Give a photoshoot gift experience this christmas - now half price!

Christmas is one of my favourite times of year.

A time of giving and a time for family and a time for children to get excited about getting excited!

For me Christmas is made of memories and although receiving gifts was part of it as a child I truly can't remember all of the things I was bought, so many years on.

If you are stuck to know what to buy for your nearest and dearest, maybe you want something memorable, something they can keep, to treasure or to cherish and something for the whole family?

How about a family photoshoot?

It's a fun experience and a welcome gift at any time of year.

I'm offering half price gift vouchers for a limited period only.

• Family photoshoot £50
• Bump and baby package £75
• Bump, new baby and 6 month baby package £100

Offer closes at 1pm on Tuesday 20th December, 2011.

So please get in touch if you need a last minute gift:

mail@nicolawardle.com or 0161 482 4959

Each voucher is both posted and emailed to you on receipt of payment along with supporting info and instructions as to how to book the shoot.

More details here: www.nicolawardle.com/prices

The S's

It was only after I met Siouxsie (the Cat) that I realised Stuart, Sally and Sam were all S's... silly really, I should be familiar with these anomalies as my Mum, Susan, has sisters Sylvia, Sheila and Sandra (their two brothers got away without S's).

We first met Sally and Stuart at our NCT anti-natal class back in February this year when we were expecting our first baby, and they were expecting Sam.

The NCT class was an excellent way to meet other Mums and Dads to be and get some confidence regarding the unknown that at that time was fast approaching! Top tips such as the five S's (Swaddling, Stomach, Shhhh, Swinging and Sucking) to calm your baby were things that have seen us through the initial stages of Parenthood and are still useful now, 9 months on.

I was really excited to be asked to photograph Stuart and Sally's family and upon arriving at their house, they were as welcoming as their lovely warm farmhouse kitchen. Here's a few shots from their session...

You’re like Manchester

There's a hell of a lot to like about Liz + Ben and the same can be said of their gorgeous seven month old son Sid and very lovely doggy Bodey.

So it's with some sadness that I did their family photoshoot in the midst of them packing up to move away from Manchester to the other side of the Peaks. Having said that there was still time for a laugh and a few costume changes and a bowl of the best chilli I have ever had.

Impossible to sum this lot up so in the words of John Shuttleworth...

You’re like Manchester 

You’ve got Strangeways 

But you’ve got Styal too 

(And we'll miss you when you move away)

It's SCARY how fast they grow!

If you told me a year ago that I'd be dressing my baby up as something that goes bump in the night I wouldn't have believed you. However when the invite to a cake coffee and halloween baby do came up I was one of the first to go rushing out to make sure she got an outfit that I would be proud to wear.
I'm yet to find out of the suit glows in the dark, that sure would be scary when she starts screaming for a night feed!
So without further a do, in true trick or treat style, here's grace and her friends..... BOOO!

Izzy, Roo and her Grandparents too!

Life has flown by in a blur of nappies, burp cloths and night feeds...
Our baby girl has turned our world up side down in a good messy, manic, life affirming sort of way!

When I got asked to do a Family shoot for 10 month old Izzy I was a little stuck to know what to do with our bundle of breastfeeding joy as even after 5 months I hadn't really got round to trying her on a bottle!

So as luck would have it (on a number of levels) Izzy's family invited me to bring my baby to work! And on an even luckier stroke of fluke, my little helper entertained us for a while before falling asleep! Brilliant! if only she could be such low maintenance at home!

So here we have it, a few shots of the oh so cute Izzy, who despite teething managed to be an absolute star!

Bump and Grind

38 weeks pregnant and still working!

It doesn't really feel like work.

I've got a run of bump photo shoots with some lovely ladies who are all first time mums to be. With my own bump at a very similar stage to many of my clients we have the same fascination and awe at our ever expanding shape and similar sense of excitement and trepidation regarding the new experience looming now not so far ahead.

And it's not all work, Andy and I make time for walks in the park, I attend aqua natal classes, pregnancy yoga, bumps and baby groups. I take a last lone visit to the hairdressers and marvel that even in these late stages of pregnancy I still have to stand up all the way home on the train!

All is fine on the hormone front until I have a small freak out about letting my baby out into the big bad world! I'm plagued for a few days about chemicals, pesticides, boiled sweets, strangers and sugar!!! Silly really as he or she can't stay in there much longer! 

Sausage has the biggest feet (he or she has been called Sausage since the book told us that baby was the size of a chipolata cocktail sausage!)  I can feel the soles of them and they feel like very big rabbits back feet. I think i'll probably miss the kicking.

I would have liked to have seen a picture of my Mum's bump when she was pregnant with me, but it's not something people used to photograph.

Having said that, we then realise that I've not done my own bump shoot, so we rattle off a few shots and hope that our little one will enjoy marvelling like we have at how amazing it is to be able to grow another human being inside you...

Catching up

Time flys and I've not posted to my blog... so here goes
I vow to ketchup and keep up...

Introducing... big drum roll... my first blog post!

Here two of my favourite girls, playing me in.

I'm loving their stance, their concentration, the Hello Kitty sticker.

Cheers ladies.

You rock!