Liam & Reagan

If you're a mom or mom-to-be you may know what I'm talking about- MOMMY BOARDS. Yes, there are dozens of them online, places where moms can come together to discuss all things pregnancy, baby, and child related. It may sound silly if you've never ventured onto one, but I can't say enough about how many wonderful friends I've made from my special little board. I met Amanda online. How very 2009 of us, huh? Amanda has a beautiful daughter who is just 4 days younger than Reid and she and her husband just welcomed their second edition, a little guy named Liam. Liam was 8 days old when I photographed him and fresh out of a brief stay in the NICU. I was so sad that Amanda and her husband had to leave the hospital without their precious son and shed tears of relief when she texted me that he was coming home. I drove 3.5 hours to meet Amanda and do our shoot. Don't give me huge kudos yet...it just so happens that they live now 10 minutes from my dad and step-mom so I made a weekend of it (my first solo overnight trip with Reid, but that's for another post!) It was awesome to meet a woman whom I've "known" for over 2 years via our mommy boards. I was floored by how beautiful her kids were. Reagan, her 14 month old, has this awesome dark hair that normally hangs in front of her face because she refuses to wear clips to hold it back. When she looked up at me and I saw her ice blue eyes through her hair it took my breath away. She could seriously be a Gerber baby. Liam was fast asleep when I arrived and looked so SMALL! I have never photographed a new newborn and it has been 14 months since I've even seen one up close. He is a good sized boy so it was just me forgetting that my son too was once that tiny. Pretty awesome.

I set up my studio in their living room and off we went! Liam dozed off between bottles and snuggles and Reagan was fascinated by my camera (I wish Reid would take a lesson...) I had a few more poses and shots in mind but they required Liam to be in a zombie-like sleep state and he was more into quick 5 minute naps, so we did what we could. I am thrilled to say that Amanda loves her photos. Mission: Complete!

Daycare shoot - J & K

My son goes to the most wonderful in-home daycare in Folsom. The owner, Cheryl, is the mom of twin school-age boys and a daughter who is just a few months older than Reid. We got to talking and I found out that she was in need of a photographer for the kiddos in her care! I was more than happy to take on the task. It was a cool, windy day, just a few days after a decent storm. Cheryl's poor husband was apologizing up and down for not "cleaning up the yard" - trust me, he wouldn't be worrying about if he had ever seen mybackyard ;) Their yard is huge and has all kinds of neat places to photograph kids- toys, grassy areas, a wooden playhouse, a cool tree stump, and a vegetable garden.  Since Reid goes to this daycare, he was of course there while I was doing my shoots....so I brought my husband to "assist" aka "Reid-sit" while Cheryl and I worked with the other children! Everyone cooperated and we had a blast! The little guy, "J", was a pro poser! Every time the camera was on him he would look straight at me which is AMAZING for a 2 1/2 year old! The little girl, "K", was full of smiles and girly sunshine and was happy to have me following her around paparazzi style! Her favorite place was the garden and she loved to show me the tomatoes and bell peppers that her parents are growing! Here are a few from our session!  I photographed another adorable little boy, but I'm waiting to hear back from his mom to make sure that it would be a-okay to share the photos on my blog :)

Gorgeous 3 year old twins!

When Gina called me to book a studio session for herself and her daughters, I'll admit that I was a tad nervous. One 3 year old can be a challenge, but two, and contained to a small studio area? I knew that we would make it work, I always do, so I went into it with a big smile on my face. When I met "G" and "J", I was floored by their maturity and gentle nature. They were polite, kind, and funny. Their shoot was truly effortless and we were done in 25 minutes! Record time, and yet we had dozens of wonderful images. I told Gina that she had two future models on her hands- these girls were naturals!  Thanks again Gina for letting me shoot you and your gorgeous girls, and I look forward to our upcoming full family sessions!