Exploring something new

Well the groundhog got it wrong this year...way wrong.  We are craving some outdoor weather over here and when the temperature was finally in the 40's this Thursday, we ran for the park.  The problem is now that the 6 year old only finds minimal entertainment at the park and the 11 year old would rather just sit at home and read.  This becomes a problem for the 3 year old and I.  So I dragged Madisen and her book, tried to hype up the experience to Paden, and Avery didn't need any convincing at all.  Once we got there, the older two were bugging me to go home and I saw this little area where water runs through a cement creek and into the Salt creek.  It reminded me of how many hours I would spend playing in the creek by my house when I was little.  Before video games and 3,000 channels of television.  When cartoons were only on the television on Saturday mornings.  When playing outside was fun.  We wandered over to the creek area and I picked Avery up and dropped her in.  I told her to play, get messy, have fun.  It was too cold to really play and splash, but she enjoyed it just the same.  And Mommy got the opportunity to watch the kids explore something different.

Toddler Twins

Ah twins...I must admit there is something completely exciting about the opportunity to photograph twins.  Its something that doesn't happen that often and I really do look forward to it.  I also forget how difficult it can be to keep TWO toddler one year olds sitting, happy and looking in my general direction at the same time!  I had so much fun with these handsome boys and slept quite well that night too;)  

Newborn M

This little beauty is just six days old and weighs only five pounds!!!  I have never held a baby this small, and although I am a mother of three, I must admit, she made me a little nervous!  I am pretty sure my babies were five pounds when I was about five months pregnant.  This little girl was so alert, but still sat pretty still for her debut....

I had so much fun making the Valentine style set up. I bought an old, slightly yellowed book from the thrift store. Then I had fun tearing out the pages and ModPodg-ing them to a white foam board. I found the cute lace doily hearts at Ben Franklins, although I probably could have saved a fortune by just looking at the Dollar Tree. I then collected twigs from my front yard. I lucked out with one that kind of looked like a bow. I then cut out felt triangles, glued them to the tips of the twigs and tied off with burlap fabric pieces.

P.S...I Love You

I tend to get a little sad in these Nebraska cold months.  I miss the sun, I miss the warmth, did I mention I miss the sun?  I have a love for outdoor photo shoots.  I really only prefer my studio when I am photographing newborns.  My studio make me feel so...posed.  So how do I get out of my slump?  Torture my own children- I sure do love these guys!

Little Red Riding Hood

Ahhhhhh.  Pinterest.  I have to say I am quite addicted.  It is an amazing place for inspiration.  I saw the cutest Little Red Riding Hood Costume on there, and although my skills are far less than required to match the skills of the seamstress that made the original one, it gave me inspiration.  So I grabbed my crochet hook and got to work!  I must admit, I learned to crochet off of utube.  Sad huh?  But this was really easy, I just made a red rectangle and closed it with yarn to make the tube top.  Added a small white rectangle and then some ribbon.  I then bought about 6 yards of tulle and went crazy!  It was so easy to just tie the tulle to each loop at the bottom of the tube top.   Let me warn you, anyone who may wish to attempt this project:  Do NOT buy the glitter tulle.  It will look like a glitter fairy blew up in our house for many years thanks to that stuff.  But nonetheless, here is my end result on my not so cooperative little one!

Orange&Turquise

CORAL&GREY

Tyler {High School Senior}

When I was in 7th grade a new girl came to school.  A girl that just happened to live 2 blocks from my house, and in a neighborhood filled with only boys, I was extatic!  We became best friends instantly.  I was in the hospital with her when her first child was born, and 17 years later, here he is....

Newborn Jack: 3 weeks

This little guy was absolutely adorable!  I have to admit, I get a little nervous about what I will get with a baby 3 weeks old, you just never know how sleepy they will be.  Have no doubt, it took us time, but we did get the little prince to sleep for about 15 minutes, and that was great!  Mommy and Daddy brought this adorable dinosaur hat as a prop and Jack was such a great little guy.  Thanks to Mom and Dad for being so patient and open to my ideas!

Nichole&Tim: Engagement

A few years ago, I took engagement portraits of Nichole's sister.  I am so excited to now be doing Nicole.  I was so surprised at how well Tim photographed, no offence boys, but you are usually the hardest ones to get smiles from and Tim looks so natural.   This couple has a great sense of humor and was such a blast to photograph!   What a beautiful couple!!

                                                    

Newborn Alise

This little one was the ideal newborn, easily moved and slept like, well...a baby!  I loved the way this session turned out and am so thankful to all of the Mommy's and Daddy's who let me tell these fresh new stories.

Newborn Henley

This little guy was only eight days new.  He just couldn't seem to get settled enough to sleep for me, but I think I captured him just the same. 

Newborn Alissa, 3 days old!

I absolutely LOVE newborns and their newness!  Baby A was such a great little girl.  A few feedings in between photos and she slept like...well, a baby.  Thank you so much Mom and Dad for sharing your brand new little one with me!

Studio Time!

A friend of mine contacted me about a month ago with a wonderful opportunity!  She was offered a great space for a great price and asked if I would like to go in with her to open a photography studio.  So a few coats of paint and a month later, the studio is ready to go!  I am so excited to be able to take portraits through the cold Nebraska months (and I must admit that my husband is so excited to get all of my photography stuff out of the bedroom).  So for the month of November, I am offering a Christmas special.  Mini-sessions of 20 minutes will be available in the new studio for $25.00 and will include a 5x7 print of your choice from the session!  Christmas is coming, why not get ready for those Christmas cards now!  I have 4x8 or 5x7 flat cards available for $1.00 each and have designed them myself to allow for more than one photo to be placed on them.  Call to schedule your appointment!

Jackson returns

I had the pleasure of doing this little mans newborn portraits at only a few days old.  It is so nice to have him back for his 4 month old portraits!  It is so amazing to me how fast they grow...this little man was barely eating when I met him, and now he is the chubbiest little thing ever!  I am always nervous around this age because they start to get their own ideas of how things should be.  You generally can't put them on their tummy because they don't like it, or their back because they don't like that.  This little guy was content wherever he was, although he was a total toe muncher on his back!  These are the most precious moments as they won't be reaching their toes to their mouths for long.  Thanks so much for bringing Jackson back to me Mama, he is an amazing little guy!

A fresh look to my website

My website is almost complete and I am pulling my hair out with all this coding!  I have one of my newborns returning on Thursday for his 4 month session and I really hoped to have everything up and running, but it may be close.  It will be so nice to see how he has grown and changed in just 4 months...they grow so fast.  On another note, our 2 youngest had their 1/2 birthdays this week and I got to take some pictures.  Avery is now 18 months and it's amazing to see how much she looks like our oldest daughter at that age.  Paden is 4 1/2 and really into toy story right now.  He has adopted some cowboy boots and a hat he found in my photography props and is so proud to look like "Woody" now.

Entering the blogging world!

I decided last spring that I would spent the endless hours to do an overhaul on my website this winter.  So, winter is here and I am slightly in over my head here.  With the remodel of my website, I decided to give blogging a try.  coutzphotography.com will only be semi-operational for the next couple of weeks while I learn HTML to code it all, so this will now be the place to view sneak peeks(although in this Nebraska weather, I don't expect to have many shoots).  So welcome to the blog!