The Baby Tooth!

Happy Memorial Day All!

I took the day off today to spend some time with the family, and what a day we had! I recently purchased a canoe for my husband for our ten year wedding anniversary (woo-hoo!!!) and we decided to take it out for it's maiden voyage today. It is the first time I have ever been canoe-ing, and first time for the kids too.

But that's not all for firsts.....while we were out, the kids got a bit hungry (yeah, that's definitely not a first, they are forever hungry!) so they dug into the animal crackers and juice we had brought along. As they are munching I hear Brooke say "It feels like my tooth is gone...Madison is it still there?" I whipped my head around and lo and behold, tooth is gone, and it's bleeding. (Immediately I am bummed that I did not have my camera....can't hold back the photographer in me). And then it hits us, the tooth is actually missing. Yes, Brooke's tooth that she has been so patiently waiting for to fall out, has indeed been swallowed. The worry sets in, "will the tooth fairy come if there is no tooth under the pillow?" I'm thinking yes....but to take precautions, Brooke has decided to leave the tooth fairy a note explaining the situation. Guess we'll know in the morning. But the good news is we have decided on a name for the canoe. The Baby Tooth! Corny? Yes. But I love it.

Hope the Tooth Fairy leaves you something good Brooky! And I may not have had my camera for the moment the tooth fell out, but I will vividly remember that moment and this story forever!

Gabby and Abby

I recently had the pleasure of photographing twins Abby & Gabby in their First Communion dresses. I've been seeing a lot of First Communion photos of late, especially because my daughter just made hers this month. Most of the photos I have seen have been in-studio. But, we all know how much I love photographing outdoors....and these photos show venturing outside makes for some fabulous results......

I love this one......

I think the photos came out great....but how could they not when working with two sweet girls like Abby & Gabby....thanks girls for making my job so easy!!!!

Kids Kids Kids!

A very good friend of mine asked me to photograph her kids and nieces as a birthday gift for her mom. I personally think that photographs make one of the best gifts. Many of occasions have i given the gift of a photo. And I am always so excited to receive them as well. I think once Grammy (thats what these cuties call their grandmother whose birthday is this week) gets a glimpse of these photos, she will fall in love with them!

So, we photographed 5 children, ranging in age from 9 months, to 8 years old. Here we start with my friends kiddies....

and this group photo below makes me smile! Check out little Abby in the middle sticking her tongue out! She is too much!

and the next one just cracks me up. There were 3 adults (myself included) doing everything we could to get the kids attention. See how successful we were????

these next few photos are just sooooo sweet...

I hope these photos make their Grammy smile.....& I hope she has a great Birthday!

Courtney And Kris Married!

The marriage of Courtney And Kris kicked off the start of my 2010 Wedding Season....and what a great day it was! The weather was beautiful, Courtney looked gorgeous, Kris was all smiles, it was a photographers dream! Not to mention all the fantastic people that also worked on this wedding such as Stoneblossom Floral & Event Design, Bellevue Productions, Chocolate Indulgence, Chuck Wansley Band and more!

I had such a hard time choosing photos for this blog, because I can't even tell you how great all the photos are. (yes, I am patting myself on the back as I type!) So this particular blog will have lots of fabulous photos.....

starting with the beautiful Courtney. She embellished the bottoms of her shoes herself, and with that, was able to check off her "something blue"!

more great shots of Courtney here, and her little Flower Girl.

and here we have quite a few shots of the gorgeous flowers from Stoneblossom. Stunning!

and a very special momento on Courtney's bouquet, a photo of her parents.

is this not the cutest Ring Bearer and Flower Girl? Not to mention this adorable little girl asked me if I was 19 years old. I think I love her!!!!

isn't Courtney's dress just beautiful???

and here we've got Kris and his guys waiting for the bride to arrive...

such a beautiful ceremony....

Kris and Courtney are really one of the happiest couples, they were all smiles all day! It really was such a pleasure to be around them!

Although there are sooo many fan-tabulous (yes, I just said fan-tabulous!) photos of the very happy bride and groom, the photo above is my favorite photo of the day!

Now, the following photos I am just adding because, well, I think they are funny. My sidekick for the day, Seth, snapped tons of great photos, but also captured what appears to be me begging the bride for something....not sure what....an extra slice of wedding cake, perhaps? Must have been something good, I've got my hands folded pretty tightly here.....

the details......

now, I've seen lots of things when it comes to wedding cakes. But this was the first time I have ever seen little mini wedding cakes. Being a HUGE cake fan myself, I think this idea was wonderful. Each guest got to pick a little individual cake for themselves. And as you can see, these little cakes were decorated beautifully!

When I look at the above photos , I am drawn in by the happiness that is Kris and Courtney. It really was a great day. A Perfect Day. Kris and Courtney, I thank you for letting me be a part of it!!!!

Here's to a Happy Mother's Day!

I thought it would be nice to take my two favorite girls out in the yard to take some pictures of the three of us for Mother's Day....maybe even make this a tradition. I was prepared for some grumbles and whining and was ready to pour on some mom-guilt, but to my surprise, my girls were gung-ho for my little project. I dragged out the tripod, and set the camera on a 10 second self-timer and was ready to go! However, for those of you who have ever tried the self-timer method, you know it is no easy feat. Add on to that trying to climb into a hammock (in under 10 seconds) with two already silly girls and you've got yourself some fun!!!! We got a couple of good shots, and LOTS of silly out-takes as well, but it would be no fun without those!!! So if you've ever thought about trying out the old self-timer, give it a go! All of these photos displayed were either taken on a timer, or holding the camera out in front of us.....

these photos were taken as "test shots".... but I think they're pretty cute!

back to mother's day....there are so many things I love about being a mom: holding hands, hugs, watching the excitement as they learn something new.....it really is the best job!

Remember what I said about all those silly shots and out-takes.....well, here they are!

and this one ......well, really there aren't any words. But we love it anyway!

and now, back to mom's day again....Little Brooky gives me 32 kisses every night when I tuck her into bed.....(32 for my age....and yes, if you're wondering, brooke is a little confused because really I'm only 29... )

Madison and I also have a nightly ritual of pretending that our lips are stuck to each others cheeks at bedtime....these little rituals make the bedtime routine a bit longer than I'd like, but really, I never want them to outgrow this stuff!!!

Well, here's wishing you all a wonderful Mother's Day! And remember, don't ever be afraid use that self timer on your camera, you never know what little gems you may get.....(just don't use it too often, because um, well.... I still need a job!)

Have a Happy Mom's Day!!

Muscular Dystrophy Boot Camp!

We all know by now that raising money for Cystic Fibrosis is the main focus of my charitable efforts, but my husband Wes, has a cause that he works very hard to raise money for, Muscular Dystrophy. For about 5 years now, he has organized the annual "Fill the Boot" Drive for the Pawtucket Fire Department. You know "Fill the Boot".....it's when you're out and about driving during the summer and you're stopped at a redlight and these really cute, sweaty fireman all dressed up in their uniforms are out asking you to put money in their boots.....ahem....you know, that......So, anyhoo, this time of year, the MDA invites Firefighters, who raise a lot of money for Muscular Dystrophy, to attend this "Boot Camp" to help prepare them for the upcoming year. This year, the event was held at Mohegan Sun in CT. And among all these firefighter attendees, yours truly was invited to spend the day to snap some pics! Who wouldn't want to go to Mohegan Sun & spend the day with 150 fireman??!!! I wouldn't miss it!

below is a photo of Wes with Shane. Shane once was the Good Will Ambassador for the RI Chapter. I'll tell you, after I snapped this pic, Wes walked away and when I turned around, Shane couldn't wait to show his muscles....

this was during the meet and greet, the firefighters would check in, and visit with the Shane and Julian, (who currently is the Good Will Ambassador for CT).

the slogan for the day....

we were treated to an appearance by the Pipes and Drummers of New London Fire Department. I always love watching the Pipes and Drummers perform!

The Firefighters were then set up to be filmed for a commercial to be played during the MDA Telethon Labor Day Weekend.

below is Jane from MDA posing with Tony (left) of the Warwick Dept., and George (right) of the N. Providence Dept. These two departments have a friendly competition with each other every year to raise more money then the other. When it was time for each department to shout out their goals, Warwick pledged to raise $5000 more than North Providence. NP then announced they would pledge their goal at $30, 000!!!! Warwicks goal is set at $35,000!!!! That is so amazing! Not to mention how wonderful it is for all of these departments to make an effort to raise money for such a wonderful cause!

and for those of you who may be wondering, Pawtucket Fire has pledged a goal of $10,000!

Lastly, I leave you with this awesome pic of my husband looking totally hot in the blue shades, his friend J.P (of the Cumberland Rescue) in the cool black glasses, and myself looking slightly Sarah Palin-esque......

It was a great day, and I wish all these firefighters lots of luck meeting their goals! It truly is a great thing they do, and it helps so many wonderful families. They all should feel very proud of themselves!!!