Babies. Oh babies! I know I'm not alone in saying this, but I cannot get enough of babies. They are the definition of cuteness. They are sweet, innocent, cuddly and if I could have held little Lilly all day long, it still wouldn't have been enough. She is photographers dream for an infant. Lilly is beautiful and loaded with personality already. Luckily, I'm all set on my end with the whole baby thing, so I will go snuggle other people's babies and then hand them back to mom and dad for the sleepless nights. :)

Indian Summer with Kids

I took complete advantage of the indian summer we had the past week and a half. It was perfection! Colors were spectacular and the temperature around 75 degrees on average. Ummmm.... yes please! Can we schedule this again for next year Mother Nature??? In all my busyness, I managed to squeeze in a session with my sister and her family. There is no lacking personality in this group of five. That is for sure. I like it though because it makes pictures with personality. The warmth has left and the cold wet days have resumed while we call get prepped and ready for Halloween and the whirlwind of other holidays that almost immediately follow. I'm working desperately to keep up with the whole three posts a week vow and although it could be worse, I feel as though I could drop the ball any day now. Back to my sister and her crazy (in the best way possible) little family. I've blogged about them before, but I cannot believe how big the kids are getting. Life goes by far too quickly.

Keep smiling! ~ Libby

Family Ties

Nothing is much worse that being unable to get up and do things. I'm a doer. Always been a doer. But alas, I'm having some adverse side effects from my spinal tap yesterday, so I'm stuck on the couch. Thankfully, I have the laptop and I have been able to at least play some catch-up on work. Like editing the photos that I did for my Aunt and her family :) I still get just as giddy knowing I'm going to see family now as I did when I was a kid. It is even better now because I get to see them and take their pictures. How fun is that?! Super fun! The weather was simply amazing and the cider mill was picturesque (lucky for me - eh?). Not to mention on the hiking trail down by the river there was a man playing his fiddle. I included a picture, but I didn't want to interupt him to get a picture from the front. I cannot say enough about my family and how fun they are. Family is right under God in my list of how I prioritize my life, so it means so much to me that they support me in everything I do. Love you all! I hope you enjoy your pictures!

Keep Smiling! ~ Libby

Back to School Mini Session

So I promised details today so I did not have a lot of time to pull together a pretty little picture. I did want to give everyone facts for now and make it all nice looking later. The following are the dates and locations for the mini sessions.

August 22, 2011 - Vassar, MI by the Rail Trail
August 23, 2011 - Frankenmuth, MI at Heritage Park
August 24, 2011 - Midland, MI at the Tridge

If there is enough interest, I will add another session on the 25th for the Grand Blanc area, but I need you to let me know that you would like to have one take place there.

$75 Mini Sessions Include:
1/2 hour session
A disc with 10 to 12 edited images and the copyright


$100 Supreme Mini Session Includes:
45 minute session
A disc with 15 to 20 edited images and the copyright
2 complimentary 8x10 professionally printed photos of your choosing

Please make sure to specify which session you would like when booking so I can plan accordingly.

Also, again this year, I will be featuring Christmas card designs by Sealed Expressions. They're super cute, so you don't want to miss out!

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me: elizabeth@elizabethkphotography.com

When Taking Pictures...

A little advice for my fellow photographers. No matter how cute your kids, never - I repeat NEVER take photos of your own children. There will be whining, possible tears, temper tantrums and attitude by the truckloads. And that is just from you. However, if you have adorable nieces and nephews, click away. Hire someone else to tackle your kids. I have heeded my own advise (with the exception of having another photographer deal with my kids and therefore have no up-to-date pictures of my offspring) and had a quick 10 minute session with my sister's kids and look how gorgeous they are!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

The most wonderful time of the year. Or so they say. I figured whomever wrote that song either was toasted during the holidays and had no idea what was going on, OR never had 3 kids or any for that matter. Running around in a panic for a solid 25 days isn't my idea of the "hap-happiest season of all". Between Christmas programs, cookie making, shopping in the sub-zero temps with 20mph winds whipping around you while trying to lug 3 kids to finding that "perfect gift" only to find out that ISN'T what you mother wanted (no... she wants the Ninja - some blender that promises to do everything but to clean your toilet... If it did clean your toilet however, I would already have it in my own home working away!) really doesn't embody the joyous season the song is describing. Yup, I'm Ebenezer Scroogen' it already. I don't think I would be as bitter if I hadn't had to cancel a long list of get togethers (most recently my "moms who need some time to just sit" movie night) due to my lack of time.

To add fuel to my grumpy little fire, I tried desperately to get a good family photo for our Christmas cards this year. Ok. I'll be a little more honest. "Good" was not what I was looking for. Nope. I was looking for me to resemble something like Heidi Klum (I didn't think it was too much to ask. She has a bunch of kids and still manages to look like a vision!). And for Sean, well, I've always thought of him as the lead singer of Maroon 5. His recent mission to grow out his hair a little though has smothered that little fantasy (but he's still quite a looker in my book). I figured that could be remedied with his GORGEOUS smile. And as for the kids, well, had really high hopes there. I mean, they're truly beautiful in every way and even though I had a tough time getting them in front of the lens, surely since my dad was taking the picture, all would be well. You know what is coming. You know that the foreshadowing is oozing out of this story. So, where do I begin?

For starters, we're late. Of course we're late. Why wouldn't we be? I've permanently been 15 minutes behind in life since Aubrey entered left stage. Late wasn't too bad though. Things really started to get stressful though when my hair decided that it needed to disobey and give me a nice frizz look (really, it was fitting for the way I was feeling). And then, what is that?! Oh, that is just 2 inches of growth since my last dying episode. Fine. So, I'm not going to look like Heidi Klum. There was still the redeeming fact that my family is so good looking that people will look at them and not me. Let the floodgates open. First, Christian decided (without my knowledge) that snow boots were perfect attire for a formal picture. Jamie lost her cardigan. Aubrey puked down her dress within .10 seconds of getting it on and her hair bow got lost. Sean looked great but felt the need to tell me that my shirt was orange NOT red like everyone else. I of course argued this fact until Sean brought out the kids crayons only to match my shirt to the "Red Orange" color. Gee. Thanks Crayola.

Things only snowballed from there. Ever try to take a picture with 5 people in it? One of which is under the age of 1?! Let me tell you. It's no picnic. And it didn't help matters that my dad is slower than his driving at taking these pictures. Me? I'm like paparazzi. The finger is clicking those pictures so fast, it's practically smoking by the end. My dad? About one every 60 seconds. So, once my mom got Aubrey to look at the camera, dad was a little late on the draw. He was also shocked when I said I wanted more than 3 to chose from. Ahhh... Love ya Dad!

Here is the end result (with Christian's boot sloppily Photoshopped out). Heidi isn't here. Nor is the dude from Maroon 5 (because Sean didn't SMILE!!!!). Are we all 5 in it? Yes. And at the end of it all, that is what mattered.



For all the ranting and raving, there is a point to this whole blog. That night, after all the running and frustration of not looking like we have it all together in our family photo, I went through the bag my mom had sent home with me. Mainly bits and pieces of the kids that they had left behind and bits and pieces of myself that had gotten left behind were just waiting to be put away. But in the bottom of the bag there was a little something that was about to remind me what was so "happy" about this time of year. A little knit mailbox ornament. Most people would consider it junk, but upon seeing it, I was in tears. This mailbox is Christmas to me. With Grandma's passing in October, I huge part of my heart has been missing. The final chapter to my childhood is written and the book is closed. But here was part of my childhood back again. This was my favorite ornament that Grandma had. Me and my cousins would write little notes back and forth to each other and stick them inside. When the flag was up, it was pretty thrilling. Even Grandma participated sometimes.

So, it got me to thinking. When had Christmas gotten so crazy? Lately, every year it passes, I'm left wondering where it went and longing to feel the joy that once was. I have now made up my mind. I'm quitting the craziness. I WILL focus on what this Christmas season means. I WILL be more like my little sister who cries every time she sees little Baby Jesus in His manger. Such a beautiful time of the year. Please join me in remembering what were supposed to be celebrating.

Merry Christmas from the Kosciuszko Family!

And So It Begins... Again

Well, here we are at the beginning of another school year. What a morning! It began with a mad dash for my coffee mug and spiraled out of control from there - with my emotions that is.

Jamie was quick to get out of bed. She loves school. I can't quite figure that out since I always hated school and was in tears about the 1st day back up until about 9th grade. Then I just kept the tears on the inside because I thought it might be a little ridiculous coming into school crying. No. Really. I'm a big baby. Christian on the other hand was well, not quite as excited. Mainly, because his teacher is Mrs. Mommy. That's right. I decided to keep the boy home and school him from here. Just this first year and then next year we'll enroll him.

It shouldn't be this difficult really. Jamie went to school last year too. I think a number of things contributed to my sorry emotional state. For one, I'll miss sending her to St. Paul. They love her there and I love that. Everyone knows everyone else and it truly feels like one big loving family. I'm big on that sort of thing. Leaving my kiddo where I know she'll be well taken care of and they appreciate her for who she is. Now, I don't know if she'll just blend into the crowd. Is she just another 2nd grader to this faculty? *Sigh* I suppose she'll make it. She's a great kid and if they miss out on knowing that - oh well. I know who she is and I love her to death.

Time passes and seems to speed up the more I age. I am the mother of a 7 year-old, 5 year-old and a 4 month-old. Scary. Needless to say, there were tears. Then appreciation. Appreciation for all of the hard work and support I have gotten from both my own parents and from my in-laws. So, in my emotional state, like a drunkard, I called my mother-in-law first. And through tears, I left on her VM (because she never answers her dang phone!) a sappy message about how much I value her and her husband. Then, as if I wasn't a mess already, I called my parents. I got their answering machine too (what is the dealio folks?! Doesn't anyone know that it's the 1st day of school?! Geesh!) so I proceeded to stalk them and hunt them down on their cell phone. They were out for their walk, but not to be deterred, I, through even more excessive tears, told them what an awesome support system they are. And it's the truth. I am such a fortunate gal to have such wonderfully amazing people in my life.

So, that was MY first day of school. The kids couldn't have cared less :)

Renee & Nitin

I have to say, I'm a huge fan of courthouse weddings. Nothing against people that have the whole-to-do, but my husband and I got hitched at the courthouse, so I guess it holds a special little place in my heart. So, when my mother-in-law announced that she was tying the knot at the courthouse it seemed pleasant and full of fond memories.

Getting to know Nitin has been a pleasure. Not only is he intelligent and shares a common hobby (can you guess what that might be? ;) ), but he is warm and friendly. We look forward to getting to know him even more as the years go by.

Congratulations to you both!

Lyd-Kid & Joshy Man

A photographers dream. No, really. I'm not just saying that because they're my niece and nephew! They are gorgeous, fun & just altogether wonderful. I only had to show Lydia one time what it was to "smile with your eyes" and that kid had it! America's Next Top Model better watch out! And where do we begin with Joshua? Everything he does is cute (which makes it impossible to punish that kid - Becky somehow manages...). I once again had a great time down south. Back in July? I hope so!!!!