Ooh-La-La

I had the opportunity this week to take pictures for a local boutique called Ooh-La-La by Laura. Laura makes the cutest tutus, bibs, hair bows, capes and more. You really need to check her blog out--www.oohlalabylaura.blogspot.com--you will LOVE her stuff. She is in the process of creating a website and needed some pictures. We headed first to the laundromat. I know what you are thinking, but the laundromat was a great place for pictures. The kids could run around, but were still contained and it is a fun backdrop. Really if anyone wants to go there with me again, I would love to go! (We don't have to stay there for the entire session, but it is unique and there are a lot of great places in this same area for pictures!)

Back to the shoot, here are a few of my favorites from the day! We will be heading out again to take some pictures of the boys in their capes, but until next time enjoy these beautiful little girls!













What do you think about the laundromat now? Hopefully I changed your mind but I understand that it is not for everyone. Until next time--J.

New Website!

As you can tell by looking at my blog, I have changed things up a bit. What do you think? Take a look at the website (link at the right) it is ALL NEW! You will notice that I now have a new logo, new colors and best of all--all new pictures for you to look at! In the galleries you will find my favorite pictures from 2007. Take a look and see if you can find yourself in some of the galleries.

Add a comment to my blog or send me an email letting me know what you think. I know you are out there reading this so make a girl happy and leave a comment once in a while!

2,049 TOYS

That's right, my nephew, Hayden, collected 2,049 toys for the kids that spent Christmas at Phoenix Children's Hospital--more than double the number of toys he collected last year. He had a little help from his parents, aunts, and friends, but Hayden also did a lot himself to promote this. He talked to his entire elementary school, went to local doctors offices and helped out at several garage sales. Way to go Hayden, I am so proud of you!! We can all learn a valuable lesson from this little guy. It only takes one person with a goal to make a HUGE difference. Hayden's Toy Drive was the largest toy drive outside of corporate sponsors that PCH has ever had.

Here are a few pictures of the toys so you can get an idea of what 2,049 toys looks like! I couldn't even get all the toys in the pictures, but you get the idea.









A big thanks to everyone that donated toys! Your generosity did not go unnoticed. We will all be shooting for an even larger number of toys next year!

Time is Running Out

A few of you have taken me up on the deal of scheduling a session for 2008 and saving some money in the process, but you don't have much time left. I am almost finished with my new site. You can get a sneak peek of what is to come by visiting my splash page--it has been updated with my new colors and logo! My website should be up and running in the next few days and at that time my new prices will take affect. In the meantime, you still have a chance to lock in the 2007 prices and receive a $50 print credit. I hope to hear from many of you very soon!

Happy New Year!!

I know that I have been slacking on my blog, but it is a new year and time to get back on track. I want to thank all of my 2007 clients for a great year! I had so much fun meeting all of you and creating works of art that will you can look at long after your kids are grown.

Since it is a new year, I decided it was time to freshen up my website. It is time to add all new pictures in my galleries and add a few more goodies as well. I am still working on it, but as soon as it is up and running you will be the first to know. In addition to new pictures, new prices will also be announced on the new site. But there is still time to get in on the old prices. I will not only give you my old prices, but you will also receive a $50 print credit when you book a 2008 session BEFORE the new site launches. I don't know how much time you will have--it may be a day, it may be a week, but once the new site launches this deal is over. You must mention this when scheduling your session! Don't miss this great opportunity to save some money!

I wanted to share my favorite pictures from 2007, but then they wouldn't be a surprise for the new website so instead I will leave you with my favorite picture of Brooklyn. I just love her eyes in this picture! I am going to be ordering this picture in a 20x24 for her room as soon as I get a free moment.



I am looking forward to the new year! Hopefully I will be meeting a lot more of you this year. I know that there are many of you that are looking at this blog and thinking that you would love to schedule a session, but you just haven't made the time to do it. Well, it is a new year, start it off right by making memories that will last long after this year. Believe me, you won't regret it. Make it a great year!

Hayden's Toy Drive

This is my nephew, Hayden. He is an amazing guy. Hayden was born with heart problems and underwent open heart surgery twice in his first week of life and since this time has endured several more surgeries. He has spent a lot of time at Phoenix Children's Hospital, but is now doing great! Last year, at the age of 4, Hayden decided that he wanted to start a toy drive to help the kids that will be spending Christmas at the hospital. He received toys during his first Christmas at the hospital and many times since then. He says that it makes him feel better to get a new toy when getting a scary procedure done and wants other kids to feel better as well.

I am proud of my nephew for thinking about other kids at such a young age so I am doing all I can to help support his cause. Brooklyn and Hayden went through their toys throughout the year and held 2 garage sales to benefit the toy drive and have passed out cards at school functions and around the neighborhood to get the word out. I figure if a 4 year old and a 5 year old are willing to give up their toys for other kids then we as adults need to help them collect as many toys as we possibly can this Christmas.

If you would like to donate new toys, gift cards or money to Hayden's Toy Drive please email me at jdavisphoto@gmail.com and I can either pick the toys up or give you an address of where to send the toys/money. Phoenix Children's Hospital will send you a donation receipt if you include your name, address, phone number and list of donations. Thank you in advance for your generous donations. I will post pictures of the kids delivering the toys to the hospital in the next few weeks. We will be delivering toys this weekend and next, but we will continue to collect money and toys throughout the year.

Polar Express

So this post is WAY late, but better late than never I guess. I have all of my holiday orders out finally and I have to get back to my neglected blog. Anyways, the weekend before Thanksgiving we went on The Polar Express in Williams, AZ. This was our second time doing this and we had a wonderful time. For those of you that have not done this--it is a MUST! You get on a train all dressed in your jammies and go to the "North Pole." After reading The Polar Express book you get hot chocolate and cookies and then you pass an area that is decorated like the North Pole. Santa then gets on the train and gives each child a bell. It is the greatest!

After the train ride we went to Mrs. Claus' workshop for some crafts. Brooklyn LOVED Mrs. Claus because "she's a girl." She was terrified of Santa.



Brooklyn even wrote her first letter to Santa. How cute is that?



Here she is putting her letter in the mailbox to Santa. You better believe I went and took it out when she wasn't looking. I had to have her first letter to Santa. The "elves" just laughed and said that a lot of moms do the same thing.



Here are just a few pictures from our weekend.