:: welcome to the world, gretta ::

I LOVE babies ... love, love, LOVE them. There is nothing more amazing than a newborn taking in as much as his/her little body will allow!

I have been anxiously waiting to get my hands on, Gretta. She is the 10 day old newborn of neighbors and friends of ours. I was quite impressed with how well she did during our session. She was awake the whole time she was here (which was almost 2 hours), filled her pants twice, ate once, gave us a few little burbs and had the quietest cry I think I've ever heard. I mean, really, she showed me all the skills she's learned in her short life so far. Quite impressive!

Congrats again to Gretta's mom and dad for creating a perfect little miracle!

:: can I have a lollipop? ::

I'm not necessarly above bribery. :) I keep a canister of suckers in my office for a little extra incentive for kids when I'm doing a shoot. My son, Riley, asks me just about every time he's in my office if he can have a sucker ... and he (almost) always gets the same answer, "No Riley ... those are for the kids who come for shoots." He knows this line well.

Today I had the joy of doing a session for Kylie. Kylie lives in our neighborhood, goes to the same daycare as us ... and is about 10 months older than Paige meaning Paige and Kylie "bicker" back and forth quite a bit. We are greeted just about every weekday by Kylie as we drop the kids off and she almost always says something that makes us leave with a smile. She is just a precious little girl.

As Kylie walked in our house today, Riley informed her that if she took pictures she'd get a "lollipop". Well, about 2 flashes into our session, Kylie wanted to know if she could have her "lollipop" now. :) She asked for it a few more times ... and finally I gave in. BUT she'd done such a great job, I offered her a special lollipop. You should have SEEN her eyes. :)















And a couple shots from the inside part of the session.

:: the joy of cousins ::

I had SUCH a blast with this session. I know I say that with every session, but I enjoy becoming a small part of the families I photograph ... even if it's just for an hour or two.

The mother of one of the little boys is a friend of mine. I left this session wishing I was part of their extended family. I realized after I drove away from the session that they remind me of my family. The biggest thing is that I get the feeling the two middle cousins could get into trouble if left unattended for an extended period of time ... and that's the same with my son and HIS cousin who are also just months part.

Thanks again Jen (and family) for allowing me to capture the joy of cousins!

:: for the love of skin .... ::

I love it when people bring items to my house that are near and dear to their children's hearts. Josh and Kim did just that. The most interesting of the items they brought was "Skin" ... a skeleton that sang and danced. It was so cool! Skin has been with their oldest boy since he was quite small ... and it seems like everyone in the family has taken a liking to him.

Thanks again for the session with your family! I had a blast with all of you!

:: there's nothing better ... ::

... than a Saturday evening during the Fall in Minnesota.



Ahhhhhhhh.






















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:: a happy family ::

Let me just start out by saying, Mr. Micah made me earn every image I took when I came to his house to do a lifestyle session. Don't get me wrong ... it's not a bad thing. I just needed to be quick on my feet to keep up with him. :)

This family are great friends of mine. Our boys have "grown up" together (all of their short lives that is). They'll be moving out of town soon and I'm going to miss them terribly. I'm glad we were able to get one last session in before they move.

michael & lisa ~ married!

I love weddings ... and when it's family getting married, it's even more exciting.
We had the joy of heading to my husbands cousins wedding in North Carolina last month (see, I've told you I'm WAY behind in blogging!). Lisa and Michael met while they were both counselors at a bible camp and managed to keep a strong relationship going long distance. It's clear that they both adore each other ... and really do make a perfect pair.
Here are a few from their wedding!