Brothers are built-in buddies (with special offer!)

I'm lucky enough to have 2 brothers and they are just so great together, but different than they are with me. More rough and tumble. But still fiercely protective.

I notice it a lot in the families I photograph too. So today lets take a look at some of my favorites.





Love that bond!

So if you book a photo shoot by 9/30/09 for brothers, I'll throw in a bonus 10% on your print order. Cannot be combined with other offers.

9/11 babies

Five Years Later: Diane Sawyer with many of the children who lost their dads on 9/11. Some children never got the opportunity to get to know their fathers.
(Donna Svennvik/ABC) 2005

8 years later, here in New York City, we still remember. One of the most lasting legacies of the terrorist attacks was the number of babies born to mothers who lost their partner in the attacks. I read this excellent piece in the Guardian profiling one family where the mom was 7 months pregnant on 9/11/01 and now raising a 7 year old son. There are many cases where the mothers didn't even know they were pregnant on 9/11.

Even though a baby boom 9 months later was debunked by the fantastic Snopes.com, there sure were a lot of babies born that summer. The first memorial service was crowded with grieving families with gorgeous infants. Now there are some great charities set up to help those children. Jay-Z is even doing a benefit concert tonight.

Even now, a 9/11 birthday is not the most desirable. I remember last year my doctor carefully placing my due date on 9/10 (or sometimes 9/12) but never 9/11. Which of course is funny since a babies birth is just about the most perfect opposite of the pointless death and destruction the date conjures.

One of my daughter's friends turns one today (Happy birthday Hiro!!!) and I hope as he grows older the day may take on a less tragic, more hopeful, meaning.

Speaking of one-year-olds

This used to be my due date (as sung to Madonna's This Used to Be my Playground) but as we all know, my baby was an early bird.

Hmm, birds. Birds lay eggs. We buy them by the dozen. That reminds me of something...

The Little Dozen!

I love doing these year-long monthly photo shoots. Start with a newborn and I will come out to your home every month for an in-home mini session. Plus you get a cd or online album of the best photos, 12 5x7 prints - one every month - and a sweet multi-matted frame containing one selection from each month upon completion.



At $800, The Little Dozen is a steep discount over my regular in-home session fee with the added bonus of prints included. It is truly amazing how quickly they change every month, never mind over the course of that first year!

If you are expecting or adopting, it's a wonderful project to set up before the baby comes. We can even schedule the monthly appointments ahead of time if you are organized like that. Plus it's a new way to nest.

The Little Dozen makes a perfect gift for baby showers or holidays. I would have loved to find something like this to split with friends for all those showers that cropped up last year. At least as fun as a diaper cake, right? Grandparents can guarantee regular new photos of their grandchildren by giving it to their children. I can ship the empty frame with the gift certificate so you can have something for them to unwrap.

Book during September for a 10% print bonus ($80 worth of extra prints!). Cannot be combined with other discounts.

Inspiration Wednesday

I've noticed some of my favorite bloggers posting their weekly inspiration list. Let's give it a try.

This week I have been working on some birth announcements for my brother's brand new baby Connor and did web research to see how other people are handling the wording. Along the way, I found Bluntcards.com. Warning: hilarious cursing ahead.

I am a longtime fan of SomeEcards.com and think this is pretty similar but a little more, shall we say, blunt.



Their babyhood section is of course close to my heart. Any other child photographers out there (or new parents obsessed with their baby's every move - also me!) should prepare to get these from their friends.



OK - back to work.