When is the best time to plant a tree?

Is it in the spring?  Is it in the fall?  By the light of a blue moon? :)  Ask that question of any landscape professional and you'll get an answer you'll probably never expect: "Thirty years ago."  You might think it's funny, but it's true.  When you buy your first home and you plant that first tree in your new front yard chances are you'll never truly enjoy it's full beauty.  The fact is, most of us don't live 30 years in the first house we ever buy.  Don't get me wrong, where I live we may be the exception to that rule but, in general, people move around several times in 30 years.  They have starter homes, get transferred by their jobs, move closer to better schools for their kids, or move out of the city they enjoyed as newlyweds into the suburbs to raise their families.  So, when most people plant a tree they are giving a gift to the next generation, but chances are it will be a perfect stranger.

I know, I know.  I'm NOT a landscape professional and I know you're wondering what planting a tree has to do with a photography blog.  So, I'm going to tell you.

Ask yourself the same question, but let's talk about portraits.  When is the best time to invest in a portrait session?  Lately I've had several people tell me they want portraits, but they want to wait just a bit longer.  Some want to wait until their child is a senior in high school.  Some want to wait until their kids get their braces off.  Some say they're too busy in the fall and want to wait until next spring, but then they're busy in the spring so they need to wait until fall.  And of course nearly all of them are waiting until they lose some weight.  So now I am begging all of you readers.  PLEASE, don't wait! Find a photographer and record your memories for those who are around 30 years from now to enjoy them.

We purchased our first house a few years ago.  It was built by my husband's grandparents.  They didn't gift us with 30 year old shade trees to enjoy.  And unfortunately, they didn't gift us with many photographs either.  But we have a few.  My daughters look at them often and remember their great grandparents.  Paige sees the dimples that her great grandma passed down to her.  And for Lexi the ringlet curls.  But you know what?  Neither of them ever have said to me, "I wish great grandma would have lost some weight before she had these pictures taken."

Just last year my Uncle was visiting and before he could sneak out of town I snapped a quick photo of him and his love in the studio.  He was home just a few weeks before he was diagnosed with stomach cancer.  And just a few weeks later he had surgery from which he never recovered.  So if you ask me, "When is the best time to have portraits taken?" I will answer you with a resounding TODAY!  Thank you Uncle Boyd for the beautiful shade tree you gave me. <3

Surprise!

Wow!  It's been a LONG time since I've blogged!  I guess that's proof that I've been busy getting fun things ready for a new portrait season!  March is always one of my busiest months.  This year:  My daughter turned 10! We survived Easter Quick Takes! I finished up "Class of 2012" marketing materials!  And I added some new props and backgrounds to the studio!

I was surprised when April showed up on my calender and then even more surprised when we had a snow day in the middle of it!  Surprised when it was time to get prom donations ready and surprised again when I see that school is almost out!  Surprised to realize that it was time to color Easter eggs, and pleasantly surprised when the Easter Bunny chose my favorite candy for this year's Easter Bunny poo! ;)

This month has been full of surprises, some more wonderful than others!  This little man surprised his mom and dad when he decided to make an appearance 3 weeks before he was due!  He was the perfect angel for portraits the other day, as was his big sister Miss G!  The only surprises I got that day were the cuddly hugs from Miss G and the stinky surprise on my shirt from Mr. C.  See.....I told you some surprises were more wonderful than others. :)

My Baby Fix

Well we're back and getting ready to head back to school tomorrow.  This holiday season has been a crazy one and it seems like I just got swept along in all the craziness.  We did have a chance to spend a few days with family last weekend and I was able to get my baby fix.  We went to see our little man Crew who is cutting his first teeth.  We had a visit from our newest little great nephew, Wesley, who at 3.5 months looks like he could be a little linebacker.  We got to peek in on little Carter, who was busy with his supper but of course still had time to give us tons of smiles!  And of course we got to meet the sweet little Miss Whitney.  She was the perfect present for her parents this year arriving just a little early on Christmas Eve.  Thanks to the fabulous Megan Marie Photography I was able to help with this shoot.  Man, what a workout, constantly switching roles so we could both get some shots.  Miss Whitney was so cooperative sleeping the day away while mom and dad hung out nearby.


Anyone who knows me knows that I love, Love, LOVE babies so this weekend was a fabulous vacation for me.  Of course I kept my distance from the water, I wasn't taking ANY chances! :)

Here's a peek at the beautiful Little Miss Whitney ♥

Naughty or Nice?

Well I sure had a busy day yesterday.  I think I got a little taste of what it might be like to live at the North Pole.  Santa came to visit me yesterday with two lists in his hands. He was busy checking them twice to find out if these little girls and boys were naughty or nice.  {alexis}paige photography must have the best customers ever because Santa didn't find one single name on his naughty list yesterday!  He got several requests for toys so I think he and his elves are going to be VERY busy for the next few weeks!  It was a steady stream of kidlets in the studio yesterday, but Santa did take a couple of breaks to check on his reindeer who were hanging out on my rooftop munching on some carrots and reindeer food.  Santa told me that Comet can sometimes get into trouble if he is left unattended for too long!  It seems like Toy Story toys, Barbie and Pillow Pets are the gifts of choice this year.  Santa had several requests for those this year.  We said goodbye to Santa and made our way over to the lighting of the Village Christmas tree followed by a wonderful soup supper.

Thanks for a great day Santa!  See you soon....I'm going to try and stay awake this year to catch you! ;)

Beautiful Weather...Beautiful Model...

What beautiful weather we had today!  And after the previous two days of nearly being blown clear to Iowa, I definitely wasn't going to waste it! My family for this afternoon had to re-schedule so I thought it would be the perfect time to take my favorite girl out for a little photo shoot after school.  (I can say favorite on here because the other one can't read!) ;)  And before you all send me emails about liking one child more than the other -- I DEFINITELY don't.  But this one is ultra sensitive like her mom so anytime I can tell her how much I love her and how beautiful she is, I seize the opportunity!  And if you asked my youngest if she had a favorite parent I'm sure she'd say, without any hesitation, that she's definitely daddy's girl!  As for my oldest, she's just like her mom - competitive, shy, and tender hearted.

Of course a photo shoot with either child is never met without a little resistance.  They're always ready when I suggest it, but after about 5 minutes they've definitely had their fill.  I think they just want to try on the clothes and get a little blush and lip gloss!  Paige is to the stage where she is trying too hard to pose and I'm trying so hard to catch that natural beauty of hers.  I keep telling her to "be Paige" and then all I get is her head turned away from the camera, her eyes closed and her hair in her face.  But I did manage a few today--even some with those gorgeous dimples that I so love!

Scarecrows and Squirrels and Chicken Lips! Oh my!....

I always love meeting new families and this one was no exception.  Miss C is close in age to my oldest daughter and Mr. C is at that "full of personality" stage where all kids are so fun to be around.  We started the session with a tiny struggle because Mr. C was too busy taking in all his surroundings.  The LAST thing he wanted to do was look at my boring old camera!  Understandable though, he is VERY intelligent and I'm sure the wheels were turning inside that cute little head.  Of course his big sister, Miss C, was ALL business.  She had her model poses down and knew exactly what she wanted her shots to look like.  I think I'll have a FABULOUS senior model in about 9 years. :)

We talked about Halloween costumes (a cowboy and a scarecrow), pets, Sally the squirrel (who we finally spotted spying on us!), 4-H and chicken lips of course!  These kiddos were never at a loss for conversation and they had me giggling most of the time. :)  After the session both kids invited me to come and play at their house which was MORE than sweet.  I always love it when I get reactions like that from kids because then I know they had fun!  Thanks for having me photograph you Mr. and Miss C!  I had a fabulous afternoon!

Bye Bye Baby Teeth....

I started this blog when my baby turned 6 and here we are almost 2 months later and I still am in this mode of not wanting her to grow up!  Shhh...don't tell, but we JUST had her birthday cake 2 nights ago and that was only because my mother in law told me it HAD to come out of the freezer.  I don't know why it's bothering me so much.  With my oldest, I'm always encouraging progress... to ride a bike with no training wheels, to read, to play sports....but with this baby I'm not so eager.  So imagine my horror yesterday when I came home from work and she pedals down the street (on her bike with training wheels) as fast as her little legs will go.  "Mom, Mom!  Look!  I have a loose tooth!"  All that excitement in her voice and on her face and all I could think was NOOOOOOO!

So after the initial shock I took a look and not only does she have a loose tooth, but the permanent tooth is already half way in behind it.  So I guess there's no avoiding her growing up.  It's going to happen whether I like it or not!  The only thing I can do is make sure I preserve it in print, so we had a mini photo shoot last night.  10 minutes on Main St.  Some poses for her with her "grown up" model poses and some for mom with those bright eyes and that sweet smile.