Cute Little Gnome?

or something parents want to 'accidently misplace'?

I want to preface this by saying: Grandma & Grandpa May - we have a love-hate relationship with the newest little member you introduced to our family. Even I have fun playing with this little guy. But as you experienced, there's times when you'd like to just toss it out the window {wink}. Most of the loud toys the kids have, we cover the speakers with packaging tape (something we learned from our good friends Josh & Jamie before we had kids). But with this little, soft, cute guy, we just can't do that.

Grandma & Grandpa May brought Tyler this fun little gnome pictured below during their recent visit. It really is fun for the person playing with it, but drives others in close proximity a little crazy after a while. You record your voice (about 12 seconds worth) and then it plays back to you in a little elf-like voice. Really fun! But after hearing this all day, (Tyler is truly addicted to playing with this little creature) you start going a bit insane.

Brielle loves it too, but since it's Tyler's - he only allows her one whole, huge, long, minute to play with this then it's his again for the next several hours. Anyway, the gnome has had to take it's share of time-outs (rests) in it's house (on top of the refrigerator), so mommy can get her wits back. We finally went to http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/ (where grandma got the little guy) and got one for Brielle too. Are we asking for it? Afraid so, but it's fun for the kids. And the few moments they let daddy and mommy have there turn with it.

Games, Giggles and a Little Defiance....

We did a little photo session with Grandma & Grandpa May when they were here. The kids had their own agenda though... who knew? And unbeknownst to me little Brielle had a horrible right ear infection. Normally she's pretty cooperative in front of the camera but on this day -- not so much. So we did what we could :) The kids really miss having their grandparents here and are incessantly asking when we are going to visit them as well as their other grandparents. It's strange not living near family but we're thankful for the visits that we have with them throughout the year. We miss everyone so much, especially as the holidays approach. Thank goodness for phones, internet and web cams...

Here's a few images taken last week.

Holiday Deadline

Just a friendly reminder that all Holiday Orders need to be submitted to me by tomorrow - December 2nd, to get here in time for Christmas. Please e-mail me at kara@karamayphotography.com with any questions you may have :) Thank you!

On a side note, January is quickly filling up so if you are interested in booking a session for after the new year, I will soon be starting to book February dates. I will also be focusing some time in December and January on several commercial projects, but my primary focus remains on photographing children had continuing sessions during these projects. It's just going to be a little busy.

Lastly - below is an example of a new storyboard collection I've put together. :)

Chaos & Silliness...

I was finishing up the dishes last night when I was informed that we needed to do a little impromptu, one last picture of us all with Grandma & Grandma May (since they were heading back to Arizona at the crack of dawn the next morning). Chaos and silliness is how I would describe the pictures we took. The kids were being silly and soon that spread to all of us. The kids giggled and squealed watching to see if mommy could quickly run into the picture after setting the timer on the camera that stood on on it's tripod (pretty sad tripod at that). And the best part for the kids was making silly faces - they thought that was the best! So here is what we ended up with - one final 2007 memory captured with Grandma & Grandpa May during their visit with us.

Tin Horse Round Up & Tea Time

Another fun tea party! Of course I love it when the little girls I photograph want to have a tea party! Grace was ready with giggles & tea cookies (teddy grams). And little brother, Hunt, was rounding up his little horse (a beautiful family antique of theirs). Anyway, I had fun with these kids and they kept me on my toes running around everywhere.

Here's a little peek at our session...

Little Beauty...

I had so much fun tonight during my session with little Elyse! She is so sweet, all girl and just breath-takingly beautiful. We had fun doing all the girly-girl things - she danced for me, showed me her many silly faces and gave me beautiful smiles. She was such a good sport through the many wardrobe changes I put her through so as a little reward I let her take a couple of pictures with my camera (shh... I didn't say that, really). ;-)

She was a lot of fun - making this session really great! Here's a peek at just a few of the images from this evening. :)

Two Little Cuties!

I did it!! I posted this sneak peek before mid-night! I just couldn't decide which pictures to post. And I couldn't resist 'going vintage' on one of them... (hint: there's a truck in this particular image). :) These two kids were so great! Vance, who is 5 years old, showed me his cool dirt bike (or was it a motorcycle?). I'm going to have to post a picture of him on it in the next day or so. But before he showed me his cool bike and his two soccer balls, he was very willing to let me photograph him. He did so great and even helped his sister during her portion of the session. Little Olivia is Vance's younger sister and she is all girl! We dressed in petticoats, had a tea party and went on a nature walk. I feel so lucky to have this job. I get to play and photograph children and turn into a kid again while doing it! Here are a few images from tonight's session.

Oh my... look at those eyes...

They are the bluest eyes I've ever seen. I photographed 8 month old Daniel today, and the whole time I just couldn't stop looking at his big blue eyes! They are absolutely beautiful! Daniel was a trooper - the weather changed a bit to overcast and a little chilly and he was so mellow during our session and during outfit changes. It was great! He wasn't sure about my camera, smart little guy. I'm sure he was wondering who this stranger was with this big lens in his face ;-). He did great! Here are a few images from our session.

Preserving the memories...

Grandma & Grandpa flew from Seattle to be here for Tyler's 5th birthday! What a treat! Tyler was thrilled! We decided to have a little photo session since I rarely get the opportunity to capture the kids with them. G&G played ring around the rosy with Tyler and Brielle, they threw rocks into the pond, ran and explored with me behind the lens trying to soak it all in. The kids miss them already... in fact right after we dropped them off at the airport, Tyler said, 'It's really too bad that they had to leave.' It was very sweet. Later that night Tyler kindly informed me that it was boring without Grandma & Grandpa at the house. Thankfully, the kids get to see their other grandparents on Saturday when they come to visit for a couple of weeks.

Curls & Dimples...

The kids I photographed last night had the cutest dimples coupled with beautiful locks of curly hair! I had a lot of fun during this session - the kids were a hoot. I learned what a Nintendo DS was (is that what's it's called Grant & Haley?).... some cool handheld gaming system. Haley had a powder pink one and Grant had a shiny black one. I walk away from sessions learning something new from the kids I photograph, it's great!
Grant, had 2 missing front teeth so it made for adorable pictures. And Haley, wow....she was great in front of the camera. I didn't have to do anything... she was fabulous!
Here's a little peek at some of the images from our session.