A few weeks ago on my way from Stacey’s to Pittsburgh I was able to stop in Sharpsburg MD and do a session for Jody’s kids – um, the last time was for Jimmy’s newborn session 3 years ago! Now they have a brand new home surrounded by beautiful fields. It was drizzling on my drive there, and I was worried that we weren’t going to be able to do the session, but just as I drove up the driveway we had the most wonderful golden light…love it on their blonde hair!

One with Mom:

The last time I photographed this family, Reagan and Addison were busy toddlers…now not only have they grown, but precious Quinn has joined the family! These girls are so easy and adorable that we ended up with a TON of good images for their proud parents. What mother could resist this:

First of all, Gavin just had his third birthday on Monday – I can’;t believe it! He is getting kind of tough in front of the camera now, but I did get these:

I love his look of pure joy in these one with his Dad:

And then I managed to get Genevieve to actually pose for me (briefly) in exchange for "looking for squirrels" with her:

Then, the next day, I bought her a fairy costume at the Children’s Place which she loved and was able to get pics of her running and pretending to fly:

for you coupon-clippers out there: The Grocery Game  – getting good results from what I hear on other blogs & forums, especially if you buy brand-name products and watch for deals. Some girls are reporting savings of several hundreds after just a few months (apparently it works best if you stick with it & build up your pantry – not unheard of to get 10 boxes of cereal for like $10.)

from the site: "The Grocery Game is a website that can save you hundreds of dollars
on grocery bill each month. Log in, spend a few minutes with a pair of
scissors, and you’re off to win The Grocery Game!

When you play, you’ll get a weekly list (called Teri’s List) of the
lowest-priced products at your supermarket matched with manufacturers’
coupons and weekly specials — advertised and unadvertised. The Grocery Game does all the hard work and research, and presents it to you in a straightforward format.

Gather your coupons and Teri’s List and you will have everything you
need to play. Teri’s List matches sales to coupons from weeks past,
along with new coupons from this week’s Sunday paper. Members of The Grocery Game eliminate those time-consuming hours and
usually save even more than the coupon pros. For example, just because
an item is on sale doesn’t mean its time to play your coupon. Our
databases track the sales history on nearly every item in the
supermarket, waiting to use a coupon on rock-bottom sales. Now, the
best possible savings are quickly accessible to busy professionals,
overworked moms, single adults or anyone who wants to cut their grocery
bill by 50% or even more."

A few months ago I was pleased to donate a photo session package as one of the auction items at a fundraiser for the Brooks Center for the Performing Arts in Clemson. The winner of the session lived in Pittsburgh for a number of years with her husband & in fact her son was born there – what a small world! So we have been waiting for the weather to be nice enough for the kids to play on the beach, and despite rain in the morning, we were able to get the job done. Super nice kids and mom; super nice smiles!

I am proud to introduce a FIRST for me: photographing the first baby of a couple whose wedding I also photographed! It was such a joy to see this brand-new little guy with his delighted parents, and be able to be part of capturing yet another happy time in their lives.

I spent last weekend with Stacey & David and my granddolls who are just growing so fast that I can’t believe it. Gavin is now firmly talking in sentences, and Genevieve has gone from asking "what is that" to "why is that". The weather was pretty good, and we were able to get outside for them to play and for Nanna to get some pictures. Genevieve is getting a lot better at cooperating – briefly. Gavin is now where she was last year, which is not really into the whole picture-taking scene.

Isn’t his shirt a riot?

We went to a coffee shop, then tried to do some cool urban-looking shots with them. But Gavin wasn’t really into it and wouldn’t smile – instead of my vision of a cool edgy image, he looks more like a homeless waif:

But Genna hammed it up a little:

Of course we HAVE to try to get both of them:

The next day was cool, but I wanted to get something wit the blossoming trees:

And at the playground:

Jim’s brother Ken and his family are vacationing this week in Lake Lure, just north of us. They drove down for the day on Wednesday with their kids & grandkids in tow. We had a pretty nice day, warm enough for the kids to play on the beach. Geez, I had almost forgotten how toddlers have no problem getting into the sand – they sit & lay in it, even eat it – and could care less if it gets in their hair or clothes – unlike adults, they just feel the pure joy of warm sand and playing in the sun & water!
Sophia – love the rolls!:

With mom:

Elias- didn’t like to be interrupted, he had some serious playing to do:

Joshua:

This is the younger daughter of one of my first clients, Jen. I did Jen’s oldest daughter Cameron’s First Holy Communion pics 2 years ago, and she was really hoping that I would be able to do Carson’s, too, even though we had already moved. No problem! I love photographing Jen’s girls…they are just adorable and the camera loves them. Carson just looked like a little bride, and who can resist those eyes and her captivating smile? Sigh – they are growing so, so fast.

It has been cold & rainy for days, so I decided to try this new recipe for minestrone soup that I found on the internet. I like to keep soup on hand during the week – besides being an easy light meal when Jim gets home from work late, it is really a good thing for weight control since I can have a bowl of it instead of something fattening. So I made it yesterday in the crockpot (dumped everything in after I sauteed the veggies), and it is just delicious! (I left out the pasta since I am watching every calorie). It made A LOT, so I froze half of it which suits me fine. If you don’t use a crock pot, it takes about 90 minutes to simmer up. I made it exactly like the recipe, except I used frozen spinach instead of fresh, and dried oregano instead of fresh (but luckily I had some fresh basil, which really made it good!). I think the red wine is key, too…really gave it richness. Try it & let me know if you loved it as much as I did!

JAMIE’S MINESTRONE
3 T. olive oil                      1 can kidney beans, drained
3 cloves garlic, chopped        15 oz can green beans
2 onions, chopped                2 c. baby spinach, rinsed
2 c. celery, chopped        3 zucchinis, quartered & sliced
5 carrots, sliced                  1 T. chopped fresh oregano
2 c. chicken broth                2 T. chopped fresh basil
2 c. water                          salt & pepper to taste
15 oz can fire-roasted
    diced tomatoes               1/2 c. seashell pasta
26 oz can tomato sauce       2 T. grated parmesan
1/2 c. red wine

1. In a large stock pot over med-high heat, heat olive oil & saute garlic for 2-3 min. Add onion & saute 4-5 min. Add carrots & celery and saute for 2 min.

2. Add chicken broth, water, red wine, tomatoes & tomato sauce, bring to boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to low and add kidney beans, green beans, spinach, zucchini, oregano, basil, salt & pepper. Simmer 40 min, the longer the better, until veggies are tender.

3. Cook pasta – spoon a few tablespoons into bowls & ladle soup over. Sprinkle Parmesan on top. Spray w/ olive oil on to & serve.