Can't believe I forgot to mention this...

Addie is officially finished with preschool and will enter Kindergarten in the fall. WOW... how did we get to this point already??! She had a great year at preschool and grew so much as a little person. Her graduation ceremony was so sweet. The students held a performance for moms and dads... singing a multitude of songs they learned over the year. Then, they were each called to receive their diploma from their teacher. As they were called up the director announced what each child wanted to be when they grew up... super cute idea. Addie wants to be a veterinarian, although as a side note, today, she mentioned she wanted to work at a craft store because she likes crafts. The kids have lofty goals -- several aspiring cowboys, policemen, doctors, artists, fashion models and my favorite... and ice cream maker.

Here is Addie receiving her diploma from her wonderful teacher:

Showing off the important document:Celebrating with friends:

Oh, and here is the latest fun thing in our backyard... our pond is full of wonderful pond-life - toads, frogs, tadpoles, baby toads, fish, etc... It is a living biology lesson everyday. Addie LOVES the frogs.

Summer is in full swing. Love these days of play, play, play and exhaustion at bedtime -- sweet, sweet dreams kiddos!! Stay tuned for a report from the first day of swim team tomorrow!

We have a birthday in the house!!

Happy Happy Birthday Jack!! Can't believe you are already 4 years old!

Click here for a special show!!!

Princess Sisters

Miss A and Miss O are true princesses! I was so excited to be in their royal company tonight. These girls are just lovely... full of young energy, great imaginations, smart as whips and just pleasant little ones.

I love going through my session images for the first time. I scan them quickly, pulling out a few that grab me. I found myself smiling at many of tonight's images as I went along. Hope these make you smile, too... thanks so much for a fun session!

I feel this way, too!

This is exactly the way I felt today!!!!

I'm having fun going through my pictures from our beach trip. Such a great time!!
More pictures later!

Off to the beach!

Memorial Day weekend is always a festive time for us. For the past two years we've joined my husband's college buddies and their families at a huge house in the Outer Banks of NC. You might think that roughly 14 families in one house would be a disaster, but it is actually quite fun. The house we rent is on the ocean and there is a pool in the back yard. There is plenty of space to spread out. Every family get their own bed/bathroom and it just works. Super, super fun. We have been blessed with awesome weather the past couple of years -- looking good this year, too:

Fri

May 22

Partly Cloudy

79°
69°

Sat
May 23

Partly Cloudy

79°
70°

Sun
May 24

Partly Cloudy

78°
70°

Mon
May 25

Partly Cloudy

77°
70°

I'm exited to take my new lens and try it out on the 20+ kiddos who will be there. Stay tuned for pictures!

Happy Memorial Day weekend to you!

An older "kid"

The bulk of my sessions revolve around young children. It is always fun when I get asked to do a session for older "kids." Totally different feel to the session - we can talk about big kid things and I am not constantly chasing the subject around. Older kids tend to stay put when asked! On the other hand, it can be difficult to draw out an older kid's personality. They are more aware of themselves, and many definitely have an opinion on how they look and what they wear.

This young lady was very sweet and easy to work with. I enjoyed meeting her lovely family and spending some extra time with her to get some shots of her alone. I enjoyed hearing stories of soccer and dance and the possibility of trying out to be a Munchkin!

She loves their beautiful dog.


I like this "serious" expression and the black and white in this image.


And I love this expression!

Big sister joined us in some sibling shots - cute!

Finally, the whole family gathered for a shot.
Love mom's expression as she gets some love from her family!

Thanks so much for having me over.

L.O.V.E.

This couple is in love. They are so in love and it is so beautiful to watch them together. I am honored to be a part of their big day coming up in August.

They live in a gorgeous, wooded area which is also where the ceremony and tented outdoor reception will take place (everyone cross your fingers for a beautiful evening on their wedding day). SO many gorgeous spots for photos... but one that is meaningful is their porch, which I personally think is about the cutest-est thing going! I love a splash of unexpected color - and just fell in love with the reddish door area.

I've only had about 2 minutes to look through these photos, but this is probably going to be one of my favorites!

Thank you Erin and Michael for letting me share your love today. You guys are truly beautiful.

May wedding of Janet and Mike

Genevieve and I had our first wedding of the '09 season this weekend with a lovely couple, Janet and Mike. They got married in Weedsport, NY on a lovely early May afternoon.

Janet's childhood home was bustling with activity when we arrived. Her lovely dress adorned her old room and she got ready with the help of her two sisters and mother.There were four adorable flower girls (and extremely well behaved -- I don't think I saw a meltdown from any of them).

They also doubled as musicians for the ceremony!

The crowd loved watching the girls go down the aisle! I love all the cameras!

I'm not really sure what I did to deserve this??!!!!
The bride and groom were escorted to the reception in an old refurbished Lincoln Continental. I don't know the year of it, but it was pretty cool. I tried to give this picture a bit of an older feel to it to match the car...

Gorgeous, gorgeous bride!

After being attacked by crazy bugs we managed to get some shots of the couple!
And, I have to throw this image in because I love what is happening. The groom's friends had just given him a wedding present -- I believe it was tickets to a sporting event - maybe the Yankees - (I didn't get the full story, but should have!)... so, the groom (back to the camera) was totally excited about his gift and gave his buddies a huge group hug! Love it!
I was excited to be a part of the lovely day! Best wishes Janet and Mike!

Play!

We are building a play set in our back yard for the kids. Well, let me clarify. Travis is building a play set for the kids. Travis was recommended to us by my friend/coworker at the flower shop, David. Travis and David live in the same building and David had noticed that Travis has impeccable craftsmanship. Travis does a lot of projects for his business out of the basement of the apartment building and so David has seen some of his work. I must concur... Travis has great craftsmanship. I compare every "builder" to my dad, and I believe my dad would be impressed.
Here is the playhouse in the early stages (last week):

And here it is at the end of this week... just about done! CUTE or what? I made some notes on the picture as to what still needs to be done. In case you can't read it, there are swings going up on the left. The door will be painted (likely to match our front door of our house). There is a slide and ladder going up on the deck. A fire pole will be installed for our Fireman Jack. And, the sandbox will be filled with fun sand... we're trying to figure out a cover for the sandbox to keep rain and critters out.

I think there will be some new photo ops at the playhouse!

Jack took this picture of Travis. I think it's cool .



I will be back early next week with pictures of the final project!! I am excited about it. If you are local and want Travis' contact info for projects, let me know and I will be happy to pass on his info.

Play!

Curly Locks

I have recently had the privilege of working with another local woman business owner, Kathleen Komar of Curly Locks Gourmet Food. Kathleen asked me to take some pictures of her products for both her website and print material. I had a lot of fun with bowls full of hot habanero and jalapeno peppers and jars of her delectable jelly and sauces. Kathleen's story is lovely- organic, local, passion, family... and she is enjoying much success (she's going to a million food shows and recently got to meet Ina Garten - the Barefoot Contessa!!). Check out her website, read about her and her company and go get some of her delicious products!!

Fun with Avery

I promised some pictures from our trip down south a couple of weeks ago. We had so much fun playing with our cousin who is about 18 months old.

Jack got a haircut from Poppy, we got to have lunch at Chick-Fil-A, we went to a fun kid's museum, Addie and I took a bike ride, and we had a great time just relaxing!

hello cutie

This little cutie lives with two cute parents in a fabulous house. From the minute I walked into their home I could feel the love, and sense a certain peacefulness and calm - even with an active little 14 month old! They have done some major renovations themselves - and let me tell you... the results are magazine worthy. The colors, the design, the layout, the furnishings... all beautiful.
More important than the beauty of their physical house, though, they truly have a beautiful home and the center of it is this little one:

can you see the love?

Thank you so much for having me out to your home. I really enjoyed meeting you!

a chick magnet indeed

I have a little crush on this guy. All 20+ pounds of him. Every single roll on his arm, I love. His legs - don't even get me started! His eyes, give me a break - they are GORGEOUS. Goodness, he is cute.
This is the second time I have had the privilege of photographing this lovely family. I need to give a shout out to Dad who would have much rather been golfing during our session - it was an absolutely beautiful Saturday morning. I hope you got to head out to the golf course in the afternoon. Here's a picture for you, Dad...

And one for Mama... I love this one... there are more in this series that I love and can't wait to show you. Actually, I love so many from this whole session.

Thanks guys. I enjoyed seeing you again and will look forward to our next meeting, although I don't think Mr. B can get any cuter - if he does I will probably have to steal him!

heading home

We are getting ready to head back to NY today after a great week in NC and SC. Check back soon for a slew of fun pictures of the kids and our cousin. It was so much fun playing with her - Addie especially loved just toting her around everywhere! So long Charlotte -- we'll see you in the fall!

New little friends from Charlotte

I am in Charlotte right now on a combination business/vacation trip. I was lucky to meet two beautiful families - one with lots of energy and one with lots of sleep deprivation!! I quickly scanned the images and am excited to get home for a closer look at these sessions. Here are just a couple from each family that jumped out at me.

This little guy is 4 years old and reminded me a lot of my kids. Spunky, smart as a whip, full of energy, CUTE. Love his hair.

He is such a good big brother to his little sister. Now, isn't she too cute for words?

Little Baby C was born just about 9 weeks ago. Would you please take a look at his eyelashes... look on the right eye - they are about 15 miles long.

What a sweet baby boy - so alert, so chatty, so adorable.

And, here is our cute as a button cousin. Addie has been LOVING her!

We're off to Beaufort today... fun in the sun!