Conny Wenk News Blog | Stuttgart

New Blog

2009-02-01T22:04:00.003Z

I am so excited - my NEW blog has been launched this week. Although I really really LOVE my "old" blog - blogger has really been a good fellow the last three years, and this blog is also a wonderful documentary of how my photography has evolved - but I really messed up a lot on the CSS and somehow have managed to put the comment-function out of order ... so I thought it's about time to get something FRESH and CLEAN :-) (which I will not mess up again, promised!).

So THANK YOU SO SO MUCH for visiting this old blog - but now PLEASE BOOKMARK the new blog:

www.connywenk.com/blog

See you there! And Happy Groundhog Day! :-)

Mademoiselle Tamara

2009-01-28T17:26:00.006Z

Preventing an insane overload of pics ... here's the sneak peek of the sneak peek, hehe.

Just look at her: BEAUTIFUL Tamara ... ♥ ... 13 years old and georgeous! What a mademoiselle! While she was flipping through the magazine, she showed me all the neat clothes and said "I need to have this and that and this and that" being quite serious about it, haha.

Simply beautiful

She LOVED to pose ... and she did great!

I also LOVE her goofyness. She can be quite serious at times ... but the very next second she bursts out laughing, then she throws her arms around you and hugs you to pieces. She's very passionate and she's always honest and authentic.

There will be MORE pictures of her up soon - so please stay tuned ...

Lion

2009-01-22T19:20:00.003Z

It's not the sun ... it's a big big lion who is about to burst any second .... love guy toys! Always fun! :-)

Mel

2009-01-16T16:31:00.003Z

The most wonderful thing about my job is that I always get to meet really awesome people .... like Mel .... very beautiful inside and out .... just a few days before she gave birth .....

We had lots of snow in Stuttgart ... almost all gone today ...

Buchlesung in BIELEFELD

2009-01-15T17:52:00.002Z

Bielefeld und Umgebung aufgepasst: wir haben nun endlich einen Termin für unsere geplante Buchlesung "im Norden" gefunden. Und ich freue mich RIESIG über JEDEN, der kommt!!!!!! Lasst uns danach zusammen ein Gläschen Sekt trinken! ;-)

Just saying hi

2009-01-15T12:51:00.003Z

To avoid that my blog is completely falling asleep due to some major catching up of last year and taking it easy this time of the year .... here a couple of shots of my little mood buster :-)

Kayra

2009-01-10T21:15:00.003Z

Meet beautiful five-year old Kayra ... who couldn't be any prouder, because two months ago, she became the big sister of the cutest baby boy!

Meet Kayra's super cute baby brother Orhan Can ... ♥ ... in whom I immediately fell in love with today. Hopefully Orhan Can can leave the hospital soon - this brave little hero had on top of his heart surgery a rotavirus infection ...

Kayra and her beautiful mother Sehriban

I feel so fortunate having met this beautiful family

When I left this morning to go to the hospital, I made two big mistakes telling my "very-excited-because-becoming-a-nurse-when-I-grow-up" daughter Juliana that I a) go to the hospital and b) meet a cute little baby boy .... Can you imagine how upset she was? Yep, she can still throw a tantrum at age seven ;-)

JAKO-O in Stuttgart

2009-01-08T13:48:00.003Z

Das lässt alle Stuttgarter Kinderherzen höher schlagen: seit 6. Dezember 2008 gibt es in Stuttgart (die bislang schönste und größte!) JAKO-O-Filiale - auf 3 Etagen!

Und das lässt natürlich mein Herz höher schlagen: dort gibt es auch meine Bücher zu kaufen :-)

Congratulations, Nicole!

2009-01-06T22:02:00.002Z

It's always the greatest pleasure hanging out with one of the super-cutest girls around: Jolina .. ♥ ... who was HAPPY as always this afternoon ... flirting and greeting and putting her magic cute spell on every single Starbucks savorer :) ... and, of course, drawing the lucky winner of my mini photo session: CONGRATULATIONS NICOLE!!! Hmmm, Nicole also happens to be the Mommy of cute little Jonas who accidentally!!! happens to be the boyfriend of Jolina ... I know what you're thinking now ... but NOPE, no cheatings going on ... we have almost 40 (yep, it was damn cold outside) witnesses for the drawing, HEHE.

And here's some really really good news for all of you who followed the posts about Jolina and her five chemos in the last months: it's all over since the beginning of November and her wonderful family couldn't be happier!

Ines, Saskia and Zeljka

2009-01-03T21:12:00.003Z

Last fall (yep, this is how fast I am in the updating department, hehe) when it was still nice and warm outside, I had the pleasure of photographing these gorgeous three girls ... who absolutely rocked the session!

Saskia ...

Zeljka ... and ...

Ines ....

In case you wanna see more of these three fabulous ladies .... please visit my new SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHY SITE and find their slideshow in the galleries ....

Welcome to 2009!

2009-01-01T19:47:00.003Z

We had a fun New Year's Eve. Suzie and Markus spoilt us with a delicious three-course-Korean-dinner which was served all at once :-) In case you're interested in a more detailed description of the fantastic food - here it is: 대 지 고 기 (which means Tae Ji Ko Gi, in case you didn't know, HEHE) and 만 두 (Man Du - my all time favorites!) and the yummy 감 자 파 잔 (Kam Ja Pa Jeon, from which we had left-overs for tonite) ... and BBQ'd the 갈 비 (Kal Bi) ... Geez, I am so amazed about my brother's Korean ... The kids had fun with the chop sticks, which they mastered quite good ;-)

Oh my, I think I spent a fortune on the "exciting" table fireworks to count four spiders, six spooky rings, a gazillion useful plastic toys and paper streamers :-)

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

Mini Session zu gewinnen

2008-12-31T10:31:00.003Z

Alle Jahre wieder .... gibt's auch dieses Jahr wieder eine Mini Session zu gewinnen. Habt Ihr Lust? Dann einfach eine E-Mail schicken an contest@connywenk.com. Ich freue mich schon auf die bezaubernde kleine Glücksfee Jolina, die am 6. Januar den Gewinner ziehen wird. :-)

Und nun wünsche ich allen einen guten Rutsch in ein fantastisches, glückliches und gesundes 2009!

Christmas Eve

2008-12-26T22:29:00.003Z

Just a few impressions of our Christmas Eve :)

Merry X-Mas!

2008-12-22T20:43:00.005Z

Ich wünsche allen meinen Blog-Lesern ein wunderschönes Weihnachtsfest und einen grandiosen Start in ein super Jahr 2009! Würde mich riesig freuen, Euch hier wiederzusehen!!!!

This is NOT a self-portrait! :-) I suck in self-portraits anyways. Nicolas shot us this afternoon - I LOVE it! How could I not?! And don't you guys worry about his future career! He does not want to become a photographer! He wants to become a firefighter! What a surprise from a three-year-old, huh?! Juliana still wants to become a nurse - and she'll be the best nurse ever!!!

It might become a little bit quiet around here in Conny's Blogworld - tomorrow we'll expect my brother and sister-in-law from the US ... so it's family time - and I so can't wait!!!!!! Of course, I will post family pics though! :-)

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY and a million thank-you's for stopping by!!!!! You guys make my day every day!!! And of course: Happy New Year!!!

And because it's this time of the year .... I wanna share a little video clip my wonderful and beautiful friend Bonnie (she's one of my blessings in 2008!) just sent me ... about a young man with an extra chromosome who made a difference in this world ....

Charity Gala "Bildung Inklusive"

2008-12-21T18:25:00.006Z

Last Friday I had the pleasure attending the Charity Gala "Bildung Inklusive" in Bad Nauheim that was held to collect donations for the "Sophie-Scholl-Schule" - an inclusive school in Wetterau. Stars like Oliver Pocher (entertainer and comedian), Elton (entertainer and comedian) and Johannes Scherer (radio presenter) did a great show that evening (we laughed our ... off) and showed their big hearts not only donating money themselves, but helping raising lots of money from an amazing audience. The beautiful actress and model Monica Ivancan was the presenter of the gala ... Star comedian Bastian Pastewka was the special surprise guest and Oli P. was singing a few of his best-ofs ...

One of the highlights - especially for me with my pictures running in the background - was certainly Giovanni Zarrella (formerly singer of the band Bro'Sis) and singing his beautiful song "Wundervoll" (Wonderful).

Press the "Play"-Button to start the slideshow:

Music Courtesy of Giovanni Zarrella

Levi

2008-12-16T21:31:00.003Z

This wonderful wonderful family had every reason to be happy that day - it was their son's second birthday ... a reason to just celebrate to the fullest!

This is how I imagine Levi (and every other kid) looking at their Christmas tree - the magic is here!

Haha, I like this one, when he was hiding in his tunnel his mouth full of his favorite cookies

Happy 2nd Birthday, Levi! I feel so very priviledged having been part of his very special day!

Such a cute age!

So he not only got to open all his birthday gifts, but also his Christmas calendar ... (which is a nice custom in Germany)

And while Levi was busy with his Christmas calendar goodies ....

.... I got to photograph his beautiful and AWESOME parents ....

The birthday-happy-dance - very infectious!!!!!

Daddy is the greatest!!!

And the winners are .....

2008-12-14T20:31:00.004Z

Drumroll pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee ......

Here are the three lucky winners of one of my books ....

I know, I know what you're thinking .... there has been some severe major cute factor manipulation ... when Juliana did the drawing tonight. Not only was she thrilled when she saw the picture of Raphael, the cutest boy from the Philippines (YES, THE PHILIPPINES!!!, how awesome is that!!!) It's my new favorite HAPPY picture! I bet Mommy Cheche will be thrilled, too! :-)

The other two lucky winners are my photographer friend Daliah Immel (we met through Xing about three years ago, and I was so fortunate to meet her two times in person ...

and Veronika from Toronta/Canada - who I don't know YET (hopefully this will change one day, thank you very much for your sweet words!)

CONGRATULATIONS to all of you!!!! :-) I love contests!!! There'll be another one soon!

Yep, Christmas is almost there .... and this is where we really spend lots of money, haha (not for Glühwein, what are you thinking!!! :-) ... "Mommy, can I ride the fire engine, again? Pleaseeeeeeeeeee!!!! Sounds familiar to anyone? :-)

Anton and Theo

2008-12-13T14:50:00.002Z

A while ago I had the pleasure in photographing these two adorable cutle little boys: Anton and his baby brother Theo.

While Anton was heavily flirting with my camera and running around in the house and having fun .... Theo didn't feel disturbed at all and had a good sleep :-)

This is my favorite place when it's cold outside like today ...

Love this chair and his happy beautiful smile ...

Außergewöhnlich: Väterglück auf eldoradio

2008-12-11T21:20:00.003Z

Models: Berkan and Gürkan

Wenn Ihr Euch den Beitrag über Außergewöhnlich: Väterglück im Radio anhören wollt, müsst Ihr nur ***HIER KLICKEN***

It's contest time, again!

2008-12-10T10:57:00.005Z

I hope everyone got already into the Christmas spirit, enjoys the good Glühwein (hehe) and is not sick due to heavy overloads of all the delicious Christmas cookies. It's supposed to be a time of peace, love and happiness - hmmm, for my part, I am not sure whether I right now feel more like Mr. Scrooge than Santa Claus, haha. Well, here's certainly my secret little recipe to get into a good mood and forget all the stress: Juliana ....

Juliana, while skyping with her uncle ... she loves and enjoys it so much!

No idea, what he showed her in this picture :-) BTW, she loves this cute little hat, because it was her birthday gift from her beloved friend Anastasia, who she adores and loves to pieces!

Love this one! Because goofyness runs in our family ... I bet my brother was doing his hiding somewhere and then appearing from the side or above on the screen (I should film it, it's hilarious!!!)

Since it's Christmas time, I thought it's about time for another contest. This "little" sign was just a little help so that you don't click away after the last picture, haha.

So, in case you are still looking for an awesome :-) gift (for yourself, one of your loved ones or just a person who you think needs a little eye-(and heart-)opener ;-) .... and you'd love to win one of my books .... just drop me an e-mail and mention the book you wish for (Außergewöhnlich, Schmetterlingszauber or Außergewöhnlich: Väterglück) .... I will announce the THREE lucky winners on Sunday! :-) And sorry, my comment-function still doesn't work - I will come up with a solution sooooon!

Jule und Jonas

2008-12-05T11:13:00.003Z

I instantly fell in love with this beautiful little baby girl .... Jule ... ♥ ... seven months old and cuteness overload. When I looked into her crib the first time, she gave me this BIG smile and dang .... She's already stealing everybody's heart!

She just radiates LOVE and HAPPINESS ... what a gift! She smiled the whole session and was in such a good mood, so I smiled the whole session, too! haha .... Speaking of her infectious smile .... have you read this recent study that HAPPINESS IS CONTAGIOUS?

BTW, her cute hat is, of course, one of Ulli's awesome little creations!!!!

Meet Jonas, Jule's 2-year-old cute little big brother, who loves her to pieces! Too bad we had to shoot inside .... they live in paradise, on a farm and have piglets every three weeks. I want a session with the little piglets - how fun would that be!!!

The next second she started goofying around - love it! Jonas liked it, too!

A little Santa Claus spirit :-) Don't forget to clean and polish your boots alright - wishing you gallons of chocolates!!! haha

Such a handsome little boy!

The cutest Santa Baby ever! Of course, I like her name a lot. Jule is also one of Juliana's nicknames ....

I love this look! Babies make so many funny faces ..... I just wonder what she's thinking here :-)

Mommy is the proudest!!!! And she's got every reason to be!

I could go on an go on and post a gazillion pics more of her in every pose :-)

Maik

2008-12-03T19:47:00.004Z

Last week I got to photograph the cutest 18-month-old .... Maik .... He was in such a good mood .... showing off all his tricks - and toys!

Mister Handsome!

His beautiful Mommy - all over the moon with love and happiness

Artikel im Canon-Magazin "colorshots"

2008-12-03T14:44:00.007Z

In der neuen Ausgabe des CANON-Magazins "colorshots" gibt's einen kleinen ***Artikel*** über mich ... :-)

Livia

2008-11-30T18:47:00.003Z

A couple of weeks ago I had the ultimate pleasure in photographing these two beautiful girls: Newborn Livia and her proud Mommy Louisa ...

So adorable and already so alert!

Louisa, looking absolutely FABULOUS. She's one of those lucky girls who leave the hospital with the same jeans that fit before the pregnancy ...

When I delivered their birth announcement cards I hardly couldn't believe my eyes how much Livia had grown and changed in only a couple of weeks ....

Their most precious Christmas gift ...

Buchlesung in Lauf/Nürnberg FÄLLT LEIDER AUS!

2008-11-28T14:18:00.004Z

Unsere geplante Buchlesung in Lauf a.d.Pegnitz bei Nürnberg MUSS LEIDER AUSFALLEN! Ein neuer Termin (wahrscheinlich Frühjahr 2009) ist noch nicht bekannt .... ich halte Euch natürlich auf dem Laufenden ....

Marie, Lynn & Family

2008-11-26T10:18:00.008Z

Meet Marie, 6 years old and Lynn's beautiful, big sister and my 2008 Christmas Countdown Model (this countdown is purely for myself to remind me how many days I got left for running my Christmas errands - yep, probably meet me Christmas Eve early morning downtown, haha)

We had so much fun! She's got a great personality, too! AWESOME FAMILY!

Daddy is KING! His three girls LOVE him!

And he ENJOYS it!

Such a great couple: Andreas and Katja

I should send this picture to Men's Health! :-)

When I need a motivation boost, I only need to talk to Katja. She's got a great attitude and is so full of energy - all for her kids. For her inclusive school project she's organizing a big Charity Gala to raise fonds and AWARENESS! And she's the right person for that. She could convince you that you need at least 5 vacuum cleaners - all in a different color - and you'd buy them in an instant, I swear! :-)

Before I show you my favorite family pics, I gotta tell you my funniest shooting story ever: After we had coffee (and lots of apple juice ... in the café) we looked for a quiet place in the hallway to take the pics. We found it, and Katja even found a quiet and non-visited spot around the corner where she could change (she brought several outfits). Her spot even had a nice dark mirror between the stone walls, where she looked into several times, combing her hair, checking her looks and getting changed in front of this mirror several times. All of a sudden and to our great surprise and shock, this mirror openend and behind it was a conference room where a beamer presentation was held. You should have seen Katja's face when she looked at all these people who were sitting there and looking at Katja. This was the first time I saw Katja absolutely speechless. I have no clue what presentation took place in this room, but I am 100 % sure they all missed it and only looked at beautiful Katja! :-)

Lynn Suna

2008-11-25T10:51:00.006Z

She's only 3 years old, but has already got some great personality ... And she's stealing everybody's heart in an instant: beautiful Lynn ... ♥ ... and Mommy in LOVE

I love the symbolic in this picture .... just as if she'd know. Lynn has changed the life of her parents a great deal ... Her mother Katja (and of course Daddy!) is putting all her energy (and boy, she's got some GREAT energy!!!) in founding an inclusive elementary school ... For more information ***CLICK HERE***

Such a BEAUTY!!!!

She could teach us some self-confidence!!!

Always flirting with DADDY .... To me, she seems more like a six-year-old, she was so cooperative, she's a PRO! ..... More pics of this wonderful family coming soooooon! :-)

She's so much fun!!!!

Can you tell this is her favorite pose, haha!

Skype addict Juliana

2008-11-24T22:49:00.003Z

My daughter is a skype addict. Well, I can't blame her. Seeing her beloved Uncle Markus and Auntie Suzie on the screen although they are miles and miles away ... that's absolutely cool for her. Skyping with a dog is even cooler :-) Meet Dizzy, Suzie's cool dog - Juliana LOVES, which we would just love to meet, but she can't bring him on Christmas, because dogs need to be quarantined for at least six months. Good thing there's skype ...:-)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUZIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We're counting the days you're coming!!!!

See you guys Thursday on Skype - showing off your Turkey, haha.

Marlene and Mathilda

2008-11-23T22:30:00.004Z

It's this time of the year ... already, ugh! Jingle Bells craziness all over {me}! I guess, it's about time for another post ;-) ... I shot these three beautiful girls a few weeks ago ...

Meet adorable 3-year-old Marlene ... she had so much fun at the session ...

Having fun with her beautiful Mommy ... Happiness overload!

Then ... her beautiful little baby sister Mathilda woke up from her morning nap ... She was immediately in a good mood and just smiled from one ear to her other ...

The two (9-month-olds do so know what they want, haha!) girls wanted a tutu session ...

Look at her cute hair and the toe

LOVE

Stella and Joel

2008-11-15T17:29:00.003Z

I almost fell off my chair when I saw her coming in .... Our last session was exactly two years ago ... and ***THIS IS*** how I remember her ... now she's a big BEAUTIFUL girl who just celebrated her second b-day ....

So darn cute ... in her christmassy outfit :-)

And she posed in every way I suggested .... normally I am more like on a safari with two-year-olds, chasing them around and capturing them as they are in the "wild" :-)

Her fabulous looking Mommy .... and the RED wall I love so much!

Remember her super handsome brother Joel? He turned seven in April and enjoys going to school. He had so much fun having his pictures taken for Christmas ...

The Wall!

If I need ever to look for cute models again - he'll be definitely on my list! Such a great poser!

A little b-day sum up

2008-11-14T21:17:00.004Z

Looking at these two shots I just realized what a big girl I have already!

At times she was quite overwhelmed, but HAPPY ... I bet she could party on forever ...

We had a big birthday party yesterday and celebrated to the fullest ... She so much enjoyed being the centre of attention and having her beloved friends over.

Here's a little sum up :-)

10 fun games and sweets in everybody's bag at least ;-)
9 awesome birthday guests
8 Martini needed for me to relax and calm down again ;-)
7 years of blessing
6 times 20 felt decibel of noise
5 gifts of Lillifee
4 girls with the little extra
3 delicious cakes
2 friends from school
1 boy (yep, Nicolas was allowed to stay, haha)

Her own fairy tale

2008-11-12T11:51:00.004Z

Tomorrow she'll be SEVEN - I can't believe it!!! Yep, she's no longer my little baby, but my big school girl. And she knows exactly what she wants ... "Girls only!" for her birthday party - poor Nicolas! I hope he'll be let in, too. ;-) And she wants to play the violin so badly ... (remember: aim high!) ... I will check on that ... she still has tiny little hands ... does anyone have experience with that?

Just absolutely on time she received the neatest gift from her awesome friends Luke (he's her American penpal) and his super cute little brother Reid - can you tell how happy she is?! Poor Aunt Suzie will have to read this book over and over to her when she comes on Christmas :-)

S E V E N !!!

In case you're still looking for an awesome Birthday or Christmas gift .... you gotta check "I see me" - they do personalized gifts for children - I love it!

Ok, I am off preparing 27 muffins for her class ... more muffins for her party and the BIG cake - so you won't hear from me in a great while, hehe. Life is busy.

Lara and Niklas

2008-11-07T22:19:00.004Z

In my latest stream of photographing twins .... meet Lara and Niklas .... heartbreakers and total troopers!

What an infectious smile!

Curious? :-)

Just a few days prior to our shooting Niklas fell really bad and lost his front tooth ... Well, the fall sort of upgraded him to a six-year-old, at least that was my thought when I first met him.

Their Mommy is as fun as they are!

Elisabeth

2008-11-05T16:19:00.002Z

I love catching up with my models ... I can't believe Elisabeth just turned one. Last year I had a neat maternity session with her Mommy, than I took Elisabeth' newborn pics ... now she's one ... and tomorrow she leaves school, hehe. Time just flies way too quickly!

She has the most beautiful eyes and the cutest smile!!!

Anna

2008-11-04T21:33:00.003Z

What a beautiful and HAPPY baby girl. Meet 5-month-old Anna. I just love CHUBBY babies.

She has the greatest aunts who gave her the coolest gifts, like these beautiful letters ....

... or this beautiful hat .... which Mommy lOVES ...

Her first teeth are almost there ... She did so well throughout the whole session ...

Same pose with her beautiful Mommy Julia ...

I'd give a penny for her thoughts! :-)

David and Jamie

2008-10-31T22:00:00.004Z

Almost exactly a year ago I had the pleasure in photographing these adorable twins: David and Jamie who just turned two this month.

David .... soccer addict

Jamie .... heartbreaker

Our session was so much fun - these boys rocked it!

Well, our session is probably best described as a big hunt - for me! :-)

Ein außergewöhnlicher Knüller

2008-10-29T16:03:00.004Z

Cora Halder vom Deutschen Down-Syndrom InfoCenter und die begnadete Journalistin Dorothea Wolf-Stiegemayer hatten die geniale Idee, dass Doro Zachmann (Autorin von "Bin Knüller") und ich eine gemeinsame Bücherpräsentation veranstalten. Darauf freue ich mich jetzt schon riesig! Und ich freue mich, dass Sandra und Christian (aus Väterglück) auch kommen und ihre Geschichte lesen werden.

Kleines Trostpflaster für alle, die nicht im Süden wohnen, aber auch gerne kommen würden. Doro und ich werden nächstes Jahr unsere außergewöhnliche Knüller-Buchlesung in Bielefeld geben - weitere Infos dazu gibt's demnächst hier.

Freya

2008-10-28T18:52:00.003Z

Today I fell in love with this little girl: Two-year-old Freya ... cute as cute can be! She enjoyed her hot chocolate ....

... and our YUMMY breakfast ....

Well, since my comment-function is still down, it does probably make no sense in starting a little contest guessing with which two awesome Bavarian photographer friends I hang out today in Munich again. A little hint: one girl is from Augsburg and the other one loves to drown her roll in her cappuccino, hehe. Just kidding ... but Freya got a huge kick out of that when it happened to Mommy! :-) Ok - another hint: from whom has Freya inherited all her beauty? :-)

This shot is for me ... yep, life is good! But you can tell that it was all DARK and rainy today ... tomorrow we'll even have snow!!!

Kerstin .... and Georg

2008-10-26T20:23:00.004Z

Last week I had the pleasure of shooting this beautiful model ...

Another pleasure was having my old buddy George (Nikonian, South America expert and Latte Macchiato-addict) as a second shooter ;-) .... Poor Kerstin was trapped over one and a half hours in a traffic jam before she came to our shoot .... so George and I were goofying around with Photo Booth (I know, I know ... it's old, but I do still get a kick out of it, haha).

And I very much enjoyed his awesome pics from his latest South America trip ....

Marieke and Marleen

2008-10-23T20:52:00.002Z

Paulina and Quintin have the most beautiful older sisters/babysitters/entertainers you can wish for .... This is Marleen ... six years old and proud to be a first-grader ... Marieke is already in third-grade and had her first French Assignment today - so proud of her!

Mit den Augen der Liebe

2008-10-23T20:35:00.005Z

In der Oktoberausgabe des Magazins "Neues Leben" geht es um das Thema Schönheit ...

Ich habe mich riesig gefreut, dort die wunderschönen kleinen und großen Hauptdarsteller meines Buches Außergewöhnlich: Väterglück auch wiedergefunden zu haben ... ***SEITE 30*** und ***SEITE 31*** des Magazins ...

Houston, we have a problem!

2008-10-23T18:53:00.004Z

A little bit of old school photography for a change? :-) I took this picture of Nicolas almost six months ago when he put on my glasses ... ok, I added the sleek hairstyle. So this morning (poor little man is home sick with the stomach flu) I showed him this picture to cheer him up a little bit. He didn't recognize himself and insisted that it's definitely not him ... "because I don't look like a pirate."

Some of you (thanks Nina for letting me know early this morning) might have noticed that my comment line has mysterically disappeared. And luckily Ulli is THE Blogger expert by now and told me on the phone that Blogger has changed its comment design last night ... so I guess I have made too many CSS-changes in the past with my really old blog that it didn't accept the new changes or that's simply their revenge for my looooong posts, hehe ... I am screwed!!!! I don't seem to be able to fix the problem (what is CSS anyway? ;-) ... so pleeeease once in a while send me some feedback, drop me an e-mail - I LOVE it - I NEED it :-) I'd be so HAPPY!!!!!! Thank you!!!!

Paulina and Quintin

2008-10-22T20:38:00.003Z

Remember these beautiful twins? I photographed them, when they were three months old ... now they are 20 months old, and I really didn't recognize them again! Ok, how would you possibly recognize them ... because one and a half years ago I took the shot the other way round, haha. This only happens to me! So please enjoy the very high-key reverse shot :-)

What's really funny is that within a week I shot three pairs of twins, such a coincidence!

Paulina ...

She knows exactly what she wants ;-)

Quintin

They wear the most adorable hats - which made it quite easy for me to differentiate them :-) Twins run in their family ... their Dad has a twin sister ...

Their beautiful Mommy - almost 40 and looking FABULOUS!

♥ Happy 18th Anniversary Sandra and Christian

2008-10-20T20:07:00.005Z

Remember this cutie? Jan ... ♥ ... almost 4 years old and Mister Heartbreaker! Jan and his Dad Christian are in my book Außergewöhnlich: Väterglück. This picture - with his beautiful Mommy Sandra - just breaks my heart ... that's LOVE!

See where the beauty comes from ....

I bet you guys will not recognize this little princess - Jan's 9-month-old sister Johanna. ***THAT'S*** her 8 days old :-)

Happy 18th Anniversary, Sandra and Christian!!!!! When they got together 18 years ago and so young, some people were sure this love would not last long .... Well, they proved them wrong!

Chen

2008-10-20T18:58:00.003Z

A little Headshot-Session for a change ... Meet Chen, 26 years old and the most beautiful and amazing Au-Pair-Girl ever! Only too bad she's not our Au-pair! :-( I'd hire her in an instant! My kids would LOVE her, that's for sure! Her language skills are amazing. She only had a 4-month-intense course in China ... and now she speaks German fluently ...

Sindy and Phil

2008-10-16T18:48:00.005Z

With this huge post I will make up for a week long not posting, hehe (good excuse for Mrs. Always-Long-Posts, isn't it! :-)

I had the ultimate pleasure of shooting this awesome couple: Sindy and Phil. They are so much fun to hang out with. I love the story how they met. They were both looking for an apartment in Las Vegas. Phil (from Michigan) wanted to move into the apartment next door to his buddies ... but Sindy was faster ... and took over the apartment. To cut a long great love story short ... only a few months later, Sindy moved again ... and since then they have the same key :-)

Phil gave everything at our shoot :-) I always love long shutter speeds ...

Sindy ... looking GORGEOUS

I am so envious - they took a six-months-sabbatical and just returned from their awesome trip around the world - LIVE LIFE!!!

Almost obligatory for me to take a close-up shot of his Chucks :-)

Such a beautiful couple - inside and out

They love our German Champagne ... and did a little dancing ...

Sindy reminds me of a German actress, but I can't think of her name -anyone help, please! :-)

Sindy had no idea that Phil was goofying around behind her back which made me crack up

Phil's awesome hat is multi-functional ... Frisbee ...

... and Volley-ball

Driver wanted! :-)

I might not post for another week ... still recovering from the flu ...and so very behind with everything ....

Karla und Jakob

2008-10-09T19:18:00.005Z

We had our first photo session exactly a year ago, when Karla started school ... Now it was Jakob's turn (he's so proud to be in first grade) ... of course I took pictures of both again :-) Such two adorable kids and so much fun to hang out with! We had a blast that afternoon ...

Mister Handsome!

I guess there's a little Michael Schumacher in every little boy, isn't it? :-)

Such a little beauty ...

Hello Miss Kitty!

Can you tell how proud he is showing me his pumpkin - Halloween is just around the corner!

Trying to get a "Mommy"-shot .... :-)

More goofying around ...

Yes ... here's the "Mommy"shot! :-)

Nina Kleist

2008-10-06T18:53:00.002Z

Another highlight on my trip to Hamburg was definitely meeting the fabulous and very beautiful photographer Nina Kleist. Since my program was very tight at the symposium, we had to meet early in the morning which translates into: Starbucks had not open yet ;-) Nina is such a fun and very kind person ... time flew by way too quickly .... (don't you worry, we found a nice little Italian café where they served real authentic Italian coffee :-)

DS-Symposium in Hamburg

2008-10-05T20:06:00.005Z

I just got back from the Down Syndrome "Symposium" in Hamburg - highly motivated and inspired and feeling very fortunate having met so many wonderful people - with and without the something extra. Believe it or not, but I hardly took pictures ;-) ... there was so much going on ... and I was rushing from one speech to the other. Here are only a few of my highlights :-) ....

My highlights were ....

... my five-hour-train-ride with my dear friend Sophie (aka Sophie from Außergewöhnlich)

.... Sophie writing love letters :-)

.... Sophie's one-way-ticket for Barni

.... meeting my buddy Dennis (aka Dennis from Außergewöhnlich: Väterglück) again (he lives way too far away from Stuttgart!)

.... hanging out with Dennis all the time ....

.... watching Dennis signing autographs :-) (He was so so so proud!!!)

..... watching Martina Zilske and her beautiful and very talented girls in concert

.... the outstanding performance "Die Anderen" of "tanzwerk bremen" (an inclusive dance group of 25 young people between the age of 10 and 20)

..... meeting the uber talented Patricia Netti - a 20-year-old artist (she is painting the most wonderful nude portraits I've ever seen) and the very inspiring and motivating Ines Boban and Prof. Dr. Andreas Hinz

.... celebrating the birthday of my wonderful friend Birgitta (aka known of the wife and Mommy of Markus and Màxima from Außergewöhnlich: Väterglück) ..... This is Birgitta's Mai Tai ... and Dennis in the background who just doesn't like any sort of fire or fireworks ....

.... hanging out with these two beautiful kiddos: Charlotte and Frederik (aka Frederik from Außergewöhnlich:Väterglück)

.... meeting these beautiful ladies (again): Steffi (totally excited when she discovered Alex' sweet girls), Kerstin, and Alex (with her new cool hairdo ... aka wife and Mommy of Michael and Lisa and Laura from Außergewöhnlich: Väterglück). It was so good hanging out with you girls!!!!! But don't you dare making me jealous again with your Starbucks stories!!!!! :-)

..... having fun on the dancefloor with these awesome girls (on the right you see a pretty wild dance of Sophie and Patricia)

.... meeting and listening to Prof. Dr. Rodolfo Castillo Morales ....

..... and attending his amazing workshop, where he gave hands-on-examples and a lot of very precious insights ....

My last but most wonderful highlight was certainly when my hubby and my kids picked me up from the station this evening - cause I missed them A LOT!!!

One of these afternoons

2008-10-01T20:57:00.003Z

Almost off to Hamburg (who else is going to the "Fachtagung Down-Syndrom"???) ... I thought I give you a little insight in the total craziness that we have when my kids hang out with their best friends. Recognize Anastasia and Stefan from my book Außergewöhnlich: Väterglück? According to Juliana is Anastasia her little goddess! I remember (as if it'd be years ago, haha) when they were in kindergarten, Juliana always caught heck from the teacher, because she was cuddling up to Anastasia and gave her a gazillion kisses :)
Nefeli and Nicolas (two three-year-old troopers) know already that they wanna get married ... The cute little guy in this picture is the girls' little brother Loukas (almost two) ... Stefan (a cool stay-at-home-Dad) lost approximately 10 lbs. that afternoon, cause he had to play airplane with all five kids - again and again and again :-) Here you see Juliana's turn ...

Elenia und Pascal

2008-09-29T09:02:00.003Z

This 9-year-old little big guy has the most contagious smile - ever, ever, ever! This photo session was a wedding gift (such a neat idea!!! :) from his Uncle Christian. When Christian called me he said: "You will recognize my nephew Pascal immediately - he looks like "Michel aus Lönneberga (Original: Emil i Lönneberga/Astrid Lindgren, a Swedish cult series)" and he's also as much fun as Michel" :) ... so when I first saw him, I had such a big smile on my face and it felt like I'd known him forever ...

Since five months Pascal is the proud big brother of this beautiful baby girl

He LOVES snuggling with Elenia

.... and as you can tell she enjoys it, too!

This awesome blanket is multifunctional - we did it the other way round :)

Proud Daddy

Proud Mommy

Such a beautiful family

Kerstin and Alexander just got married two weeks ago: Congratulations again!!!

Surprise shot for Alex who queued quite a while to get us good coffee :)

Pascal is FUN PURE! I so hope to meet him again! He immediately conquered my heart!

Ok, I get a good laugh out of this shot. He just gave everything at the shoot :)

"The smallest moments ...

2008-09-28T19:04:00.003Z

... can have the biggest impact on a child" - Love this commercial ... Hope this starts your week with a giggle :)

Thank you, Rainer! You did great today on TV! Here's to all the cool Dads in this world!!!

Happy 20th Anniversary!

2008-09-26T20:09:00.003Z

Can you believe these guys have been married for 20 years now? Well, I can't! But I also can't believe that Avalon (their eldest son and my hero) turned 19 this year. I feel so priviledged being their friend, having been part of their big Anniversary ... and doing their awesome anniversary shoot.

Here are a few outtakes of our shoot - a little surprise for Rhonda and Joe who only know the slideshow with their pics on my Wedding Site (absolutely DON'T MISS THEM! :-)

FOURTY AND FABULOUS! It's true what they say: the fourties are the new thirties! So if you're in your fourties - just be HAPPY! If you're 30 something - there's nothing to worry about - enjoy life cause you can look forward to the big 4 - 0 ... and if you're in your twenties the world is at your doorstep - being forty is GREAT! These guys speak for themselves, don't they!

That was them 20 years ago ... young, beautiful, innocent and in love

20 years later ... still young, beautiful and in love ... and wise! Happy 20th Anniversary! You guys mean a lot to me!

Rainer Kollberg bei Bettina Böttinger

2008-09-24T19:44:00.002Z

Ungefähr so begeistert und voller Stolz wird der kleine Timmi am Sonntagmorgen um 11:00 Uhr vor dem Fernseher sitzen, wenn er seinen Papa Rainer in der WDR-Talkshow WestART am Sonntag sieht :-) Thema der Sendung: Nobody's perfect - Denn was ist schon normal? Nähere Infos zur Sendung und den Talk-Gästen findet Ihr ***HIER***

Väterglück in der Presse

2008-09-24T19:00:00.005Z

Wenn Ihr Euch diese Woche - wie gewohnt - die Zeitschrift "Echo der Frau" anschaut ;-), dann findet Ihr auf Seite 20 diesen Artikel über Außergewöhnlich: Väterglück ... Spaß beiseite .... ich freue mich natürlich, dass mal eine ganz andere Zielgruppe mit unserem Thema angesprochen wird ...

Annika

2008-09-23T20:20:00.003Z

More pics from the pink room :) These two rock! Having so much fun!

Then Annika dressed up ... Now you understand why Yannik snuck away :) She just looks adorable! And she loves her big unicorn (Juliana would be so jealous :)

They had tea time, too!

Look how thrilled she was wearing one of Ulli's amazing creations. She told me all about last Friday and how cool it was hanging out with Marina ...

Little beauty

Then Yannik came back ... :)

Five-year-olds LOVE to dress up!

They are so fortunate to have each other ...

"Boing!"

Look at her gorgeous self-portrait - such a little artist!

So cute how she concentrates on her jump - perfection! :)

Meet Paula - her cute rabbit

And just to make you all jealous .... here's Yannik spoiling me with a DELICIOUS pizza :)

Yannik

2008-09-23T09:23:00.005Z

Recognize these two? We tried the classic "as time goes by with Petra and Yannik" pictures :-) Five and a half years ago I took the pictures for Außergewöhnlich ... Yannik was cute as cute can be ... ♥ ... Now he'll be 10 in January, will be gone for a week next week on a school trip (he's so excited!) ... such a big boy ... and "handsome" and "cool" replaced "cute" (Yes, dare to call an almost 10-year-old cute, haha)

The fun-and-action-part in the family still falls in his department :)

He loves playing soccer and is so darn good at it!

Mister Handsome!

"Does my hair still look cool?" YEP, it does!! :)

No more paparazza pics, hehe!

While I was shooting his adorable little sister Annika in her awesome PINK room (love it!!!), he snuck away ... booted his computer ...

... and played "Die Wilden Kerle" - his favorite game ...

L ♥ O ♥ V ♥ E .... more of Annika coming soon :)

The cutest Starbucks guest

2008-09-21T20:16:00.003Z

Tomorrow, Jolina will be in the hospital again for her last chemotherapy treatment. AML-patients with Down Syndrome have a high cure rate ... that is really good news ... so please keep your fingers crossed once again. Of course, before her stay we had to have the GOOD coffee :-) ... and I volunteered to be Sandra's personal Starbucks delivery service in case she will be in urgent need in the next three days of their stay :) Oh, I almost forgot to mention that Jolina just celebrated her 3rd birthday this week - here's to you little birthday girl!

Sipping Daddy's Caramel Latte - look at her cute milk beard :)

This little princess is always in a good mood and off to explore new things ...

While Daddy and Jolina shared his coffee :) .... Sandra and I studied this little inspirational story of hope called "A gift called Michelle" (thank you Bonnie!!!). Michelle has been given Glyconutritional dietary supplements and according to her Mom it not only boosted her immune system, but had some other amazing effects. Of course, that sounds very interesting and I am wondering, if anyone knows more about these Glyconutrients or has even tried them. I would love to get an e-mail on this topic to learn more about it.

I love Sandra's cute "shy" look

Family Portrait

2008-09-19T15:38:00.014Z

I immediately fell in love with this beautiful family ... here's why ....

Love, how the kids do their funny photo faces :-)

Daddy is the coolest!!!! So much fun to hang out with!

Bonnie is so much fun - I love it when she cracks up, which - in fact - she did a lot! Happy Family!

Now you know why their kids are so gorgeous ...

Tom

2008-09-19T15:38:00.006Z

Meet Anouk's adorable little brother ... Tom ... ♥ ... only 16 months old and already a rock star!

He's everybody's darling: Daddy's ... Anouk's ... and Mommy's ....

Love his sceptical look in this picture that lasted maybe only 1/60 of a second ;-)

And just in case you're wondering what beautiful necklaces the whole family is wearing ... Mommy Bonnie is such a gifted artist. If you're looking for an awesome gift for somebody you love or care for a lot ... her beautiful "Guardian Angels" are still an insider tip! ***HERE*** you'll find more information ... Go for it!

His cute shirt reads "I believe in me" ... and Mommy's shirt reads "I believe in children" - so neat!

Juliana used to do the same thing when she was Tom's age ... Mommy's beautiful face is the best!

More of this AWESOME family coming pretty soon! What touched me the most was that they recently celebrated Tom's baptism ... and gave every guest my book "Außergewöhnlich: Väterglück" - how neat is that!

Anouk

2008-09-17T20:30:00.003Z

Pretty name ... pretty girl: Anouk ... 8 years old and so much fun!

She was just up for everything - of course I LOVED her pink Gap-Outfit!

Such a little beauty!

More pics of her adorable little brother and her parents coming soon (warning: sounds like another overload, hehe)

Juliana's first day in school

2008-09-13T23:37:00.000Z

Today was Juliana's big day - a big day for all of us. A new milestone. And whereas I didn't really sleep well the last two nights, Juliana was full of excitement and joy. She's so ready for school, I can't tell you ... it's good. I don't really have "official" pics ... and I can't wait until I'll get the pics of the official school photographer. So it was kinda nice, leaving the camera in my bag and "enjoying" the day ... Okay, I took a few :-)

Yep, it was raining this morning, which didn't bother Juliana at all, so she can use her favorite umbrella :-)

While all first-graders were taking their first class .... their fan community was invited for Champagne and the speech of the school director. Of course, we were all very excited and wanted to catch a glimpse of what our "babies" are doing :-) Here's my glimpse ...

We were not supposed to disturb them and had to just leave them in their classroom. Of course, we couldn't resist ... and when she saw us getting a glimpse of her behind the curtain, she got all excited. Luckily, we didn't get busted :-)

Meet Janina ... ♥ ... Juliana's old kindergarten and new school friend. The two of them will keep the chromosomal average a little bit over 46 in their class :-)

They were so exciting catching a glimpse of their class, too.

I like the symbolic in this picture: Solveig (Janina's mother) and I glimpsing through the keyhole spotting Janina :-)

My HAPPY big school girl!

Juliana and her beloved, beautiful Godmother Doro, who ....

... gave her a neat schoolbag (now she has four - my lucky girl!) with lots of fun stuff in it, including an awesome little girls' cosmetic bag - that will be fun for sure!

Of course a shot with happy Mommy :-)

Lara-Sophie

2008-09-11T14:03:00.004Z

Here she is: super princess Lara-Sophie ... ♥ ... who just turned 5 on Monday (yep, her brother Leon and she have the same b-day ... Mommy is still recovering from the big party :)

I suppose the Dads are always responsible for the fun part :)

Daddy's girl! Seeing him so proud ... just melts your heart ...

When Sven says "Give Daddy a kiss" ... it doesn't take long ... then she embraces him with her cute little arms (that's the best part) ... and simply enjoys it

You can tell very much that she has two older brothers who love soccer ... she's quite the little soccer queen herself - really good!

Everybody who has a daughter this age is probably very familiar with this expression - at least I am!

Mommy in LOVE! Lara-Sophie just had her second successful heart surgery and stole just everybody's heart in the Heart Clinic of Saint Augustin ...

I wanted a picture of her huge hazelnut-brown eyes .... (when she laughs you can't really tell) ... but oops, on this picture she almost looks in her teens (I will run a comparison on our photo shoot ten years later ;-)

Happy beautiful Mommy ...

Niklas and Leon

2008-09-11T09:11:00.004Z

Loooooong post for Nadine :-) I LOVE her boys!!! Niklas (almost 10) and Leon (who just turned 8 last Monday). We had such a blast!

We had already a session last October. This time, Niklas was totally into posing ... he came up with all sorts of ideas ....

OMG they swang so high, I almost thought they would fall of the swing :)

Brothers!

They had so much fun teasing each other

Leon

Another one of Niklas' ideas :)

Leon showing off the result of the afternoon :)

Leon and Hanni (I bet Nadine and Nora not only had 'loads' of fun, but loads of machine wash :)

Wanna know why Leon just cracked up ....

While his big brother was "posing" all the time, he snuck up from behind with the angel wings and held them behind his back.

This is so them! :) Such a wonderful family! More of the little princess of the family coming sooooon!

Love Quilts

2008-09-10T09:37:00.004Z

Da staunte Juliana aber nicht schlecht, als sie das riesen Paket mit diesem wunderschönen Quilt bekam. Kinderlächeln trifft es da nicht ganz, vielmehr: sie ist SUPER SUPER HAPPY, STRAHLTE über das ganze Gesicht und der Quilt hat bereits einen Ehrenplatz auf ihrem Bett ... bzw. gestern Nachmittag durfte bzw. musste er mit zu unserem kleinen Picknick auf den Spielplatz.

Danke danke danke und nochmals danke dem tollen, kreativen und äußerst begabten Team von Love Quilts - Sticken für ein Kinderlächeln!!! Ihr habt uns so eine große Freude bereitet!!! Sogar Nicolas kam nicht zu kurz. Für ihn gab's Bob der Baumeister ganz groß mit richtiger Taschenlampe und wunderschöne selbstgestrickte Hausschuhe (die sich übrigens Juliana - sie hat einen Schuhtick!!!!! - sofort unter den Nagel gerissen hat) .. die vielen Gummibärchen nicht zu vergessen :-). Über die vielen lieben Briefe und Karten habe ich mich ganz besonders gefreut - tausend Dank!!!

Jede Stickerin hat ein Motiv aufgegriffen, das mit Juliana zu tun hat: Ballett, Prinzessin, Schmetterlinge, Einhorn (immer noch ihr Lieblingskuscheltier von Alex :-)

So viele schöne kleine Details. Sogar auf der Rückseite in Anlehnung an mein Buch Schmetterlingszauber drei kleine Schmetterlinge in meinen Lieblingsfarben

Olivia and Elias

2008-09-09T20:33:00.006Z

When she talks about her adorable, cute little son Elias ... ♥ ... 21 months old ... she's radiating love and happiness ... beautiful Olivia, Mommy of two ...

That's her little super star ... I SO LOVE his hairstyle!

And this is Letizia, the picture-shy cute big 7-year-old sister of Elias :)

On the guest list!

2008-09-09T19:13:00.005Z

You betcha that he's always on the guest list: best brother, coolest playmate, most handsome son-in-law (my application is already sent in!:), cutest nephew and adorable son ... Gabriel ... ♥

Mommy in love

I am SO sure that he got from Daddy what he has asked for!!! :)

Bernadette

2008-09-09T18:13:00.006Z

Their hip and beautiful Aunt Berni deserves an extra post :) She was the one who treated her sister with this photo session for her birthday! ... Ok, I am almost done with the Vienna session :)

There's beauty in everything ... even a rainy afternoon!

Johanna und Sebastian

2008-09-09T12:04:00.003Z

Gabriel has the most awesome sister (7) and brother (9) .... I just could publish posts on this family forever :)

At the end of our session ... :)

He had some good laughs!

A little wrestling ...

Plain clean ... opposite to his lil' sister ...

Hanni LOVED LOVED LOVED the rain!

She even drank it!

Nora and Bernadette

2008-09-09T10:24:00.003Z

Nora and Bernadette - two incredible fun sisters! They deserve an extra post! :)

I bet it's nice for everybody who know darling Nora from Blogworld to actually see a/her beautiful face behind the name Happy Arts ...

Family Portrait

2008-09-08T19:35:00.005Z

Ok, I am totally being silly here (which, of course, I am normally not!!! ;-), but it's this family's fault! They are just way too hilarious! And were so much fun to hang out with .... You can't even tell it's raining here, can you?

I guess, I can't leave you with that :) Here's more of this fun family ...

My job is DANGEROUS! :)

This one is my favorite!

Another chaotic one: family of five and two HUGE raindrops on my lens :)

Maximilian

2008-09-08T18:02:00.004Z

Last Saturday, a few more cute guys were spotted ... meet Maximilian ... ♥ , almost 7 years old ... and so much fun!

Chimping ... I bet he took some great pics, looks like such a pro!

Swen, der verschmuste Pirat

2008-09-07T19:10:00.004Z

Meet "Swen, the cuddly pirat". This pirat is for all young (and old) pirates who still love to cuddle and snuggle .. and who want something else than mainstream ... or are just looking for a neat gift. The pirat is the beautiful work of Manati-Mum and can be ordered at DaWanda's - Products with Love. Go for it!

There couldn't be any cuter boy modelling for Swen than Gabriel .... ♥ ... 6 years old .... There will be more pics of him shortly :)

Artikel in Fellbacher Zeitung

2008-09-07T19:03:00.002Z

Simone und ich waren diese Woche in der Fellbacher Zeitung, um die Bilder unserer 46PLUS-Wanderausstellung dort aufzuhängen. Die Ausstellung ist dort bis Ende Oktober zu sehen - Es lohnt sich! :-)

The dress and the hat

2008-09-04T10:02:00.003Z

My last vacay post (yes!) is thankfully dedicated to the very talented and creative Ulli .... and Juliana's cowboy hat who survived its second summer on the beach :)

Rainbow polish

2008-09-04T09:28:00.005Z

I just LOVE kids' little feet ... and sure enough I think my daughter has the cutest of all :) Her feet are still très petite and chubby ... Her nail polish is inspired by her kindergarten friend Sky (what an awesome name!) ...

Nicolas was totally fascinated by this rainbow version :)

When I looked at my vacay pics, I realized I had shot her feet just about everywhere ... :)

On the street ...

At the pool ...

On the beach ...

And even during her nap :)

Ok, you're almost relieved from my gazillion vacay pics, only one post left ... otherwise you will long for snow and winter to come soon, haha.

The white dress

2008-09-03T20:08:00.005Z

Since "trashing the dress" gets more and more popular :) ... I thought I could do such a session with Juliana on the beach where I would have the perfect background, light etc. etc. Juliana got this beautiful dress from the Brentwood girls (can you imagine how darling they must have looked in it as flower girls?) and Nicole assured me that it's such a thankful dress and even an easy machine wash .... So I was so much looking forward to this session (Zaven even brought his white shirt and white pants to be photographed with Juliana ...) ...

... but NOPE, my little girl wouldn't do it. Of course not!!! What the heck was I thinking???? I must have totally confused her by saying: "Honey, it's totally ok to get that dress wet and dirty." She gave me this look and I still feel so bad about it. I am such a dork!

Digged in

2008-09-02T20:04:00.003Z

I like this candid shot of Tony shooting Zaven and Deb at the beach ...

When he was born I had tons of pictures of him as my desktop background - such a cutie!

While my wonderful friend Rhonda - looking fabulous as always - and I were hanging out forever at the beach bar (bar = café in Italy ;-) chatting chatting chatting .... and enjoying the GOOD cappuccino ...

... and looking fabulous ....

... poor Zaven was waiting forever in this position for us to come back to see his funny surprise :-)

The grand escape ...

... and a good wash :-)

Tony, it was so good seeing you again. Hope you guys made it home to WA alright and don't forget our plan to surprise Avalon when you come back :)

Bello Nicola

2008-09-02T17:57:00.004Z

One of the million things I love about Italy is their plastic playgrounds for kids. We were so lucky having their favorite playground right in front of our favorite beach café ... Again, life is good!

At the moment, playing puzzle is Nicolas' favorite thing to do

You don't really wanna go to Italy in August. It's super hot and super crowded. In case you can't avoid going there in August, I've got a sure fire tip for you how to get the beach empty: Buy your kids these pistols who make wonderful and huge bubbles. And they make an awful noise - loud, very loud, so make sure to also bring your iPod.

As you can see in this picture, Nicolas successfully emptied the beach :-)

Everything comes in two's :-)

At age 3, running around naked in the hallway is still sort of okay :-)

Every night my two wild ones were jumping up and down their bed (I am pretty sure they had to renew the mattress after we left ;-( .... here they catch their breath ... and yes, love each other!

Nicolas loves to play the tickle monster :-)

"I wonder what is she reading over there?"

Contrary to the gazillion times of Juliana, Nicolas didn't ask a single time "Are we there yet?" He behaved so well in the car - good boy!!!

Roadmap to Holland

2008-09-02T10:17:00.003Z

Jennifer's wonderful book "Roadmap to Holland" was my vacay reading in Italy. So while I was reading, and enjoying my cappuccino (of course!) ... I spotted our Italian Roadmap next to me on the table ... and I just loved the play on words here. Ok, this is probably only for "Welcome-to-Holland-Insider" ... but I thought it's kinda funny being here in Italy with the Roadmap to Holland :-).

Jennifer's book is definitely a must-read! It's a beautifully written memoir about how life's challenges can morph into life's greatest joys (Jennifer has twin boys: Avery has Down Syndrome, Bennett does not ... a few weeks ago the boys just celebrated their 5th birthday).

Fashionista, part I

2008-09-01T21:35:00.004Z

Part I, because I am pretty sure there'll be more pics to come of my little fashionista, once I get a chance to look at the rest of my pictures :)

Juliana sunbathing at the pool ... This little girl just makes me crack up!

While nobody was watching her ... she discovered Grandma's curlers and put them in like this all by herself :)

She always enjoys her shadow

Ditto .... and hey, I guess this is probably the only picture of me in Italy :( (a photographer's tragic!)

I like this picture, wanna know why? Juliana has a HUGE tummy due to her hypotonia, but when she laughs (or cries), the tummy is FLAT - like in this picture :)

Such a goofball!

On her catwalk :)

She finally took her boots off .... cooling her legs :)

Autogrill

2008-09-01T21:22:00.004Z

Ok, I don't even know why I post this .... browsing through all my vacay pics ... but don't you feel the same way ... after a long long car ride ... when you finally reach Italy ... and then your first stop is at the Autogrill where they serve the GOOD authentic Italian cappuccino .... Life is good!

Hmm, just wondering ... for all the people flying in from overseas ... They must have an Autogrill at the Airport, don't they???? :)

Back home

2008-09-01T12:20:00.003Z

We just got back from our beautiful trip to Bella Italia ... and inbetween loading the washing machine and dryer, downloading pics from my CF-cards and getting the sand out of all bags and shoes ... I'll upload some more pics of my little Cowgirl (she insisted on walking her boots just everywhere and even to the beach @ 30°C!!! Ugh!)

On a break

2008-08-21T06:38:00.003Z

This blog will be on a little break ... :)

Dream big

2008-08-20T14:48:00.004Z

I've been tagged by my wonderful photog friend Alexandra Frankel to do this fun thing: http://www.photofunia.com/. And indeed: SO MUCH FUN! Have fun watching ... and let us DREAM BIG!!!

My little Broadway Girl Juliana ... ♥

GAP-Model Jan ... ♥

Rock Star Tim ... ♥

Top Model Felix ... ♥

Exhibition Magnet Jolina ... ♥

VOGUE cover girl Samira ... ♥

Rock Star Dennis ... ♥

City Lights Girl Leonie ... ♥

Glamorous Prince Vince ... ♥ or Paris Hilton - dreaming of a perfect family life ...

H&M Model Marina ... ♥

Skypemania

2008-08-20T10:03:00.003Z

So funny, my little Skype-Queen Juliana did these awesome video snapshots last night while skyping with her Uncle Markus and Auntie Suzie ... I would just love to see video snapshots taken of her from the other side of the pond while she's singing all her fun songs into the monitor, haha. (That's why they give her a big clap on the last picture)

GIRLS FUN GALORE

2008-08-19T09:49:00.003Z

More of Sophie and Lilly and some magic ice cream :)

Ready - steady - eat!

Wanna know what's in their ice cream? That remains our SECRET, hehe.

Sophie

2008-08-19T08:59:00.003Z

Summer can be so much fun!

Such a top model!

More rabbitmania :)

Romy

2008-08-18T12:18:00.001Z

Attention please ... cuteness overload

Hannah

2008-08-18T08:23:00.003Z

Juliana's super cute girlfriend Hannah ... enjoying her croissant ... hmmmmm so delicious!

Poor Hannah wasn't very lucky that afternoon. First she was stung by a wasp ... later she fell of a chair while climbing down the trampolin. But what a brave little girl ... luckily she recovered quite fast

Hannah's big love "Ronja" - her rabbit

More of Lilly coming soon ... here she's snuggling with her rabbit Lucy ...

Christine and Felix

2008-08-17T19:25:00.003Z

Recognize this handsome little big "Tiger"? I like the following two shots of Felix ... ♥

Dreaming of Juliana? I hope so! :-)

So much fun! So full of joy! Definitely contagious!

Felix' beautiful Mommy Christine

Sarah and Melissa

2008-08-15T07:38:00.003Z

Here are the "few" shots, I took of the girls. Now guess, which one is the mother on this picture, hehe.

Melissa and Stormy

Melissa

Perfect!

Sarah and Stormy

A candid shot

Such a beautiful and fun family - I had a great time!!!!

Nicole

2008-08-14T07:18:00.007Z

Remember the beautiful Brentwood girls? I had the pleasure to shoot them in May. Now I had the pleasure shooting their gorgeous mother Nicole who looks like a million dollars ....

On these pics with Stormy

She absolutely does NOT grow older! I couldn't find any wrinkles :-) In fact, she told me that when she shows up in the school of her daughters, people most of the time address her as their sister - I believe it!!

Meet Phillip, Nicole's childhood dream. He's 8 years old and an Oldenburg Stallion. His real name is Dornenprince, his sire is Dornenkoenig and his dame is One fine Princess xx (xx stands for Thoroughbred). He's Stormy's best buddy

TWO Black Beautys :)

Nicole and her hubby Stefan - what a lucky guy with these three beautiful and fun girls in the house

Of course, I snapped a few shots of her girls, too. More in my next post, so please stay tuned!

His shadow

2008-08-13T12:53:00.004Z

More "not-so-artsy-these-are-for-auntie-suzie-who-couldn't-come-this-time-family-snaphots" .... of Juliana and her beloved Uncle Markus ... who unfortunately had to leave us last night ...

She LOVES him ...

Not leaving his side .... "his shadow"

Uncle Markus has been her super hero since early on .... I found this old snapshot of my little chubby girl when she was only 10 months old - ugh, and so cute - and so tender with her uncle, hehe

The Chucks Family :)

Last night at the airport ....We miss you already!!!!

Alles Liebe zum Namenstag, Juliana!

2008-08-07T16:20:00.003Z

Cause my little girl is half Bavarian ... Juliana is having her Saint's Day today - let's celebrate! :-)

It's always the little things in life that make you happy ....

Ok, today it's the BIG things, hehe: Juliana's Uncle Markus is in town. Our little girl couldn't be happier. We haven't seen him since Christmas, so today is almost like Christmas :) Geez, and he looks good! He hasn't slept in almost 48 hours, had to leave his house at 3 a.m. (so he decided it's not really worth going to sleep before :) to get to the London Airport which is at the other side of the "town".

So before we drove to the airport to pick him up, my little lady snuck into the bathroom to get the nail polisher out to just look gorgeous for her Uncle - and this is the result :-)

My happy girl (sorry for the toally out-of-focus-picture) And yes, Juliana's dentist is going to be rich! :-)

"Geez - Louise" is their comment :-)

Another close-up of her brilliant work :-)

Lemon

2008-08-07T13:14:00.005Z

I LOVE everything with lemon: yellow, Orangina, Torta Limone, Limoncello :) and the like. Here are my first poor attempts with fast shutter speeds :)

Kids, don't throw lemons in swimming pools ... it might be fun, haha.

Leonie & Family

2008-08-06T15:26:00.000Z

I had the pleasure again with this little rock star: Leonie (3) ... ♥ ... Such a flirt! :)

Meet Leonie's big brother Raphael (8)

Leonie LOVES and adores her big brother. Here she's signing "brother".

Can you imagine my happy face, when Leonie showed up in her Chucks for our session, hehe? Of course, her size looks way cuter than my HUGE feet aka size 7.5 :)

Raphael loves soccer - and he showed me all his neat tricks

Such a neat and beautiful family!

Yep, such a flirt! Daddy is the lucky one :)

What a huge reward: at the end of the session I gotta hug the little rock stars :)

AHOI

2008-08-05T18:27:00.006Z

While Nicolas is sailing his cute little boat ... Juliana is waiting for the snail to leave its house :) And although I inheritated pretty much everything to my gorgeous little daughter - not so these amazing eyelashes - too bad :)

Family Portraits

2008-08-02T12:50:00.004Z

Ich hatte bereits letzten November das Vergnügen, diese wundervolle Familie fotografieren zu dürfen ... dieses Mal in etwas erweiterter Form ... und Hund Nelly darf natürlich auch nicht fehlen :)

Erinnert mich irgendwie an die Beatles - Abbey Road :)

Die bildhübsche Sophie - hier natürlich beim Flirt mit Papa :)

Daddy's girl!

... und "Mommy's Boy"! :)

Da habe ich aber nicht schlecht gestaunt, wie groß der süße Benjamin in dieser kurzen Zeit geworden ist ...

Kennt von Euch zufällig jemand eine Familie mit einem Kind mit 18P-Minus-Syndrom? Dann meldet Euch bitte bei mir

Summer is here

2008-08-01T17:20:00.003Z

Eat, drink, sleep, and bathe outside .... so hot right now! :)

But most importantly: have fun and enjoy summer!