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This past year, I wanted to give my mother and father in law a special gift for Christmas. They always do so much for our family and really enjoy spending time with their grandchildren. Here is one image they received, a 10X30 of all the kids together!
Here is beautiful Kalhia!! It has been a pleasure watching her grow from just a week old to a year old. Each time I photographed her this past year, her parents brought her dad’s surfboard. It is fun to document her growth from session to session this way and I can provide the family with something really meaningful and fun as a result. I am looking forward to seeing how much Kalhia likes the beach at our next session!
BABY AIDAN AND A RANDOM THOUGHT…
I can’t believe it is September already! Things have been smooth sailing over at the studio, and I’ve been enjoying seeing some of my regulars coming through my doors as well as some fun new families.
My youngest son Max started kindergarten a couple weeks ago, so I will create another post that includes a few images of his smiling face on that first day. I didn’t *really* cry as we dropped him off that first day because the teacher needed to shut the door as soon as all the kids walked into the classroom (someone was very upset and having separation anxiety). It made the event very anticlimactic. But I had mourned for a few weeks preceeding that day. There was nothing I could do to stop time. It was going to happen. Ahhh, again, I’ll save this emotional stuff for another post coming soon which includes an image or 2…..
The other day I had a random thought. Why do people order sliders? I don’t understand it. Usually there are like “3″ sliders (burgers typically). Why not just order the full size burger? We took the kids out for dinner last week and I pointed out the “slider option” on the menu, thinking 10 year old Tanner might think they were kind of cute and give them a try. He proceeded to make a sarcastic remark about how he ALWAYS ORDERS THE ADULT HOT DOG. Well, EXCUSE me.
We were at Johnny Rocket’s by the way, one of our favorite burger joints. And who would have guessed it, but they happen to have THE BEST philly cheesesteak sandwich in San Jose. In my opinion. Which is pretty valid. I used to order their burgers, and now I only order the cheesesteaks, with all the extra fixings. Hey, you might have read somewhere this blog could contain random thoughts. Well, there you go.
I recently had the pleasure of photographing baby Aidan for a second time recently. He is a delight and has the biggest, most contagious smile! I bet there isn’t ANYONE who could come face to face with Aidan and not break into a smile themselves.
Aidan’s mom is a doctor, so I thought it would be cute to have him pose in a little white lab jacket with the stethoscope. While posing, he demonstrated he knew exactly what he was supposed to do with the stethoscope. He put the round part right onto his chest! It was amazing. I mean, he probably hasn’t had that experience at the doctor’s office TOO many times, being that he’s under a year old, so I found that very interesting.
His parents are smiley people too, which is great. Thank you Shayna and Mike, for bringing your little bundle of joy into my world this month!
Here he is….
Tonight I decided I should put a few pictures of the studio on the blog so potential clients could get a feel for the environment of the studio. The studio’s decor is warm and comfortable, and is located in the heart of downtown Los Gatos, within walking distance of many things.
Many “dates” between my clients have commenced with their portrait ordering appointment (the appointment after the session to see the images of their beautiful babies and children), followed by a tasty meal at one of the many great restaurants on Santa Cruz avenue.
I’m looking forward to meeting some newbies in the coming months!
When you are a baby, a big bum is cute. I loved little Solene’s serious expression as I attempted to photograph her au naturale. She has beautiful, soft blonde hair and very feminine features. And when she smiles, she has a cute little dimple in her cheek. I am looking forward to meeting her older brother during a second session this fall.
Happy Mother’s Day to my AWESOME Mom (Joetta) and my SUPER mother in law Bonnie. I feel so fortunate to be loved and supported by you all year round. Thank you for putting up with me, I love you both (even though I am not sure either of you regularly read this)…. Here’s a few reasons why:
My mom. I love that you:
-Can’t pronounce Mitsubishi
-Love my dog as if she were your own
-Keep up with our two kids when you come for visits. I know they tire you out but you enjoy every minute you have with them.
-Travel out to see us 3 or 4 times a year, EVERY year
-Enjoy our special days together. Antiquing, shopping, eating, wine tasting, and the Garlic Festival just to name a few.
-Are my mom.
Bonnie. I love that you:
-Manage, and often ask for, all of the grandchildren, at one time, in your home, sometimes all day
(For those of you who don’t know there are 9, 75% under the age of 11!)
-Are so proud of your boys and their families
-And Dale are still in love after 30 + years and set a great example as couple and team for our families
Also…I wanted to send a special message this week to the extraordinary moms I meet throughout the year. Moms I enjoy getting to know better with each passing session. This AWESOME video describes how I’m sure many of us feel but couldn’t convey as eloquently. The video is of a mom reading an excerpt from a book she’s written. Having two boys I can relate well! The important takeaway is about the significance of ordinary days.
I hope this video helps remind you that the little things are really the big things and that those ordinary days you’re experiencing today will mean everything to you in the years to come. Now sit back, relax and have a few tissues handy! It’s only 7 and a half minutes, do it now!!
Hugs, Michelle
Does this baby have the most luscious complexion you’ve ever seen? She is buttery soft and beautiful. Isn’t it amazing how perfect skin is when not compromised by things like the sun? It makes me wish I’d never sunbathed with baby oil as a college student. I was lucky enough to hold her a few times throughout our visits.
I thoroughly enjoyed photographing beautiful little Daphne, who is the newest cousin of several of the other adorable babies on my web site.
Thanks Claire for bringing *another* one of your grandchildren in for “the experience” and our “tradition” and hope you had a WONDERFUL time in Hawaii with your family!
-Michelle
I always love it when I ask parents about trying specific things in a session and they respond with, “whatever you think is best, you’re the artist….” While I certainly enjoy bouncing creative ideas off parents during portrait sessions, I love it even more when they tell me just to go ahead and do what I think would work best. I appreciate when they put their trust in me to create something unique and meaningful to them. It is fun to incorporate a family member’s passion, such as biking, into an image. I liked this image a lot because it shows the baby’s size against her dad’s road bike tire. It sure helps when they are adorable too!
Anyone that knows me well knows I love to eat. I have to confess an addition lately to Girl Scout Cookies. The Peanut Butter Patties. I am so helpless with an open box of those around. I can’t stop at the posted “serving size” of two. I prefer to eat neatly, in “rows”, so that means I gobble about 5 or 6 at a time. Have you tried placing them in the fridge? Even better than just out of your cupboard. Last year, I could even tell that the different boxes I was eating of the same cookie types were made by different cookie factories. Now that’s sad! In other words, I could taste the difference in the same GS cookie–I will be glad when the 2 or 3 remaining boxes of PBPatties are gone for another 11 months.
At Christmas I went through my Fruitcake phase. Yep, I dig fruitcakes! :) Not just any fruitcake though, I only like the Claxton Traditional fruitcake that my great grandmother (bless her heart) used to feed me. This year, between Christmas and February, I devoured about 8 half pound cakes!
I am hungry. Perhaps writing a blog entry on an empty stomach (except for the two PB patties I just ate) isn’t a great idea. I will write something more exciting next time around. I have been super busy photographing 6-9 month old babies (there’s a run on them this month). Boys & girls cuter than buttons. I will post a few images next entry….
I’m so excited! For about a year and a half now, I have been wanting to include a smaller ”grandparent” album to supplement my beautiful Butterfly Books. It took that long for me to find a product that really excited me, but it arrived last week and exceeded my expectations! I would love to include an image here of the book, but it flew out of the studio today for display at a local charity auction so I won’t get it back for a week or two. Anyway, I know these will be a popular item from here on out and I’m so happy I didn’t settle for anything less than sublime…..
On another topic, hopefully you caught the US vs. Canada hockey game on Sunday? WOW, that’s all I can say. Since our son Tanner started playing rollerhockey about a year ago, I have come to really enjoy being a spectator of the sport. Whether it’s his team playing at Silvercreek Sportsplex, the SJ Sharks at the Arena or the Winter Olympic games, the time just flies by during a game!
Tanner told Kent and I that he had made a hockey bet with his school buddy Patrick. Tanner bet on the US and Patrick bet on Canada. $5. Which is kind of a lot for a 4th grader. Anyway, Tanner lost the bet and I was curious as to whether he was actually going to make good on it. After all, I did not see $5 comin’ out of that piggy bank last night. When Kent and I asked him at dinner tonight if Patrick tried to collect on the debt today, Tanner told me he had offered Patrick 5 Tic Tacs instead of $5 and Patrick opted for the Tic Tacs! Have I ever mentioned we think Tanner will grow up and practice law or go into politics? The kid negotiates EVERYTHING…..
