Suzanne McGrath Photography

Look Who's Walking

OK.  So I'm a photographer, not a videographer.  But check out #1's mad skilz.  Ignore the fact that the lawn chair is more in focus than she is - it was only my second time using the video camera on my 7D.  I think it's got HD capabilities.  I just need to read the directions!

Six on Sunday

1.  #4 is walking.  That's right.  As in only crawling sometimes.  As in out of my sight in an instant!  I picked her up from school on Tuesday and her teachers were so excited.  They told me she did a lot more walking than usual.  As soon as we landed on the school playground to pick up her big sister from soccer, I saw it.  She was walking from one piece of equipment to the other.  And it's the most adorable walk.  Very unsteady.  Arms up high, balancing.  Tipping side to side.  I need to record it this week! 

2.  Craigslist is my friend.  It's official.  We are done having kids (unless we win the lottery).  So I'm clearing out space in my storage areas.  I'm putting lots and lots of stuff on craigslist.  I figure whatever doesn't sell will go to Goodwill.  And I will have a TON of storage space back!

3.  Petsmart employees are a wealth of information.  #2 has decided that she wants either a gecko or a hamster for her birthday.  (Which is STILL two months away.)  So today I took her and #3 to Petsmart to check them out.  Did you know geckos eat LIVE, as in living, crickets?!  I have been trying to let her down easy that we can't get a gecko.  That means at least weekly, if not twice a week visits, to the pet store to buy crickets.  Not happening.  So it looks like it'll be a hamster.  She WILL help me clean the cage:)  

4.  I am busy editing.  I need to finish Alyssa and Hillary's senior pictures.  And I took some headshots today that I need to edit.  That means I will be busy this week! 

5.  I love Delsym.  I have a self-diagnosed sinus infection, courtesy of the cold I caught from #4 on top of my allergies.  I think it's on it's way out but it has left me with a nasty cough.  And Delsym is 12 hours.  Love that.  However, we are out at the moment.  We shall see how the night goes because I'm too lazy to go get some:(

6.  We had #1's birthday party on Sat. night.  **CRAZY**  We were supposed to stay out at Iron Woods park.  They have these adorable cabins that sleep 14 on one side and two on the other side.  I thought that sounded perfect.  We could take the girls hiking, have fun races, roast hot dogs and marshmallows at the bon fire.  Well, it sounded perfect.  But we didn't get to try it!  You see, it rained yesterday.  All. Day.  Long.  

I kept waiting for the rain to go away.  And the weather man kept telling me it was on it's way out.  But by 4:15 I realized he had been lying to me all day.  Telling me what I wanted to hear.  The rain was here to stay.  So we called an audible and invited 11 9 year olds to our house.  Plus an extra 7 year old (#2 was feeling left out).  And I don't live in a 10,000 square foot house, either.

But it turned out fine.  The girls were hyper but had fun.  And we made it.  I only really took a couple pictures.  As you can imagine, with a house full of hungry girls, I didn't have a lot of extra time!  But these will you give you an idea of the chaos.  I'm just glad the girls had fun.  In the end, it was worth it not to disappoint #1!

Can you tell what they had been playing earlier?  I made the birthday girl loose the "boobs" for the picture!

Have a great week! 

Alyssa and Hillary {Overland Park Senior Photographer}

I had the pleasure of photographing Alyssa last Sunday.  I learned a few things about Alyssa:

1.  Her dog, Sheena, absolutely adores her!

2.  She is going to attend Johnson County Community College in the fall.

3.  She hopes to become a vet tech in the future.  (Sheena hopes so, too!)

4.  She gets slightly nervous having her picture taken - not that you can tell!

Alyssa's twin sister, Hillary, came along for the ride.  And Hillary brought along her boyfriend, John.  What do I know about Hillary?

1.  She is going to attend KU in the fall.

2.  She is going to live on campus and go "pot luck" with a roommate.  (That's what we called it in my day.  You know, in ancient times.)

3. She and John have been dating 2.5 years.

4.  Hillary is waiting to hear whether she gets called back for the part of Mermaid in the next Pirates of the Caribbean movie.  True story.  Cool, huh?    

I'd post more, but I have to catch the season finale of Project Runway.  I'm torn.  I don't know if I want Emilio or the other guy to win?     

The rest of #4's first birthday

It was such a great party...and the last time I get to throw a first birthday bash.  Sigh.

She wasn't really into "working" the party.  I tried to convince her that she was the guest of honor and really should chat with her guests.  She had other ideas.  

 

Yes, you read that right.  Juicy Girls.  I admit it.  I splurged.  But then again, you only turn one once, you know?  I'd like to say she only gets hand-me-downs and all that.  Unfortunately, it's not true.  She's the wrong season from two of her three sisters.  Plus, one year olds are really, really hard on their clothes.  Or else I'm just really, really bad at getting stains out.  But she sure looks cute, right?  Right?  

Rather than buy a cake, I made a cupcake cake.  (I love cupcakes!)  I think it turned out great. And, there's no hassle with having to cut the cake and serve it.  Everyone just grabs and goes.  Perfect.

Of course, #4 had her very own cake to demolish.  No children were harmed in the lighting of the candle.

She is not delicate.  She may look small, but she's mighty!  She dove right in.

This next one absolutely cracks me up.  My two year old nephew is trying so hard not to dive into the cake, but he just couldn't, quite, help himself!

And the last one.  All six cousins together.  I love it.  I love having a big family:)

        

Six on Monday

Oops!  This is a day late, isn't it?  And Six on Monday just doesn't sound right.  Oh well.  Here goes.

1.  I used to get migraine headaches.  Back in junior high and high school.  They were AWFUL.  I could feel them come on.  I remember sitting in band once in 9th grade and all of a sudden, I couldn't read the music.  It was fuzzy, somehow.  And that's how they started.  Well yesterday, the same thing happened.  As I was driving home, I started seeing weird lights and I was having a hard time focusing on the road.  Scary.  Hence, there was no Six on Sunday yesterday.  The good news?  It never materialized into a full-blown migraine.  It just stayed as an annoying, go-to-bed early, make your six year old read to your three year old, kind of headache.  

2.  I signed up to run my first half marathon.  Well, sort-of.  I won't actually find out if I made it through the lottery until the end of the month.  It's the Nike Women's Marathon (or in my case, the half) in San Francisco, CA!  WooHoo.  It's not until Oct. 17th so thankfully I'll have plenty of time to train which is good because right now 4 miles is killing me.

3.  Funny story about #3.  A couple weeks ago we were arguing over clothes.  I can't remember the specifics.  Maybe she wanted to wear something dirty?  Anyway, she got really mad at me and yelled, "I don't like you!"  I calmly looked at her and replied, "Well, I love you."  To which she repeated, "I don't like you!"  To which I repeated, "But I love you."  She had finally had enough.  She yelled at me, "I know you love me.  But I don't like you very much right now!"  And she stomped out of the room.

4.  The weather here was just delightful tonight.  We were lucky enough to be able to ride bikes to drop #1 and #2 off for piano.  Left with only two kids, we hardly knew what to do with ourselves for an ENTIRE hour.  So, we loaded up #4 in the stroller and headed out for a walk.  It was just lovely, minus the 15 minute shoulder ride I had to give to #3.  Still, it was so nice to get out and leisurely enjoy the night.

5.  I shot some senior pictures yesterday.  I am editing them this week.  Stay tuned for some sneak peeks!

6.  And finally, we had #4's birthday party this weekend.  I think all told we had over 30 people in our house.  The weather was great so we had people in the front, inside, and on the deck and swingset.  #4 had no clue but hey, she just goes with the flow!  Below you'll find a few photos.  I don't watch a lot of TV (I've said that before) but Castle is on abc and I've kind of become addicted to it!  So you'll have to wait until tomorrow night for the rest of the birthday party documentation:)    

She had her own set of groupies.  She could have cared less.  She just dove into the cake.  That's my girl!  She loves her junk food:)

 

  

Have a good one!

My baby's first birthday!

I can't believe it's been a year already...

It started a few years back.  I remember sitting in a quiet booth at a restaurant with Patrick.  We were there to celebrate my birthday.  Of course the conversation meandered around to the kids; you know, how parents will do once they're alone.  And while I knew how blessed we were with three, healthy girls, I just couldn't shake the feeling that we were still missing something.  We needed one more baby.  I didn't care if it was a boy or a girl, just one more...

I was torn because I didn't want to seem selfish, but I had such a longing.  I can remember rocking #3 to sleep at night and being so sad.  Sad because she was my last baby.  At first, I thought the feeling would go away.  But it never did.  It kept nagging and nagging.  I didn't think Patrick would understand.  I'm still not sure he did, but he was game for one more.  I was elated!

We decided that night at the restaurant that we would have one more baby if he found the perfect job.  Little did I know that job would come along a few short months later.  It was a sign.  A sign that we were supposed to have one more child.  Even after Patrick started his job, we never really discussed it again.  We were lucky enough to be blessed one more baby girl, Kennedy Isabel!

How time has flown by this last year.  Kennedy, you've been such a joy!  Your sisters are simply over the moon in love with you.  And I feel settled.  At peace.  Mind you, I could still have more kids but I don't have the longing I did before you blessed us.  You truly complete our family and for that I am more thankful than you will ever realize.  You are such a doll.

I am so eager to see what type of little person you turn into this next year.  You are such an easy-going baby.  Will you keep that same disposition?  And when you eat, you are so focused.  If you really like the food, you make long, drawn-out noises: Nummmmmm, Mmmmmm.  Will you become a little helper in the kitchen?  I can't wait to find out.  Here's to the next year.  I love you, baby girl:)  

    

Six on Sunday related to the Henry Doorly zoo

I am going with a theme tonight...  

1.  My oldest two daughters and I got the chance to spend the night at the Omaha zoo on Friday night.  This was arranged by #1's brownie troop leader.  It was awesome!  And I have to tell you, I am not a zoo person.  Generally speaking, I don't enjoy going to the zoo and will probably never suggest it.  Well, this was definitely worth the effort.  And many thanks go out to Denise and Veronica for arranging it:) 

#1 was so excited, she had been talking about it and planning for it for over two weeks.  Here are my girls anxiously awaiting the arrival of the rest of the brownie troop:

 

2.  Where did we get to sleep?  The aquarium, of course.  It was just magical.  Most of the girls slept in the tunnel.  It was so cool because they had fish swimming all around them the whole night.  (Well, from midnight to 6am, anyway).  

 

3.  Where did I sleep?  I chose the darkest corner I could find!  I have to have quiet and blackness to sleep.  This fit the bill just fine.  The jellyfish tube:

4.  The first night we were able to go on a "hike".  This is really just a walk around the zoo.  However, it's almost 2 hours long and you learn so much!  I have loads of new trivia now.  Therefore, I am going to impart some of it on to you!

When we began the hike, it was light out and the peacocks were everywhere.  And let me tell you, they are loud!  Can peacocks fly?  Yes, they can fly short distances.  For instance, they will fly next door to the Omaha Royal's baseball stadium sometimes.  And they love peanuts.  That must explain the visits to the baseball field!

 

5.  When we ended the walk, it was very dark.  We had flashlights but had to be very careful with them.  We had to point them to the ground to make sure not to spook any of the animals.  

 

6.  Time for more trivia.  Do you know how many triangles make up the desert dome?  I do - it's 1,760.  

Also, do you know why the desert dome has the lights on the top?  I'll give you a hint.  They are only turned on at night.  Because they are trying to simulate the moon?  Nope.  Because it looks cool from the interstate at night.

   

BONUS TIME:  We're going past 6!

7.  The butterfly exhibit just recently opened its doors.  Honestly, I thought it was a snooze-fest.  I guess I'm just not that into buggy things.  Next time, I would skip it.  But I thought it was a cool picture.

8.  Do you know the difference between a monkey and a gorilla?  Monkeys have tails and gorillas do not. More gorilla trivia...when a baby gorilla is born, the zookeepers make an imprint of it's nose.  They do this because like human's thumbprints, every gorilla has a distinct nose.  Cool, huh?  (Note, this was shot through glass - but it's amazing how close they will come to you.)

9.  Orangutans are actually spelled and pronounced without the "G" sound at the end.  These guys were so funny early in the morning.  This exhibit is a mom, her two kids, and the grandmother.  The babies were actually given to the grandmother because the mom didn't know what to do with them.  They are doing well now.

Funny story about these guys.  There used to be an orangutan at the zoo named Foo Man Chu (FMC for short).  Every night, the orangutans are put inside the building.  Well, one morning when the zookeepers arrived, FMC was loose in the building!  They were shocked but managed to get him back in his cage.  They couldn't figure out what happened.  Well, the next morning not only was FMC out of his cage, but so were the rest of the orangutans!  The zookeepers scoured the place but didn't find anything!  It wasn't until they took FMC to the dentist that they figured out the mystery.  It seems he had located a piece of wire and was storing it in his upper lip.  He had watched the zookeeper use his keys to open the door and FMC had figured out how to pick the lock!  So that's what he was doing every night.  Isn't that funny?  

Below is a picture of mom or grandma begging.  She was actually sticking her hand through the wire and begging.

 

10.  The polar bear exhibit is new, too, I think.  We saw this guy on Sat. morning.  While I detest getting up at 6am, it really was worth it.  Usually you see these guys and they are sleeping.  Well, most animals were awake b/c that is when they get fed.  So it was really fun to watch.    

 

11.  More trivia...what color are zebras?  Black and white, right?  Wrong.  They are actually brown and white.  Here the girls are learning about zebras and actually looking at a zebra fur.

12.  Last one for tonight...this is a tiger.  I learned that at the zoo, they actually "fast" animals.  That simply means they don't feed some animals every single day because out in the wild they don't eat every day.  This guy was waiting for breakfast, though.

Have a great week!  

Happy Belated Birthday, Patrick!

Patrick's birthday was last Monday.  We really laid low this year and didn't do a lot to celebrate it other than going for a walk with the kids.  I kind of feel badly about that.  We're just waiting for some family to babysit so we can go on an official "date".  The kind where you get to eat without babies climbing all over you and where there is no kids menu!

   

You know me - I love my lists.  So here is another one.  Why I love my husband:

1.  We fit together like peanut butter and jelly.  Patrick is laid back, relaxed and I'm totally Type A.  There couldn't be two of either of us.  We balance each other out.  

2.  He is an awesome dad.  He's great with babies all the way up to 9 year olds!  He's really hands-on.

3.  He's completely outnumbered.  Even our dog is a girl. 

4.  He still makes me laugh.  Still.  After 15 years together.

5.  We both make the money and I get to spend it:)  Perfect.

6.  His favorite vacation destinations are my favorite vacation destinations.  See?  Like PB and Jelly.

7.  He talked me into a gas-guzzling suburban.  And I love it.

8.  He lets me pick the TV channels.  

9.  He never complains about my cooking.  Even if it's terrible.  I used to joke that he'd eat roadkill if I put it down in front of him.  A slight stretch, but just slight!  

10.  He lets me decorate.

There you have it!  The recipe for our success.  Happy belated birthday, honey!

 

Happy Easter and Six on Sunday

For those of you who celebrate, Happy Easter!

What a beautiful weekend?!  We enjoyed it immensely.  It is just so nice to be able to get out of the house and blow off some steam.  Loved it.

Without further adieu, here's my Six on Sunday:

1.  Yesterday we had soccer.  #2 played at 10:00 and #1 at 10:30.  And get this...they were both at the same soccer complex.  WooHoo!  That rarely happens.  Since my hubby coaches #1's team, that means if the games cross over at all, I have the other three kids by myself.  All that boils down to I don't get to see a lot of soccer.  But yesterday was nice.  I had a little help AND got to watch my girls play.

2.  We waited until the very last minute to dye eggs.  We did it last night about 7:30pm.  We had to wait for #4 to go to bed.  Can you imagine that?  Ugh.  The girls had a blast.  Of course, I had to buy the kit with NINE different colors.  Note to self:  Next year, the fewer colors the better.  Here's a few snaps from their creative work:

3.  This morning we hunted for eggs.  Of course the Easter Bunny is a lot like Santa.  He only comes when the girls are sleeping.  So when they woke up this morning, they found their baskets and a whole bunch of eggs.  They are actually really good about sharing the eggs.  The older two love to help #3 find the eggs.  And she's good with that as long as they don't pick them up for her.  There were only a couple little comments about who got more...not bad in my opinion.

4.  And just so you don't think we lost one, here is a picture of #4.  Of course she could not care less about any of this.  She just liked to shake the eggs because it made a neat sound.  And you see her "pose"?  I can't take pictures of her anymore b/c she immediately stops what she's doing to crawl over to me and get my camera.  Not good.  And yes, she's wearing her Christmas PJs.  That's just how roll around here at the McGrath house.

 

5.  We didn't go to church until noon.  That's a little late, but we figured that way #4 could take her morning nap and we wouldn't have to rush.  To put it into perspective, I started getting ready at 10:00.  I did not stop getting ready until we left at 11:40!  Yes, it takes a lot to motivate the troops around here on Sunday morning.

After church we took a couple pictures to document the fact that we were all dressed up.  I snapped Patrick with the girls and he did the same.  Can you tell a difference in the composition?  

6.  Lastly, we rode our bikes to Deanna Rose this afternoon.  While I'm disappointed that they charge admission now, it's still a good deal and the girls love it.  It's really nice to find a place to go that they all four enjoy.  Given their age span, that's a rarity.  And it was so fun to be able to ride our bikes together.  Last summer #4 was too small for bike riding, so I usually got left behind.  But this summer is going to be different - awesome!

That's it.  I failed to take pictures of our excursion to Deanna Rose.  But I'm totally OK with that.  Sometimes it's nice to put down the camera and just enjoy being in the moment rather than documenting the moment.

Have a great week!  I have a few ideas for some blog posts, so check back in later.