I recently purchased a new speedlight for my camera and of course subjected my kids to the testing of my new gadget! While the older two ran for the hills, my littlest man was more than happy to steal my hat and work his magic. He is on the verge of no longer looking like a baby/toddler, and I know with great certainty that some day soon I will look back on pictures like this and wish for the days of diapers, tantrums, and runny noses! 
Archive for the ‘Kids’ Category
{The Littlest Man}
February 7, 2010{Warm and Fuzzy}
February 1, 2010Here are some shots from a recent session in downtown St. Charles. While it was still quite chilly, it was nothing compared to the 18 degrees it was the day of the original session (that was promptly rescheduled!). This little dude stayed nice and warm in his super fuzzy hat and might just make a great photographer or art director someday! He did a fab job of contributing to the session… even if he didn’t want to let mom and dad into too many of the shots! 
{The Probst Clan}
January 4, 2010So I figured now that the holiday photo gifts have been distributed with care, it was about time I post a few pics of my own kiddos from 2009! Â I hope to be more diligent in getting out to take pics of my own kids in the coming year, but we’ll see… 
 Happy New Year, Everyone!
{Happy Holidays!}
December 24, 2009Well, it is Christmas Eve in the Probst household… which mean it’s time to RELAX!  This is a word that has not been used frequently throughout 2009 in our household, and will likely continue to be a scarce commodity as we move into 2010!  Two years ago, with the impending birth of our third child, we decided transporting our entire Christmas (gifts, people, dog, etc.) to Chicago or Wisconsin to spend Christmas day with our families was just not practical anymore.  So last year we decided it was time to start our own family traditions and spend the holiday in our jammies at our own house with our own tree with our own little family.  It has to be one of the best decisions we’ve ever made.  The kids are able to spend the day relaxing and enjoying their gifts without my husband and I stressing about how messy they make someone else’s home – plus, even more importantly, my husband and I don’t have to spend hours trying to negotiate the puzzle of packing everyone’s gifts into the car!  Our Christmas Eve tradition has been to order out Chinese food and then get the kids cleaned up and to bed in anticipation of the arrival of Mr. Clause.  This year we are still partaking in our usual Chinese dinner, but then we will be heading over to the Carmichael’s for an evening of friends and libations!  What better way to spend the eve of Christmas than with great friends.  Hopefully this will be a shared tradition for years to come!
As you may have noticed, I have had very little time to photograph my own children these past few months. Â Fortunately, I did manage to sneak in a session a month or two ago. Â Despite my overwhelming urge to share the images from their session, I have been keeping it under wraps until all of the photo gifts, calendars, holiday cards, and the like are distributed over the coming week. I’m not usually one for restraint, but seeing as these images are incorporated into so many of our gifts, I will resist until we return from the holidays! Â For now, here is a peek at my fam’s holiday card 2009 since it has been officially mailed and received by all on our list! Â Enjoy and stay tuned as I will be back with some news, updates, and things to look forward to in 2010! Â Happy holidays to you and your family! Â 
{Rain, Rain Go Away!}
December 24, 2009We had such great weather in November, I really thought we were past the raaaaaaain that has been plaguing St. Louis this fall. Â Apparently I was wrong as even while I sit here typing even more rain pours down outside! Â Well, this session was rescheduled once due to the rain, and our second attempt brought soggy grass, lots of mud, and coooold fingers! Â Little “E” did great and I think mom and dad now have plenty of great images to share with friends and family for the holidays!
{Holidays at Home}
December 5, 2009You may remember these two cutie patooties from a session this past summer! Â Suzy is also a great friend of mine who has provided a tremendous amount of support for us in dealing with a child with autism – she comes once a month and babysits for us so my husband and I can have a date night. Â Since we don’t have any family near, this used to be a rarity for us. Â Needless to say, Suzy provides us a much needed break once a month for nothing more than a simple “thank you”! Â We are eternally grateful to Suzy (and Barclay for handling their own two children while she is at our house babysitting) and I enjoy being able to provide her with family memories every chance I get! Â Thank you, Suzy!!!
{All those who’d like to have fun, please raise your hand!}
November 29, 2009This was such an incredibly fun session with an amazing family!  They were so open and willing to do almost anything and the pictures definitely reflect their spontaneity!  Mom and Dad are also super entrepreneurial and have a couple of businesses including a web development and design business (www.showmewebcenters.com) and mom is a business and life coach (www.beckyschoenig.com) and she is producing a movie ( www.breakthroughthemovie.com).  They were so incredibly friendly and easy to work with, I would highly recommend anyone checking out their services- I am sure you will find them easy to work with as well!
{Baby, Baby, Baby, Baby!}
November 27, 2009Introducing baby “O”… just eight days old! Â His mom has been friends with my sister since their days at Western Illinois University and now lives pretty close to me here in the St. Louis area. Â I love newborn sessions because as I was telling his mom today, I can get my baby fix… and then hand them back to mom and dad after a solid three hours of cuddling and snuggling and head home to my own sleeping-through-the-night children! Â He is so adorable, stay tuned for more pics!
{Just One Year}
November 21, 2009Well, anyone who follows my blog knows how much I adore shooting little girls! Â Little *G* is no exception… what a complete doll! Â And for being only one year old, she did such a great job workin’ the camera! Â Â 
{Ready, Set, RUN!}
November 12, 2009I can say with absolute certainty that the 12-24 month set is by far the most difficult to photograph given their extremely limited vocabulary, lack of boundaries, and just overall curiosity (have I mentioned I have an 18 month old! . Â I can also say with even more certainty that the pictures I get from this age group are most always some of my very favorites! Â I take a LOT of pictures at these sessions to accommodate for the inevitable looking away, funny face, running away pictures I get, but the ones that do turn out end up being a virtual window to their soul. Â This family was no exception! Â Love the clothes and we got some great shots of the kids! 
