Introducing... Smith!

Congratulations to big brother Myles who welcomed his new baby brother Smith last week. Smith is just 9 days old and the most perfect little boy! He did so wonderfully during his first photo shoot. Kari originally wanted to do photos sooner, but Smith was a bit jaundiced his first week.

Myles had a newborn session done and Kari had a collage put together of the photos. She wanted something similar for Smith so I put together a collage with the natural light photos I shot and used primary color blocks to match his nursery. Congratulations again on your wonderful new addition!

(click to enlarge)

Mamarazzi.

I have to give a shout out to Sarah Quiara, an awesomely funky photographer in Austin, TX who runs Roxy and Kai Photography. Sarah is amazing, I remember when I was just starting out, we exchanged emails here and there and since then I have watched her business literally skyrocket to the moon! Now she just started Mamarazzi school, which is a program for people who own DSLR's but don't know how to use them. She runs workshops as well as one on one classes to empower moms and dads to take better photos of their children.






Check out the Mamarazzi blog here. I guarantee you will be addicted and you might just learn a thing or two!

Lucy turns ONE!

I spent a lovely morning at Lucy's house today shooting her one year photos. I love shooting in clients' homes because not only are children most comfortable in their own homes but home is real life. I hope that someday these photos will be treasured by Lucy when she grows up and she gets a little sneak peek back into what her life was like as a baby. Congratulations on turning one sweet little Lucy!

The morning didn't start out so well due to a stubborn ol' little cold, but Cheerios always make things better... especially off the floor! I went a little crazy with choosing photos, but I know that grandma and grandpa are in town and would appreciate an extended preview. :)































































































































































































































































The last two photos are a little foreshadowing of exciting new things to come!

A beautiful country morning...

A few random pics

I'm itching to shoot... I've got 6 sessions this weekend starting tomorrow, so I used today as a personal warm up day. I took the boys outside and we walked the dog up to the park. We were all up on the sledding hill and decided to run down. Cherokee took off, I slipped on some ice and my feet totally came out from underneath me. I proceeded to land on my butt and he dragged me the rest of the way down the icy, bumpy hill... OWWWWW! I laid there paralyzed for a few minutes and poor Owen had a very scared look and didn't quite know what to do!

NEW! Mini Photo Cards

My friend Eliesa discovered these awesome little photo cards and they are now available through OWP for custom ordering. What are they? They're a set of 100 mini photo cards in their own little plastic carrying box. The back features your own custom text. They are wonderfully durable and each card almost feels like it's printed on a thin piece of plastic, they're not at all flimsy like paper. The box and cards are also made from recyclable materials which is great.

These are great for wedding thank yous, save the date cards, graduation party favors, kids birthday party favors, and anything else you can think of!

2008 OWP brides... you will receive your very own box of photo cards along with your engagement session images.

2008-09 OWP high school seniors... you will also receive your very own box of photo cards when you book your senior portrait session.

These cards are available for $50 for a set of 100. Please allow up to 4 weeks for delivery.

Wanna be my friend?

I'm working on updating my profile in facebook. Feel free to add me as a friend!

I'm rich! :)

Ever since I've discovered this game I have been playing 3-4 times a week trying to win big and I finally did it! I won the million dollars! I had it down to $400,000, $500,000 or $1,000,000 and I went all the way.

Did you watch it tonight? There is a million dollar mission, so each time somebody doesn't win a million dollars, a million dollar case gets added to the line-up. Next week, the contestant has 11 of the 26 cases containing $1,000,000!

Dream Journal

I have very vivid dreams almost every night and have started keeping a dream journal next to my bed. As soon as I wake up, I jot down little details of my dream and sometimes analyze them later. Two reoccurring dreams that I have involve tornadoes and elevators. I would say that nearly half of all of my dreams involve riding in an elevator of some kind. Lots of times, the elevator doesn't stop at the floor that I requested and usually ends up plummeting several floors. It's quite scary! Here is what I pulled off the internet today regarding my dreams:

Elevator
To dream that you are ascending in an elevator, signifies that you will quickly rise to status and wealth. You may have risen to a higher level of consciousness and are looking at the world from an elevated viewpoint. Descending in an elevator, denotes that misfortunes will crush and discourage you. The up and down action of the elevator may represent the ups and downs of your life go emerging out of and submerging into your subconscious.

To dream that the elevator is out of order or that it is not letting you off, symbolizes that your emotions have gotten out of control.

To dream that an elevator is falling out of control, refers to your fears of letting go. You may also be expressing your desire to give up and escape from some demanding situation. If the elevator stops just right before it crashes, then it indicates that if you hang on long enough, everything will turn out all fine in the end.


Tornadoes
To see a tornado in your dream, suggests that you are experiencing some extreme emotional outbursts and temper tantrums. Is there a situation or relationship in your life that may be potentially destructive.

To dream that you are in a tornado, signifies that you are feeling overwhelmed and out of control. You will be met with a series of disappointments for the next week or so. Your plans will be filled with complications.

To see several tornadoes in your dream, represent people around you who are prone to violent outbursts and shifting mood swings. It may also symbolize a volatile situation or relationship.

Go Giants!

The weekend didn't quite go as planned. My husband's cousin was supposed to come up from Chicago and visit but instead, they got snowed out and their flight got canceled. That was a big bummer because I was really looking forward to seeing them and shooting their engagement photos!

We ended up having a friend over for the Super Bowl. I actually watched the entire game! I wouldn't call myself a huge football fan but it was a good game. I was cheering for the Giants and I'm so glad they won!

Sophia- 11 months

I made a special trip to see my niece today who is turning one later this month. I just can't believe how big she's gotten! I feel like just yesterday I saw her being born and today she was walking over to me! My sister couldn't believe how big Owen has gotten either, we don't see each other much so it's quite the shock to see the kids growing up so fast.

I planned a mini-shoot today in the new birthday outfit I got for Sophia, but since we didn't end up getting there until late, we lost all of our daylight and had just minutes to shoot. Here's what I managed to get- isn't she cute?!