Last year around this time, while making these carmel filled cookies, I enlisted the help of my kids.  Not only was the process faster, it was more fun.  And so, a new Christmas tradition was born.  It's so much fun, you might want to try it with your family too.

My kids are at the age where dress up is one of their favorite activities.  So they were so thrilled to get these Santa hats this year.  It was their idea to wear them while they worked and sang their own song, "The Chocolate Factory."

The cookie recipe is from my mother-in-law, and I believe she got it from someone at church.  Coming from those sources, lets just say, these cookies are irresistible!  I've modified it for my family, so I'm replacing the chopped pecan topping with sprinkles.  And here it is...

CARMEL FILLED CHOCOLATE COOKIES

2 1/4 cups of flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup of sugar

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup margarine or butter, softened

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 eggs

48 Rolo candies, unwrapped (9oz. package or larger)

sprinkles

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly spoon flour into a measuring cup; level off.  In a small bowl, combine flour, cocoa and baking soda; blend well.  In a large bowl, beat white and brown sugar with butter until light and fluffy.  And vanilla and eggs; beat well.  Add flour mixture; blend well.  For each cookie, with floured hands, shape about 1 tablespoonful of dough around a caramel candy, covering completely.

In a small bowl filled with sprinkles, dip ball into the sprinkles and place on ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart.  Bake at 375 degrees for 7 to 10 minutes or until set and slightly cracked.  Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets.  Cool completely on wire racks.

What we love most about this recipe is that everyone has a job that is simple enough for them all, but each job really makes a difference.  (Fortunately, they all like the jobs they do or else this wouldn't be such a happy tradition.)  

A little silliness with her dad while waiting for the cookies to bake.  

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!!!

I quick peek of my little grand niece from today.  More to come!!

The location for this shoot is a sentimental one for this family.  Most of the photos I took were of the park across the street where this family lives in Westmont, IL.  They have clocked so many hours at the baseball diamond they nearly consider it a second home.  What a fun way to grow up!

The two kiddos above and the one below loved having their picture taken. And the camera loves them back, don't you think? 

I think what makes family portraits so powerful is including personal elements.  And that can be a favorite article of clothing a child nearly lives in, or a toy a little one considers as a best friend.  For this family, the main component of their story was their home and the park across the street.  So what is your story? Hmmm.

I've taken photos of these kids before.  And as last time, they are up for anything.  I'd love to hire the girl to help me with posing.  She has endless, creative ideas.  In fact this year, as you can see, they came prepared with a theme - Go Downers Grove Panthers!  I've decided I absolutely love themes.  These shots were taken outside, in a small envelope of time between rain storms.  Even though they look like they might be taken in a studio with turf and a sky backdrop, it's just them on a very high hill.  

The weather was so strange that day.  Earlier I confirmed a cancellation with these guys because it had been a downpour with no hope of stopping.  But suddenly, like a faucet, it turned off.  The sun was shining again.  Mocking me.  So out we went after all only to beckon the rain clouds once more. Normally, I don't use such dramatic photo processing.  But since the theme is sports, and the clouds were so moody in the background, I decided to enhance the clouds to give the photos an epic feel.

Oh I almost forgot to mention the special I am running this fall.  The first five clients that book with me by October 8, 2011 will receive 8 free digital images with your order.

This lovely lady is my very sweet grand niece.  About a month or so ago, we all took a trip a state away to see her at 5 weeks old.  I've recently seen pictures of her and it looks like she already has grown out of the newborn stage. 

I decided to show all of these photos in black and white.  Because there were so many quiet and sweet moments, I thought black and white would reflect them best.  Reminds me of college days when I worked with black and white film.  Kinda miss that. 

The sleepy baby was lulled into REM by my husband - the baby whisperer.  Because our first baby never wanted to sleep, my husband learned this crazy technique from a video called "Happiest Baby on the Block."  Now, every chance we get, we give this video to new parents.  And we get the same response from them all.  "Oh we didn't need the video, we had a sleepy baby." They didn't even need to open and watch the DVD - it's that good.

This little girl is a hoot.  In the photos below you will see these genuine smiles.  That's not me, being oh so clever, coaxing them behind the camera.  It's this little one year old who was inspiring all these smiles.  I have to say, I found myself supressing laughs so I could hold the camera still while clicking away.

Obviously, this was taken in the spring time at one of my favorite locations, the Morton Arboretum.  There are no end of beautiful scenery there - especially in the springtime.  For a photographer, that can be good or bad, depending on the ages and temperaments of little ones.  Fortunately, this happy little lady did very well transitioning from one location to the next.

This family did such a great job, I felt so fortunate to not only work with them but get to know what kind people they are.  This photo was taken right in the area of where I lost my car keys.  Ugh, how professional, right?  But this couple was so great they helped me look for my lost keys and wouldn't leave until they were found. 

Here is one happy little guy.  And we haven't even added the cake yet.

Yay cake!  So, so, good.  Such a lovely day for a cake picnic too.  Warm weather, no wind, and the light was just beautiful.  I love good light.  Just before sundown is one of my favorite times to shoot.  The sunlight is soft so people are not as prone to squint.  The light is also low, so it's alot of fun to play with the sparkle of the highlights at that time or the long shadows.

A teachable moment here.  Mom was trying to teach baby how to share.  "Share yummy cake?  Just give you a taste?  Hmmm, I'll have to chew on that."

I'll always ask if a parent wants to be in a photo or two with the child or children even if the shoot is just for the kids.  It's a good memory for everyone.

Hope this post leaves you with a smile :)

This post starts out my year with a few firsts.  This little one was celebrating her first year, first photo shoot for me this year and, first photo shoot indoors, but still using natural light of course.  And since it was an indoor shoot at my house, we just kinda treated it like a little playdate.  Like all good mothers, this little girl's mom came prepared.  Three outfits were ready to go with matching hair accessories, and even a heirloom rocking chair was brought along for a few traditional shots.  As a result, we had a great time at our playdate, and the family had many photo options to choose from.

I've noticed with little ones, you just never know how they are going to respond to a new experience or environment.  So it's a bit suspenseful behind the lens, but that is part of the excitement in taking photos of children.  This little lady put me at ease right away though.  Mom sat her down on the wood floor, baby looked up at me and gave me a huge grin.  Oh we were going to have some fun.

This post also marks a beginning for Hop Skip Photography.  In these last months we have been working on a new look for the website that better reflects my style, new pricing structure, and a new product I'm offering which is a beautiful session album.  More details on the session album soon.

This brother and sister are all about fun.  Can you tell?  I met up with them back in the fall when the colors were still so beautiful.  We all went for a leisurely stroll around a quiet, beautiful pond.  With such outgoing personalities, it was great fun trying to keep up with all the different looks they'd shoot me.  I just wish I could show you the whole session!

Let me introduce you to the most girly-est girl I know.  She loves princesses, babies, flowers, and as you will see, dress-up...  I know all of this inside info on her because this pretty girl is my niece.  I try to pay close attention to her feminine ways because one, I was a tom-boy, and two, my youngest of three is a girl - she needs to know this stuff.

Of course, I have to include one photo with Princess Jasmine in there too.  Doesn't it make you want to sing the theme song from Aladdin..."a whole new woooorld, and new fantastic point of view, no one to tell us no, or where to go, or say we're only dreaming..."  I've learned so much already!