Hillary & Evan 09.26.2009
Amy & Jeff 09.12.2009
Jules & Joey 08.08.2009
Erin & Teddy 07.18.2009
Portraits
Posted on March 8, 2010
South Bend Special Needs Photography | Bryce’s Disorder
I confess, I have not been a very good blogger lately. I am sorry, but I promise it’s been for a good cause. It’s all Bryce’s fault. Well, not really, but it is mainly because every time I go to blog, I want to blog about him and I haven’t been able to pour my heart out quite yet. We knew about a year ago that there was something not quite right with him, I was concerned but passed it off that he was just a late bloomer. When we decided that he wasn’t making any improvements, I went to his doctor to get help. I was starting to worry that it might be Autism, but the doctor passed it off pretty quickly and decided that the 1st Steps Program would be best for Bryce.
After incorporating 3, that’s right THREE, therapists into his weekly routine, we have now been told that we have a special needs child with a Sensory Processing Disorder. I have found myself crying about it many times since the realization that there is a name to what is wrong with him. As his mother, I want the best for my child. It’s been that way since the beginning. I didn’t have an ultrasound, I ate healthy (for the most part), his birth was completely natural, I didn’t vaccinate him (YES, I am one of THOSE mothers – the fact is, no one has proved that vaccines aren’t killing our children so we’ll deal with illnesses as they come) and I breast fed him until he was 22 months old. In my mind, there was no way that he could have something with the word “disorder” in it.
My heart has broken in many pieces since the day his therapist gave me the reading materials to understand why he does the things he does. I have struggled to create a structured day for him and it’s hard for me to do because I LOVE to live by the seat of my pants, the problem is that his disorder is Autistic-Like and NEEDS the structure or he’s a child with a violent temper. I feel like I can’t take him anywhere anymore and it’s really frustrating. He needs to be social and he needs to be around other people or he’ll never be okay with society.
We have seen some really great improvements lately, like he tried to say “ready” on Friday, but said “eh-eee”. He will bring me his bottle if he wants milk and his juice box if he wants juice. We are starting to be able to understand him a little bit more in what his sensory needs are, like he can’t handle a lot of noise in his environment and he needs deep pressure for his arms, leg, and back. It hasn’t been easy, but I am so blessed to have the opportunity to work with him full-time. He is the reason I get up early every morning instead of sleeping in when I want to, the reason my life has some kind of structure to it and the reason that I’ve started cooking healthier (when I can, of course).
Since this has been a life changing event for us, I decided to make a category just for Bryce’s updates because we have so many friends and family praying for him and encouraging us to stay strong for Bryce. I’m going to try to make it a weekly update, but blogging has been the last thing I get to with Bryce’s schedule.
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Posted on March 5, 2010
South Bend, Indiana Commercial Photography | Pink Heels
Have you ever really asked yourself who decided we had to have a favorite toothpaste, season, type of clothing, or even color? When I was younger, I truthfully didn’t have a favorite color. My favorite color was whatever my best friend at the time’s was. As I got older, I adapted orange as my favorite color. I don’t really know why, other than it just made me happy and put me in a good mood. If there was one color I loathed more than anything, it was pink. However, when I was pregnant I got swept off my feet by that darn color and AT last, I had turned to the girl inside of me. After one of my models left her bright pink heels in my car, I fell deeply in love with her shoes, so I was on a quest to find my own pair. I LOVE these shoes so much and I can honestly say that I am officially addicted to shoes.
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Posted on February 23, 2010
South Bend, Indiana Food Photography | Cinnamon Chicken Salad
YAY! It’s back, my energy is FINALLY back. I haven’t seen it in quite a while. For the past 2 years, I have eaten nothing but junk. Not only did I eat junk, but I couldn’t get myself to workout to at least compensate for all the empty calories, carbs (my personal favorite), and aspartame infested sodas that I had consumed. No matter how many times I tried to stop eating and drinking that crap, it was like crack and kept calling my name.
Since Bryce’s diagnosis last week and reading more on what Sensory Processing Disorder meant for our family, I decided that there was a lot about the way we lived and ate that needed to change. Bryce is going to need to have mommy’s attention more and I need my mind to be sharp to constantly challenge him. I started to read Skinny Bitch in hopes that the slap in the face that they have given so many women about their eating and their health was just what I needed. Well, it was everything and more and let me tell you since I started getting more serious about my eating (I won’t even call it a diet because it’s really a way of life) I have been feeling great.
Last night, I made my favorite recipe with chicken. It’s something that I came up with one day in the summer last year to really spice things up. I always vary the spices, but the main ingredient is cinnamon. When I cook it on the grill, my personal favorite, I sprinkle cinnamon and either old bay or black pepper over one side of the chicken and then rub it over the entire chicken breast. When I cook the chicken on the stove, I warm up the pan with evoo then sprinkle in the cinnamon and the “spice of the day”, cut the chicken into pieces and then, you know, cook it. You can serve this in a salad or keep the breasts whole for sandwiches or accompanied by your favorite side dish. I highly recommend trying this one day, it’ll confuse your taste buds, in a good way.
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Posted on January 23, 2010
South Bend, Indiana, Fun Photography | Bryce Whitcomb
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Posted on January 12, 2010
South Bend Product Photography | Michael Kors Very Hollywood
So, for Christmas this year, I took the initiative and bought my own gift from Chris. Of all people, I would know best of what I REALLY wanted, right? Well, about two weeks before Christmas, I was doing my morning routine updating the accounting and noticed there was a purchase from Sephora. I surely didn’t buy anything from there, I swear, but Chris did. I wasn’t THAT upset that he got me something else but I wish I would’ve been surprised on Christmas.
Now, before I move on with the rest of the story, I have to confess; I am OBSESSED with the perfume samples that come in my Elle and Harper’s Bazaar magazines. With that said, I just about did a back flip when I opened my gift from Chris. Sephora has this AWESOME Sampler kit so you can test a selection of designer perfumes. That’s not the best part. I was psyched when he told me that after I sampled them all and decided what I liked best, I redeem the included $$ certificate and I get a bottle of my favorite. It was a very tough decision because there were 3 that I was crushing: Donna Karan’s Cashmere Mist, Juicy Couture, and Michael Kors Very Hollywood. Now, if they had the option for Vera Wang’s Look, I would not have needed to sample anything else. But, it wasn’t a choice so I chose Very Hollywood. I got my “free” bottle yesterday and I am totally infatuated with it.
Thank you, Chris, for getting tired of me smelling like “paper” and getting me such a brilliant gift. You are so totally awesome. 
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