You’ve seen some of these awesome people on my blog before. They are the Williams Clan of THE Williams Tree Farm . I’ve photographed quite a few weddings and portraits for them over the years. And,  I’ve been able to use their amazing property for many other sessions. I can’t tell you how beautiful their land is right now. You’ll see in some of the photos all of the beautiful wild flowers that were blooming for us. It’s not always easy to get 11 people to cooperate in photos, but they did a great job at making it easy for me! Thanks Williams for be your wonderful selves, for all you do for our church, and for allowing me to use your beautiful property over the years! Hope you like your sneak peek.

You may remember Cory and Ashley’s Wedding Photos from this summer. As you recall, their day was produced some pretty icky weather, which impeded on photos quite a bit. We’ll they were willing to get all dolled up again so that we could get some more.

Karen really wanted some shots on this bridge. There are a whole bunch of them, but this one of her and Don stood out at me.

I could photograph this little beauty all day!

They wanted to get shots of all of the couples. Each couple had an idea of where they wanted to do them. I was happy about all of the locations because they were beautiful.

Also, the light was gorgeous!

These two humored  me so that I could get some “non rainy” shots of them.

On my way to their place, I drove by an amazing sunflower field and started praying to GOD that someone would be willing to take photos in it (I think that is a perfectly acceptable thing to pray for.) I was so excited when I got there and they had already decided on the field for a location. Yay!

Thanks Again Williams!

This is my beautiful sister-in-law Hannah and she is very soon going to bring us the 6th Henry Grandchild. We are all really excited because, as you can see, she and my brother-in-law Eddie produce the cutest babies in the world. This time she is having a girl and we cannot wait to meet her. I’m sure she is going to be gorgeous. Luckily, we were visiting Colorado at just the right time and I was able to do a little mini shoot for them before we headed home. Nothing fancy, just a some shots to document this exciting time in their lives.  Also luckily, we will visiting Colorado again not too long after the baby comes, so I will get to do baby portraits for them as well!! Here are just a few relaxed portraits that we got.

Probably my favorite!

Last week my baby turned 9! Nine!!!! I have always had a hard time with the fact that my children grow up. It just seems like every stage has been so wonderful (even through colic and terrible 3’s tantrums), I want to savor and hold onto each one. However, it is no secret that as my girls are soon entering into their tweens, I’m feeling a bit out of my element and a little sad. Sad because I know that this is when their daddy shines and I start to wonder what the heck I’m doing. Do you know how often I already ask him, “Why are they doing that?” I know nothing about the adolescent/teenage brain. Maybe that’s why Abra’s early years have felt so special to me. I felt like I had a better handle on it all. Even through colic, potty training and tantrums I always felt like I at least knew how and why and what to do. I’m not saying that it was never hard. But even when it was, there were just so many moments of cuddling, tenderness, amazement, discovery, innocence, bonding and pure cuteness that made it such a magical time. Maybe I’m also a little sad because I only got to experience it once. I know that there are plenty of other amazing moments to come, but sometimes I like to just reminisce. So last week when my baby turned 9 I went through some of my favorite photos of those early years and thought I’d share. Keep in mind that these are all photos of photos, so the quality is not great. And, some of them are in scrapbooks, so there might be some weird things on the edges.

Abra was a teeny 4 lbs. 13 oz. For months, where ever we went people often did a double take because they thought she was a doll. One of the photos below was taken with our phone next to her so that we could show how little she was. You can also see in her car seat how we had to pad her quite a bit just so she would not jostle around.

The other week Abra asked, “Mom was Quinny my very first friend?” Indeed he was. I love this picture of Quinn meeting her for the first time. He was obsessed with her. We’ve been planning their wedding ever since.

About 2 months old.

One of my all time favorite photos of her.

Came down stairs to this sight one day and my heart melted.

Her hair always looked like this after we would take her ponies out. I used to sing a song called “Crazy Haired Girl” to her.

Just over a year old.

About 2 years.

2nd Birthday, sharing it with our friend Melissa.

Her first attempt at getting into make-up. She did a beautiful job.

With her best friend Quinn.

Almost 3 years. Oh, I loved her hair.

Her first day of preschool. That’s when mommies start the process of letting go.

In a few weeks she’ll start 4th grade. Before I know it she’ll be in middle school. *Tear*

After my session with this little cutie pie, I’ve decided that I am in love with photographing 6 month olds. This little guy was full of wonderfully adorable faces.  He also wasn’t crawling yet, which means I didn’t have to chase him and my knees thanked me for that. I cannot say enough about how fun it was to work with this little guy and his mama. Thank you Nicole for choosing me to document this wonderful time in his life! I enjoyed catching up and swapping “Old House” stories. Enjoy your Sneak Peek.

Seriously. Look at those blue eyes!

Oh, and the faces he gave me had me smiling the whole time.

I love that Nicole brought some of his favorite toys and coordinated outfits that fit well with them.

Interestingly enough, dad sent some toys for the shoot as well. These are special because they were his daddy’s tractor toys growing up. And, I found out that it is important that they are International Tractors, as opposed to John Deere. Being a city girl, I never knew there was a difference.

After some shots in the studio, we headed over to Beckman Mill and did some outdoorsy stuff. It was such a beautiful day and the weather was perfect. We all enjoyed just being outside.

Nicole had asked if she should bring this old wagon she found. My response was, “Definitely!” You can never go wrong with a baby in a red wagon!

I’ll end with this favorite cause it just makes me smile.

What a hot and muggy, yet incredibly fun evening I had with the Pethtel family. Tabatha contacted me months ago saying that they were going to be in Wisconsin for a week or two and that they would like to do a photo shoot with me. Her request was that I get ONE good family shot with everyone smiling and then plenty of the kids. She said that her husband John does not smile, but that she had confidence that I could get him to. I was a little worried about that because I am not that funny, and usually am better at coaxing smiles out of children. Well, I didn’t have any trouble getting the adults to smile, but man this little cutie gave me a run for my money!

She wanted nothing to do with me at all. Did not think I was interesting or fun in the least. Hahaha.  She was just too privy to my desire for her to smile, or even look at me for that matter, and therefore was determined to do neither. Little did she know, however, that I’m a pro. If you smile for even just a second, I’ll catch it.

Also, I don’t always need or want smiles, or for  my subject to look at me.

Isn’t she a beauty? I wanted to steal all of her curls.

Now this little guy was all about having a good time and hangin’ out. He was ready to tell me his life story 2 seconds after we met! He had a lot of fascinating things to talk about and I was happy to listen. He was also happy to show me what a great reader he was.

Yes, you saw that correctly. Yes, he is reading a book called Modern Military Aircraft Anatomy. Yes, he is only six. Yes, he could actually read every word.

He was also up for exploring in the little creek.

And he was definitely up for showing me some of his hip hop moves, which I LOVED (I especially loved listening to mom and dad giggling in the distance.)

Both of the kids liked picking flowers to throw at me. I thought this shot was particularly cute.

Count them, 1, 2, 3, 4 smiles!

If you wanna have a successful photo shoot with a 4 yr old you HAVE to go on an adventure. That’s just the way it is. You have to pick flowers, climb mountains (or mounds of dirt,) pretend to be mermaids, climb ladders, blow bubbles and play with balloons. And to get some smiles while doing all of that, you have to let them scare you, making them giggle with delight when they do. Miss Carter Lily is all about adventure, so she was pretty cool with letting me take photos of her while we went on ours.  Here are some highlights from our adventure.

We picked flowers…

…and put them in this really cool basket.

This ladder was just her size. She didn’t stay on it too long, but long enough for me to get this.

Later she showed me her beautiful new dress that she was going to wear for her Birthday Party. And then her mama let her PLAY in it!!!

So we got some shots like these.

Of course, she got to keep her balloon that she affectionately named “Ballooney.”

Thought this one needed to be B&W as well.

Thank you miss Carter Lily for letting me explore with you. I had the best time!

I’m not gonna lie, these 2 cuties gave me a run for my money! They never stopped moving and my knees are bruised from crawling very fast all over the floor while trying to keep up with them (I think it’s time to invest in some knee pads.)  Their mamas were probably pretty tired too as they also worked hard.  I got to photograph both kids when they were in, and fresh out of, the oven. They happen to be cousins who absolutely adore each other and it is really sweet to watch them together. It’s been so much fun watching them grow over the past year and a half, and I am giddy over the photos that we ALL (kiddos included) worked so hard to get.  The bruises were totally worth it!  Here is a preview of the little cuties (I’m sure their grandma’s have been anxious to see.) You might wanna grab a cup of coffee or a soda because it’s a long one.

First, here they are in, and fresh out of, the oven.

Addisyn is the oldest.

Teagan came next.

Teagan went first and made sure that my floors were nice and polished (using his little knees.) He loves Curious George. I mean he really, really  loves him.

“T” is for Teagan, and Tractors, and Telephones, and Trucks.

You may remember his Daddy’s favorite tin tub from his first shoot. Well, it made an appearance again.

Good thing I have a nice big window up there. His mama says that he likes to look out the window ant home and watch all the cars.

Addisyn was next and all ready to go in her pink cowgirl gear. Her and her mama own some horses, so she is sure to be a cowgirl someday. I love these next photos because they look a little retro to me.

“A” is for Addisyn, and Aprons, and Apples.

I made these giant paper flowers for Addisyn’s shoot. I just knew she would look so pretty surrounded by them.

They also made great accessories.

Just a simple sweet smile.

2 Cuties in a tub is a good way to end don’t you think?

On Friday my baby got a mouth full (and I do mean FULL) of metal. Full set of braces on top, full set on bottom, and a big hunk of metal glued to the roof of her mouth that will expand the width of her mouth. Poor thing could barely talk, eat, or swallow. I think she was excited about getting braces initially (because you know kids kind a like that stuff sometimes) but once it was all in she was bummed about how it felt in her mouth. To make her feel better, we got her all prettied up and did a photo shoot of her with her new BLING. She loved it and totally worked the camera for me. As you will see, she is quite the little model. I loved it because it gave me a chance to play more with the AMAZING light that I get in my Attic Studio during the day.

I swear,  she’s never seen an episode of Next Top Model. It must just be from having her mommy take her photo all her life.

Braces have never looked so cute!

Last one, I was experimenting with different light techniques. Used my reflector on her in this one to get the background a bit darker. I think she was ready to be done.

This little boy is gonna be smothered with brotherly love, seeing as he is the youngest of four boys! I was so excited to have him and his beautiful mama Katie be the first clients in my home studio. While the space is not quite finished yet (all the fun little decorating and touch-up details etc…) I worked on getting the shooting area cleaned up and ready so that we could get baby Colton in while he  was still little enough to do some of the following:

What is it about a baby in a basket? It’s like those kitten videos on you Youtube. You just can’t stop “awwwwing.”

Just a sweet backlit shot of mama snuggling him.

Can’t resist those little fingers.

He was just small enough to fit on this chair. I was hoping he would be because I had this all planned out and knew it would be so cute if we could pull it off. He wasn’t really happy being on that hard chair, but he tolerated it just enough to get some good shots.

Ahh, nice and soft. I think he liked this better.

I think these are my favorites from the shoot. I was not sure at all if this would work and Katie was a brave mama to try. Don’t worry, she was right there  just inches away the whole time. It amazes me how babies can just sleep anywhere.

Couldn’t resist snapping some from the other side.

Thanks Katie for letting me photograph your precious little guy.

I really don’t consider myself to be a High Maintenance Girl. I mean don’t get me wrong, I’m pretty girly. I do like flowers, and jewelry, and pink. But, I’m not one of those wives who expects her man to “get it right” on Valentine’s Day, Anniversary, etc… I’m not that into frivolity (yeah, it’s a real word, look it up.) either. So usually if I want a gift, it’s something I really need or have been wanting for a while. Now I’m not saying my hubby isn’t a generous and thoughtful gift giver who, even though not expected of him, makes me and my girls feel loved.  I am saying however, that he is a pretty lucky guy because my V-Day expectations of him are pretty low. Perhaps the fact that the day comes so closely behind Christmas and His Birthday, which results in us being all gifted, treated, and dined out, also lightens the pressure. This year, neither of us really felt the need to do anything special just the two of us. But, I had an idea to do something really special for our girls. Something that would make them feel so loved and appreciated and that they would hopefully remember for a long time. So, this is how we spent V-Day 2010.

We told the girls that we were going to make them a “fancy dinner” in which they could request any dish they wanted. They both agreed on Haitian Chicken, with Beans and Rice and Dad set out to spend hours in the kitchen (that’s one of his specialities.) We told them that they could dress anyway they wanted and even let them put on a little make-up. I had them make some handmade decorations to hang, but didn’t tell them much else about what to expect.

Why would I ever pay for cheesey decorations when my girls make pretty things like this?

Abra was sad when she woke up in the morning and didn’t find her Valentine’s Gift in her room. I wanted to put it on their chair, so they would find it when they pulled the chair out.

Mmmm. Red Velvet Cake is always a winner for Valentines.

The girls saw these “personal watermelons” at the store and wanted to try them.

I made the girls wait till everything was set before they could come into the dinning room. Candles lit…

Crazy Light Up Cups on and full of pink lemonade…

I even put the silverware on the plates to make X’s and O’s.

This was the reaction to all the fanciness.

This was Ashley’s reaction to dad being the waiter, telling her the menu, asking her what she’d like etc… She loved playing along.

They loved their crazy cups.

Dinner is served.

Happy girls.

We also gave them cards with a love letter written to each of them. They felt like pretty special little girls I tell you (which they are.) It was the best Valentine’s Day ever.