Gobble gobble...........

November 27, 2008 | Posted by: Julie Cruz | Category: My Life

I'm thankful for:

My dad celebrating his 75th birthday TODAY! Happy Birthday Dad! I love you!!!

My wonderful and supportive husband.

Our sweet, silly, smart and sassy daughter.

Our 2 rotten dogs.

2 of the most amazing women I know, my sisters.

The health and happiness of my family and friends.

The most beautiful guardian angel in the world.

The best friends in the world.

My fabulous clients.

The unbelievable success of my business.

My blog readers (thanks to you guys I get up to 300 unique hits per day!....and I had NO idea people were really even checking out my site!).

I could go on and on, but yeah.....you get the idea :)

When I picked PJ up from preschool, I was so flippin' excited to see THIS......

Oh yes, what a gem.........a pine cone TURKEY!

How kick ass it that!? It doesn't get much better than this! I absolutely love it and plan on making a whole coffee table book with PJ's artwork in it (one day LOL). Oh and yes, the handprint turkey up top was another thing she made. Honestly my favorite part about picking her up from preschool is seeing what awesome stuff she's made :)

I hope you all have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving!! Have fun with your families, stuffing yourselves silly, napping, relaxing, shopping, etc. I don't have shoots until this weekend, so i'll be enjoying my time off.

Oh and since miss Macy was actually posing for me........

Just in time for thanksGIVING.......

November 25, 2008 | Posted by: Julie Cruz | Category: My Life

I had mentioned before how PJ wanted to cut her hair and donate it (like I had done earlier this year) "to someone who needs it" (http://www.beautifullengths.com). Well we let it grow for the past few months, and it was finally long enough to donate (thank goodness because the Cousin Itt look was driving us batty). This weekend I took her for her very first haircut in a salon (daddy has always cut her hair). We arrived at the salon and she was able to pick which seat she wanted to sit in (there was a Jeep, a motorcycle, a chair, and a Mercedes convertible).....and she picked the convertible (uggh....doesn't she know we're Audi people? jk!). The lady put her hair in a ponytail and cut it off while PJ watched in the mirror....and flashed her huge open mouth excited smile. I placed the ponytail (just over 8") in a Ziploc bag and the lady finished up PJ's cut. She sat there watching Backyardigans on the TV screen in front of her, and received a lollipop (and plenty of compliments from employees and other customers) on the way out. As usual, she handed me the lollipop after 2 licks and asked for her bag of Wheat Thins that I had brought her instead.

Ever since the cut, we've caught her looking at herself in the mirror, touching her hair...and smiling super big. She LOVES her new haircut, and every time someone compliments it, she HAS to touch it and/or say either "you can touch it!" or "yeah, I gave it to someone who needs it" LOL. Oh and she can fully wash her own hair now that it's short (which she thinks is the coolest thing).

Here is PJ showing off her new do the day after her cut! (pardon the grainy photo...I accidentally had the ISO WAY high from a few nights before - whoops).......

I promise she LOVES her hair....she just didn't want to take pics (she wanted to play with her jump rope and go out to eat breakfast)....so yeah, I got her "serious face" the whole time LOL. Hmm...either that or she's channeling her inner Posh Spice with the new do ;)

Holding her ponytail right after the cut.............

These are the last photos of her with her long hair (disclaimer, her hair didn't always look that nice....I had to blow dry it since it needed to be completely dry when they cut it to donate....so yeah, it only looked that nice and sleek because I blow dried it ...which is something that shouldn't even be done on a child LOL).......

Haircut - $18

Tip - $6

The fact that your 3 year old has a heart big enough to get her hair chopped off so that someone who has lost their hair to cancer can have hair - PRICELESS

I am SO amazingly proud of her. Sure, she may not FULLY realize what she's done, but regardless, she knew that A) She was going to have super short hair (which is rare for most little girls to want since they all want "princess/long hair" like the majority of little girls out there), and B) Her hair was going to someone who needed it. Pretty amazing if you ask me.

If you are interested in donating (all it takes is 8" or more!), visit http://www.beautifullengths.com

Gift certificates and other info (2009 bookings).........

November 20, 2008 | Posted by: Julie Cruz | Category: My Life

Although i've always sold gift certificates, this is the first time i'm actually mentioning them! Gift certificates have been bought for many events - baby showers, birthdays, Mothers Day, Christmas, etc. Since we're just a week from Thanksgiving, I figured it would be a great time to mention that yes, I DO offer gift certificates. My sister whipped up some super cute gift certificates just in time for the holidays! Whether you're a grandparent who loves to see photographs of your grandchildren, a husband who knows that his wife will be SO happy that you're not only agreeing to BE in some family photos...but to pay for them as well, a friend who would love to give the gift of a newborn photo session, or a daughter who would like to gift a photo session to your wonderful parents who are still married and in love after all these years.... shoot me an email and purchase a gift certificate today. Photography is a gift that will last forever. Pass on the candles, sweaters, lotions, slippers and any of the other "same old thing" items that they are going to expect (and dread) this year. Get them something they will definitely use and love!

Lot116 gift certificates are available in 2 options:

1) Photo session only ($200)

2) Photo session AND cd with all edited images ($350)

(pardon the choppy job of blacking out my phone number ;) haha)

Obviously since I am booked for 2009, the gift certificates are for the new prices effective January 1, 2009.

Speaking of bookings, 2009 spots are filling up very quickly. January 09 is booked up now as well, so all available dates now are for February 09 and later.

Also, even though we're only in November 08, i'm already halfway booked for October AND November 2009!! If you know you'd like a session with me next fall, shoot me an email a.s.a.p. At this rate, i'll probably be booked for Oct/Nov 09 by March or April. Crazy I know......i'm still trying to grasp the fact that people are booking family sessions (not weddings! LOL) a year in advance. I'm honestly flattered and thrilled :)

There are so many things i'd like to do for 2009, including a few contests, a little fun with the # 116, possible mini sessions (that I never had a chance to start in 08), etc....but right now I barely have time to breathe. My right hand and arm hurt from holding the camera and holding the mouse too much. I'm actually "off" for a few days, so I will be spending as much time as possible with PJ. Between my shoots, editing pics and PJ being sick, we haven't done much lately, so i'm taking advantage of these next few days off :)

Joaquin.........

November 18, 2008 | Posted by: Julie Cruz | Category: Previews

Some of you might remember the maternity session (with the belly casting) I did back in September....... http://www.lot116.com/blog.php?id=315

Well Danny and Giselle welcomed their son Joaquin into the world this past Friday (11/14). At just 4 days old, Joaquin was ready for his first photo shoot, and did spectacular. He is such a beautiful and mellow baby. Over the past few days i've been cursing the weather...but not today! For those who aren't in San Diego, it's been hot and dry with Santa Ana winds. The winds have died down, but the heat is still around, so it was PERFECT to take a newborn outdoors for a shoot. It was plenty warm even in the shade and Joaquin was a happy camper. Oh and I have been counting down the days to test out this gorgeous cocoon that a wonderful Etsy seller sent me (in trade of a few photos for her site). It's been at my house for almost 2 months now, and I have been dying to use it. Today I finally did and I am in loooooove (and so were D & G).

Don't worry, he was yawning, not crying.....

I'll leave you with a little smile :)

Out of a magazine...........

November 15, 2008 | Posted by: Julie Cruz | Category: Previews

Everything about this shoot was just out of a magazine. The gorgeous baby girl, the 2 hot parents.....and the AMAZING place they call home. Not only did I want to steal baby West....but I wanted to move into the house. Hmm, come to think of it, if they let me move in, I can see West AND live in the dream home ;) All kidding aside, I had a blast with this super cute family. West Lily is turning one tomorrow (the 16th...which is my niece's birthday as well!) and is such a doll. Even though she decided to skip her nap in the morning, there wasn't one single tear during the shoot. We started off the shoot at their awesome house in Del Mar and then headed down the street to the beach afterwards.

Did you think I was kidding about the house? Oh and that's the backyard.

Yes, I know I posted a ton....but it was too hard to narrow down. I actually still have more I wanted to post....but yeah....I guess it wouldn't be much of a sneak peek if I did that ;)