Ginny Phillips Photography blog! » hello there!

I looooove Swanky Baby.  Not just for their beautiful clothes, but also for their always spiritual attitudes on their Facebook page.  They quote scripture almost everyday.  When I was offered to do a small shoot for them I was so excited!  I shot 5 pieces.  It was literally like 40 degrees that day and London had to rock it out like it was spring.  You can tell in the first one (which actually happened at the end of the shoot) that her little nose had just about had enough…it was so pink Enjoy!  And check out Swanky Baby’s new spring and summer collections here! Also featured in this shoot is a beautiful headband by the ever-so-talented Katy of Birdie Baby Boutique.  Check her etsy shop out here!

Enjoy!

We are finally moved to Nashville and it’s been a long time since I have blogged!  I have done a few boutique shoots since being here and wanted to share those with you really fast.  I also have another wedding coming up in just about 3 weeks so look for those soon too!  As well as a mini-sessions day in 2 weeks That always makes for a huge blog post since I do so many families/subjects at once!

Of course London, our daughter, is the subject of these quick shoots for Amber of Oh! Sew Precious and Chrystina of Dandelion Clothing Company.  Aren’t the clothes adorable?  I had to include little man in some of the shots with his sister, too Enjoy!

A little peeky poo of Erin and Eric’s wedding I shot last Saturday!  Enjoy!

Man, oh man…are there ever TONS of iPad apps for kids out there?  The answer is YES.  There are tons of technological things for kids out there.  All those Leapster things, etc…I don’t even know what they are, but it seems like kids get a computer at age 1, right?  This can be a good and bad thing…I am trying to find a good balance as a mother.

Each day when I rock Jude to sleep for his nap, London has to wait her turn (I nap with her everyday) so she needs something to do while she waits.  Cue iPad.  This is the time each day when she plays the iPad alone.  She can play whatever games she wants and I can see what she has played afterward…this lets me in on the secret of what exactly are the most successful apps we have.  Now, each night, she and I play together as well.  Usually for 30 minutes and sometimes longer if she is in the mood to really, really learn.  Mostly I choose what we play (all educational) and then she may get to choose one quick thing herself at the end.

So, for us, the iPad is something that is NOT tv that she can do alone while I am busy…that actually engages her and requires brain power and interaction.  Then, we can really get down to business when we play it together and have some serious learning time!

So, what do we play?

I wanted to break down some really great apps for preschoolers that we have tested and found to be very useful and very much loved by London, who is 3 years old.  I would say these apps are appropriate for kids ages 2-4…but almost all apps will tell you what the age range is, especially if it is an educational app or an app as part of an educational series.  If you haven’t shopped for apps much, here are some things to look for:  USER RATINGS and REVIEWS.  Read them.  SCREEN SHOTS of the app…scroll through and check out what the game looks like.  Sometimes cheap looking games are good, but most of the time they are not.  COST is also important, but don’t limit yourself to only the free or $.99 apps.  There are some good ones out there, but look for reviews for the more expensive ones…people will tell you if it was worth the money or not!

Ok, here you go!

*my two faces in each category

These are really sorry descriptions for each app, so you’ll have to look them up in the app store and see for yourself!

Letters/Phonics:

*Letter School- sooo beautiful.  Learning how to write letters and how to properly write them in the correct direction, step-by-step.

*Smarty Pants School- this one is a bit pricey, but it’s worth it…your kid gets tested at the beginning to figure out where he/she should start in Smarty Pants School and then the lessons are planned accordingly!  A lot for your money!

PlaySquare-WordWorld- An interactive book from one of the coolest shows

Elmo ABCs- there’s a lot in this one…all the letters have coloring pages, seek-and-find, videos, etc.  Plus, it’s elmo!

Starfall ABCs- we LOVE Starfall and this is a simpler version of the famous interactive ABCs you can find on their website.

Nick Jr’s A-Z- a simple but beautiful lowercase and uppercase alphabet seek-and-find with Moose A. Moose

SuperWhy!- Lots of word games here!

Bugsy K-Read- Several phonics games with awards for each game and a cute little hamster to narrate and teach

ABC Wow! HD- cute interactive alphabet

Interactive Alphabet- interactive alphabet

Alphabet Is Fun- lots of more difficult letter games packed into one app

Monkey Wordschool Adventure- several word games fit for 4 and up

Reading Raven

ABC Food- there is a lot packed into this one too…each letter gets several real-life foods and in each food are videos, songs, or an interactive game like “peel the banana!”

 

Math/Numbers/Patterns:

*Team UmiZoomi Zoom Into Numbers- 5 wonderful math games in one!  Earn math badges and the ultimate key to Umi City!

MonkeyMath- a fast-paced math/shapes/numbers game that just keeps asking more questions, great for alone play

Math 3-4- several math games in one

Math 4-5- several math games in one

*Pirates Love to Count- it doesn’t hurt that this one is narrated by a british guyfast-paced math games with rewards and they just keep on rolling, great for alone play

My Piggy Bank- learn about coins, matching coins, sorting, etc.

Little Digits- so neat!  it recognizes fingers on the iPad…its the interactive finger counting app!

My First App: Series 1- I love My First Apps…this one if about putting things in chronological order

 

Science/Geography:

*Guess The Dress- This is one cute app…dress a boy or a girl for all 4 seasons correctly and play lots of fun games along the way!

Stack the States- a simpler way to learn all the states, and then you can get more complicated later and learn the capitals and other facts about each state

*Bubble Guppies Animal School Day- there is SO much in this app…10 animal school day episodes…its like real Bubble Guppies episodes for each animal, except interactive.  The prizes are things for Bubble Puppies dog house!

StarWalk- just a really cool thing…hold it up to the sky and see real life constellations

 

Sorting/Puzzles/Matching/Etc:

Preschool PlayMat Farm Fun- shape sorting, counting, etc.

*Animal Hide and Seek- beautiful seek-and-find game

Angelina Ballerina Bubble Pop- quickly popping bubbles with certain items and colors

Cupcake Matching- just a fun and cute matching game with three difficulty levels

*Shape-O!- really beautiful puzzles

My First App: Sort it out 1- My First Apps are simple but challenging!  sorting objects into the proper category

My First App: Match It Up 3- matching objects to similar ideas…like a monkey to a banana

My First App: Build it Up- building objects in the correct order…like biggest on bottom and stacking largest to smallest

My First App:  Puzzle Me 2- puzzles

My First App: Families 2- matching things in a similar family

My First App: What’s Different 2- objects are in a certain category and they have to choose which item does not belong

Animal Puzzles- beautiful puzzles of animals and scenes

 

Art/Music/Imagination:

*Monster Coloring Book- most fun coloring book ever!

*Princess Fairy Tale Maker- this is one seriously cool app…design your own fairy tale page, coloring, even coloring with patterns (like chevron!) and then you can record your own voice telling your fairytale and store it!  so sweet!

Color Me! Summer- I love the music with this coloring book!  Really cute coloring pages

Art of Glow- this is simple but really really neat…neon coloring on a black page with lots of animation choices

My First App: My Scene- build your own animal habitat

Starfall Me- We LOVE starfall…this is a neat app that lets you choose how you look, how your room looks, your toys and pets

My First App: Let’s Create- designing is fun!  design your own jewelry, food face, and lots of other fun things

 

Multiple Learning Subjects (Math/Shapes/Phonics/etc):

Zoo Train- spelling words, build a train, train track puzzles, and all very beautiful!

*Monkey Preschool Lunchbox- this one is great because it’s another one that constantly refreshes games and they can play a lot at once (shapes, puzzles, etc.) alone

Bug Games HD- music, fireworks, dot-to-dot, etc. and very beautiful!

Bugsy Pre-K- lots packed into one

Mickey’s Road Rally- interactive book from Mickey Mouse ClubHouse

*Teach Me Kindergarten- sooo much packed into this one!

Make It Pop!- 5 fun  games that are beautifully designed

Winnie The Pooh Wonder and Wander- a few games such as matching and music…pretty good for free!

 

Just For Fun!:

Cookie Doodle and Cake Doodle- designing cakes and cookies, these two apps are simple but really fun…you even crack the eggs

Toca Kitchen- I love the Toca apps!  They are beautiful.  This one is cooking, chopping, and preparing food for guests

Little Princess- lots of games, like dress up and washing the pets

Pets in the House- simple, decorating scenes with pets

Toca Hair Salon- you probably have already seen this one!  It is so fun.

Minnie’s Bow Maker- who doesn’t love Minnie’s Bowtique?

*Monster at the End of This Book- looove this classic book, it is an interactive version and grover is hilarious!

Starfall Snowman- simple designing a snowman (like on the star fall website) and matching game

Baby Chef- decorate cakes, pizzas, make salads, etc.

Team UmiZoomi Carnival HD- interactive Team UmiZoomi episode

*Toca House- cleaning windows, build a fire, ironing, sweeping…18 simple chores in this beautiful app!

 

Enjoy!

 

This year I changed things up a bit!  Instead of doing 30-minute or 60-minute sessions with christmas cards, I did 30-minute mini-shoots with a DVD of 15-20 edited pictures…all for $100!  Now people can make their own Christmas cards and use their photos on Facebook, etc.  What a deal!  Apparently others thought so too, because I did 11 families in one day!  It was SUCH a beautiful day outside, and everyone met me for their time slot at the beautiful and fun Collierville Town Square.  If you’ve never been, you should go!  Lots to do!  Little shops, concerts in the summer, food, coffee, museum, train diner, etc.  Really fun!  So, please enjoy a few pictures from each family’s session that day!  P.S. to the families, your DVDs will be sent out this weekend and you should receive them early next week just in time to make your cards!

 

Kristen contacted me a while back and wanted to get a “fun family” photoshoot, as she called it We went back and forth for several weeks…she had to cancel, I had to cancel, rain…finally after the 3rd failed attempt we made it happen!  She and her husband and their precious doggy were so sweet and easy to take great pictures of!  She wanted something with a field, some old buildings, and a country-ish feel to it…so I thought this location was perfect! I think she will like these Please enjoy some of their fun and natural family pictures!

 

Well, Emily and I were stoked when we figured out this reception was at Teton Trek, my fave part of the zoo!  I average about 40 visits a year to the zoo I think!  That’s just a guess…but it has to be a lot!  This couple was SO SO SO sweet, fun, laid back (Well, except John, the wedding planning machine…j/k John!) The wedding party was probably the most fun I’ve had in ages.  They were all so kind, fun, helpful, and just easy to be with!  It rained A LOT that day, but we somehow found little tiny slots of time to take a few fast shots outside, here and there.  It wasn’t exactly what we planned, but I think it turned out great!  The “Love and Happiness” bus took us everywhere we wanted to go downtown!  It was really cold, really wet, and windy, but they were troopers and were up for whatever the day brought us.  Thank you, John and AK for being so fun and kind.  Enjoy some of their photos!

I know so many of us love Tim, Arinne, and their lovely boys!  So I’m sure you are wanting to see their adorable family pictures in an amazing cotton field!  You really can’t ask for better clients, and better yet, better people.  We are blessed to know this family and call them our friends.  Arinne found this awesome cotton field, which I stole the next day for pictures of our own family!  So, thank you Arinne for the great idea!  Enjoy some of their fun fall family photos!

I thought I would post some recent pictures of the kids!  I know you all may think I have too many posts with them in it…but it at least shows you my work as a child/family photographer Most of these are from a cotton field and I LOVE them!  Some of the others are from our family trip to Gatlinburg a few weeks ago.  Enjoy!