Bethany Chase Photography

January 27, 2012

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As part of our free dining plan, we were able to make reservations for character meals. In hindsight, I should've made four different character meals instead of just the two that we went to, but two is better than none!

Our favorite one by far was called Chef Mickey's. Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pluto came by to see us at our table quite frequently. The food was delicious. And we celebrated Carter's second birthday, so they brought him a cupcake and sang a little song. Minnie gave him a kiss. And later in the meal, Mickey Mouse sat down and played the iPod with Carter. It was by far my very favorite memory of the trip. We have the video clip on my mom's camera. BUT my mom lost her camera. BUT she also called every single place we had been and they found it. So in a week or two, when the camera is safe and sound back in her hands, I will post the video clip :)

We also went to Hollywood Studios on our second day at Disney. Brayden's favorite ride of the whole trip was there--Toy Story Mania. It was a really great ride, and I think definitely is the longest wait out of any of the rides in ANY park. We passed the ride once and standby line wait time was 140 minutes. And this is value season. Yikes.

The boys also got to meet Mr. Incredible and Frozone. Brayden was having one of his many stomach-pain episodes though, so he almost wasn't able to fight the tears and get up to see him. But he did. And I'm glad. It was definitely frustrating having him so off, but we tried to fight through it.

I definitely didn't take enough pictures of day two. It was extremely hard to be the planner, keep everyone happy and the kids in line and take pictures at the same time. One fact is true about being in Disney World--time is like a vacuum. It gets sucked out from under you way too fast. Before you know it, four hours have gone by like that. And the next thing you know, it's time for you to get back on the airplane and go home.

February 1, 2012: Scissors Boy

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Brayden has always loved cutting things. I can remember back to when he was two, and he just loved taking scissors and cutting paper into a ton of little pieces. His love for cutting has never gone away. Lately, he's been coloring pictures and then cutting them out to give to people--his teachers, gigi and papa, the refrigerator . . .

I think he does a pretty good job of it. And he colors in the lines like a champ.

January 26, 2012

2012-01-31T20:58:00.000-05:00

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I realize I am going to have to figure out how to catch up from our trip, while also keeping up with my Project 365. The blog post dates will be a little screwy for awhile.

We just got back from Disney last night. Well, truthfully, we didn't get back until nearly 5 am this morning due to an emergency room visit with our son--but more on that later. No worries--he is fine. James and I were awake for about 22 hours and then had to both function for an entire day today on a couple hours sleep. So, to bed I go as soon as this post is done.

Disney is amazing. It's an incredible amount of work, and preparation and is completely exhausting. But wow, do they have the entertainment world completely figured out down there. It was literally all-inclusive with the package we had, and the free dining we got. Transportation everywhere, didn't have to worry about our luggage, they checked us in our airline for our return flight, we ate a ton of food, had a great cabin and felt taken care of the whole time.

We had no choice but to have the boys take a quick nap before heading to Magic Kingdom on our first day. So we didn't arrive at the park until after four. We took the ferry from our cabin to the park and the whole way there, we were all antsy and excited.

Then the magic happened. By far, it was in my top five moments of the whole trip. We walked through the ticket gate, were greeted by Pluto who signed the boys' autograph books, hugged them and sent us off. . . and then we walked through the gates, down main street and up to the castle where there was this show going on with all the characters and dancing and singing. And literally, I nearly started crying. I think my mom did too.

We had time for a few rides, dinner and then stayed for the fireworks--which also caused many feelings of rainbows and unicorns and nearly put me in tears. I think I would've definitely fallen apart with happiness if Brayden wasn't crying himself--not in happiness though. In one of his many stomach pain episodes that lasted the duration of the trip. Again, more on that later.

One thing is for sure--Disney is not for the faint of heart. And you leave the park each day exhausted beyond measure. But you also leave the parks each day with a head full of memories to hang on to for a lifetime.

To be continued. . .

Bethany Chase Photography | Rochester, NY Baby Photographer

2012-01-29T07:49:00.017-05:00

Watching babies grow through my lens is always heart warming. This little one was born four months ago--here are some images from her newborn session. I will get to see her one last time in a few months before the family packs up and heads over to Northern New Hampshire.

Bethany Chase Photography | Rochester, NY Baby Photographer

2012-01-27T07:45:00.000-05:00

Little Miss Emily is already eight months old. I photographed both her newborn session and her four month session . . . and wow, she was intrigued with my horrible singing. She smiled like I was actually singing in tune--I appreciated the confidence booster. I will be seeing her again in another four months . . . I sure hope she still likes me then :)

January 24, 2012

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This is how our family room looks on a typical evening. But don't worry. . . it only took us five minutes to clean up. When you preface the cleanup with we can watch an episode of Backyardigans as soon as this is cleaned up!, things go nice and quickly.

I may not be posting for a few days while we are gone. . . I will definitely still be keeping up with my resolution of taking pictures every day though. I will just be delayed in posting them while we are gone. I'm interested to see if Disney is really as magical as they say :) I've been there many times before, all before I was 17. . . but let's see what it's like when it's my own children that I am taking.

For those of you that commented in one way or another about the sneakers and nice clothes. . . thanks for your opinions :) I will be wearing sneakers on the plane and will have them with me--but I also packed two pairs of flip flops, because that's just me. And if I can sneak a little bit o' flip flop love in the middle of winter, well, I just might have to take full advantage of that.

January 23, 2012

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Ada;lkdfja sdfkajd;foasidufaaposidr!!!!

That was all the excitement about our trip to Disney in three days coming out as a jumbled string of crazy letters. That's just how darn excited I am about it.

The next few days will be filled with wrapping up the packing (picking out my clothes has been the hardest), picking up a couple of phone items, making sure I have entertainment for the kids in the case of any long periods of waiting, and making sure that we are all on the same page about some kind of plan.

I was talking to James today about how I was having a hard time packing for myself. He's all packed, the boys are all packed, but I am stumped with me. It's going to be warm, so I can wear summery clothes. But I should wear sneakers, right? And if I wear sneakers, I would feel weird wearing some of my nice, summer clothes. Girly tank tops with flowers and ruffles and different neck lines and ties and all that. Not like dressy stuff, but casual comfy. I don't feel like ANY of them would look right with sneakers. So I may be doomed to wearing Bermuda shorts and t-shirts the whole time--cause those go with the shoes.
Boys are easy. Dressy t-shirts and polos. Those all go with tennis shoes. Girly summer clothes do not. You see my dilemma? What would you do??

January 22, 2012

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Blankie and Paci love . . .

Carter still is in love with his paci and his blankie. I just threw two pacifiers out today though, because he's been chewing them, and well. . . they have torn. I guess I face a decision--go buy more or take them away. Tough call.

In the two side by side pictures above, he is showing me his corner. He only plays with one specific corner of his blanket. I made the blanket for him last year for Christmas. I am not very good with my sewing machine--so there is one corner that is a little bit wonky and sewn a little funny. There is a perfect spot for his little finger to be jammed into a ripple in the fabric where my sewing was a bit off, and he only plays with and holds onto his blanket in the one corner. Makes me happy that I am terrible at sewing. :)

I asked Brayden to model for me again today before my photo sessions. I don't really need him to test my lighting that much. . . I just like to make an excuse to take his picture. And then he cooperates without bribes because he thinks he is helping me. Is that wrong??

January 21, 2012

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It's not something I've just learned. But it's constantly there. The decisions that I have to make daily to try to live life like my heart tells me I want to live it. Passionate about the things I believe in. Kind and loving. Someone who makes a difference. There is this one song by Switchfoot that I love. . . one of the lines of the song, which repeats many times is, this is your life. . . are you who you want to be?

Really, it's our choice. To be who we want to be. There isn't anyone stopping us but us.

Today was one of those days. I felt like I had to make a conscious decision to do the right thing the whole day. It's always a heart struggle. . . mainly because it's just plain easier to be a lazy, unkind person who doesn't care or have convictions. But this is my life. . . am I who I want to be?

And that's enough to keep me in the game.

January 20, 2012

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Five minutes in black and white. After dinner. Before bed. It's been a long week, and my body knows it.

Somewhere between 5:50 pm and 6:50 am, while Brayden was sleeping, his body decided that it was time to not be sick anymore. Maybe it was the fervent prayer of a mother. I am just completely thankful that today, Brayden was Brayden. I actually had forgotten just how much he talked. And how much energy he has. Funny what an abnormal week will do to your mind.

January 19, 2012

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We've had better days. The stomach bug has knocked out Brayden nearly the entire week. I wish I could stop his pain and take it as my own. I'm looking forward to getting my sweet little boy back.

He's okay for short periods of time--but then all too soon goes over and lays down on the couch in stomach pain. His energy is zapped and today he was in bed a little before six.

Disney is in six days. I sure hope he can shake it off soon.

January 18, 2012 and Triple C: January Edition

2012-01-18T13:37:00.000-05:00

Last night was our Triple C: January Edition. We had a small, intimate gathering. . . it's so funny how there is a wide range of the number of people that come--but it's hard with everyone's scheduling. Once we had seventeen people all at once time crafting away--last night there were only six of us--so we all fit around one table. We had some fun conversations and ventured under the superficial surface of conversations, which was hilarious and gave us all a few good laughs.

Here is Christy modeling some earrings that Sarah made.

Looking forward to seeing everyone in February :)

In other Chase household news. . . . Brayden is still dragging with the effects of a terribly long stomach bug. He's fine for awhile and then not fine for awhile. He's been sleeping on his mattress at the foot of our bed, so that we can be near him if he needs us in the middle of the night. Truthfully, I think he's getting a bit spoiled!

Today, we busted out a few balloons, which Carter loves playing with. And then had a play-doh party. One thing I will never get sick of is cutting play-doh into a million little pieces with a pair of plastic scissors. Sounds weird, I know. But it's like therapy :)

January 17, 2012

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Holy Moley, I am in love. My wall art came in yesterday and today I couldn't resist putting it up. I didn't end up putting it in the original spot I thought I was going to. Our living room has red in it, so I thought they would look nice in there--but the family room is where we spend most of our time. And I wanted to be able to see them often. So I put them in the family room instead.

These are 20x20 prints that I had mounted on foam core. The problem with foam core is that, as you get larger with your prints, the foam can sort of warp and cause the print to bend. Hanging it like normal (attaching it to the wall by the top center) would cause it to stick out funny from the wall. Since these are amazingly light, I opted to use command strips on them. I found some very strong sticky ones, and adhered one long strip to each corner of the image. This made it so that they laid flat on the wall rather than curving slightly away from the wall. Not sure if that makes any sense.

Thanks again, Rachelle, for taking the pictures for us. You really do rock my world.

Bethany Chase Photography | Engagement Photographer

2012-01-17T07:44:00.013-05:00

She giggled the entire session--like someone who had a heart so filled to the brim with love, that it couldn't help but to spill over leaving no question about it's contents. She wore her feelings on her sleeve. And he didn't stop telling her how beautiful she was. And how much he loved her. It was sweet. And when you witness that kind of love through the lens of your camera, you can't help but smile on the inside and thank God that He truly gave us a gift when he gave us hearts capable of loving so much.

January 16, 2012

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Today wasn't our idea of relaxing holiday with daddy home. We had a few plans. All of which were foiled when Brayden woke up about ten times during the night, probably only got about three sound hours of sleep and then proceeded to be sick for most of today. He laid on the couch for a good part of the morning, with his angry birds blanket and his baby bear and practiced throwing up into a garbage can.

Needless to say, we didn't have a family fun day, that's for sure.

He eventually livened up a bit, though he wasn't his normal self for the entire day.

Also, I would like to point out that gut instincts should never be ignored. While in the family room with Carter today, he was jumping around on these foam tubes we have. In my head I thought, he's jumping around kind of close to the fireplace. I really should have him stop or move the tubes. Well. . . he'll probably be fine. Sure enough, he landed on one funny, slipped and hit his head right on the edge of the stone fireplace. Hard. Next thing you know, I was on my way to immediate care to see if he needed stitches. Luckily he didn't, but they did glue his head, which I thought was very interesting. And the doctor said he would probably end up with a scar. Great. . . my hesitation to make him stop playing where he was caused all of this avoidable peril. Next time I will be a better mom and do the right thing. Then I won't have to kick myself in the pants after!

Family

2012-01-16T10:47:00.000-05:00

My amazing sister-in-law, Rachelle, took these photos for us while we were away in Virginia for Christmas. It was even more meaningful to me because she had been sick in bed that day with the stomach bug--but she insisted on getting out of bed because she had promised to take the pictures while we were there--and it was our last day. So she got out of bed for a little bit, snapped away for ten minutes, and then ran back inside to lay back down again. What a woman. I will be forever thankful. . . because I love the pictures. And I've already ordered four super large images to hang up on our new living room walls. They are in the mail right now :)

January 15, 2012

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Meet Baby Bear. Brayden has been attached to baby bear for about two months now. It sort of came out of the clear blue. He used to be soft and cuddly, and now after one washing, he is sort of rough and a magnet to gross things. . . like my hair. And fuzzies. Any tips to getting him lovable and snuggly again? Once, last week, Brayden decided to name his baby bear. Five minutes later, he changed his mind and said, i think i just want to call him baby bear. He's never been one to be attached to a blanket or stuffed animal, so this is all new to me. I don't mind it though. It makes me smile that he's grown to love it.

Carter has been a little on the sick side. So the two of us stayed home from church today to try to keep from spreading any germs. We hung out, read a whole lot and played some hot hoops. I remember buying this when Brayden was about two. James found it at a garage sale and we bought it for a buck. Brayden used to totally love it. . . so I knew when we found it in a storage cubby the other day while sorting through stuff from our pod, that I should take it out for them to play with. Brayden probably hasn't seen it in about nine months. It's gotten a fair amount of use in the past two days.

My parents came over today for the day. Fun news that you may not already know. . . we are going to Disney World in ten days. We needed to talk about the trip--our daily plans, meals, things to bring and all that jazz. Makes me jittery with excitement that we will be in such a fun place so soon. We can't wait.

January 14, 2012

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I had two sessions today. . . both with babies. As I was setting up my stuff, I thought it would be a good idea to take a couple of quick pictures of Carter. I am in the process of designing his birthday invitation, and am in need of a new photo for it. So I bribed him with chocolate (I don't even attempt "nice" pictures without bribing!). All I needed was one. Bam. Five minutes. . . painless . . . thank you, chocolate.

Whenever I am setting up for a session, Brayden always wants to be helpful by sitting and "testing my light" for me. It cracks me up, because he is totally excited to do it, and it's usually his idea. He plunkers down, and then he does this.

And this.

He looks thrilled, eh?

January 13, 2012

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Favorites of the week:

The new kitchen. Brayden loves it. He's been making picnics and baked goods and fruit salads. Carter enjoys filling up the basket with random kitchen items until it's spilling over with goodies. Last night, it was my birthday and James and Brayden made a pretend special chocolate fudge ganache cake. I was serenaded with a nice rendition of Happy Birthday and washed my pretend cake down with a pretend soda.

Carter's paci and blankie. Normally, these stay in the crib and he doesn't get them until nap time or bedtime. But this week, he has been completely feeling lousy, and so I have let him drag that blanket all over the place. I fear for the future, now that he is one hundred percent addicted to them.

The YMCA. We joined at the New Year, and have visited nearly every day since. The boys love the variety of things that you can do there. Yesterday, James took them swimming while I worked out, and Carter screamed bloody murder when it was time to get out. That's when you really know he enjoyed himself.

January 12, 2012

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The boys got a new kitchen in the mail yesterday. My dad and stepmom paid for a big chunk of it by sending a gift card for Christmas. They were so excited when it came. . . though I think the excitement wore off slightly when a half hour had passed and I still hadn't finished putting it together yet. No worries. . . it is done now! And they have enjoyed it a lot already. We already had a bin full of pretend food. . . so at least we didn't have to worry about that part :)

My favorite photo of the week :

January 11, 2012

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The boys love playing dress up. Carter mainly likes to don a cape accompanied by a variety of other dress up items, none of which really go together. It's all the more charming though. Today he was a batman/superman/pirate/knight one of a kind, which Brayden pranced around as Mario.

I loved that Brayden tries to play with Carter like they are the same age. He gives all these complicated directions, followed by an okay, Carter? to which Carter responds with a yeah!, which confuses Brayden to high heaven. Then he doesn't understand why Carter doesn't follow the directions or play along with the game at hand.

And speaking of Carter, he's definitely in some kind of funk. He is cranky and whiney and is only happy while eating junk food or holding his paci and blanket. It's really the complete opposite of fun. Let's hope it's a short phase---either that or something simple like an ear infection, which is easy enough to get rid of.

Bethany Chase | Rochester, NY Wedding Photographer

2012-01-10T20:25:00.000-05:00

Laura and Mike were my last bride and groom of 2011. The wedding was decorated wintery and beautiful. Christmas trees with sparkling lights gave a warm, festive feel to both the ceremony and the reception.

What a great wedding season we had last year. I am looking forward to updating and making some changes in the next few months before our first wedding of many begins in April.

Congratulations, Laura and Mike!

January 10, 2012

2012-01-10T19:56:00.001-05:00

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Today was my first almost failure. It reminded me of the importance of trying to take some pictures at the beginning of the day, as opposed to waiting. Today was a weird day though. James was home sick and was in bed most of the day. I spent a lot of time trying to do quiet activities with the boys and then took them to the library for awhile.

It wasn't until I was about to head out the door to tend to my babysitting duties (we do date night babysitting swap with good friends of ours), that I remembered I hadn't taken any pictures all day! So I pathetically snapped a few--in very poor lighting--of nothing exciting whatsoever. And these are the only three that I can actually justify calling pictures. . . if I can even get away with that. Two minutes later, I ran out the door.

I hope tomorrow is a better day!

January 9, 2012

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Mornings when Brayden has school are so different. It's still strange only having one child during that time. I think Carter feels a little lost without his big brother. It's nice for me though. . . playing with puzzles and reading books is right up my alley. Calm, quiet and not a huge mess maker.

Backing it Up III

2012-01-09T12:56:00.000-05:00

We celebrated our own little Christmas on the day after the real Christmas. We opened gifts with the boys and then just a short while later had to hop on the road for our eleven hour drive. I felt bad that the boys really couldn't play with any of their new toys, but I think we made up for lost time when we got back :)

When we were down in Virginia, James' parents brought these fun cardboard projects that everyone did together. The kids loved coloring them and then playing and running back and forth between the two.

January 8, 2012

2012-01-08T21:00:00.001-05:00

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Where is Sock Monkey?

We got this game for the boys for Christmas, and it was some serious fun before lunch today. We played three rounds--each of us getting a chance to hide the sock monkey while the other two attempted to find it. Brayden was in game heaven.

And Carter just wandered around saying, Sock Monkey? Where are you? in his little toddler talk.

Thirty One

2012-01-08T08:30:00.012-05:00

Celebrating James while we were in Virginia.

There's a lot to celebrate. There's no one in this world quite like him--and I think I have found my perfect match. Here's to thirty-one years so far. Looking forward to what the rest of our lives together will look like. But don't worry. . . I'm in no rush to get there :)

January 7, 2012 and Backing It Up II

2012-01-07T20:29:00.001-05:00

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Tonight was dubbed Sub and Movie Night, so we camped out in the family room, munched on a little Subway while watching the Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. It's a little more difficult in our new house to do it. . . at our old house we had a breakfast bar which made eating and watching TV a little bit easier--and much cleaner!

Also, backing it up again to Christmas week. We took an eleven hour drive to Virginia to stay with James' family for the holidays. There were twenty-six of us all in one house, and each family drove more than ten hours to get there. To be honest, I think we had the shortest drive of anybody. . . we came from New York, Iowa, New Hampshire and Florida.

Here is part of our group . . .

And the bowling alley made quite a bit of profit on us in just a short hour. . .

January 6, 2012

2012-01-06T08:46:00.001-05:00

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When you have children that wake up so early, you are already building lego villages before eight a.m.

Some days I wish that I would put a set schedule down on paper for myself and the boys. 8 to 8:30. . . independent playtime while I catch up on some chores. 8:30 to 9. . . play-doh time. 9 to 9:30. . . fun bake time in the kitchen. 9:30 to 10 . . . Dinosaur Train. 10 to 10:30 . . . manipulatives/coloring/fine motor skills. You know, stuff like that, to make me feel like a proper stay at home mom.

In all honesty, my mornings look NOTHING like that. But one can dream, right? :)

January 5, 2012

2012-01-05T15:28:00.001-05:00

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Carter. Love him.

And this last one just makes me so happy.

Backing it Up

2012-01-05T07:15:00.001-05:00

It's inevitable every year. I don't get around to posting my holiday pictures, whatever holiday it may be, until well after the holiday is over. I have excuses a plenty--and I think they are all pretty valid . . . over twenty four hours of driving, stomach bugs, family members from all over the country, photo sessions, edits, life. It's a good thing I didn't resolve to having life slow down this New Year's. I would've already fallen short of any goal. We will keep hang on to that one for retirement :)

We spent Christmas Day in Buffalo. Brayden's excitement could barely be contained, and Carter caught on quick enough. If there was one tradition that I could say we definitely have had since I was little, it would be that we always open stocking stuffers on Christmas Eve, after our church service. My mom delights in getting an assortment of fun goodies and wrapping them all up--we each have a drawstring sack

that they get put in. Then she recruits my stepdad to wrap them all with her. I think the whole thing makes her giddy :)

January 4, 2012

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Mornings seem to go so fast. Before I know it, it's lunchtime, then nap time. This morning, Brayden started his new preschool. His teacher said that you would never have known that it was his first day. That's totally just how Brayden is--jumps into new situations with two enthusiastic feet and an exuberant attitude to boot. The boy is thrilled about most things in life--and he makes friends easier than anyone I've ever met. So thankful for that.

Can you tell Carter was anything but thrilled to share his coloring book with Brayden? Check out that face.

A little lefty, just like his daddy. . .

January 3, 2012

2012-01-03T10:00:00.001-05:00

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Typical morning in the Chase house, once the big guy goes back to work. Boo!! We really were spoiled having him here all day. I, for one, was totally digging the way he was being so helpful. I am incredibly grateful for everything James does--and especially on those days where he seems to be as determined as possible to be everything I can ask and more.

But school has begun again, and so it is just the three of us once more. Life seems so complete without our fourth. This morning the boys played secret agent in my bedroom while I attempted the impossible--unpacking from two different trips while simultaneously trying to put away five loads of laundry. I spent forty-five minutes doing it, and don't think I made any noticeable dent. And if you were curious as to what secret agent is, I am not entirely sure--the boys kept hiding in the closet with secret agent hats on, while Carter repeated over and over see-agent, see-agent.

And of course, trying out a new Wii game that Brayden got for Christmas. :)

January 2, 2012

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We went to the Y today. I was a little overwhelmed by the mass quantities of people there. It was sort of like the day when we moved . . . when I wandered around like a nomad--not sure where to begin, walking in circles, can't clear my head. At the Y, I tried not to be so obvious about it--but I'm sure the throngs of people could tell that I had no idea where to begin. Literally, every machine was taken. People were pouring through the doors like sitting on the couch was going out of style. I guess on January 2nd, sitting on the couch IS out of style.

There was no doubt that Carter liked it there. It's a little hard to tell a not quite two year old that you will be returning tomorrow. They don't quite get that yet. Brayden had a blast too. I hope there are many fun days in store for us there.

In other news in the Chase house, our POD has arrived. So round two of unpacking has begun. Oh joy.

A Picture a Day: Project 365

2012-01-01T13:39:00.001-05:00

I would love to have had a chance to reflect much more at the end of the year. But we were out of town for a full week and then yesterday I was stuck in bed with a bug. So much for reflecting, peacefully. I normally don't do resolutions . . . in fact, in past years I have been just plain against them. Why can't I just set goals during the year? . . . they get broken anyways, right? What's the point?

For some reason, I feel differently this year. I'm ready to challenge myself with a few things. I haven't had a chance to fully think through everything that I hope to do, but who says I have to have it all figured out the morning I wake up on the 1st of January? I know I'd like to shed some weight. . . boring resolution, I know. I want to have a couple of other personal goals. And I would like to have a 2012 list of goals for my business. I just wish there was more time in the day to hash out my thoughts!

And one more thing. I am going to try to embark on a photography project. I want to take at least one picture of day of my family. Doing life. Ordinary life.

So here, my journey begins. Breakfast on January 1st.

I can't promise that I will post the pictures everyday, though I will be taking them everyday. Some days I might post one. . . somedays more. Somedays I might write, and others I may not. But I think it will be a rewarding journey, once I can look back at the end of the year and find all the beauty that I may have otherwise forgotten in the fleeting moments.

So here's to a new year. And new projects. And new goals.

Happy New Year, everyone.

Bethany Chase | Rochester, NY Children's Mini-Session Photographer

2011-12-31T07:29:00.005-05:00

Red hair and blue eyes. Can you say gorgeous? I can't wait to see what a beauty this little munchkin is going to turn into when she enters childhood. She was so happy during our session. And she giggles the most for her daddy :)

Bethany Chase | Rochester, NY Family Mini-Session Photographer

2011-12-30T07:25:00.014-05:00

For one whole school year, I babysat these two little munchkins. They were my first son's best friends and nearly like siblings. We went to their house almost everyday for eight hours. I grew to love them dearly.

Now they are growing far too big, too fast, just like my own son. They no longer toddle around. They go to school now.

I still love them dearly.

Bethany Chase | Rochester, NY Family Photographer

2011-12-28T09:25:00.016-05:00

Families love that I don't limit how many outfit changes you can do. I love that this mom brought a million outfits for her little girl. There is a such a fun variety to a session when there are different clothes involved. And even more when you do some inside and some outside.

This family drove quite a ways for their session. . . about two hours. Thanks, Prisco family, for driving so far to meet me!

Also, thank you to a past client, Stephanie, who gave me the string of pearls to use as a prop :)

Our Year: A Story in Pictures

2011-12-27T07:02:00.008-05:00

Capturing the daily beauty in our lives is something that I strive to do. Often, I forget. Not positive that I am up for the full challenge this coming year, but one of these years I want to do a Project 365. . . taking at least ONE picture every day. Doesn't sound all that hard, but I'm sure it presents it's challenges.

Anyways, here is a little slideshow of our year in review. As always, if you watch a slideshow on my blog, please be sure to scroll down and turn off the music player at the bottom of the blog. To make the slideshow larger, you can click the four little arrows next to the word "vimeo" on the slideshow player.

Bethany Chase | Rochester, NY Baby Photographer

2011-12-26T08:35:00.000-05:00

Yes, this baby did have his shirt off. In December. In Rochester.

It was almost seventy degrees on the day of his session. And his momma and I were going to take that for all it was worth.

I loved this little guy. He was mellow and had twinkly eyes. And he reminded me how much I miss having a little six month old peanut around.

O Holy Night

2011-12-25T07:33:00.007-05:00

I have so much to be thankful for Christmas this year. I know thankfulness is usually a term that is synonymous with Thanksgiving. . . but I am finding myself being more thankful now. Now that I find my world isn't spinning around in chaos. In the past thirty days, we have been part of a whirlwind of hectic days. I packed up an entire household. . . moved it, unpacked it and made it home again. I had many photo sessions, all of which are completed in almost every aspect (minus a full wedding that needs to be edited). . . the last of the blog posts will be in a couple of days. And I continued to stay at home with the boys.

But this week, I have had some time to breathe. And it is incredible. The house isn't completed by any means. But we can survive for now in almost unpacked.

I wanted to make sure that I wasn't entering into the Christmas break season still spinning around in circles. So this past week, I actually sat on the couch a couple of times. Read some things about our trip to Disney. Surfed the web, though briefly. Watched a couple of t.v. shows. And even once, I think I closed my eyes and tried to take a thirty second nap.

Nonetheless, I am still stressed. It's something that I'm working on. Money is always an issue lodged in the back of my brain. We will close on this new house in February, and well closing costs are much higher than I thought they were going to be. I think the moral of the story is to not sell a house and then rebuy it back. Only insane people do that. Having two cars in the shop in one week, with a price tag of over a thousand dollars also doesn't help. But trusting that God has it under control is really the only thing that I can put my hope in right now.

Looking back on the past three years with my best friend, James. . . wow. What a journey. I could've never dreamed up what has happened. And for that, I am thankful.

So, Merry Christmas from the Chases. And I pray that we all remember the reason for the season.

Yes, I realize that you need a magnifying glass to view this card, but I was having trouble with scanning it. . . and it's Christmas! So I didn't want to take forever doing it!

Bethany Chase | Rochester, NY Family Mini-Session Photographer

2011-12-24T12:45:00.000-05:00

I met this family this past August for a different session. Their littlest was stung by a bee right at the beginning of our session :( It was terrible--and I'm glad that they came back to visit for another session even after the traumatic experience of their first session!

Bridget was a little concerned as she says that choosing outfits is definitely not her forte. But with a little advice, and a coordinating clothing line at Old Navy, she showed up with her family looking completely put together and very coordinated :) Great job, Bridget!

Bethany Chase | Rochester, NY: Handsome Little Man Mini-Session Photographer

2011-12-23T07:48:00.009-05:00

This little guy ran away from me for the first five minutes of his session. So we loosened him up a bit by throwing pinecones and seeing how fast he could run :) Then he let loose some real smiles--plus, I think he was having a good time, so that always makes it more enjoyable for any kid!

Here are just a few of images from his mini-session.

Bethany Chase | Rochester, NY Children's Mini-Session Photographer

2011-12-22T07:41:00.010-05:00

These two adorable girls are the nieces of my very good friend, Jami. Their momma was a little sad that she missed out on the mini-sessions that I held in August, so she was sure to grab a slot in my November sessions. She did the session as a surprise for her husband for Christmas, so I hope she was able to order lots of fun gifts with the images!

Mindy's Reminder

2011-12-21T11:03:00.036-05:00

One of my Facebook friends has twin boys. Her Facebook status the other day read I just decorated a batch of cookies with the boys. Somehow, I imagined that going so much better in my head.

So when Brayden asked if we could make our annual "gingerbread project", I laughed in my head about how I could have a romanticized version of how beautiful and festive our project would look. Or I could face reality. We have boys. Neither who are neat about anything.

I thought of Mindy and how things probably went with her cookie decorating. Probably pretty much exactly how things went with our project. Little candy balls rolling everywhere. Frosting on faces. Fingers. Shirts. The counter.

Having absolutely no expectations of what the finished product would be made the whole thing way more enjoyable. And everyone left the room smiling rather than frustrated.

So thanks for the reminder, Mindy. Things will never go how we imagine they will.

But look at our beautiful project! It's something to be proud of :)

And here are our past gingerbread projects:

2008- Gingerbread Train

2009- Gingerbread House

2010- Gingerbread Men

Bethany Chase | Rochester, NY Holiday Mini-Session Photographer

2011-12-21T07:30:00.016-05:00

I met the Powers family during one of my holiday mini-session days. They brought their three sweet girls for some Christmas pictures.

Their middle girl, in the red dress, has autism. I enjoyed photographing her, because it was all about trying to capture her as the session unfolded. We handed her a couple of props and let her walk around, climb on the rocks and sing.

The other two girls enjoyed decorating one of the evergreens with some giant ornaments that we brought. And then we had them run around in the open field to try to catch some natural smiles :)

Bethany Chase | Rochester, NY Holiday Photographer

2011-12-20T07:21:00.018-05:00

This family did their mini-session with me at a very chaotic time. We had just "moved" the day before--meaning, we were living completely out of boxes. But I had already scheduled two sessions for that day before we even knew we were moving. So what was another mini, right? I was thankful that Jeniliee and her family didn't mind if I may have looked a bit disheveled and if my words weren't completely making sense.

I loved how she put together the boys' outfits--I'm a sucker for stripes :)

You will never hear this come out of my mouth again. . .

2011-12-19T08:02:00.034-05:00

James and I had a wedding on Saturday. The last wedding of the 2011 season. If you have been up to date with my blog, you will know from some of my posts last week that I really have been amazed at the lack of snow. Not saddened about it at all. . . just surprised.

The wedding that we had on Saturday was for a bride and groom that were hoping for snow. You don't really get married in the winter if you aren't a snow lover. So they were a bit disappointed at the lack of it. To their delight, it started snowing during the ceremony.

Snow continued to fall during the reception.

When we walked out of the country club at the end of our day, I looked around and smiled. I was overcome with this sense of awe and wonder at the beauty of the night. The snow was falling softly. . . it was gorgeous. And the trees were just barely covered with the snow, making everything look so pretty.

And then I stopped myself. WAIT A MINUTE! I hate the snow. And then I panicked. Oh no! What is becoming of me! I am not myself. Am I okay? . . . has someone drugged me? Brainwashed me perhaps?

But it's just plain old Bethany. And I guess it's okay for me to relish in the beauty of the fourth season. I didn't mind that it waited until mid-December to show up, but golly gee. . . it really was beautiful.

And you will never hear that come out of my mouth again. Maybe.

Brayden couldn't wait to get outside. He played out there with James, my stepdad and his dog, for awhile. He laughed and frolicked and threw snowballs at the dog. He shoveled. He ran. He smiled nearly the entire time.

And then on the way in he said to James, Daddy, I thought we were going to do something fun outside. To which I think confused everyone. Sometimes, that little boy that I love so much doesn't make a lick of sense. But we still love him.

Bethany Chase | Rochester, NY Family Photographer

2011-12-17T07:37:00.000-05:00

Another family session when it was amazing weather out for December. I was so happy for my families. . . that they were able to come to sessions wearing outfits that didn't have to be covered up with bulky coats.

The Tiernan family came to do a cake smash for their little man who had just turned one. But I have an option that allows for half of the session to be used for family portraits as well. We did just that. We spent about twenty minutes running around outside, trying to be silly. Watching the Canadian geese. Running. Playing with a wagon.

They must have thought I was crazy when I brought them back to my old house, which had been emptied the day before in our move. We did the cake smash there. It was nice that I didn't have to move any furniture around in my living room--there was nothing to move around :)

And the little man was an adorable cake smasher. And just look at how his mom dressed him! Perfect!

Bethany Chase | Rochester, NY Holiday Mini-Session Photographer

2011-12-16T07:48:00.000-05:00

I love taking pictures of my friend Jami's family. There is a wonderful reason for this. It's because when I go to her house, and look around, there are pictures hanging ALL over her walls and framed on her tables and shelves. Pictures that I took of them. And it makes me happy. . . not because it gives me a big head. But it makes me happy because Jami has found that pictures are so important for preserving where we were memories. This is who we were at this point in time. This is where we came from. This is love. This is family. And it makes her happy.

And in twenty years, when her memories are fading on those tiny details of what her son's smile was like when he was three. And how perfectly her little daughter fit in her arms when she was just two months old.

Those photos that are hanging all over her walls will hold the memories alive.

And that's truly why I love my job.

Intentional

2011-12-15T07:05:00.019-05:00

I'm sure many of you parents who spend a lot of time with your children, and who also have some other responsibilities other than parenting find yourselves pulled in a hundred directions. That's not news to anybody. And to me, it's definitely not new news.

Many times this week, I have told myself to stop. To stop trying to check my email while playing with my kids. To stop brushing off Brayden's requests and ideas for some later time. To stop thinking of my to-do list. To be intentional. And to be focused. And to give my attention for longer than ten minutes to my children.

We ventured to the library right after nap time, which proved to be the best time to go, ever. Our new library has a great children's section and there was no one else there. It was glorious. We spent an hour there. I thought I was past the point where I needed to lug a diaper bag everywhere, but I was proven wrong. Carter pooped. Twice. I had to ask the librarian for a diaper. Twice. It was a little on the embarrassing side, but the bathroom sign said that if I needed a diaper, I could ask for a "rescue" one at the desk. Asking for two rescue diapers seemed a little on the desperate side, but what could I do? We did have a great time, other than the pooping fiasco, and we came home with lots of fun things that we checked out.

After that, it was decent enough to play outside. (See yesterday's post about our ridiculously mild winter weather so far). We spent about an hour out there. James had already put away all the outside toys, so we had three balls and a stick. But with a lot of that stuff called GRASS, we actually could run around and do nothing while still having fun.

Being intentional isn't difficult. It's just a mindset. I'd like to find that mindset a little more often.

Bethany Chase | Rochester, NY Family Photographer

2011-12-14T13:45:00.000-05:00

Earlier this month, I had many outdoor family sessions scheduled. This, of course, is a very risky thing when you live in Rochester, NY. I was just reading an article the other day posted on one of my friend's facebook page on the topic of snow. At this point last year (this was about a week and a half ago), we had already been blessed with over two feet of snow. So booking outdoor sessions is definitely not for the faint of heart.

By some interesting phenomenon, I was blessed with amazing weather with almost all of my sessions. And I'm not talking like 40 degrees and no snow. I'm talking like sixty-five degrees. With sun. In December.

It has been crazy.

I went to get my mail today and was wearing a t-shirt and wasn't even phased by it. It's about fifty degrees here. The normal average high in December here is 37. So I am just milking this lingering Autumn for all it's worth. I could care less if there's no snow on Christmas!! I bet half of my friends would slap me if they were here while reading that :)

This family drove quite a way to have their session. I was so happy to be able to do it outside. It's so much more relaxed and natural and there are way more options than doing a session inside in front of backdrops and all that. I enjoyed our hour together and am growing to love new faces and people that I've never met before.

First Memories

2011-12-13T20:23:00.000-05:00

Though I don't have a picture of the actual tree, the very first memory that we will always have of re-moving into our house is putting up our Christmas tree together. With nothing else in the house. Just a sparkly Christmas tree. And the four of us.

Then we went to Wegmans and ate dinner, and talked about what our weekend ahead was going to look like. I'm glad we took that time together. . . it was like the calm before the storm. A nice couple of hours together in our new house before all mayhem began a couple days later.

In twenty years--[when we are still living in the house], I will look back and smile and be happy that we chose to set up our Christmas tree together when it was obvious that a hundred other things could have been done first.

We set up a little tree for Brayden too. He was thrilled. It has a happy home in his bedroom, up on his dresser.

Bethany Chase | Rochester, NY Lifestyle Family Photographer

2011-12-12T14:09:00.000-05:00

Last month, I had the opportunity to shoot my first session ever at the home of a client. I have to admit, I was a little tentative about it. I was worried that there might not be enough natural light. That I would be uncomfortable at someone else's house. That we wouldn't have "enough to do".

It was anything but that. Linda and Chris were so genuine and friendly. . . we chatted while we did the session. I got to know them a little bit. They lived about three minutes from me--so we talked a little bit out our town. We talked parenting and kids.

And they played and interacted with their son while I captured moments of them together.

Bethany Chase | Rochester, NY Family Mini-Session Photographer

2011-12-10T07:30:00.005-05:00

My new neighbors! This family lives a couple of streets over from our new house. Hopefully their youngest son and my oldest will become good friends. They will be in Kindergarten together next year. . . so I may have found a hey, let's sign our kids up for the same soccer team! friend.

And bonus that James works with Sarah, so we already know them :)

Repeat.

2011-12-09T22:26:00.000-05:00

The pile of unpacked boxes is heaping outside of my garage. Signs of progress, thankfully.

I keep trying to reorganize them to better stacks, but what's really the point when they are just going to go out to the road. No more moving, right??

I am not in love with where I put anything yet. I'm just trying to get stuff out of boxes. I can't handle the boxes!! I unpacked my bathroom today, and I could care less where I was putting stuff in the drawers, as long as I got those darn boxes out of the bathroom.

Things are just a hodge podge. Semi-organized. At least to keep me sane. I'd love to paint and decorate every room in the house, but that's just going to have to wait, probably for a few months. I'd also love to plaster my family pictures all over the walls, but it's not quite appropriate to do that yet either.

I keep starting over. Buy a house. Unpack. Take awhile to settle. Decorate. Remodel. Get comfortable. Make a house a home. Mess that all up and move.

Repeat.

Literally.

I hope I'm tired of that enough to actually stay put for once.

Oh look! That green stuff? That's called G-R-A-S-S. Say it with me now. . . Grrrr-ass. Grass. It's this neat thing called a yard. A place for little boys to run around in. Oh, never heard of one before? Me neither! This is new to me! :)

Bethany Chase | Rochester, NY Family Mini-Session Photographer

2011-12-09T07:49:00.000-05:00

I have grown to love photographing this family over the past year. I have seen them three different times. And I love that Kyle knows me now and give me hugs freely and I also love watching little man Josiah grow up right in front of my eyes. Those blue eyes of his are so bright.

Hope to see you soon, Scorsones!!

Bethany Chase | Rochester, NY Family Mini-Session Photographer

2011-12-08T09:35:00.013-05:00

I have known Mark nearly my whole life. We grew up on the same street until I was in middle school. We used to play together all the time with all the neighborhood kids. Kickball in our teeny front yard. Swimming in the little plastic pools. We were an interesting bunch of kids. . . and there were a lot of us all around the same age. We graduated together too.

But then I didn't see Mark for ten years! I ran into him at the museum a couple of months back and found out he's actually living in Rochester now. . . and he said he'd be interested in doing a photography session. So he brought his gorgeous family to me for my mini-sessions and I cannot tell you how much I giggled the entire session on the inside because his children are just too good to be true. Too much cuteness for this lady to handle!!

Finding Normalcy Amidst Mass Chaos

2011-12-07T13:36:00.000-05:00

Don't be fooled. . . I have had blog posts for the past week and will continue to have ones in the next couple of days. . . all of which were written a couple of weeks ago and scheduled to post automatically. I have not been sitting in front of my computer writing posts every day.

My life has sort of come to a halt, but I am pushing past it and still just trying to take it one portion of a day at a time. Boxes are getting unpacked, but are still everywhere. The worst rooms in the house are my office and the living room. You can barely move around in either. None of the bathrooms are unpacked. But thankfully the kitchen no longer has any boxes in it, and the family room is at least a place where I can sit down and play with the boys in.

I am amazed at how well they are doing. Carter seems to be taking everything in stride and Brayden doesn't seem phased either. They seem to both be pretty flexible and for that I am glad. I know many kids need routine and once they are used to something or someplace, it's hard to get them to feel comfortable doing anything else. I guess we were blessed to not have kids that thrive only on routine. They seem to go with the flow pretty well.

I have learned that you really can't go through life easily if you aren't able to be a go with the flow kind of person. We got a call today saying that the people buying our house are completely ready to close--originally it wasn't supposed to happen until the 16th. So tonight we have to go sign our papers, trek over to the other house, clean everything and remove the rest of our stuff that is there. And then hand over our keys. This morning, I had no idea that was happening.

I long for things to be unpacked. My happy family photos to be hung on the wall. For everything to have a new place. For this to feel like home once again.

I keep reminding myself that Rome wasn't built in a day.

Bethany Chase | Rochester, NY Family Mini-Session Photographer

2011-12-07T09:00:00.017-05:00

It makes me so happy when my good friends have me take pictures of their family. So photographing Katie and her family feel more like fun instead of work. I have grown to love them so much the past couple of years and miss Katie terribly since her son and my son go to preschool on opposite days of the week, and we can't do play dates with the boys any more.

If she lived right around the corner, I bet I'd see her lots of times a week. She'd be one of those friends. Oh hey, throw your kids in the car and come over for lunch. Oh hey. . . meet me at the library in fifteen minutes. Oh hey, come on over for pizza and movie night.

But we live 40 minutes away from each other. . . and our new house will make it just about an hour. And that makes me terribly sad.

But life is life, and we will make the best of what we have! Love you, Currins!

Bethany Chase | Rochester, NY Family Mini-Session Photographer

2011-12-06T08:41:00.018-05:00

This little guy was all boy. He ran around and collected rocks the entire session. Something neither of my boys did, so it's kind of fun to watch how intriguing rocks can be to someone.

And I don't know what it is with dimples the past couple of months, but man have I seen some adorable ones. Where are these kids getting all these dimples from? I'd like to find out if we ever have a number three :) I'm pretty sure there are no dimples on either side of our families though. . . big bummer.

Bethany Chase | Rochester, NY Family Mini-Session Photographer

2011-12-05T08:26:00.016-05:00

Look at this gorgeous little girl I got to photograph during one of my mini-sessions. She has an incredible smile, complete with a little dimple. Mini-sessions have pros and they have cons. The biggest pro is that they are just the right amount of time for most kids. After about 15-20 minutes, most of the time, the kids are done with the whole humor the photographer by laughing at her jokes and doing what she tells me to do. So a full session sometimes ends a little messy. But for other kids, mini-sessions are tough because it's just 15 minutes, and sometimes they take a bit longer than that to warm up. So for some kids who are a bit on the shy side, I might catch a few smiles near the end of the session. . . after they figure out that I'm okay :)

Hence the no smile family picture from Morgan. . .

But the natural smile when she was laughing at her momma in this picture . . .

And her happy parents, who smiled at me right from the beginning :)

Bethany Chase | Rochester, NY Family Mini-Session Photographer

2011-12-03T09:29:00.009-05:00

I had one last minute opening for my mini-sessions and I'm so glad this family hopped in the spot! It was fun to have a group of "older" kids. I didn't have to chase anyone around or talk in silly voices.

And this adorable couple below? . . . I will be shooting their wedding in April :)

Bethany Chase | Rochester, NY Family Mini-Session Photographer

2011-12-02T07:27:00.015-05:00

I have loved getting to know this little family. I have done two full sessions with them already, so I am happy to call them regular clients :) That always makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

I was thrilled that Lisa brought her sister and her family along as well. She wanted to have a couple of pictures of the cousins together and then have separate family pictures as well. The more variety, the merrier!

The First Goodbye

2011-12-01T15:36:00.000-05:00

Brayden is at the age where he is beginning to understand what you might not ever see this person again means. And I feel terribly about it when it comes to Chase, who lives across the street. It's sort of like having a built in playmate. And Brayden adores him.

Right now, they are in the other room, playing Mario Kart together. I love hearing them conversing back and forth while they play. They are both really good boys, so their game talk consists mostly of giggles and saying things like, you shrunk me, silly! And let's finish the race together!

Moving back into our old street, mainly consisting of other people and retirees, is going to be a big change. Brayden will no longer be able to look out the front windows, notice that Chase is home and then ask if he could go play.

So this is it. Typing this as the last time my little boy is getting play with one of his friends. Knowing that they may not ever see each other again. And knowing that in just a couple of days, our life here on Charlton Road is coming to an end. Two months ago, we had no idea we would even be moving. Life has a way sneaking the unimaginable into the mix--just when you least expect it.

So thank you Chase, for your friendship. Brayden is going to miss you. And you will always be known in my heart as his first goodbye.

Bethany Chase | Rochester, NY Family Mini-Session Photographer

2011-12-01T07:53:00.010-05:00

This family wins the we're up for anything, so we will drive over two hours for a 15 minute session award. I was thoroughly flattered. I loved their little splashes of pink. . . celebrating their little daughter's birth? :) And Hope looked amazing for just having a baby two months ago.

Thanks for making the trek, Howell family!!

Thanksgiving!

2011-11-30T08:48:00.022-05:00

This post could probably be titled a lot of different things. . .

Thanksgiving! (which, I so cleverly decided to choose, because I didn't want to give you any hints what the post was about)

Family Times.

Livin' it up with the fam.

The good times we had during Thanksgiving spending time with family and doing festive activities

You get the point :)

It also could be titled a few other things . . .

Oops, I forgot my flash.

Wow, there is a lot of garbage next to my parents' neighbors house.

Yes, I know that the white balance in my pictures is all off, but that's what happens when there isn't much time to edit :)

Whatever it's titled, it is a post representing the time we spent in Buffalo for Thanksgiving. We had quite a bit of fun. We ate a lot. My mom and I shopped and had manicures and pedicures, and in retrospect mom, I should've gotten the "expensive" polish because literally mine lasted less than two days. We all went to a festival of lights at the fairgrounds and did some Christmasy things. We also skyped with my brother and his family who live out of the country and who we miss terribly. We put up my parents' Christmas tree.

And for forty eight hours, I hardly thought about the things that I had to do the upcoming week. I tried my best. It was hard. Relaxing felt weird. But I'm sure with enough practice, I could get used to it :)

I'm looking forward to the Christmas holidays. We get to see LOTS of family, including some on James' side who we have seen only a handful of times the past couple years.

Bethany Chase | Rochester, NY Family Mini-Session Photographer

2011-11-29T07:42:00.016-05:00

I am well aware that I haven't posted pictures of my own boys in a few posts. And I wish that it was different. I have images from Thanksgiving that hopefully I will get to soon. But for now. . . clients are awaiting their images so they can make their cards and Christmas gifts!

What energy this little man brought to our session. He was on the go the entire time! It was like a game to get a picture of him while he wasn't moving :) It was nice that his little brother wasn't mobile yet! I love the outfits that their mommy dressed them in. Stripes and argyle. Nothing clashes when you are taking pictures . . . the more patterns, the merrier! But that's my own opinion.

Bethany Chase | Rochester, NY Family Mini-Session Photographer

2011-11-28T09:18:00.017-05:00

This is my lovely friend Heather. She brought her adorable family to me last week. She is one of my crafting buddies and we've grown closer the past few years. And she is fast becoming one of my "regular clients". Yaaay!

I was thrilled with their adorable coordinating outfits and loved all the fun accessories that she chose for herself and her daughter. Great job, Heather!! You rock :)

Bethany Chase | Rochester, NY Family Mini-Session Photographer

2011-11-27T20:05:00.000-05:00

It is always refreshing to have a family schedule a session that found me from Google :) That always makes me smile. Sometimes, if I don't know that someone referred a client, I ask where they found my name, and sometimes people say they found me on google. Totally fun. Makes my day. At least I have some sort of small presence on the web.

So, thank you Zappia family for trying me out :) It was lovely to meet you!

Bethany Chase | Rochester, NY Mini-Session Photographer

2011-11-26T21:09:00.000-05:00

Diana and Matt were one of the winners in my mini-session giveaway. I was really looking forward to having one session where there were no kids! It was just the two of them :) In the brief time that I had with the two of them, I learned that they are totally into the outdoors. Matt loves fishing. Diana loves to run. And it is very apparent that they are in love :)

Maybe someday I will see them behind my lens as a bride and groom?? Maybe if I'm lucky enough to get chosen :)

Bethany Chase | Rochester, NY Holiday Mini-Session Photographer

2011-11-25T07:54:00.014-05:00

I love babies with chubby cheeks. And older sisters who are thrilled to be the big helper. Emma and Landon were just that. A perfect, helpful older sister thrilled to have a little chubby cheeked brother. Their session was the very first one in the morning, so it was a bit brisk. . . but the sun was out and I knew it was going to be a great day.

Be Merry. :)

The Countdown Dilemma

2011-11-24T08:46:00.017-05:00

I guess the true countdown to our move has begun. But I actually don't know what I'm counting down to, because we don't really have a move date set in stone. We sort of have two weeks to get things from one house to the next. But we need a moving truck. We just haven't figured that part out yet. So I'm not sure if I'm counting down from eight right now or something bigger.

I am trying to do a little bit every day. This week I took down Brayden's bed, boxed up some more toys. And then aimlessly walked around thinking of stuff to pack but realizing that we still needed to use many things. We have loads of boxes already packed, so at least we've gotten that out of the way.

I hope that through all of this, I still remember to be thankful daily, not just today. As we spend two days with family in Buffalo, at least I will have one less distraction . . . being away from the boxes and the mess and the laundry and the to do lists. Hopefully I can focus a bit more on family and the blessings in my life.

Happy Thanksgiving. I'm looking forward to the parade :)

Bethany Chase | Rochester, NY Children's Photographer

2011-11-23T08:20:00.022-05:00

If I was going to base the number of smiles I would be getting from Anthony's session on how the first fifteen minutes of our hour went, I would count on getting zero. But never fear! My silly faces and make a fool of myself technique must have worked. But he was one tough cookie to crack. Thankfully we were doing a full session and not a mini-session! Once we hung out for a little while, I was able to catch a few. And boy was it worth all the hard work :)

Anthony was quiet . . . very shy. But he followed verbal directions like a champ--and he isn't even two. He didn't run away from me like my own little munchkin would have. I enjoyed the fact that I didn't have to chase him around :) Usually that's the case with little boys!

Bethany Chase | Rochester, NY Holiday Photographer

2011-11-22T19:53:00.000-05:00

My blog is going to be filled with little snippets of my mini-sessions for the next month. Fair warning!

I first met this family back in August, for Sofia's one year session. She had this adorable little personality and did nothing but SMILE the entire session. I was looking forward to seeing her and her family again--they were all very sweet. And it's always nice to have a little boy to photograph that is exactly the same age as my oldest son. . . I know precisely what to talk about. :)

Here are the images they chose as part of their mini-session package.

Just Can't Wait. . .

2011-11-21T13:53:00.000-05:00

I am like a little child at Christmas already. I said I was going to wait to post these pictures until I sent out my Christmas cards, but who on earth can wait that long? I took them last week, and it would be near torture for me to wait another two weeks to post them. So, I am sorry dear family and close friends. . . that when you get our Christmas card in the mail, you will have already seen the pictures that are on there.

I tried not to stress this year for pictures. Heaven knows that I am already filled to the brim with it--with responsibilities and moving and all that jazz. So I grabbed a couple of big ornaments, my trusty Squirt crate and drove to a little park a couple minutes away. Brayden was a champ. Carter was not. I told myself that I didn't want to do any more than fifteen minutes, and I stuck to it. Twenty mini-marshmallows later, I figured I had done just about the best I could do with an uncooperative twenty-one month old and we called it a day (even though it was only like 8:30 in the morning).

I was thrilled about the weather. It was in the high sixties! So no worries on my boys not wearing socks and shoes. . . it was pretty warm out :) I guess when my mother-in-law from Florida reads this, she might freeze just thinking about ANYONE being outside with no shoes on when it is sixty degrees. But that's only because her New Hampshire blood has thinned in the sweltering Florida heat. :)

And I do have to admit. . . it's a great thing not having to hire someone to take the holiday pictures :) That's sure a bonus to being a photographer.

Bethany Chase | Rochester, NY Holiday Children's Photographer

2011-11-18T13:47:00.000-05:00

I never want to life a day without being grateful for the gifts that God has given. It was His plan for my life to be a photographer at this moment. . . maybe not in five years. Or in ten years. But right now, in this moment, I have an awesome privilege that I have been given--and I never want to take that for granted. I can remember back to 2009 when I had the painful decision in front of me to resign from my tenured teaching position for good or to return to work for a year hoping that I would get pregnant right away and be able to take another two years of maternity leave--sort of cheating the system, but able to hold on to that security blanket of a job to fall back on. I wrestled with it for the two years of maternity leave that I took. But I was at the end of that window, and I needed to make a decision. I put it off until nearly the last week I was allowed to. I knew in my heart of hearts that I didn't want to continue teaching and that I wanted to stay home and raise my children. But something about letting go made me feel like I was like a fish out of water. Gasping for air and worried lifeless because I couldn't see past the immediate danger that I felt I was in.

But God always has a plan. Even if it's what you think is Plan B. I learned that letting go was the biggest decision that I have ever made in my life. I let go, and God opened these doors for me that I did not even know existed.

And now, moms and dads bring their families and little babies to me to capture a moment in time for them. They trust me with this amazing thing of preserving their present. They invest their hard earned
money in me and hang my art up on their walls. Almost fifty brides and grooms have trusted James and I to capture the most important day in their lives. I think I'm still living in a sense that this is not truly reality--in a twilight zone. How did this even happen? Certainly it wasn't by my own doing--that's certain. So being thankful daily is really the least I can do.

Enough with the heavy stuff!! :)

At any rate. . . here is a little peanut who came to see me at my house last weekend. I was thrilled that his parents wanted some holiday pictures as well as a couple of family photos.

Triple C: November Edition

2011-11-17T14:14:00.000-05:00

It was about 9:30 when I remembered that I hadn't taken out my camera yet. Coffe, Craft and Conversation: November Edition was well underway and some of our I must go to bed before 10 pm friends had already left. I feel bad that we didn't get everyone into the group picture. But there's always December!

And apparently last night's craft night was "Awkward Night". My friend's Kimi, Christy and Sarah were cracking me up with their silliness and attempt at awkward posing in front of the camera.

For the most part though, there was a lot of crafting going on. I am amazed by all of the talent that walks through my door during craft night. Many of the ladies made these adorable turkey shirts for their kids to wear on Thanksgiving. Sarah made adorable owl ornaments for some Christmas gifts. I worked on some props for my holiday mini-sessions that are coming up--tried my hand at some spray painting, which resulting in my hands looking a bit like the tin man.

And my friends didn't even care that there were hardly any chairs and that all the outlets in the house seemed to be blocked by stacks of boxes. They didn't care that there weren't pictures up on the walls or that it wasn't immaculately clean. They love the relationships that are blossoming and the fact don't have to worry about being moms for just a little while--don't have to do the laundry and don't have to pick up messes that weren't made by us.

Looking forward to Triple C: December Edition, which will be graciously hosted by Christy instead since we will be in move mode.

Bethany Chase | Rochester, NY Family Photographer

2011-11-16T10:51:00.000-05:00

I had so many incredibly awesome clients for my fall sessions this year. I love that so many people were getting into the sessions, really putting thought into outfits and details.

This little family did a great job. We were doing a session for Paige, the cute little one year old in the photos. . . but Paige's mom also wanted a couple of family shots and some pics of their son too. Even their little dog came along for the session.

We ventured back to finish the rest of our session inside. Paige's mom wanted a cake smash and also wanted a couple of pictures of Paige sitting inside her wedding dress. I love how her crafty momma coordinated all of the colors and made a tutu to match the owl cake. It makes me happy when people put thought into their session :)

Party Time- Huah.

2011-11-15T08:44:00.032-05:00

Someone called me this morning who I've never hung out with before. She asked if I wanted to go to the zoo. We know their family from church--it was refreshing to hang out with someone new. She was very sweet, and our kids got along great. Brayden already knew Olivia from Sunday school. Carter on the other hand, went completely gaga over the other little girl. By the end of our play date, he wouldn't let her out of his sight and wanted to do nothing but hold her hand.

The funny thing about the zoo today was the lack of people who were there. It was probably the very last day in the sixties until the spring, and it was nearly empty. Even more strange was that we ran into three other people that I knew. It was like a little party. One of them ended up joining our little play date, leaving us with a little troop traipsing around the zoo. Brayden and Olivia had another fun four year old to play with. Carter and Lucy had another little munchkin. We pooled together our lunches and ate merrily while watching the sea lions.

We also ran into my friend, Christy, who was there with her husband celebrating their daughter's first birthday. Christy, bless her heart, dropped off eight moving boxes today. We were plum out, so that was a blessing for sure.

And in the evening? What's more fun than throwing all of the couch cushions on the floor and jumping all over them? Practically nothing.

There was a whole lot of giggling going on in the Chase house.

Bethany Chase | Rochester, NY Holiday Photographer

2011-11-14T07:25:00.000-05:00

Shooting this session was incredible. It was like a little bit of Christmas in October, and I loved it. I love when I have never seen the children that I will be photographing before and then they all spill out of the van looking like they are straight from a magazine. Their momma did a great job dressing them. I am finding that it's helpful to talk to clients beforehand about dress ideas so that we can be sure to be on the same page.

Be Merry, even if it is only November!

Bethany Chase | Rochester, NY Child Photographer

2011-11-11T07:23:00.013-05:00

All I had to do was look at her to make her smile. . . forget having to make a fool of myself to try to get a reaction for the camera. She was enthralled by my basket of apples. She rocked her little pettiskirt. And she brought some delicious October sunlight with her to her one year session.

I love meeting new little people.

The Beginning of the End

2011-11-10T08:08:00.065-05:00

There she is. The SOLD sign adorning our front lawn--a reminder that God is faithful in completing whatever plan he begins, even if it is a plan that seemingly doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. A house is a house is a house, right? It may seem trivial that we are packing up our belongings AGAIN and moving AGAIN, but who knows what the reason is. Maybe we are supposed to invite our new neighbors to church. Plant some seeds. Maybe those seeds will be sown. Maybe there is a plan bigger than just the oh goody, we are moving back to Webster.

Packing isn't for the faint of heart. We have been spending our nights filling up boxes and stacking them in piles. I find it odd that we have to box up all of our stuff just to move fifteen minutes over to the next town. But what other choice is there? Rooms start to echo when you take all the love out of them--handmade valances, images hanging on the walls in frames, shelves with decorations that reflect our style. You are left with an empty shell--when words are spoken, they just bounce around the room not knowing where to stop because there is nowhere for them to land. I noticed this today in my office. Mostly everything is packed up except for my desk. I answered Brayden after he asked me a question from the other room and I sat there for a couple minutes, strangely melancholy and feeling like the room was already lifeless and empty. Lonely in it's barrenness.

But this evening, James moved the stacks of boxes that were piled in our dining room and put them into the office to get them out of the way. It won't echo anymore. Not until December 3rd.

There is still so much to do, and we're pretty much out of boxes. We've had to rely on friends and the liquor store to provide us with the few that we have. I feel like I'm trying to do a lot this week because I know in the next few weeks I have many photo sessions coming, and will still need to take the time to do my photographer job.

I was thankful for the warm weather. Brayden had a chance to play with the boys on the street that he has grown to love. I know that as the cold weather comes, we all tend to hibernate. And while I pray that this isn't the last time he gets to play with them, I know it's the beginning of the end. I am mostly sad that we will be moving away from the boys across the street. . . they are sweet and well behaved and the two older ones never mind playing with the younger kids. A new little girl will live in our house--too young to play with the boys across the street, and definitely the wrong gender. But maybe she will add a little flair to the wild crew already here.

I keep wondering what on earth we are doing. Whether we are even sane. But then I remind myself that things happen for a reason, and if we weren't meant to move, it wouldn't be working out quite so easily.

So for now, it's one day at a time. Work until exhaustion today and then wake up tomorrow with today's work being water under the bridge. Start all over again--step after step, hour after hour. One moment at a time.

That's the only way to move forward.

Bethany Chase | Rochester, NY Family Photographer

2011-11-09T08:28:00.011-05:00

This was the second family that was gung ho about shooting their session at an orchard. Four. Boys.

I almost died when they took off their coats and hats. . . they were all so adorable in their little sweaters

and dress shirts.

These little guys may have squabbles and get annoyed with each other now. . .but in about ten years, they are going to be like their own little posse. I hope they grow strong in brotherhood with each year that passes.

5 kids + 2 moms = 3 ring circus

2011-11-08T14:19:00.000-05:00

We had a playdate with a friend this morning. We had no plan--we hopped in our cars and drove until we ended up at the beach. We had nothing prepared for the beach, but we still had a great time. And after we played, our kids all layed down on our blankets and took naps, like they always do, while we are out galavanting . . . no bed needed. While our kids napped, my friend Carrie and I sipped our coffee and talked about whatever sprang to mind. We read magazines, polished our nails and ate little hors d'oeuvres while the waves lapped at our feet. Then we strung some paper lanterns from tiki poles and stayed until the sun set. Our kids were happily entertained for the eight hours that we stayed. No one was cranky. No one asked for a snack or had to pee.

That might have been what happened. Or we might have just gone to the library, tried to have a conversation while our five kids romped around all over--crying, asking to go to the bathroom, asking for snacks, crying for the swings outside of the library. We may have sacrificed the comfort of sipping on coffee and sitting on a bench while having a meaningful conversation about some of importance. We then may have tried to eat at Subway for lunch which just may have involved a lot of drama, overstimulation, messes, loud music and both of us trying to talk amidst the chaos.

One of the two things may have happened. But I won't tell you which one.

Life may not be as easy as some portray their own to be. But at least I have surrounded myself with people who are in the same place in life--and who I can trust, who I can get along with and who can roll with punches in the craziness of each day.

Bethany Chase | Rochester, NY Family Photographer

2011-11-07T08:13:00.018-05:00

I had the opportunity to do two family session this autumn at an orchard. I've always wanted to use an orchard, but to be honest, my clients sometimes seem hesitant at the idea. They think their kids may be distracted, maybe they aren't really sure how exactly it would work have a session at one or can't picture how the images might turn out. But I was thankful that two families were totally for it. This was the first of the two families--two little boys and a happy couple.

I think the orchard turned out just fine :)

And you better bet that next year, I'm going to have my own family photographed at an orchard :) So Rachelle, you'd better come to NY around the beginning of October next year, okay?