Mike & Cathy's Blog

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Sassy Update

This is the last of my run of postings tonight! On a happy note, this is our new puppy, Sassy! Sassy will be arriving in Portland from Connecticut on Saturday, March 1st! From there, we will begin our long series of training to turn our little pup into the best service dog ever!

We found out that one of her siblings will be joining a family in Beaverton, OR, so we'll be training together. It will be nice to have a fellow North Star family so close by. Their North Star dog is for their son who is the same age as Jack. We hope this is the start of a wonderful friendship!

We plan on documenting our journey with Sassy and Jack on video and photos, so there is lots to come in the next few months. We can't wait to share it with you all, so keep checking in.

Valentine's babies

Valentine's day came and went rather quickly this year, but not before I could get a picture of the kids in their coordinating outfits! Not exactly perfect pictures, but fun nonetheless. They are good sports for me and my constant shutterbug.

Nothing says "love" better for me, than pictures of our babes hugging and smiling together.

Portrait Mania

As they say, practice makes perfect. I am working on my photography skills--not only working the camera and subjects, but also my lighting and directing. What better way to practice than to take pictures of the special people in our lives.

My sister, Bern, and brother-in-law, Shawn, were up for the challenge and I finally got a chance to take some nice photos of them.

Grandmom and Pop also were forced to pose for me and I think it turned out very nice.

How am I doing so far?

Our Little Lady Vanessa

Our little lady Vanessa is so easy to photograph. No bribing, no tears, just ask for a nice smile and pose and I get a beautiful picture. Thanks to years of torture by Mom, she is a natural in front of the camera.

Jack Man

It's Jack's turn to be in the spotlight. My little man was a champ in front of the camera for me. Before I know it, he'll be modeling Calvin Klein underwear on a billboard in Times Square!

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Colette at 4 months

Our baby girl is now 4 months old! With her new baby fat rolls, she is simply scrupmtious! She is smiling and laughing now, too! Here are a few shots from her latest session at Mommy Photography Studio.

Josie: at the Terrific Twos!

Our little Josie is now in the Terrific Twos! Her little personality is really coming out and, let me tell you, we are going to have our hands full with this one! Here she is in all her glory in a photo shoot at Mommy's photography studio :)

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Happy Valentine's Day!

Make a postcard - it's easy!

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Puppy Update

North Star told us that all 19 puppies in the litter tested beautifully for temperment. They will be assigning the children their specific puppies soon! Her is a recent picture of one of the puppies they named "Rory". We are hoping to find out who our puppy is very soon.

Here's Jack with his life-sized golden retriever stuffed animal. We bought this to begin preparing Jack for his new friend. We also bought our dog crate and set it up this weekend in preparation for our puppy's arrival. The excitement in our house is building!

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Our Little Josie is 2!!!!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Josie girl!

Can you believe it? Our baby Josie is 2 years old?!? Our little baby is now a very active and personable toddler! She is talking up a storm and is our next little fashionista next to her big sister, Vanessa. She truly is a character and a joy to have around. Though she is still very much a mama's girl, she is coming out of her shell little by little and what a little ham she is!

These next shots are from today, her real birthday:

Josie showing off her little "Cheetah Girl" coat that she got from Aunt Bern & Uncle Shawn

Josie shoing off another new outfit & necklace--supercute!

Cake time!

Blowing out the candles

Cake shot

Can you stand it? They are so cute!

(Sorry, but I love them so much)

Mom & Jo

Everyone got a present

Josie got a sweet new cell phone. Here she is calling her peeps.

It's all about the network. Can you hear me now?

Baby Colette, cutie patootie. Now 3 months old!

(Outfit compliments of Aunt Bern & Uncle Shawn)

Dad & Colette

Sunday, Jan 13, 2008: Josie & Pop's combined birthday party

(low key this year :))
We had an "official" birthday party for Josie, combined with her birthday buddy, her Pop, of course, last weekend.

Here's Jo modeling yet another new outfit

(from Aunt Bern & Uncle Shawn)