Busy Weekend!

I had the privilage of shooting two families this weekend, both with 3 week old babies. They were born one day apart from each other and they share the same last name... what a coincidence!

Sweet Baby Girl 'S'

Precious piggies, heaven sent!

This is sweet baby boy 'C'. He is just another reminder that miracles really do happen all the time! What a blessing to his family!

Thank you families for allowing me into your homes to capture the sweetness of your new little bundles! I can't wait to do it again another time!

Another Beautiful Family

I've been so lucky lately to be holding my first sessions!! I've photographed some beautiful families with in the last month and I'm just loving it! Lifestyle photography has definitely become my newfound passion! Here's a couple from the other day:

Anyways... super-cute family!

I'll be heading out of town tonight. I'm taking Avery over to my parent's house east of the mountains to play in the snow for the weekend. And I'll definitely have my camera!! (Avery doesn't know it yet, but she's going to give sledding a try for the first time!)

One more from the other day:

'C' fell asleep in the car on our way home from picture taking on Thursday. We flat out wore the little guy out... he was in the middle of eating his lunch. Sweet boy fell asleep with his hand in his Happy Meal bag! Tooooo cute!

ALL BOY(s)

Today I was able to get down to my cousin's house to do a little session with her boys. I'm thrilled with the way her pictures turned out. I'm quite happy also because I finally got to take some shots on train tracks! LOVE IT!! I think train tracks are my new favorite place to take pictures! The boys were VERY cooperative... little treats never hurt! Here's a few from today:

Pretty cute, huh?

'S' Family Session

I'm so excited to post this sneak peak of another session I was able to do for my dearest friend and her beautiful family! Brace yourselves...these are precious!!

Daddy's girl!

And Mommy's girls...

Ok, ok... I'm getting a little carried away with 4 peaks!! Ha ha... but they're just so sweet! Enjoy!

'W' Family Session

Within the last few days I've had the privilege of shooting a few family sessions. Here's a little sneak peak of one family. I'm just about finished with processing their images and what I'm seeing makes me smile!! :)

And another......

Isn't she a sweetie? I love the expression on her face in this picture. She wasn't quite sure of what to make of myself and my camera and this image definitely tells you what she was thinkin'!!

Favorites

Things are kinda slow around here lately. Weather's been icky, except for yesterday it was abnormally beautiful for this time of year. Anyways... I haven't been taking a lot of pictures but it's all the more reason for me to get some good practice shooting indoors. Yep... working on it. :) Anyways, I haven't posted in a while so I thought I'd show you a few shots of Avery that I LOVE. We have to keep in mind that not every picture we take has to be technically perfect. As a mommy, I never want to miss anything Avery says, does, tries... etc. Part of the reason why I've fallen in love with photography is because it allows me to "document" Avery's life. Not just the cute smiles in a beautiful environment. I want to capture the essence of Avery. Not all of my pictures are what some would see as "frameable", "scrapbookable" or "need -to -show- the -world-able" but they are pictures of Avery's true spirit; exactly what I want to catch while documenting her life. Of course, I'm biased... practically EVERY picture I have of Avery is "frameable", "scrapbookable", and yes, absolutely "need-to-show-the-world-able" but I'm her mother!! Ha ha ha! So here's a few of Avery that I cherish. With one glance of these pictures I know exactly how she was feeling, I can here her giggle or hear the word she was saying, I'm taken back to the moment!

This is one of Avery's favorite things to do!

If you ask her to play 'Peekaboo' this is what you get!

I love this picture because Avery now says, "Idnknoooow" which translates to, "I don't know" and it is so cute to hear her say it. She puts her hands up too. This shot is not perfectly focused, but look at her beautiful blue eyes and her priceless expression with a cheerio in mouth to boot! Ha ha ha!

And this last shot is very close to my heart. This is something Avery's done since she was soooo little. When she's tired or just relaxed, she snuggles her blankey right over or under her nose and just breathes her blankey in. She loves it so much and this soft, fuzzy piece of brown and pink fabric bring so much security and comfort to her. It just melts my heart! When you ask if you can have some blankey too, she puts it right under your nose and rubs it. Just the way she likes it! Such a precious little bugaboo!

That's it for now! Remember, not every shot is going to be perfect (I always have to keep that in mind)! Just know that some of those not-so-perfect shots may turn out to be the ones that really speak to you and mean the world to you.

I can't help it...

......I have to post a few more "peeks" of the session I did in Florida! Here they are:

This mommy and daughter are just two peas in a pod!

And is this little girl beautiful or what?

I've just finished processing their session and I've ordered their proof book as well! I'm so excited for them to see their pictures... nearly 4o of them! WOW! Thanks so much girls, and I'll have your book to you soon!

I know, I know......

Yes, all! I'm back from Florida. I came home a few days early but first let me just say I had a FABULOUS time hanging out with my sister and her boyfriend!! I know what you're thinking though and you're absolutely right. I missed Avery and her daddy so incredibly much and those words do not even begin to do justice to what I was truly feeling inside! Florida was a LONG way to go for the first time without my bug and I will do it again, I will absolutely go back and visit my sister again. Our sister time, getting to know her boyfriend better and yes, my alone time too, was so very precious to me. It was just a whole new experience... leaving Avery for the first time. Here are some pictures of Katie and Brett. We were on Juno Beach and it was gorgeous. There were surfers out in the water and the smell of coconuts and tanning oil were mesmerizing; especially if you live in WA like me where we're getting a real taste of our fall weather!

Aren't those pictures darling? And I'm proud to say I have the most beautiful sister in the whole, wide world!! She always is super comfortable and photogenic... she doesn't even have to try to look good for a camera... she just is this way all the time! I love her soooo much!

Here's the sisters on our way to wreaking havoc in Florida on my last night in town:

OK, this was super exciting for me. While in Florida, I photographed my sister's boss, Amy, and her five-year-old daughter, Savannah. Guys, this is my first paid shoot and I couldn't be more pleased with how the photos turned out. Here's a small sneak peak for Amy and Savannah...

This picture really captures the true essence of who Amy and Savannah are with each other as mommy and daughter. They were the two easiest girls to photograph. They played and laughed with each other and I just shot away to my heart's content. Thanks so much girls and I can't wait to get your photos out to you!

Cheers to Florida and Katie & Brett and Amy & Savannah... thank your for the trip, I'll never forget it and don't count me out... I will be back!! Ha ha!!

West Palm Beach, Florida

I did it.... or I'm doing it, that is!! I'm in West Palm Beach, FL visiting my sister for a week. This is the first time I've left Avery for more than one night (and I only did that last weekend)!!! Being away from Avery is much harder than I expected it to be. I'm having a great time spending time with my sister and her boyfriend but man, I am one homesick little mama!!!! Tomorrow we're heading to Disney World for the day so that will be fun. I can't wait to find Avery loads of Disney toys and whatever else... she LOVES Mickey Mouse!! I'll be home on Monday and I can't wait to see, smell, kiss and love up on my bug... and my husband too! :)

Yesterday Katie (my sister), Brett and I and Katie's boss and daughter headed out to Juno Beach for a photo session. Amy and Sass (my sister's boss and daughter) were so fun to photograph... so easy. I absolutely LOVE every shot I took. As soon as I get home I'll post a few. We had a blast yesterday! I also took some shots of Katie and Brett that turned out fabulous! I can't wait to get them all home and processed for them to see.

I hope to have some fun pictures from Disney World tomorrow also and I plan on taking more pictures of Katie and Brett with their dog (my nephew... he's soooo cute) Jackson. Well, take care all and I'll be home soon!!

Late Afternoon at the Beach

We took Avery to the beach today before dinner. And, since I never leave home without it... :) I got some very cute pictures of Avery. I know, I know... this blog is basically all pictures of Avery. I'm the most doting mom, I could brag about her all day... So here they are!

I just love this first picture because it truly shows how much she has grown. This picture is for our family who follow my blog... she has grown so incredibly much since her first birthday almost three months ago! I'm blown away...and not only is she physically growing, she's absolutely BEAUTIFUL! I know I said it in the last post... but when I look at these pictures I'm just taken aback!!

I'm speechless!

Yeah... another picture of my bug and I! I'm not kidding, I absolutey treasure these. They come few and far between! Thank you, Daddy! I love how we're not paying attention to the camera! Avery's mouth is dark because she almost decided to have a handful of sand for dinner... luckily we got most of it away from her in time!

Even though I like to keep "beach" pictures in color, this one just SCREAMED black and white to me! She finally figured out the sand she was throwing around was mostly landing in her hair! (Should've seen the bathtub tonight after washing it all out...ha ha ha!)

OK, that's it for tonight. Now onto business.... I am really hoping to get some constructive criticism regarding my photos. I created this blog to help me see my growth in taking photos over time and I'm really seeing some myself! But I don't know what other's look for in photos, just what I like... so any pointers, constructive criticism, comments would be greatly appreciated! I plan on working on my website all winter long to get this business up and running by next summer/fall! Thank you in advance for anything a "more trained" eye could tell me!!!

It's A Start...

I'm really excited about this piece of news I'm posting today! I was asked by a friend of mine to donate a photo session to a silent auction happening today. What a great way to get my pictures out there and to get some word of mouth advertising! I developed a business card, if that's what you want to call it, in hopes that people would pick one up and hang on to it... check out the blog... give me a call?? Who knows what will happen. I'm super excited that's for sure! Here's the card I came up with and printed out:

Not too bad, huh? I like it... especially my model! :) Anyways, I should know anytime if it got purchased today. I'll let you all know as soon as I do. Like I said, it's a start... baby steps, right?