from recent session

i truly promise that i'm not a slacker. i know i haven't posted lately, but i have been super busy with may sessions. i won't complain though because busy is a good thing! anyway, i thought i'd share a few pictures from two recent sessions. the first two are miss l and mister a. i brought bribes for them, aka lollipops. because what kid can resist a lollipops (and really, they make cute picture props too). their mom is one of the sweetest persons you could ever meet.

here is miss l, a true beauty--she is a total doll. i'd bring her home if her mom would let me!



and then mister a, who would have a BLAST with my ian. boys will be boys!



and then, from another session, this little beauty is miss a. and i have photographed her four times, although she's much more active now than she was at four months old. she definitely made me work hard this last time. she just continues to get more and more beautiful. mom and dad are going to have their hands full when she gets older. i love her mom to pieces too!

because the beach is meant for getting wet

wow! has it really been two weeks since i posted last? i guess so. it's been a busy two weeks. i had family in town for a few days, including my uncle whom i haven't seen in around twenty years. that was pretty amazing. then, michael was in toronto on a business trip and my laptop was giving me fits. and well, all of my recent pictures are on my laptop. and yes, i have them backed up, but i'm too lazy to edit them on my desktop anymore. blabber. blabber. blabber.

anyhoo...one of the things that is great about living in south carolina is being within driving distance of the beach. i love the beach. and so do my kids. it's pretty much a guarantee that addie will get wet if we visit the beach. even if we go to take pictures, she WILL get wet. so, i generally don't put anything on her that i mind getting in the ocean. oh, there are those rare occassions that i do put something on her, and then i tell her under no circumstances is that pettiskirt to get even a drop on it. but i digress.

with ian, it's a toss-up. i'm really hoping this year will be different. but the status quo last year was this: if ian was wearing swimming trunks, he would NOT get wet. if you approached the water, he would scream. however, if ian was wearing regular clothing, he would get wet. very, very wet. so far this year, it seems last year's status quo is holding.



i'll let you know what happens when we go back and ian wears swimming trunks.

my little love

it is no secret that ian has PCS--Photographer's Child Syndrome. this disease afflicts many photographer's children. thankfully, i am fortunate to have one child not afflicted with this syndrome. but, ian has it full-force.

to say that he dislikes the camera would be a huge understatement. he hates the camera. oh, before he could move about, he was a sweet little photography subject. his juicy cheeks, his sweet smile, his cute dimples...pure sugar. but once he started walking, all bets were off--mommy could no longer get those cute close-ups shots of his grinning face. and, as he has gotten older and faster, such pictures were only taken in my dreams. most of my pictures of ian are either purely candid, or of him looking away. eye contact is a thing not found in many pictures of ian. oh, i've caught a few glances, but more often than not, i get the side of his face instead. and that's if i'm lucky.

today, i begged and pleaded. such behavior hasn't worked in the past, but i figured i'd give it a try. i have a new lens and wanted to try it out. miss addie was much too engrossed in trying to drink from the sprinkler to be bothered by my camera in her face. i had ian trapped on the porch. he was begging for a popsicle. now, ian loves his popsicles--takes them quite seriously. so, i was promising a popsicle for a picture. no picture--no popsicle. he was fighting me. i had backed up almost to the edge of our porch because he was trying to get past me.

and then it happened...



yes, he got his popsicle.

recent pics of my kids

for those who haven't seen them in a really long time, if ever.

strawberry picking

on saturday, we went to a strawberry festival at a local plantation. it was the 10th anniversary, although we had never been. but, i've never met a ripe strawberry that i didn't love! so, we got up early to go. michael was skeptical, but even he enjoyed it.

ian was in his glory the minute he saw the tractors! it's his dream come true--anything that involves wheels and moving is right up his alley. of course, these didn't move, but that didn't stop him from exploring.
we rode a few rides to start. even i rode the ferris wheel. i have no idea why i thought this would be a good idea. addie thought it was funny to make the car rock and scare me to death. the whole time i was thinking, this was definitely a job for daddy. the pictures from up so high were not worth it. at all.

then, it was off to pick strawberries. we could either go to the field right by the main festival area or take a golf cart to an unknown destination. well, ian saw the golf cart and made the decision for us. the cart took us over a bridge and down a long dirt path to a virtually empty field. literally, only two other families were out at this field. the strawberries were red and ready and waiting to be picked.

ian thought he'd bite them right off the vine (and, truth be told, i saw that others had the same idea when i noticed a few other strawberries with bites out of them). so, we nibbled on a few as we picked our seven pounds of strawberries. then, took the golf cart back to the main festival to pay.

it was a lot of fun and we'll definitely go back before the end of strawberry season. we've been snacking on the berries ever since. i even made milkshakes for the kids and a smoothie for me (gotta lose the eight pounds i've gained since january-ugh).
all in all, a good day.

welcome!

well, this only took me forever to do.

welcome to my blog! i've been meaning to set one up for some time, but haven't taken the time to do it.

but this will be a place where i can share pics of my family. and, of course, share my thoughts. it's been so long since i've really sat down to write, and i studied it in college. i guess i didn't think i would go so long without recording my thoughts somewhere. so, now i am. and i hope i keep this up!

i may from time to time share recent sessions as well. but mostly, it will be family.

thanks for reading!