Everyday Art Photography {blog} » Rory Jean

merry christmas! | bismarck, nd natural light child photography

Megan — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 02:20:41 +0000

As I said in my last post, I’m doing a little rewind. After getting a horrible stomach bug (like just about half of Bismarck), my Christmas was spent mostly on the couch, so I didn’t get a chance to share these with you when I had originally planned. Please close your eyes and imagine that today is Christmas. Okay, now open your eyes, and take a look at how adorable these little Milbradt’s are! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas…sans the flu!

Our 2011 family Christmas card

Megan — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 03:19:16 +0000

REWIND! Okay, so just for a minute, let’s pretend that Christmas has not already come and gone. Because I was planning to share this before Christmas, but then, well, Christmas came and everything was crazy busy and it didn’t happen. I thought it would be okay to wait until Christmas day, but it turns out Santa brought our family the stomach flu that has been going around Bismarck, and then absolutely nothing has been accomplished at my house ever since. So…

Merry Christmas from my family! This was the card we sent out this year, using some of the photos that my dear friend Erin, of Erin Vournas Photography, gave us. It was a folded card, so the bottom image was the inside spread, and it folded on the left edge. I think this cards is one of my faves!

jessie & buzz | halloween 2011

Megan — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 03:13:13 +0000

Oh, did we ever have fun this Halloween! First of all, Cohen is OBSESSED with Toy Story, and has been since early this summer. I had other ideas for cute coordinating costumes, but in the end, it was a no brainer to let him be Buzz, and Rory was super excited about being Jessie. Another bonus for me…no sewing! The Disney store saved my sanity this year.

I had a special location planned for a mini session with them in their costumes the day before Halloween, but Cohen woke up crabby from his nap, so it didn’t happen. Probably for the best because that would have meant we’d deal with two major meltdowns. We knew once he saw this costume there was no way it was coming off, and we were right! Before that meltdown, though, we had so much fun. We took the kids into town to trick or treat, and they had a blast. Cohen walked up the sidewalks repeating over and over, “Happy Halloween! Happy Halloween! Happy Halloween!” On and on, in his tiny little voice. It was adorable. Rory was running from house to house, with pure excitement. And it was seriously the most beautiful night. Not usual Halloween weather for North Dakota, that’s for sure.

Anyway, here are some photos in front of our house before all the excitement began.

Oh, and this face? That’s what you get when you tell him, “No candy!” He has such a mean mom!

Everyday Art Photography | Bismarck, ND children’s photographer

1st day of kindergarten

Megan — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 02:32:40 +0000

It went off without a hitch! It sounds like she had a great day. She was a bit cranky this evening on the way home, but once we got some food in her and a little down time, she had all sorts of stories to tell and even a new song to sing.

It was so funny, this morning, I wanted to make sure to get a couple of photos of her before we left. I figured I’d spare her the embarrassment of me bringing the big camera to the school. Last year when she started pre-k (ugh, look how much she’s changed!), she was pretty annoyed with that. So, I was rushing her to eat her breakfast, which I guess made her think that we were going to be late. She was quite concerned and asked me no less than six times if we were running on time. That’s my girl!

I’m so glad she had a good day!

Everyday Art Photography | Bismarck, North Dakota kid and family photographer

the day before kindergarten

Megan — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 19:10:54 +0000

Oh, what a week. Tomorrow marks another huge milestone in the life of our Rory Jean; the first day of kindergarten. It seems like that is all we’ve talked about for the last month, and it has been so exciting, but this week everything has come so fast. I am feeling overwhelmed by all of the details. Forms, fees, lunch tickets, drop off’s, after school programs, dress codes. I have put it all off in hopes of remaining in denial as long as possible, but now I think I am behind, so the stress added to the fact that my first-born is going to kindergarten…it may be too much.

Last night, we were in the car and she said to me, “Mom, it’s okay if you cry a little bit when I go to school” I asked her why she thought I was going to cry. “Because I’m all growed up,” she said. Ugh, she is NOT all “growed up,” but today, it does sort of feel like it. Let’s hope that the rest of the many milestones to come don’t get any harder than this.

Enough about me, though. Rory is going to kindergarten! She has been so excited, but we went to the school today to take care of some things, and I could see it. She’s nervous. I know she’ll do great, though. I’m so proud of the smart and confident girl that she has become in the last five years, and I look forward to seeing the girl she becomes in the future. I can’t wait to see how she changes in the coming years; the things she’ll learn, and the interests she’ll have.

On Sunday evening, Rory and I went for a walk to take some photos of her. A photo adventure, as she called it. I enjoy spending time like that with her so much. We had a blast. She’s got tons of ideas, she’s silly, she has the biggest smile and an even bigger laugh to go with it, she’s my beautiful baby girl. And, as of tomorrow, she’s a kindergartener!

Music: Mindy Gledhill, Whole Wide World

01 IMG_6079_5x7 IMG_6113_5x7 IMG_6126_5x7 IMG_6171_5x7 IMG_6180_5x7 IMG_6225_5x7 IMG_6231_5x7 IMG_6235_5x7 IMG_6236_5x7 IMG_6242_5x7 IMG_6243_5x7 IMG_6253_5x7 IMG_6262_5x7 IMG_6268_5x7 IMG_6272_5x7 IMG_6288_5x7 IMG_6294_5x7 IMG_6297_5x7 IMG_6312_5x7 IMG_6313_5x7 IMG_6320_5x7 IMG_6336_5x7 IMG_6338_5x7 IMG_6342_5x7 IMG_6350_5x7 IMG_6374_5x7 IMG_6378_5x7 IMG_6380_5x7 IMG_6383_5x7 IMG_6400_5x7 IMG_6413_5x7 IMG_6415_5x7 IMG_6417_5x7 zzz

Everyday Art Photography | Bismarck, North Dakota back-to-school kid photography

time for tea | bismarck, north dakota children’s photographer

Megan — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 02:25:10 +0000

Her “purple blankie” was given to her by her grandma when she was first born. Who knew she’d grow so attached to it? Kitty is from our very first trip to Barnes and Noble together. She had just learned to walk, and she walked right up to the first shelf she saw that was at her level, grabbed the kitty, and refused to let go. So he came home with us, and he has slept in her bed ever since. Hunny Bunny was given to her by the Easter bunny on her first Easter. Another friend who is always by her side. He is being propped up by her children’s Bible, which sits next to her bed. We’ve read through it, front to back, twice since she received it last Christmas. I’ve put it away in the closet many times, worrying about what might happen if her brother gets a hold of it, but it always ends up back next to her bed. The tea set was a Christmas gift when she was three, and is one of her most cherished toys. And the doll, the special gift she received when she turned five.

This weekend, I came up from switching the laundry around, and I found her quietly playing. It is funny how just one photo can say so much about her. All that is important in her five year old world is right there. Add this to another moment that I never want to forget…

american girls | bismarck, nd child and family photographer

Megan — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 03:20:41 +0000

The main reason for our girls trip to the Mall of America was to visit the American Girl store. Rory received her own American Girl doll for her 5th birthday, and she had been looking forward to our trip for months. I must admit, I was pretty excited, too! It was such an experience taking her there, and I can’t say it enough times; it is something I will never forget. I didn’t get any time to really take any images of us shopping in the store, but while we were there, Juliet got her ears pierced at the salon. That was important to Rory because she also got her ears pierced that day. And Rory even picked out matching pajamas for her and Juliet! Of course, we had to have lunch in the bistro, and it was an extra special treat for the girls. They loved pouring (and drinking) the dolls their pink lemonade with the mini pitcher and tea cups. At the end, the waitresses brought Rory a special little treat and sang her happy birthday! So much fun! And so much pink!

mall of america adventures | bismarck, nd child photographer

Megan — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 02:59:39 +0000

So, as I mentioned in my last post, we’ve had all sorts of exciting things happening. One of those was our big girls’ trip to the Mall of America. We had such a wonderful time together, and I could not think of a better way to celebrate Rory turning five. I will never forget the amazing time we had together. {Warning: I know the quality of these photos is not that great, but I still love them anyway. I was not about to carry my camera all over the mall.} Some snapshots and iPhone photos of our adventures…

We started out with a visit to the Sea Life Aquarium, where we saw so many incredible things. The highlight for me was a sea turtle the size of…I don’t even know what. It was enormous!

The next morning, we got up right away to go shopping and have lunch at the American Girl store, something Rory had been looking forward to for months. Lots of photos on that in the next post!

After that, we spent the afternoon at Nickelodeon Universe; the girls had an absolute blast! We even got to see Dora and Boots there; that was a major highlight, especially since I had just talked Rory into going on a water ride in which we came off completely soaked from head to toe and she was in tears. I thought she was going to never go on another ride again, but thank goodness for Dora. She saved the day!

At one point, Rory and I were on a ride together and she screamed, “BEST.DAY.EVER!” Another moment I will never forget.

And as if we couldn’t have any more fun in a day, Rory got her ears pierced at the Mall of America! My big girl didn’t even cry!

We ended the day with a fancy (for a five year old) supper at The Cheesecake Factory and a small photoshoot at the most gorgeous park I’ve ever been to. Amazing. I could say it again and again, but that is the only word that describes our weekend. Okay, maybe exhausting would describe it fairly well, too.

happy 5th birthday, rory! | bismarck, nd family photographer

Megan — Mon, 23 May 2011 02:30:13 +0000

My sweet girl turned five today! Pretty crazy! We celebrated most of the day yesterday, and once again, she didn’t have any fun at all. Can’t you tell?

We started out with a little party with a few of her friends. They were so silly together! Entertainment included making bracelets, coloring mermaids, eating cupcakes and fruity floats (orange and raspberry sherbert plus sprite), and a punching balloon fight! Then, later that night, we had our family over to celebrate some more with pizza and cake. Here are a few details from the party…

I was pretty excited with how the cake turned out, and Rory thought it was fun to keep the colored inside a surprise for the guests! It was delicious, too!

And one last photo of Rory with her new bff, Juliet. We have a trip planned to the Mall of America in a couple of weeks to visit the American Girl store, and she has been wishing for her out of the catalog for a couple months now, so I was very excited to give this to her.

happy easter! | bismarck, nd family photographer

Megan — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 05:39:31 +0000

Well, it is becoming a tradition for me to blog photos from our egg dying every year. I always love looking back on photos of the kids doing something annually. It is just fun to see how much has changed in only a year. This was Cohen’s first year dying eggs, so to say the process has changed this year is an understatment! They both took it very seriously, and were sad when all the eggs were colored.

So to begin, here are the photos from 2009, 2010, and 2011…

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter! I am just hoping for one that does not involve snow!