Late this summer I had the pleasure of meeting this little sweetie and her mom, who were visiting from Bahrain.  I thought they may be the perfect pair to share as a little halloween treat.  We actually almost got rained out for our session, but I am so glad that we didn’t.  In fact, the moment we wrapped up and began to walk to our cars, it began to pour- talk about perfect timing!

So here’s the little darling- barefeet and all-

I wish you all a safe and happy Halloween.  May the treats be bountiful and the tricks be few and far between

I got to revisit this family recently.  I met them when their now four year old was just two.  Their new daughter is about the same age as big brother was when I met him.  It’s always wonderful to reconnect again!  We had a good time!  Here are a few favorites…

I photographed this family over the summer.  The bride and groom are set to marry this weekend and I just wanted to take a moment to wish them the very best as they pledge to continue to cherish each other for many years to come.

And some shots with the whole family…

I love this shot of mom with her two oldest.

Over the last several months, I have shared “then and now” sessions from the 16 of the babies I photographed as featured in The Big Book of Babies.  It was such fun getting to see them again, and see how they have grown and changed.

However, there are a few that I did not get to see again for whatever reason- from moving out of state to new obligations that prevented getting together again.  These are the last of the images as selected for use in the book.

If you are interested in seeing them all as a collection, they have been added to my website as a new gallery, appropriated titled “big book of babies”.  Check it out!

If you are pregnant and looking to have newborn photos taken, the best time to schedule is before the baby is born!  I conduct my newborn sessions in the first two weeks of life whenever possible to capture those first fleeting days of newness!

Look how she’s grown!  I saw this little curly-headed beauty last spring for her one year old portrait session.  It doesn’t feel like it was THAT long ago and yet she’s grown up SO much since then.

I did this session during my trip back to San Diego.  It was so nice to see them again and enjoy the California sunshine on the beach at Coronado.  We started off doing a little exploration of the beach…

She wasn’t sure whether or not she really liked the wet sand between her toes…

But that didn’t stop her from having some fun with dad…

We headed out of the harsh sun for some more shots and an outfit change, or course!

This shot just makes my heart skip a beat whenever I look at it…

And finishing up with a little color and fun!

See you next time!connie groah, annapolis maryland baby child photographer, shane groah,

I met this gorgeous family recently and wanted to give them a little sneak peek to hold them over as they wait for the rest of their proofs to be ready.  4 beautiful little girls and one gorgeous family.

I love the interaction between mom and her youngest little girl.

The rest will be ready soon- and worth the wait!

annapolis maryland child and baby photography

I’ve been tagged!

My dear friend, Terrilyn O’Neil, who is also a fabulous Naples FL photographer tagged me to share 7 random things about me.  Now, I don’t usually do these things and I never do those chain emails, so I am not sure what is possessing me to play along, but sometimes when the mood strikes I just don’t question it.

The Rules

1. Post the rules on your blog.
2. Write 7 random things about yourself.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post.
4. Pass on the tag.

So at the risk of making you rename this game “7 things you neither needed nor wanted to know about me”, here I go:

I used to be able to beat anyone on the game “maze craze” on Atari- with my feet.  You see, I used to get poison ivy on my hands every summer during which time my hands became fairly useless.  So to quell the boredom, I’d play atari by using my feet to control the joystick.  That’s talent, right?

I am not a quitter.  I believe in finishing what you start.  I even applied this rule after joining the track team when I was in the 8th grade.  The only trouble is that I am not a runner.  In fact, I believe that running should be reserved for only those times when someone is chasing you and you feel endangered.  Yet, still I ran.  And there was even one time that I didn’t come in dead last.

I am double jointed in all of my fingers with the exception of my left pinky finger.

I am lobbying to have sushi included in the food pyramid as it’s very own category.  I could eat it every day- even for breakfast.

Hablo un poco espanol.  I lived in Mexico for a full year when I was in middle school and attended school down there, quickly becoming the translator for the rest of my family.  Sadly, there are very few spanish speakers in Ohio so I lost much of my ability to speak it after my return to the states.  However, I do have to wonder if that experience helps to explain my thirst for margaritas?

I love the smell of puppy breath.  Like.  A lot.

I have my master’s degree in social work, having mostly specialized in the medical side with a little bit of psych work mixed in.  My favorite social work job was working for San Diego Hospice as I met so many wonderful, caring families whose stories continue to touch my heart as I remember them.

My one goal that I hope to accomplish before I turn forty is going to see David Letterman.  I watched him faithfully every  night when I was in undergrad, and while that was a long time ago, I’ve always wanted to make it to a show in person.  Hey, maybe his people will see this and help make it happen? Pretty ambitious goal in life, don’t you think? 

I can’t count- either that or I can’t follow the rules.  Those are 8 things- or does this make 9?

And so, in the spirit of sharing, I’m going to pass it on to Allie, Lisa, Shelley, Shane, Heather, Tracy, and Nina

So many sessions I have neglected to share over the past couple of months- I thought it might be nice to start a fresh week off with some fresh, brand new baby faces.  These little guys have no doubt changed since I saw them, but here each of them are in their first week or two of life…

Oooh, I do love me some baby wrinkles.  Look at his little elbows and wrists, then his little bottom in the second shot below.  He has the sweetest little lips too…

And this guy- a big fella at just 8 days old.  He absolutely positively did not want to sleep for me.  Nope.  Too much going on with his bris ceremony happening that evening and all the preparations that went along with it.  He was just so alert, but admittedly content.  Look at this hair- so very cute!

Ah, but eventually he did have to give in… even if just for a few minutes!

Go on, admit it.  You can almost smell their sweetness can’t you?

San Diego was amazing.

You see, my husband and I moved there just four days after we wed back in August of 1992 and made Southern California our home for the following 7 years- during which time we lived in 3 homes, accumulated 3 pets and each got new degrees from SDSU.  We left reluctantly in 1999 because the Marine Corps demanded it.  And we’d not made it back since our departure.

So going back was truly like “going home” in many ways.  It gave us the (much needed) opportunity to reminisce over all of our memories and rediscover each other all over again.  We didn’t have children during our time in San Diego and I am convinced every married couple needs to find time with their spouse without their (very lovely but also very demanding) children to remember why they fell in love in the first place.

We stayed at a great hotel choice our first couple nights, The Courtyard by Marriott which was actually a historic building, having been a bank and still retaining its architectural charm.  It was a great location for our walks hand in hand through the Gaslamp District where we could reminisce over what was there nearly ten years ago when we left.  It was amazing to see the growth there and San Diego has continued to do a great job of cleaning up downtown to make it a great shopping and dining destination.

Not quite on the west coast time zone, we actually took a pre-dawn stroll our first morning.  Well, part stroll, part death march if you include the climb up the 112 flights of stairs at the convention center to grab a view of the sleepy city.  Now for anyone who really, really knows me.  I know.  Me.  Pre-dawn.  Awake.  In the same sentence.  Yes, it’s true.  Pigs really do fly.

We also had a great vantage point of Coronado just waking up from the convention center.

After my morning session (hubby assisted and finally got to see me at work with someone other than our own children!), we headed up to our first home we bought together in Scripps Ranch (95-99) and then drove all around San Diego County looking for old haunts.  Sadly, our favorite winery in Escondido was no longer.  We’d really hoped to have a nice bottle of wine overlooking the vineyard but it appears to have been replaced by the much less exciting self storage facility.  But the all you can eat seafood buffet survived- go figure- never would have predicted that one!

We moseyed down the pacific coast highway through the coastal cities, stopping to take a romantic walk on the beach.  Then finally ended our day with dinner and taking in a local band back downtown (wish I knew who they were as they were fabulously amusing!).

Friday afternoon we headed north to visit our neighbors with whom we’d shared a very unique, close friendship.  We were happy to find that 9 years without seeing each other didn’t change our chemistry and we could pick right back up where we left off- as though no time had ever passed.  We had some great laughs together that afternoon and evening.  And the boys went off to the gym in the morning just like old times.

(can I just say- thank God for tripods… you’ll see why in a minute)

Saturday was the wedding day and we headed up to the beautiful Mission Inn in Riverside.  What a breathtaking place- so charming and romantic.  After catching up with family, we attended the lovely wedding complete with a 20 piece orchestra.  The bride and groom had been taking swing dance lessons so their dance troupe attended as well and they played music from the 30’s and 40’s.  I even got dragged out to the dance floor a few times (well, I wasn’t exactly kicking and screaming) to try to keep up with the moves.

Sadly, the one picture that I had someone take with my camera didn’t turn out so well.  But, since I have a sense of humor, I will share anyways…

After saying our goodbyes the following day, we headed south again, stopping in Orange County in Dana Point where we remembered the amazing blues festival we attended one of our first years married.  And we were also surprised to see our first apartment- buildings looking and named exactly the same- perched atop a hill in San Clemente.  The pier where we used to love going for cocktails and chowder to talk about our hopes and dreams for our future was still bustling with activity.

We ended our stay in Old Town which was the perfect ending to a wonderful trip.

So my little moral of the story is this.  Make time for your spouse.  Take time to be alone together- to nourish your relationship and give it  the energy it deserves.  It’s all too easy to get caught up in the demands of work, children, running a household and everything else.  But it’s all too important to not prioritize remembering the one you love.   Your children will thank you some day for setting the example.