Welcome, Our LIttle Christian!

Welcome to the world, little Christian Michael Finnegan!

We are just so in love with our new baby. Christian was born on May 18th, 2012 at 11:55am. He was 6 lbs. 13 oz & 19.75 inches long. His brother, Liam (21 months old), has welcomed him so lovingly.


 Here are photos from his photo shoot at 5 days old. I shot them in our bedroom. Christian was 4 days old for the image I shot (above) for his birth announcement. Just look at that sweet little face... We are feeling very blessed!

 brothers!  21 months apart in age

Christian's baby room theme: pond (dragonflies & frogs)

frog sofa chair: pottery barn

just as I did for Liam,  a painted wooden name plate & I painted recycled wood box drawers for baby items

painted ceramic frog prince: I used the colors "buttermilk" & "wasabi" for Christian's room palette. wish I could take credit for knit & crochet blankets purchased from talented artists on Etsy 

 matching picture decor made from cutting scraps from unused curtain valences

a soft, welcome gift picked out just for Christian, by his big brother.   pond dresser knobs: Etsy

A May Day Baby! Happy Birthday, M!

It seems like only a few months ago that I had the pleasure of photographing this little beauty as a newborn. Happy first birthday to to Baby M! Thank you K & S...you have such a beautiful little girl. It was so nice to see you again. Here's some previews from her first birthday session:

Happy St. Patrick's Day 2012!

May you live a long life
Full of gladness and health,

With a pocket full of gold 
As the least of your wealth.

May the dreams you hold dearest,

Be those which come true,

The kindness you spread,

Keep returning to you.

~an Irish Blessing 

Liam, 19 months: my sweetest lucky charm

Below: As I was re-organizing my office & art supplies, I found boxes of Color-Aid squares tucked away from a Color 101 college class. I made some little lucky notes using a kaleidescope of greens & Liam's St. Patty's photos.

dancing a little jig

always with sunshine in his heart

Did you notice the rainbow I snuck in this photo? Heh heh ;-)

It's only a few days until the month of March is here. I've slowed my work down for the year to make time to prepare for a new baby & to accomplish some personal family projects that I haven't made time for otherwise. 


One of the projects I've just completed is the Christening Album of my son, Liam. It only took me over a year to make time to sit down and go through all of the photos and design the layout for this album. But...FINALLY! Yes!


I wanted Liam to have a special album that he could show his own children someday - one that would have photos of both sides of his family together. The day of his Christening was the closest I came to getting as many of our family members together for a special & meaningful occasion centered around him.(We were sad to still have missed some family.)


Since I would be with Liam for the entire ceremony, I needed a photographer with knowledge of how to get around the dim lighting situation of St. Mary's Church while capturing moments of us & his Godparents during his baptism. I hired Jennifer Higham Photography to document the occasion. Jennifer's images were very important to me and she did a fantastic job of covering the ceremony.(Thank you, Jennifer! Beautiful work!) Of course, I still ran around Liam's event before & after the ceremony with my own camera to get the opportunity shots that I saw. Over half of the images in this album are my own candids of our families. I am relieved to have had Jennifer's creative eye cover the event so that I could relax and enjoy... and combine her pictures with mine for Liam's album. 


So, after a week or so of designing while Liam's been sleeping, it's done! The 10x10 cover's premium leather is as soft as a velvety leather jacket. (I wish internet allowed you to virtually reach your hand into the photograph to feel it!) It's engraved with Liam's full name. 


(A little family tidbit: Liam was named after both of his Grandfathers, William & Joseph. We didn't want to give him the same exact name of William Finnegan, so we shortened 'William' it to the Irish version- Liam. (Very fitting with the very Irish last name of 'Finnegan'.) We had no idea how popular his first name would be until we started meeting many other Liam's out and about. We're glad many others like the name too!) 


So, the album is remarkably durable and beautiful. I opted for a pearl finish on the pages. Lay flat binding is my favorite. I just love it! Here are some details of the binding & finish:

(above layouts sample) Liam-during-ceremony and cake image are by Jennifer Higham Photography

 
 (above layouts sample) Godparents, 2-color-candid-shots & cake slice image are by Jennifer Higham Photography
I'm hoping that Liam will appreciate this book someday when he is older and I hope he'll enjoy looking through it!

My Little Valentine - 2012

Here's my favorite little Valentine (already 18 months!). He's sweet, sensitive & caring, smart, thoughtful, snuggly and I get oodles and oodles of kisses & hugs everyday from him. He's becoming quite a little gentleman as well.
Have a sweet Valentines Day, everyone. Love is everywhere!

   seriously... just kidding

heart strawberries for snack time

 Here's what Liam did after his shoot...

(there's that mischievous, excited look, as he entered the bathroom...)

toilet tissue is fun to play with :-)

tissue paper managed to stick to the bottom of his shoes and he extended the party out into the hallway... :-)

very cute to document and watch...and yes, he DID clean most of it up, when asked. I am very proud of him. <3