It's All About Me

Summer has finally come to an end :(

Fall is definately my favorite season... being in Southern Cali we dont get too much change in our weather, but this summer was SO mild and the past week or so, it has completely felt like Fall, going down to about 65 or so!  I have been loving it.  As a matter of fact, today was the first day I wore pants and a light sweater, this brand new one I got at American Eagle:

Totall comfy and cozy and unbulky!  Hope the weather doesn't change too much! 

I was getting ready to update the last of my summer pics on Facebook and realized I hadn't posted these from the end of August... I had been dying to get a slip and slide (for the kids of course!) so when I saw one on sale at Target, I hopped all over it!  Makena and Blake had a blast!

 

 

Makena didn't really run and slide, she kinda just walked fast and plopped under the "vortex of horror", then she would jump in the little pool at the end of it!

 

Then when the vortex thing would break, she would entertain herself in the sprays that came from it!

 

 

And I love this picture I got of the 2 of them... they are so rarely in a good mood at the SAME time lol!

 

Makena's birthday is right around the corner and for the first time, I'm going to go all out on a birthday party at home... decorations, games, goody bags, food, even baking a cake myself :)  I guess I was lucky with Blake because he always wanted to do something "big" like Disneyland, Boomers, we did rock climbing 1 year.  Maybe because he is a boy, he didnt want all the cutesy stuff? lol  In any case, Im totally excited because not only do I get to use a lot of pink, its PRINCESS themed!  I swear, it doesn't get much better than that!  Lots of ideas and stuff to share soon!
 
 
 
 
 

Ladybug Cupcakes

Makena got a cold last week and I had to keep her home from school AND a playdate so she was a bit bummed.  I thought it would be a good idea to bake since we both love it so much.  Normally, in a pinch I do a rainbow boxed mix and then a homemade frosting (actually, the best frosting I have ever had lol), but she doesnt get to do a whole lot with those because all she ends up doing is adding stuff to the mixing bowl for me and then putting sprinkles on top!  So this time, I thought it would be fun to bring out the fondant I had from a few weeks ago... Makena adores playing with playdoh, so I knew this would be a hit :)  The only problem was figuring out stuff she could make easily with it and the only thing I came up with was rolling balls!  Anyways, this is what we came up with:

I think they turned out totally cute AND Maken really did roll a lot of the balls!  Of course she loved the ladybugs,

but by the end of the decorating, I think she fell in love with the catapillar also :)

Someone on my Facebook had mentioned not being able to eat them because they were too cute... I assure you, both Makena and I had plenty, BUT I did have to save a few for a couple of days because they made me happy looking at them :)  Looks like her and I might have to play with fondant and make cupcakes/cakes some more!

In other news... I have had quite a few new sessions that I havent shared!  At this point, I dont even remember the past few months, everything seems like 1 big blur, BUT Im on the road to catching up (does it ever truly happen though)?  While I figure it out... I will share a couple of pics from a newborn session I had a few weeks ago!  What a BIG boy!  I actually shot the birth also, but it ended up being a csection, so I wasn't allowed in the delivery room.  Luckily I brought my new snazzy point and shoot and dad was able to snap a few too!  That way I can piece the whole experience together!

Anyways, here are a few newborn ones:

 love, love, love the new blanket I got from Pier 1... under $20 people on CLEARANCE!

and 1 of my other favorite shots because I got to use one of the new hats I knitted for ETSY...

I can't even believe how big this baby was!  9 LBS 2OZ's!  Yikes huh? 

ETSY...

just a quick post since I opened up Typepad to do something and figured sine I'm logged in, I might as well take a minute to share!  It seems like I have had SO many newborn sessions over the past few months and with each new session, I try to knit a little cap or item to use as a prop.  Well after thinking about it and seeing my growing collection, I thought it would be neat to add them to my ETSY staore (which like my blog is highly unused lol)!  Anyways, I'm hoping ot relaunch it next week sometime.  I have to work on my thank you cards, care instructions, and then packaging... maybe even a couple of other design packages if I get some time!  But for now, here are some of my hats I will start with:

   

 

 

 

and look at this adorable little pic I took a couple of weeks ago using the hat:

and then everyone needs a good booty every now and then :)

 

I have a few other things also, but will save them until I put them in the shop!  If anyone is interested in putting anything on pre order, just give me a holler!

The Samaniego's- Corina Nielsen: San Diego Photographer

Of course I am always thrilled when I get to do family shoots. I love them. I love capturing the love that is shared between mom and dad, and parents and child and so on.  I love catching dad's sneaking in the little kisses.  I love just watching people be a family, enjoying and savoring the time they spend with each other.  AND what makes this one even more special was dad was getting ready to head back in a few days to finish out this deployment... how could I possibly resist shooting a military family "living" here in San Diego... dad has been away for a VERY long stretch of time and was finally getting a small window to come back and see his wife and child, my heart was already melting with just the story!  What a special time to capture.  I couldn't wait to see them all together.  Here is a little bit of what I caught on film:

Corina Nielsen Photography: The Samaniego's- San Diego Family Photographer from Corina Nielsen-Thomas on Vimeo.

I mean really.  Does it get much better?  As I was putting the slideshow together, I honestly could not contain myself.  They were so stinking cute... oh and as if all that weren't good enough?  Mommy and Daddy JUST found out the other day that Hayden is going to have another brother or sister, not bad getting stuff accomplished in a small window of time huh?  Such a blessing!  Congrats again to this special family!

The Birth Experience- Corina Nielsen- San Diego Photographer

So, last month when I was asked to photograph a birth, I was in total shock!  I never even thought of doing something like this, but my quick decision to say YES is one that I will never regret.  Words can't even describe the experience of sharing those moments with this special family.  Everything happened SO fast!  I literally had 20 minutes to get to the hospital and the second I stepped into the room, all of the fun began!  She actually WAITED to even push until I got there.... then gave a couple of pushes and out came baby.  Although it was very short and sweet, the moments immediately following birth are ones I will not ever forget... take a look at this slideshow I put together:

Corina Nielsen Photography: Welcome Mikas- San Diego Birth Photographer from Corina Nielsen-Thomas on Vimeo.

Thank you again to Anthea and Reed for choosing me to share these memories with you.  I hope that I was able to capture the love your family shares!