Introducing…

August 28, 2010 – 8:51 pm

The Surprise Family is FINALLY proud to introduce Clinton Francis Surprise.  He was born August 22, 2010 at 1:17pm.  He was by far my biggest baby, weighing in at 7 pounds, 9 ounces compared to my 5 lbs 7 ozs and 6 lbs 5 oz babies, but he also cooked the longest.  Both of my boys were born early, so when Clinton was born after his due date, I was beginning to believe we was just never coming out.   We are at home adjusting to a life of 5. The boys are loving  their new brother, Kieran can’t seem to give him enough kisses.  I am enjoying a little bit of peace time with my family, now I just need to figure out a whole new routine.  The thought of a trip with 3 kids by myself right now freaks me out.

The story behind the name: Clinton has been one of my husband’s favorites for a long time now but was bypassed when Kieran was born.  For the past month, we were down to 2 names but couldn’t decide.  We figured we would wait to see baby and pick the name that suited him best, Clinton it was.    Francis was one of the most wonderful people to be apart of my life, my grandfather.  We lost him 4 years ago to cancer and he has been very much missed since.  All of my boys carry the name of a special person in our family we have lost.  It is our way of keeping their memory alive and letting them know how important they were to us.

I want to thank everyone who has sent their well wishes, they are really appreciated! I also want to thank the Doctors and Nurses at Vassar Brothers Medical Center for taking great care of us, especially our baby.

Baby Clinton snuggled nice and warm in his Knapp Sack

Still Here…

August 18, 2010 – 7:59 am

And still no baby.  I originally took the month of August off thinking that like my last 2 children, I would have had this baby early, in the beginning of August, and start back to work mid September.  Well, my due date has come and gone and still no baby yet.  I guess he just likes where he is.    I want thank you all who have emailed me for information,  for being patient with me in regards to returning phone calls and emails.  The last 3 weeks have been physically tough on me and I have more bad days than good.

I will be back in contact with all brides in September to make plans to meet up regarding your weddings  next year and I will resume client meetings in September as well.   I also want to thank you for all the well wishes via email and Facebook,  they truly mean a lot to me.

Hopefully we will be welcoming a new bundle of joy into our family VERY VERY soon!

Best Nursery Ever…

August 8, 2010 – 8:02 pm

I previously mentioned that this beautiful momma and myself were in a race to the finish line to see who had their baby first.  Well, she totally beat me and as each day goes by, she has beaten me by a lot!   I know how excited she was about the newborn shoot and how important it was to her to get those shots when possible, but I was nervous that I wouldn’t be able to do it in my 2 week newborn span pending my little guys arrival.  I am technically on maternity leave but since no baby yet, I made sure to get down to their home to get their newborn in ASAP.  Can I say, momma looks super FANTASTIC for just having a baby 5 days ago.  She is like an old pro at this baby thing.

When I got to their home, I asked if the nursery was done, which 75% of the time it isn’t.  When daddy took me upstairs to see it, my mouth dropped.  I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw this beautiful room.  What a lucky little man to have such a great space and such creative parents who put it all together in time.  A lot of their room decor came from one of my favorite online shopping sites, ETSY, including the the wall vinyl.  Daddy said it took 5 hours to do, and well worth it in my opinion.  Then there was “MAX,” the mini guard dog/supper puppy.  Already so protective of his new brother.

This shoot ran beyond super smooth, but I have to say I was completely touched when momma took a picture of me with baby and they thanked me for being a part of the process of welcoming little Lucas into the world. That jesture made me feel more like a friend than just a photographer.  Thank you for that!

Can’t get enough of that hair!

This may be my favorite mother/baby shot ever.

Baby is cuddled in a new Knapp Sack made of Organic Cotton

Knapp Sacks…

August 6, 2010 – 7:57 pm

A couple of months ago I photographed a newborn who was wearing this beautiful knit sack when I arrived.  I sent out a little shout out to the maker to contact me, and she did.  I have come across a lot of baby cocoons and sacks like these through other photographers and ETSY,  but non of them compared in quality to these.  I was excited to meet up with Jennifer at my office where Jenn Sullivan, owner of Waddle n Swaddle, and I got to go through her samples and just uhhh and ahhh over them.  Of course, baby Waddle n Swaddle was just born so he was the perfect little model for us to try the sacks out on.  These sacks are perfect gifts for new moms and we encouraged Mrs. Knapp to move forward and take the next step in selling these things to the public.

That weekend we shot some product photos and I asked Jenn a little bit about herself and how she got into knitting her sacks:

Two years ago while pregnant with her 3rd child, Jennifer Knapp, the mom behind Knapp Sacks saw some knitted cocoons online.  Needing a creative outlet as well as a way to pass the time during the end of her pregnancy she decided to make one for her baby to be.  When he was born and the midwives swaddled him up in it they jokingly called it a Knapp Sack and the name has stuck.  So what is a Knapp Sack?  A Knapp Sack is a swaddle blanket and photography prop rolled into one.  Each one is knit on a round loom by Jennifer.  There are 3 different kinds of Knapp Sacks, the Original, a split top and a button down.  Jennifer loves quality products with duel purposes and Knapp Sacks is one of those products.  One of her goals with Knapp Sacks is to be eco-conscious.  She tries to use as many natural and organic materials as possible.  All of the original Knapp Sacks are made of 100% organic cotton.  She also uses biodegradable shipping products.

Jennifer met her husband Jeramie in college and they’ve been together since.  They have 3 children together, Tyler (6), Sierra (4) and Noah (20m).  Not to mention two crazy Boxer pups, Fender and Star.  Jennifer is a stay at home mom to the bunch and is excited to stay busy knitting Knapp Sacks when Tyler and Sierra return to school this fall.

Knapp Sacks can be found at http://www.etsy.com/shop/tylerj1029 and on Facebook.  Her first stocking will be August 1st.  As a grand opening special all Knapp Sacks purchased between 8/1-8/15 will ship for free!

And for those who haven’t met him yet, here is Griffin, aka “Baby Waddle n Swaddle.”

Did I mention I have one packed in my hospital bag!

She Beat Me To The Finish Line…

August 4, 2010 – 9:07 pm

You might remember when I posted the maternity session of this beautiful momma to be and her hubby almost 2 months ago.  I actually ran into momma a week ago at the Drs office and I was convinced  that I was going to beat her to the punch.  Well, I was wrong.   Her little man came into the world first and on a wonderful day, my birthday :)   Momma looks beyond fantastic for just having a baby 24 hours before these photos were taken, Daddy was all smiles and baby has a beautiful head of hair.  Congrats to the newest addition of your family and now that you guys are checking out of Vassar, I will be more than happy to check in.

Not A Bad Afternoon…

August 1, 2010 – 6:14 pm

Last weekend I treated myself to a visit to Mohonk Mountain House for a little spa action.  Baby is taking his toll on my body and I needed just a little time to relax my muscles and enjoy a wee bit of quiet time, with a prenatal massage.  After my session, I took some time to walk the grounds and just enjoy the gardens.  If you have never been here, it is just a stunningly beautiful place.  A good friend of mine got married here last October, I look forward to shooting a wedding her myself one day.

When you first pull in, the first thing that might come to you mind is “Red Rum, Red Rum,” because of the house’s similarity to “The Shining.”  No Jack here, just peace.  The grounds are open to the public (for a small fee) for hiking, activities, skating as well as meals.

It was slightly raining during my walk, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying a little macro lens and me time.

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