I’ve been a bit buried under a pile of sessions waiting to be proofed…and decided to come up for air & post some favorites from my most recent maternity session.  I just loved all of these family shots - I wish I had some like these of my family…just the 3 of us, playing, interacting,  going about our daily lives.   I kind of wish I had some paparazzi to follow us around - sometimes :)  Anyway, here’s some faves of mine…I’m thinking I’m going to make a storyboard sample with these…the light was just so yummy that day, and I love the emotion in the images.

I plan on keeping the blog hoppin’, so keep checking back!

This lil man reminded me so much of my own lil girl…petite and just adorable!  We became fast friends, and by the end of our session, he was crawling onto my lap :)  I could have stayed & played with him all day.  Here’s a peek for mom & dad…

my favorite image of the session so far:

I’ve been in a black&white mood lately.  Have been trying to tweak and find my own personal b/w conversion for some time now, and I think I’ve *finally* settled on one :)  It’s such a challenge to find the perfect balance between contrast, softness, yet clarity and depth.  I don’t think digital will ever be able to produce the tonal range that film does when it comes to b/w, but I am trying my best to get close

I’ve got lots more, E!  I can’t wait to unveil your full gallery in a few weeks. 

talia came to visit me when she was 2 weeks old.  her parents are from out of town, so we shot the session here in my home.  the lighting outside was perfect, and lil talia was as sweet as can be :)  she was very curly for me, and even gave me some awake shots.

Sara - I’ve got some more great shots that I can’t wait to show you!  As soon as I get a few more sessions off my plate, I’ll get some more “peeks” for you :)  I loved having you here, and thanks for introducing me to the world of frozen hot chocolate - I don’t think I’ll ever be the same again

I just got this lil girl’s gallery up, so I can post some more of her images now :) 

This is sweet lil Halle, and she was 15 days old at our session.

I had a rockin’ mini-maternity session yesterday (the one that got rained out on Saturday).  We had a blast getting these shots, and Katie was just gorgeous!  I can’t wait to photograph her new baby girl in September!  I love putting my own spin on the traditional, and Katie was up for anything, which was great!

K - I know I’m showing like half your gallery as the sneak peek, but I just couldn’t help it!  We got so many amazing shots!

I told you she was gorgeous

Can’t forget the big sister…she is such a sweetie!  I’m curious to see what happens when her world is rocked by her new baby sister in just a few months! 

I just love this one of Momma & her first lil girl.  I wanted to capture some moments between these 2 while she is still the baby of the family. 

Thanks for an amazing night!  I hope to see more of you soon! 

today is driving me crazy.  it started off with a rained-out session with katie, which had me so bummed as i’ve been looking forward to this session for weeks!  (altho i finally got to meet katie, and loved chatting with her - thx for the coffee, girly!).  then my girl’s day at the lake got rained out, so no 3 hrs out on the boat while sipping mimosas for me…so we rescheduled to a tea room and had brunch instead, only to have my car die on me in the parking lot!  so i borrowed a car from a friend, but then left my house keys with her! ahhh!  it’s 6 pm and i am finally back in my house for a few min to catch up on emails.  on top of it all, i am missing hubby something fierce. 

sorry for the lil vent there, but i feel better now :)  here’s a quick image from a session last week.  i know the fam is waiting patiently…so just wanted to show proof that i am diligently working on their images

i’m off to dinner with my parents  - my mom is cooking for me :)  don’t mommies just make everything all better? 

this really needs no words…

This week is going by so fast!  We are getting everything ready for Matt to go to NY for 8 days.  I am SO blue that he will be going without me…he’s even spending his birthday out there!  Sniff…I’m just a wee bit jealous :)  Charlotte & I will be lonely &  bored without our favorite guy, so if you are up for a lil adventure, let us know!  We welcome the company

Well, we survived the crazy weekend!  Between 2 birthday parties for Charlotte, and 2 surprise birthday parties for other family members…we are partied out!  We are exhausted, but oh what a fun weekend! 

Just a couple snapshots from the weekend…lots more to come - just wanted to quickly throw these up here as I know many of you check my blog daily

Here’s the birthday banner I made for her the night before (thanks Mom for doing most of the cutting & Matt for saving my butt!).  It wasn’t exactly like I planned due to some minor mishaps, but I still love it :)  It will be fun to use every year.

C’s bday party on Friday with her little friends was at a local Nature Center.  We cannot get enough of this place, and it is perfect for the nature girl that she is :)  It was the most fun kid’s birthday party that I’ve ever been to, if I do say so myself

Petting the snake…(thankgoodness I was a Certified Vet Tech in my former life - I think I was the only mom that actually wanted to pet the snake, lol!)

Jill, the educational director at the nature center (who pretty much ran the show, she rocks!) was explaining to the kids how snake eat their prey…how the jaw stretches, etc…and Charlotte was quite perplexed by this!  She kept rubbing her jaw the whole time Jill was explaning

One of the kid’s goodies in their favor bag was a safari hat that looked like a bug - Charlotte thought it worked well as a place to store her rocks and other treasures while she was exploring :) 

I didn’t take one picture the entire day - Matt & my dad carried our 2 cameras around, and it was great!  I had no idea what they were snapping until I went through the images later…what a nice surprise to see so many shots of Charlotte & I together (which are so rare!) as well as some cute detail shots to remember the day.  Like these…

I just love this one that Matt took…I never knew this was what it looked like when I hold Charlotte.  I do this a hundred times a day, 365 days a year, and I don’t have one picture of me doing it that has been captured without me knowing it.   Thank you, honey for sneaking this in. 

For all of you asking….here’s the album!  It’s just a shot of the cover - I haven’t had time to take shots of the spreads yet, but trust me when I say it is gorgeous!  It is perfect!  I have the best lab, ever!  Sitting next to it is her birthday crown, handmade by my dear friend Callie, and designed after a pattern in my favorite new book, The Creative Family by Amanda Blake Soule.  Callie did a wonderful job - I can’t wait to use this crown year after year. 

and here’s C modeling her birthday crown (this is the 2nd party for her, at our house the next day for just family)  Three generations here…

Like I said, lots more to come - as soon as I’ve recovered

A gorgeous night.  Mid 70’s, a breeze from the lake, an hour before sunset.  A rambunctious 3 year old in love with life, an adorable 1 year old blowing raspberries, and a blue-eyed, laughing 4 month old.  Am I lucky or what?

I had to throw this one in of the grandparents - I just loved watching the interaction between them & their grandkids.  You can tell they are very loved

Thanks for a fun night, “A” family!

as promised, here’s the rest of that newborn sneak peek.  kelly & matt - i am blown away by the amazing images we got yesterday!  your lil girl was sooo good to me, and curled every which way i asked her to.  what a sweetie :)  thanks for putting up with the crazy 80 degree temps in my house plus humidity!  it was SO worth it to get that sleepy angel, right?

LOVE this one of big sis with the lil sis…I told big sis that I would kill for those freckles - so adorable!

i love newborn peach fuzz!

one of my favorite parts of a newborn session is getting all the little details.  like her cute little eyelashes…

That’s enough for now!  :)  The next few days will be a bit hairy around here…have Charlotte’s bday parties Fri & Sat so I will be busy getting ready for those…but will try to post a sneak peek from my session tomorrow night sometime over the weekend…whew!  I’m getting tired just thinking about it all! 

p.s.  Charlotte’s album arrives TOMORROW!! I can’t wait to see it! I’ll try to post pics of it as soon as I can.  WHEEE!!!  :)