Darrell + Michelle + Trevor

Republic, MO (in-studio)

Meet Trevor, the newest addition to Darrell & Michelle's beautiful family.  He was just as cute as could be but also very alert at just one and a half weeks old.  I LOVE babies, but Trevor, oh my, I wanted to hold him all day long!!!

Of course I absolutely love all the sweet precious photos from throughout Trevor's session, but this next one...I can't help it, it's definitely one of my favs.  Everytime I look at it I can't help but hear my Dad saying to me, "well I'd cry too if you put that hat on me".  I should also mention, that even though Trevor was very alert throughout the session, he never once cried, not once, except for the hat incident!   : )

Darrell & Michelle, I sincerely enjoyed getting to meet you guys and can't wait to see Trevor again.  I am always amazed at how much they grow and change in just a few short months or even weeks for that matter!!!

Phillipsburg Christian Cowboys

The Back Porch Tea House in Willard, MO

As many of you know, I am a member/secretary of the Northwest Greene County Kiwanis Club and am so proud of this club and what I think is in store for us in the future!  Our club counselor, Kyle Gibson has just been itchin to introduce a band from his hometown of Lebanon, MO to one of our meetings.  So last Monday the band came and played for almost the entire hour of our meeting.  They were A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!    I would describe some of their songs as Gospel, Bluegrass, and maybe even some that were the old style rock-n-roll.  Anyone who knows me, knows this is TOTALLY my kind of entertainment!!!  Not to mention they were just some of the kindest most down to earth gentlemen and such a delight to chat with.  I absolutely cannot WAIT for them to visit again...oh I do hope that it is sometime soon!

Pssst....I perhaps heard through the grapevine that they might start providing live entertainment at the Back Porch Tea House during the new dinner hours which are Thursday and Friday nights.  Between this entertainment, and the homemade delicious food that Pam Askren and her stuff cook up, I might be visiting this place often!!!  : )

I wish I was savvy enough, oh and also perhaps had the bands CD, to incorporate one of their songs as background music while you look at the photos...but instead for now, the pictures are all I have for you!

 

Even though the other two members said not to fuss on the topic because it will just make his head explode, I can't help but mention that this next man is one heck of a guitarist (take notice to his guitar by the way, possibly the coolest I have ever seen).  He is so good in fact, that he is also a member of Iowa's Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame!

I just have to give it up for this next guy, Kyle Gibson.  He is our group's counselor and also the kindest, dearest of a person.  AND it took a lot out of him to get up a sing a song or two with these guys due to troubles with his vocal chords and the fact he will be having surgery on them in the next coming months.  Kyle, you did great my friend!!!

Thanks again guys for coming to pay us a visit, we all enjoyed it sooooo much!!!

Robert + Melanie + baby on the way!

Republic, MO (in studio)

It is now time for you to meet Robert and Melanie who moved to the Marshfield, MO area not too long ago after living in New Orleans.  Culture shock to say the least, but so far, they are happy to be in our area, and I of course am so happy that they found me!  They are one of those fascinating couples that I probably could have spent all day talking to (me talking too much, imagine that...HA).

So here are a few favs from the day...

If you have been a follower of my work, you will know that I am big fan of props in the studio, especially for the maternity sessions!  Here's why...

Just one example of the fascinating things about this couple...Robert is a tattoo artist and made some stunning paintings for the baby's room.  I was soooo happy they brought these to their session and couldn't wait to incorporate them in!

Seriously, Melanie, you are just absolutely gorgeous!!!!!!!!

Showing off their New Orleans pride!!!!   : )

Robert & Melanie, thank you once again for coming to see me, it was such a pleasure to meet you both!  I can't WAIT to meet Mr. Liam!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kirsten & Hunter

Marshfield, MO (city park)

These two adorable little kiddo's are my cousin's babies and of course are two of my most favorite subjects.  Kirsten can make you laugh like no other kid around let me tell ya!  She is like a giant sponge soaking up any and all information around her.  And then there's Hunter, who is a nice balance with his calm and relaxed attitude on life and quite frankly, is just about as cute as can be!

When we got to the park, Kirsten was asleep in the car, so we stayed close by the car and got Hunter's photos done first.  This park is amazingly beautiful, with huge trees, lots of hills, and a crystal clear creek running through.  I have only got to do photos for my cousin outside the studio one time and that was when Kirsten was turning one and and Hunter wasn't born yet.  So to get both of these outside was so wonderful!  Being outside the studio always gives so many more options not to mention all the beautiful scenery!

So here are a few of my favorites of Mr. Hunter (it was REALLY hard to narrow down favorites from this session).

I'm kind of partial to the quilt we used in these photos, because my momma made this for Hunter.  And the fabric is the same fabric that I used when we made all the bedding and decorations for my boys when they were babies...which was too long ago it seems (sniff, sniff).

The rocking chair and teddy bear in this next shot are my Aunt's from her childhood.  There's stories behind the items that I wish I could tell off the top of my head (and this is why I should write things down the second they are told to me rather than the whole "mental note" thing).  

Next up was Miss Kirsten, who I am not kidding you, always reminds me of a china doll.  She just has this face that photographs so amazingly well, and her eyes always seem to pop against that snow white, flawless skin of hers.  I couldn't wait to use this bridge in a shot, and then was shown the centerpieces that were going to be used for her first birthday party and well, of course was sure to race to grab these perfect photo props!

Eeek, so happy to see this shot once I got home because I do believe this is the BEST smile I have ever gotten from this girl!  It's just a face that screams, I am so innocent and never do anything wrong.... LOL.

Oh my goodness, this shot was a heart stopper in the making, and I am sooo not kidding.  Having these two on a bridge this close to the edge without having their momma directly in the shot was probably one of the most nerve racking shots I have done yet.  I can recall a few others where I was climing a rock roll or hanging over the edge of a bridge.  Okay, here's the secret...their mom was actually only a few inches from Hunter but I photoshopped her out.  But still...it was a one, maybe two shot try and that was all I could stand for!

And lastly, we decided for some water time!!!  Definitely one of my all time favortites for these two!!! : )

I love you guys oh so much!  Happy 2nd Birthday Kirsten, and Mr. nine months Hunter...see you soon for your 1st Birthday shots!!!  I can't believe it's already been a year!

Adam, Ashley, Caden & Riley

Republic, MO (in studio)

This family came to visit me when the newest addition, Riley, was only 1 1/2 weeks old.  Not only was Riley sooooooo adorable, but Caden was also just full of life and such a joy to be around and did fantastic in front of the camera.

Riley didn't sleep completely soundly throughout the session, but still would calm down for me each time I would pose her.  This first photo I just absolutely love the fact that I caught a grin in action.  It makes me smile every time I see it!

Playing with some hats, I can't help it... I always feel like a little girl playing with her baby dolls...

Hands down, my most favorite diaper cover ever!

During Riley's feeding I got to take Caden over and play with him for a bit.  I know I said this before, but he was SO fun...fast, but fun!

Speaking of being fast...these next shots were a good test of my quickness because Caden liked holding his babysister, but only for a second...no worries, mommy & daddy were VERY close by, lol.

As much as I love doing the newborn poses with just the babies, there is nothing quite like getting to see mommy & daddy with their babies.  Ashley and Adam are such loving parents, and I loved how much it showed as they would look down at their baby girl!

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous family!!!!!!!!!!

Adam, Ashley, Caden & Riley......you all were so much fun to be around!  I truly hope that I get to see you again soon!!!

Aiden's 1st Birthday

Phelps Grove Park, Springfield, MO

I first met Aiden in my studio when he was 6 months and he is one of the cutest babies I have ever seen.  Seriously...picture perfect cute!  But then with as pretty as his mamma is, it's no wonder.  Up until now I have only had Aiden for mini sessions and just snapped away like crazy for the entire 30 minute length of time because I just can't get enough of him, and so when his mom wanted to do a full session for his first birthday I was ecstatic!  She scheduled it months beforehand and so of course come time for the session, there were some crazy and nasty storms that day so we had to reschedule.  Luckily second time was a charm, it was incredibly hot and sticky, but like I always assure everyone...the ickiness of the heat doesn't show up in photos.  It kind of takes out a bit of the fun for the photo shoot, but the end result is just as good as any other day!  

We picked Phelps Grove park because of the massively large trees and the size of the grounds.  It's a great place because you can always find an area where there aren't people or else they are so far off in the distance that I can get them out of the shots.  Needless to say, I was excited to have the photo shoot here, but then when I saw Jocelyn (Aiden's mom) come up with all the bright colored balloons and adorable birthday shirt she had made for Aiden I got even more excited.  I mean really, is there any better photo prop than balloons????  I think not!  

Okay, it is kind of tricky to get the boy to smile, but with that adorable face of his, I'm not sure it matters!!!

Jocelyn had been working on getting him to give her kisses...awwe, I love this next shot, such a great moment!

We had to try the bubble thing a few times, in order for him actually want to try and catch the bubbles or at least notice them.  : )  Okay, so maybe there is another great prop beyond balloons....bubbles!!!

One of my favorites from the day...

Well enough of all this, let's eat some cake!  

And last but not least, here's another favorite from the day...

Happy 1st Birthday Aiden!!!  Up next, Mr. Aiden in his halloween costume, woo-hoo!  See you soon.