Suzanne McGrath Photography

Photography News and Baby Addie

Before I get to the images of Baby Addie, I wanted to take a minute to chat about my business...  

It's HARD.  I absolutely love the art of photography and editing, but by the opposite token I absolutely detest the business side.  And let me tell you, the business side of photography takes up the majority of my time.  So I've made a decision that I've grappled with for a long time.  I'm closing my virtual door.  I'm letting my website go dormant and taking down my business email address.  (I'll have to change the post at the top of my blog.)  I'll still shoot friends and family, but I'm no longer going to try to make it my day job.

I am going to become a "shoot and burn" photographer.  I'll shoot and edit but then just hand over a CD or jump drive.  I won't print anymore which actually takes quite a bit of time.  Time that is precious.  And there you have it!  I feel good about this decision and I think my photograpy will become fun again!

Without further adieu...here's Baby Addie at 8 days old:

I have to tell you - I loved, loved, loved taking these pictures.  Baby Addie was just a doll and her mom and dad were pretty cool, too!  Congratulations, Todd and Stacey:)

 

Six on Sunday

No intro tonight - let's just jump right in, shall we?

1.  #2 and #3 had Field Day last Friday.  Most schools have Field Day in the spring but our school has always done it in the fall - at least as long as we have been there.  I actually really like having it early.  The spring always seems to be so busy anyway; it's nice to shake things up a little.

Anyway, #2 REALLY got into it this year.  She was bound and determined to win the spirit award.  Sadly, a 5th grade class won.  She still had a blast!

(Forgive the hands that I cut off - she was too excited to actually hold still._

This was #3's first Field Day.  I think she had fun.  (I only stopped in for about 15 minutes to snap a few pics.)  See for yourself...

2.  Yesterday was a crazy day.  I ran 20 miles.  We had four soccer games.  The little girls went on a "nature walk" with the hubby and me, and we had a surprise birthday party last night.  Phew!

I have to give a shout out to the hubby (even though he doesn't read my blog) for being so patient yesterday since it took me awhile to run my 20.  He had to get #2 up and out the door to the soccer field before 7am yesterday!  They came home and then headed back out for #1's 10:45 am soccer game.  After that I met them at #3's soccer game where I took #1 and #4 home.  I then dropped off #1 and #4 and picked up #2 and took her to her AFTERNOON game.  Yep - and there's four games.

And this doesn't even mention that #1 had a 9:30 PM soccer game Friday night.  And that was AFTER a two hour swim practice.  Yeah, that's us.

3.  Last night was the first time we've left the girls alone without a babysitter.  It was both liberating and scary at the same time.  But, the older two girls are so good with their sisters that we really trusted them.  Not to mention the little girls refuse to let a babysitter put them to bed!  So we figured if we had a babysitter we'd just be paying her to sit on the couch and make sure the house didn't burn down.

The girls were given strict instructions about not answering the door, etc.  We also made absolute sure they knew what time they were supposed to go bed.  And I told them I had a 6th sense and I would KNOW if they lied about what time they went to bed.  Sure enough, they followed the rules.  And they totally did it!  We got one text from #1 asking where she could find #3's hippo.  But that was the worst of it.  We were so proud of them all!  

4.  The surprise birthday party was a lot of fun.  The guest of honor was our good friend who you've seen in Okoboji pictures.  She was completely SHOCKED.  Her husband was a genius and totally had her convinced of his lie.  It was awesome to see the look on her face when she realized what was going down.  Classic.

Plus, we had a great time.  The hubby and I both met new people and caught up with old friends.  My only regret is that my legs were shot and I was exhausted.  I didn't last much past 11pm but it was still so worth it.

5.  Today was awesome!

• I was able to photograph a newborn.  
• I took the girls on another nature walk where they each gathered as many acorns as possible for our fall decorations.  And they all four totally LOVED it.  They had so much fun!  
• Meanwhile, the hubby picked up that banquette I talked about last week.  Score!  
• We baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies.
• #3 and #4 accompanied me on a Goodwill drop-off trip.
• The hubby took #1 to the library to pick out a Trendy Twelve book for school.  
• We had a fantastic dinner - beer can chicken - followed by a trip to Orange Leaf.  Seriously, it couldn't have gotten much better than that!

6.  My good friend, Stacey, and her husband Todd, had a beautiful baby girl last weekend.  And I had the immense pleasure of photographing her this morning.  She was a DREAM.  It took her a little convincing to go to sleep, but once she did she was like putty in my hands.  Seriously, I think big babies are easier to handle than small babies.  (I've had 8lb 7oz to a 6lb 15oz babies - so I have a little experience!)  I think big babies have bigger tummies so they sleep harder.  Maybe I'm just imaging it, but once Addie was asleep, she was dead to the world!

I also loved that when I drove away I didn't have that "feeling".  You know, the one where you think you want another baby.  Nope.  Nothing.  Just contentment in my four.

Anyway, I captured a bunch of great images but only had time to edit one.  So Stacey, this one is for you!  Isn't she a doll?!  

 

Have a great week!

Baby Garrison...Olathe Newborn Photographer

I had hoped to have these images out last week. But life got in the way.  We're in that busy season of soccer, volleyball, soccer, swim lessons, swim team, etc.  Basically, we're busy!

But here I am.  Ready to show off this adorable little guy.  Baby Garrison was a dream.  And oh my, did I have fun holding a newborn again!  No worries, though...I had no problems giving him back.  I am sticking with four.

Here he is...

He looks so much like his big sister!  Check it out for yourself...

 

Check out his adorable smile!  This is the image that shows me how much he looks like his big sister - it's the smile.

And here is a shot that mom requested...

Don't you just love those little, newborn feet?

Six on Sunday

This week was pretty run-of-the-mill for us.  Nothing crazy.  Not a lot to report.

1.  #1 and #2 left for Sioux Falls today.  Yep, my parents took them home for the week.  It's already quieter around here.  I will miss them but I know they are going to have a blast.  #3 is going to miss them the most, though.  She cried when they left - even though she has already had her turn up north.  

I am going to enjoy the earlier bedtimes.  Since the big girls are gone, we can get away with putting the little girls down around 8:00.  Woo to the Hoo!

2.  I love summer eating!  You know what I mean?  The light dinners.  The fresh fruit.  Love it.

That image got me thinking...We had a gathering at #3's BFF's house tonight with some other families from her school and we got to talking about dinner.  Every Saturday morning I plan out all our meals for the week and then buy whatever we need at the grocery store.  (I rarely make a second trip to the grocery store during the week.  Very rarely.)  Apparently, that is not the norm these days?  I like that I know what I'm going to make and there is no guess work.  Plus, I don't know how people have time to go out to eat with activities and all.  Seriously, our weeks are crazy shuffling the kids from activity to activity!  What do you all do?

3.  I have a confession to make.  I may have "forgot" to tell the hubby I purchased a couple (totally cool) chairs using that awesome list Craig puts together.  I may have purchased said chairs months ago?  I don't remember.  

Anyway, they came home this week.  So, while watching the little girls play outside at various times this weekend, I worked on ripping out all the fabric.  It actually wasn't half as bad as I thought.  These are definitely not at the front of the project list, but since I was stuck outside, I figured I might as well make myself useful.  These chairs are going to get a make-over that is inspired by David Jimenez.  They will look totally updated when I'm done with them!  They were in immaculate condition and only $40 for the pair.  I think that qualifies as a steal.

4.  #3 had a sleepover Friday night at our house.  Finally.  She has been asking for a sleepover since the day after she slept over at her BFF's house in July.  Seriously.  They had an absolute blast and they are so good together.  They play great and both girls are fairly laid back.  

5.  You all remember how I lamented the miss on the new refrigerator due to the AC breaking down?  Well, we did it.  We "found" some cash and I promptly turned that cash into a new refrigerator that will be delivered tomorrow.  I CANNOT WAIT!!!  I discovered (through close inspection of the model number) that our current frig is only 22 cubic feet.  For SIX people.  That equals small, people.  Our new frig is going to be 26 cubic feet.  While it's not the 31 cubic feet that is new to the market, it's still 4 cubic feet bigger than what we have!  Plus, we can move our current frig out into the garage in case we ever need the extra space.  I truly don't remember the last time I was so excited about such a dumb purchase:)

6.  Last but not least, Baby Garrison.  I had the pleasure of photographing this charmer only a week after he was born.  He was adorable and oh so small!  I will put together a post featuring him in the next week or two.  But here is just one...

And I'm out.  Have a great week!

 

Birthday Boy! {Kansas City Kids Photographer}

I had the pleasure of shooting these two adorable boys this morning.  Owen just finished celebrating his first birthday and his brother, Collin, turned two this past June.  I think these are the two hardest ages to shoot!  They hardly sit still for a second and could really care less about the crazy lady behind the camera:) But we had fun and they were troopers.  Autumn, I hope you enjoy this sneak peek - there's plenty more where these came from! 

I just love this image!  They are both looking at the camera and the way Collin's head is tilted towards his baby brother is just precious.

  

Here's the Birthday Boy and his adorable dimples!

     

He loves his mama!  It took all of about two seconds for her to get this face.

  

Funny story about this picture.  Collin wasn't too impressed me with today.  He's a very serious two year old.  He doesn't smile a whole lot - and that's OK.  That's just his little personality.  However, as soon as we were done, he climbed into his minivan and found this sucker stashed away somewhere.  THAT made him smile.  (Photographer's note - carry suckers from now on!)

  

Apparently Owen is an eater!  However, I think he stuffed himself full of bread while we were feeding the ducks, had a bit of a cold, and it was almost naptime.  So, that meant he wanted to play with the cake rather than eat it.  But it was still cute.   

  

Thanks, guys.  It was fun!

Baby Ross {Overland Park Baby Photographer}

I'm short on words tonight.  However, I wanted to get a few out there for Carmen.  You may remember the two brothers I photographed from awhile back.  Well, they welcomed a brother on Oct. 24th. Presenting baby Ross...

   

   

More kids {Overland Park children's photographer}

As I sat here tonight, editing away, I thought I ought to post a few more pictures from my last session. They're just too cute not to share.  So Amanda, here you go!

I love me a little sun flare...

  

This one just cracks me up!  She was waiting for her paci...

  

I thought this one looked good in Black and White.

  

And last but certainly not least, I thought these images lended themselves to a great little series...

 

 

Nelson-Atkins {Kansas City Baby/Family Photographer}

I asked my friend, Amanda, if she wanted any pictures and thankfully, she said yes!  This is the first time I had a chance to meet her daughter and it was a treat.  She was so fun and easy-going.  I learned a lot about her - she loves, loves, loves peek-a-boo and her paci, her favorite song is The Itsy Bitsy Spider, and she doesn't like to sit still:)  

Amanda, I truly had a hard time choosing...but here's a sneak peek.  Enjoy!