Kristie Serra Photography Blog »

Did I scare you? Probably not, huh?

I’m hoping everyone had a spooktacular Halloween! It was a fun one for the Serra household. I loved how excited my boys were today. It’s funny to think that just two years ago our twins protested being in costumes of any kind and this year they asked if they could sleep in them, wear them to school and keep them for Halloween next year. Trick or treating gets more fun each year for sure! We covered a lot more of the neighborhood this year–we felt like total rock stars. Ha! Watching M. and A. spill out and go through all of their candy once we were home, brings back such fun childhood memories. And, speaking of candy, I can’t resist the bowl of peanut m&m’s any longer, so it’s time to share some spooky images…

The above images are especially for my Twilight obsessed friends, who I love with all my heart!

EQUALS THIS…

MEOW!!!

HAPPY HALLOOOOOOOWEEN!!!

Oh, this post is so bittersweet… this is a sneak peek of my last session in Tampa. The A. family! They are such a wonderful family and I feel so blessed to have been able to work with them before our move, but WOW, my last session in Tampa (well, until my February 2010 visit). It’s all seeming very unreal to me (even though I am surrounded by packed boxes right now)!! Ironically enough, we had “Seattle weather” for the session. It was dark and overcast and on the verge of rain, but lucky the rain held off until I drove away! I think that was just mother nature’s way of giving me a taste of what sessions will be like in Seattle. It wasn’t bad at all, just different than your typical “sunny Florida” sessions, which I think I will really appreciate soon enough! I’m looking forward to the upcoming challenges, pushing myself and growing as a photographer!

This image above makes me smile from ear to ear. Little C. did this every time a truck passed by. He’d say (or what sounded like), “tuck, tuck!!” He was the cutest thing ever!!

How can you not stare at this itty bitty sweet little guy!! I think it only took him one second to turn my heart to mush! We’ve been waiting for sweet baby M. and I can’t tell you how extremely happy I am that he arrived before our move and that he is 100% healthy. His amazing mommy, who happens to be one my very best friends, spent five weeks in the hospital just cooking this little guy. It definitely paid off because I think he is as perfect as perfect can be.

WARNING: Heart melting ahead!!

This little ADORABLE Georgia Peach and her BEAUTIFUL mommy recently visited Tampa. I’ve photographed them when little K. was bump in her mommy’s tummy in Ybor City and then again when she was just a few days old and as itty bitty as can be in Georgia!! Her mommy and I have been good friends since we were 15 and 16, so I’ve watched little K. grow through pictures and emails, but nothing could prepare me for seeing her and all of her CUTENESS in person!! She could have asked me for my right leg and I would have given it to her!! Oh, the power of cuteness!!

I’ve recently shot some mini sessions for our friends + family members and I said that I’d hold off on proofing any images until I crossed off more of the to-do list for our move, but when the image below uploaded to my computer, my heart instantly melted. I plan to stare at it for a little while, so I had to share!!

This week at the book fair, A. entered a guess in the “guess how many fortune cookies are in the jar” contest and today he found out that HE WON, HE WON, HE WON!!!  He was sooooooooooo excited and as soon as we got home it was fortune cookie eating time.  Usually I don’t make much of what the fortune cookie has to say, but today’s fortune hit home…

We could all learn a little something from the cookie!

xo,

Kristie

Our first session was called on the count of rain, but luckily Mother Nature was kind to us this past weekend. It was the perfect weather for a few games of red light, green light, some wheelbarrow races and even a dance-off. It was nothing but fun with the B. family. I had a feeling that was going to be the case too after my conversations with mom prior to their session. It was like talking to an old friend. I feel so blessed to have been able to work with such a wonderful family prior to our move.

Well, before I get back to doing some packing, I thought I’d share a little sneak peek from their session.

… should be against the law! These two super cuties just melted my heart at this year’s Be Merry! holiday mini sessions. Their family visited Ybor City from Port Charlotte. I was honored that they made the drive and glad because they were full of sunshine! There is nothing that I love more than a good ole belly laugh and they were full of them–it was totally contagious!

I just loved this little guy, he was so much fun and so full of expression! As I was peeking at the images from his session this little series below had me cracking up! It went just like that… goggles on, goggles off with the scrunchy face, laughing and smiling and then he ended with a raspberry. It doesn’t get much better than that! Mom and Dad (and his Aunt) were just as fun and sweet as can be. Turns out that mom is a UCF alumni too–we graduated the same year and from the same college (small world), so I will end with a GO KNIGHTS! Oh, and I’ll be featuring some tasty treats from their family bakery, Housewife Bake Shop & Deli soon, so be on the look out! They were kind enough to make some DELICIOUS cookies for M. and A., so I was able to do a little taste testing. In a word, YUM! Cookies that delicious make it hard to share!

This week I was washing some lettuce in the kitchen to make a salad when I said to the boys, “how’d you like to be the official salad makers in the house.” I got a BIG, “YES!!” followed by, “we’re going to be salad makers, yeah, yeah, salad makers, yeah, yeah, yeah” (most things turn into a song in our house). So, I brought the lettuce right over (and this is when a miracle occurred), M. grabbed a piece of lettuce, asked if he could try it and then gobbled it up!

Okay, it’s not a miracle to most, but in this house, it so is! My boys are two of the most pickiest kiddos this side of the Mississippi. It’s really not their fault though, they come from a looooong line of picky eaters. Truth be told, I am a card-carrying member of the picky eaters club (I could possibly be the president)–if it was socially acceptable for adults to use divided plates, I would and so would my dad probably. See, the cards were stacked against M. and A. and that is why I am celebrating the salad!

Every night since M. had his first piece of lettuce he’s asked, “mom, are we having our salads tonight?” He gets his little bowl and adds is lettuce-only salad to it and then gobbles it up. Then A. says, “I think I will try lettuce tomorrow” when tomorrow comes, he thinks he should wait one more day. Ha! Maybe tomorrow is the day…

I had to share an image of the salad eater and his salad, it’s pretty cute sitting on his favorite placemat from Crocodile Creek (although it looks like it could be Quigley’s food mat).  If you end up having a salad today, enjoy!!

Yes, more exciting news to share! This time though, it’s not about our move across the country (although that is 3-1/2 weeks away). This time I am excited to share that my amazingly talented friend, Stacy Larsen, and I are teaming up to offer a workshop for beginner photographers! LAUNCH is geared towards beginner photographers who are wanting to learn everything they need to know to be able to start and run a successful photography business. Stacy and I are so passionate about what we do and feel so extremely blessed to be able to be doing what we love! We are thrilled to be able to share our experience through our workshop and help others achieve their dreams! Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that we are giving away a FREE seat to the February workshop in Tampa… for more more information, be sure to check out our website at http://www.launch-workshop.com/!