It's moving day!!

My blog has been redesigned and I am moving it to www.sarahparentblog.com. All the old posts are there, too. I will no longer be posting on this blog, so please update your bookmarks and blog feeds with the new info! I'm really excited about the blog facelift, so please stop by!

The Shoemaker's Children

I normally take lots of pictures of my kids. Lately, though, I have been so busy that on my recent trip to Georgia, I realized it had been quite awhile since I had snapped a single shot of my own children. So long, in fact, that as a photographer, I was begininng to feel like my kids were like a shoemaker's child running around barefoot. I decided to do a mini photo shoot on the beautiful campus of the University of Georgia.

You can see how happy they were about it:

Actually, my son warmed up to the idea. He really loves getting his picture taken, which is great for me. My daughter, on the other hand, continued to act like I was the papparazzi chasing her much of the time.

Here's a few more....

Feeding the baby a leaf....

Striking a pose.....

I sat on these exact steps for a picture almost like this when I was their age....

I'm so excited that the weather is starting to warm up around here. Contact me if you'd like to get together on one of these nice afternoons if you'd like a portrait session!

Georgia on my mind

There's red dirt on my shoes, a thick coat of yellow pollen covering my car, and I've got a glass of sweet tea in my hand--that's how I knew I was in Georgia last weekend. I was there visiting family and I got a chance to swing by one of my favorite eating establishments- The Varsity. Oh yes, greasy onion rings, nekkid dawgs, chili cheese dawgs, slaw dawgs.....It was a staple of my childhood trips to Athens, GA to visit my Nana and I do believe they serve the best chili cheese dogs on the planet. Plus they have this orange drink that's kind of like Tang, only about a million times better.

Trust me, it tastes much better than it looks....

As we were driving just outside Elberton, I saw this incredibly cute display of cars that someone had painted to look like the Disney movie Cars. I just had to pull over and take a picture.

I'm also pretty excited to report that despite my obviously unhealthy food choices while I was on my trip, I successfully completed my first 5K today. I won't post my time because it is a little embarrassing, but I plan to try again soon, in hopes that I will be like the guy who actually won the race and finished in about 17 minutes (!!!)

Happy April Fool's Day!

I'm a firm believer in the saying, "You've gotta start somewhere" and for my friend April and I, that "somewhere" is a circle around my neighborhood. We're participating in the Purdue Cancer Center Challenge 5K Run/Walk on April 12th. For us, the emphasis will be on the word Walk. We've started with short 15 minute walks and today we decided to be ambitious (and a bit foolish considering the cold, windy weather) by walking 3 miles just to get a feel for what it will feel like on race day.
Here's April and me after our first trial run:

By the end of it, we were both pretty wind-burnt, but we had a fun time.

I hope y'all have a wonderfully fun April Fool's Day! So far, no one has played a trick on me, so all and all, it's been a pretty good day :)

Please note: I'll be spending the weekend in my birth state, Georgia, visiting family, but I will still be checking my email.

Introducing Corbin

Today, I spent the morning with Gretchen, Derek, and their two delightful children, Peyton and Corbin. Corbin is a new addition to their family-- He's just one month old. Here are a few of my favorite images from the shoot:


Corbin, looking quite dapper

Corbin's beautiful sister, Peyton:

Some father/son bonding time:

The whole fam:

Sleeping so peacefully....I think the "Too Cute" on the blanket says it all...

Alex at 3 months

You may remember Alex from my very first blog post. It's so much fun for me to work with this family again. In the past two months, Baby Alex has done some growing and, according to his parents, quite a bit of fussing, too! :) One thing that hasn't changed in the past couple months is Alex's cuteness. He's a sweet baby boy and I was happy to be able to catch a few smiles.


I really think that by the time Alex can crawl, he's going to be crawling very quickly away from me when I have my camera. Last time I put him in a bowl, this time, a basket! He only humored me for so long before his patience ran out...

But after a bottle, he was all grins again...


This one cracks me up- I love his expression!


Mommy makes him smile...

Daddy makes him smile, too. When Alex started crying during the shoot, I was amazed at how quickly he stopped when his dad started playing for him...Here, he gets a little piano lesson...


Decky is Alex's fantastic pug friend. And I think I made friends with him today, too. He certainly was happy to obilge when I asked him to strike a pose. (Ok, I confess, I had to tell him I had a treat to get him to look at me)


After an exhausting photo shoot, Alex finally got some rest!

These are a few of my favorite things...

Here are a few things I can't seem to get enough of lately:


1. Lemon Creme and Orange Creme Hershey Kisses. A friend of mine gave me some of these and I spent a good week trying to hunt for some more. If you like lemon cookies and orange Dreamsicles, I'm telling you, you have to try these. The only place I have found them is at Target. If you find another store that carries these, please let me know. I'm afraid it they will only be around for Easter, so I will need to stockpile them in the same way I hoard the white chocolate candy cane kisses that come out around Christmas-time.

2. Meiko. Listen here. I've been listening to this non-stop while I edit pictures and can't seem to get her songs out of my head.

3. Make Me A Supermodel on Bravo- Project Runway's less-celebrated cousin and America's Next Top Model's more mature older sister. For someone who secretly longs to be a high fashion photographer and wants everyone who gets in front of my camera to fearlessly flaunt their fierceness, this show is inspiring. And fun.

Sebastian

Sebastian turned 2 in January and since then his mom and I have been patiently waiting for a day with decent weather so that we could head outside to document Sebastian in all of his cuteness. At every hint of a good day in the forecast, we would email each other, crossing our fingers that the weather people weren't going to get it wrong. And so last Sunday came along and it was a rare, albeit brief, sneak peek to Springtime in Indiana. It was a beautiful day and I had so much fun taking pictures of Sebastian.

Britny's Belly

Last weekend I did a super fun photoshoot with Britny, who's expecting a baby in March. I first met Britny last year when I was photographing her sister Nikia's wedding. I'm so happy that Nikia referred her sister to me for her belly pics because I love being to capture the glow and excitement of expecting moms.

I think Britny could easily be a professional maternity model!








Big thanks to Megan, who assisted on this shoot with the awesome fan action :) I think everyone looks great with a little wind in their hair!


Britny graciously humored me for this one:


Thank you, Britny, for giving me the opportunity to document this special and precious time in your life. I can't wait to meet the new baby!!

Shake it like a Polaroid picture

Polaroid recently announced that it will no longer manufacture instant film by the end of 2009. When I heard this news, I became nostalgic and, I must admit, a little teary-eyed (ok, ok, so I cry at Hallmark commercials, too) Polaroid film not only documented much of my childhood, it also sparked my interest in photography. It provided instant gratification long before digital. I remember waiting in anticipation as a child, shaking the film like crazy, watching the image appear before me like magic. And later, in my high school and college photography classes, I had so much fun making Polaroid transfers.

While this news is not at all surprising (after all, when was the last time you took a Polaroid picture?, it is a bit sad. And while Polaroid goes the way of the mix tape, I'm fondly pouring through all my old family Polaroids.....Here's one of my brother and me from March 31, 1983...

Happy Birthday!

I spent the weekend in Chicago with my amazing cousin, Laura, and her family. Everytime my family visits them, we have an incredible time. Laura feeds us so well that when we get home we find our meals simply lacking. On Sunday, we celebrated my cousin Katelyn's birthday and of course I stuffed myself silly. Katelyn requested her favorite cake for the party, strawberry-kiwi from Oak Mill Bakery,and I couldn't be happier with her selection.

I think Yummy pretty much says it all.
Happy Birthday, Katelyn! :)

Super Fabulous Super Tuesday

4 reasons why I'm super excited on this most super of Tuesdays:

1. One subject that gets me talking almost as much as juicy celebrity gossip is a good political race. And while Indiana isn't voting today, I do get to hang on the edge of my seat as I watch the primary results roll in from over 20 other states. Fun times!
2. Competing for my attention tonight will be American Idol-- Atlanta auditions, and,

3. My best friend is back from Cabo so she'll be watching American Idol with me, which is always more fun!

4. I designed and order some completely adorable Valentine's for my kiddos. These are wayyyy more fun and personal than the store bought Valentine cards.

If you're interested in ordering some cards for yourself, let me know. We're cutting it pretty close for Valentine's Day orders, but little cards like these are perfect for Save-the-Date cards, St. Patrick's, Easter...... :)

Have a SUPER Tuesday and, if you live in a state where you can, go out and exercise your right to vote today!

Taxes and other fun stuff

I took my tax stuff to an accountant today. To celebrate crossing that daunting task off my to do list, I ordered myself some brand, spanking new business cards today, too.

Card #1 features Brandy and Sam, who I had the pleasure of working with last year when I photographed their wedding at the Moses Fowler House in Lafayette.
Christine, a high school senior, is on Card #2. She was an absolutely fantastic girl to work with and she didn't even flinch when I suggested dragging a decorative chair into a soggy field to take her picture. You've gotta love that.

I should receive my new cards in a few days, so if you happen to see me, ask me for one ;)

More designs to come....

New Year, New Blog, New Baby

Back in May 2006, I had the pleasure of photographing Laura and Aaron's wedding. I was absolutely delighted when they contacted me and told me they'd had a baby boy and wanted me to take his pictures, too.

I thought it was fitting to start my new blog with photos of this new little guy. Laura and Aaron are a great couple and I can tell they already make great parents. Here are some of my favorites...

Introducing Baby Alexander!

The happy family

Muffin man in a bowl. Alex looked at me like I was a crazy person when I was taking this. This was one of our last shots of the day and he was such a being such a trooper!

Baby feet are pretty high up there on my list of most adorable things ever.

Check back on my blog frequently for recent sessions and upcoming specials!