Green Thumb … AND 4 Fingers

I think this year was the best Easter we’ve had with Reed. Actually, every holiday seems 10x more fun now that he’s just a little older.  My husband & I have been married 13 years and had never dyed Easter eggs … just seemed like a thing to save for kids.  Anyway, we decided this was the year we would introduce Reed to the whole thing.  We talked about what Easter meant for Christians, talked about celebrating new life with Spring, and added the eggs in there somewhere.  Maybe next year we will be able to have a better explanation for him … but to be honest, I don’t think he heard a word after seeing the dye tablets.  He was standing on a stool so he could be right in the middle of it all … and boy was he!  Literally, every 15-30 seconds he pulled an egg out of the dye to check the color – bare handed! Who needs a wire hexagon thingy to get them out anyway!  He was so excited about the dyed eggs, that not a single one of them made it to see Easter morning (good thing we had bought plastic eggs too!).  He put dyed eggs in his dump truck, pulled them around in a wagon, moved them from basket to basket to basket.  I even found one in the laundry!

Well, that is EXACTLY what we were hoping for … he really enjoyed Easter!

And it now holds an extra special place in our hearts because we got to see it through Reed’s eyes.

Hope you ALL had a wonderful time too!

Cute as a Button

I just recently had the pleasure of taking photographs of little Maddie for her 1st birthday.

She was SO cute! She seemed to love that everyone was trying to get her to smile … and she made some of the cutest little faces in response!

She did a great job just being happy the whole shoot!

I was really excited about being included in such a special time for her. I loved my son’s 1st birthday … foot in the cake, icing on the face – so much fun!

Big ‘Thank You’ to her parents for allowing me to capture their beautiful little girl just being herself – cute as a button!

Happy Birthday Maddie!

Alexis

I’d like to introduce to you, Alexis.
This little cutie just became a big sister on Monday!

Seems to be a trend (probably just in age) but boooy, did she make me work for my shots! Her mommy was ready to have her baby brother “any minute now” the day that we did this shoot (couple of days later she did!). So, if I had to chase Alexis around the living room to tickle her, then so be it! We wanted to make sure to capture her as she was when her little brother was born.

We danced, we sang, we played chase … all while Reed napped in his room. Shame, he would have really liked to meet Alexis. She was a lot of fun!

Hopefully, she will be back soon for pictures with her new brother!! Congrats to her family, we wish you the best.

I just love the little pooty face in the last shot … Enjoy!

Beautiful little Talia

Beautiful little Talia is a good example of why a photographer should always be on their toes! If I had just told her mom, “well, she doesn’t want her pictures taken today sorry” we would have missed some of her most beautiful moments. Those moments are when a child is just being themselves … and it’s not always the side that mom would like them to be at that moment, right?! Not all kids (especially at 2 years old) are going to flash their best “cheese” on command (my son would be one of those kids!!).

I was happy to have the chance to capture Talia … even on her terms.

That’s the way God makes them – love every moment of it!

A House FULL of Blessings

How can you NOT have fun photographing a family with 7 kids? Well … I have to admit, I was pretty nervous going into this session. But it didn’t take long before I caught their enthusiasm … and these kids where pros in front of the camera! This wasn’t their first family shoot – that was for SURE!

They spent the morning just being themselves and I did what I do – capturing it best I could! Everyone seemed to really be enjoying themselves. It was fun to get a glimpse of what must go on in such a FULL house … but sure glad I don’t have to worry about being the “bathroom police” on Monday mornings in that place! yikes!

One of my favorite shots is below where the kids are all chasing each other and baby Joshua is running away just as it becomes chaos! It’s like he knew everyone was going to end up on the ground and he didn’t want to be in the way. It may prove that the 7th child is instinctually born with knowing when to say “I’m outta here!”

I’d like to thank the Hoovers for making my job easy & for reminding me to watch what I pray for – maybe 1 little boy is plenty!

Hand Them the Camera, Let Them Amaze You

Yesterday, I toted Reed along to a Snap Happy Mom’s meet up at the Japanese Friendship Garden. When he asked “Why Jap-you-knees Gardens?” I told him we were going to take some pictures. Fortunately, an old point & shoot camera that Reed has declared his own was in the car because he responded with “Me too takem pictures Mommy!”.

And that he did! While we waited for the other moms to arrive he took pictures of the parking lot, pine needles on the ground, and a passing helicopter.

I thought for sure that once we got inside the gardens he would hand me the camera and take off. Don’t get me wrong … he TOOK OFF running alright … but not until he took a few shots of the gardens.

I didn’t look at what was on his camera until we got home. I was amazed that he was very intentional about what he wanted in his pictures. I had underestimated that he was just pushing the shutter, he actually aimed and captured what he was seeing he wanted to capture. When I showed him his uploaded pictures he said, “Ya, takem picture of flowers” … like ‘of course that’s my picture, that’s what we went there to do’.

He pleasantly surprises me over & over … he also reminds me that God knows exactly what we need when we need it. Through Reed, I understand that there’s no need to wait to start writing those “Workshops for Kids” that I’ve been planning for when he gets older … they see beauty & wonder at ALL ages!

BOY, God sure did pack a lot into this kid!
I know every mom thinks their child is something special … but mine sure IS!

… and one of my favorite parts of the whole story – I was able to capture him TAKING those pictures. Some day I may be HIS assistant and I’m completely okay with that!

 

(just in case you’re wondering, the bigger pictures in the collage are his)

Baby Matthew

Have you ever seen a cuter bunny?!

Not only was baby Matthew one of the cutest babies I’ve photographed, but his parent get the Klicken award for working the hardest I’ve EVER seen to get a baby to smile! Oh my goodness, they cracked ME up! I wish I had video of it! :)

These shots were to celebrate Matthew’s 6 month birthday.

We had tons of fun and some of these shots are my personal favorites so far!!

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter and look forward to our beautiful Spring weather … perfect weather for getting Mother’s Day photos done!! (wink, wink)

Hope you enjoy baby Matthew’s shots as much as I enjoyed taking them!

Happy Spring!!

Beautiful Camilla

One of the most rewarding things about my job is working with little ones like Camilla. Taking photographs of a 2 year is a LOT of work! I have a very short time to make a friend, make her feel comfortable, and try to capture the wonderful little person she is – all in under 2hrs! No easy task!

But I was determined to try to show how much spunk God packed into this little beauty! And she definitely made me work for it … as her mom & Aunt chased her around, I tried to convince her I was a “safe place” to run towards. It took her a while to warm up to me but it was WELL worth the wait!!

Being a mom of a toddler, it was interesting to me (and a little bit of a relief) to see that some “attitude” is just part of being 2 and discovering independence. You can tell from some of the little smirks on her face, Camilla’s mom has her work cut out for her!

Such a beautiful little girl … Happy 2nd Birthday Camilla!

Please enjoy some of my favorite shots from the session.