G-funk turned 3 in July. You might be thinking to yourself… why did she wait until now to blog about it? Well, if that makes me a bad mother, I won’t even tell you when I actually shot these images. Let’s just say…. he was younger than 3yrs 2mo.  I have to start out Grady’s birthday post (just like always) with an updated rocking chair shot.  This rocking chair was Otey’s grandparents’ and once I shot G’s newborn photo in it that I totally loved, I knew it was going to become a yearly tradition.  The first three were shot in exactly the same place at our house in Iowa.  Since that house is no longer ours… this year we had to start a new location tradition.

Grady is soooo full of personality.  He can be such a lover and two seconds later be the child who is causing me to prematurely gray.  I can only imagine what his teenage years have in store for us.  One thing is FOR SURE…. lots of laughter.

Here’s to you Super Grady!  Happy late Birthday from the one who makes you eat your vegetables.  Glad you’re mine.

]]> http://www.kathymccloy.com/blog/grady-is-3/feed/ 3 http://www.kathymccloy.com/blog/breath-it-in/ http://www.kathymccloy.com/blog/breath-it-in/#comments Mon, 30 May 2011 02:52:10 +0000 Kathy http://www.kathymccloy.com/blog/?p=2074 I have never rocked my kids to sleep.  Not that I don’t think it’s a wonderful thing… and not that I’m against rocking babies, it just wasn’t a good game plan for our family.  Each of my kids have traveled with me since they were three weeks old.  Sleeping in lots of different beds, in lots of different rooms, in lots of different states just doesn’t work if you have a baby that needs rocked in order to go to sleep.  We have a bedtime routine… baths, jammies, prayers, singing (yes me… and it’s BAD) hugs, kisses and good nights.  No matter where you are, all of those things work (unless the hotel has thin walls and I start singing… that could be bad for the neighbors).  All of this “rocking” talk leads me to the reason for this blog post.  Tonight Otey had Cooper and Grady at the lake fishing late and I came home early with Nash.  It was thirty minutes past his bedtime when we got home so I quickly washed him and put him in his jammies.  We were headed for his room when he started “milt milt milt” pointing at the kitchen/living-room (that’s milk for you non kid-havers out there).  I set him down, got his milk out of the refrigerator, and when I handed it to him he took hold of my hand, lead me to the old green wooden rocking chair that sits in our living room, patted the seat and said “rocky-rocky”.  I sat down in our dark empty house, he climbed up in my lap, and I rocked him until he fell asleep.  Oh ya… and I cried.  I cried because it was like everything stood still in my dark quiet house and for twenty minutes my Nash was an only child.  There were no “I needs” or “I wants” from other kids, no noise, no distractions… just him being a baby that loved his mama, and me being a Mom with all the time in the world to love him.  Seriously seems like just yesterday he was a tiny tiny baby.  Moral of this story… my goal this summer is to have lots of those moments with each of my kids.  I am so blessed and I want to slow down and breath in every second of it.

January 23, 2010 – the day I became a Mom for (maybe) the last time.

I had to add that maybe in there… anyway…

On Saturday we had a family birthday party to celebrate Nash Potato’s 1st birthday and Coop Diddy turning 5.

FIVE.

Where has five years went?!?!?

It was soooo nice for the boys to be able to share there birthdays with so many people who love them.  That’s why we moved back to Indiana.  Those are the memories I want each of my boys to have.  I couldn’t have been happier for them (and although selfish… myself too).  Otey’s parents drove up from Missouri, and the FABULOUS Shannon made my boys the cutest cakes ever.  Yet another benefit of living in Indiana… I can totally take advantage of my cousin-in-laws baking skills!

I don’t know how in the world we ended up with a “racecar” birthday but we did.  Cooper NEVER plays with cars.  He’s totally a dinosaur/animal kid.  For some reason completely out of the blue about a month ago he told me he wanted a racecar party.  I tried my darnedest to show him all the other “way cool” options for birthday themes, but in the end… checkered flags it was.

Nash had a perfect 1st birthday.  I swear that baby is THE happiest kid on the planet.

I haven’t let him have many sweets, so when he did get a chance to get his hands on that birthday cake… it was pretty good watching.  He started out slow…

…but he got the hang of things quickly.

He had some coaching from my cousin Heather.  Did I say somewhere up above that I was happy to live close to my family again?  Maybe I take that back.

Remember this sweet giraffe?

Nash decided he looked quite tasty.

And this beautiful cake that Shannon spent HOURS on…

Nash decided he would just go ahead and put the smack down on it.

We had the party at Cobblestone Crossing (my house wasn’t ready in time) and on the drive back to my Mom’s house I asked Cooper if he had fun at his party.  His response?  “Ya Mom.  It was TOTALLY AWESOME!!!”

I love that kid.

Happy birthday to my two sweet boys, and thank you family for sharing the day with them!

1st up my little G-man.

Grady has really came out of his shell in the past few months.  When he turned two in July I was pretty sure he was going to grunt like a caveman and hide behind my leg the rest of his life, but at 2 years 6 months he is speaking in full sentences and not shy AT ALL.  He’s like a different kid.  He climbs right up in Mari’s chair and fills her in on everything important in his world.

“Grady, show Mama your handsome haircut”

2nd up, Coop-Diddy

Cooper on the other hand, has for some reason found a shell the past six months.  The kid who used to greet random strangers in the grocery store now stares at the ground and is stone faced when he is around anyone he doesn’t know well.  If you know Cooper personally, this is hard to believe (he did sing Flo Rida’s “LOW” with no accompaniment complete with choreographed dance moves at BOTH of our Christmas gatherings).  But for some reason, he climbs up in Mari’s chair and never makes a peep.  Once we get out to the car, the REAL Cooper shows back up.

“Cooper, let me take a picture of your cool haircut.”

Don’t ask me what’s up with that face.  He’s my little performer for sure.

3rd up… teeny tiny itty bitty Nash Potato (sniff… sniff…)

See what I mean about the Tomato look?  He sat in the chair like such a big boy.

He was super happy and did pretty good for awhile.  By the end I was making alligator noises with Mari’s hair-clips and letting him chew on her water spray bottle.  If I would have put my camera down, I could have probably been a little more help (sorry Mari).

Nearing the end…

And finally… my handsome little Nash ditches the tomato look and models the final product.

Awwww…. no more tiny newborn.  In just a couple of weeks Cooper won’t be able to tell people “My brother’s zero” anymore.  One month from now I will be the mother of a one, two, and five year old.  How did this happen?  Three babies AND I’m rolling in a mini-van.  Never say never my friends

THE McCLOY FAMILY and KATHY McCLOY PHOTOGRAPHY ARE RELOCATING!!!!!!!!!  After three years living in Iowa, we’re headed to another middle America “I” state with lots of corn fields… home to INDIANA!  There are not words to really describe how excited I am.  I am from Terre Haute, Indiana and my family (along with lots of wonderful friends) live there.  I am so so SOOOOO happy to be moving back to be close to the people I love.  We’ve already bought a house and hope to be moved by the first of the year.  Gigantic life changes, and along with that… gigantic business changes.  Don’t worry my loyal Missouri clients, nothing is going to change for you.  I will still make several trips a year to shoot in Missouri with no travel charges.  As for Indiana… I am super excited about starting fresh and growing my business in a new community.  Once we get moved (yikes… the thought of packing up my house makes me shake in my boots) I’ll be running all sorts of fun specials for Terre Haute and the surrounding area!

On a personal note…

1. I’d like to go ahead and apologize to the teachers of Dixie Bee.  Starting next fall you will be subjected to ten years straight of McCloy boys… for a few years, three at a time.

2. You will see me in Wal-Mart in sweatpants, no makeup, and bad hair.  Keep walking please… don’t make eye contact.

2. If you have a preschool suggestion (starting in January) let me know.

3. If you know of a daycare that takes drop ins (no set schedule just here and there as needed) let me know.

4. If you know of a very good, very proven, very dependable interior painter, let me know.

5. If you know of a very good, very proven, very dependable cleaning lady, let me know.

6. If you enjoy moving heavy furniture (for free) while being tripped by naughty children, let me know… have I got a job for you!

2005 34 TLB Keystone Challenger.  TONS of storage (like enough for clothing, toys, work equipment, baby swings, lawn furniture, etc for two adults and three kids for weeks at a time).  Multiple large closets, washer and dryer hook up, free standing dinette, hide a bed couch, two recliners, desk, queen size bed in master.  New Awning and air conditioner in the last couple of years.  Everything on the camper works perfectly.  Camper has normal wear you’d expect for a 2005.  It’s currently in Indiana and we can deliver after payment is received.  Super cute baby and clutter shown in photos not included in asking price   $19,000

Before I bore you with everyday life junk, One of my VERY favorite things is going home… home to Terre Haute.  Memorial Day weekend I’m coming back to the Terre Haute area for a few days.  I have room for three more appointments. Let me know if you’d like to reserve a session time.

1.  MARTHA STEWART ROCKY KIND OF KNIFE THINGY

I’m pretty sure that’s not the technical name, but man oh man do I love it.  My mama got it for me for Christmas a couple of years ago, but I have really just been using it a lot the past couple of months.  Perfect for cutting pizza up in to bite sizes… dicing ham for omelets.  I am NOT a knowledgeable cook (proven HERE HERE and HERE) but anything that makes my life easier gets two thumbs up from me.

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2. THE MAGIC BULLET

I got two Magic Bullet’s several years ago.  One for me, and one for my Mom (yes I bought my mother a gift from an infomerrcial).  Before kids I used it for smoothies and milk shakes, after children I started using it to make baby food.  It is supper handy because the container that you do the actual mixing in has a lid to be stored in the refrigerator.  Or you can mix your smoothies right in the mug you’re going to drink it from so the only thing you have to wash in the blade.  Fabulous.  I love how “not messy” it is.

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3. TINY LOVE

I love Tiny Love baby products.  I have never been in to the “baby” looking stuff.  You know… little teddy bears or Winnie the Pooh.  All of Tiny Love’s products are bright and colorful and most importantly tough.  I have had  THIS PLAY MAT and  THIS MOBILE through all three boys and they still work/look like new.  Most Toy’s R Us carry Tiny Love products.

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4. CITY MINI DOUBLE STROLLER

I  am TOTALLY OCD when it comes to buying baby products.  I research and read and research more.  When we had Cooper I bought a FANTASTIC single stroller that we still have and still use and that extra money that I invested in it has paid off ten times over for us.  So… it only makes since that when it came time to buy a double I had super high standards my double had to meet.  After months of debating and returning one.  The City Mini is the one I decided on.  It SERIOUSLY pushes with one hand with Grady (almost two) and Cooper (four years and 40+ pounds) in it.  It’s one of the narrower side by sides so it fits easily through doors.  It also it one of the lightest high quality doubles on the market.  Love. It.

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5. PHOTO MECHANIC

This one is a photographer thing.  For years the slowest part of my workflow has been weeding through a session (sometimes 400 photos) and deciding which images I was going to edit and show to clients.  Photo Mechanic allows you to flip through large images and rate them by number or color and then sort them when you’re done.  What used to take me at least an hour now takes me ten minutes.  If you are a photographer that shoots lots of frames, this program is for you!

2. I can fit one more session in the Terre Haute area this coming weekend.

3. Kentucky fried chicken has boneless friend chicken now.  Thank you Colonel Sanders from all of us who are weirded out by food with bones in it.

4. This is a shout out to the U-dub creepers.  They are self proclaimed blog stalkers… aka… creepers, so I thought they should get their time in the “spotlight!”

Funny sidenote, when Cooper saw this photo he said  “Why are all those number two girls making fish lips?”.  I figured U-dub creepers was a little nicer name than “number two girls” or “fish lip girls”.  So there you have it Jenna, Jessica, and Chelsee (you too Lauren… you’re grouped in with all the crazies).  Here’s all the blog love you were hoping for!