My Baby Boy Turned SIX

I know every mother says this, but where does the time go? I still remember when this little kiddo was a fat, and I mean FAT little man with the very same red rash on his face as he has here in the pics taken of him on his birthday. I can't remember today what it feels like to hold that little chub with those sweet red cheeks. The day Max was born (Jan 15th, 2003) the CEO of my husband's company went to jail. We called it mini Enron. From that day on we never knew whether John would have a job from day to day and we spent the first year of this child's life job searching and soul searching and searching for directon from the God who created this little soul, and the days just passed. And before long the chub was gone and the baby was gone, and the toddler waddle, and the diapers and the bottles and the binky... and then Max emerged a sweet, sensitive and rather bony six year old. It happened without me knowing, and I try so hard, but I can't remember what it feels like to squeeze that sweet baby chub. It is gone from my memory. And if it weren't for who he is now- sweet absolutely always, and sensitive, and helpful and sooo funny, I would be sad today. Well, maybe I am still a little sad. Time sometimes seems like an enemy, doesn't it?

See him in his boxers? He just started wearing them because he finally thinks he is big enough to wear boxers. Son, I vow to you right now to never ever post another picture of you in your boxers once you and your friends are old enough to have internet access. Cross my heart and hope to die.








And LOOK y'all! I found some old pics of him. Oh my goodness, look how cute he is!!


This one still makes me smile. It was in my bathroom for so long until I learned about black and white conversions and realized this one was horrible. I re-edited it today so it is going back in my bathroom.



There is a story behind the funky home made decorations. But it's boring, so I am not going to tell it.

Love you, my big boy!!!!

Sweet as Sugar

Pure. Sweet. Little Girl Innocence. I loved shooting you girls! Our first session was so so cold, and they were such great sports! The second time we met, it was colder, and there was probably three feet of snow on the ground. This time, we stayed inside and kept warm. Thank you sweet "C" girls, it was great to meet you!












And these girls get their lovely from this beautiful lady, their Grandma.



Thank you so much for choosing me to photograph your beautiful family! I have lots of images still to edit and will have them all for you within the next couple of days. Until then....

I Lost My Phone!

I am just sick! I just got my phone, too. Somewhere between the aisle of flight 1858 and the baggage claim at Logan, I lost it. Gone gone gone. So don't call me- e-mail me until I can get a new one.

Had to post a pic. *Sigh* Isn't she beautiful??

Life is Sweet

The fire is going. The INCREDIBLE Maggie Smith is singing. I am surrounded by my dearest friends, we are sharing the art we've created over these last two days. There is so much talent in this room, you can hear it in the words being spoken and sung, you can feel it in the air, smell it even. It is a sweet aroma.

My sweet friends, you bless me. I grow from your investment in me every day. I am better because of you.

This is my work from these last few days. I have tons more, tons. But this is a start. I will share more tomorrow after my long journey home.

We shot these images at the Davis Plantation in Cartersville. It was beautiful, I mean beautiful. The light, the decor, the color. Then there was Melody, the model. Oh my. Beautiful. On day 2 we shot Elijah at an abandoned warehouse, which came with a visit from the cops. That was fun!

Countdown to Atlanta

Two days to go to!! I am super psyched to be meeting up with my Fellow Pixel Chicks. You may ask what a Pixel Chick is. No, it is not a weird child's electronic toy thingy. A Pixel Chick is a super talented woman photog who might be from here in the US or the UK. There are exactly ten Pixel Chicks in this world from places like CA, MI, NJ, MA, AL, GA, TN, IL, and across the pond in the UK, and I am one of them! (Can you believe that? Whoa!) You can see the Pixel Chicks blog here. It's a little bit pitiful, we admit it. We aren't so great at keeping up with it. Someday though, someday!

So we are meeting at Cindy Harter's home in Atlanta to talk and do photography for three glorious days and nights. We have met up now in New York, Chicago, and Alabama for workshops from other photographers, but this time we are doing our own workshop! At some point in our dreamy lives we hope to offer workshops to other photographers, so this will be a brain storming/ gleaning/ figuring stuff out sort of weekend. We are going to be shooting models, maternity, boudoir, newborns, babies and whoever else shows up. We are going to be talking Lightroom, Photoshop, OCF, Lighting, Business and oh yeah, we are going to be eating too. I think Candy said she was making lasagna. Go Candy.

So with that, I thought I would leave you with a few shots from our trip to NY last fall. I had never even edited these until today. Sorry Chicks. I just let time slip away. And know that we will be missing you Chicks from MI, NJ, and the UK this trip!



Laura Stetser, CA


Candy Avera, AL and Megan Peck, MA


Julie Monacella, IL


Candy


Megan



If you would like to see the shot that Laura got here, click here. It is freakin awesome!



Denise Snyder, NJ

Not pictured:
Cindy Harter, GA
Ali Greenwood, UK
Hayley Hamlin, MI
Sherry Boles, TN
All of these uber talented women have blogs and you can find their links at the bottom of this page. Check em out!

Is Your Kid the Cutest Kid in America?

I am so excited to announce Cool Stuff #2 for 2009!! I will be participating in the National Charity Model Search to select “America’s Cutest Kid” and to raise funds for charity.

We’re looking for cute children ages 18 months to 14 years old to model for a portrait to be entered into the contest.

Models Search Special:
$100 entrance fee, which includes a 60 minute model session and one image submitted to the national gallery, plus 15% off large wall portraits, 10% off gallery mounts and wraps, and 5 digital images suitable for printing up to 5x7 (a $250 value).

Finalists will be determined by online votes. Anyone may vote. Each vote is $1, and all proceeds from votes benefit the non-profit Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep, an organization which I am proudly a member of. To learn more about NILMDTS you can find their website at www.NILMDTS.org.

Grand prize national winner will be determined from the 50 city finalists. Winners selected by photography and modeling industry experts.

If your child is selected the national winner, you’ll receive many prizes, including a $5,000 US Savings Bond and a Canon PowerShot G10 digital camera. How cool is that? And boy, do I know some cute kids who could seriously be America’s Cutest, from right here in New Hampshire! Super cool prizes here!

If you’re interested in entering your child(ren), please call the studio at 603-991-8282. For more information about the contest, go online to www.sandypucmodels.com.


Now no worries, I know that you might be concerned that my Ella is THE cutest kid in America, and you have NO chance of winning against her, but I don't think she qualifies. So don't be afraid to enter. Really. And yes, I am one of THOSE Moms that thinks her children are the MOST beautiful. (Te he-he-he.)

A Rumor....Well TWO Actually

I Love 2009. So far I mean. You know it's only been five days, but what a five days it's been!! Five days down, 359 to go. Good greif I wonder what the last 5 days of 2009 will look like, with all this going on in the first five.

Okay so what's this all about you ask? Well, I have two rumors to start. Yup, you can trace it back to here. You have my permission to gossip to everyone you know about these two things. (But only these two things. Generally, gossip is bad bad bad, but you know that.)

First, I am renting a studio. Yup. It's going to be white with natural light, and it's going to ROCK. It will be in the Tannery Marketplace and I should be announcing an official open house date for around the 1st of March soon. Did I say it's going to ROCK? Because it is. No more having to shoot in 30 degree weather, and no more worries about the rain in the summer. And I can still shoot with natural light which is my thing, you know. Now, I am a little nervous about this, it is a big step for me and my business. So the cool thing is, I will be celebrating this new venture by offering some super cool new packages and discounts- get em here while they last, cuz they won't- in honor of the new place. And because I will be itching to shoot every day three times a day in this glorious new space. And I have a new camera that I had to put my firstborn up as collateral for. It needs to get used. A Lot.

Okay, now for Rumor #2. I'll get right to it. I am going into the wedding biz. Yes, I know I said I never would. Ever. But then this guy asked me to be his partner, and I knew I could not refuse. I mean, this is a fine art portrait artist who wants ME to partner with him on weddings. How could I say no? And THEN, when I started thinking about all this, I started stalking the blogs of Jasmine Star and Jesh DeRox and David Jay (And don't even call me if you don't like David Jay, because if I were a boy I would want to BE David Jay, true story.) and I got inspired. Like, totally on fire inspired to do weddings. I never thought it would happen, but well, it did. So, I will have big announcements as soon as we iron out a few details and make a solid plan. It will be a glorious partnership of tradition and grace meets ultra creative modern hip. (Can you guess which I am?) Please exploit this rumor and let any bride you know in on this bit of gossip. You will look good, I promise, because you will know something your friends don't know. Oh, and we will travel. ANYWHERE. We especially like Hawaii, the Caribbean, and Australia. Special discount for anyone who books a wedding in those three places. ;)




This is John and Jess. Isn't she beautiful? Ahhh...dreamy.

This makes me laugh until I cry...

I've seen this a few times in different e-mails, but a friend of mine shared this one recently. This Lady has it going on! I laughed so hard when I first saw her do this I nearly wet my pants. Oh sorry, was that TMI?

And now, the Mom song: