Kiyrra’s mommy is one of my assistants for weddings and when she called to see if I would be up for photographing her one year old tear into a cake I was more than willing!  We had a great time watching her and I think she may be on a sugar high for a week.  I’ve seen other photographers offer a one year special like this and I’m definately adding this type of package to my studio.  I think I could watch kids do this all day every day and never tire of it!  Thanks, Stefanie, for bring her in and a special thanks to big brother for helping me out with getting Kiyrra to smile!

Look at those beautiful eyes!

The calm before the storm!

It’s been so long since I have blogged!  I’ve been thinking about what to post for the past two days and I had no idea where to begin.  So much has happened in my personal and proffesional life over the past few months that it would take forever to go back and catch up.  So, I decided to start with a fun post…VACATION!!

Last month my sister, cousin, a few friends and I went to the Riviera Maya in Mexico.  It was a much needed vacation and I was looking forward to it since my last beach vacation a year ago.  We had a blast!  The weather was beautiful…almost every day was in the 80’s and we had no rain at all.  We went on two “adventure” trips which included snorkeling, cliff jumping, zip lining, and much more.  There was also a lot of lazy days by the beach & the pool soaking up the sun and relaxing.  There were so many pools at this resort!  My favorite was the saltwater pool that you can see in the collage below (top left).  Beautiful!  We also ate a ton of food, but the resort was so big that I’m sure we walked all the calories off!  I’m ready for my trip already…hope one happens soon.  My sister is going back this summer with another friend and I’m so jealous!

I hope you enjoyed the pictures!  One of these days maybe we can wear tank tops here in Illinois again.  Sure seems like a long winter!

This was one of the spots we went snorkeling.  Unfortunately it was very windy so we had a hard time seeing a whole lot of fish, but it was still a blast!

We also snorkeling in a cave and it was VERY COLD!  Our tour guide for the day was Jesus and he was a funny, funny man.  Apparently the average age for these trips is a bit older than we were so he was pretty excited to have a group of young people to hang out with for the day.  We were named Charlie’s Angels and I think we fit it pretty well don’t you?

Tubing down a river under the mangroves.  So cool (except for the part of having to wear life jackets all day)!

This year has been amazing!  With the opening of the new studio I have been busier than I could have ever imagined.  I feel so blessed to have the clients that I do and I thank each one of you for trusting me to photograph your milestones and once in a lifetime events.  The relationships I have formed with you are priceless to me and I look forward to helping to create more memories as your lives grow and change. I can hardly believe it’s December 5th already!  Christmas is just 20 short days away and I have hardly even begun to shop or decorate.  The decorating may actually just have to take a one year hiatus and return bigger and badder then ever in the Holiday Season of 2010!

With all that said I do have to say that I am very ready for some time to breathe and get back to a somewhat normal lifestyle once this busy Christmas season is over.  I have put my relationships with friends, family and God on the back burner since September and hopefully, with some much needed changes to my studio workflow and organization, that will never happen again!  I will be taking a few months “off” in the beginning of 2010 to take a vacation, organize my studio (well, it is organized, but I am an organization freak so I must do this over and over again!), work on getting a better system for my workflow and many, many other awesome things.  I do say “off” in a very loose way as I will still be working and will take a very limited number of portrait sessions.  If you are pregnant, have a newborn or would like a session that just can’t happen any other time please contact me.  I don’t want to let that pass me by!

In January I will be celebrating my last birthday that starts with the number 2!  Yikes, 30 is almost here.  Where did the careless days of summer and pigtails go?!  I am a dreamer and always have a millon and one ideas going through my head, but I also have a bad habit of letting time slip by way too fast.  I have decided to make a list of the top 30 things I want to do or accomplish before I am 30 and I will be sharing that with you folks in early January.  I feel if I share it on here I may be more likely to finish those goals since I will have so many people to hold me accountable!  Keep an eye out for this…I am excited myself to see what I come up with.

If you are patiently (and thank your for being so patient!) awaiting your wedding proofs, album design, or print order I will be getting those to you very quickly!  I am hoping to have all print orders finished and ready to pick up by Monday, December 21.  I will call you as soon as they arrive.   If you are waiting on a Wedding Album design from me it will be done in early January.  And finally if I had the amazing opportunity to photograph your wedding I will be in touch when they are done which should be very soon.

The blog posts have been very few and far between, but I have TONS of great shoots to post in the new year so I hope to have you back to check it out soon.  If I don’t post before then, I hope everyone has a blessed Christmas and a safe and happy New Year.

Much love,

Nicole

This Friday, November 6th, I will be having my Grand Opening celebration with an Open House from 4:00-8:00 p.m. at my new location - 927 North Main Street in Princeton, Illinois.   The Open House will take place during Princeton’s North End Annual Wine Walk.  Many shops on the North End will be open late so be sure to stop in to see their new holiday merchandise and sample their treats and drinks!   I will be serving several different salsa’s (mango salsa is my favorite!) and sangria’s as well as a few sweet treats.  I’m also very excited to have The Friendship Band - Joe Nowak and Bob Cmolik - coming to perform acoustic guitar music and sing us some songs.  Joe is an awesome guitar player so don’t miss out!  As an added bonus you can sign up for a chance to win free stuff and who doesn’t like free stuff?!  Grab a friend and stop in to say hello!  I look forward to seeing you there!

You may remember Michelle from a few months back when she came to me for photos to surprise Trent for Father’s Day.  They wanted to do some photos together at their home with the baby before he made his arrival.  When they gave me the directions I thought the area sounded familiar, but once I got there I realized I had photographed at several places close by.  One was an old barn that I photographed a senior at last fall and just loved.  Trent said it was his family’s and now I have permission to use the barn instead of my usual asking permission only if I am found out!   Anyways…back to Trent and Michelle!  I saw them at the bank last week and she still hadn’t delivered, but I am thinking she has to of had him by now.  I can’t wait to meet this little guy and photograph him!  I’ll be sure to post those as soon as it happens.  For now I hope you enjoy these!

Behind Michelle & Trent is the cattle he raises and the family farm.  They have some awesome old pictures up in their kitchen of his family that used to farm there.  I love hearing stories like those!  (The moon even made an appearance in the sky for us!)

One last family photo before the new addition!

I wanted to end this post with a little heart warming story.  This photo was Trent’s idea and I have said before I LOVE when my clients come to me with their ideas.  The tree in the background has been on the property forever (he told me how old he thinks it is, but I can’t remember so lets just say its REAL old and REAL big) and recently the little tree in the foreground was planted.  Trent wanted to have a photo with both of them in it while their baby was growing in Michelle so one day, thirty years or so from now, their child can look at this photo and see the growth that has taken place in his life and the tree’s.  I am sure I am not giving the story justice as I am horrible at re-telling, but I hope I got the point across of the meaning behind this photograph.  Thanks for an awesome shoot guys and for inviting me to your awesome home!

Makaya’s mommy received a gift certificate for a free sitting at her baby shower and she saved it for her daughter’s six month photos.  She is ADORABLE and I can’t wait to get her back in the studio again!  I had a few helpers who bent over backwards to get this million dollar smile…thank you to Makaya’s Mom and Grandma!!

Eye lashes a mile long!

Already sticking her tongue out at the camera!

Love this goofy little face.

I’ll end with a big happy smile!  Hope it brightens your day!

Bailey was a lot of fun to photograph.  As a photographer it’s my job to make people look the best that they can, but I didn’t have to do much for Bailey!  She has great style and was good at posing herself which made my job pretty easy.  Bailey’s mom owns Jillian’s…a salon on the south end of Main Street in Princeton.  When I asked where they wanted her portraits to be taken at their suggestion was the salon and I was so excited!  Every time I stop in there I am blow away at how beautiful it is and the light from the front windows is gorgeous.  These first two shots are right in the front part of the salon and shot with the natural window light.  Isn’t it beautiful?!?  Or should I say isn’t she beautiful?!?

Then we stepped out back out the salon to peek around and see what sorts of backdrops we could find and I hit the jackpot!

Thanks for an awesome shoot Bailey!  I wish you all the best in your future endevors!

I am behind on blogging so it’s been quite awhile since Dede & John’s wedding, but I still wanted to share.   They were married at Starved Rock State Park on June 13, 2009.  It was a beautiful day, but a bit muddy from the flooding we had this Spring.   The reception was a Wise Guys in Princeton and was just a beautiful as the ceremony.   The day went off without a hitch and they left plenty of time for lots of great photographs all around Starved Rock.  Every corner we turned was a great backdrop for photos!

Dede made a stunning bride!  I love the detailing on the back with the simple lace up corset.

John was looking pretty handsome himself!

Dede chose to have her two sons walk her down the aisle.  So sweet.

Everyone was very emotional after the ceremony.  I love these special moments!

That is me…getting the bunny ears from their youngest son.  I had no idea this was going on while I was photographing the guys so when I was editing the photos (my assistant snapped this one) I sure got a good laugh!

Dede and John were so into each other that I had a hard time getting them to look at the camera!  I actually prefer these type of shots so I was in photographers heaven that day!

Dede’s mom was a hoot!  She was in charge of cutting the cake and it got a bit out of control.

I am going to end this post with their new family photo.  I wish you all a very happy life together!

Kelsey was my first portrait shoot of the 2009-2010 seniors.  I LOVE photographing seniors.   They are at such a neat place in life and all so different from one another.  I especially enjoy when my clients come up with neat ideas for locations or bring something along that is special or unique to them.  Kelsey has been dancing since she was a little girl and brought along a ballet outfit and shoes.  Thanks for a great first shoot, Kelsey!

Joel is the second born son of my dear friends Jessica and Curtis.  I have know Curtis since high school and met his wife during a Bible study at the Princeton Bible Church.  I am very proud to have gotten to photograph their family through the years as it has grown.  This was Joel’s birth announcement (I took off his last name and all the birth information) that I just love!  I also photographed Joel’s big brother, Cade, when he was born and his had the same bible verse on it.  How special!  Hope you all enjoy this sweet little baby boy and his beautiful family!

Do you ever wonder what babies dream out?

Proud Mom & Dad with their two boys.

Big brother, Cade, had a few minutes in front of the camera as a star too!  His smile sure brightens my day, how about you?!