kate • james • photography

Baby G2

So apparently my gift in life is my babies come early.  My first son was 2 weeks early and my second son was 3 weeks early.  Neither time was I ready as far as baby clothes, crib etc.  Physically i was more than ready for both.

When they say all pregnancies are different, they are not kidding.  My first pregnancy was easy peasy.   I was hiking in Maui, walking all over, and never sick.  Sure I was big and uncomfortable towards the end but by all accounts it was a great pregnancy.

My second pregnancy...whoo...different story.  Mind you i was pregnant with boys both times.  So if someone tells you maybe it's a boy/girl cuz your pregnancy is different, don't buy it.  It doesn't matter.

This last pregnancy I was sick for 3 months, not throwing up sick but nauseous 24/7.  Which in my book is even worse.  I swelled up like a balloon.  My doctor estimated 30lbs of water weight.  I think she was right since in the first  3 weeks after Nate was born I lost 35 pounds.  My feet were absolutely horrific.  I had just figured I would now have fat feet forever.  Flip flops were my friend.

And I really did not know how swollen I was until i recently saw pictures of myself in the hospital after he was born.  Whoohoo!! dang girl.

Anyhoo, Nathan decided to arrive on his own time and it was a whole new experience.  Both pregnancies my water broke.  But this time we had to find a place for James on our way to the hospital no more 20 miles in 10 minutes to get to Mary Birch.  It all worked out.

My little NattyMatt was born and just perfect. 6lbs 8oz. 19" long

I think the worst part was because of the Swine Flu epidemic (or hysteria) my son was not allowed to visit us in the hospital and had to wait to meet his little brother.

Do you have any idea how hard that is for a 4 year old to understand?  It was very sad.

So we only stayed the required amount and then went home.  Best part about going home: when I knocked on the door and my son opened the door, my husband had nathan in the seat behind me.  James didn't see him and when he only saw me he said, "well where is he?"  Not "hi mama I missed you," or "yay your home," but "well where is he?"  LOL

And so they met.  James loves his little brother so much.  We have had zero issues, well except that he loves him so much sometimes he squishes him.  But it is cute and Nathan doesn't seem to mind.

 

So it is quite an adjustment from 1 child to 2, but it is so worth it.  James is so excited to be a big brother and Nathan loves him too.  I cannot wait to see them grow up together.

 

More to come...

 

Happy Father's day to my awesome husband and best Mapa in the world...  :)
 

 

time flies...

Well it has certainly been a while since I posted.  What can I say, I have been busy enjoying my fake life as as stay at home mom.  So last post I was 52 days away from maternity leave and playing catch up.  Here we go again.

So my son was due January 30th.  Much like my first son (who arrived 2 weeks early) this one decided to arrive early.  3 weeks early this time. Yes, again I wasn't really ready; although completely happy he was here early and I wasn't pregnant anymore.  He came before I was done working but just before I went crazy from being uncomfortable.

Nathan Matthew was born at 6lbs 8 oz and 19" long and a healthy little man. (separate post to follow about my natty matt)

So I was officially now on maternity leave and let me just say, this time around I enjoyed it so much.  I forgot it wasn't my real life.  Even though I still have a hate hate relationship with doing laundry, the other perks that came with being at home far exceeded any pain from the many loads of laundry.

I was able to get my older son off to school in the morning, pick him up, volunteer at his school, and just feel like I got to be a good mom.  Hang out with my sister in law and husband at school occasionally.  See my God daughter and her fabulous sister daily.   I got to meet and get to know some wonderful mom's from his class. Have one on one contact with his teacher everyday (who is great by the way, he loves her and so do we).  It was the life....

Nathan went every where with me (despite his dislike of the car seat...long car rides of screaming). I got to meet friends for lunch and shopping trips (staying at home is not good for my pocket book, I shop too much).

I got to fly to Northern California for a long stay so it wasn't a stressful visit. My mom came to visit twice and we could just hang out and not worry about work schedules.

I must say my maternity leave was just wonderful.  4.5 months off was not enough and I would do it again in a heart beat if given the chance.

But all good things must come to an end.  I am back at work full time and it feels like I never left.  I miss my fake life as a stay at home mom.  Something I never thought I would like.

But not only did I take time off from my full time job I also took time off from photography.  For a while I felt like I lost my mo-jo.  All my fabulous photog lady friends told me it was normal and it would come back.  And it did - they were right.  Now I just need to get back into marketing and booking sessions.  So let me know if you are looking for some new family portraits, baby portraits, kids being kids...you name it let's do it.

It is bitter sweet going back to work for sure, but such is life and we will find our new routine and be just fine.  Plus I think Licha would be sad if she didn't get to see Nathan and James everyday.  I can not deprive her of her babies :).

Stay tuned I have a  lot of catching up to do...5 months worth at least.

kjp

Point Loma on a Sunday...

Point Loma is beautiful, especially the day I drove out to do a portrait session with Laura's family.  Their house is high up and you can see the ocean.  The view was great, the sky was blue and the sun was shining.

I met the cutest little girl, Maggie. 

 

and her new baby brother Sam.

 

With a little coercing we got some fun shots.  Here is one of my favorites of Maggie with her older brothers.

 

Here are some more fun shots:

 

 

 

They were so much fun and so cute.

Happy Wednesday everyone.

kjp

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REMINDER: If you would like to book session this holiday season please e-mail me at kjpinfo@gmail.com with the dates you are interested in.  You can check my calendar on my website for available dates.

I will not be doing any sessions after December 6th (date could change depending on pregnancy) until Spring 2010.

www.katejamesphotography.com

 

 

and baby makes four...

A few weeks ago I met a great family.  Their daughter is so wonderful and their son is just adorable.  He was a good sport seeing as it was evening and he was the main attraction for pics.

Baby Angelo just wanted to sleep and we kept waking him up.  But he sure was a cute lil tiger.  Here see what I mean:

I wanted to bite his cheeks, but we were trying to get everything in before we completely lost the sun and he was tired, so he slipped by with out even a cheek nibble.  With  a little hard work from his funny looking uncle we got some great little laughs.

 

He even posed for some family shots:

 

While Baby was taking a break we did some shots of the 3 girl cousins, they are all gorgeous and so fun:

 

Look how cute father and daughter are:

After all his hard work Angelo got his wish and he took some Zzz's.

I was exhausted myself.  Being pregnant and rolling around on the ground is not as easy these days.

But looking at the portraits after I am done makes it all worthwhile. 

Stay tuned - more to come...

kjp

*************************************************************

REMINDER: If you would like to book family session this season please e-mail me at kjpinfo@gmail.com with the dates you are interested in.  You can check my calendar on my website for available dates.

www.katejamesphotography.com

 

17wks 4days exactly...

Yesterday was my big ultrasound.  Everything went very well.  We brought James with us and he absolutely loved it.  He was so excited to see the baby on the screen.  He got to see arms, legs, hands the head.  He just loved it and loves the pictures.  So BabyG2 looks great and weighs approx 7 oz.  Which makes me think where did the other 20 pounds I am carrying come from???

Anyhoo, yes we are finding out the sex (we did not with our first).  BUT  the results are in an envelope, at home, sealed, on our bookshelf.  We have not opened it yet to find out.  We are planning on having a  party to tell everyone but not sure when.  I will let you know when we all know.  (wink)

Here is BabyG2 in all his or her glory:

Top pic:  Profile

Bottom pic:  Flexing his/her muscle just like mama and James do.

 

Enjoy!

Stay tuned for baby Reese sneak peek in a  few days.

First day of School

So my son started preschool this year. He is 3.5 years old and was really excited, until....

The first few days we had tears (mostly by me) and they still linger every now and again (me again), but overall he is doing so well and I think secretly loves it.  I know he misses his Licha, but she is waiting for him every day at noon after school.

He has already made two art projects in his first week and also got to see "where jesus lives."  LOL

Too cute.

So here is a picture of him on his first day.  Looking so handsome and big.

 

We are so proud of you big boy.  I love hearing how each day went when I get home.

You get to see your Tia, Fita and Papa every day at school, what a special treat.  I must admit I am jealous that I am stuck at the office.

Keep up the good work.

Back in Action!

OK so I have been away for some time and I really do have a great explanation.  I am 14 weeks pregnant and have been pretty sick.  In fact, the computer was making me sick just looking at it.  I think I am past that part, although still a bit sick, I can finally sit in front of the computer again for longer than 10 minutes.

Not only had I taken time off from blogging but from everything photography.  So hopefully now I am back and ready to go.  LOL

Back in June, :)  I had the pleasure of photographing a lovely family from Northern California in town for some vacation time.  This was no ordinary family either.  Becky, the mommy, and I have known eachother since we were 3 years old.  Trust me when I tell you we have been friends for a very long time.  No need to blurt out how long exactly....

They have the most beautiful family and even though we live far apart now whenever we are togther we do not skip a beat.

We met in Coronado for some sunset beach shots.  Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you guys had a wonderful vacation and it was so nice to hang out for a few days.

See you soon.

kjp

Hello Universe...what are you trying to tell me??

OK so remember the post I did only a few days ago about Fish in Space?  You know the one about how we got a fish because I wasn't ready for a new kitty quite yet?  Well when I got home from work it seems a stray kitty has adopted my backyard as her new home.  She is very cute and very sweet,  loving and playful.  I think she was probably abandoned by someone who lost their home and could not take her with them where ever they were landing.

Meet the kitty who has claimed our yard as her own:

I am not really sure what the universe is doing to me.  I have a huge heart when it comes to animals and this one is tugging at it BIG TIME.  Every time we open our back door she comes running.  When we close the door she goes under the rose bushes and curls up in a little ball and sleeps.  It doesn't help that I can see her all tucked in from my kitchen window either.

Of course my son is already in love with her and has asked his dad if we "can keep the kitty?" 

She has no collar, but it is clear she was or is someone's pet.  I am torn.  I took pics so I could put up some posters for her around the neighborhood. (and of course to show you the irony of my Friday posts) 

Of course I made the horrible mistake, if you don't want a  kitty to stay that is, and fed her.  But she was starving the poor little girl. 

You know I always thought when we got our next kitty it would be a kitten and still lean that way, but I am not sure what to make of our current situation.

This is what she does when you start to pet her:

She rolls over and just purrs and needs her little paws.  She is working it hard!!

I did find out she has also been moonlighting in my neighbors yard for some milk.  LOL  So I think she has it pretty good right now.  I do worry though because we live in an area that has a lot of coyotes and would hate for her to be caught by one of them.  She is safe in our yard but if she ventures out, especially at night, she is fair game.

I am still not sure what our decision will be, but for now we are in a wait and see phase.  I may take her to the vet and see if she has a chip and get her checked out to make sure she is ok.  Or maybe call humane society and see if she can be adopted....who knows.  But how truly ironic that Fridays post was about not being ready for a kitty and then to arrive home after work and one in our back yard is pretty crazy.

Oh and she is a hunter so I am afraid that she may have gotten my scaly friend.  I have not seen him all weekend.  :(

If you know anyone that is looking for a wonderful, playful, loving little kitty let me know.  :(

How can you resist that face?

Fish in Space

So my son has been wanting a pet for a while now.  If he had his choice it would be a kitty.  I am a HUGE kitty lover and would be all for it, but my best girl kitty friend (Chicken) passed away 3 years ago after 14 years together.  I am still not ready to get another... yet.  She was the best cat in the whole world.  She was loving and had such personality and was my very first photography model...and loved it.  :)

So we compromised, I guess.  He got a fish.

Meet Dory:

Dory is our Male Beta fish.  He is so sweet.  He even watches Transformers with my son.  His tank is right next to the TV in my son's room and when my son watches his shows Dory always goes to that side of the tank to hang out.

So Dory is a fish in space.  We have this super cool tank that looks like he is floating in space.  It even has a little space ship top.  My son thinks it is so cool, but I think Mama and Papa thought it was cooler.  LOL  We are geeks.

We feed him together every morning.  And he is always excited to see us and eat his fish balls.  LOL

So it is not a cat that you can cuddle and sleep with, but it will have to do for now.  I find myself talking to him when ever I am in my sons room. And we say good morning to him everyday and good night to him every night.  He is such a  great little fish.  So handsome too.

 

One day we will get a kitty and that will probably be Dory's least favorite day.  LOL

 

 

Have an excellent weekend.

I have one more non-human friend at our house to tell you about...stay tuned.  :)

Catching up...3 in 1

I feel as though I have been on a  speed train.  I have so much to talk about and have not been able to do it yet.  So let's play catch up on some photo sessions I have done.

A few weeks back I flew up to Nor Cal to meet with 3 different families to do a  whirlwind weekend of photo sessions.

It was crazy but a lot of fun.  I got to spend time with my girl friends and drink some wine and also see my God daughter (who will be a big sister in T minus 6 days) and her mama for a night.  So much fun!!

I started off with Baby Dax (3 months).  It was a bit crazy and we kinda ran out fo time but his smile will suck you in and not let you go.  He is just such a  happy little guy you cannot help but smile when you are with him.

Then it was off to Heather Farms Park in Walnut Creek for some family shots.  I met Lindsay, her husband and their daughter Leila and we just walked around to find all the cool spots.  Then we played at the playground.  There are fabulous playgrounds, ducks all over (watch where you step), and a gorgeous rose garden.

  

After two shoots back to back I was ready for some down time.  Some girlfriends came out and we all went back to Amiee's house for some wine and chit chat.  It was just lovely.

Sunday it was back to work.

I met Julie and her family back at Heather Farms.  They were so much fun.  We were in the zone.

 

 

It was a busy weekend but so much fun.  thanks Ame for setting everything up and being my "touch-point"

Then it was back to the airport and back down to San Diego.  Whoa, what a weekend.

Happy Wednesday!!  :)