Got to hang out with this fun family from Florida the other night.  The momma found me through a friend of hers from college, who happens to live in the area now (and whose newborn I photographed last summer).  Such a small world!  Loved this little guy’s smile, and his adorable baby chub!  Oh,and do I not get the babies with the most gorgeous eyes?!  I wanted to do a happy dance when I saw those pale baby blues:)

I know mom was worried we might not have gotten any smiles out of this little guy - he was understandly a bit weary of all the traveling - but hopefully this alievates some of those worries

the minute i took this, i knew i would love it.  it will probably be a canvas sample - i love it that much!

if i had these eyelashes, i would throw out my mascara for good.

I hope you all enjoy the rest of your visit in Illinois!

To all clients:  I will not be reachable the rest of this weekend - am taking a few days off to celebrate my bday with some very important people (aka my family).  All phone calls/emails will be returned Monday.  Thanks!

A little cutie from the other night…

yes, his eyes really are that amazing!

and my favorite so far…i just love that sun flare, and mom’s expression is priceless

J&K - hope you enjoyed your sneak peek!  I can’t wait to unveil the rest in a few weeks

No sneak peek to share until tomorrow…and I have a pretty good headache right now, so this will have to do for a post today.  Just a couple shots of my doll baby…who is going to be 2 in just a few weeks (snif).

More sleeping shots (she has been so good to me lately).  Everytime I do this I wonder if it’s the last time she’ll let me.

 It took all I had in me to not curl up behind her.  If only I could stop time…

this one i just had to do huge…

Ironically, she is just waking up from her nap.  Off I go!

Sneak peek tomorrow!

there’s nothing better than turning around in the car and seeing a little person that is only there because you fell in love with the person sitting next to you in the front.

they are such treasures.

It love it when people come back into your lives in the most unexpected way.  The momma of this newborn was one of the OB nurses where I frequented when I was pregnant with our first.  I haven’t seen her in over 3 years now, but the minute I saw her again, I instantly recognized her.  It was a joy to photograph her 6 weeker - not a newborn anymore, but we were still able to get some gorgeous images of him. 

Enjoy your sneak peek, E!

their expressions crack me up!

and my favorite so far from the session!

Hope everyone’s having a great week! 

I had the privilege once again to  travel to the Children’s Hospital and capture a special baby there.  This precious little one is in open heart surgery as I write this.  Such a beautiful, sweet baby.  Here is a sneak peek for his parents from our time together the other day. 

A & J - Thank you for inviting me into your hospital room to be a part of your intimate moments with Peyton.  Seeing you two of you interact with him and each other was an indication of the amazing parents you already are.  I know today will be long, emotional, and full of anxiety.  I’ve been there.  Just know that we will be praying for you throughout the day, as I’m sure many others will be.  I hope these few images will help bring you a sense of peace today as your little man fights his battle.  Much love… 

Today’s post is a personal one…will have sneak peeks up in day or so.

This was taken yesterday, on my sister’s birthday.  She would have been 32.  I can’t believe it’s been 4 years since I hugged my best friend.  I can still remember the feel of her hair on my face and the warmth of her shoulder as i lay with her in her hospital bed.  Our last hug.  A part of me will always be missing until i see her again. 

Charlotte is wearing a jacket and hat that used to be hers.  I will never tease my mom about keeping our old baby clothes again.  I had to put this on her beore she outgrew it, and yesterday happened to be the perfect day.

Happy birthday, sweet Heidi.   Charlotte will grow up knowing you. 

i know not everyone has a husband that is also an amazing father.

i know not everyone has a dad they can call, or hug today.

i know not everyone has someone to wish a “happy father’s day” to.

i know i am blessed. 

because of that, i do not take today for granted.

My good friends can tell you what a BIG deal it is that C is doing what she’s doing in these pictures!  B/c the child is seriously deprived of sugar.  Unless you count the raw sugar she had once that was sprinkled on top of her vegan muffins.  Errr…yeah.  I guess I am a lil strict when it comes to her diet :)  BUT, I did finally give in last week - purely out of selfishness of course.  I wanted to get some fun snapshots with the wide angle lens I rented, and we were hanging out at home (pantless of course, as you can see…Charlotte, not me) :)  The sucker was a pure bribe, I will admit.  And I will probably regret ever introducing her to the world of candy…but I’ll take my chances.  At least now my family can’t tell me that the child *never* gets sugar.  This is proof.  Now get off my back

Blog will probably be quiet until Sunday night or Monday - then it will be rocking with lots more sneak peeks! Until then, have a fabulous weekend!

Just a quick “hello” in between proofing.  I’ve been extending my proofing time to closer to 3 weeks now, even though it drives me crazy personally :)  The organizer in me wants to spend 6 hrs on the computer & get them done the day after the session, and it drive me nuts having 2-3 sessions in my workflow at a time…BUT I have to make myself drag it out a bit so that my family can see me, too.  So I am spending much more time with my family now, and I can actually run off to the park or the pool at a moment’s notice, instead of feeling like I *have* to sit & proof to meet a deadline.  Charlotte appreciates it :)   Thanks for understanding!

I’m making some headway in this lil guy’s gallery…here’s a few that I just finished up that I thought were so hilarious.  His momma pulled this earthworm out of a tree stump for him (yah, she is like the coolest mom ever) - and he affectionately named him “Bowl”.  We carried “Bowl” around for a good portion of our session - thank goodness he didn’t make it home in my camera bag!

Have a beautiful, family-filled day, everyone