I can’t even begin to believe that its been a year since we brought our little girl into this world.  Seems just like yesterday we were driving to the hospital in total excitement, anxious to give Mya a baby sister.   Sadie Evelyn Zugelter came into our lives on June 3, 2009 at 9:28am, she not only came into our lives, she completely changed them.   Its amazing to be able to experience all the new discoveries with her like we did with Mya, but also watch as she takes on her own personality that is completely different from her big sister.  Mya is an awesome big sister too, well, most of the time.  She is kind and gentle and loves to share her ice cream or lollipop, but then there are the times when Mya plays the big sister card and tries to take a toy from her.  Sadie isn’t a push over though, she’ll grab a handful of Mya’s hair if she feels the urge, and then laugh as if she’s just gotten even.  She also loves to fake us out.  She’ll hold a toy out for us to grab and just as we’re about to get it, she whips her hand back and giggles and does it again and again.  She’s so very close to walking on her own and I can’t wait for the days when she and Mya chase Guinness around the house or run around in the backyard.  Yeah, maybe I do live a little vicariously through them in an attempt to have a second childhood, but there is no question that I’m truly a blessed man.  Sadie just turned one year old and I created a short look back on her first year.  Many thanks to my friends Steph Carson who created such an amazing maternity session.  Nancy of Brideface who was there to make by beautiful wife even more stunning, and Kortnee Kate for the awesome birth, family & cake sessions.  I really hope you enjoy this look back which was created with their amazing photos and super 8mm film.

First the personal events.

Without question the single best event of 2009 for me was the birth of our second daughter, Sadie. She came into this world on June 3rd and has not stopped finding new and inventive ways of melting my heart. She’s smiling and rolling over and it won’t be long until she’s crawling. Of course she has seen the camera more than once and I’m working on putting together a film of her first year like I did with Mya. Nice segue to Mya here, she turned two years old in May and is going full steam ahead, no really, she doesn’t walk anywhere, she runs for no apparent reason but to get from point a to point b, really really quickly. We took her to Disney last January and to say she had the time of her life would be a ridiculous understatement. I bet we rode the flying Dumbo ride at least a dozen times and looking back at the smile on her face as if every time was the first time, I could’ve ridden it another dozen times. Those times were priceless! Every day she continues to make Reagan and I laugh at something silly she says or does but we’re also in complete awe of her desire to share and help out with her little sister. These are in fact the best days of my life and I’m certainly enjoying every minute of them. I’m looking forward to the days when Sadie and Mya are able to play together more and we’re able to do more things as a family. Certainly Mya and Sadie have the best mom in the world and I have the best wife. Reagan and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary in September and she amazes me every day with her multi tasking abilities. No joke, she can hold both girls and still find a free hand to do something else. She’s been there when the girls are sick and she’s been there when I needed her too. I truly am the luckiest man in the world.

Now the professional.

2009 has been a head spinning year. So many great things have happened and I’m truly blessed for everything. It was a year of new beginnings as I changed the studio name. I went from Glass Eye Video to Studio+Z Films. This change was something I had been working on for a long long time. It took me forever to find a name I loved and once I did, I found a great designer in Renee, owner of Ribbons of Red, to help me bring it all to life. It was important to me to not just add ‘Films’ to Glass Eye, I wanted a whole name change as I felt the studio had gone through more of a rebirth than a name change. Renee helped create not just a logo and awesome site, but also a brand. That was something I never had and I couldn’t be happier with it.

I hired the super talented Josh Emerson this year. He is an amazing asset to our Studio+Z Films team and we couldn’t have accomplished what we did this year without him! We really fine tuned our Same Day Edit that help make so many weddings unique this year.

I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to educate others when I presented at WEVA, Wedding & Event Videographers Association International, the worlds largest wedding videographer organization and at MIVA, Michigan’s professional Videographers Association and I have a few more speaking engagements lined up for 2010. I really enjoy public speaking and to have the opportunity to help other studios grow and achieve their goals is so rewarding.

Also at WEVA, I was incredibly honored to be awarded a Creative Excellence Award, its the Oscar or Golden Globe of our industry and to bring the first International Award for wedding filmmaking to our hometown of Cincinnati is indescribable.

One of the best moments of 2009 came when I opened the mailbox and found my copy of EventDV Magazine where there was a four page spread about my studio and the concept film I created that helped make this year the best year for me professionally. Our studio was also featured on Style Me Pretty, Rock n Roll Bride and two issues of Cincinnati Wedding Magazine.

Lastly, I just found out I was voted Best Videographer in Cincinnati by the The Knot magazine 2009/2010. What a huge honor!

Yes 2009 may be over, but 2010 is right around the corner with so many new opportunities and I’m incredibly fortunate for them all. I have a few things I’ll be unveiling soon, but I’m most looking forward to filming some of the most incredible weddings I’ve filmed so far, including quite a few destination weddings. I’m truly a blessed man and I couldn’t ask for more.

Who doesn’t love a pumpkin patch?? And what could be better than spending a day in a patch with two of your best friends who just so happen to be two of the raddest photographers under the sun??!?! Well, the answer is clearly NOTHING!
A few weeks ago Reagan and I took Sadie and Mya to meet Kortnee and Ted and their son Micah at Berries & Blooms in Loveland for some pumpkin patch fun, with an extra added ingredient, mud. The days prior, it had rained and rained some more. Of course rain + farm = mess, but we had a blast with it all! The kids loved it, with the exception of Sadie, who wasn’t sure what was going on and why she was being placed in crate full of these cold orange objects (pumpkins) while some woman (kortnee) stood in front of her with this thing (her camera) while she made cute baby sounds. While this is going on, Ted and I are constantly refreshing the web on our phones to get the latest score of the Vikings/Packers game. The mud certainly made things interesting and its amazing how kids are magnets for that stuff. No matter how hard we tried, we simply couldn’t keep them clean!
Carmel Apples, a hay ride, picking your own pumpkin out of a patch with your family and friends, this was good day indeed. We truly love Kortnee and Ted and Micah too (as long as he quits hitting on Mya) :)
I wanted to share with you some of the awesome pics that Kortnee took that day. Here’s the link to her blog with more of goodness that was captured that day  Enjoy!

She looks just like her big sister.

Check out those toes!

Mya loves her baby sister!

First the personal, my wife Reagan and I are going to be welcoming our newest child into this world and our family tomorrow morning! Mya is going to be a big sister and its a little bitter sweet to have this be her last day as an only child. We’re so excited and Mya knows somethings going on, she’ll point to Reagan’s stomach and say ‘baby’, she’s going to be an amazing big sister and I can’t wait to experience all the future holds for us. I will be sure to post pictures as soon as possible, I’m also really excited because I get to document it all in both super 8 and HD, how sweet is that!!! Please check back later this week for all the updates!

Now onto the professional changes. I can’t let too much out yet, but I can tell you there is the BIGGEST change ever coming to Glass Eye Video early next week. This has been a long time coming and I’m incredibly excited about it. Reagan and I have thought about this for a couple years and to have it actually happen in just a few short days is unbelievable. Make sure you check back early next week to see it all!

We found a smaller park filled with smaller rides and she LOVED this slide as you can see.

I really dig this picture of her and Reagan!

Mya had to dance along with Papaw in Animal Kingdom.

Mya’s first pony ride!

Old McZugelter had a farm……..

Just as Mya reaches the toddler years, Reagan and I find out we’re expecting our second child in June 2009! What an incredible blessing this is! Mya has been so much fun to watch over the last eighteen and a half months, the discoveries, the new abilities, growing out of clothes and into new ones, its been an amazing time of my life. To think I get to experience this all over again is too good to be true and we’re so excited for the new addition to our family and to watch Mya’s interaction with the little one, I want it to start right now! I’ll certainly keep you updated as things progress, but for now, I’ll leave you with an update on what Mya’s been up to lately!

Talk, talk, talk, she LOVES to talk, and I honestly cannot believe the things she’s picked up on. She knows her colors, does fairly well with her ABCs, considering her age, and is also blowing me away with her counting. She loves to order Reagan and I around. She recently got the Clipo Activity Table (a must for any child her age!), anyway, she loves to sit down, pull the table over her legs and yell, ‘Mama! Dada! PAY’ (play)! Sometimes Reagan and I won’t go to her right away just so we can hear her say it again, its so darn cute! She’s very bossy with the television and let us know she wants to watch Noddy or Caillou, thankfully we have a library on DVR! She also says Guinness’ name, sorta. We call him Guinney and she has turned that into GEEE. She’s quite the artist now, thanks to the Crayola bathtub crayons, (another must for any child her age), its a great way for her to enjoy bath time even more and its a lot of fun to watch her doodle, on the shower walls, the floor and herself! The picture above was taken in October by our good friend Nicole C, she shot our wedding and has been a friend ever since! Stay tuned for more updates!

Here she is showing off her new ability of standing and drinking at the same time!

And here she is in her new swimming pool!