Valarie at 1 Year

Valarie came in for her one-year portraits a little while ago and it's amazing to see how much she's grown over the past year.She was walking all around and never in one place for very long.She was happy to play with some toys.
This next one is one of my favorites from the session.
Be sure you don't miss the slideshow with more images.

Ivy at One Year

Ivy was here for her final Baby portrait a few weeks ago. It's always fun to see how much (and how fast) babies grow their first year.She brought one of her bears so we needed to have a tea party.
I love how she and the bear are both in the same position.
Her sister Ruby came along, too.
Isn't that precious?
Be sure to see the slideshow and leave a comment below.

Katie is One

Katie just finished up her first year of life and with that, she also finished her year of portraits. For her last session, we decided to go to the park so she could pick flowers and run around.

I like this first one. She really likes getting close.
And here, with her sunglasses. She keeps them on for about three seconds then off they come.
Like most kids, she loves to swing.
And here she is playing under the playground slide.
Picking flowers and leaves was a big part of the session.
Be sure to see her slideshow and leave a comment below.

Alex is One

Alex was here a few days ago for his first birthday. It's been fun watching him grow over the past year. (3 mos, 6 mos, 9 mos). As always, mom brought a bunch of props. The first few are for his Aunt, who sent him his uniform from Afghanistan. Here he is saluting.
This one is especially for his aunt.
Then we went outside to the "farm" for some driving.
Then back inside for the party.
Remember, there's a slideshow to see (also linked from all of the portraits) so be sure to check it out.

Baby Bonanza Was A Success

If you've followed this blog, you know that the Baby Bonanza was held this past Saturday. As usual, it was a lot of fun and we had a blast. Also, as usual, we were completely beat at 4:00 when it ended. Having a complicated booth, we were the last ones out of there. We had a lot of framed portraits in our double booth. Here's what our booth looked like (with our wonderful helpers):

And from the other side.

We passed out over 200 gift certificates ranging from $10 to $75 and they were pretty evenly distributed. Our "lollipop" game was a hit with both the kids and their parents.

There were some games for the dads. The object was to strap the baby (doll -- not a real baby!) into the stroller:

Then race through traffic cones to the other side, where they had to change the baby's diaper:

This one was a close race:

And then race back to the starting line.

There were also three "diaper derby" races. The lines on the racetrack are just for show. The babies didn't stay in their lanes very well.

Here's one winner:

And here's another. Each winner received a trophy!

Some of the babies got a slow start -- even after the winner had been announced:

Then there was a fashion show:

Even some of the dads walked the "runway" with their model kids and babies.

Another diaper derby later in the day:

The heat is on!

And another race for the dads:

A princess stopped by to give a tea party for whoever was interested. I was bummed that I had to work -- it looked like a lot of fun.

And, finally, some gymnastics on stage.
There were even more events than this.

Thank you to all the folks who came out to see us -- and the other booths, too, I suppose ;-) We'll see you at next year's show.

Ethan at 1 year

Ethan just finished up his year in portraits with us and we all had a great time. It's so fun to watch these kids grow from tiny newborns to one-year-olds (and beyond).

He loved the rocking horse:Mom and Dad got in a few portraits, too:
Ethan loves to be flipped over like this:
Sometimes you have to get them in motion. That's just how they are at this stage of life.Don't forget to see his slideshow for more images. Leave a comment, too.

Baby Bonanza this Saturday!

The third annual Baby Bonanza is coming up this Saturday, the 14th. It's a big show for "everything from pregnancy to preschool" at the Aladdin Shrine Center (directions) over by Easton. We've been a part of it for the past two years and we're excited about this third show.

This year, we'll be giving out bookmarks, lollipops, gift certificates, and having prizes drawn every hour. We'll also have a bunch of new samples for everyone to see.

Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for grandparents, and children 12 and under are free. If you go to the Baby Bonanza web site, you can get a dollar off coupon.

I couldn't finish this without some pictures, so here you go: