Again, this post is well over due....but here goes...

Rylie was Baptized at St. Anne Catholic Church in Oswego on April 15th, 2012.  Even though there were mumblings of rain all weekend, we ended up having quite a nice day!  Family and friends from Illinois and Indiana came to celebrate this special day for Rylie...we are so glad that so many could make it!

The church service was different than any Baptism that I had ever been to.  It was not a regular Mass, but instead it was strictly a service dedicated for 7 or 8 different families who chose to Baptize their children on this day.  It was really relaxed and geared towards celebrating these babies...and it was OKAY if your baby cried or fussed...in fact, I think it was almost expected :-)

Connie and Roy (Grandma and Grandpa) are the proud God Parents.

After the ceremony, we all met back at our house for some good food and to just enjoy each other's company.

On the menu:

- Pulled pork sandwiches with all the fixin's (North Carolina style!)
- Pasta Salad
- Corn Casserole
- Various desserts made by me, Rylie's Auntie Heather, Grandma Connie, and Great-Aunt Suzy.

I took these photos of Rylie after her Baptism.  I wanted to have Thank You cards with some photos printed on them, like the invitation, so here they are....unfortunately, the Thank You cards have yet to arrive (sorry to all those expecting one!!  I promise, they are coming!).

Please also enjoy the pictures that Cousin Matt took of the ceremony!  I'm not sure why, but they appear to be in some backwards order...but I really don't feel like taking the time to switch them around :)

Thank you again to everyone who came out to show your support.  It really meant a lot to Chris and I, and I'm sure Rylie will appreciate these memories...

Easter Weekend in South Bend

Okay, so I am reeeeeeally behind on my posts lately!  Sorry about that, but I kind of lost my motivation for a while with the whole photo taking, editing, posting, and blogging thing.  After working all day and putting the baby to bed at night, the last thing I felt like doing was sit in front of my computer for another few hours...

So anyways, I'm playing a little game of catch-up now.

It was sort of a last minute decision (about 2 weeks before), but we decided to go to South Bend for Easter to see Chris' parents.  We all had no big plans, just wanted to spend the weekend together.  Heather and Eric also drove in from Michigan for the night.

Even though we didn't have big plans, we ended up getting a lot done!  Chris, Rylie, and I drove in on Friday night (okay, Chris did the actual driving...).  Rylie woke up for a brief moment as we walked inside, but quickly fell back asleep when I placed her down on the guest bed while we got her portable crib ready, and she slept well all night (despite having a nasty cough/chest cold!).  Saturday was actually my birthday!  Chris and Roy went out shopping in the morning (sounds weird, right?!.....for board games!) while Connie and I stayed home with a napping baby and began planning the menu for rYLIE'S Baptism, which was this past Sunday...again, I am VERY behind!  I'll get to that post next.

Chris' parents and the 3 of us went to J.W. Chen for lunch - it is an AMAZING Chinese restaurant in South Bend - at my request (I has been promised that the next time we were in South Bend, that we would visit Chen).  Of course, Connie and I took the opportunity to do a little shopping before lunch and stopped at a darling Children's Boutique.  I wanted to look for a head band and socks or shoes for Rylie's Baptism.  We ended up finding the perfect little white bow instead, some lacey socks, and a white diaper cover with ruffles on the butt and some bright pink accent stitching (I'm going to use that for Rylie's Birthday pictures...smash cake!!)

Heather and Eric drove in later that afternoon.  Connie slaved away in the kitchen while we all enjoyed the beautiful weather outside.  Rylie thoroughly enjoyed crawling around in the grass, trying to eat it.  Heather also brought bubbles, which were pretty cool!!  Chris broke out the bat and a plastic wiffle ball...although after one strike, that wiffle ball was pretty much toast!  We still tried to play for a bit... Until the boys got out the golf clubs and decided to play some game where they hit the ball around the house and the first one to go around the course and hit the shed (oops!), wins!  The afternoon was perfect...

Later that night, as kind of an impromptu thing, some friends stopped by for a cookout!  The Shepherds were in town, so they came... Steph and Scott stopped by...and Kyle and Amanda, who are expecting baby Kyla very sooooooon, stopped by too!  We spent the evening just sitting around the kitchen table sharing stories, laughing, and just having a great time in each others' company.  Again, it was a perfect birthday weekend for me :)

On Sunday, Grandma Chalko came over and we had a nice Easter lunch before everyone had to hit the road to head back home.  I love family weekends like this!

Check out some pictures (As usual, mostly of Rylie) from the weekend...

Weekend Photo Sessions

Phew, this was a busy weekend full of photo sessions!  A few friends asked me to take pictures of their little ones this weekend, plus I decided to take some Easter pictures of Rylie and her cousin Jack.  So, needless to say, I spent a lot of the weekend with camera in hand, and then my evenings were filled with editing in front of the computer.  I'm really happy with them all and have already heard great feedback from my friends about their pictures (and their friends, too, since they are all up on Facebook for all to see!).  I am slowly building a steady clientele, and I love it!  I think I have mentioned before that I do not intend on reaching "Professional Photographer" status...but it is nice to make a little extra change on the side and provide these wonderful families with memories they can cherish forever!

Take a look at a few of my favorites from the weekend.... the client shoots are on my photography blog: chalkophotography.blogspot.com...  here are some of sweet Rylie and her cousin Jack!  Happy Easter, everyone!