Carter’s mama knew she wanted to be out in a field with pretty light, and Carter braved the coldest morning the of year thus far for the session.  He loved the tall grass and my chair…he was so sad when I packed it up for the day.  He could not have been sweeter for the last session in his year.  It’s been a honor capturing his first year.  Thank you mom & dad…I just love you all.

Last night I got the chance to do something I don’t usually do.  I had a senior session.  And a senior boy at that.  I’ve known his mom for years (I used to teach at the school she works at) and I actually had this handsome guy in class when he was a 5th grader and I was student teaching.  I. am. old.

Dylan is fabulous.  Funny, smart, and definitely knows what he likes – the color black ranks high on the like list.   He’s got an awesome car that earned him a special picture in last year’s yearbook, a classic he worked to restore with his dad.  It was such a fun session…thank you thank you!

Tonight I met Ethan.  After months of communication with mom.  Doctors visits for Ethan, and the birth of my little guy kept us from meeting until now, but he was certainly worth the wait.  I knew I was going to love this session even before I arrived – after all, little boys named Ethan who were born in December hold an extra special place in my heart.   And this sweet 21 month old didn’t disappoint.

Ethan was born with a heart condition called Transposition of the Great Arteries and Ventricular Septal Defect  Basically the aorta and pulmonary artery are on the wrong sides of the heart and have to be switched back via surgery.  He had his first surgery at 9 days old, spent his first month of life in the hospital, and had a follow up surgery at 4 months old.  For all intents and purposes he is a normal toddler, but mom & dad and all those who know kids with TGA are acutely aware of just how fragile life is.  He’ll likely have follow up surgeries down the road to replace valves – could be next year or 10 years from now – there just isn’t anyway to know for sure.  So keep him in prayers, okay?

Thank you mom & dad for spending the evening swatting mosquitoes, wrangling your toddler, and allowing me to document your family.  It was an absolute honor.

more information on beads of courage

Sweet Knox has a gorgeous head of hair, a doting big brother, and the longest legs!  What fun for me!  Congratulations M family, he’s wonderful!

Tonight I had some holiday (yes, that’s right, I said holiday) mini sessions.  Some pretty cool families came out to see me.   Just wanted to share a few from my early session – it was approximately a million degrees with the humidity, and this sweet family didn’t complain once – note the long sleeves and jeans!  I hope your evening at Six Flags was fun, thanks for coming out!

She was one of my first baby planners, and he’s one of my newest.

There was pretty morning light, and amazingly decorated bedrooms.

It was the perfect welcome back from maternity leave.

(super size sneak peek ahead…)

Jase had mommy and daddy pulling out all the stops…dancing, singing, the hokey pokey, you name it.  Dad even went outside to play peek-a-boo and do jumping jacks through the window while I got images of Jase on the bed.  Um, Jase may have been a little scared at first when Daddy poked his head around one of the window panes…

All that hard work on mom and dad’s part paid off though…there is a gorgeous gallery coming their way soon!

It just is not possible.

Mom and dad seriously rock.

Last week I needed to reschedule when the stomach bug attacked my house.  They didn’t mind a bit.

Tonight I made them (highly suggested, lol) that they drive 45 minutes so we could  use this amazing location.

It’s about 20 feet from a sandwich shop’s dumpster…you know if case you are looking for it.

Gray worked every bit of the amazing light…I love this kid, and I seriously love him outdoors.

Meet 9 day old Blake.  Seven pounds of perfection.

Slept for the entire 2 hours I was shooting.  Amazing.

Still just about a week shy of his due date, he’s already made quite the impression on mom & dad, and I am thrilled to spend the next year capturing all the little things that make him unique.

You can imagine my surprise when the “big” boy turned out to be barely 7 pounds!  Sweet little Brandon was an angel…slept the entire session and totally indulged me.  What a great treat for me as a photographer!  Thanks mom and dad for having me out today – he is perfect.

Dad, I know you’ve been waiting to see some of these…your key dangling paid off!

If you follow this blog, you already know Angela and Danny…well maybe you don’t recognize them, but their son Carter is one of my most adorable babyplanners.  And this October I have the honor of capturing their wedding! 

Today was nothing short of stellar – Angela is gorgeous, and the girl has a great sense of what kind of clothes photograph best, I mean seriously the cream and turquoise dress is to die for! And even Danny’s perfectly worn jeans (his favorite, from what I hear) were just right for the shoot.  I knew when I opened these images it would be impossible to choose only a few favorites to share…and I was right.  So Angela, who has been waiting (maybe not so) patiently, enjoy this extended look at today’s session…

What I loved most about this session was that they brought their dog *and* they wanted a family session with their teenage son.  I don’t get that often enough, but certainly this time in life is just as important to capture as the moments of early childhood.

We traveled through the Botanical Gardens and then onto the Stockyard to take advantage of the light.  G family, I hope you all love these as much as I do!  Can’t wait to edit the rest of your session!

Joey. The most adorable dog (after my own, of course)

There is nothing quite like a true expression from a teenage boy…and this guy was hilarious!

My most favorite way to capture a couple…