emily peyton cook photography

our little trip to the "big easy"

Sponsored by Zantac 75. LOL!

My poboy at Mother's which was totally worth the wait around the building. 

Zach had training in New Orleans this week, so we decided to tag along. I was unsure of how the week would go with a child Jonah's age in a city that's not so family friendly, but I was pleasantly surprised. (Some of these photos were taken on my phone since I didn't want to take the Nikon walking in the rain).

The night we got there I picked up a copy of the local visitor magazine so I could make the most of our time there all we wanted to accomplish, see, and eat while we were there. I have a friend from childhood and a friend from college that live near NOLA and suggested some things for us to try while we were there. I thought I'd share with you just in case you ever find yourself in the "big easy."

Tuesday: Breakfast at the Hampton Inn (Convention Center). We loved staying here. The staff was great and the location was safe for walking to and from family friendly locales. It is located across from a park remembering Katrina (hence the sculpture). The weather was so nice we didn't even need jackets and we enjoyed strolling and sitting outside a lot while we were there.

 
Lunch at Mother's (featured above). They serve breakfast all day which was great for Jonah since he's not much for creole food. Ha! So, I had a poboy and he had a pancake. We dined with what I think was every Razorback fan in the city that day. They were cheering "Pig Sooey!" and Jonah picked up that bad habit. LOL!

Dinner at El Gato Negro, a great authentic mexican restaurant in the French Quarter which we traveled to by street car. Everything was fresh and delicious and made me never want to eat Mexican in Tipton County again. 

Lounging around on Wednesday morning, with my little Buzz Lightyear, waiting on the rain to go away.

We ventured in the rain to the Louisiana Children's Museum which was so much fun for Jonah. They had  a "Goodnight Moon" corner, which is one of his favorite books. They had a grocery store section, like at CMOM. It wasn't as crowded as Memphis, so he had time to "shop." My favorite section was the Mr. Roger's neighborhood section that had a replica set from his show that included the puppets, porch swing, closet, trolley, and frame on the wall that worked like a T.V. with "factory" videos. It took me back to my childhood. 

Lunch at Mulate's which had great gumbo and a wide variety of cajun fare.

Jonah naps as I work on his annual coffee table books on my Macbook. I got almost finished with Volume One (Jan.-June) during Jonah's naps on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Dinner on Magazine Street at Tracey's (formerly Parasol's, featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives on the Food Network). We ate Shrimp Poboys and Jonah ate fries. The food was good, but it was not family friendly. They didn't have highchairs or booster seats or a kids menu. 

We shopped on Magazine St. at Orient Expressed, a great children's catalogue line that started in NOLA. We stopped for an after dinner treat at Sucre which serves yummy cupcakes, gelato, and house made candies, desserts, and king cakes. 

Thursday we had a farewell NOLA breakfast at none other than Cafe Du Monde in the French Quarter before picking up souvenir pralines from Aunt Sally's.

Yummy powdered sugar!

Photo op with Mommy. : )

Jonah was sharing his gift of gab with the people in the French Quarter and the guy setting up behind us noticed him. He said, "You are either going to be an opera singer or a rock star." He then proceeded to tell us about his ministry and gave Jonah a free CD filled with a jazzy form of gospel that we listened to on our way out of town. 

wish you were here...

Here are a few of my favorites from the Seaside sessions I shot in June. "Lord willing and the oil don't rise," we'll be back again next year and hope you can join us for a session. Thanks to all the families who met us in Seaside. We truly enjoyed capturing your moments at the beach!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

seaside, back?

(Click photo to view slideshow.)

Jonah, I don't want to forget that the first time you saw the ocean you signed, "Jesus."

And, everytime that you saw the water from afar you would say, "Wa-wa back, Seaside, back?"

You weren't the least bit afraid of the enormous waves nor the sand between your toes. 

Although the weather wasn't ideal while we were there, I was editing these photos with rose colored glasses on and wished I could go back to sit underneath that blue beach umbrella in the rain with you and Daddy one more time. 

sweet home alabama: a week of southern living

What started out as tagging along on a business trip turned into a college reunion. We spent most of the week in Huntsville. While Zach was in meetings we hung out with the Hancock family. Jenny was a senior when I was a freshman at Ole Miss. We are sorority sisters and share the same major of Art and have both worked as graphic designers. While Jonah was playing with her children, we talked shop. It was so nice to talk to an old friend about our shared field of work. I don't meet many graphic designers, so it was nice to chat about the business with her. I wish she and her family lived closer to us. We had a blast.

We spent the weekend in Birmingham. We met up with my cousin Mallory and her boyfriend for dinner on Friday and attended the wedding of my sorority sister, Ashley, on Saturday. It was such a lovely wedding fit for Southern Living Weddings magazine. (She works for Coastal Living) ; ) I got to meet up with many old college friends there, too. It made me sad that we all live so far away. 

 

Jonah has turned into quite the aggravator. : )

Gigi's Cupcakes, Huntsville


Me and my friend, Jenny.

NEXT STOP: BIRMINGHAM!

We met up with our cousin, Mallory and her boyfriend, Nathan for dinner. They are students at Samford.


Saturday morning Yo Gabba Gabba! time.

Goin' to the chapel for my friend Ashley's wedding.




When I found out I was having a baby boy, this is the southern one I pictured in my mind. : ) 

Jonah and I with the beautiful bride. Ashley is the first person I ever led to the Lord. When the preacher mentioned that during the ceremony it made my heart sing. Her ceremony was so spirit filled. Audrey, our other sorority sister sang one of my favorites, In Christ Alone, by the Gettys.

Ashley, my former roommate at the Theta house, and Erin another great friend!

Partied out. He enjoyed his first wedding so much. He ate cake and strawberries like a pro then danced from the sugar rush. He had everyone laughing!

A few of our favorite places to eat in Huntsville:
5 Guys Burgers and Fries, Cheddar's, Little Rosie's, and Gigi's cupcakes.

A few of our favorites in Birmingham:
Zoe's, Chipotle, Sweet Bones Alabama      

i love sisters

When I photograph sisters, I always look at them through my mother's eyes. Would my mom have liked a photo of me and my sister like this one? I think she would have, so this one passes the test.

I am going to visit my very own sister this holiday weekend. It will be Jonah's first trip to Nashville. 

Have a great 4th of July!

headed to watch the cardinals play

Jonah and I are going to tag along with Zach to St. Louis for the week. We're going to catch some throwed rolls on our way and also visit the zoo while we're in town. If you need to reach me between now and June 22, email will be best. 

Have a great weekend (and week next week). : )

how to travel with an infant

A Photo Essay of Learning How to Be a Mommy on the Road (and in the Air)

Life before Jonah included lots of travel. In fact, we put off having children just because of our desire for new scenery. We love small town living, but also love to see the world outside our picket fence. I wondered throughout my pregnancy, and since he's been born, if it would be possible for him to comfortably tag along with us on our adventures. Zach had a business trip coming up to Portland, Oregon, a place I've always wanted to visit, so I decided to buy a ticket and take Jonah along with me since I couldn't bear to be away from him that long. 

I did tons of online research on how to travel with a newborn, but realized there's not much information out there besides "give the baby a bottle or pacifier on the flight at take off and landing." So, I decided to make it my mission, on this particular trip to pass my travel experiences on to you. 

Airport/Airplane:

Diaper Bag: 

i love new york in the fall

I was feeling a bit like Meg Ryan's character, Kathleen Kelly, in You've Got Mail today as I was driving along I40 early this morning. There's something about the leaves beginning to change and the crispness in the air that makes me want to hop on a Northwest plane bound for LaGuardia.   

 

I wish, this morning, I were headed out for the yummiest bagel in the world at H&H,

then to most mouthwatering pastrami on rye for lunch at Katz Delicatessen,

and on to a delicious pre theatre dinner at the 21 club,

and an after show frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity III,

and lots of sight seeing in between -  see, this is not just about the food. 

Yes, I know I am  26 weeks pregnant and by Thanksgiving (when I would really like to go) I'll be a whopping 31 weeks, and shouldn't be waddling around the greatest city in the world, much less flying, but I still really want to go.

We've gone to New York every other year since we were married 4 years ago. In 2005 we went for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which was my lifelong dream. The next time we went was in the warmer month of October 2007. So, that means we are due for a trip back next fall with our 9-11 month old baby boy. 

I've been thinking about that a lot lately, wondering too much about the unknown personality of the new guy in my life. Will he be easy going or fussy? Will he like to travel as much as we do or be a homebody? Will he be as captivated by the bright lights and sounds of the big city as we are or will The Big Apple be too much for him to handle? And just how much do I have to bundle up this little fella for him to stay warm in the cool climate that makes New York, New York? 

It will be a whole new experience discovering even more of Manhattan with a baby, that is if this financial crisis works it's self out and we're not in a Great Depression like state, driven to reuse aluminum foil and ziplock bags (insert laugh). As my 11th grade English teacher often said, I digress. Tomorrow is another day and I pray I take it one day at a time just as God intended. 

Until then I'll crank up my show tunes and longingly gaze at the framed photos from my last trip. 

time's flying

It's been a whirl wind around here lately. I am sorry for my lack of posts. I hope to do better in the near future. Zach has just returned from his 24 days away on miscellaneous business trips, including a 10 days of almost r0und-the-clock work at Gustav. We spent Monday-Wednesday at home catching up on each other's lives since we've been apart. I am so blessed to have a job where I can just stop what I am doing and take care of my family. If I were still working 8-5, I would have been stuck behind a desk, missing out on the quality time we had together this week before he returned to work. 

A BIG thank you goes out to all who support this little dream of mine. It is because of you that I get to enjoy what I love every day - family and photography - the best of both worlds.

watercolor 2008

So, here are the photos you've all been waiting for! First of all, let me say what a wonderful week we had. We would get up each morning around 7:30, head on bikes to Starbucks, eat a bagel, drink iced coffee, go to the beach, sit under an umbrella, listen to some Jimmy Buffett on our iPods, and swim in the ocean until 11 or so. Then, we'd venture to town center or Seaside for lunch, shop around the area, head home for a nap and a 90210 rerun, get ready for the evening, meet our clients for their sessions at 7:00 p.m. and then head out to a wonderful seafood dinner.

Perfect weather. Fabulous families. A relaxing week with my best friend and husband of 4 years. 

What more could a photogirl ask for?

TADA! All images Copyright Emily Peyton Cook Photography 2008. 

Whew! A photo of us after completing our first beach wedding and final photos of the week. 

Here are a few of my favorites from each beach session: