My Son

Before I entered the world of "Motherhood" there were several things that I SWORE I wouldn't do when I became a mother. These were things I had observed from family, friends, even strangers as I closely watched how people parented their children. These are just a few that are coming to mind, if you have things that you swore you wouldn't do, I'd like to hear it!

1. Being late. Why just because you have a child does that entitle you to be late? So your excuse is it's another body to get dressed, fed and out the door, well my response is, "plan ahead! You know you have that body to feed, and dress so get up earlier, do it faster, I don't care just don't use it as an excuse!" Well I am guilty of falling into this trap, and I HATE being late!!! My excuse is the feeding schedule and how long he nurses for, it is NO excuse for being late, but now my eyes have been opened to WHY you other mommy's run late and I apologize for critiquing you for it!

2. Put my relationship with my husband, Mike, BEFORE the baby AND when we actually do have a moment alone to NOT only talk about the baby. As a new mom this is SO hard to do! When you spend every waking moment with this child and just adore his every move it's so hard NOT to talk about it! And as for putting him first, I always swore to people that every marriage needs this for before child, it was just you, there is no baby with out you both so make time for each other. Although we have only been parents for 8 weeks, I still TRY and make time just for us. Even if it's just a few moments each night, it really is so important and I do believe that, BUT, not talking about my baby is VERY hard, you spend every waking moment with someone and then try not to say a word... IT'S HARD!

3. Weeks. WHY must you refer your pregnancy AND even more so your child's age in weeks. Are you trying to out smart the rest of us? Are you really trying to make us think that hard? Just say they are 2 months or almost 2 months.... again, I am guilty of this, however I am desperately TRYING to round to the nearest month!!!

4. The other thing I hated was when you asked people how you know you are in labor, their response is, "you'll just know" What a crumby answer, I mean I'm asking you to tell me how YOU knew so I was on a mission to be able to tell all you how do you know, and sadly my answer, "You'll just know!" :)

What I have made good with:

1. Letting others watch him. I could never comprehend why women wouldn't let others watch their babies. I'm not saying strangers, but your mother, father, mother-in-law, sisters, close friends etc. If you trust them, WHY wouldn't you let them watch your baby? It's good for you to get out even if it's just to run to the store, to take a shower, to just have a moment for yourself! I will make every effort to NOT give up on this

2. Not letting child sleep in bed with you! It might be because between my husband, my large yellow lab, and myself there isn't' much wiggle room in our cozy queen size bed, BUT regardless I do not want my child sleeping in our bed with us, there really is no reason for this in my opinion and it's a bad habit to break!

These are just some things that have come to my mind, I would love to hear what you have to say about this as I'm sure many of you think the same and many of you disagree! The bottom line is whatever makes your life easier and you and the baby happier, do what works for you... I sure have :)

Inspire Project 52

Ok so as we sprint into 2011 my fellow photog, Sandra, and I decided we were going to take on a "project" that would inspire us to get out and shoot things on a weekly basis, these "things" would be a variety of different topics, not just or normal, weddings and people. We are calling this Inspire Project 52. The goal is for us to get out and shoot but we are also encouraging you to do the same. It would be great if you too wanted to share your photos or comments, thoughts or even ideas of things we can do in the 52 weeks ahead. I would love any feedback you'd like to give as well! So each month I will give the topic, so for instance this month is outdoors, it can be ANYTHING outdoor related, and yours can even be a photo from the past, however mine will all be current. You will see they are nothing crazy just something that you like or you thought was neat. I chose this beach shot because I was down in Milford on the beach and just looked down the beach and though how beautiful! The fog was so thick yet I love the minimal houses and the distance you can see. You just can't go wrong at the beach! What's your idea?

Welcome 2011

Wow, it's hard to believe it's already 2011, where does the time go? This past year of course was filled with so many amazing things for me, personally with the pregnancy and birth of my son, Michael. It was also a good year in business considering I was having a baby at the end of wedding season and in the peak of family portraits for holiday cards! I have some amazing clients, thanks to all of you, who supported me throughout this year! Before we get too far into the new year I figured I should update some goals for the year and encourage all of you to do the same. It's too frequently that we think about the goals but don't take the time to write them down so therefore often forget about them. If you'd like to share any of your goals, I'd love to hear them. They can be personal, business, silly, anything, as you'll see I have a mix of it too!

Mine aren't in any order, just goals in general. Here I go.

Goal 1: Promote/market my business better. With all the technology out now, I need to really take advantage of it and reach out to different people. As much as I love all of you and never want to lose you, I also want to meet your family, friends, and co-workers to see what other awesome people there are out there. I want to re-do my website, and post more regularly on my blog and facebook. However, I promise NOT to post things such as, "I just went to the grocery store" because I know you don't care!!!

Goal 2: Make time for myself and my hubby and I. Of course now with the greatest addition to our family, the birth of our son, I always promised my husband that we would ALWAYS create time for us, I have tried for the last 8 weeks to do that but it is hard as sleep is so unpredictable, however I never want to lose the "us" and strongly feel you need to make time for just the 2 of you. BUT I also want time for myself. I love more than anything taking care of my son, my dog and my husband, but I also LOVE a little down time. For me the simple act of going to the gym is something I now cherish.... which leads to my next goal:

Goal 3: Start running again. Gosh, to think what it took to make me miss it. I don't know if many of you know this but I was a big time runner! I ran 3 seasons in high school and then got a college scholarship to run at CCSU a division one school. It was the best decision I had made and a fun, yet intense part of my life. I LOVED running, and I was good at it, but then towards the end of my senior year, I had had it, I was tired, bored and just ready for it to be over. I honestly thought it would be a two week break and I would be back at it, well that was almost 9 years ago, I'd say it's time to get back into it! I'm really looking forward to the warmer weather so I can take advantage. I want to take my son and my dog for daily runs and maybe once I get back into the swing of things I'd like to think about running a half marathon, or at the very least a few good road races.

Goal 4: Document my sons life. I always fear that I won't take the photos that I encourage all of you to take of your family with my own. I don't want to document his every move, but I'd like to keep up with taking monthly photos at the very least, and hopefully more than just the first year too! And maybe even every once in a while throw in pics of us as a family as well, even if we aren't in the shape we want to be, pictures are so precious and something that will be treasured forever!

Goal 5: Be more thankful. I always internally am so appreciative of so many things but often realize I don't communicate that. Why is it so difficult to say thank you, or to say, " you look great" and to really be thankful. There is so much in my life to be thankful for and I'd like every day to be verbally thankful. Here are a few that come to mind now. I'm so thankful for my beautiful, happy, healthy son. I'm thankful for the amazing man I married who is my best friend and who supports me in everything I do and who made me the happiest woman in the world with the birth of our son. I'm thankful for my family, for their health, and happiness. I'm thankful my parents are finally traveling and are able to do so. I'm thankful for my job, I love being a photographer, I love meeting people and leaving you with photos that will last a lifetime and bring happiness to your lives. I'm thankful for technology, for facebook, for blogs, for email, for skype you name it, how amazing is all this? I'm thankful for hugs, kisses and I love yous!

That's what I've come up with so far but maybe as the year goes on I'll come up with a few more. Feel free to share your goals for the year too, maybe we can all encourage each other to stay on task and reach those goals!

Jess and Brian- The Riverview- Simsbury, CT

It was a perfect summer day for a wedding and Jess and Brian lucked out. The chose a beautiful location to have the ceremony and reception, the picture perfect Riverview in Simsbury. The location which was my home away from home this summer, never disappoints and here are some favorites to prove it!

Jess's stunning gown.

Meet Brian, the handsome groom...
And Jess the beautiful Bride.

Their beautiful rings and flowers.

Like I said, the ceremony was right on site and they did a wonderful job decorating!

The first kiss. The Whole bridal party. They were a blast, everyone was great and so easy to get a long with and so easy going!

B and the Boys.

Another great one of Jess The happy couple... and they really were, they were so much fun the entire day and I had a blast shooting them!

Their first dance. I simply love the moment they were having!

Jess and Brian- sorry in the delay in posting this, and of course this is nothing new to you but better late than never! You guys were awesome, your whole group of friends, and family were just wonderful. I had a great time and I know all your guests did too! Wishing you a happy first holiday season together!

Christmas Came Early this year...

Well for those of you who don't know or who haven't heard, I have been a little slow and a little behind on my postings but all for good reasons, I assure you! Meet my beautiful (sure I'm a little biased) son, Michael Stephen...

There are some really great stories about him that I'd like to share, first off his name. Of course we love his name, (which is why we chose it!) but the reason behind it is why we love it.... It basically stems from the 2 most amazing men in my life, and what better way than to be named after both of them?! First off, Michael is my husbands name and a name that runs in their family and as much as we thought about it being a Jr., we felt it was important to honor yet another amazing man in our lives, my father, Stephen.
Secondly he was born on November 8th, which is also my oldest sisters birthday, so she and Michael will always have a special bond as they get to share their special day together!

So far being a mom is just the greatest feeling in the world and I wouldn't change it for anything! I am so in love with my son and with my husband and couldn't be a happier girl! I am blessed with a great baby and an amazing job that lets me stay home during the week and watch him, and take photos of him :)

I hope you find my son a good enough excuse for the delays in posting! I truly had all the events done before his arrival just couldn't find a free hand or minute to post after his arrival, so now that he is five weeks old, I'm starting to get things down in how to really multi task and be a mom and a business owner at once!

More pictures and stories to come!

I will of course appologize for what I'm sure is to come... ENDLESS photos of my baby but I'll try and keep it to old some keepers! These photos here were taken at 3 weeks, but I didn't post anything as I wasn't sure what I was putting in his birth announcement/holiday card, so now that is designed it was safe to post :)

Allesandra & Dan's Wedding

It was a beautiful summer day back in August when Dan and Allesandra tied the knot. I started the day Allesandra's house to get the girls getting ready. I love this shot below, her gown was stunning and I love the way the sun is coming in through the window...

I love the way her dress looks in this photo!

And this is Dan pre-ceremony,just hanging with his dad and the boys...

I love this moment where A & her dad are walking down to meet Dan at the end of the aisle.
Here is the whole bridal party after the ceremony. What a great group of people they were too, we had such a blast taking the formal photos and it was so great to see so many of these people and I went to high school with them, and hadn't seen so many of them since then!

And here are some favorites of the happy couple...

The reception was at the Farmington Club in Farmington, and was such a blast. People danced and ate all night long and everyone had such a good time. Don't forget to check out all their photos on the online ordering part of my site!

A&D- It was so great to see you and be a part of your special day. I had so much fun working with you and seeing all of your friends and family. It truly was a joy to watch your families interact together, as they get along so well, people only hope their families and in laws get along as well as yours does, it really was so nice to see! Wishing you all the best!

June 25, 2010- Erica & Mike

Well as you can tell it's been a while since I've updated my wedding stuff, but it's finally time that I did so! It was a busy summer, so bear with me while I keep you up to date on all the great events that I photographed.
On June 25th I was honored to photograph a wedding of 2 amazing people, and families. I started out at Erica's parents house where she and the girls prepped for the big day.

She looks absolutely stunning!

I Love the photos of Erica and her dad walking down the aisle, and I know they do too. It was such an amazing day and so special for both of them.

This next photo is right after the ceremony and was such a great moment between father and daughter. It was so sweet to watch them, and you couldn't help but feel the love and emotion they were sharing.

What a fun bridal party, they were a blast to work with.

And of course the happy couple. They really do make such a great pair and seemed so happy on such a perfect day.

The reception took place at the Aqua Turf where the great toasts, dances, and fun continued all night.

Although it was several months ago now, and a lot has changed since then, I hope you guys look back on this day as a day you will never forget, as it was a blast for everyone. Wishing you all the best! Enjoy.