..were some of the highlights of our 7th wedding anniversary. Dinner was lovely.

While we were waiting for our scrumptous meal, Stef asked what my highlight was in our marriage thus far.

Honey, you’ve got to give me more notice for a question like that and preferrably asked BEFORE two glasses of wine. (Note to all you married men: Have answers to questions like these already thought out and committed to memory)

While I was himming and hawing, Stef blurted out her answer (no fair, it was her question and clearly she had been thinking of it all day) and then tried to help me with mine.

Stef: “Was it…the birth of Reilly?”

Me: “…why yes, that was it…yes, the birth of our first daughter!”

I felt like the kid in Christmas Story who finally made it to Santa Claus and choked when asked what he wanted for Christmas.

Well there are many candidates for the answer to this question but we don’t have enough blog space to list them. So after careful thought it occured to me. There is no singular event that stands out or that I can isolate, which brings me back to the beginning. Actually, seven years ago today, the 18th, is probably the highlight for what it represented. Our first new day as a married couple.

Hightlights? Yes there are many, and there will be many more, but as for today, Stef, you are the highlight of my LIFE…everything else is a bonus! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

Well it was finally time for Teagan to say goodbye to her baby furniture. Actually, it was time for Stef and I to say goodbye, miss T could probably care less..

Anyway, we ordered a cool new age appropriate set that was scheduled to arrive in a week. We thought we would time things right and place an ad on Craigslist about a week in advance to give enough time for potential buyers.

About an hour later we had several emails. And not the typical “Do you still have this” type, but “WE WANT YOUR SET, HAVE CASH NOW” type. By 7pm, Teag’s old set was in the back of a cute couple’s F150.

One problem. The new bedroom set was not here. Again, Teagan could probably care less. Stef and I felt a little bad though, so Stef ran out and at least got the mattress..which for now, is enough.

Out with the old, in with the new. Goodbye changing tables and baby monitors, hello trundle beds and High School Musical Paraphernalia. Oh boy…

BEFORE CRAIGSLIST

AFTER CRAIGSLIST

Okay, so we didn’t actually take these photographs in February…it was November when we photographed the Sheridan family. You may remember the Sheridan’s from our newsletter a few issues back; they were our featured client of the month. We’ve been fortunate to see them several times in the past year and a half, as Miss A is a member of our Bebe Diplome (baby graduate) program. We loved the image of them walking away down the street so much we now have a 30 in. x 60 in. gallery wrapped canvas of it hanging in our studio (they got a similar image of them walking toward the camera in a 25×50 gallery wrap–looked awesome!).

For those of you who didn’t receive the newsletter (or, gasp! just didn’t read it!), a quick re-cap of our “six degrees” connection to the Sheridan’s: Alex and James are from the same teeny-tiny town east of San Diego, and even know some of the same people. They are also both huge San Diego Charger fans (big surprise!). What more could we ask for in a client? 🙂

Pamela Huggins, we hope you’re in the mood for some sushi, because you’re the grand prize winner of our home gallery contest!!! Thanks to all of the amazing entries we received; this was a very difficult decision and we were overwhelmed by what we saw…how humbling to see our work so tastefully and thoughtfully displayed in your homes. While choosing the winner wasn’t easy, we finally agreed on this entry for the overall design of the wall. We just loved how Pamela ingtegraed her own touches within and around the wall collection. We couldn’t think of a better description of her amazing kids than the plaque situated in the middle of her portraits simply reading “Blessed.” Way to go Pamela and watch out for that $50 Mikuni giftcard in your mailbox! Thanks again to all of those who particpated!

We want to wish everyone a very Happy Valentine’s Day!! It seems this day once reserved for love and romance has become more about the kids (as holidays should be!). Reilly has had her High School Musical valentine’s filled out and ready to pass out at school for over a week, and Teagan keeps saying that “it’s almost Valentime’s Day!” (no that’s not a typo…and she doesn’t have a clue what this day is about except for hearts and candy!). James and I have kind of let Valentine’s slip by without much hoopla, as our anniversary is on February 17, so we reserve our celebrating (and spending!) for then. So whatever you do (or don’t do) to celebrate today, don’t forget to tell someone you love them & give ’em a squeeze!

Okay, so here I go again, braggin’ about my hubby, but can you blame me?? I just had to share that James was named 2007 Portrait Photographer of the Year by Professional Photographers of Sacramento Valley (PPSV). I’m so incredibly proud of him! Shown here is his spiffy little plaque, as well as a few of the award-winning images from ’07 that helped earn him this distinction…way to go, honey!

This little muffin is Miss R, one of our Bebe members. She was about 12 weeks old when her mom brought her to us, and she was so happy to be photographed! This first image of mom and baby is one of my favorites of this type in a while. Bravo to mom for bringing this adorable hat! Can’t wait to see her grow and change over her 1st year…

It’s finally here…our new blog! It’s been a big weekend, indeed…James’ 37th birthday was yesterday, so we went with the girls to his favorite place for sushi, Mikuni. He told me all he wanted for his birthday was a sushi boat, even though these things are big enough to feed an army. Considering the size, he made a pretty respectable dent (with some help from Reilly, who has quite the adventurous palette). We topped off the night with a stop at Starbuck’s for a treat. Happy birthday to the best husband and dad in the world! We love you!

A quick note about the new blog…first of all, thanks for visiting! We’re so excited about the new look and the new, super easy to remember web address…www.enchantedblog.com. Our old blog is still online with a link to this one, and so is our regular website (there’s a link on the menu bar at the top of the page). We hope you enjoy the new blog and check back often for new stuff!

Thanks mucho to Melissa Hathaway for the blog designer recommendation, we’re thrilled!

This is 2 1/2 year old Miss P, who we photographed back before Christmas (we will get caught up on our entries, we promise!). We were all amazed (mom & dad included) at what an amazing job P did during her session; we know how hard 2-year olds can be to photograph and that they often have different things in mind for their sessions than the rest of us (we have one of those–her name is Teagan!). These turned out to be some of our favorite images of the season, and I especially love the 2nd one where she looks like she’s giggling about some secret she knows that we don’t.