J Cooper Photography

I might be CRAZY.  I might regret this;)  But let’s BRING MY BABY HOME with a fundraiser that is just as much FUN for you as it is for ME!

In order to make room for my upcoming 2010 clients…I am providing a ONE TIME opportunity to ALL my past clients to OWN THEIR IMAGES FOREVER! This is likely the ONLY TIME I will offer this deal (hey…our little sweetie should be home by this time next year!)  SO GRAB ‘EM WHILE YOU CAN GET THEM!!

OFFER EXPIRES FEBRUARY 1, 2010.

{As an additional house keeping note…in 2010 only ORDERED client prints will be archived.  Also, I have posted my 2010 price list.  You ASKED and I LISTENED…I’m now offering DIGITAL PACKAGES…you can stop the applause. No really.  I know you’re excited.  Now go order that cd and help me bring my little one HOME!}

Hey…did anyone notice I posted 4 times in 24 hours?  Whew.  Sick of me yet?

Can’t wait to see the newest Matilda Jane collection!  And of course…I will be offering J Cooper Photography MINI SESSIONS with a qualifying purchase as well!  We had SUCH FUN last season with this I can’t wait to do it all again!

If you are NOT a local person but would like to participate please email me at info@jcooperphotography.com and I will get you any information you need for ordering!

I will host another GIVEAWAY for those of you who order outside of the show!

And if you ARE a Kansas Citian…COME ON OVER!!!  The more the merrier, right?  I am hosting the FIRST KANSAS CITY show so there should be PLENTY of everything to go around!!

If I don’t have your contact information and you would like to come please email me your info!

Until the party…you can find all sorts of tempting eye candy on Denise’s NEW BLOG!!

This morning…this is what makes me happy.  These two cute faces…hanging out with me…playing…having snacks…just chillaxin

#3 is at school today so she escaped my camera.  I’m sure she’s crushed.  I REALLY need to set up a session for these three for a little project I am working on.  But that will have to wait until my foot heals a bit more.  I tried for ten minutes today to get one quick snapshot of Little Man…but he is officially TOO FAST for me hobbling around!   So I sat him on a table.  Ha!  He climbed right off!  Ms. J is easy peasy.  She’s a smiling fool.  My camera loves that child!

OK…back to work.  Just had to document a couple of cute snapshots of my happy faces!

The adoption savings is continuing in full force.

So on that note….I have some GYMBUCKS that are looking for a new home.

The FIRST person to email me at info@jcooperphotography.com can HAVE THEM FOR FREE (they must be used online).  Redemption starts today I believe!

I’ll be shopping vicariously through you!  HAVE FUN!

EDITED TO ADD:  WOW you guys are shopping FOOLS   THEY ARE GONE!!!  That was fun.  Gotta do that more often!

1.  WOW.  I used the P word and you are all riled up!  YES…PREGNANT.  But NO…not “bun in the oven” (at least not my oven)…more like PAPER WORK in the oven.  But let me tell you.  This adoption thing is VERY much like a pregnancy (except for maybe the stretch marks and maternity jeans…although I did eat for two over the Holidays).  The waiting and waiting, wondering, growing love for a child you have yet to meet…it is all VERY exhausting (in a good kind of way).  But to set the record straight.  NO.  No birthing going on here in the Cooper house.  THANK YOU to all of you who posted and said “WHAT???”  That would be quite the turn of events wouldn’t it?

2.  Still hobbling around with my gimpy foot.  Although I no longer have excruciating pain with EVERY step…just every other   The truth be told….it was A’s fault.  But I would NEVER tell her that.  She would be so crushed.  The “morning after” the accident she looked up at me smiling and said, “Mommy…it could be A LOT WORSE…you could have landed on ME!!!”  Good to know I’m being taken care of here isn’t it?

3.  Tuesdays are “Mommy” days for Ms. J.  Little man has started a “preschool / parents day out” program on Tuesdays so it is just me and my almost-kindergartner.   We drop off the little guy, head to violin, grab lunch of her choice, go to her dance class…and have just enough time for a few snuggles in front of a movie before we head back to the preschool.  I’m going to remember these days fondly.  There are 17 of them left.  And then she will grow up too quickly…announce that she is a school girl…and leave me.  SOB.

4.  Today Mr. Smarty Pants learned to say “Baboo” (that’s our word for grandpa in my family….long story there).  So we put him on speaker phone and let Baboo hear it in person.  It was quite possibly the cutest thing I have ever seen.  My Dad is a kid magnet.  He has this unassuming wit and warmth that just draws the grandkids right onto his lap.  That’s where they all want to be.  Kind of like MY grandpa (”Papa”) who did the same thing (of course he also lured us with the package of M&Ms he kept hidden in his dress shirt pocket).  My Mom, “Mimi” was under a bit of duress that Little Man hasn’t uttered her name yet.  Don’t worry Mimi…we are working on it!

5.  Has anyone else been suffering from this “It’s a New Year and my house MUST be absurdly organized in Every.Last.Corner Syndrome”?  Lord help me.  I am out of control.

6.  The Librarian is getting dangerously close to seeing her new love.  Have you read her story?  It is beautiful.

7.  I am getting ready to offer a ONE TIME event to all of my 2008-2009 clients VERY SOON.  You won’t want to miss this!

8.  It is supposed to be 43* tomorrow and I’m considering slathering on the sunscreen and laying out my towel in the mounds of snow out back.   Are you ready for Spring?

9.  At J’s violin lessons last week she played “Song of the Wind” for her teacher.  It isn’t her newest piece but she loves it just the same.  She must have played it for her 20 times…over and over again.  And her sweet teacher just rolled up her sleeves and was determined to hear her play it as many times as she could handle.   When she was finished she proclaimed, “WOW…that was a Song of the Wind Festival!!”  I understand that if you aren’t a Suzuki parent that story has no relevance to you what-so-ever.  But I had to record it for posterity….since this is my blog and all.

10.  A few more shelves to organize and then I”m putting this day to bed.  Happy Tuesday friends.

My little craft room in the basement is just about done.  Pure bliss.  Too many long months parted from my sewing machines and pretty notions.  The re-uniting was splendiferous.  I wish I could give you the wide angle tour.  But I can barely turn around in the room (is that an indication that I have too much?)  So these pretty snippets will have to suffice.

I’m secretly hoping The Librarian or The Writer are planning a trip to come and play soon.  This little space definitely needs to be broken in.  Any takers?

This weekend we accomplished a major overhaul in the rest of our basement as well.  Lots of rearranging.  Some new “old” furniture.  Pretty new curtains (my first project in my new room).  Painting.  And quite a bit of hobbling around (still a nice shade of arctic blue).  Something about January brings out the “nester” in me.  Or maybe it’s this pregnancy.  But I’m ready for some CHANGE!

CONGRATULATIONS to my sweet Ms. M…you WON!!  That makes me so happy   I love this little gal.  But let me tell you…she didn’t love me the first time we met.  She was teething and not digging the mosquito infested grass I kept putting her in.  And after awhile I suggested to her awesome parents that a re-schedule might be in order.  They just looked at me and said, “Really?  Do you DO that?”  And I was shocked.  Who WOULDN’T do that??  I want my clients to get great images.  And a fussy baby is stressful for everyone (although we did end up getting several keeper shots from our first session too!)  So here’s the proof in the puddin’.  Go for the second try…it’s a WINNER!!!

GRAND PRIZE going to the S FAMILY!

1. A FREE MOUNTED 16×20

2. A complimentary mini session to be used March-August of 2010

And because there were over SIX HUNDRED votes and it was a pretty tight race…let’s hand out a 2nd place prize too…SOUND FUN?

Going to the B FAMILY!!!  (my favorite little bug)

A FREE MOUNTED 11×14 of the winning image

It was fun reading all the sweet comments…and watching a few lurkers come out of the virtual closet.  THANKS to all the readers who took the time to participate!

The COMMENT WINNER was ERIN “I voted for #4. I just love family shots! And I love your couch!”

Erin…you just one a FREE $25 GIFT CERTIFICATE to my ETSY SHOP which should be stocked soon!

THANKS ALL…LOTS OF FUN!  If you were one of the winners…please contact me to claim your prizes!

{I don’t typically let my 5 year old wear make-up but she was on her way out the door to a special “come as a fancy princess” birthday party!!}

We are seeing a bit of movement on the adoption front…more on the girl list than the boy list over the past two months though.  That could make for an interesting wait if the numbers keep getting closer together!  We are hoping for A LOT of movement on the list in January and February.  There are several travel groups heading to Ethiopia in the next few weeks to pick up their children.  And in December Hannah’s Hope moved to a new {much larger and nicer} facility.  Those two things combined should mean that the next few months have the potential for lots of referrals!!   As other families receive referrals for their children…we will move down the list until we are #1…then the REAL fun begins as we will be next in line to see pictures of our SWEET BABY!!!  Just noticed looking at this picture that my girls colored the word “boy” in boyish colors and the “girl” in girlish hues.  Too funny…clever little munchkins!

Don’t forget to VOTE for the BEST OF 2009 contest BELOW!  565 votes the last time I checked…it is a pretty tight race!!

I can’t decide…which do you prefer?

So here’s the {real} story.  I was putting A to bed last night…and tripped over her in the hallway.  I heard a loud SNAP.  After 15 minutes laying on her bed in the fetal position my jammed toe had not stopped burning.  I came downstairs and annouced to Mr. P, “I broke my foot”.  I iced it and tried not to be a pathetic whiner (for the record I was a huge wimp).  I decided to forgo heading out into the drifts to get it looked at and went to bed.  Except I couldn’t sleep because it felt like a forklift was backing up over my foot.  So I facebooked.  And emailed a few people (sorry if you were one of the ones who received messages at 3am from me).  This morning my foot was glorious shades of amethyst, heliotrope, and indigo.  So I did what any sane person would do…put on my sock and a gallon ziploc baggie and drove myself to the doctor {walking through the drifts of snow in 1* temps with a baggie on your foot could be a new form of self mutany}.  My poor “this little piggie had none” toe was broken clean through.  Right where it meets my foot.  Six weeks to heal.  Aren’t I lucky?

Here’s where I need YOUR HELP!

That story is SO lame.  I can’t bear to repeat it a billion times when each person I meets comments on my new footwear.  So leave me a comment with a better tale won’t ya??

My toe THANKS you

AND DON’T FORGET that there are only 48 hours to vote for the BEST of 2009 contest.  There have been about 500 votes so far…WOOHOO!  And the last I checked there was a TIE BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND CONTENDERS {and no…I’m not gonna say who they are til Sunday!}

So 2009 has drawn to a close.  And while I’m excited about what the future holds for my business…I recognize that NONE of this would have been possible without my FANTABULOUS clients!

{come join me on FACEBOOK and be the first to know about ALL that is going on with J COOPER PHOTOGRAPHY!!!}

So I’ve chosen NINE favorite images from 2009.  And you get to VOTE for the WINNER!

A few rules:

1.  Only one vote per person per computer is allowed  (yes, I’m keeping track)

2.  Voting will continue until Sunday, January 10th at which point I will post the results to the blog

3.  It is fair game to spread the word to get others voting for your photo

4.  I reserve the right to terminate the contest should you all turn into a bunch of cheater pants

What does the winning vote get??

1.  A FREE mounted 16×20 print of their winning image

2.  A complimentary mini session to be used March-August of 2010

Why should you vote and LEAVE A COMMENT??

1. I will randomly draw ONE COMMENT to receive a $25.00 gift certificate to my Etsy shop which will soon be stocked with ALL SORTS of fun items!!

2.  Cuz it is lots-o-fun!

So GO VOTE then LEAVE A COMMENT!!  {You can click on each individual picture to see it larger}