Adam & Lily - The Sequel

Followers of the SCI blog may remember Adam and Lily from last fall when I visited them at their house to take some pictures for the invite to their B'Nai Mitzvah. Followers of the SCI blog may also not remember Adam and Lily so a refresher course may be in order:

Lily's cool with having her picture taken.

Adam's not.

Having established that I was honored to spend the afternoon and evening with them on their big day.

First we started with some family shots. Here are the Starrs with a whole bunch of other people who I can only assume fit under the heading of family:

Then it was time for some smaller group shots. Luckily Lily is not shy about doing what it takes to bring out the happy Adam:
Then it was time for the service at the New Reform Temple. I can't remember the name of the group that did the singing but they did a fantastic job:
And on with the ceremony. I'd love to know what was going through Lily's head at this moment:
Adam carries the Torah around the temple:
Lily reads:
Rabbi Cukiercorn (I hope I spelled that at least reasonably correctly...) presents the twins with a certificate signifying that a tree has been planted in their honor in Israel.

Then it was on to the American Restaurant for the reception:
Boys being boys:

Girls being girls:

Adam being Adam:

Ladies' man Elliott:

As part of the evening's activities the DJ had each table of kids come up to the dance floor to demonstrate a dance:

And after a slideshow of Adam and Lily as adorable little munchkins it was time for the fireworks display. Either that or the folks at Crown Center were sending up signal flares to tell the aliens exactly where to start the invasion:
Finally, I wouldn't feel right about this blog entry without inclduing this shot of Elliott rocking the Kanye West look:

Thanks once again to the Starr family for inviting me to be a part of the celebration and for making me feel like one of the gang. I have a great time every time I get together with them. Now if I can just get my ears to stop ringing...

Scott, Erika, & Wyatt

First things first: I love the name Wyatt. Scott & Erika are good too, but come on: Wyatt - how cool is that?

Scott & Erika are one of my wedding clients and when they emailed to let me know that they wanted to set up a newborn session for Wyatt (who wasn't yet born) I was thrilled.

First a picture of the whole gang:
Then a couple of shots of Wyatt in mom's arms:
Next it was time for a few shots of Wyatt by himself. I love this shot of him looking up at Erika:

Next we set Wyatt on the backdrop for some naked baby shots. I liked this one the best - I think I'm going to call this pose "falling frog". Why? Because to me he looks like a falling frog here. In the best way. And, finally, Wyatt had had enough.

One last thing -- the Petzolds signed up for the baby club which means, that, in addition to five sessions over the course of the next year, they also received a custom designed birth announcement to send out to friends and family:
Thanks guys and I'm looking forward to seeing more of you over the next year (and beyond...).

Erin & Charles Engagement Session

I'm looking forward to Erin & Charles' wedding at the OP Arboretum this spring. Great location and, as you'll soon see, a great couple with a lot of personality.

For their invitations Erin & Charles wanted to do a series of pictures representing wedding traditions from around the globe. How that pertains to Optimus Prime, smashing plates on heads, throwing feathers, and recreating a scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark is for them to explain to you. I just know it made for some great pictures.

The McGinnae

'McGinnae' is the plural of 'McGinnis', right? If it's not, somebody please let me know.

Susan told the family she'd lined up a special activity for the day after Christmas and told everyone to wear black. They surmised that she'd set up a session of laser tag. Hopefully it didn't disappoint them too greatly when they realized they'd be spending an hour or so with me instead.

First up was what is known in the photography trade as a BOFP: Big 'Ol Family Picture-

Then we got some of the smaller groups:

I liked this next one in color and in B&W so I included it twice. It's my blog and I can do that if I want to...

Hopefully the family finally made it over for that Laser Tag session. And if they did, I further hope that the grandmas kicked some serious butt.

The New Kid!

Sure, we're thrilled that our third child was born healthy and (relatively) happy, but why can't it ever be more convenient for me?

Antonia Lucienne Vontz was born on December 24th at 8:14 a.m. Six pounds and seventeen inches. "Antonia" was the fictional name given to my great, great grandmother Annie Pavelka by Willa Cather for her novel "My Antonia". Lucienne was the name of my wife Angel's great Aunt for whom her mother Lucy was named.

After a long and, for me -- isn't it all about the dad anyway? -- mostly sleepless night Antonia made her debut and I got to hold her for the first time (thanks to my mom Bonnie for the skillful camera work):

Then it was time for ALV's first close up. She, not unlike her brother and sister, is a little camera shy:
Also, not unlike her brother and sister, she has hands (I'm tired and running out of clever things to write here):

Because I'm a pro and this is what I do (and because I'm much, much bigger than her) I was able to get a picture of her without her hands in front of her face:Later that day, the kids got to come up to the hospital to meet their sister for the first time. A beaming Emma Cate holds her little sister for the first time:

Then it was Owen's turn. You might not be able to tell it from the picture but he's decidedly less impressed than Emma Cate with the baby. Could be because he knows that he's now out-numbered:

Of course he became a little more interested when he realized that Emma Cate wanted to hold her again and, because she was holding the baby and that's the way it works with siblings, he decided to show interest and try to take her back:

After two long days in the hospital under the skillful care of the good people at North Kansas City Hospital, Antonia finally made it home. And the kids finally got to open the last of their Christmas presents.
Many thanks to all the friends and family who have helped us so much to ease Antonia's transition homeward. We're blessed to have three beautiful children and to have so many people in our lives to help us deal with the realities of that circumstance.

G,A, T, M, G, C, & J

I grew up with the Sonnenberg boys so it's always a treat (and to be honest, a bit surreal) every time I get together with them to do pictures of their kids. The last time we attempted to get all the cousins together for a picture, Grant & Molly were Wee Ones. In the intervening two years Crews and Janey have been added to the mix. Since we were at Mike & Mandi's house (and Janey was less than two weeks old) the first order of business was to get a picture of their kids with the newest addition:
Then it was time for a few of Janey by herself:

And there were times, to be honest, when she wasn't too happy about it:

Then we worked on Crews:
And finally, the big daddy of them all:
Seven kids under the age of nine thank you very much. The personalities that show through were well worth the patience it took to get this shot.

Now that we got that covered I'll need the next two years to recuperate before we try it again...