Snow. Blowing Sideways. Cold outside. Cozy inside. Dinner. Family. Peppermint Pig. Singing songs. Guitar playing. Fondue. Games. The Santa Clause. Santa baiting. Gift wrapping. Gift Assembling. Stocking stuffing. Not much sleeping. Lots of Anticipation.
We hope you all had a wonderful holiday! Here’s our Christmas card that didn’t make it out on time, but is forthcoming (we encountered some unexpected printing delays).
{Shortly after a frustrating phone conversation with my printing company, I received another call from a marketing rep from this same company requesting permission to use this card as a sample at their tradeshows- 20+ shows this year alone. I was quite flattered that they noticed my card out of the thousands they print . . . and they did correct the printing mishap, so my new cards are on their way.}
We had a wonderful holiday- we kept things pretty low key and I like it that way. This morning I am experiencing day two of my Christmsas recovery. The process includes catching up a little on some zzzzzz’s, wading through new toys scattered about as I head to the kitchen to polish off the remaining morsels of homemade goodies, trying to forget how much $$ left our bank accounts in such a short time, and now repeatedly reviewing fun photos that will soon be the main source of our holiday memories.
First I will take to you the first day of Christmas: (dinner, a cousins’ gift exchange and a nativity acted out by the cousins). Here’s a glimpse:
{Beautiful.}
{Have you ever seen such darling elves? S. did a great job in her program . . . she didn’t have a problem finding me in the audience . . . I was the mom with the huge lens in front of her face.}
{Mr. Snow Rex survived the night despite severe cracking at the base of his tail. He actually lasted nearly a week before he toppled over!}
{“Mom! Come see the train!”}
{Innocent baby brother}
{“Don’t ruin my train!!” ~ A. attempts to thwart M’s efforts to displace her toy arrangement.}
One quick story: A couple of days ago we decided to pick up some fast food for dinner at Burger King. Usually DH drives and I distribute food to the family from the passenger seat. For some reason, I was in the driver’s seat this night. I snacked on french fries while K. proceeded to pass food to the kids and to eat his Whopper and such. He complained several times that his burger didnt’ didn’t taste right, like it had some weird sauce on it . . . or something. Perhaps it tasted weird because he had a cold? He finished it off and then looked through the paper sack again. To his surprise, he found an extra burger. I said, “No, that one is my garden burger.” (I am a vegetarian and have been since I was about 3 years old). Then at the same time we both burst out in laughter, as we realized he had eaten my veggie burger (all the while thinking it was a whopper-gone-bad.). So I ate his whopper (minus the meat patty) and he thinks we’re even now. (If you count eating a veggie burger as punishment enough for eating someone else’s dinner!)
My baby (well, younger) brother graduated from college yesterday. We attended his graduation and of course my camera was there to capture the action. This was definitely the most exciting moment of the day:
{You can just see how the weight lifted off his shoulders has affected him!}
{Here’s M. and his lovely wife D. If you are wondering about the hard-hat, well that was the grand prize for graduates in construction management. She might need it to protect her head if flying, pointy-edged caps happen to rain down.}
These two are moving back east in a couple of weeks. We are surely going to miss having them within an hour distance . . . they are the type of people you just never get enough of. We stayed at their house yesterday for a few hours- Uncle M. built a fort-tunnel out of couch cushions for the girls (and their dog Merlin) to sneak through.
There was much laughter and squealing on the part of baby M. any time Merlin the dog would come running ready to lavish on his friendly dog-kisses. This was M’s first real hands-on (whisker pulling out) encounter with a dog. He was enamored!
I’ve been so anxious to post these photos from a session this week! I’ve had the privelege of photographing these little girls on many occasions . . . the first time was when the twins (now toddlers) were itty bitty newborns. It has been amazing to see how they have grown up in such a short time, and big sister has really grown into her role too.
So here they are again- in their dazzling Christmas dresses and red peacoats. Enjoy!!
{mesmerizing beauty}
{Just turned . . . one, two . . . three.}
{curiosity mixed with serenity}
{The girls were fascinated with the salt on the steps- placed there to melt the ice or as supplemental minerals for children. }
{Sweet smooches.}
{Snatching Mom’s jewelry and trying it on in front of the mirror . . .what a little lady!}
{Lovely family photo next to the cozy fireplace. This was actually one of the first shots of the session, and the girls knew just what to do.}
{I love being a photographer when I feel I blend into the scene and just observe as a fly on the wall. I LOVE to see how families interact and the bonds they share and create. This photo does that for me.}
{Nearly zonked. Toward the end of the session this little one fell asleep in her daddy’s arms}
M. having recently celebrated his first birthday has taken the next step . . . literally! Here’s his video debut:
We hope you enjoyed the feature presentation. M. loves watching this clip over and over again!
~Amy
{Don’t ya just love baby feet?}
{These girls sure love each other!}
{One of my favorites from the session! I love how Dad’s arms completely encircle his son, and it shows the scale of tiny newborn and protective father.}
{Here’s a moment of “crowded happiness” for this family.}
{Beautifully . . .}
{Breathtakingly . . .}
{Gorgeous . . .}
{. . . Family. I love sessions like this.}
Here’s a family you may recognize! Time for the annual photo shoot~ this time we went for a more studio look, even so, we were able to get a few shots that really spin, jump and point to fun. Meet the D Fam!
{the measure of a great dress- how does it look when twirled?}
{ready, set, JUMP!}
{Mom demonstrates one effective way of keeping a toddler on the backdrop: the upside-down maneuver}
{Hah! Joke’s on you! 😉 }
{and back to picture perfect!}
A good friend just sent me a link that turns your family into elves. I got such a good laugh out of this! Click here to see my elf family.
I’ve been so excited to post these shots! This session was the perfect combination of great weather, superb lighting, fun location and a beautiful family of seven.
{Can I just say I love these shots? Great job C-fam . . .thanks for a fun session!}
