We are so proud!

My kindergartner has been participating in her school's accelerated reading program called "Read Up". This week she got her Cardinal Pin (school mascot is a cardinal), which is the first level of achievement in Read Up. The gist of the Read Up program is that the kids read books and then take comprehension tests about the stories to earn points. Once they reach a certain number of points, they get a Cardinal Pin. There are more prizes as the program goes along but this pin is the first milestone. We are so proud of her! Her teacher was proud too, explaining that in her 14 years of teaching kindergarten, Gracie was her first student to get a Cardinal Pin.

Here she is at the Science Expo with her teacher. The Science Expo just happened to be on the same night that she received her pin.

This post is also the blog debut of my new "diaper bag camera". After my point-and-shot bit the dust in Florida, I wanted another little pocket sized camera for everyday snaps so that I didn't have to carry my big pro camera everywhere. I recently bought the Olympus Stylus 1030W, and so far it's been great. It's no SLR, but it's a handy little gadget indeed. Since my last point-and-shoot suffered humidity damage, the fact that this little Olympus is waterproof to 33 feet was a big selling point for me. I will keep you posted on how well it really works underwater.

You've Come A Long Way, Baby!

Here's a picture of P when I met him last April,

and just look at him now, one year later!

I really love that cute little car his mom brought along. My kids saw the picture and yelled "Slug Bug!"

If you follow my blog you will see that I am getting a lot of mileage out of my new green bucket from Target (see below). I've used it for two 1-year-old sessions this month. It's a great little "cage", holding an active 1-year-old just long enough for me to fire off a few shots. LOL!

P brought along his big brother and sister, who are also getting to be such big kids now and were really cooperative for the session.

Happy 1st Birthday!

10 Days Old

Remember the little cutie I photographed at the hospital a few days ago? What a perfect little angel. He slept thru his whole studio session, even with the noise of his two older sisters and a few unexpected interruptions by my own 3-year-old.

I just love his little mushed-up lips here:

And this one actually made me tear up a bit. Can't you just see how much these two adore their new baby brother?

I know this helmet idea has been done before but never by me, and since his Dad is a firefighter I just had to give it a shot. Some of my photographer pals know that I was struggling with posting this one in color or black-and-white. I decided on the color version because I thought the supporting fireman gear had a little more impact in telling the story. Click here to see the alternate black-and-white version.

And here's Mom in the background, giving a little snuggle.

" I'm 1 Today! "

That's what her little pin-on ribbon says. And it's true... her one year session happened on her actual birthday. She can even hold up her finger to make a "1", but wouldn't do it for the camera. I got to see her finger trick when she had her coat on and was ready to leave...LOL!

Here's a little sneak peek.

Happy Birthday, N! I can't believe you're 1 already because it seems like it was last week when we were shooting your mom's maternity session.

3 Going On 30

This little cutie was so much fun to work with. With her advanced vocabulary and mannerisms, it was hard to believe she is only 3. I almost wanted to invite her out for a cup of coffee. LOL!

The image below is my favorite. She looks like she's saying "Would you just finish up already, lady?!?!"

a little overcooked, but totally perfect....

I just returned from the hospital, where I got to meet my best friend's gorgeous new son. He was born yesterday, but was due 10 days earlier. The old saying is true - good things are worth waiting for! Less than 24 hours old, he was alert and awake for my visit. I just love his tiny toes and swirly little cowlick.

Watch for studio shots of this little guy sometime over the next 2 weeks.

One of my favorite kind of smiles

is a smile with freshly lost teeth!

Those of you know know me know that this is one of my favorite times to photograph a child. This is such a "moment," such a great capture of childhood. She will never look like this again! I have clients call to reschedule shoots because their child just lost a tooth, but I tell them to come in anyway. It's really an awesome time to do a portrait.

Meet my daughter's good friend, M. I have been dying to take a picture of my daughter this way (with two missing front teeth), but I am afraid it's just not gonna happen. She already lost one of her front teeth, and the 2nd one has been hanging on for months. So thanks for letting me capture this special smile for you, M!

Hat from: Bella Bows

New Logo

I want to give a big shout out to my awesome brother who designed this logo for me. He designed my original logo as well and probably thinks I am nuts to give it a facelift so soon, but I really wanted to incorporate something special to me. Both of my kids were born in November, and this mum in my new logo is November's official flower.

My brother has designed little graphic elements for me to use in many of my holiday cards and birth announcements, and I think I have finally convinced him to share his talents with the photography community. I am working with him to create some templates specifically for photographers, and will post a link once we get that all up and running.