{Happy New Year}

I've been sitting here thinking about my New Year's Resolutions for 2009. Usually I make resolutions and then break them within the first 24 hours. I'm REALLY hoping that 2009 will be different.

I want to savor and enjoy each day instead of watching the days fly by wondering where the time went.

I want to love those around me more than I ever have and make a conscious effort to make sure they know how much they mean to me.

I want to do things that force me out of my comfort zone and work on not being so introverted.

I want to dream BIG and see this business grow into things I can't even imagine.

I want to work on my relationship with God and reconnect with the One who has made this dream of mine a reality.

I want to start exercising again and focus on a healthier lifestyle for my family ... no excuses.

I want to get back to the basics of photography and remember why I do this in the first place. I get so caught up in the "business" side of things that sometimes I forget why I fell in love with photography to begin with. This is my passion. This is my heart. This is an expression of who I am. I need to focus on that more.

Happy New Year to all of you! I hope 2009 brings you more joy and love than you could ever imagine. :)

Sarah

A picture of the two loves of my life during a recent trip to the snow (we lasted about 10 minutes, hahaha.) 2009 has great things in store for us!

{Merry Christmas}

Merry Christmas! A BIG thanks to all of you who made 2008 so memorable. I'm definitely looking forward to 2009 ... and here's a secret ... there will be some big big big changes coming to Sarah Jayne Photography so stay tuned!

Here is the 5x5 trifold Christmas card my family sent out this year. I hope you all enjoy this special day with your families!

Love,
The Albert Family
Ryan, Sarah & Cade

{Family Traditions}

My family has so many fun traditions. For example, every gathering *has* to include a cheeseball, a bowl of peanut m&m's, chips and dip, and cheese potatoes. Oh yes, and if there is ever a cake involved it HAS to come from "The Grove" ... anything else is just unacceptable.

Although these traditions are things that I sometimes chuckle at, I have to admit that I love them ... every last one of them.

One big tradition in my family is the annual Cookie Bake. We have been doing this almost my entire life and it's something I look forward to every year. I thought I would get you all in the holiday mood and share some photos from tonight's festivities.

What are your favorite family traditions?

Unwrapping the Hershey kisses

Peanut Butter cookies ... mmmmmmmm

Cade was a hoot with the cookie cutters. Let's just say he made a lot of "interesting" cookies

The two slackers who decided to play video games

The first batch of cookies are done! Yum-o!

{So Squishy and Sweet}

I was so excited when I woke up this morning because I knew I was going to be photographing three toddler girls today. There is just something about little girls that I absolutely adore. They are so squishy and sweet ... and seriously ... girls have THE best clothes in the entire world. (I really think little boys get the short end of the stick when it comes to clothes ... this is coming from the mom of an almost 2 year old little guy. The only choices we have are bugs, trucks, or fire engines. *sigh) And a big thanks to both families for being so flexible on the location. We were originally supposed to meet at Balboa Park but I remembered this morning that December Nights is this weekend. That would have been a mess! So, we had to make a last minute location change. I think it worked out great though. I am REALLY loving all of the images from today.

Here's a sneak peek!

Ring around a rosie ...

a pocket full of posies ....

ashes, ashes, we all fall down!

I LOVE this one ... daddy and his girls

oh yes, and I LOVE this one too ...

Hmmmmm, I think I love this one too. :)

and when all else fails, just hang 'em upside down!

Look how cute this sweet thing is!

These boots were made for walkin' ...

Yep, you guessed it ... I love this one. :)

and this one ...

and I REALLY LOVE this one ...

There are so many images from today that will go in my "favorites" file. Beautiful babies, beautiful families, beautiful weather, beautiful location ... what more could you ask for? :)

{I Feel Your Pain ...}

So many times I have had people say to me "Your son is so lucky to have a photographer for a mom. You must have so many great pictures of him." I laugh when people say that because even though, yes, I am a photographer, my son is still 2 years old. For all of my clients whose children have had meltdowns during our session ... this one is for you. :)

*Side Note: I woke up this morning with the intention of taking Cade out to capture a few images for our Christmas cards. He had the cutest little outfit on ... blue jeans that had this really cute red/green pattern at the cuff, a white shirt, and an ADORABLE little black corduroy jacket. Within 30 seconds of getting out of the car (and I'm not even remotely exaggerating), Cade took a flying leap into the freshly cut, WET, grass and was covered from head to toe in grass stains. Not.even.kidding. So, the images below show you what was left of his outfit. Even "photographer's kids" are still just kids. :)

It's *never* a good thing when your session starts like this:

because you know this is coming next:

This is the "I know what you're trying to do and I'm not going to give you a smile or look at the camera no matter what you say or promise me" look
"In fact, I think I'm going to just sit here with my eyes covered"

"Oooooh, better yet ... now you can't see me at all!"

oh, but wait! I think I see a smile in there. :)

After about 80 (yes, 80!) clicks of the camera, I finally get a decent shot of him. Of course he ditched the hat about 40 pictures ago, but hey ... I'll take it. :)

{An Overdue Sneak Peek}

I had the last of my holiday mini-sessions this weekend ... whoo-hoo! It's almost vacation time! Here are a few (ok, quite a few) of my favorites from this weekend. I LOVE every single one of them. :)

Hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil ... I couldn't resist. :)

Does this family look familiar? I photographed them a couple weeks ago but they wanted additional family photos, so I was lucky enough to see them for a second time!

How SWEET is she?

I photographed Aidan back in October. I seriously think he has aged about 20 years since the last time I saw him. These kids grow so fast!

This is one of my favorite images of the day. How fun are mom and dad? The whole family was using my box as a drum. Love it!