Babies & their Mommas!

I wanted to post a few quick images to give you a little taste of what the past weekend was like for me.

Meet Bridget & Owen:


Velvet & Cooper:


Ashley & Sage:


I promise to devote one post each to these wonderful sessions. Their images ooze adorable-ness!

Take it or Leave it!

And this week's LEAVE IT's:
**Spiders: No I dont freak out over them- however I'm completely over all of the webs that are all over our windows. Once a week I have to go out with my handy-dandy broom and knock down all of their webs. Eck!

**My Closet:I can't see my closet floor at the moment, but that's my goal for tomorrow!




This week's TAKE IT's are:
**Girl Scout Cookies: Samoas are my absolute fav. My Daddy' bought be a box for Valentines Day and although I'm loving them, my waist isn't so much! ;)

**Kate Toms: Kate Toms is an author that has written some children's books that Grace owns. We own Itsy Bitsy Spider and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. These two books are based on those nursery rhymes, however they keep going with more of a story. They're adorable as can be. We also own another of her books God Knows All About Me and it's just as good as the other two. I hope to add more of Kate Toms' books to Grace's collection in the future.

**Swiffer SweeperVac: This cleaner-uper has a cloth to trap dirt and dust AND a cordless vacuum for grabbing larger pieces. It's amazing. I use mine every day!

1st Birthday: Cake Smashing Session

Remember Miss Lilley? You may also remember her from here. We'll guess what? Time has flown by and she's now ONE! I'm normally not a fan of messy face children, but I think letting children dive into their first birthday cake is completely appropriate. And is another reason why I LOVE to offer First Birthday *Cake Smashing* Sessions.

She saw what was coming... (And I thought a clean shot was a good start!)


Love this expression...


Definitely gotta get it in the hair! ;)


Oh, what fun we had!


Thanks Miss Lilley (& your mom & dad too) for letting me capture so many moments during your first year. I can't wait to continue to watch you grow! xoxo

"Take it or Leave it" Tuesday

And this week's LEAVE IT's:
**Moles, Skin Cancers, etc: One word. Sunscreen. Wear it, please & thank you! 25 stitches later- I will now have 3 scars on my belly to show you if you want to argue with me about this subject. Oh, how I hope they heal & hide before bathing suit season!



This week's TAKE IT's are:
**For awhile now, I've been in love with this trail mix I get from Target: Archer Farms Monster Trail Mix. It's peanuts, raisins, M&Ms, chocolate chips, and peanut butter chips. Pretty basic right? The peanut butter chips are a GREAT addition, and I also love that it has a lot less sodium than other trail mixes - only 20mg per serving - so your lips don't feel all dry when you are done.

**DVR: I'm finally caught up on this season of 24, including last night's episode! Thank you Jack Bauer for saving the world! You are my favorite bad-ass!

**My Mom & Dad! I got to spend the weekend with them. They came to Raleigh to visit Grace and I and we ate, talked about life, did some shopping, played cards, and spent some QT together! They are definitely my rock (& my real life Jack Bauer's) :)!

**More Babies: Remember my friend Bridget? And her adorable family of 3? Now there are 4! Mr. Owen arrived last Tuesday, hince the lack of a "Take it or Leave it" last week! I'll be photographing him soon, so there will be more adorableness to grace the blog coming up!

**CoffeeStencils: http://www.coffeestencil.com/ I'm not a coffee drinker. I much prefer my morning dose of Diet Coke to get me going, but I thought these stencils were too cool. I wonder what Scott would say when I took him his coffee in the morning that had a message on top!

Winter Sale: Gallery Wrapped Canvas

I work with a great company for my canvas products. They have been gracious enough to pass on a winter savings on several canvas sizes so I can pass them right along to you. Since we're all in penny-pinching mode, I'm passing along this savings to all clients. If you've had a session with me in the past 18 months, you may order a canvas (or two, or five!) at 20% off!



Gallery Wrapped Canvas' make beautiful gifts! They're coated with a UV protectant, which doubles the colorfastness of canvas life so they will hang on your walls for generations to come. Sale is in effect until Thursday, February 18th. Your order must be received by 9pm on Thursday.

If you would like a canvas print, but don't know which image, because your gallery isn't online anymore, just shoot me an email and I will upload your gallery for free! To purchase a canvas, please email me with the size of the canvas and photo number you would like to purchase. I will get back to you with any other details before completing the order.



You'll love it – from the rich canvas texture to the beautiful wrapped edges of the print, which is printed straight on to the canvas, and then wrapped around a frame for a Gallery Wrapped finish that is ready to hang right out of the box!

From today until Thursday at 9pm, all Gallery Wrapped Canvas' are 20% off! :) Please note: There is a shipping charge of $15 per order - so if you order multiple canvases, its $15 for all. Call or email with any questions!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope you and your Valentine are having a wonderful *hearts* day!



XOXO-
Megan

TWINS! | North Carolina Newborn Photographer

I love photographing all ages/stages, but there is something about holding a newborn baby that is different than all the rest! Although newborn sessions are best done within the first two weeks of birth this situation was a wee-bit different. Marisa & Cassie were born on Christmas Eve and spent about 3 weeks in the hospital. When they were ready to come home, their Mom gave me a call and we photographed them just one day shy of a month old. They were still so tiny & "sleepy" that we were able to get their bellies good and full and breeze through the session.



I love these next two images with Cassie's eyes open, I wonder what she' thinking...






Their Mom took them to the doctor the day before our session and both girls weighed 4 lbs. 13 oz. So tiny & so beautiful!





A little snuggle time with Mom & Dad...



But they're not just a family of 4, nope these two girlies were born to two brothers! Biggest brother was so fun. He wanted to help me hold my camera, move the babies around and hold them. He told me how he was going to be the best big brother and how much he loved his little sisters already! He even told me (miss picture lady) that he wished I'd come back to his house everyday and that he was going to miss me when I was gone!! :) He's a little flirt already!



20 perfect piggies!

"Take it or Leave it" Tuesday

In response to last weeks Leave it-Junk Mail, I stumbled upon this site: 41 pounds. Did you know that the average adult receives 41 pounds of junk mail each year. At this site you can sign up to NOT be that person. Their service stops 80-95% of unwanted catalogs and junk mail for you. They’ll contact dozens of companies on your behalf to stop your junk mail AND protect the environment! :)

Also, ask and you shall receive! My new favorite Crispy Onion Chicken Recipe:
1 tbs Worchestershire sauce
1 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted.
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 can (6oz) cheddar or original french-friend onions, crushed (i prefer original)
In a shallow bowl, combine the butter, Worchestershire sauce, mustard, garlic salt, and pepper. Dip chicken in butter mixture, then coat with onions. Place in a greased 9 in. square baking pan. Top with any remaining onions; drizzle with any remaining butter mixture. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until chicken juices run clear. Yield: 4 servings.
[2004 Taste of Home Annual Recipes Book]
Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Now, for this weeks installment...


This week's LEAVE ITs are:
**Chocolate: Although I'm not a chocolate lover, every now I do want something that's chocolate. But in return it always makes my face break out. Boo. Hiss.
**Improper Bagging of Groceries: I guess I was ruined having grown up in a grocery store. Anyone remember Larry's Food & Tackle that use to be on (what is now the old) highway 64 in Columbia. Ahh. I LOVED those days at my Grandparents store! I could run the register at age 5. :) Anyway, I knew cold items went together, meats bagged seperately from other foods, little stuff like that. Do they not teach people those things anymore? I really dont care to have hamburger juices leaking all over my salad dressing bottles.






**Snow!: Here in central/eastern NC, we hardly ever get snow, and if we do it usually doesn't amount to much. However this weekend, I'd say we got a good 5 inches, if not more. Not only was (is) the snow beautiful but it was also my daughter's first snow so that made it even more special!
**Babies: And not just mine! :) I've been going through images of a recent newborn *twin* session that I had a couple of weeks ago and I can't wait to share the images with you, hopefully tomorrow!
**Lowes Foods To Go: Huge. Fan. Sit at your computer with your list. Order online. Someone at the store does the shopping for you. Pull through the pick up lane. Push button, say your name. They bring groceries to you and load in your car. That simple! Some will even deliver to your house! Now that's awesome. I have found that when I shop this way I dont buy those unnecessary things that stare at you when you walk through the aisles (i.e. chocolate!) Due to our house location delivery isn't an option and even though I don't mind grocery shopping it is nice when you have an 8 month old or lots of other errands to get done in one day! Side-note: my groceries were bagged just like I like too! ;)

{Siblings}

Seems like I've photographed mainly siblings so far this year. This session was a little different from my normal "little" ones. This brother & sister gifted their Mom some pictures as her Christmas gift. Guess it was time to update some around the house!







Quick side-note. It was *FREEZING* cold this day. And the wind was blowing terribly. We found some shelter from the wind back in the woods, but it was still very chilly! They make it look like it was seasonably comfortable out, don't they? They were such champs!