Avery

Brad's brother Jeff and his wife Tammy are taking a much needed trip alone to London this week, and so Annika is getting some good cousin bonding time with 9 month old Avery. Anni can be so sweet sometimes, crouching down and chatting with Avery in a high-pitched baby voice. But other times she is not so sweet, like when she hits Avery on the head or steals her binkie and toys. I think she is getting better though, and someday all the practice will make her a good big sister.

I love Annika's big brown eyes, but sometimes I wish that she could have eyes like Avery's. Look at those beautiful baby blues!

Dates Available!

Time is going by so fast! Spring is here, and it feels like summer will soon be on the way. I am starting to be able to count down the time until Brad comes back in days instead of months or even weeks! Brad and I are starting to spend more and more of our conversation time discussing our plans for when he gets home - the trips we want to take, the the things we want to do, the days that we will have off. I figured that we are not the only ones doing this, and so I decided to put this calendar up so that it would be really easy for you to see when I have portrait sessions available and you can just as easily work family pictures into your busy block leave schedule. Just send me an email telling me when you want your session and I'll add the date to this calendar. Easy as pie! (Does anyone else think that we need a new phrase for that? I can think of lots of things easier than making a pie....)

Teething + Photoshoot = Bad

The date had been on my calendar for two weeks. Britteny cleared her calendar so that she could go with me and keep Annika happy. I picked out four different outfits, I deliberated on the perfect location, and I charged my camera batteries. I was going to do a full-blown photoshoot and get some really good one-year pictures of Annika. The only thing missing was a happy and cooperative baby. By about 9:00 in the morning I knew it wasn't going to be good. She had cried all morning and she had only been up for half an hour before she was rubbing her eyes. She slept most of the day and cried a good majority of the time she was awake. The poor girl was finally cutting her top front teeth, but she had chosen the worst day to do it. I decided to haul her out anyway, to see if I could get at least a few pictures before rain replaced our beautiful weather. This is what happens when you try to take a tired, cranky, teething baby out for pictures:

Poor, poor Annika. I did actually manage to get a couple of good pictures. Here is one of my favorites. I love that she is trying to give me the flower that she picked. She probably ate it after I took the picture. She loves eating flowers.

Luckily Lexi tagged along with Britteny and let me take this picture after Annika had completely melted down.

So, if any of you book a session and the day of the pictures your child decides to cut teeth, or get sick, or wake up all night long and completely falls apart, then just know that I understand how you feel and I would be happy to reschedule.

Summer Deal

Sunny Easter Sunday

The weather here has been incredible lately! It is amazing how happy I can feel just because the sun is out. Whenever I think about the way the sun changes my emotions I am reminded of how Christ taught us that he is the light of the world. Light has an incredible capacity to not only physically support life on this earth, but to change the way I think and feel as well. When it is bright and sunny outside I feel happier, I am more motivated, and I have more energy. So, how appropriate that this Easter sunday was bright and sunny, to remind me that Jesus Christ, the light of the world, changes my life physically, emotionally, and spiritually everyday. It reminded me that just like sunlight allows everything on planet earth to live, Christ died and was resurrected that we might live not only in this life, but again in the life to come. I am so grateful.

After church on Sunday, we headed out with our best friends to take pictures and hunt for Easter eggs. Annika is not very good at looking for eggs. She is pretty content once she has one in each hand, and she doesn't like the idea of me taking them and putting them in a basket. Still, it was fun to just play in the sun and in the grass.

I have really been struggling to get good pictures of Annika lately. She is obsessed with my camera in that she always wants to hold it and push all the buttons. When I won't let her play with it, she gives me the stink eye and refuses to cooperate. I am going to try to take her one year pictures this week, so wish me luck with the little stinker!

Annika stole Ryan's easter basket, which was ok by me since it was much cuter than her own. According to Annika, it was cute enough to wear as a hat.

Maybe someday she'll let me take a picture and she will actually smile for me...

2009 Prices

Hey Mickey!

I really need to start bringing Annika with me on my photo shoots! She keeps missing out on the most adorable little boys! Shauna invited me to tag along on another photo shoot with her this week. She is an amazing photographer, and I was grateful for another opportunity to pick her brain and watch her work. Mickey was a little shy at first (who can blame him, with two big cameras right in his face?), but he warmed up eventually and I even got to see his million-dollar smile. I think he could have picked grass and thrown it all day, and I would have been content to just sit and watch him do it. This is why I love what I do!

Look! They're Big!

It has taken me forever, but check it out! I am figuring out how to put pictures up so that they are BIG!

I seriously had a really good time taking pictures with Shauna last week. We had some great models that were very patient as I tried to figure out some new ways of focusing and shooting. So, thanks again, Edgar! I hope that the trip to Barcelona was fantastic!

And could this guy get any cuter? He was busy doing some serious exploring and did not want the lady with the camera to get in his way. He had work to do! I wish Annika had been there; I think they would have really hit it off. I've seen this look coming from her quite a few times.

Birthday and BIZ CLASS

Today's my birthday and I am now 24 years old! I am closing in on a quarter of a century! I am leaving like right now to go hang out with my wonderful friends, but I wanted to post a couple of my favorite pictures from my CRASHcourse with Shauna the other day. I had an awesome time -- not only is Shauna a blast to hang out with, but I learned a ton about photography and business and making it all work. Plus, we had some great models!

So, Erica Holland Photography is here for real! Get ready for some awesome deals and a lot of great photography. I am really going to work on updating this blog much more often, so keep checking back. If nothing else, I should have lots of pictures of Annika to post, and she is a good lookin' kid!