Click on the title of the blog post to view the entire entry.
This little guy was so funny! He had the most expressive little face that just cracked me up, while I was there and while I edited his images. And check out that adorable little tie; good choice mama. I know his mom is more than eager to see a few images in her “sneak peek” so without further adieu:
I have been a mom for 14 1/2 years and I have certainly been away from my children before. But after watching my friend’s children lose their mother, I became rather crazy about leaving them for five days to go to Las Vegas. To add insult to injury, when we arrived at the airport to leave and Lydia realized we were going to leave on an airplane, the crocodile tears started to flow and I walked away from the van to the sound of her pathetic sobs “Momma, Daddy, Mommy, Daddy, noooo!”. Wow, talk about tugging at my heartstrings! Everyone did survive, though, and they even had some fun while we were away. But the look on Lydia’s face when she first saw us was simply priceless. We had such a fun afternoon, playing, ‘nuggling, dancing and sitting down to dinner together. Lydia and I had a great time trying to photograph her while I spun her in a circle. It is NOT easy to focus a camera pressed to your shoulder in one hand, while swinging a two-year-old with the other! After our crazy spins we were both so dizzy we crashed to the ground together in laughter. So here is my little “self-portrait” and a nice shot that Angela, my sister-in-law took for me, too. I am happy to be home and I am diving in to catch up on all the work that has been waiting for me. 
We are excited to share this special offer with you. Click below to view the details. If you would like to book your child’s space please email Rachel: rachel@annamayer.com or call 408-221-4570
Each year a growing number of photographers make the pilgrimage to WPPI a.k.a- Wedding and Portrait Photographers International to see what’s new, to get inspired and to connect with other photographers from across the country and the globe. This is our first time here and Brian’s description of it is, “Like drinking from a fire hose!” I couldn’t agree more. We have learned a lot, been inspired to grow and change, and we’ve met some wonderful people. It is really wonderful to attend something like this and to see other successful photographers making their way in the industry. I think the main thing I take away from this experience is that I want to be an innovator in my industry. I feel that I have already begun that journey, but I am inspired to blaze new trails into the future.
Here is the view from our hotel room. I can honestly say I can’t wait to go home, but the lights of Vegas are truly a sight to behold.
So, this week has been one of introspection for me. Thinking about who I am as a mom and what I will leave behind whenever it is I leave this earth. I got to thinking that it would be interesting to share a couple of the things *I* do as a mother and then hear from some of you about what YOU do. One of the things that I have come to recognize, after years of comparing myself to other moms, is that NO ONE has it all together. NO ONE does everything right or great or wonderful. If your friend makes amazing home-made birthday cakes and throws fabulous birthday parties and you go to Costco and pull together a gathering at the eleventh hour, don’t sweat it! Perhaps YOU read to your child each and every night and that wonderful party-thrower doesn’t get around to it more than once a week. I have come to believe that the people I once saw as “super-stars” of motherhood are not unlike me. They have these “super-skills” but they have their shortcomings too. So the idea here is to get us all thinking about what we DO get right. It isn’t a contest, or a chance to show off. Just a chance to share and to reflect on the things we are doing well, if your children are grown, what you DID well and perhaps to inspire each other in the process.
So please join in. You can just leave your stories in the “comments” or you can email me and I will add you on.
So, I’ll go first: This one started because, well, I like to tell stories. I tell them a lot and, according to my kids, I do it well. So my when my second born, Isaiah, was about five years old, he started to request a “story from when you were little” of me EVERY NIGHT! This has become a requirement for him to fall asleep. When we are apart he calls me to get his story. I have a recording I store in my cell phone of him, from just a few weeks ago. He called me while I was in a movie theater and left me a voice mail. I had forgotten to tell him the story before I left and could I please call before he falls asleep. I figure that I miss a few, here and there, but I have pretty consistently told him one every night for the last three and a half years. I told him recently, that I am up to over ONE THOUSAND stories from my childhood. ONE THOUSAND!! Some of them are pretty lame, maybe, but some of them are good. And ALL of them make my sweet boy smile and think of me as a dirty kid, running around the neighborhood just like him. And ALL of them help to connect us to each other.
The other thing I have begun doing with my kids is journaling. Alayna’s kindergarten teacher did this with her students and after reading through the spirited discussions my little girl had with her teacher I decided that I needed to do this with my kids, as well. We go in streaks. Sometimes they sit idle for months, sometimes we go back an forth in a single day. But I hope that this will continue for many years to come. They are a wonderful tool for delving into a child’s mind. -Anna
These pictures have more meaning to me that they might typically. This past week I attended the funeral of a friend. She was 37 years old and the mother of two beautiful little girls. She died suddenly of pregnancy complications and her death has hit me in a profound way. Although Heather and I were not the closest of friends, her daughter, Sara, is a playmate of my daughter, Alayna. Sara has spent countless hours in our home and Alayna in hers. Her funeral was on Monday and as my husband and I arrived at the chapel we were seated in an overflow area. From where we sat we could see little Sara wrapped around the neck of a young man, presumably a cousin. Just looking at her was almost more than I could bear. As I listened to the pastor and the family and friends speak of Heather’s life I couldn’t help but think of what I would leave behind should I prematurely leave my children. What would they remember? What would they cling to? I imagine that Sara and her sister, Emily will remember baking cookies with their mommy, being pushed on the swings. They will remember how their mom took piano lessons right along with them so they could all learn together. They will remember the things we think of as mundane; brushing their hair, tying their shoes, making peanut butter sandwiches. Those things are momma. Those things are safe and familiar.
As Brian and I made our way through the crowd to the the display of photographs, my heart was warmed to see countless images of Heather and her girls. Smiling faces with entwined bodies. Those images will be there for Sara and Emily to help them remember the momma they lost. As I hugged Heather’s fiancé I felt a rush of someone small pass me by. Sara had seen Brian’s face in the crowd; a safe and familiar face from a life that had just been shattered. A heaving sob I had been holding back burst forth as I saw her throw her little arms around Brian’s neck, clinging desperately as she sobbed into his shoulder. I will never, in all my days, forget that heart-wrenching moment.
As we walked away from the service, both still reeling from the emotions we were feeling, my heart felt so painfully heavy. But I was happy, too. Because Heather had been a good mother. She loved those girls more than anything in this world. She surely made mistakes; perhaps she yelled at them or forgot to have them brush their teeth. But at the heart of it, she was their mommy. She loved and treasured them and they KNOW that. They will take that with them as they move forward and live their lives. And that is the legacy I wish to leave my children; whether I leave them in this tragic sort of way, or they bury me when they, themselves, are parents and grandparents. So these photos of a little girl being swung by her mommy hold something more profound for me today. They are a piece of the legacy that a momma is creating for her children. No matter when she leaves them, they will remember moments like these and a thousand more, that make up the legacy of a mommy.
-Anna
. . . Little Brother!
Thank you to all who helped make our Best of 2007 contest a smashing success. We had over 1900 votes!! Wonderful turn-out
Congratulations to the “M” family for your big win! I am so excited to see you all again and capture those adorable boys now, one year later. Contact Rachel soon to reserve your spot. Also, Amazing and Busy Baby took 2nd and 3rd, so contact us about setting up sessions for your family or friends. We can provide you with a lovely gift certificate if you would like to make it a gift.
Thank you all for participating and for being such good sports! -Anna
. . .has been reached by my youngest and LAST baby. She is potty trained! Yay! I am in awe that we have passed this phase; quite possibly forever. She is so proud of herself (she’s proud of all of us when we have “success” and cheers us on LOL) and knows that this makes her a “big girl”. She is only 26 months so we feel blessed indeed. I wanted to take photos to commemorate her success, but shots of her on the potty didn’t suite my vision. So we had a little party in her big-girl panties instead. Could she be any cuter? -Anna
I am, more than anything, a baby photographer. But I certainly get my share of older children and older siblings; and I LOVE THEM! This family was oh so sweet. The way they carried themselves and enjoyed each other (and of course, acted like kids, too) was really refreshing. The only girl is also the ONLY one in the house with her own room and boy did she treasure it. I just love all of the shots of her in there because they showcase how proud she is of her space. Little brother was a total hoot. He had lots of fun showing me all of his “faces”. And his big brother had this, um, reptile. Did I mention that I do NOT like reptiles??? I was almost embarrassed by how much that thing scared me, but as you can see, I did manage to get up close and personal with it despite my feelings. LOL
