitors.  Daily we have deer, rabbits, a really huge groundhog and wild turkeys hanging out in the yard.  Crazy thing is that we are far from country living!  The landscapers found a bunny nest last week and when one of them was telling me about the little fuzzies, he was almost squealing.  It was so funny to see a big burly landscaper excitedly tell me, “You have bunnnnnnies!!!”  When I first checked on them, they didn’t even have their eyes open yet.  And they’re growing fast.  They’re a bit smaller than, let’s say an iPhone, now.  We can’t really tell how many little fuzzballs are in there – at least six.  I’m doing my best to stay away from the nest, but when you have baby bunnies outside your front door (literally….she made her nest in our azaleas), how could you *not* peek?!?!

The uber surprised look on his face says it all.  Poor kiddo with a photographer for a mom = no privacy….not even in the shower.

I had Baby Dominic and his big sister Tessa in the studio recently.  I just have to say that Tessa is the most patient almost-three-year-old I’ve come across.  She stuck around for Dominic’s entire session, not complaining once.  It was quite amazing!!  Baby Dominic was just dreamy…..and almost on cue, he offered up lots of sweet baby smiles.  Ahhh, newborns…they make me all warm and fuzzy.  Thank you “M” Family for choosing me to work with your family!

I photographed the “G” Family a couple weeks ago.  I have been so fortunate to work with so many families who are kind and easy going.  The “G” Family was no exception.  Cracking jokes, goofing around with their kiddos, and trusting me with my sometimes crazy visions….families like this truly make my job an easy one.  Thank you “G” Family!

Oh My Gush!  No, that’s not a typo!  Georgia was one of the sweetest little babes I’ve had in the studio and I could have gushed over her all day….and then some.  She was such a laid back little lady, never making a peep when I adjusted her.  It took all I had to stop photographing her.  I kept saying, “well, let’s try one more set” and sweet Georgia complied every time.  Georgia Mae was an absolute dream!!  Congratulations “G” Family on the arrival of your baby girl.  Your family of four is just perfect!

Isabella wrapped up her baby’s first year plan a couple weeks ago.  And her cake smash was a success.  I asked Mom and Dad if they wanted to place bets on whether she’d dig in or walk away from her sweet cupcake.  Both chimed in with a “she’ll go for it.”  Mom and Dad know best…..they were so right!  But Isabella was so fragile with her treat, carefully picking off each sprinkle one by one and savoring each bite. It was absolutely adorable!

Oh My.  Imagine my giggle fit when I pulled this image off my camera.  Even my 6 year old was smiling at the cuteness!  I adore this little guy anyway (and am so sad his baby’s first year plan is up!), but capturing a priceless moment like this one gives me perma-grin.  And seriously, this kid has faces….and lots of them.  I just had to show a quick collage of the Many Faces of Miles.  I went back to check my camera data and the set below was taken over the course of 1 minute, 10 seconds.  Its crazy how animated this guy is!

Lots of images in this post!  I documented Levi’s one year, we did a cake smash, and did a few of Alexa.  When the “Y” Family’s gallery became available, I had to apologize for the amount of pictures.  But seriously, when you have kids as gorgeous as these two, how could you not be shutter happy?!?

I welcomed the “M” Family back into the studio a couple weeks ago.  So much changes over the course of a year!  Alexis was no longer shy, and I’m pretty sure Logan grew 12 inches!  My new favorite image came from this session….photographing adorable children every day, you can imagine how many photos I review and edit.  But there’s something about this one of Alexis that just drew me in, the moodiness of the processing, her expression….I just love it!  As always, “M” Family, it was great to see you!

His wheels are constantly in motion, always thinking….I often wonder how, at the end of the day, he is not completely fried, exhausted and sleeping by 9:00pm.  He’s beyond exceptional at what he does and his clients choose him because he delivers.  Every time.  Yet, Andy is not the type to brag and dance in the spotlight.  So it came as no surprise that after achieving an amazing victory in a lawsuit (to the tune of an $80 Million+ judgment) that spanned multiple states and jurisdictions over the course of 11+ years, he was…..humble.  I’m fairly certain he had no idea what was in store for his modest self.  Interviews and write-ups prepared on local and national levels, a heavy flow of congratulatory emails from his peers, a different kind of recognition and respect amongst the legal community.  And the inquiries continued to spawn into broader curiosity.  More recently, a New York based magazine publication, “The Suit,” interviewed Andy not only about his Texas victory, but how he adjusted his business practices and embraced technology to work with and cater to clients and courts outside of Michigan.  The article is below, but can also be read via this link: http://issuu.com/thesuitezine/docs/issue46

I think he’s pretty amazing (although I thought so before he became a big deal) and am proud to share his accomplishments.  I’m excited to see what he does next….because, after being married for 8 years, I know he always has some sort of magic hiding up his sleeve.

Andrew Mychalowych is the managing partner of Siciliano, Mychalowych & Van Dusen (SMV Law Offices) in Farmington Hills, Michigan.

Okay, seriously.  When you have children in front of your lens that are this photogenic, how do you choose *just a handful* to put on the blog?!?  Better yet, how do my poor clients narrow down their entire gallery to place an order?!?  Mom has been trying to get one picture of the two kiddos together since Marlow was born….nine months ago!  I think the image below is definitely a keeper.  And, believe it or not, it was a last minute decision to try the set with the tutu and tie.  We were ready to call it a day when I suggested, “eh, let’s just try it and see how it pans out.”  So glad we tried!

I’ve been waiting to photograph the “B” Family for what seems like forever!  We were supposed to get together back in….oh….November I believe it was.  And I unfortunately had to reschedule.  So we were set for getting together in December.  And they had to cancel.  Worth the wait?  No question!  Super sweet and adorable family!  I’m so glad we were finally able to meet.  Thank you for choosing me to work with your family!

Not long ago I watched my little guy, happy as a clam, skip through the front doors of Kindergarten.  Now, five months later, his class is celebrating their 100th day of school.  Each child was asked to find 100 pieces of something…anything…and bring them in to school today either on poster board, in a baggie, etc.  It comes as no surprise that Luke chose 100 Lego pieces – - he completes 500+ piece sets in just a couple of hours and loves to build, break and rebuild them.  Now the countdown is on to his last day of Kindergarten and the sweet days of summertime!

Isabella showed me virtually every face she’s got…..except smiles!  I’m pretty sure Isabella is just fixed on being mobile.  She is one strong little girl and I swear she was ready to take off running at her session a couple weeks ago!!  I was able to capture a few little grins, but Dad had to work uber hard for them!!!  I’ve said it before….sometimes the best photos are not forced smiles.  Check out this little puckered face for instance.  Priceless!  Is it wrong for me to adore angry baby pictures?

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!