273/365: Fall

I'm cheating and using a picture from yesterday. (I didn't take any today!)

This is the very first picture I took before my photo shoot yesterday. I took it to get my settings and get a feel of how I could use the field in our shoot. As I'm editing the images, I thought I'd use it for my picture of the day. It shows the beginning of fall. I love fall!

272/365: Dustin's Future

This is the only picture I took today outside of my photo shoot. I have to giggle because the debate of whether we have 2 or 3 kids is a daily one. I think he looks pretty good with three! (and they LOVE him!)

271/365: Sunrise

Hannah's either growth spurting or simply disinterested in sleep. Which, honestly, is fine by me. As tired as I am, I know it won't last forever and I know I'm going to desperately miss these nighttime snuggles once they're gone.

Anyhow, when she was up 3 times in the night then up for the day before 7am, Dustin could see I was hurting. So, he offered to get her so I could sleep another 15-20 minutes. Well, 10 of those minutes were used to take Riley out since he absolutely couldn't wait. During that time, I caught the sunrise. So, I used another few minutes to grab my camera and take a quick picture.

... and that extra 5 minutes of sleep was glorious. Ha!

270/365: Autumn Evening Relaxation

Riley hates the heat. If you let him out when it's hot, he stands at the door waiting to come back in. So, when autumn slowly pushes summer out of the way, Riley is a happy camper. He sits in the front lawn and just stares and smells everything. He is happier than a pig in mud, and so handsome doing it.

We have a gorgeous tree in our front lawn that is so vibrant at its peak foliage. I can't WAIT to take pictures of it!

269/365: Fall Berries

I have been so busy with photo shoots and editing, that picture of the day, the past few days, has been less than a second thought! So, today, when Riley wanted to go out, I put sleepy Hannah on my left hip and my camera in my right hand while Riley roamed around the yard. Leaves are starting to turn more and more, and I can't wait to get pictures of them! I noticed a bush on the side of our house changing a little faster than the leaves and they had these berries. So... here's your picture of the day ;)

268/365: Riley Toys

Last time I checked, this was not a Riley toy. Riley and I are finding ourselves in frequent disagreements throughout the day regarding which toys are his and which toys are Hannah's. Some, I'll let slide because it really can be a daunting task trying to decipher which is which, but an A block?? I'm pretty sure Riley isn't working on his letters.

And yes, he put that block there himself.

267/365: Catchin' Some Rays

It's amazing how cats find the spots of sun throughout the house. The sun just so happened to be hitting the pillow on this chair. Kind of a perfect spot if you ask me! The sun was touching nothing else but Grayson; it was as if he was glowing.

266/365: Six Months Already?

We can't believe Hannah's already six months! Check out her 6 month photo shoot here.

This photo is my favorite. It truly captures "us."

265/365: Sweet Sandy

I've been trying to find a time with my friend Judy to take pictures of her dog Sandy. Recently, Judy and her family learned that Sandy has cancer, and they had to make the very difficult decision to let nature take it's course. Unfortunately, we know that Sandy won't be with us for very much longer, so I was happy to invite them to the park, after I was done a shoot, to take a few pictures of her and the family for some keepsakes.

I snapped only a few pictures, but got some good ones. After I put my camera away, Sandy decided she needed a drink of water from the lake. Instead of taking a drink from the edge, she decided to head all the way in, and it was just hysterical. She was so happy! Of course, I had to grab my camera again!

What a happy dog!

264/365: Got Power?

I got Dustin this shirt for Christmas... even though it was really for Hannah. She can just fit into it. So adorable! She's a proud daughter of a lineman!

Riley wanted to get in on the action, too!

263/365: The Zoo

My mommy friend, Jill, celebrated her birthday today. Jill decided she wanted to take her little boy, Hank, to the zoo for the day, so a few of us joined her. I haven't been to a zoo in quite some time, and it's certainly not the Philly zoo, but I loved seeing all the different animals. Hannah and I loved spending the day with our friends... she was sound asleep before 7!

Checkin' out the otters on their first date to the zoo! 

The peacocks had free reign! 

The otters did some cute tricks for us. 

Lots o' fish with the black swans! (of which I didn't get a decent picture)

Gorgeous ladies and babies! 

The "I'm so tired I'm going to cry, but I'll try and smile" face.

Done! 

262/365: Thank You, Mr. Postman

The UPS guy came by to drop off the new (cheap!) comforter I ordered on Amazon. Riley becomes quite excited when any visitor comes to the door. He wags his tail so hard it looks like his entire back end is going to fly off, and he cry-barks in anticipation of greeting the visitor. Needless to say, he's greatly disappointed when the mailmen knock on the door and then keep going. After the UPS guy drove away, I opened the door to see this...

A dog treat! I can't get over how thoughtful this was. Riley was thrilled to eat this cookie... and so was Grayson.

Tonight is the harvest moon. I wanted to try and take a picture of it, but simply don't have the equipment to take a decent picture. My patience was very thin with my camera and tripod tonight, so I decided to quit before I threw something ;). What can I say? It's a full moon... my lunatic comes out!

This is the best I got. Some blurry moon flare. This moon was so big and bright. I wish I could have done it justice!

261/365: City of Brotherly Love

I went to the city (Philadelphia) today to take some portraits with graffiti as our backdrop. I just loved this photo shoot for so many different reasons, graffiti being the obvious one.

I love the city (NYC is my fav, but Philly is home). I'm always a tad nervous driving there, but I absolutely have a city driver tucked away in my personality. The city is a different world to me since I'm regularly surrounded by corn and horses, but it's a totally different kind of beautiful. I just love it.

What a great day, but I'm pooped! (and I hate the Schuylkill... just sayin')

Photo credit to my gorgeous model today. Thanks, Karissa!

260/365: Sweet Baby Girl

When did I Devian's 6 month photo shoot (here), I loved the white bed at her grandmother's house where we did the shoot. So, I decided to run out to buy some white linens for our guest bed so I could do some similar pictures for Hannah's 6 month shoot (yes, I actually scheduled her photo shoot into my busy calendar!).

Coincidentally, my friend scheduled her daughter's 9 month shoot and sent me a link to pictures she like which just so happened to also be on a white bed! I set the bed up for little Miss Caroline, but before she came over, I did some test shots with Hannah so I could be sure the lighting was okay and I could move necessary things from the background. As I took a couple snaps, I got this one and just adore it. I can't believe she's going to be 6 months on Monday! 

Before nabbing the picture above, I was going to use this one for the picture of the day, so I figured I'd share it. Hannah got up early today... this is what I saw when walking down the stairs. Not so bad!

259/365: The Lehigh Tunnel

I never sleep in the car. If I fall sound asleep, I have to be incredibly tired. On our way home today, I shut my eyes and actually began to doze. Suddenly, despite my eyes being closed, I could tell it became dark. It registered that we were going through the Lehigh Tunnel. It's a short tunnel and doesn't take long to drive through, so in a short time, I processed that we were going through the tunnel, and that I should take a picture. I quickly opened my eyes, ripped off the lens cover, turned it on, metered and snapped. I had no time at all to even pay attention to my settings, only the exposure. There was no time. I looked at my screen and this is the shot I got... I actually really like it. Go figure!

I'm so glad I unexpectedly got this shot. I've been in this tunnel more times than I could possibly ever count. Having had a "Mountain House" in the Poconos as a kid, we drove through this tunnel regularly. I call this "the new side" even though it's probably almost 20 years old. Google it!

258/365: Melody the Scottish Hyland Cow

One of my favorite wineries on Cayuga Lake is Buttonwood. It's such a fun loving atmosphere with wine slushies, animals, flowers, views, outside seating... it's just awesome. Melody is one of their attractions for obvious reason!

Here are a few more of my favorites from the day.

Syrah grapes at the Thirsty Owl.

Some fun with Papa John.

Riley relaxing with Grandma!

3 Brothers

257/365: Sunset on Seneca

The campground we stayed at was called Sunset on Seneca. They didn't have cable, WiFi, and they didn't take credit cards... it was truly camping (haha!). After putting Hannah to bed, Dustin joined me down at the lake as I played with my camera and tripod. He is so supportive of my silliness and my love for photography. Of all the pictures I took this evening, this one is my favorite. It captures a beautiful sunset and the love I have for my guy! He's just the best.

Here are a few more of my favorites from the day.

A bath in the camper sink... it worked well! 

Quite a few from this winery, Starkey's Lookout.

Two Goats Brewing. Such an awesome shack on the lake... yummy beer, laid back atmosphere and a killer view.

How could something so pretty create such AWFUL allergies??!

Golden Sunset

Some long exposure, sunset fun! 

256/365: Friday the 13th

This post has nothing to do with Friday the 13th, but how could I let that one slide without using it as the post title?

Dustin, Hannah, Riley and I headed up to Finger Lakes again, with Dustin's parents. This trip, we stayed on Seneca. When we arrived, we did a couple quick tastings to get our feet wet and came across a cool church being renovated for the winery and brewery... but I don't think they actually make their own beer or wine. Still a neat place though!

It's about the only picture I got today, so it's your picture of the day!

255/365: Post Nap Time Cuteness

I get out a lot... Hannah and I are always very busy, but now that I have her in the car, it's harder to stop to take pictures. I feel like I'm reaching a point in this 365 where I have somewhat of a "writer's block." I have a lot of ideas, but it's just hard to realize them. I'm really looking forward to the fall for a little more inspiration.

In the meantime, I always have this adorable baby for photo inspiration! Today is post nap cuteness.

Obviously, she usually doesn't wake up to a camera in her face, hence the first picture. The second picture is when she realized her Mama was there.