Gavin has now become the one who doesn’t like having his picture taken. He hates having to do anything that interrupts his playtime, including preschool, baths, mealtime, and bedtime

So that means I have to bargain (lollipops, playground time, etc)  for every. snap. of . the. shutter.

I got five of those snaps last Saturday.  Hey, I’ll take what I can get! Is he not the most handsome devil you ever saw?

child photography in Anderson SC, top family lifestyle portraiture in Clemson SC, digital photography Anderson SC, Lake Keowee photo sessions, photography studio in Anderson and Clemson SC

We spent a day with Stacey & David and the granddolls last weekend. Everyone in the Mayle family was sick/just getting over sick and completely stircrazy. That kind of scenario usually doesn’t bode well for nanna getting some good images of her babies. But thanks to a couple of doses of antibiotics and motrin, a lot of sunshine, and a chance to play outside for a little while – I got very lucky. Looking at these, Genevieve seems so much older than 5. And she is now MUCH easier to photograph, actually posing for me a good bit of the time. I love her look in these! Here are my favorites:

Westminster SC family and children’s photographer, portrait photography of children in Lake Keowee area, Clemson and Anderson Child photographer

I think I posted about this fun website before (www.wheresgeorge.com) – it’s a site where people track the progress of dollar bills. They enter the serial number of the bill,  and then stamp or mark it asking anyone who comes across it to go to the website and post where they found it. We got one the other day on our trip home, so I went to the website and entered it. It was marked and put into circulation 27 days ago in Pigeon Forge – I picked it up in Abingdon VA, and carried it home with me to SC. It will be fun to see where it goes from here. Keep your eyes open for one! Mine looked like this:

My friend and fellow photographer Nichol Krupp is greatly involved with an organization that is supporting two foundations actively involved in the support & rebuilding of Haiti. In fact, she is in Haiti right now as part of a team that is working at a hospital treating and assisting the people of Haiti. Please visit their website at Hey!tee and check out the tee shirts and other products for sale to help a good cause, and become a fan on their Facebook page Meaningful Easter gift for your teen!

On Willi’s website – some employees decided to ski and snowboard their way down Mt. Washington and a few other local spots – how FUN!

I actually am really trying to keep up with my New Years Resolution to pay more attention to PORTION CONTROL, reduce HIGH CALORIE/FAT foods, and EAT OUT LESS.  I came across this today and was actually horrified – and now the first thing to avoid when we do eat out will be appetizers :

Worst Dip Appetizer

Chili’s Hot Spinach & Artichoke Dip with Chips

• 1,130 calories
• 90 g fat (39 g saturated)
• 2,460 mg sodium

Sure, there are artichokes and spinach in this dip, but they are drowned in cheese and mayo. These nutrition numbers are just for one serving—the plate, which you may easily plow through, surely has more than one serving.

Worst Potato Side

Dairy Queen Chili Cheese Fries

• 1,240 calories
• 71 g fat (28 g saturated, 0.5 g trans fat)
• 2,550 mg sodium

regular small fries are about 300 cal

Worst Appetizer in America

On the Border Firecracker Stuffed Jalapenos with Chili Con Queso

• 1,950 calories (again, that’s for one serving, and there are at least two in this appetizer so if you eat it yourself – well, do the math)
• 134 g fat (36 g saturated)
• 6,540 mg sodium

My most popular (and my most favorite!) product that I sell is a coffee table book of all the images from a photography session. It is just a wonderful way to capture the different looks and personality of the child, and a fabulous keepsake.  Ethan’s mom gets one every year from his annual session, and she treasures being able to look through them and see how much he has grown and changed. Oh how I wish I had these of my own children! I did scrapbooking, sure, (and I was pretty good at it – I used to get published regularly in the major magazines and was on a product design team). But now when I look back at them, I’m a little disappointed in how they look so dated and homemade – not that it’s bad, just that I don’t have anything that is polished and professional to go with them. Ethan will have such a wonderful record of his childhood to show his own children someday, because of his mother’s dedication to preserving it.  His children and grandchildren will be able to get a feel for exactly what he was like as a little boy, and exactly how much he was loved!

and the cover:

(family photographer in the upstate sc area,  lake keowee photography, children’s on- location portraiture, Clemson and Anderson child and family portraits)

www.casualmoments.com

..but I don’t have the ingredients. Tomorrow.

Get directions here and then feel free to send me some!

(photographer in Anderson, SC and Clemson SC near Lake Keowee)

NO, not me – I already have a great guy! BUT I’m hoping that all of you can help me with an idea that I have, since it is so close to Valentine’s Day. I would love, love, love to photograph a surprise marriage proposal for my Blog! Does anyone know a great guy that has a special someone and may be thinking of popping the question? If you do (and they are close to me, either in western PA or in the upstate SC area), have them give me a call…the first one to contact me & schedule a surprise proposal will get a complimentary session and a small folio of the images (date/location must fit into my schedule).

A fun idea for those of you that had your children recently photographed by me – print-your-own photo valentines! Back by popular demand from last year:

Each design is sized at 2×3 inches – so that you can print FOUR on one 4×6 print and cut them apart  (note: #1 is sized at 2×6 for a bookmark, so you get TWO on one 4×6 print instead of four). With the cost of 4×6 prints at your local photo developer at like 12 cents, you can afford to have fun!  The possibilities are endless – they can be pasted onto pretty cardstock for a bookmark, or tied to a pencil or lollipop if you want to go even farther.  The digital file with your child’s Casual Moments photo inserted is $20; I can email it to you as soon as payment is received. Call or email me now!