!  congratulations to Chris and his parents

thanks for making my job so easy.  have a blast in NC this fall Chris!!

  it’s been a while…  she was busy kicking breast cancer’s @$$.  here’s her last post on the blog.

and the next chapter in her journey, which i’m honored to document, is adoption.  with all that cancer business behind her, she and tim are ready to start their family, and adoption is the road.  we got to hang out a bit, and it was so cool to see their excitement about everything in their world these days… adoption classes, creating a portfolio, home visits… the whole process is a bit overwhelming just to hear about.  for sure, they will be formally prepared for the baby they will some day call their own… much more so than many of us who have planned or unplanned babies. 

she is the short quirky, spunky, artsy jelly to his tall methodical, electrical engineering peanut butter.

of all the things cancer taught them, it seems obvious they it must have given them an appreciation for carpe diem and finding humor wherever you can.  for sure they know how to laugh at me

and each otherand themselves.and i’m sure, while most of us take such things for granted, they learned to admire each other’s uniqueness so much…“Bridget, tell Tim ‘i hope our baby learns to have your….”“and Tim, ‘Bridget, I hope our baby learns to have your…”

i don’t know what was whispered after the “…”.  that’s for them:

to be reminded that before everything, there was the new immature love they had for each other.

 and since everything, there is the strong mature love they have grown thru’ their struggles and time together. 

what i do know is that they are waiting, planning, hoping and praying for a baby.  if you or someone you know is pregnant and considering adoption, perhaps the Beattys would be the right match.  a little girl with a B name or a little boy with a T name will soon change Bridget & Tim to Mommy & Daddy.  I cannot wait to share that chapter with you all!

you bet your pretty satin and lace we do!  now would be the perfect time to reserve your january session.  you’ll lock in the 2011 rate and your images will be done in time for some very fun valentine’s gifts.  as if you need an excuse

Anyway, now is crunch time for getting your holiday cards together, whether you will mail them, or go green this year {and save postage} by handing them out at all your fun get-togethers.  If you are a {BD}client I already know you want to stand out, have something special.  I’m happy to share with you the fabulous stylings of Julia’s Poppies.  http://www.etsy.com/shop/juliaspoppies

you will find these and more at  http://www.etsy.com/shop/juliaspoppies

{{{{congratulations!!}}}

heather stump, you were chosen as the winner by random.org

now you just choose your favorite BD image and your favorite Julia’s Poppies design and pair em up!  have fun, thanks for sharing, can’t wait to see what you come up with

i’ve been super busy shooting like a mad woman thru’ october and november.  this was one of my last shoots before i ran away to the mountains with my BDs for a break.  

how thankful must Ellen and Michael be to have these 3 little girls?!

they have a lot to be thankful for in fact.  Ellen, Villanova tennis star, and Michael, of NBA and UK basketball fame, spend their time now enriching the community thru’ their Moksha yoga studios in Cincinnati and NKY, and pouring profits back out with local and international outreach programs.  you can read more about all that here. 

for our time together, i got to skip around with the three little beauties and we pretended like it wasn’t 30* out.  the bright sun was a good start.

we spied on mama and daddy, chased the farm kitty (or some of us ran from it), had a mini camping adventure, raced down the tree lined gravel, snuggled to keep warm….

…they even pulled mama into a few rounds of ring around the rosie and got major air from 6′10″ daddy!3, 4 and 5?  these dolls were serious troopers out there in the bitter cold.  i wish you girlies full bellies and warm lazy turkey day naps.  can’t wait to meet up again for more fun, and if the temp is above freezing, even better

and in the spirit of black friday, i guess i should remind all of you that if you send your 2012 session deposit in before the end of the year, you lock in the 2011 rate.  AND if your next session is within 6 months of your last, you save another $50.  AND if you want to present your deposit as a BD gift certificate to the BD addict in your house {i’m looking at you Mike Martin} i can email one over for you to pop into a picture frame and hang on the tree.  the flurry of family, friends and holiday parties starts now thru’ new years.  i wish you all safety and sanity.  til next time, cheers!

so… since then ms. annie received a proposal and will be a mrs. annie soon   perfect excuse for another session, and for me to meet the other boy in her life.  enter dustin and his grandDad’s pickup truck.  *swoon*

seriously? don’t stare too long, those eyes look like they could cast spells!

“the forest” as they say.  her family’s horse farm is amazing.  more of it later on her son’s blog entry.  promise again.

dusty wanted a pic with the outhouse.  who am i kidding, so did i.  how cute are my boy and girl icons? my clients are such great sports.  {fun fact, i actually painted boy and girl icons on my front bathroom door at the BD house}

i guess i’m behind on trends, or maybe annie and dustin are just very fashion forward.  her ring is uhhhMazing!  rose gold and amethyst.  i’d never even heard of rose gold. *swoon again*

here’s to maybe a little baby Flynt one day congrats A&D!

some of his favorite phrases now?

if he wants to pick a fight with you he puts up his dukes and says “wanna go?”

when he falls down {100x a day}  he assures you and himself with “okay?”

he’s not sure about most foods.  he takes one bite of yours then offers it back.  but he definitely is a fan of cookies. aka “cuckoo?”

when he needs something from his mommy or his daddy he’s pretty sure they are both named “daddy?”he’s an animal lover “bishy, horchie, kee-kee, ducgy?”i can’t admit that i’m his second favorite aunt. let’s just pretend my name is too long so he prefers his aunt “kayy?”

if he has a fetish it’s definitely with shoes “chew?”he’s super smart.  he already knows how to burp on command oh and he knows his “eye, noh, mouw, hand?”when he wants to hold his cousin bronx it’s “babeeeee?”

and of course, “bye bye luh you!”

{kisses borey borey boo boy! la la from aunt bridgey!}

**fyi, this back to school setup is available for back to school sessions for those of you looking for a modern alternative to traditional school portraits! **

Joshie has the coolest parents.  his mom and i go way back actually, we just didn’t know that until she booked me, as a complete stranger, for Josh’s 6 month pictures.  as i was wrapping up the session, she sent me a facebook request so i could post a sneak peek for her.  she asked how i knew a mutual friend we had, and from there we discovered that we had gone to school together in 2nd grade.  she actually got the leading role in our christmas play that year and i was secretly crushed because i thought i had it in the bag.    but now, all is forgiven because she and her husband have a cute little boy she lets me take pictures of, and they are big fans and supporters of my work.  as always, thanks for that!  on the first day of august, we got together again so Joshie could be the star of his own first birthday session. mama said she didn’t expect any smiley pics, Josh is just a serious kid.now i won’t say that i won him over, buti do have some sneaky tricks up my sleeve and i’m a bit of a smile ninja.  oh, and his mama does a mean elmo impression.   in the end we ended up with plenty of grins.

he kinda-sorta skips everywhere rather than a boring old walk.  it’s kinda-sorta the cutest thing ever.  baby swagger!happy birthday J, and congrats mama and daddy on your first year as a family of  three!  can’t wait for the next milestone…

on top of everything looking first-class, she held the event at an actual airport, right on theme, and had the incredible backdrop of real planes and skydivers, complete with American flag displays and the night ended with fireworks.  unbelievable. 

Nika thought of everything.  a special kid’s only section included craft paper table cloth for doodling, books, bubbles, old school airplanes to put together and glowsticks for later. 

it also happened to be outrageously hot.  saturday’s high of 99 degrees tied a 58-year-old record for the date and surpassed Friday as the hottest day of the year by one degree.  you’d think it would be miserable, but she had that covered too.  the kids ran and played in the sprinkler, a trampoline equipped kiddie pool, golf clubs, frisbees, jump ropes, sidewalk chalk, wiffle ball and lots more.she presented her best girls with hand picked vintage cases filled with glamorous vintage goodies- and treated them to a photo shoot.  what girl doesn’t need a breathtaking new facebook pic?

↓runway models↓ get it?

and what modern party is complete without a photobooth for the guests to get silly in?  all of her details were perfect, i just loved the theme and all the special touches.  a girl after my own heart.

thank you justin & nika for treating me like a superstar through the last year.  from your engagement session in the fall, to the accommodations in Colorado for your bridegroom fashion shoot, and finally wrapping it up with the documentation of your reception and fun on the runway session with your girls.  i’ll try not to be offended when i don’t get a ticket to join you on your tropical honeymoon   best wishes!  {BD} 

today might be the first day we didn’t have visitors.  i thought i should probably post one of the MANY client shoots i have yet to share.  and i started to,  but then somehow i ended up doing this instead and i’m actually okay with that

today you are 20 days old.  i won’t say 3 weeks because that just sounds too old.

goodbye August.  thank you for teaching me to slow down, accept help from others and just breathe.

p.s. thank you for all the amazing support you all have given us!  the gifts and meals and kind words and lovin’ mean more than you know.