James is Five

 

When I took my camera out at James' birthday party over the weekend, he looked at me very seriously and said, "Audra, I just want to let you know, there is no flash photography at this event." I don't know where he comes up with this stuff! My nephew has always been quite the character, and the faces he makes when he knows I'm taking a picture never fail to bring a smile to my face.

But sometimes it's the ones he makes when he doesn't know I'm there that make my heart swell just a little bit more.

Here he is admiring his new Batman raincoat in the hallway mirror. He's the typical little boy who loves his super heroes and icky bugs and this raincoat is sure to make him the envy of all the kids in his kindergarten class. 

The coolest aunt of all time status has been renewed for at least another year. Sorry the picture is so soft, but it was a no flash photography event. I didn't want to get kicked out!

Happy Birthday to my favorite little guy!

Aria's First Birthday

My family got together over the weekend to celebrate Aria's first birthday. Jimmy and Michele designed the block letters from fondant themselves. Nice work!

Enjoying some sun with Momma.

Mini is my newest cousin. She's a little shy still.

James was more than happy to test out a wide angle shot.

Aria was really staring the candle down...

...and decided she wanted to touch it. Luckily, Dad was right there to cut her off.

She really thought the cake looked pretty.

Big brother James dug right in.

Aria's first official stink eye picture!

And the classic Napolitano cake up the nose shot. I thought it would be fun to go back in my archives and find a picture from James' first birthday to see how his sister measured up.

No surprise here: Boys are messier! Happy First Birthday, Aria!

Christmas Pics

Above, another May family tradition of Christmas cookies. How did everyone survive the holiday? I had a rough time with a nasty cough that's been plaguing me for a couple of weeks. I finally broke down and went to the doctor and ended up with an upper respiratory infection AND bronchitis. That's right, I don't mess around. I've got some fancy pants meds and an inhaler, so I'm ready to rock the rest of the week. Unfortunately, I have to take it easy and not work out, which means another failed goal of mine. (Which is good because I planned on doing a post about that later this week!)

Until then, here are a few pictures of the family from Christmases this year. We had a couple because the New York Napolitanos were spending Christmas with the other side of the family.

Aria showed off her ability to sit up and took the best lighting spot of the house, so there were a lot of pictures of her.

Grace loved her toy phone, compliments of Think Geek. She's seen here with her best Hulk Hogan impersonation...

But the best reaction to a present has to go to James, who once again shows why he's my favorite. Don't read this aloud to Grace or Aria, brothers! He opened my present first and when I asked him to pose with the giant Lego storing head, he made the same face! What a riot!

I would like to point out the music player over to the right. I completely forgot to include Let's Have a Patrick Swayze Christmas in my Christmas playlist. Shame on me.

The Best of Week will continue tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Santa visits Bigelow Tea, James steals the show

Not every shoot is as glamorous as a concert, but these are the ones that help pay the bills. There's something innately bizarre about your father dressing up as Santa. At least he's not as creepy as Valley Santa. Oh, some of you don't know about Valley Santa? Just you wait!

My family got together to meet Santa at Bigelow's headquarters in Fairfield. There was a magician before and cookies after and lots of kids that had their picture taken with the jolly man. I won't bore you with all the posed pictures. Instead, I'll stick to the ones that really showcase the personalities in my family. James pretty much dominated the day.

 James strolls in cool as a cucumber

 Grace was not a fan of Santa. She preferred the safety of Dad's arms.

 Aria was indifferent towards the man in red

When Santa walked in, James was thrilled.  But when he got closer, I don't think he was as excited...

I love this moment so much, I can't tell you. The utter joy on the face of the boy on the right 

contrasted by James' balled up fists and stare at Santa's hand = hilarious!

He got over it pretty quickly and posed with Grandma for a really nice shot! To his credit, he realized, "Pappy is disguised as Santa!"

And then proceeded to photo bomb me. Thanks James!

I'm working on a Christmas music playlist that covers my wide taste in music, but I'm starting off with my new favorite by Dan Hicks & the Hot Licks. Be sure to check it out!

Happy Birthday, James!

I have the most amazing nephew, who just turned four. Not a day goes by where I'm not utterly impressed by him. We did a family portrait session for his first birthday, which was the first appearance of the infamous stink eye. People tell me it was the sun in his eyes, but it's become his signature expression. As you can see, he's only getting better over time.

Recently, James has taken an interest in photography. I think it's great that he wants to do what I'm doing, so I've let him use my old canon g5. I'm thrilled to have found a use for it!

The boy can strike a pose! Right now, the majority of his pictures are of the ground, but he has a unique perspective. His favorite subject matter is...

Me! I'm not sure if he thinks it's funny to turn the tables on me or if he really likes taking my picture. I have to say, there aren't many of the photographer, so I'm flattered. I need to update my picture on my website and I kinda dig the second shot...How great would it be to have a 4 year old as a second shooter at a wedding? What would he take pictures of?

Happy Birthday, little man! I can't wait to see what you'll get into next!

Busy Weekend

Lack of posts always means lots of pictures! I'm back from my weekend "vacation" in Maine. I use the term vacation loosely, because the majority of it was spent in a car, driving. I celebrated family friends' 45th wedding anniversary and took a few pictures at that. There will be more pictures once I actually have a chance to process them. I then traveled straight from that to James' fourth birthday party. We like to keep birthday parties small so we don't overwhelm the little guy. 

 James with cousin Cassandra.

 Aria learning to smile for the camera.

Super cool Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cake!

After the cake, James told me no more pictures. I guess he's finally sick of the paparazzi...