Michelle and Isaac

So about 2 months ago, some may recall that I vacationed in the gorgeous state of Florida for 3 weeks...well it turns out that while I was gone, I happened to miss a LOT going on back home.  For instance, my 20 year old sister and her boyfriend decided to head off to Las Vegas with my mom and get engaged and then married!  I didn't find out about it until I got back from Florida...wow, was that a shocker.

I will say though, that I absolutely adore my sister's boyfriend HUSBAND, my now brother-in-law, and that if she was gonna go off and get married without telling anyone, I'm glad it was with him.

They're planning a ceremony/mini-wedding for March 2012 so that friends and family can actually be there and celebrate with them.  So while they've already tied the knot and skipped the engagement stage pretty much, we decided to do some engagement-style photos for the them so that they could still have the photos and use them for the invites or save the dates or whatever they want.

We planned to go down to the Santa Monica Pier to do their photos as it has a bit of sentimental value for them, but as the weekend we were going to do them turned out to be the "Carmageddon" weekend, we got scared off thinking about driving to the 10 fwy to go to Santa Monica which is where the 405 shut-down actually began (turns out the freeway really wasn't that bad after all). 

So instead I suggested we take the Metro train to downtown L.A. and do some pictures there since I've been dying to go there and take photos forever now.  We'll still go to Santa Monica soon and do pics there too, but for now we have these photos.

Here's a few highlights from our long day of walking around the downtown area and hopping on and off the train.    There was more I wanted to photograph, but bellies were getting hungry and patience was running thin, so we called it a day. :)

Birthday fun!

I went to a super fun birthday/slumber party this past weekend for a friend of mine...yes, I said "Slumber Party"!  You know you're jealous. :) :)

I snapped the below pics just for fun, but decided that I liked them enough to post here.  Unfortunately for everyone not in attendance, I didn't take pictures of the most entertaining parts of the night - let's just say there was some more alcohol, party games, stick-on mustaches, deep dark secrets, and a swimming pool.  What a great party. :) :)

Baby Jesiah

Remember when I took this beautiful woman's maternity photos here??  I finally got to meet her adorable little one about a month ago or so to catch a few photos of the new addition!  Isn't he just a doll??

Mason - 6 months

Oh how I love happy, smiley babies!!  They just make me feel all ooey gooey inside.  You honestly cannot help but smile back at a baby that smiles at you, it's literally impossible.  I dare one of you to try and prove me wrong.

:)

Speaking of smiley babies, I got to meet up with this adorable 6 month old baby yesterday for his next set of pictures through my "Baby's First Year" package (truly a great investment, that first year just holds SO MUCH change and it all happens so quickly).  Looking back at how he's grown, it just amazes me how much he's changed in just 6 months - Mason

Here's a little sneak peek at our session - he seriously couldn't stop smiling....except for when he was snacking on his wittle toes...priorities you know  :) :)

$25 Portrait Specials

This past Sunday I offered an awesome deal - $25 for a quick mini-shoot, single person portrait, with an 8x10 print.  Just something to fill some extra time I had this weekend and an option for those who didn't want a full session at this time.

I will probably offer this special again in the near future...I didn't announce this one on my email mailing list - it was purely a Facebook offer, but I believe the next one will be advertised on my mailing list so if you'd like to be notified when it's scheduled, please send me an email at crystal@averyjamesphotography.com to make sure you're on my email distribution. :)

I was able to meet with 2 beautiful little girls for their portraits at this past session.  How gorgeous are both of them??  The one beauty has these gorgeous hazel eyes, and the other beauty has those huge, dark almond eyes...she looks like a little Pocahontas princess. :) :)

I offer the print in either color or black and white, and personally I can't decide which I like better - b/w ends up giving the photo a completely different look and feel....very classic and really makes the faces pop.  So I just decided to post both versions here - would love to hear what your favorites are. :)

Hope everyone is having a great week! :)