I’ve had the pleasure of photographing this family a few times a year for the past couple of years.  I just looked through them and can’t believe how little the older two girls were when we started…you can watch them grow here, here, here, here, and here.  Now they’ve got another little look-alike, but with shockingly blue eyes.  Little sister is full of personality and spunk, and just as gorgeous as her sisters.  I just adore them.  Not only are they beautiful, but they are sweet and caring and generous (they are always trying to give my kids some of their toys when I drop their pictures off!), and I look forward to being with them each time.  This session was solo for baby sister at 9 months, but it was fun seeing all of them!

Meet the newest additions to this adorable family.  One boy and one girl, as perfect as they can be.  And these parents needed some big blessings in little packages.  Five years ago they lost their son John at just five days old.  It’s bad enough that these things have to happen, but worse still when they happen to really kind people.  Really.  Really.  Kind people.  John will never be forgotten, and I’m sure there is still not a day that goes by (or even a minute) when he is not thought of and missed by his mommy and daddy.  But these two soft-skinned, sweet-smelling, cozy-warm peanuts have made the going a bit easier, and they are truly loved!

This one warms my heart…on John’s blanket…he will always be missed and thought of.

Special thanks to their mama for getting this behind the scenes shot!

…to be curled up inside with a newborn that is!  This is the day we had our first snow and it was as dark as it could be and still be daylight   I can’t imagine any way I’d rather spend a cold dark day than inside cuddling my newborn baby.  This momma gets to do just that.  And she’s got a long winter ahead of her to take advantage of!  I was amazed at how alert this little guy was, and how expressive he was already at such a young age.  When I got there I really think I saw him smiling while he was awake (although I didn’t have my camera out yet).  And I could already see how much he loves his parents and his big sis!

We shot these a few weeks ago (still behind), and we had a wonderful day for it.  And everyone was cooperative and in a good mood, which is a plus when you are working with children!  We had a great time, but I guess that’s not even the important part.  We captured the love and beauty of a very beautiful family!

Births in general are a little scary and stressful when they happen normally, so when I heard what a time this family had bringing little miss into the world, I was just reminded what a miracle it is anytime it’s a success.  I’m so glad everyone is safe and healthy, and she was brought home to a loving family (and a gorgeous nursery!).  Here she is making her debut, with a brother that loves her dearly!

I know from experience that it’s really hard to keep up with your hobbies once you have your first child.  It’s like your life begins a new journey, and changes take place you never thought would happen to you.  As my husband and I were driving to this session with our littlest in tow, we passed another car where the mom was riding in the backseat with the baby while the dad was riding alone up front.  Meanwhile, I was also riding in the backseat with our car screamer, and I jokingly said, “look at that loser.”  We both laughed and I thought back to the days when I really would’ve thought “I will never ride in the backseat with my baby…he or she will be perfectly fine alone in the backseat while we ride in our car.”  I would’ve laughed at anyone I saw doing that.  Give me a break, you can’t leave your baby long enough to get to Wal-Mart?  Ha!  Boy did I have a lot to learn.  Then when we arrived at this session and dad requested one of the baby somehow incorporating the guitar (he’s musically amazing), I was reminded of how I was learning to play the guitar (less amazing but really enjoying it) when our first was born and how people told me I wouldn’t have time do that once our baby arrived.  I thought they were crazy; of course I would.  How much time could a baby possibly take up?  Ha!  That thing hasn’t seen the light of day in over 6 years!  I also think back at how fulfilling our life seems now compared to our life pre-babies.  They sure do turn our worlds upside down, but how precious our new life becomes.  Here is another world transformed.

I had so much fun watching the older brother and the dad of this family playing together.  It was a riot.  Big brother had such a great fun playful personality, and he was ALL boy.  He wanted to go! go! go!  And as I watched them and observed, I didn’t have to look far to see where he got it.  Top all that off with a beautiful mama and a sweet baby brother, and you have a really photogenic family!  I’m so excited about these pictures.  They’ve been waiting in the wings for a while, thanks to a hard drive crash on my end (really annoying if you are a photoshop user and have lots of actions and brushes to re-do).  So finally they see them!

This session was awesome…no other word to describe it.  These girls are so lively and fun, their parents are so ridiculously cute-in-love, and everyone is laid back.  We started dry and ended up getting carried away at the end of the session, up a creek without a paddle.

See…didn’t I say they were a lively group? 

FAVES!!

Then we headed to the creek.  They were a little bit timid at first…

And then Dad yelled, “go under!”  Things got pretty crazy after that.

And I have to give credit to my “lighting engineer” and his trusty sidekick who made this session wildly successful!

It’s been way too long since I posted anything here.  Babies are hard work!  For some reason I forget that each time I have one   But so worth it.  I got a little time away at this session, bright and early in the morning.  It was such a nice sunrise, and we beat the heat too.  If I remember correctly, this day was one during that really hot spell we had.  So this worked out perfectly.  This is another little guy I hadn’t seen since his newborn session one year ago, and I was so surprised at what he looks like now.  Those blond locks and big brown eyes are just so rare and so adorable! And his big brother keeps getting more and more handsome.

I was loving this sun flare!

My favorite from the session…I don’t think it needs any explaining   Just how life goes with little ones!

A few years ago, I took this big brother’s newborn pictures (here).  He was one of my favorite newborn sessions, because he was calm and so tiny and mold-able.  Well now he’s the big brother, and his sister was equally excellent as a subject.  I love this family!  They are just as sweet and kind as they are beautiful!