illinois trip - day 4 :: zachary's birthday party

saturday, september 27

saturday morning we did our family photo session and then i did 5, yes f-i-v-e client sessions. (i'll have previews of them up soon). i had so much fun seeing everyone and just click-click-clicking all day. i felt stretched creatively, in a good way. but boy, that was a long day.

after all of my sessions i went back to grandma and grandpa's house where jonah was napping, and then we all headed over to my cousin shannon's house for cute little zachary's 1st birthday party.

happy birthday to you, little guy! look at how cute he is!

when we arrived emily came out to greet us. she is just so sweet with jonah. she just loves him so much and he loves her. now that i think about it it's even more sweet because when we had faith i remember emily being very inquizative about her. i ran into shannon at our chiropractor's office just a few weeks after we had faith and emily was asking me some questions about what happened to my baby. when i told her she was in heaven she just accepted it and seemed ok with the idea. it makes my eyes well up just thinking about the innocence of her questions. grown-ups are so afraid to talk about stuff like that, but kids will just say what they're thinking. it didn't upset me that she brought faith up. it made me happy knowing her memory wasn't just being swept under the rug and emily cared to know about her.

anyway. tangent. so as i was saying, emily just loves jonah and he loves her and so that whole story to say i wonder if there is some sort of connection there. kids are so cool like that, ya know?



the birthday boy



grandma peggy cake. super cute, grandma!

i'm ready for my pinata! lemme out!

big brother tyler playing guitar

big sis, emily

big sis, abby

zachary pulled the first string, but no luck.

jonah went second

i think everyone got a turn, so tyler did the honors of yanking the bottom to bring the rain.

woo hoo! it's raining candy and small toys!


jonah got a little stash with a little help from his generous cousins.

the birthday boy with mommy & daddy

lemme at it! zachary wasn't shy about digging into his cake.

hmmm... using your hands takes way too long. let's go direct.

zachary, how old are you? he's so smart.

hee hee

wow, i'm pooped. i'll have my people open my gifts while i watch.

illinois trip - day 3 :: playing, noodles, apples, asf, monkey party

friday, september 26

friday morning was probably the most relaxed morning of our trip. i think it was the only morning we didn't use our alarms to wake up.

bumble bee winnie was helping jonah fly the hot air balloons.

oops! we forgot jonah's toothbrush. guess you get one of your birthday presents a little early, bundle.

brusha brusha brusha!

we headed over to noodles & co. for some lunch with aunt mowgy.

what a nut!

oh my goodness! have i said how much i love when jonah does this with the head on the folded arms yet? i just love it so much!

jonah: wisconsin mac & cheese

me: pasta fresca with feta

dave: pesto cavatappi no tomato with hot sauce

molly: buttered noodles with chicken

jonah: mook

dave and i picked apples in my parents backyard so grandma could make an apple pie. well, i held the bucket and took pictures; dave did the pickin'. sadly the week was so crazy with birthday parties and running around that mom didn't have time to bake it, but with two peggy birthday cakes in our bellies we still left illinois with plenty of baked goods in our systems.


friday afternoon, my mom, molly and i went to tony's asf (for all you old school rosary/marmion alum, that's "after school formation"). dave stayed home so jonah could nap. thank you, hubby! you rule!

tony's at the way back.

stud.

um, maybe i should add an arrow to this one or something. he's like smack dab in the middle.


no look shot of molly. whoops. nice aim.

so tough.


after asf, molly and i went and picked up the special guest for jonah's party on sunday.

and now to the hackbarth monkey party at rachael's house!

jonah was his usual self and loving all of the attention. here he is with our friend julie.

here are carla & swarup (soon to be married) and and the bearer of the coolest monkey mug gift: michael. i should get a picture of that thing. it rules! thanks michael!

jonah's all clean and ready to party some more (and for family pictures tomorrow). that's just ducky.

me, dave, kylee (my niece) and all of my siblings. oh and jonah being a 2 year old. hey dude, you still have like 29 hours until you're supposed to act like that.


can you tell the difference between these two pictures?

i think swarup enjoyed playing with my camera. nice shot of your fiance, man.

ian, don't fall!

check out that dimple...


julie, me & abby

sweet little baby aj. congrats bri and andrew! he's adorable! and we're so glad you could make it to the party since he showed up a little earlier than planned.



my assistant photographer...

cutie amanders...

my beautiful photog friend laura

whoa! somebody give that kid a bottle! he looks mad.

dad's not sure what to do

no comment.

and last but certainly not least our hostess with the mostest... rachey!

thanks for coming to the party everyone! dave and jonah and i had such an awesome time visiting with all of you! and thanks especially to rachael for hosting! we love you sooooo much!