Florida Trip - Bradenton

We left our amazing AirBnb in Weeki Wachee to spend 2 nights in Bradenton, Florida. Unfortunately our AirBnb there was a bust (after 9 amazing experiences we were doomed for a bad one).

On our way to Bradenton we decided on a detour at Fort Soto. It was an overcast day but we did enjoy a long and relaxing stroll on the beach. We collected some of the biggest shells we have ever seen and the boys tried to find crabs...

Anyone know what kind of fish Scot helped back in the water (it totally swam off again) or what kind of bird is bathing in the above pictures?

The fort itelf was meh... nothing to exciting but it made for a great stop on our way to Breadenton! We had a little lunch near the fort too that was also meh... can't only have amazing days ;)

As mentioned above our AirBnB experience wasn't the greatest but it was situated on a river with a boat (kayak) dock and that was worth it. Just a small kayak paddle away and we saw some pretty cool wildlife.

About the gator... we arrived at our AirBnB and the first thing the kids wanted to do is snorkel. They were pretty upset with us when we told them absolutley no! Until we saw this alligator and then I told them "NOW you may snorkel" haha

On our 2nd day we decided to spend the majority of the day at Siesta Beach. Unfortunately everyone in Florida must have had the same idea. It took us forever to get to the beach, only to drive around for an hour to find a parking spot, then trying to get back out of this traffic nightmare and to a different beach. What should have been a 30 minute drive took us well over 3 hours. We finally arrived at Lido Beach and it was perfect! We found a parking spot right by the beach and it wasn't as packed as Siesta Beach! We swam and played for hours until the late afternoon.

On our way back we stopped at Phillippi Creek Oyster Bar! The sun was setting, the was was amzing and the kids behaved! We couldn't have asked for a better dinner!

What is your guess... Did Finn eat an oyster or not?

We enjoyed our time in Bradenton but couldn't wait for our next few stops! On the road again...

Florida Trip - Kayaking with Manatees on Christmas Day

Christmas Day was probably one of the most memorable Christmases ever.

We decided to limit the kids presents and budget this year by a lot. We made sure we "warned" the kids that Christmas might look different this year and that our trip was the big present. As always they got a gift from Santa, which this year was a snorkeling mask for each boy, something we are going to be using a lot in 2018. Finn really wanted a few books (Dog Man), a map of Vietnam, a Playmobil helicopter and I threw in some T-shirts. Jake got an underwater knife, a book about the Vietnam war, a camping chair, and also some T-shirts. A big present this year was them getting a Star Wars drone to share from their Opa. Scot surprised me with a new (very comfortable) sleeping pad that I will be using a lot in 2018 as well. Scot got some new kayaking worthy sandals and a very nice flannel shirt. And like every year we got a new Family Game. This year we got Bears vs Babies and we love it!

I was worried because Christmas did look different this year. Not in our home, less presents, only a tiny Christmas tree but as soon as the kids walked in the living room Christmas morning and announced: "That's a lot more presents than we expected!" I knew this day is going to be amazing.

We spent the majority of the morning, unwrapping gifts, playing with them and making the best Christmas breakfast! Scrambled eggs, with the leftover shrimp and crab legs from the night before, plus baked beans (the British in me) and toast! It was sooooo good!

After our late breakfast we slowly got ready for our next kayaking adventure trip... The Chassahowitzka River! Chassahowitzka is again pretty close to Weeki Wachee and when we arrived we were the only ones at the boat ramp!!! Yipeee!!!

As soon as we got in the water with our kayaks, we were greeted by 8 very curious manatees. They played for a very long time with us. Pushing and bumping into our kayaks. It was literally like in a dream. We had a hard time saying goodbye but we knew there was more to see.

Not far from the boat ramp we found these underwater caves/ swimming holes. The boys had a blast snorkeling in them and it was a great opportunity to try out their new masks! A few of these caves were connected and Jake really wanted to try to dive from one end to the other but signs around the area were warning of the danger and deaths that have occurred in these caves. So, no diving for Jake!

After playing for a long time we kept kayaking to explore the rest of the river. Chassahowitzka is seriously an amazing part of Florida and probably one of my favorites! The river is full of wild life and so crystal clear. We paddled for a few miles when I spotted a crab in the water…. ok let’s stop for a second and wind back!

For the past few trips we have made we have started creating Individual Bucket lists for each trip. For this trip it looked like this:

Finn really wanted to catch a medium size fish or a crab, Jake wanted to catch and cook a crab, Daddy wanted to see Little Havana and I wanted to eat an Empanada. Thank you, Kate, for this great tip.

So, I see a crab in the water and I barley spoke the words: A CRAB! Jake jumped into the water (mid paddle in the middle of the river) grabbed his net and scooped up the crab. A few minutes later he caught two more and stored them in the hatch of his kayak to enjoy later for dinner. He was one happy boy and BOOM! his Bucket list item for this trip was filled.

Once back at the boat ramp, Scot and I loaded the kayaks on the trailer while the kids snorkeled with the manatees for a little. What an unbelievable experience that was for the boys.

We got home, took showers and changed right back into out Christmas PJ’s. The kids watched some YouTube videos on how to best cook the crabs (I wanted nothing to do with this) and their dinner was served. I finished the smoked salmon dip from the night before and everyone was happy!

I can easily say it was one of the most memorable Christmases we ever had as a family!

Florida Trip - Weeki Wachee

We celebrated Christmas this year in Weeki Wachee, Florida. I was surprise to learn how many people have never heard of Weeki Wachee.

Weeki Wachee is not only a fun name to say out loud but it’s also the home of the Mermaid Show.

I booked a nice Airbnb (check it out HERE) to spend Christmas which was located on a canal leading to the Weeki Wachee spring.

Christmas Eve day we spent exploring the canal at the river. The canal was a little swampy and I was definitely a little worried but after a little paddle the swampy canal turned into the crystal clear Weeki Wachee River. We were hoping to spot Manatees but no such luck on this trip.

We kayaked all the way to Rogers Park and then decided to turn around because the current was moving a lot faster than we expected. Jake is in his own kayak so I am always a little worried if he has the power to finish the trip.

We found a little beach area of the river, let the kids swim and snorkel. Scot and I sat around for a long time talking and then swam with the kids as well.

We finished our kayak trip, and got back to the Airbnb. The kids played with some toys and watched some TV while Scot and I wrapped presents. We all showered, put on some nice clothes and headed to one of our favorite restaurants, The Freezer.

The Freezer is located in Homosassa, about 30 minutes from our AirBnb. They serve seafood and it’s relativity cheap but so good. We all split two order orders of Snow Crab Legs and a pound of steamed shrimp. It was amazing and we all enjoyed our Christmas Eve dinner.

We got back to the Airbnb. The kids got to open their Christmas PJ’s and we surprised them with matching PJ’s for ourselves… they thought this was hilarious. Scot also read the “Night before Christmas” to them and we ended the night watching Boss Baby, which btw was a lot funnier than I expected!

Florida Trip - Devil's Den

We ended 2017 with an amazing trip to Florida. This year we decided we are going early and spend Christmas in one of our favorite places AND bring our own kayaks.

You can read about last years trip here. This year I am going to post these not by days but by activity.

I will be posting about our experience at Devil’s Den, our Christmas Eve kayak trip on the Weeki Wachee river and our dinner at The Freezer. Our favorite Christmas Day ever and a quick visit to Little Havana and our snorkeling trip in Key Largo.

Let’s start with our Devil’s Den experience.

Every time I research new places to go, I hop on Pinterest to see what other people suggest. And Devil’s Den popped up a lot! I wasn’t sure if we are going to be able to do it but I figured I could bookmark it for just in case.

We spent the night in Macon, Georgia after a long drive the previous day and lots and lots of traffic in Atlanta. From Macon to our first Airbnb in Weeki Wachee it was about a 5 hour drive but check in wasn’t until 4pm. So, I needed to find something to do for the kids on the way to the Airbnb without adding tons of extra driving time. (We were done driving). I remembered Devil’s Den and a quick check on MapQuest confirmed that we would be literally driving by. I was a bit worried about the water temps… I read reviews of people complaining about the water being to cold, but it couldn’t hurt to check it out.

We arrived at Devil’s Den and I was surprised to see that it wasn't as packed as I expected it to be after reading the reviews. After a quick check on how cold the water actually is (72 degrees year round) and finding out that YES there is an option rent wet suits we decided to go for it.

I think with tax and renting the fins and masks (required) we payed around $120 for the 4 of us. We opted against the dry suits for now and check to see if we can handle the water (we could!). We quickly changed into out swim suits, grabbed some towels and off we went.

Devil’s Den is basically a cave you enter down a steep staircase and at the bottom is this crystal clear spring. As I understand you can dive 60 ish feet down into some cave systems, but we came just for the snorkeling. It was definitely cold but nothing we couldn’t handle. We had an amazing time snorkeling for 2 hours and saw a bunch of fish and even some turtles.

Finn has never snorkeled before and it took him a little time to get used to the snorkel and the fins. He was about to give up but Scot really worked with him and after about 45 minutes he was a pro and loved it! We all took a quick break after about an hour but the 2 hours we payed for was the perfect amount of time.

This was the perfect activity for our first day in Florida and we highly recommend it!

I have some video footage of Devil's Den but I can't my memory card to work... ;(

Good bye 2017

And just like that it’s 2018!

I have been quiet here lately. Sorry. I started focusing on getting sessions, edited and back to clients as soon as I could and then I spent 10 days in Florida with my family totally unplugged from work.

2017 has been an amazing year for Sonja B Photography. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! I wouldn’t be here without all of your referrals and reviews! I have exceeded all of my goals for the year by far and I am looking forward to what 2018 holds for me!

In 2017 I have photographed countless babies in the studio and in their homes. I have photographed families welcoming their new child and sadly also those who had to say good bye to their babies.

I have photographed over 40 families for the Christmas Minis and have a whole album with amazing mistletoe kisses from those. I also started the Paper Moon Minis for Valentine’s Day (my favorite minis probably ever) and I can’t wait to continue those in 2018.

With your help I was able to finance my GO trip to India in April and my highlight of the trip was to photograph about 80 children and giving them some beautiful portraits.

I never know what my job brings and sometimes it gives me the most amazing experiences such as photographing a traditional African funeral, and being able to photograph a family on their NYC trip!

2017, was the year for me to finally finish the 99 days of summer project. A personal project which I have started multiple years in a row and never finished. This was the year I finished and I love that I have these memories for my boys.

I have photographed a few couples saying their “I DO’s”, each ceremony so beautiful and special in its own way. I always feels so honored to be able to photograph such an amazing day for clients.

2018 will be another great year! I can feel it! I am not sure what will happen or who I will photograph but I know I can’t wait to see all of your smiling faces again!

Thank you for supporting me and I can’t wait to photograph you again in 2018! I am starting out my year with photographing a sweet little newborn!

Roman's First Haircut

My favorite part of my job (and I know I said that a bunch before, but hey I do LOVE my job) is that I get to be sometimes part of "first " events... first birthday, first communion.... But, I think photographing Roman's 1st Haircut might be one of my favorite firsts! I photographed Roman's birth and many sessions in between, next year I will be photographing his parents wedding and in the middle of all that they asked me if I could photograph his first haircut.

And I may or may not have shed a tear (or two) when that first cut was made! Love this boy fierce and his family!

Noah - Cincinnati Newborn Photographer

Sweet Noah had to come in TWICE for his Newborn session with me to the studio! The first time around he decided to be awake for almost three hours! Second time around he slept like a charm! It doesn't happen often that I need to reschedule for Newborn sessions, but when it does happen it's no biggie at all. Going into a Newborn session, I already know that I am on the baby's schedule! But usually a very warm studio, a sound machine and a belly full of milk is all we need for baby to drift off to sleep... not Noah though haha! 

Oh and I did get to photograph his big brother! Look how cute he is with that bow tie?

If I have to pick a favorite from this session... hmmm this is hard but I would probably pick the black and white one from above (the third from the bottom!) Which one is your favorite?

To book your newborn session in my studio or in your home, please contact me at sonja.mcgill@yahoo.com or through my website www.sonjabphotography.com. I specialize in Newborn and Family photography and my Portrait Studio is located at 2530 Spring Grove Ave, conventiently located near downtown Cincinnati. Looking forward hearing from you.

Max - One Year Session at Washington Park - Cincinnati Photographer

Max turned one and I got to photograph him at Washington Park for his One Year session. This kid is so content and happy... full of smiles all.the.time! It seriously was a walk in the park (see what I did there?) to photograph this little guy!

I love them all so much but if I was forced to pick a favorite one, I would have to pick the second picture from the top... look at that sweet little mischievous face!!! LOVE!

Hope to see this sweety again soon!

To book your session in my studio or in your home, please contact me at sonja.mcgill@yahoo.com or through my website www.sonjabphotography.com. I specialize in Newborn and Family photography and my Portrait Studio is located at 2530 Spring Grove Ave, conveniently located near downtown Cincinnati. Looking forward hearing from you!