5 Years

5 years ago today, I became a mommy.  It's hard to believe that it's been that long already!   I've been so blessed to be able to watch Princess grow up from a wide-eyed baby to a little girl.

Last week, I was getting ready to head to "the big city" for my monthly stock-up shopping trip when I realized that Princess's birthday was coming up very quickly, and I hadn't even thought about getting her 5 year pictures taken yet.  I remembered my sister-in-law telling me that she had her daughter's pictures taken at a photo studio that had the pictures ready to take home within an hour.  Since having to go back up to "the big city" to pick up printed pictures a week after a photo shoot costs me at least an additional $20 in gas, I sprinted to the computer (5 minutes before we needed to be out the door) and googled portrait studios.  2 minutes later, I was on the phone booking a last-minute appointment for Princess's pictures later that afternoon at Portrait Innovations.   

When we got there, I was impressed with the open layout of the spacious studio.  The photographer got Princess to warm up within seconds of starting the shoot, as you can see by her beautiful smiles in the pictures.

After the session was over, the photographer helped me select the shot I liked best (most commercial studios I've been to are not helpful at all in that respect and spend most of their time convincing me to buy the most expensive package with add-ons) and filled me in on the $14.99 package deal. 

For $14.99, I got a package that included two 10 x 13 pictures, two 8 x 10's, four 5 x 7's, four 3 1/2 x 5's, thirty-two wallets, and five bonus cards with envelopes.  

After picking my favorite picture, I took Princess into the changing room to change back into her regular clothes.  When we came out of the changing room five minutes later, the pictures were ready and waiting for us.

Fast, painless, and, for the first time in 5 years, I spent less than $20 on all the pictures I needed to hand out to relatives.  After visiting their website again, I noticed that they have a 10% military discount.  We're not military, but I support our troops and their families so military discounts say a lot about a company to me.  You can find a location near you here.
When I got home, I had an email waiting for me with a link to the entire session.  I was thrilled to see that I could select my favorite pictures and automatically share them on Facebook with my friends and family. 

In case you're wondering, this picture was the finalist :)

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