It seems in the past 24 hours I’ve been fighting a wonderful stomach bug that’s been going around.  Unfortunately, this means I will be out of commission for the next few days until this nasty thing lets up.  Rest assured as soon am I’m not hugging the toilet anymore, I’ll be working hard on your galleries & orders…both of which will be delayed about a week.  Emails may not be returned quite as quickly as usual.  Thanks for understanding!  Here’s hoping I’m better by Thursday so I can pig out like the best of them

art:  noun; the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance.

Now that my 2008 sessions are coming to a close, I’ve had time to take more snapshots of my own little one :)  It’s so good for the soul, and it reminds me of why I do what I do.  She’s quite the budding artist these days…asking to paint or color (or both) many times a day.  Of course, I’m more than willing to oblige :)  I was very interested in the arts as a child - my parents were perceptive enough to see this and enrolled me in private art lessons while I was still young.  I have wonderful memories of creating art as a young girl, and can still remember the pride I felt when my mom had my first piece matted and framed.  Of course, looking at it now, you wouldn’t be too impressed, lol!  BUT I’m betting that because I was HER little girl, my mom saw that piece of art as being of more than ordinary significance. 

It’s such an important thing to encourage the artistic nature of our children.  Whether it’s coloring, painting, embroidery, sewing, scuplting, decoupage, photography, :) …the possibilities are endless.  There are so many ways to engage their creative sensibilities, even at a young age.  A book that has become a great source of inspiration for me is The Creative Family by Amanda Blake Soule.  Amanda also has a blog with a strong following - check it out and you’ll see why.   Her book has inspired me to try embroidering with Charlotte this winter - something I never would have thought of trying before.  I’m imagining lots of cold winter mornings spent quietly teaching, stretching her mind and hands…connecting with her in a different way than before. 

Enough of the rambling!  Here’s a few snapshots of my little artist at work over the last month

Once again - the blog has been quiet all week!  Yikes!  I DO have a good excuse, however.  Over last weekend our little brat angel decided to start climbing out of her crib.  She also refuses to stay in her room.  This applies to naptime and bedtime.  We’ve tired sweet talking, threatning, etc…neither spectrum seems to work (go figure).  I’m about to try a sticker chart for pete’s sake!  I feel like I’m on Nanny911 ;)  Any ideas other than barricading her door?  (the thought has crossed my mind).  We are moving her into her new bedroom and a “big girl” bed in a month - we would do it sooner but we are completely remodeling the new bedroom.  None of us are getting much sleep at night, and her daytime naps have been a disaster to say the least.  Yesterday she finally fell asleep on her hard bedroom floor, for an hour.  Poor thing.  Oh - and yes, we’ve tried letting her sleep with us (she used to co-sleep after all), and at night it’s working fine, but naptime is a joke.  Besides the fact that it took us 18 months to get her to sleep in her own bed, and I really don’t want to fight that battle again.

Oh yeah - and we’ve heard the baby gate suggestion -it’s a no go.  The kid can scale anything!

I’d love to hear your thoughts - esp from you veteran parents!  It seems most my friends were lucky enough not have this issue, so I feel a bit lost.  Please help a tired, cranky mom! 

Here’s a recent shot of our little stinker:

I got to something a little different over the weekend. My  brother-in-law (on Matt’s side) is a musician from Chicago, and is getting ready to release his first solo album after many years in a band.   He needed some professional images for his CD jacket, etc - and I was happy to oblige!  It was fun doing something completely out of the norm for me.  Here’s just a little teaser while he waits for the rest of the images

Julie - here’s your collage proof!

time to catch up on some sneak peeks!   this little cutie is from today - i couldn’t wait to post her peek any longer  her mom is one of the sweetest people i have ever met.  case in point: she made me taco soup and cornbread today!  it’s definitely the first time i’ve ever had a client make me lunch while i was shooting in their home!  (altho i’ve had some yummy baked goodies sent home before).  Guess you guys know where my heart is, huh?  :)  seriously tho - i had such a great day capturing some photos of this pretty little thing. 

25 comments from friends/family = a 5×7 on me

remember this newborn?  well, here she is now…4 months old, and still the perfect model

oh, she is just too cute!  i wanted to stick her in my camera bag and take her home with me!  she is THAT cute!  kelly - just wait until you see the rest - i’m saving the ones in the chair for your gallery - i know, i am so mean! :)

quick reminder - the MamaPreneur Bazaar is HERE!!  (Depending on when you’re reading this) - it’s TODAY 12:30-7.  Check the link for all the details.  I hope to see you there!  I have a secret to share with anyone who shows up - but I have to see you in person :)  It’s some BIG news for SKP in 2009!  So be in the know and come shop with us tomorrow!

It’s that time of year again!  Time for the annual MamaPreneur Bazaar!  This year there will be lots of great vendors (including yours truly) :)  and tons of great giveaways and drawings.  Come and get some Christmas shopping out of the way, eat some yummy food, and enjoy the company of other moms.  All vendors are mamas themselves, and many have created their business from the ground up!  Amazing stuff!

I’ll be there all day, and most likely so will be my assistant Katie for part of the day (yay!).  We’ll have gift certificates on hand to sell for 2009 that will be worth DOUBLE what you pay for them!  Example - you purchase a gift certificate for $50, and we write it out to be worth $100!  GREAT gifts for your friends/family who are wanting a 2009 session (or just for yourself!).   We’ll also be drawing for several $25 gift certiciates throughout the day - so stop by and enter our drawing! 

Here’s a flyer with a few more details about the day.  You don’t want to miss it!

Stop by and see me on Saturday!  We’ll be at the new Hampton Inn & Suites by the Shoppes at College Hills.  Oh- and if you blog about this event before Saturday, I’ll add an entry to our drawing for you :) 

Children are welcome

See you this weekend!

Is anyone still following this boring blog?  :)   I’ve been such a neglectful blogger lately - I hope you’ll forgive me

Announcing our November special:

 Get ‘Em While You Can

During the month of November only, purchase a CD of your gallery images at a drastically reduced price.  At the end of the year, I will be clearing off my hard drives (as usual) to  make room for 2009 sessions.  This is your chance to purchase your session images before they are gone for good. 

Details:

This special applies to sessions that took place between January 2008-August 2008.

Digital files will be mailed to you within 7 days of receiving payment.  Please include your mailing address in your email.

A list of printing instructions will be sent with your CD.

Images will not be copyright-released; merely released for you to print as you wish.  Images still remain property of Summer Knobloch Photography and are copyright protected under law.

Images will be high resolution, and will not be watermarked.

CD of gallery images is $100 (normally priced at $800).

To purchase, send an email to:  summer@summerknoblochphotography.com

This special will not be offered next year.  As a reminder, all 2008 sessions WILL be purged from my hard drives at the end of 2008. 

-and because I can’t post without an image, here’s a sneak peek for a momma waiting on her newborn album to be delivered.  I loved creating this album for her, and cannot wait to see it in all it’s gorgeous-ness :)  I love seeing these puppies printed up in person - they are just to die for!

This is a 2 page spread from the album:

I know the blog has been quiet lately.  Now that my holiday sessions have come to an end, I am a busy little bee getting all of those Christmas card orders fullfilled.  Here’s a couple snaps from our Halloween.  It was Charlotte’s first time trick-or-treating, and she loved it!  She went with her cousin & best friend, Drew (who was a very tough looking batman) 

Forgive the blurriness - my shutter was lagging due to the low light, but I was my usual stubborn self and refused to use my flash

onesie+tutu from closet+tiara out of happy meal+painted fingernails+glitter in hair = $4

AND one sweet little ballerina

the girl was a natural - she was RUNNING to the doors!  i love how you can see the cute little couple watching for her

Waiting for the door to open…

it is a small feat to get this girl to look at the camera these days.  she is pro at ignoring me! 

The obligatory posed shot “Stand by each other.  Don’t move!  Smile!  Get closer!  For goodness sakes, DON’T MOVE!  Oh, nevermind.” 

Hope you & yours had a safe and fun Halloween

Love,

S