Special Spring Portrait Event!

There are only 4 weeks until Easter-

book your special session now and start shopping for spring!

Family & Children spots fill quickly-

Call or E-mail to reserve your time!

2 Weekends Only

March 20 & 21

March 27 & 28

limited weekday openings also available 3-20-10 to 4-2-10

Spring Special includes the session and precious gifts!

Option 1: Session & Cherish Folio $69

Option 2: Session, Cherish Folio

& Treasure Box $179

We are unable to accept gift certificates for these special sessions.

Spring!

I can feel it- spring is almost here! I love this weather, where it's 40 degrees and a foot of snow is still on the ground, but suddenly everyone feels they no longer need a coat. I left mine at home today. Did you?

Have you bought a new Easter outfit? Now is the perfect time to start shopping for new spring clothes!

"Appleby Photography Family" - For Past Wedding Clients

We have started sending the Welcome packets to all of our past brides and grooms, detailing the Appleby Photography Family membership. This is a free program which offers perks to couples that had their wedding photographed by Appleby Photography, including free sessions and discounts on portraits. If you have not received your packet, please call or e-mail us!

And, welcome to the family!

Only a few days left...

There are only 4 days left for the drawing at While You're Out, the babysitting referral service. Make sure to get your requests in for your babysitters, and renew your packages now to be entered into the drawing for $200 gift certificates! See our earlier post, or check out While You're Out's website!

Love this quote!

There's a difference between interest and commitment.

When you're interested in doing something,

you do it only when it's convenient.

When you're committed to something,

you accept no excuses; only results.

Roi sent me an e-mail recently, which included this quote- I love it!

Roi Solberg

Spirit of Archetypes: Cards of Spiritual Guidance

Visit her website http://www.spiritelan.com or blog http://spiritofarchetypes.blogspot.com

Valentine's Day Ideas, Continued

Coming up with new ideas for your sweetheart on Valentine's Day can be hard. Roses are nice (and jewelry is better!), but sometimes it's the small, thoughtful, inexpensive ideas that pay off big when it comes time to say "I Love You."

Here are more great Dove ideas (see post below) for Valentine's Day:

-Spend Valentine's Day with friends and throw a dessert party.

-Give a packet of daisy seeds instead of a bouquet.

-Package a favorite novel with a heart-shaped bookmark.

-Customize the cover of a journal for your Valentine.

What sweet ideas do you have for V-Day?

While You're Out Babysitting Drawing

When was the last time you had a night out without the kids? We are very excited to be working with While You're Out, LLC Babysitting Referral Service! This is a local business that we personally use and love, so it means a lot to us to be included in their client appreciation give-away.

While You're Out takes the pressure and work out of finding the perfect babysitter. You just tell them the date and time you need a sitter and they do the rest. Not having extended family in town, this has been especially important to us. Cheri, the owner of While You're Out has always been great to work with and we love how easy she makes it to find a caring and experienced sitter. If you haven't checked them out, their website has a lot of great information.

This is the special drawing they are doing for the month of February:

Celebrate the LOVE of your family with 1 of 8 $200 Gift Certificates for Appleby Photography from While You're Out Babysitting!

For every referral [babysitter request] submitted and confirmed, While You're Out will put your family's name in a drawing to win 1 of 8 $200 gift certificates from Appleby Photography.

Every confirmed referral is an entry...so if you have 5 sitters this month, that is 5 entries for one of the 8 gift certificates!

Would you like to increase your chances of winning one of these fabulous gift certificates? Purchase a new package in February and you will have additional entries for the drawing...

Package A: 5 referrals for $45 = 2 entries

Package B: 15 referrals for $130 = 5 entries

Package C: 25 referrals for $215 = 10 entries!!

Plus if you purchase Package C this month it will be discounted additionally to $205 AND you will receive 10 entries to the Appleby Photography gift certificate giveaway!

What Did You Say?

"Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak.

Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen."

Winston Churchill

Over the years, we have used this blog as a way to update our clients and friends about what is happening with the studio and our family. We love when someone mentions a post in our personal conversations with them because we are thrilled to know that people are interested in our on-goings. It hadn't occurred to us that we were having a monologue, when we should be having a dialogue. That’s when we realized that blogs are typically set up to accept feedback and comments, and that all these years, that option was turned off on our blog. So, now we available for a conversation. Go ahead, we’re listening!

Valentine's and My Love of Dove

You may have noticed that we usually have Dove Chocolate in our meeting room. I will admit that I am addicted to their dark chocolate, but any of their chocolate will suffice when a craving hits. We have Dove at the studio, at home and in the car. Our kids all call it "Mama chocolate," because I only share on occasion- I let them eat Hershey's. And Chris still hasn't lived down stealing my last Dove truffle egg- especially since he said he only ate it because he couldn't find anything else to snack on!

Inside Dove wrappers, they offer a little "promise" of love for you to enjoy while you savor your chocolate. This Valentine's season, they give suggestions on how to make the holiday a little more special. Here are a couple: "Create a meal using all of your Valentine's favorite foods" and "re-create your wedding bouquet."

Another great idea for married couples- Frame your wedding vows or a reading from your wedding as a gift for your spouse. What a sweet way to say "I love you!"

Cutest Family!

It's a New Year. Time for a new family portrait...and a new car! Call 608-280-8845 today to schedule a family portrait session with Appleby Photography and be entered for a chance to be named North America's Cutest Family and win a new car... all while raising money for a unique non-profit that helps families suffering the loss of an infant with free professional portraiture. For more information about the Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Foundation, please visit www.nilmdts.org.

Cloth Diapers, Revisited

Have you ever thought about using cloth diapers?

In Madison, the idea is not so unusual.

When you stop to think about it, when you have one child in disposable diapers, it is amazing how many you throw in the garbage every day. Having two in diapers at the same time screams "bad for the environment." When our son, Henry, was 3 months old and our daughter, Lydia, was 23 months old, we made the switch to cloth. We have been happily using cloth diapers for the last two years with the help of a local diaper service. Mother Nature’s Diaper Service is a locally owned company that delivers clean cotton prefold cloth diapers to our door each week, taking away the dirty ones. I have loved using their service and highly recommend them to anyone thinking about using cloth diapers, but not sure they want the hassle!

Now, if you have never entertained the thought of cloth diapers, you might think the whole idea of using cloth is crazy. Actually, it’s quite easy. In fact, I am willing to say it is only slightly more work, but much for fun. No, really.

After a week, changing a cloth diaper became as easy as changing a disposable diaper. My only real issue was making sure I bought enough covers so I wasn’t always running out between laundry loads.

Generally, when you use a diaper service, you use their prefold cloth diapers (large rectangle piece of cloth), which require a waterproof cover. Mother Nature’s rents and sells Proraps diaper covers, but any other brand will need to be purchased elsewhere. When we started with the service, actual stores with any cloth diaper selection in Madison was quite limited, but I found two websites that I liked, Nicki’s Diapers and Abby’s Lane, and ordered from there. I have tried a few different brands of covers, looking for the perfect one. I wanted a PUL inner layer, which is fabric laminated with a waterproof backing. That way, if the diaper was not soiled, I could simply wipe out the cover and use the same one multiple times before needing to wash it. I tried Proraps (great, sturdy covers- functional, but not “cute”), Bummis Super Brite (better fabric designs, but the PUL didn’t hold up as well as I hoped), and handmade covers from such places as Etsy and Wiggle Worm Bottoms (fun fabric covers, but the ones I tried lacked the trim fit I wanted or didn’t fit right in the legs). My favorite cover was the Thirsties. I love the fit, with gussets, and the selection of colors (like the orange that they call “melon”, but I have nicknamed “bio-hazard orange”), they wash up well and sizing is generous.

But, even though I said I would never attempt washing our own diapers, we are planning on kicking up our “crunchy factor” and doing just that now that we have a newborn to diaper again.

With switching to doing our own washing, I thought this would be a great opportunity to branch out and try different styles of cloth diapers. I went to Nicki’s Diapers, which now has a store in Madison, and picked out a few diapers to try: bumGenius! 3.0 All-in-one (wasn’t crazy about the cloth around the legs- I was afraid of wicking pee or poo out of the diaper), Flip System by bumGenius! (snaps instead of velcro- I knew Chris would hate that, but I love their disposable insert option!), Nicki’s private brand, all-in-two (it’s like Gro Baby Diaper System, where the insert snaps in place, but with a PUL inner- I just decided that it was too many snaps), and Thirsties Pocket AIO (great fit that I was used to, but less absorbency if you don’t stuff the pocket).

After all that, we are back to prefolds in the Thirsties covers. It is the best fit for our newborn, has worked well with my older children and it is an easy system to use.

One load of diaper laundry done, and it’s going well. And if I decide I don’t like washing the diapers on my own, I’ll be calling Mother Nature’s Diaper Service back!

My favorite resources:

Mother Nature’s Diaper Service

Diaperpin.com

Nicki’s Diapers

Abby's Lane

Etsy

Wiggle Worm Bottoms

Madison Wedding Planner & Guide Bridal Show

It's that time of year! Lots of engaged couples, with their family and friends, will be coming to the Alliant Energy Center to see all the latest wedding trends, fashions and meet wedding professionals. This weekend is the annual winter bridal show by Wedding Planner & Guide, January 16th (10am to 5pm) and 17th (11am to 4:30pm). The fashion show is at noon and 3pm on both days. Saturday attendees- Don't forget to get your wristband to come back on Sunday for free! Check out the Wedding Planner & Guide website for ticket information.

We are excited to be in a new location, booth #205, near the main entrance. Please stop by and say "hi". We love reconnecting with past brides and grooms, catching up with current couples and getting to meet new people.

The Grand Prize is a New Car!

Appleby Photography is participating in the International Charity Event to select North America's Cutest Family and to raise funds for the non-profit Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep Foundation. Are your loved ones North America's Cutest Family? We'll give you the opportunity to prove it! Many exciting prizes will be awarded, and the grand prize winner receives a new car! Cutest Family Special: $75 entrance fee includes a 30-minute session and one image submitted to the national gallery. Sessions must take place between November 1, 2009 and April 1, 2010. This is a perfect time for Easter portraits, too! Finalists will be determined by online votes. Each vote is $1 (no limit on the amount of votes you can cast), and all proceeds from votes benefit Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep. Voting closes April 8, 2010. Call 608-280-8845 now to enter your family in this exciting contest.

Merry Christmas!

Here is a peek at the front of our holiday card this year. We love to include a family or children portrait. This year it was just the kids: Madalyn (9 years old), Lydia (3 years old), Henry (2 years old) and Leo (1 week at the time of photo). I am so glad to have them done and in the mail! And it's still 3 days until Christmas!

A Photographer's Son and Birth Announcements

You would think that the son of a photographer would just be born knowing how to pose for photographs. You would be wrong, of course.

Leo's first session at the studio was quite an event. He needed to stop his modeling to eat twice, he pooped and peed through six diapers, pooped on his sleeper (and new-again mom here totally forgot to pack an extra one in the diaper bag!), peed on me and refused to sleep long enough to be sat down. The only thing I wanted were adorable photographs of my new son, and Leo made us work for them.

In the end, we had two images that we loved so much that we had such a hard time deciding which to use for the birth announcements. These were the two that we loved. After much staring and debating, we went with the right one. I am so happy to finally have the announcements done and in the mail!

It's a Boy!

As many of you know, we added a new little one to our family this year. On December 2nd, we welcomed a baby boy! Leo Harrison weighed in at 8 pounds and was 20 inches long. We are all doing well and are very excited to show him off.

Black Friday Sale

At Appleby Photography, we would like to add to the holiday frenzy by having a Black Friday sale. We are excited to help you with your holiday shopping by offering you great savings!

On November 27th and 28th, all $25 gift certificates are on sale for only $20.

That is a 20% savings on EVERYTHING!

It is the perfect gift that will always fit, is unique and personal, and will be remembered always- the gift of portraits!

Sales can be made by phone or e-mail. We will have limited studio hours for those that would like to make purchases in person. Please call for studio hours during these two sale days. All orders made by phone or e-mail will be shipped for no charge.

Can not be used on past purchases, nor exchanged for cash. Limit 20 cards per person.

North America's Cutest Family

Appleby Photography is participating in the International Charity Event to select North America's Cutest Family and to raise funds for the non-profit Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep Foundation. Are your loved ones North America's Cutest Family? We'll give you the opportunity to prove it! Many exciting prizes will be awarded, and the grand prize winner receives a new car! Cutest Family Special: $75 entrance fee includes a 30-minute mini session and one image submitted to the national gallery. ***Bonus*** Book your 2010 session, January through March, now and pay only $29 entrance fee and receive a $25 print credit to use on your order! Sessions must be booked by Nov. 30th to qualify. Sessions must take place between November 1, 2009 and April 1, 2010. This is a perfect time for Easter portraits, too! Finalists will be determined by online votes. Each vote is $1 (no limit on the amount of votes you can cast), and all proceeds from votes benefit Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep. Voting closes April 8, 2010. Grand prize international winner will be determined from the 52 city finalists. The winners will be selected from the finalist gallery by photography and modeling industry experts. The winning family also receives a session with the renowned portrait artist Sandy Puc' and international recognition. Call 608-280-8845 now to enter your family in this exciting contest. *Contest open to residents of the US and Canada. For more information, visit http://sandypucmodels.com/.

HOLIDAY IDEAS: We Sell Pettiskirts, Photo Jewelry, Purses and Bags

We sell Belle Ame pettiskirts! These are the adorable fluffy, fluffy skirts that little girls LOVE! We also offer matching tees and tanks, as well as bloomers and dresses. The bloomers (ruffled shorts) are super cute for toddlers! These are custom-made with super-soft chiffon in fun colors. Please feel free to e-mail for photos and pricing. belleamepettiskirts also offers more info.

For the grown-ups, we offer fun photo purses, bags and jewelry. These all make great holiday gifts, but remember they are custom, so order early!

Important Dates:

We have a lot going on in the next few months. We want to take a moment to remind you of important dates and events so they won't sneak up on you. The sooner you schedule your sessions and appointments, the better!

September/October- peak times for outdoor family sessions with fall leaves

October 10- Last chance to order most Wedding albums with arrival times before the holidays (some album styles will need to wait until January)

November 1- April 1 America's Cutest Family international contest
November 8- Last day for all 2009 sessions (except Baby Plan families- call if you have questions or think you will be affected)

November 18- Last day for ordering Portrait and Wedding portraits to guarantee delivery for the holidays

December 1- Last day for Holiday Cards-only orders to guarantee delivery before the holidays

Early December- Arrival of our new baby, limited hours and availability throughout the month- E-mail will work best at this time.

January 16 & 17- Wedding Planner & Guide Bridal Show- stop by our booth to see us that weekend!
Winter 2010- Introducing special program for all past wedding clients- more info will be coming!

Family Sessions

Now is the perfect time to schedule your outdoor family session! The leaves look great and it's still early enough to getHoliday Cards and Portrait Gifts for your loved ones before the holidays arrive! We will continue to schedule sessions in the studio into November, so don't worry if it gets too cold outdoors for you! And we have fun new holiday card designs!

Urban Kids

Have you seen the new window display and website gallery? If not, walk by our windows and go to Appleby Photography's website to check out the images! Our newest project is Urban Kids, a fun display of children highlighted by the urban setting of downtown Madison. The children had a blast and were so much fun to work with for these sessions. Request your Urban Kids session the next time you schedule your child's appointment!

So Excited!

I just love getting "fun" mail and packages! I just received the package with all of our new window display photographs and couldn't wait to rip it open to see them. The kids all look great! :) There were so many cute kids that it was hard to narrow down the choices. I wish we had more room to display even more! Luckily, the website display has enough space and we can showcase more of the kids. I can't wait to redo the windows! Hopefully we will have a very busy weekend and can get it all done! 

Almost Time to Say Good-bye to the Baby Window Display

I can't believe how fast the summer is flying by. With hot air balloon and Persian wedding ceremonies, a falling bride and groom (there were rumors of a YouTube video in the works) and lots of children's portraits, July is a blur. Now we have August here and school starting within a few weeks- our oldest starts back in only two!

We are very excited to create our new window display, but that also means that we have to say good-bye to all the adorable babies that are in the current window display. We have enjoyed this display so much and have heard so many nice comments about the cute newborns. If you haven't seen it yet, please come by soon, before it's gone!

We will keep you posted as to when the new one goes up- there will be some excited children to see themselves highlighted in the windows!

New Fall Studio Window Display

WANTED: 6 models for fall studio window and website display
Must be between ages of 3 and 8 years old
Must be photographed on July 13 or July 14 between the hours of 9am and 2pm

Participants will be photographed at the studio for no charge. You will receive a free gift portrait as your Thank You. Your child's image will be used for studio samples and marketing material. (If you are interested in being contacted for the later dates of phase two for this model search, please let me know!)

Please pass the word if you know someone with children in these age ranges! Call the studio to schedule your time, 608-280-8845.
Thank you!

Dates for Limited Edition Children's Sessions

As earlier posted, we have our dates for our upcoming Limited Edition Urban Boys and Sassy Girls Children's Sessions in July. These are the cute, fun sessions that will show off boys looking cool and girls being sweet or sassy in pettiskirts, great for all ages of kids- babies to pre-teens.

We are now accepting reservations for these sessions.

Mark you calendar for the July Dates and call the studio today at 280-8845! Prime dates and times will fill fast!

Remember, there is NO SESSION FEE for these special sessions. We will not be having pre-planning sessions beforehand, as all important information will be covered by phone and e-mail. Please call to chat more about clothing- both the pettiskirts that we have on hand as well as what you should bring, and studio info and details.

I am very excited about this and am looking forward to seeing all the adorable kids!

Photo Restoration Sale

Do you have priceless heirloom portraits that are damaged by time? Do you have photographs that are older than you or your parents are and that are showing their age?

We can help!

We would love to help you preserve those old photographs and restore them to their former beauty. Now through the end of June, just bring us your old photograph, and for $50, we will restore it and give you an 8x10 portrait of the enhanced image. Need more photographs or a digital file of the enhanced photograph? We can do that, too. Additional 8x10's are only $15 and a digital file is only $50.

4 Free Tickets

I have 4 free tickets up for grabs for tomorrow's bridal show! If you can stop in at the studio to pick them up today, they are yours! Call me at the studio to confirm they are still available.

Wedding Planner and Guide Bridal Show

We are excited about the annual Madison Summer Bridal Show, presented by the Wedding Planner & Guide (the ones that do that big show in January), that takes place tomorrow! The show is from 4pm to 9pm on Wednesday, June 17th at the Marriott Madison West. Ticket information is available at the Wedding Planner & Guide website, and tickets are also available at the door. We have included an engagement session package in the Bridal Show Giveaway, so sign up for your chance to win! We will be sharing our wedding photography at two booths, so stop by either one to say "hi"! You can find us by the front door, at booth 202, and near the cocktail area, at booth 707.

New Album Cover

We just got in a new album with a beautiful custom cover! This is a new option with the Contemporary Album line. We will be able to show off this album at the upcoming bridal show, which is June 17th. (Check out the Wedding Planner and Guide website for more info.)

Limited Edition Children's Sessions

We will be offering special Limited Edition Urban Boys and Sassy Girls sessions on select dates in July. These will be sessions geared towards kids from newborns to age 12. We will focus on downtown Madison, creating an urban, cool setting for girls and boys. For the girls, we will have pettiskirts on hand, size newborn up to girls' size 12. However, if you want your color choice, you will want to order your very own pettiskirt by the end of May, as these are custom made. Check your May e-mail newsletter for a great coupon! Sizes are available in newborn up to teen/women's small/medium. Clothing suggestions for what to wear with the pettiskirts and ideas for your urban boy will be offered! There is no session fee for these Limited Edition sessions and we will have two specials. A $195 deposit will reserve your time. That full amount will go towards your order. Two great options that you will love for your session: a package that includes an 11x14 wall portrait, 2 5x7's and 8 wallets for only $299 ($375 value) or a 10 image album allows you to keep all of your favorite images for only $350 ($400 value). All other prints are at regular studio prices. Session times are available four days in July, which will be posted next week and they were listed in the newsletter. Our current clients get the first opportunity to book their session before we open them up to the public- so don't wait, call today to reserve your time 608-280-8845!

May Newsletter is Sent

Our May newsletter was sent out today via e-mail. Did you get it? If not, you may need to update your e-mail address with us. Send us a quick note letting us know your preferred address and we'll make sure you are up to date on our list.

If you haven't gotten our newsletter before, sign up now! We send one out about every other month, with occasional updates in between. We offer specials exclusively to our e-mail newsletter readers, such as discounts on products and first booking opportunities on special sessions.

Don't like e-mail newsletters and want one delivered to your home? Let us know and we can send one to you!

We Now Sell Pettiskirts!

We are very excited to announce that we now sell pettiskirts! These are the adorable fluffy, fluffy skirts that little girls LOVE! When they put these skirts on, there is no way they can resist spinning around! :) We also offer matching tees and tanks, as well as bloomers and dresses. These are custom-made with super-soft chiffon in fun colors.

To celebrate, we will be offering special Limited Edition Pettiskirt sessions on select dates in July. These will be sessions that focus on the fun that these skirts inspire. We will be offering special packages, with a deposit required to reserve your time. We will have a few pettiskirts on hand, size newborn up to girls' size 12. If you want your color choice however, you will want to order your very own pettiskirt by the end of May, as these are custom made. Sizes are available in newborn up to teen/women's small. E-mail me for color options and images. Stay tuned for more session details to come. 

Madison's First Farmers' Market

Saturday marked the return of the Farmers' Market to the Madison Capitol square. The weather was perfect: sunny and in the 70's. Since there are not much for fresh vegetables yet aside from some salad greens, the crowd could buy meat, cheese, flowers, fresh bakery and enjoy the weather. 

Baby Display is Up!

We are very excited to share our newest display- and it's all about newborns! These are some images from when it was finished last night. I'd love to share images from the day, but the glare on the windows would make seeing the photographs inside difficult. So, instead of waiting for the perfect cloudy day (we've already had enough of those!), you get to enjoy the warm glow of tungsten. Please stop by and see it in person, too! We would like to give a special thank you to Sam, Noah, Eden, Hayden, Cadence and Mackynzie.

Sad to See Brava Go

It makes me feel sad to see local Madison magazine brava go away. When they called to tell me, it made my heart ache a bit for them. You can read the scoop here (link to WKOW 27 news) and here (link to Wisconsin State Journal). The magazine always cheered the working professional women of Wisconsin, and the void left will be hard to fill. The future is uncertain for the annual Woman's Expo, but I hope someone will step up and carry this event on. It was great for the community. 

Thanks brava for the great years of reading you provided!

That "New Baby" Smell....

The new window display will be up next week! Thank you to all the parents of newborns that came in, and thanks to everyone for getting the word out. I know what a big deal it can be to just leave the house with a new little one, so I really appreciate the effort! We are excited to showcase the babies and hope you enjoy the images! Here is a sneak peek at what we will be showing. Please take a look the next time you are downtown!

Facebook Fan Page & Twitter

We are happy to announce that we finally have a Facebook Fan Page! Come visit us and sign up to be a fan. The idea is for us to share information about what is going on at the studio and with us. Also, we plan on sharing images from sessions, hopefully tagging our fans, so they can share them, too. We just ask that you do NOT remove our tag. :) So, starting in April, watch for images of YOU! (Yes, please feel free to bug us if you don't see your images!)

Also, we are all a-twitter here at Appleby Photography. You can now follow Becky and Chris on Twitter. Find out what we are up to, right now! Follow us to get the updates right in your own update feed.

We are still new at all of this, so please bear with us as we try to figure the technology out. It makes me feel old-school to say that I prefer my 'paper and pen' planner, and that I type really slow. At least our kids can remind us how true that is: Madalyn, age 8, wanted us to explain what a typewriter was ("It's like a computer, but there is no screen and you can only make one copy...") and Lydia, age 3, told us she *needs* an iPod touch (not a regular iPod- she needs the screen on her iPod), and Henry, age 1, is sure he can take photos with his play cell phone....

Newborn Needed for Studio Display

I am getting ready to do a new window display at our studio that will feature a newborn. If you or someone you know has a new baby, age 0-14 days old as of right now, please contact us! The shoot needs to be scheduled for the week of March 30th or April 6th.

Participants will be photographed at the studio for no charge. Your child's image will be used for studio display, samples and marketing material. Please call Becky at the studio for details, 608-280-8845.

Please pass the word!
Thanks so much!

Is Winter Done Yet?

The fact that we have several inches of snow in the forecast for the weekend says that winter is still here. That's sad news since the last of the snow just melted from our yard last weekend. At least everyone at our house is healthy for the moment. It feels like the kids, mainly Henry, have been battling one cold or flu bug after another for weeks. I'm convinced that if we could just get outside more, we would all be good!

We were quite excited tonight to get a sentence out of Henry, who is 16 months old. Henry took his sweet time with gracing us with his gift of gab. We knew he could speak, he just chose not to share it with us. At a little over a year, Henry would get coached by big sister Lydia: "Henry say 'goo goo ga ga.'" Henry: "Goo goo goo ga." Lydia: "Henry say 'ta-da.'" Henry: "Ta-da." Lydia: "Henry say  'uh-oh.'" Henry: "Uh-oh." Lydia: "Henry say 'mama.'" Henry: [silence] It was no surprise after months of the whole family begging for 'mama' that he first proclaimed 'Lydia.' 

Then, tonight, after we scolded Lydia for sliding out of her chair repeatedly at dinner, Henry declared to us, "Lydia good girl."

So, there you have it. In Henry's eyes, big sister Lydia does no wrong.

(Of course, Lydia also says that Henry wants to share, as she swipes food off his plate, and he doesn't seem to mind. Yet.)

2009 Wedding Specials

We have a few dates left for the 2009 Wedding Season, and for a limited time, we are extending a special offer to couples that book their date now!

When you choose Levels 1, 2 or 3, you may choose to add an additional hour of wedding day coverage OR receive a $200 credit to use for photographs after the wedding, FREE!

Baby Expo Was Great!

Thank you to everyone that stopped by our booth at the Baby Expo this weekend! 

We were happily surprised by the great turnout on Saturday, even with the snow advisory and the 6+ inches of snow that Madison received. It was nice that so many people braved the cold and bad roads to come. Sunday was even more busy, with lots of babies participating in the Diaper Derby. The crawling race for babies was fun to watch, with the results being quite unpredictable. The baby that could crawl the quickest was not always the baby to finish first!

We will be announcing our drawing winner in the next E-mail Newsletter. (If you don't receive it, let us know your e-mail address to get on the list!) Also, we have a special Thank You gift that we are mailing to everyone that signed up at our booth, so keep an eye out for that.

Mark your calendar for next year's event- Feb 21 & 22! Plans are already in the works and it will be bigger and better!

Baby Expo This Weekend

Please come visit us at the Baby & Toddler Expo this weekend! We have some great exclusive offers for everyone who stops by: We will be giving a special gift to the first 100 visitors to our booth, #309. Also, we will be giving away a $500 gift certificate. Plus, gift certificates purchased at the expo will receive a bonus gift.

The Expo is at the Alliant Energy Center this Saturday, February 21, 10am-4pm and Sunday, February 22, 11am-4pm. Admission to the Expo is free, and there will be events, prizes, a special speaker on Saturday and lots of local vendors.

We would love to see you, so stop by and say "hi"!

So Stinkin' CUTE!

Lydia is almost three, so we did her birthday session a little early. She is just SO cute in this petticoat!

Jewelry and Accessories

We now offer a complete line of custom photo jewelry and accessories. My favorite piece is one of the necklaces (shown above), which I wear to show off my son.
There are a lot of fun ideas for these: a ring would be a fun way to preserve a bridal bouquet long after the flowers have died. The keychain (shown) would be cute with your puppy's face. Bracelets allow you to show a whole series of your child's expressions. Baby feet are perfectly precious on a necklace. Men will be able to show off their loved ones with business card holders and money clips, in addition to the jewelry we offer.
Each piece is solid sterling silver and the photograph is sealed to be completely waterproof. These are special pieces that you will cherish forever, and fun enough that you'll want to wear them everyday!