Click the picture — or click here — for a sweet little slide show from Jack’s baptism.
When the show is finished, it will jump back here where you can leave a comment for Jack and his family, AND have the opportunity to win them a free print.
I like to hang back at events like this and watch what the rest of the family is doing. I love this shot.
I also like to focus on something a little unexpected, throwing the usual focal point into a blur.
My point in shooting a family event like this is to capture the spiritual emotion of a baptism. To me, part of the story is how everyone pays so much attention to the core family on that day. Someday when Jack’s all grown up, he might like to know who took that posed picture at the end of his baptism. She’s the one in the blue dress, Jack. (I, on the other hand, showed up in dirty blue jeans because this shoot happened on the same day as my trip to the pumpkin farm. See post from yesterday. I barely made it to the cathedral in time! Yikes! Good to know the church welcomed me, dirt and all.)
I did take a few posed shots. (They’re not all in the slide show though.)
I love this one. Jack is such a cute baby!
I tagged along, yes, in my farm-dirty-jeans, to the Cornerstone for lunch. This is another of my favorite shots. I like candid pictures that show connections, and nothing shows that better than spontaneous hand-holding!
Beautiful.
I love the song in
Jack’s slide show. It’s one of those songs that when we sing it in my church, I can’t help but get a little teary-eyed.
CONTEST: Win Jack’s family an 8×10 print by naming the song and giving us a few lines of the lyrics. I’m looking for the lines that make this an especially good song to use at a baptism.
Have fun!
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 1:13 pm
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 4:10 pm
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 9:44 pm
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 12:24 pm
We went for a ride down to Point Pleasant to celebrate the big ONE. Isn’t he cute?
What a great way to celebrate a special birthday!
Before we left, though, we read books, ate some breakfast and went to the park with grandma and grandpa. If you know his mom and dad, e-mail them for a link to their slide show! That one got the absolute highest compliment ever when Bradley said, “They’re going to love their slide show, mom!” (What? My 12-year-old son complimented my work? No WAY! WOO HOO!)
We had a grand total of about 10 seconds with the sunglasses on.
Remember the days when you took your 1-year-old to the beach for the day, and you spent a good portion of the day standing by the car while the baby got changed and fed in the back? We used to do that all the time in my family.
I love this shot!
Love this one too. I dragged the shutter to get the Twister zooming by in the background. Hardest part of this was getting the baby to stay still!
And then we went home for bathtime….
… a favorite show…
…and finally, bedtime.
This little boy was the perfect little model, often smiling, always looking at the camera, always making some perfectly appropriate expression. I hope we do this every year!
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 9:24 am
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 9:03 pm
I love the fun costumes, the colors, the pumpkins, the apple-picking, all of it! So put the costumes on and come out for some special trick-or-treating! This half-hour session will result in 5 to 10 beautiful magazine-style photographs of your child in costume. Your images will be placed in a private online gallery where you and your extended family can view and purchase prints. Creative fee: $75 per child or adult (must be in costume to participate in the photographs). Hurry! Tmes are limited! Call as soon as you get your costume! Don’t wait until Halloween! These mini sessions can only be scheduled on weekdays. And, please, no violence-related costumes or costumes that don’t show your child’s adorable face!
(Metuchen Moms: parent-teacher conferences are coming up. Those half days will be great for scheduling your session!)
Very special thanks to Doriann and Frank for lending me their daughter for my October montage (above). Thanks for the apple cider donut and cherry apple slushie! I can still taste that slushie. Mmmmmmm. Stay tuned for the rest of your gallery!
I still have space available for my
“Meet Julie in Central Park” sessions. Call today!
I love this picture! Thanks, Frank!
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 12:05 pm
Gregory’s birthday list consisted entirely of various Star Wars Lego items, each one with a description letting us know the degree to which the item was desired. Clearly, the drill set he wanted topped the list, having been given the highest ranking of all birthday list items: “awesomly awesome awesomness.” So, just for fun, I thought I’d share the picture above of Gregory and Bradley on the Tilt-a-Whirl at Point Pleasant. Rarely do I get the chance to see my offspring surrounded by pink. There’s not much pink in the Lego Land boy-aisle.
Gregory’s favorite thing about Point Pleasant: the bumper cars.
Second favorite: the arcade.
Or maybe second favorite is the beach.
Or sitting on the boardwalk eating ice cream.
But probably, miniature golf doesn’t even make the list.
Gregory thinks this hole should be listed at Par 23.
Sometimes the best part of a day at Point Pleasant is going home.
But by far the best part of being 7 is blowing straw paper at mom.
And making fun of Bradley when he gets silly.
(Bradley’s going to kill me for posting this picture, so if ya’ll never see me on here again, that’s why.)
And then there’s the yellow cake with vanilla icing.
Gregory added the sprinkles and smiley face!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY GREGORY!
My boys. Awesomly awesome awesomeness.
Till next time, if there is a next time, —jules
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 10:59 pm
This is Harold, Gregory’s latest Webkinz.
Harold’s backstory: Walking along the boardwalk at Point Pleasant Beach, Gregory spied one of those spin-the-wheel games. Grand prize: Harold. So Gregory says, “Mommy can I? Please?”
Mamarazzi says (because mamarazzis have a general distaste for throwing hard-earned money in trash cans), “No. You won’t win.” We continue to walk, hand-in-hand. It’s Gregory’s birthday on Tuesday, so our little trip to Point Pleasant is all about doing whatever Gregory wants to do. Mamarazzi looks down at her sweet little lifetime model, and says, “What would you like to do next?”
“I want to play that spinny game.”
After several rounds of “You won’t win” and “What would you like to do next” and “I want to play the spinny game,” Mamarazzi gives in.
Three squares for $5. There are at least 50 squares. Gregory picks his three squares very carefully. If the Wheel of Fortune should land on one of his squares, he would win the big prize.
“Vanna” spins the wheel.
…spin spin spin spin spin…We wait. And wait. And wait. (That wheel spins forever!) Gregory WINS!
Mamarazzi’s punishment, according to Gregory: “Say ‘I was wrong and you were right’ three times.”
“I was wrong. I was wrong. I was wrong. You were right. You were right. You were right.”
Best five bucs I ever spent. You should have seen Gregory’s smile.
Welcome to the family, Harold.
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 3:22 pm
