Happy Mother’s Day! How does your family celebrate? I plan to start my morning at the greenhouse and end the day covered in dirt, just the way I like it. (And as you know, Breanne celebrated Mother’s Day early, but I bet the day won’t pass her by without some celebration!)
As our Mother’s Day gift to you, we are excited to offer you our very first contest! Children and family photographer Anna Mayer Photography is giving away a free photo shoot to one lucky mom. This mom will get a custom photo session with her children and also receive a photo album and a 16×20 print!
Anna Mayer has captured families in San Jose, Chicago, Milwaukee, and the Twin Cities since 2005. She specializes in making newborns, babies, toddlers, kids, and their parents (especially their moms!) look amazing, natural, fun, and beautiful. I can speak to this personally: Anna Mayer has been coaching adorable smiles out of my stubborn, screaming boys (and waiting patiently while they nap and then trying again) and making me look way better than I thought I could on my Christmas cards for more than five years. See Anna’s work and read what other parents have to say about their photos, then be sure to enter!
To enter, comment on this post and tell us who deserves a mother-and-child (or children) session and why. Then head over to Anna Mayer Photography on Facebook and “like” her page. You can also earn up to two additional entries by “liking” Borealis Blog on Facebook and/or following us on Twitter!
The fine print: Giveaway entries must be submitted on both Borealis and Anna Mayer Photography by Friday, May 18. The winner will be chosen at random and will be announced on Monday, May 21. The winner must sign a full model release to allow promotional use of their images.
We look forward to reading your entries!
If I can’t nominate the two of you, then I hereby nominate my friend and awesome mom, Kristen Neurer. Jack, Kristen’s son, is one of my favorite kids….due in no small part to how much fun Kristen has being his mom. They debate the finer merits of Glee and Packer football; he tells her when her outfit is a little less than great, and she listens to him; on Mother’s Day, he wants to make sure things are on the up and up compared to last year, which she flat out told him was a fail; and when she catches him doing something he shouldn’t be (a RARE occasion), Jack feels bad about the deed, not about being caught (in direct contrast to my children, who can’t believe I figured out they were being naughty). In addition, she’s a real lover of photography, and has a “wall gallery” already that is crying out for an Anna Mayer original. Here’s to hoping she wins!
Christine said I couldn’t nominate her because she didn’t want any photos of herself (to which I say, listen here, it’s not all about you). Her beautiful and sassy daughters would love a photo with their mom – I just know it. They’ll look at it and think about all the ways they are like her with their dramatic flair, musical talents, big attitudes, and warm fuzzy hearts. One of the best parts of my work day is hearing Maddie and Norah stories. I anxiously await word on how the “facts of life” session goes! Christine is my link to the world-of-girls and I say that should earn her a fabulous photo shoot!
I would like to nominate my big sister, Sara Vanneste. Sara always wanted to be a mother, and it took a great deal of time for that dream to come true. We all celebrated when Sara got pregnant with my niece, so happy that this special woman was about to become a mother. About halfway through the pregnancy, we found out the baby had spina bifida. My sister took this news with the strength of a warrior, and that was when I knew this child could not possibly come into a better home. Fiona will certainly have challenges in her life due to her spina bifida, but my sister and brother-in-law raise her to know that the spina bifida does not define her – it simply makes her stronger. Fiona is almost 20 months old, and she is about to be a big sister. She talks as much as a 3 year old, has the sass of a 13 year old, and has exceeded every expectation that had been set for her. I truly believe she has been able to do this because of the love, empowerment, and support she gets from her parents. My sister is and always been an inspiration for me, and I would like to nominate her because she is the best mother I know!
Anna Mayer’s work is amazing. I’m nominating my daughter, Hayley Knudsen Ingli. She is a good and caring mother to her two children, Amelia and Owen. The reason she would deserve such a fine prize has a lot to do with her great appreciation of family photos. She knows it is one of the best ways to capture those fleeting moments, those certain expressions, those smiles that go everywhere! Those photos would have no better home.
I’d like to nominate my dear friend Kate. She just had her 4th child – so now she 2 boys and 2 girls all age 7 & under. She’s a wonderful, loving mother & wife – always thinking about everyone else before herself. I’m pretty sure the family has never gotten professional photos taken of their entire family. Kate is celebrating her birthday soon (and traveling to MN to spend the summer with her extended family) so I’d love to tell her that she’s getting photos taken – to capture this precious time in her children’s lives.
I would like to nominate my dear friend Amy. Amy has two boys, ages 1 and 3. She is an amazingly strong and courageous mother- do so much with much less than most people. She is extremely loving to her boys, her family, is such a wonderful friend. Amy and her husband are moving to Zambia in 8 weeks so that her husband can take a job there for 18 months. It would be great to send them off with pictures of their last MN summer for a while.
I would love to nominate my daycare provider Sarah. She is such an amazing mom to not only her own 5 kids, but to the other 3 children she watches daily. She is so energetic and positive- a fantastic person who is focused on making the lives of everyone around her better. She cares so genuinely for all the people around her and is so self-less. I can’t think of a better gift than a picture of her family.
As a mother of 18 m/o boy-girl twins, my wife Becca does more than her share of raising our children. She has been extremely diligent in setting and maintaining schedules for the kids, and doing all of it while excelling at a part-time job as charge nurse at a metro area hospital. I attribute so many good things in our life to her efforts, I could go on and on. She deserves a photo session not just because she is a wonderful mom, but she is a fantastic wife as well.
I’d love to nominate my wife, Kristin. I feel like when they coined the term Super Mom, this is what they mean. She works full-time and still finds time to breastfeed (and pump), she gave up dairy products to breastfeed Kid #2, and she still does more than half the housework (I try, really). More to the point, she’s always the one pointing the camera on our vacations, so we have lots of lovely photos of our kids and me, but too few of them with their Mom. She’d absolutely love a Mom and kids photo shoot.