There is another baby explosion happening in Calgary!!! This week has been the week of maternity inquiries. I don’t think I have had a week in my career so far, with quite as many of them at once. A common question from expectant mother’s is in regards to their first child. They wonder if, in their maternity session, the first child can be present and in the images as well. I’ll let these images answer that question.

Clearly, the star of this session is not the belly. As cute as that little belly is(and it is pretty darn cute), you simply cannot compete with that cute little spiky do and those sparkling blue eyes. It was a gorgeously frosty day, on the day of their session, so I had the wonderful idea to go outside. Well, I lasted all of about 10 minutes. Long enough to get a few shots I liked, but no longer. It was FREEZING!!! And, they were all such good sports. Then, we headed home for some more cozy shots…

You know you are a mom when your belly and your legs become a track for Thomas the Train!!!

I love that last shot. Such a gorgeous mama!!! And, their newest one should be here anyday!!! I just thought I better share something before I head out again. I’m off to NY to photograph my friend, Kristen’s new little guy! I’ll be back on Thursday. I hope these images hold you all over until then!! Have a lovely week…

Later Skaters,

Dana

It’s that time of year again–break out your favorite toque, scarf and mitts!! Let’s grab a hot cocoa and have some fun before the snow disappears!!!

Is this mom to be not just glowing?? Seriously? I cannot explain what an honor it is to me to be invited into people’s homes to help them remember special times in their lives. For this mom, the journey to motherhood was…well, it wasn’t so straightfoward, but here she is. Full of life. And love. And, oh so beautiful. This baby is going to be showered with love.

Since the baby is going to be showered with love, is there a better place to photograph that belly then in their awesome shower?? I think not…

These last three images are part of a series of images that are amongst my favorite maternity images ever taken. I am so happy the mom said I could share them with you all as I am literally overcome everytime I see them. This family had a beautiful house(as you can see from the images). AND, the mom had all of her clothes on a rolling rack for me to choose from–so yes, I chose the striped dress. AND I love the way it made her belly look…so curvy. FABULOUS. What a wonderful day–sipping tea, chatting, and shooting. I cannot wait to go back for the newborn session! Won’t be long now!!!!

PS–happy birthday to my wonderful mom feel free to leave her birthday wishes. I’ll pass them on to her!!!

Here is a collection of some of my favorite images from our trip to Orlando. Some of my favorite things were:

•  Jack buying his old skool Mickey ears and insisting on wearing them everytime he stepped foot on a disney property. I love how his fabulous, wild hair looked sticking out from under those ears
•  Georgia being picked from the audience to participate in the Monsters Inc show and doing so extremely well.
•  Going to Storytime with Belle and literally 30 seconds after Jack announces “I feel so stupid” watching him get picked to play Gaston in the story.
•  My mom willingly going on almost all the rides with the kids. Even “Kali River Rapids” at Animal Kingdom…and then, while we are walking onto that ride seeing the ponchos for sale($7.50) and the sign that says: “You will get wet on this ride. You might get SOAKED.” Mom got soaked. And the water was soooooo cold. And she didn’t complain. Much. And, there is video of it. And, Georgia can be heard screaming through the whole thing despite the fact that you cannot see her as she is wrapped in Bob’s raincoat.
• Seeing that Jack has inherited my love of extreme rides and Bob’s love of speed. Space Mountain, Expedition Everest–you name it, he conquered it With his hands in the air and mouse ears on his head
• Those giant turkey legs you can buy at all the parks for $8. Bob and I shared one for lunch one day. As seen in the final image.
• I LOVE THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. Just saying.
• AND EPCOT. Because I am a nerd.
• Ice Cream everyday. Even when it was cold.
• Alice, the Madhatter and the White Rabbit accompanied by a film crew riding the tea cup ride immediately before us.
• the sandwich line every morning at our suite.
• the smiles, the hugs, the laughter…and the images. All 1435 of them. Seriously people who guessed more than 3000…seriously??? I am crazy, but I am not that crazy. I did take less than I thought I would but I was BUSY!!!! Eating ice cream, talking with Crush(we TOTALLY shared a moment dude), and denying my kids at gift stores.  Soooo, by my calculations–two people came extremely close(4 images seperated the two). Both Canadian photographers. One who I have mentored and one who’s scheduled a session with me and had to reschedule more than once due to CRAZY UNFORSEEN issues like mad snow storms and killer flus. So, Michelle won. I’ll be sending you your parcel of goodies really soon. I promise!!! And, Shannon–I just might have something for you, too!!! Thanks everyone for playing!!! It was fun to see all your guesses. That was a very long point

This is me and my baby girl on a ride last week on our trip. She turns 5 today. How can that be? Seriously? How can 5 years have passed that quickly? This last year has seen her blossom from a shy, quiet girl into an outgoing, sometimes too loud, chatty, determined little thing. Okay, she has always been determined.

This is Georgia on the slowest ride in the Magic Kingdom as you can see by the lack of seatbelts and the look of utter boredom on her thill ride loving father’s face. I love LOVE love that she threw her hands in the air like it was a high speed rollercoaster loving every second of it. Since Bob has become a stay at home dad, she has grown so attached to him. She always wants to ride with him, dance with him, play with him…when she throws her little tantrums he just shakes his head and calls her ‘princess’. One of the things that she INSISTS on ALL THE TIME is that Bob carries her on his shoulders. Who can blame her? It is a wonderful way to see the world. He is, afterall, over 6 feet and she is…well, she isn’t. Bob asked me how many pictures I have of her on his shoulders. Hundreds is the answer, but never enough

I think that this will be the last year she will always be carrying a stuffy with her. She does–everywhere she goes. Her preschool teachers always ask where ‘Ted’ is–her favorite stuffy–if she forgets him. Well, she picked up a few new ones on our trip. Mickey, Minnie and Stitch. After the Stitch ride(which she screamed through–terrified), she declared him to be her new favorite. Most girls love princesses. Not her…little baby aliens suit her fine

Happy Birthday little girl!!! We love you to the moon!! And back

For Leish. One day. 37 photos. All taken with my iphone. Shown here in chronological order.

I am home. My email box is bursting at the seams. I love my iphone, but the problem with taking it on vacation with you is every night I would check my email and see them piling up. With the crappy internet connection at the hotel, I was unable to respond to many of them….sooooooo…today is an email kinda day. If you are waiting on one from me. Expect it soon.

AND…to my contest entries…I still haven’t uploaded all my images. Give me a couple of days

I saved the best Christmas gift for last…

Tomorrow we leave for Disneyworld. I will be out of the office until January 20th. This past year, we learned a lot of things. My mom being diagnosed with bladder cancer was a very powerful reminder that life is too short to put off having fun and enjoying each other as a family. Sooooo….my entire family decided to go to Disneyworld this year as our present to each other. It’s been in the works since Easter(a very long time to keep a secret) and it was a complete surprise to the kids who have worked themselves into a bit of a nonsleeping frenzy(Georgia was up until 11pm last night). Speaking of FUN–HOW ABOUT A CONTEST WHILE I AM GONE????? Guess how many images I take over the 11 day holiday. The person who guesses closest will receive a gift from me!! A box of my favorite things(just call me Oprah). To guess, just leave a comment with your total(I’ll include iphone images in my total–I plan on redoing Alicia’s challenge with my iPhone while I am gone). And, finally…a little fun in an empty box

* just a note about my mom’s bladder cancer…she is doing great and all of her treatments should be finished by the end of the summer. Thank you all for your love, support, comments and emails during this time. We both appreciate it more than you will ever know.

Whilst in New York, I met this lovely family who welcomed a beautiful little girl after three gorgeous and sporty boys! Do you know what the best thing will be for this little girl?? She will be fast and strong because she has to be in order to keep up with her brothers, but she will also have three protectors on the playground. These boys showered this little girl with love!! I can see that her future suitors will have a long line to wade through before they are able to reach her They fought over who’s turn it was to hold her. I love big families Makes me wish for more kids!!

I love my job. I say that all the time, but it’s true. This family was so relaxed and genuine and easily themselves that it made my job so easy. And SPORTY. I have met my fair share of sporty families but I think this family tops them all!! I love that they were willing to run around the soccer field and play–even while carrying the baby!!! And, while they were sporty, they were also incredibly loving. And happy. Truly happy. That makes me truly happy, too

I just wanted to say that I love New York. Until you have been there, you might not understand how wonderful New Yorkers truly are….but everytime I am there, I am struck by how friendly they all are. It’s a big city that feels like a community. And THAT is hard to find. While there, I got to visit with my friend, Chris. I am considering going back to New York in October to visit him and see his lovely wife in Mary Poppins on broadway. I think I will bring my kids Sooooo…any New Yorkers interested in a fall session in 2010?? Give me a shout!!!

Like most photographers, I have an unhealthy attachment to my iPhone. Of course, doesn’t every iPhone user feel the same way??? I have even been known to say that my iPhone saved my life. It did–in a way…it freed my from my computer. A bit. And, that is saying ALOT.

So, my friend Alicia Price decided to have a challenge using her iphone and the ’shakeitphoto app’ after we were goofing around with it on New Year’s eve…yes, I know, we have truly exciting lives. On New Year’s not only did we play with our iPhones, we also played Wii Sports Resort(sword fighting is made more fun with champagne) until the wee hours of the morning. Which is when we turned on ‘The Hangover’ for the third time(for me anyways). I still laughed hysterically. Love that movie.

So, I am a rule breaker(or just plain rule ignorer, I’m not sure). I did this challenge. Kind of. I was supposed to take 37 images, but I only took 9. 9. Um, ya, I fell a bit short. Sooooo….here are the 9. I was making brunch(up at 6:30am which is when the first image was taken) for about 50 people. I got busy and didn’t take enough images. I promise that one day next week, I will take the requisite 37 and post those soon. If you have an iphone–run out and get this super cool app!!! It rocks!!! Happy day!!

Here are some of my favorite images from our Christmas celebrations 2010…already. I am shaking my head at the speed with which I have found myself welcoming another year. I feel like I am grasping at the moments trying to make them last longer as I watch my children grow…and, yet, at the same time, learning who they are as they slowly discover it themselves is such a gift. In the last little bit, I have realized, we have two kids now…no more babies. No more toddlers. Kids. And, while I mourn the babies they were, I am embracing the kids they are. Looking forward to discovering what the next year holds for them…

I love the image of Jack and his cousin barely seen behind the pile of gifts…and Georgia playing veternarian–carefully administering a needle of medicine to her puppy–with the chaos of Christmas happening behind her. Grandma helping her granddaughter with the new cradle for her dolls. And everyone in the first image–seperate, but together…in a moment of controlled chaos. Perfection

Those of you who follow me on twitter know that I haven’t shown the images from the biggest gift of all They’re to come, I promise!!! Happy New Year!!!!