Nicole Barczak Photography

On my way home

I'm in a hotel in Indianapolis, getting ready to make the second leg of my trip back from St. Louis.  Let me tell you, traveling with an 18 month old- alone- is not fun.  We had quite a few "want to break down and cry" moments last night (for me... Porter was already breaking down and crying!).   I left at P's bedtime, hoping he'd fall asleep quickly (which he did, after 20 minutes of fussing and 15 minutes of me singing every nursery rhyme I could remember, back to back).  I thought everything would be fine, other than the fact that I had 180 miles still to go, it was dark and lonely on the highway, however, when I stopped for gas half an hour later it woke Porter up which ensued 40 more minutes of crying an screaming from him to get out of his seat.  Fun stuff, I tell ya!

Anyhow, my vacation was wonderful.  For those of you who didn't get the scoop, my husband and I came for a surprise birthday party for friends of ours who just moved to St. Louis area from Jackson.  My husband flew home Monday for work, and Porter and I stayed out the week so I could have more time to spend with my friend. Visiting good friends who live far away is always bitter sweet... its great to spend time with them but its so sad to leave as you realize how much you miss them! 

However, it was also a working vacation (I managed to squeeze in a few sessions), so once I get home I promise to have some adorable sneak peeks for you!

Just a few things for those of you waiting for prints, emails or phone calls:

• If you emailed me or left me a voice mail over the past week, I will return those before Tuesday, I promise!
• If you ordered and paid for prints before I left (The 16th), those orders will be shipped out Monday morning so keep an eye out for a package next week!
• If you ordered before I left and mailed a check (so, it was received while I was away), OR if you ordered and paid while I was away, those images will sent to the lab for processing once I return home and you can expect delivery around the middle of September
• Jane- I'll see you and Grace on Saturday and as far as I know your announcements should be in and I'll bring them along.
• Nicole- I will be mailing out your images as soon as I return home, so look for those next week!
• Robin and Carly- I promise to finish processing your session as soon as I return home
• Erin, Marisa and Jennifer- I'll have your galleries up next week also!

I'm trying my best to make sure my absence has as little impact on you guys as possible.  I apologize for any delays, and I'm doing my best to keep things running smooth. 

Thanks everyone!

Last Post here..... Heads up!

If you  haven't already, head on over to the NEW BLOG and subscribe today!  I posted the subscription link over in the sidebar (of the new blog, that is), so now is the time to go subscribe!

Why should you subscribe? Well, everyone who subscribes to the (new) blog by 6pm Friday will be entered into a drawing to win a $75 print credit that can be used toward your print order in a future session with me or for reprints if you are a past client.

Why else should you subscribe? Well, it keeps you up to date on all the new happenings with Nicole Barczak Photography. Pretty soon I will be having some new contest going on, and we all know how fun those can be :) These contests will involve both past and future clients, and should be fun for all!

So, hurry up!  Head on over there, check it out, and subscribe today!

New Blog

Please update your links... this blog will be closing as of today.  Visit the "new" blog at http://nbarczakphotography.blogspot.com/

One and on the run!

This little guy is the epitome of one... Run, Explore, Run some more...  such a fun and challenging age (I can easily say this, as I have a one year old myself!!).

I found some new areas downtown for their session, and it was so fun to get to know this cute little family. 

Here is Mr. Carsyn... on the go, with his stick in tow... (don't ask where we found that huge of a stick in the middle of the city HAHA!)

Crazy little man! This is one of my favorites!

This one too...

And here is dad, accidentally splashing himself with water from the fountain :)

6 highways, 200 miles round trip....

and a great session today!  Can you say gorgeous!?  I swear my clients and their children are all so gorgeous... how do I get so lucky to photograph such beautiful people? 

Courtney is about 7.5 months along with the "mystery baby"... sex unknown... and she has the cutest little belly!

It was a great session, I love it when I feel like I "click" with clients... we chatted about pregnancy and babies and boobs and jobs and dogs and all that fun stuff.  It made for a fun afternoon. 

I love this "sweet spot" I found in her house... beautiful lighting!!

And one last one to share...

You'll have to keep your eyes out for "mystery baby's" appearance in September... lucky me gets to photograph him/her after he/she arrives!  And, being one of my clients, I'm sure he/she will be absolutely breathtaking. 

Another for the "non crawler group"

Its so funny that I seem to get little "groups" of sessions coming through... I had a small group of maternity sessions all within a week or two, and that obviously led into a little spurt of newborns.  I also had a cluster of family sessions and now I'm apparrently onto the 6 to 9 month group... Reyna is my third little one in the past 2 weeks.  I do have to say, I'm loving this age... smiley, giggly, and they stay put wherever we decide to plop them!  :) 

You might remember Reyna from her newborn session... and her mom may look familiar from her maternity session.  I love that I get the chance to capture Reyna in all these stages of her life... and I look forward to watching her grow though my eyes, my lens.

Christmas in July....

Or, well, *thinking* about Christmas in July. 

This is just a heads up to clients who plan on ordering Holiday/Christmas cards from their sessions... your order will have to be in BY NOVEMBER 10th for you to receive them by December 1st.  (so, if you want them earlier than December 1st, make sure you get your order in earlier). 

And, by saying "have your order in" that means you and I will have already corresponded and worked out a card design, so its best if you contact me at the end of October to start designing your card. 

The last date for sessions that will include an order for Holiday Cards will be November 1st. 

All cards are 5x7 and priced as follows:
(minimum order of 25)
25 cards:  $2.50 each

Price is discounted for bulk orders:
100 cards: $200  ($2 each)
200 cards: $350  ($1.75 each)

Here are a few samples from last year.... (all cards are 5x7, and $2.50 each)

Here you go, Emily...

You didn't think I'd write that long, rambling post and forget your sneak peeks, did you?  I figured you'd be refreshing this page until a new post with your peeks came up  :)

Well, what can I say, another delightful meeting with a great family... you might remember these little guys from this session a few months back.  Like last time, we were battling "good weather/bad weather" all day, wondering if we should reschedule or not.  Luckily the weather held out and we were rain-free for the evening.

Of course, I have to share this one.  Emily is a FBR (Frequent Blog Reader) of mine and when little Jacob started blowing zerberts on my reflector she says "OH!  HAHAH!  I know that one will end up on the blog!"  Well, your read my mind!  Its too cute to not share.

I have lots of images from this session that I could share, but my ABSOLUTE favorite images are from the very very end.... we unleashed these boys on a few mud puddles and, well, I think the images speak for themselves...

Apparently, I'm famous...

Let's see... where to I begin... 

I had a session today in Saline, and afterwards I decided to take it slow coming home.  Porter was at my inlaws, my husband was golfing, so I thought... hey, I'll make a few stops along the way. 

My first stop was McDonalds.  Third time in the last week... this traveling and being gone at meal times is going to start taking a toll on my rear... I love me some Double Cheeseburgers... but.... my pants don't.  I do have to give a shout out to the Saline McDonald's Drive-Thru worker for greeting me with SMILE and being genuinely polite.  I swear, sometimes I think that the criteria for working fast food is something along the lines of "You must frown, mumble and avoid eye contact."

Anyway, where was I... Yes, rambling.  Ok... so I leave McD's, scarf down my 99cent heart attack and somewhere around exit 167 my gas light comes on.  Hmm... well, the Chelsea exit was coming up, and on the Chelsea exit is the scrapbook store. (Yes, I'm also a scrapbooker!)  I have had a major creative block lately, and seeing I had no one to come home to I figured I'd stop in and browse for awhile (usually meaning an hour or two) and see if I can get some new goodies.  While browsing I overheard the girl mentioning something about closing soon... so I ask what time it was and, what do you know, they closed in 5 minutes.  I grabbed a few sheets of paper quite randomly and headed for the counter. 

The girl apologized for rushing me, and I let her know that it was a good thing or she'd have been kicking me out about two hours from now.  She asked my name to find my account and I (of course) said "Nicole Barczak".  Her mouth dropped to the counter (ok, so maybe not so far) and she said "YOU'RE the photographer! I work with Hollie Freye and we were JUST looking at your website today!  I love your work!  Wow that is so crazy!" 

It was so crazy that someone out of the blue knew who I was.  I was so flattered and flabbergasted all at the same time I didn't think to find out how she knew about me.  I stuttered something about not being able to scrapbook lately and just finishing a session and.. and.... and... and I left.  HAHA! 

How neat!  So, Scrapbook Memories fan, if you're reading, "Hello!"

Who's the dorky photographer?

I am! I am!

I am sure I left this session and the family closed the door behind me, looked at each other and said "What a nut!!"

HAHA!

I guess thats my goal, though, as it gets people laughing (even though its mostly at me hee hee!)

Well, the results are great... well, how couldn't it have been with such a beautiful family? 

Mom and dad had better lock these girls up... they're going to have the boys tearing down the doors... if they don't already!

Here is the Queen of Giggles...  isn't this just priceless!

Meet Mr. Serious

err, Cade, that is.  He is such a funny little guy... he looked at me as if he were saying, "Lady, give it up, you are SO not funny."  Lucky for him (or maybe me), he's super cute, smile or not, and I ended up with some darling images. 

We finally got him to crack a few happy grins (and even laughs!) when his mom played ball with him!

Here's a little funny from todays session.... we met downtown, and of course that means we'll be trekking all over the place.  Well, we get to our second little "location" and Kristin looks at me and says, "Where's my purse!" She had left her purse near the restaurant where we started the session... luckily the server had found it outside on the patio and took it in.  Well... thats not it.  Towards the end of our session, we start walking back as big brother Cole had to go potty.  I freeze in the middle of the sidewalk and say "Where's my camera bag!" Go figure, I left it back at the last location we were at!  Good thing downtown wasn't crowded today or else we might be out a purse and a camera bag!!

Quick peek at Eagan!

You'll probably remember Eagan  from the Baby, You're Beautiful! Contest... he was one of the top 3 winners.  After my morning with Eagan and his family, I can easily see how he was a winner... he is SO cute!

I can't tell you enough how lucky I am to have such a great job.  One of my favorite things is getting to hang out with such cute little people, making them laugh and smile, goofing around and then heading off towards home to view all the great images of them that I captured. I also love meeting these little people's families too... along the way I've met some wonderfully sweet parents and I always enjoy new conversation with each and every new client I have. 

Well, I guess I'll stop rambling on and on... and get to the pictures, already!

When I arrived for this session, I woke Eagan from his beauty sleep.  He had the sweetest sleepy eyes and gave me this pouty lip as he studied me.  He was in his jammies then, so I waited to snap pictures when he was dressed.  Lucky me, I was able to catch that cute pouty look later on!

St. Louis Sessions

I will be in the St. Louis/O'Fallon, Missouri area August 20th-24th and I will be booking sessions in the area that week.  I have two sessions available, so if you're in the St. Louis/O'Fallon area and would like to book a session, please contact me asap.   

Some more favorites from last weeks sessions...

This has been a pretty odd week for me... I had two sessions reschedule and one canceled.  So, I thought I'd share a few more favorites from last weeks newborn sessions. 

Ahhh... what a sweet way to spend a Friday

I spent my day with two sweet little bundles... my favorite!

Meet Murphy...

Whose parents absolutely adore him (and who can blame them!)

And look who else I popped in to see this afternoon?  Remember cute Miss Sienna?  Well, she's a big sister now!

Meet her little sister, Adora, who is just as cute!

Check out those itty baby parts!

Drumroll, please...

Come check out the new face of Nicole Barczak Photography....Miss Madison Bunch! 

Check her out HERE

Vacation Vacation....

Wow... utterly exhausting.  I'm still "officially" on vacation until Thursday (I'll begin returning any phone calls/emails at that point), but I wanted to do a little update and share a few pictures.  We had a GREAT time in Florida, and it was so nice to finally relax a little.  We met up with my friend (and a fellow photographer), Jessica Porter (from Georgia) and her family and hit up Disney World and Sea World.  Great times in that 98* heat, I tell ya. 

So, here are a few pictures to share with you.  Get your hand ready because your jaw is going to drop when I told you we took over 3,000 (YES, 3 THOUSAND) pictures on vacation.  I haven't even completed going through the first three days of them.  So, here are some that I've made it through...

Jessica and little Hailey...

Porter, totally wild over the thunderstorm...

Playing in the rain afterwards..

Magic Kingdom at night...

Sea World...

Porter hamming it up in the pool...

Aaaaand... that'll be it for now.   I hope you enjoyed!

Porter and his Oma...

Can he be any cuter?

More mama love...

Magic. Simply magic.

Reminder: Office Closing

Just a reminder... the office will be closed from June 22 through July 4th for an extended holiday.  During this time I will have limited access to phone and internet. 

All orders put in and paid in full ON OR BEFORE June 21 will be shipped out immediately upon reopening.  Any orders put in and paid for AFTER June 21 will be placed with the lab upon reopening (July 5th) and delivery will be approximately the third week in July. 

So, if you want your prints sooner rather than later, please have your order and payment in to me BY TOMORROW.  If you don't have time to get a check in, you can always pay via credit card/debit card through Paypal... its instantaneous and easy!

By the way, I tried to explain the changes a little better back here on this post.

Beautiful Boy

Get a look at this precious, extremely easy-going little man that I was so lucky to spend my morning with...

Their home was absolutely beautiful, and mom had lots of ideas for pictures, including a family heirloom cradle and an outfit that was baby Andrew's grandpas.... what great memories to capture!

This is one of my favorites... Andrew has a sneaky little look on his face... he's so cute!

Baby, You're Beautiful!

Don't you agree? 

Saturday I photographed the winner of our Baby, You're Beautiful! Contest.... Miss Madison and her brother, Xander.

I am just in love with her gorgeous ringlet curls... aren't they precious?

Happy Father's Day!

To all the dads out there.... have a wonderful and blessed Father's Day!

Changes coming July 4th

Please note that my pricing structure will be changing on July 4th, 2007.  Yes, I know, the dreaded increase of prices.  Whether it be gasoline, postage stamps, heating bills, etc....we all dread it. 

Any sessions that are booked before July 4th will be honored the pricing in their Portrait Agreement for up to 30 days past their session date (your session fee and portrait agreement MUST be received before July 4th). Anything booked after July 4, 2007 will be subject to the new pricing structure. **ETA.... what I mean is, if you have contacted me prior to July 4th to schedule a session, and I have received your session deposit and Portrait Agreement BEFORE July 4th, then you are locked in at the "old" prices for 30 days after your session date.  Your session does NOT have to take place before July 4th, it just has to be BOOKED and finalized (Portrait Agreement and deposit sent in) before July 4th.

This also applies to past orders... any sessions with outstanding orders that are 30 days past their session date will be subject to the new pricing structure if orders are not in and paid for before July 4th, 2007.

I know, change *sucks* (are you offended if I say that?).  HOWEVER, this change will also bring some new things also!  I will be changing the structure for purchasing Keepsake Albums, adding some Portrait Collections, possibly some new products (these may come around later in July, depends on how much I get get my butt organized and in gear), and a NEW CONTEST!

Ok, well, that should be it for now.  I'll leave you with one more image from my maternity session.  I have other images I desperately want to share, however, my monitor has gone wonky on me and I am not editing anything until I get it calibrated.  So, I will just be sharing some previous sessions.

2 weeks and counting

My clients today were referred to me by fellow photographer Aimee Payne.  I can't say "thank you" enough.  She told me I'd love this family, but I had no idea.

Not only were the parents gorgeous, but Sienna... this little girl is just breathtaking.

Back to the session.  No, this session was not about Sienna at all.  It was about her soon-to-be-new-baby-sister.   Nicole is just 2 weeks away from her due date, and she is absolutely glowing. 

Let me tell you, this session was amazing.  We had amazing locations and my subjects were amazing also!  I could share a million pictures from this session, but I'll do my best to restrain myself.

Nicole and Fulu, thank you for a great morning/afternoon.  You guys are going to be great with two little girls, and I can't wait to meet the newest addition in a few short weeks!

Busy busy busy!

I've been busy this week with sessions and orders and scheduling. I'm trying to make sure things are all squared away for when I'll be out of town for 2 weeks at the end of June. 

Currently, June is completely booked.

July has three weekday sessions available. I will be in Royal Oak on Saturday the 28th, so if you're in that area and interested in a session, I'll open up Saturday afternoon for one session. 

I have just tentatively opened up my August calendar (you can check my availability through the link in the sidebar).  The dates available are subject to change... I may rearrange them as needed, but for now thats whats available.  I foresee August will book quickly, so if you're wanting a session, think ahead so that you can select a date that works best for you!

September (ahhh, September) and October (ahh, October!)... the leaves... the gorgeous leaves...  Sessions in September and October will be VERY limited, and we all know the leaves are limited too!  :)  I will be opening those calendars up in July, and right now I'll start a waiting list for "Autumn Sessions".  If you're interested in an Autumn Session with all the beautiful fall colors, please contact me asap and I'll put you on the waiting list.  Once my September and October calendars are available, I'll start at the top of the list and contact you to select your date!

Part 1 of 2

Melissa booked my Belly to Baby Collection, and I'll be meeting back up with her in a few weeks to meet baby Rowan (or is it Rowen?).  Michigan's weather has been less that cooperative lately, and we *almost* had to reschedule because it was so overcast.  Luckily, we had a great porch and yard to use for the session, and Melissa was a great sport... happily doing anything I asked her....sitting, standing, sitting, standing, leaning, laying on the ground... LOL! 

There is something about this first image that I just love.

We're booking up!

I now have only one session no sessions available in June and only 4 sessions available in July.  I think its time to start setting up my August calendar! 

If you're thinking of a session for July or August, its probably best if you get it scheduled soon!

Here's the photo for the day.  My son being snuggly with my cousin.  Such a sweet moment!

Holy Moly, do you believe this???

I just got home from a nice visit with my family who is in from out of state (Virginia and Georgia) and PollDaddy failed me again... the poll was still up and running.  I had it set to close at 9pm, but for some reason it was still running now at 10:30pm. 

Well, anyway, not that thats a huge deal, but guess what the polls showed?

I have a tie for second place.   Can you believe that? 

Anyway, our first place winner, and our soon to be featured face on the homepage of the Nicole Barczak Photography website will be the adorable curly haired Madison!  Congratulations!  (Madison will receive a complimentary session as well as a 10x20 storyboard featuring 3 images from her session).

And, for second place... what to do what to do?  Well, the ever so cute Cade and big smile Eagan have tied... so, they will both receive a complimentary session as well as a complimentary 8x10 from their session.

Congratulations! I look forward to meeting each of you!  Emails have been sent regarding scheduling your session as well as an information packet.  As I said in my previous post, I've been having some issues with email lately, and thus far I have not received any responses to the emails.  So, if you have emailed back to reserve a date for your session, please give me a call at 517-990-2929 as I haven't received your email.  (Wait.... Kristin.. I do have you down for June 7th!)

Now, one more thing.  I'm thinking of holding a contest for children aged 3-7.  What do you think?  Is anyone interested?  Post in the comments... I'm on the fence with this.  This contest has been quite exhausting, so if I don't have a lot of interest, I'll just skip that idea.

Email delivery problems?

I suspect I may be having some issues with my email.  If you have emailed me and I do not reply within 3 days (I normally respond within 24 hours), then please try to email me again.  Or, you can always reach me at 517-990-2929 or my alternate email nic073@sbcglobal.net.

A few weeks ago I received an email that a clients mother sent IN JANUARY.  Yes, I'm not kidding.  I thought I was losing my mind when I read that she wanted to place an order (that had already closed out 5 months ago!), well, it turns out I wasn't crazy.. MY EMAIL WAS!  So, I have no idea where that email was for 5 months, but anyway, I just hope that doesn't happen to anyone recently. 

So please, if I don't respond to your email within 3 days, try again or try my phone.  It is possible that my email has failed us both and I didn't receive it. 

Elizabeth and Rachel

I had the opportunity to do a little shoot with my cousins the other day... they live in Georgia and are visiting the great state of Michigan (HAHA!) for some family events. 

I can't believe how GROWN UP they look!  Well, they kind of are!  I swear, it seems like just yesterday they were little kids running around...

Aren't they beautiful?

Elizabeth:

Rachel:

Round 3, here we go!

Let's review what each place will receive:

1st Place:  a complimentary session, a 10x20 storyboard featuring 3 images from the session, as well as becoming the newest Featured Face of the Nicole Barczak Photography homepage!

2nd Place: a complimentary session and an 8x10

3rd Place: a complimentary session

I'm just so excited that I will get to photograph each of these adorable cutie pies! 

You can vote once, for one child.  The voting will end on Saturday, June 2nd at 9:00pm.

 

The polls are in! Round 2: OVER!

Wow, some of these votes were pretty close with the 2nd and 3rd place kids... it was pretty interesting to watch!

The final percentage tally is in.

The three finalists who will go on to Round 3 will be:

Cade, Eagan and Madison!

Congratulations! 

(everyone else who was in this round, watch your inboxes for a surprise!)

And moms of the round two winners... I will be contacting you to schedule your sessions while the third round of voting is going on.  Sessions over the summer are getting pretty limited, so I want to make sure we get you in!

So, on to Round 3!  Whats in it for the 1st place winner? 

A complimentary session, a 10x20 storyboard featuring three images from the session as well as being the FEATURED FACE of Nicole Barczak Photography homepage!  How cool is that? 

If you are having trouble viewing/voting on the poll...

Try voting from this link:

http://www.vizu.com/poll-vote.html?n=35744

I apologize for any kinks and quirks this contest may have.  This is my first time running any sort of contest like this, as well as my first time using either of the polling sites (polldaddy.com and vizu.com).  Please bear with me! 

The first round I used polldaddy.com, and it was fine for that round as each group would only have one winner.   This round, I switched to vizu.com as there would be three winners, so I wanted people to be able to vote for three of the children. 

With vizu, as you've probably already noticed, it does not show a total number of votes for each child, only a percentage.  That goes for me too... even though I created the poll, I can only see the percentage and a total number of votes for the ENTIRE poll (not for each child).

So, when the poll closes tomorrow at 9pm, I will be taking the top three winners based on their percentages. 

Right now, as of 8:47pm here are the stats I have: (these stats change each time there is a new vote, so the stats may be different 3 minutes from now, ok?)

Total voters: 296

Madison: 40.9%
Eagan: 38.5%
Kamryn: 38.2%
Cade: 35.1%
Jalyn: 31.1%
Cadence: 30.4%

Keep on putting those votes in... the voting is on until 9pm tomorrow evening (Wednesday)

Good luck, kids!

Silly Savannah

Even though we got rained on before were were through with our session, there was not a lack of great images from our short session. 

Savannah is such a great kid... super personality, super sweet, super cute... super kid!! 

I don't know which ones to show... there are SO many I love!  So, get ready for a ton of images!

P.S. Don't forget to vote in ROUND TWO of the Baby, You're Beautiful! Contest :)

Round TWO!

Thank you, once again to everyone who was in Round One.  And, congratulations to Round Two contestants!  I am so excited to think that I am going to have the pleasure of photographing three of these beautiful faces!

Here is how Round Two will work.  You will get to choose your TOP THREE Beautiful Babies and vote for them.  You will only be able to vote ONCE. 

Round two will end Wednesday, May 30th at 9pm. 

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Oh my goodness...

I am having a heck of a time getting the closed polls to show up on the blog... the voting is over, the polls have been closed, and now its gone wonky on me!  Group 6's poll keeps showing up under different groups posts... and I can't get any other poll to show up.  SO, I've posted the link to the poll underneath each groups pictures. 

Gosh, I didn't mean for this post to be all about my troubles.... I wanted it to be celebratory!

CONGRATULATIONS to the top 6 winners! 
***Cade B., Eagan, Kamryn, Cadence, Madison and Jalyn F!***
A couple of the polls were NECK AND NECK up until the very end, and I am just astounded at how many votes there were!  WOW.

And I want to thank EVERYONE who entered the contest.  Every single child who was in this contest was absolutely beautiful, and I am so glad that I relied on voting to choose as I would not have been able to pick the winners myself.  It would be too hard.  Those of you that did not make it to round two, keep an eye out in your inbox for a special surprise.  ;)

Awesome awesome awesome.  I can't wait for the next round.  I'm trying to get the next poll ready and will post it by tomorrow morning. 

Three winners... now three rounds!

As per hubby's advice, he thinks there should be three rounds of voting.  There are 30 entries into this contest, so I was having a difficult time deciding how I want to split up the voting.   My husband says, and I quote, "You'll get a truer result if you do three rounds."  So, three rounds it will be.

Since there will be three rounds, the voting is going to begin a little sooner than originally expected.  This way the duration of each round will have a little time to air on the blog. 

The first round will begin Friday (today) and end Sunday at 9:00pm.  The second will begin Monday (hopefully by morning!) and end Wednesday at 9:00pm.  Third and final round will begin Thursday and end Saturday at 9:00pm.  The winners will be announced on Sunday at 9:00am. 

Here is how it will work.... there are SIX polls below.  You may vote ONCE FOR EACH GROUP... so, total, you can vote six times, but only once per group.  Each group/poll will be in its own post... I'll begin uploading now!

I do want to say thank you to all the contest entrants... and GOOD LUCK!  Each and every one of these children are incredibly adorable... I don't know how anyone is going to be able to decide who to vote on!

**ETA**  I think there was a misunderstanding with the entry time limit.  Entries were due BEFORE the 25th... BY MIDNIGHT on the 24th.  I apologize for anyone who misunderstood the entry rules and has submitted a photo too late!  I'm sorry!!  Please keep checking back here on the blog, as I will be running more contests this summer!