My own...

As some of you may have heard, my very own bundle of joy was born July 17th... weighing in at 8lbs 12oz and measuring 22 inches long.

Words cannot express the overwhelming joy and love a new mother experiences for her first-born... it's amazing and I'm loving every moment.

Introducing, Alec Boyd Bodenburg...



There will be many, MANY more to come! :)

so long april... hello may

It's always sad when "my" month comes to a close -- but I'm happy to be moving into May because it means warmer temps! And I'm especially excited for May because I have lots going on, both personally AND professionally (weddings and a workshop to name a couple)! :)

And I am LOOOVING all the lilacs that are blooming right now. I typically do not love the strong fragrance of flowers - but I DO love lilacs! And I was ecstatic to learn that the bush in our backyard is a lilac bush!! (we just moved into the house in September, so this is the first it's bloomed - SUCH an awesome surprise!)




And a cute little surprise I found on our door this afternoon from the neighbor girl... a May Day basket filled with paper tulips and candy!! :)


Happy May Day everyone! Have a wonderful weekend!

lately...

love the warmer temps we are starting to see here lately...
love the smell of fresh air that fills the house when i open the windows...
love the pastel colors that are everywhere this time of year...
love finding beauty in simple items...




and a collage of photos for my "one-word" project last week.
the theme: round


1) love our old doors and locks in our home --- do not especially love how finicky they are 2) love vintage cameras 3) love anything teal lately...i purchased these canisters for my kitchen, and have a robins-egg-blue kitchenaid mixer on the way! 4) love coca-cola.... typically i'm a mountain dew girl, but this pregnancy has me craving coke. so i at least go caffeine-free ;)

happy spring!

photos for me

Sorry for the blogging-hiatus. I always tell myself I'm going to keep up with posts on this blog - but then the icky, Wisconsin--winter-weather gets the best of me and steals my motivation. But I thought I'd pop in and show you what I've been up to.

Aside from my occasional participation in the 'develop on fridays' group (seen in previous posts), I've started taking part in other little photo groups/projects as well. These photos are for me. Things, objects, mostly still-life, some self-portraits... but really just for my own enjoyment and growth.

A good friend of mine, Rachel, started a group on Flickr. It's a weekly challenge based on one word and our interpretations. The first week was "sugar" - here's my collection (notice the good and bad sugar): :)

This past week was "light". I tried a few self-portraits (something I'm actually missing a little bit since finishing my 365 project!)..


If you look in the bottom left corner of the "light" series, you can see a bit of my "baby bump"! Most of you know this I'm sure, but I am now 21 weeks pregnant with our first child.... these self-portraits were taken just a few hours before finding out we are having a boy! :)

Another short-term project I took part in was "for the love of color" (also on Flickr). Each day was a different color...
Here is my shot for "orange" day:


I'll try to share a few more of my personal, "for me" photos more often!

(btw, sorry for the smaller-than-usual photos... I forgot to size them accordingly when I published to flickr...and was too lazy to resize) ;)

Autumn is...

...my FAVORITE time of year.

Came across these photos today while updating my Project 365. I took these on a cold morning at my parent's farm while walking through the apple trees in the pasture.

The top photo is one of my very favorite "self portraits" I've taken of Boyd and I together. Just something about it I love.



I'm working frantically on editing photos, so much I think there may be smoke coming from my computer! (ok, not really, but you get the idea). I'll be posting later today or tomorrow about some options for anyone interested in purchasing their Holiday Cards from me!

Have a great day! Enjoy Fall while it's still here - Christmas is just around the corner!!

Memorial Day Weekend

I have SO much to share in the upcoming weeks! More images of my friend Jenni, an engagement session, a wedding and a cute kiddo. But first, I wanted to share some personal images from our weekend up north for Memorial Day. I always assume my family thinks I'm nuts for lugging around a giant camera and lens - but I hope they agree that the photos are so worth it! :)

Our first night we played some ball in the yard just as the sun was setting - it was absolutely beautiful out!

Yes, even I got up to bat! I concentrate way too hard though - see me pursing my lips!?


Caitlyn had more fun playing with Macy (the dog).


Then we wandered into the field to sit on the old wagon and just enjoy the sunset.



I love this one of Caitlyn and her Auntie Kinsey...


and this one too - but I couldn't decide between color or black/white...



Later, Grandpa, Grandma and Caitlyn went for a walk.


The next night - we went out on the lake, followed by a campfire with friends and family. There were many many more photos - but I just didn't have time to get them all edited and posted. But I did get one that I love of my father-in-law fishing on the dock with Boyd's, sister's father-in-law:


Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend!

You will be missed

Today's post is for my good friends Dawn and Luann. Through my job at Mason Companies, I've come to adore these two wonderful women - and today, they are both leaving us. Luann has decided to take an early retirement and will get to spend more of her free time with her adorable grandchildren. And Dawn has decided to stay home with her baby boy Evan (who is no stranger to my camera).

It has been truly amazing working with these two lovely ladies - and our department will never be the same with out them.

I was asked to take a couple shots of Dawn and Luann with the rest of our awesome support staff...

Top row (L to R): Jessica, Christina, Gen
Front row (L to R): Dawn, Luann





Best of luck to the both of you - we will all miss you dearly.

Enjoying the sunshine...

This past weekend, Boyd, Billy, Caitlyn and I headed over to my brother's house for my niece and nephew's birthday parties. The weather was so beautiful on Saturday we all went for a walk to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air.
It's so great how well the kids all get along. Caitlyn only has boy-cousins - so she just ADORES my niece Erin. And since it's just me and my brother - Andre & Erin (my nephew and niece) haven't had cousins until now! So they have quite the fun when we get together!

Here's a few pics from our walk outside on Saturday...keep in mind this was the middle of the day, and the sun was super bright. I'm still learning how to deal with those extreme lighting conditions.


Excuse the reflection on her glasses - another 'challenge' I face when shooting photos of the kiddos! :)






It was a great weekend. I'm sure I'll be posting more after Easter weekend when we all get together again for our annual hike!

Happy *Heart* Day!!!

...from our family to yours! <3

excitement

Look what was waiting for me on my doorstep today!

Wiiiiiiiiiiiii

A fun night with the Wii in our house!

First, Billy and I battled it out in Mario Kart. He always wins.
Can you tell how tense I get --- and how CALM he stays!?

Then Caitlyn joined in to play her Wii Music game.


She's playing the trumpet - can ya tell!? =)


What would we do with out our fun games? =)

Happy Inauguration Day!

Remember when...

we were little and could spend HOURS playing out in the snow, completely un-affected by the cold biting at your cheeks? Today I bundled up and head out with Caitlyn to play in the fresh snowfall. She was finding ice-chunks and pretending they were 'rare treasures'. Each one had it's own shape that she was able to identify; a kite, a tree, a volcano. Her imagination is amazing. She could have stayed out there all day and never gotten bored (or cold).

Here she is eating one of her "rare treasures" :)


Also, while outside - I set up the camera to take a few photos for my new project I started yesterday: Project 365. I'll be taking one self-portrait EVERY day for an entire year. It will be a challenge, but a great way to get myself using my camera more and expanding my creativity. I posted a link to the 365 gallery at the top of my blog. Check it out!

Happy Holidays!

As most of my readers know - this is my first Christmas with my new family. And along with a "blended" family comes unusual schedules when planning holiday get-togethers. This year, we had the joy of celebrating Christmas with Boyd's family 5 days before Christmas! Here are a few happy moments of the kids opening gifts...

Billy was SUPER pumped to get this humongous Star Wars lego set...

He got a COUPLE others as well!!.. While one of Caitlyn's fav gifts was a "Color Me Gemz" jewelry box... (more pics on that below)


Grandma gave all the grandkids their very own 'lock box' - Caitlyn barely put hers down all day - AND she even got a cool "eye glass" as she called it...


After all the kids had opened their gifts - it was time for the annual pic of grandma and grandpa with all the grandkids (and the boys couldn't leave out their new guns!!)...


One last gift for our nephew Connor - his very own Sock Monkey (which I think he named CoCo)... As you can tell from the photos, he wasn't too happy with this at first (he dislikes any kind of gift that isn't a toy, especially clothing!), but he warmed up to it pretty quickly! ;)




And that Color Me Gemz jewelry box Caitlyn got? We spent some much-enjoyed time coloring that the next day - we had so much fun I even got a "You're the best stepmom ever!". Talk about melting my heart!





I couldn't have asked for any greater gift than the love of my new family.

Here's to hoping you get everything that warms your heart and brings you joy this holiday season!