i couldn't resist

it was just one of those moments. the moons aligned or something. i haven't gotten great, really great, photos of my kids in awhile. crazy, right?! i know! i'm a photographer. but they are like, so over getting their photo taken. and then, with no planning, no grooming or outfit planning, all because we picked our first blooming peony, BAM, they were the perfect little models. just playing outside this evening, they couldn't take turns fast enough to say cheese. i was a little worried it was getting to dark out but i was so pleased with the photos i couldn't resist posting. i know it's sort of like cheating. these are my kids and they were in a great mood and we had the right prop, but great photos are great photos! if only i could live 24/7 with all my clients so i'd be there at just the right moment.....

the key to the smile

this one made me work for it. apparently this little guy thinks being one year old is A LOT of work because he is VERY serious! nothing a good toss in the air couldn't break up. but that's about it for his smiles. we decided to go with his more serious, pensive look, it was more in character! he was definitely daddy's boy! it's so interesting to shoot so many different personalities at different stages in their lives. this little guy was just really into his "home base" and couldn't really get comfortable if dad wasn't immediately in reach. i just have to laugh at shoot where dad arranges and brings the child by himself. so different. just dad and child, no diaper bag, no snacks, no favorite toy, nothing..... not even for a little boy who had messy pants, a sure fire way to a grumpy face. he did have a whole box of tissues in the stroller, thank heavens for that! but only a dad would show up to a shoot with just the subject! we made this little guy work it for a long time and then we finally decided to give him and a break and let him go. posing and smiling was just not his idea of a great day!

First Ever Centre County Buddy Walk!!!!

we did it! we finally organized out first Centre County Buddy Walk! after all these years attending the nyc buddy walk and talking about starting one up here the day has finally arrived. and while i am not a nervous person by nature i was looking forward to getting through this walk to start ironing out the kinks. and low and behold as the day progressed i began to realize the day was going off better than i could have imagined! as with doing anything the first time you expect hiccups, but really it was a remarkable day. we set up (in the rain!) with ease. we had 100 walkers!!! and everyone stayed to picnic and do crafts and play for the afternoon. so different from our nyc experience, where we go, walk and leave and head to a restaurant for lunch. at this walk we knew so many families and there were so many children it was such a great way to spend the afternoon. both walks are great in their own respect but i enjoyed this change of pace of hanging out and playing. plus, being our hometown walk i did have jobs to do and helped out. i took tons of photos and hope to put together a book of the walk to have in our library.

here are some of the highlights of the day:


mr. j eager to get there!


jackson's joggers


j-man was even excited to do, gasp! crafts! he made a lovely painted rock with googly eyes!


j had a hard time seeing mom "work" and not want to come running over!



pappy and j


mom and grace

HE DID IT!!!!!

jackson is officially a preschool graduate! i'm so proud! now he can go out into the world and make something of himself!
it was a little haired there for a moment. we weren't sure if he was going to go through with it. but, instead we got a glimpse of what to expect in 12 or so years at high school graduation. we are raising the class clown. their school graduation is at the end of the year ice cream social at a local park. the whole school is invited. it was a lovely evening. we made it over and started to play at the park before the ice cream was ready. well, who wants to stop playing on the playground to eat ice cream?!?! not jackson! so first off he didn't really want to partake in the ice cream part of the ice cream social. but on the other hand his sister would drop anything to have ice cream was unfortunately not allowed to have any due to some earlier bad behavior and not finishing her dinner. so we have one child whining to go back to the playground and one child whining to have the ice cream that her brother is so willing to leave behind!

good times.

so we play a little more and then they make an announcement to gather around and we'll commence commencement. all the children (9 or so, big group this year) line up and sit on one side of picnic bench. they are given little mortar board party hats for the festivities which last a fleeting 1.2 seconds on jackson's head.

illustration No.1 of jackson's not giving a flying hoot to sit there and follow through this:


so they start calling names and each child walks up to the teacher and receives their medal and their framed diploma. eric and i are catching eyes and rolling them. no way j-man is walking up their independently tolerating this thing around his neck and not using his diploma as a frisbee. the little boy alphabetically before him gets up gets his things, smiles nicely for his mother and takes a seat. i hold my breath.... "Jackson Lippincott"
and voila!


the ham and a half goes to the middle of the group throws his hands up over his head and starts cheering! the crowd goes wild! i begin to wonder if it was all an act. throw us off with some obstinate behavior just to pull this silliness off! he knew what was going on and he knew he was the center of attention. he proceeded up to his teachers got his medal and diploma and ran back to dad to take his seat. not only can you NOT predict his behavior he goes above and beyond to keep you on your toes. he know wears the stinkin' medal everywhere!

let's take a look at well behaved jackson:


and here's the proud family:


all in all a lovely evening and a very memorable end to jackson preschool career. but i do glance to the future and worry if our hands are going to be a tad full.....

Happy Mother's Day

this is grace


this is grace on crack

what a little pistol. i believe the 2nd photos does her justice. she's in a screaming-for-no-reason phase. not a bad screaming. not tantrum screaming. just screaming. for screaming sake. for fun. she find great joy in it. we're currently working on "screaming is for games. go penn state", or "go penn STEAK" if you are grace.

today is mother's day. for a change we had a nice subdued mother's day. no traveling, no big plans. i'm learning that it's not what i WANT for mother's day more than it's what i DON'T want for mother's day. i don't care what we do, i just want a day off from taking care of my children. no potty trips. no cooking. no feeding. we did alright today. i got a lovely breakfast in bed. then we just caught up on my disney channel and tickle tortures in bed. we ran a few errands as a family. had lunch. took a nap. ordered in yummy sushi for dinner! and i'm in my pjs waiting for desperate housewives and brother & sisters. perfect day. i was even relieved of laundry duty.
not bad. not bad mom. not bad. a slow rainy family day.
i hope everyone was celebrated as they wished. i am surrounded by so many mothers. so many different mothers. i cherish them all and learn from them all.
Happy Mother's Day

school photos

i recently took pics at a local Montessori. 60 or so, 2-6 year olds, FUN! some kiddos i know from private shoots, and a lot i shot the previous year. so nice when it all runs smoothly and the teachers and parents are so pleased with everything. quite a compliment when even the shyest of children open up and get some good shots taken. of course with a small group i was able to offer some collages, not your typical school photo, but then again when you're dealing with little ones sometimes that's the best way to showcase their personality.



HELLO! do you not just LOVE her. such a cutie! which such a flare for drama!


yes, 1 child out of 60 actually took a bite of my apples!



could he be any more excited for his school photo!



i used a lot of this style collage for this shoot. seemed the best way to get the most out of their personality and it showcased siblings best too.

big top times

so, the follow up from the circus. it was a grand success! well, they had to get over the fact that there were not going to be any dinosaurs (we just saw the dino show at the same venue and they now believe the dinos live there) and we had to get over that we were not going to see a basketball game (we see many a game over the winter in the same venue) but once we were in and the crazy stimuli of the circus took over they we're quite excited to experience that too. don't go on their enjoyment from the photos, they were pretty much in awe. they really did totally enjoy themselves although it looks otherwise from the photos. didn't get any of jackson clapping his hands off! and gracie has found her new profession in life. sorry auntie caroline, no more "what do you want to be when you grow up? a soccer player" not it's "an elephant" which really means one of those girls in the great outfits that gets to ride on the elephants!

they took turns sitting with poppy and grandma and then back to mom and dad. it was funny at one point they were with mom and dad and poppy was at the end of our group sitting two seats away and he just looked like and old guy who went to the circus by himself! but i'm sure we looked silly when the kids were sitting with them. the show was that good though, that even though the kids were occupied elsewhere we were enjoying ourselves too.


gracie's new profession


me and J at the circus


J & G at the circus with poppy