Shannon Gurney Photoblog

Darian - 9 months

I promised I'd be back and here I am!  I bet Darian's momma is about to pass out from holding her breath.  In fact, I'm smiling at the thought of her about to pass out from lack of oxygen!  HA!  Just kidding, Ashley!

So, baby "D" is a funny little guy who is always wearing a big grin OR a serious, inquisitive "What is she doing?" look.  For this session, though, he was grinning from ear to ear in nearly every shot!

Of course, it helps that both his parents are full of laughter, too!

I swear they had me laughing so much I was having to do cheek exercises to get rid of the aches!  No kidding!

We had a TON of fun, as usual.  AND were able to get a million cool shots out of this little guy!  He's growing so much and each time I see him, he's got more personality!  I can't wait to see him in another 3 months!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This next one was Ashley's idea.  She even brought the mirror!  She had a similar photo taken of her when she was a baby, which she brought to show me.  I love that each time I see them, she's got a whole lists of shots she's prepared in her mind!  I've even told her several times she should be my assistant - Ashley you ROCK!

The neat thing about this shot is how we took it!  You could do this at home.  Just get a mirror, go outside, have someone hold up a black blanket behind your subject and snap a few shots!  You'll be amazed at what you can get!

and I have to end with another super cute bath shot!  I love these!

Really BIG Tease!

Either his momma is gonna love me or hate me after this post!  I only had a few seconds to proof this today due to all my other errands.  But, I knew she was watching like a crazy woman for his sneak peek.  So, this is ALL you get for now.  BUT, I promise to have the rest up tonight sometime!  Keep watching your in-box for the link, Ashley!

I know you'll all be back tonight after seeing this!  Who could possibly resist this little guy's charm?  NOT ME!

Picture-Takin' Blues

As you all know and have heard about before, Ty (my oldest) has a really bad case of PCS (photographer's child syndrome)  Basically, this means HE HATES TO HAVE HIS PHOTO TAKEN!

nice.

How in the heck am I supposed to take any photos around here if he runs in absolute terror every time I break out the camera?  Today, I resorted in a SONIC bribe and still...here's what I got!

The first shot wasn't horrible...but it was NOT his normal look - as you can see.  The big dorky CHEESEBALL!
 
Even when he sits and lets me snap a couple, right when I push the shutter he turns his eyes in another direction.  That's okay, if we're going for candid stuff.  BUT, I just want ONE SHOT of him looking at me.

Well, it just AIN'T gonna happen...

WAIT!  He IS looking at me, isn't he!
 
I guess I'll just have to settle for what I can get!

Here's a kiss for you, Mom!

Lovely.
 
 
Good Grief!
 
Better luck tomorrow!
 
I'm beginning to think he's his father's twin.  Not so sure that's a GOOD thing!

Wes - a year in pictures

My baby is TWO today. 

Here he is a year ago enjoying his first birthday cake.

In honor of his birthday today, here he is (in all his chubby glory) throughout this past year.

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

January

AND, February 2009...at 2 years old...getting into plenty of trouble.
 

Road Trip

On Thursday, my sister and I loaded up all the kids and headed to Tishomingo to spend the night and hang with family we haven't seen in a long while.  I'm not sure we knew exactly what we were getting into.  Let's just say, my kids were interesting...

snotty noses and sore throats don't do well in unknown beds.

Still, we made the best of things and I even got a few snapshots in the process.  Are you surprised?

My dad...with all of our bunch, except Wes.  He was having NO PART of picture taking.  Go figure!

My adorable sister (who gets prettier every year)...

and my cutie pie nephew who is growing like a weed these days.
 

Believe it or not, I handed the camera off to Sis and she snapped a couple of pretty sweet shots!  I'm SO proud!

I LOVE this photo of Wes!  Sis, you ROCK the camera!

And, LOOK, she caught one with ME in it!  Cool beans, dude.

Please ignore the fact my hair wasn't brushed...I promise my teeth were and that's all that counts, right.
 
 
See ya Monday!

Dog Teeth

So, I've been away a couple of days and it looks like I won't be back again (in full blogging force) until Sunday.  I know you can't stand it when I'm away.  So, I thought I'd put a little fun on the blog here to tide you over.

Here's Ty at his first dental visit.  Yes, I know he's 4.  Yes, I know I procrastinated a bit.  BUT, you don't know Ty.  Let's just say I wasn't looking forward to the visit.  Turns out, it was pretty funny.  Please ignore the BIG GOOB talking in the background.  I'll let you figure out why I'm calling this post "Dog Teeth".  Just be sure to listen closely to the video. 

I grabbed this shot from the Flip video, which means the quality isn't great.  Still, I captured the memory which totally ROCKS!

Duck, Duck...Goose?

 
 
kisses anyone?
 
who knew an ear could be so perfect?
 
 
Happy Tuesday!  Go kiss some ducks!  It'll make you smile...apparently.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Little Heartbrakers

If you don't believe me, just check out Ty's shirt!  It's the one he chose to wear to his Valentine's party at pre-school...my kind of man!!!!

It's been a really busy week around the Gurney household.  My boys are LOVING Valentine's Day!  It totally cracks me up.  I'm thinking it ranks right up there with Halloween in their minds, mostly because of the all the sweets they get at their pre-school parties.  We even had to get their teachers a little something.  Too funny!

This week the weather has been really nice so the boys have gotten to play outside quite a bit.  You know what that mean...ME taking LOTS of photos!  It's about time, isn't it.  I feel like I've been missing out on the first two months of this year!
 
 

Wes learned how to climb up the steps (read: Zipper's steps) into the fort and is really proud of himself.  ME, a little worried...

There IS an actual ladder into the fort, but the boys would rather take this route like the dog.  Does anyone else in the whole world have steps so their DOG can play in the fort with the kids?  Probably not.  Does that make us really weird?  Probably so.

The sandbox is directly underneath the fort.  The boys concoct various delicacies like mudpies and cookies then haul them up top to the small picnic table in the fort.  Dinner time!!!!!

The only problem with this scenario is once Wes is UP THERE, he can't get down without MY help via the slide.  It's a FAST slide folks!  So, he needs a hand, literally.  AND, he pretty much hollers "HAND!" until someone goes over there to lend him one.

In other BAKING news, the boys and I made delicious cupcakes this week for party day at school.  Wes is always into everything when we do a cooking activity like this.  He really is a big, BIG MESS.

It's a good thing I watch like a hawk to make sure the stove stays OFF when he's around.
 
 
We made mini-cakes for Wes' class and BIG fat ones for Ty's class.
 
 
 
 

In the end, everyone is HAPPY!  Even Ty thought they were delicious (he just ate his faster than I could snap a photo!).  See the remnants of white icing on his lips...
 

So, anyway, the point of our WHOLE post today is to tell all of you HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!  We love you all...

especially Daddy!

Bunko Babes...

have become something totally different. 

I'm pretty sure the "babes" are getting old.  You know it's a sad state of affairs when your Bunko group has resorted to playing Wii Fit to have a little fun.

She's totally gonna kill me for these.  I'll have to hide-out for, at least, a week or two.
 
 

I thought that one was hilarious...a tight rope walk.  HA!  I didn't even give it a try!  I knew I'd fall on my caboose!

Alright, we did sing a little, too.  AND, even the pre-teens came in to join the party.  Again, a sad state of affairs...
 

Oh hush, it was HER house, after all.  She knew I'd bring my camera!

Well, at least, this cutie was present.  We ALL wanted to take her home at the end of the night.
 

To give you an idea of her size, just take a look...LOOK closer!  Do you see her?

She was TINY!  Oh my gosh, adorable!