So with a new year starting I decided to participate in a new photo project. Last year I attempted a 365 project but failed by time February rolled around. This year I am attempting 12 month project.  I think I will do much better with a 1 photo a month project as opposed to one photo everyday. So this months theme is Window.  I decided to go with window light. 

So as I was walking past my son's bedroom the other day I spotted this lone dragon basking in a tiny ray of sunlight that was coming in through his window.  Now with him at school all day I love finding these little reminders of him throughout the house.

There is a fabulous group of ladies who are also participating in this project with me. Head on over to   http://www.stacyespinoza.com/2016/02/01/frommywindow/  to see her photo for this months theme!

Look at this little sweetie!

Eating her hands is her favorite pastime at the moment!

N wasn't really sure about my camera so we had a lot of serious faces throughout the session. As soon as I would put my camera down she would start smiling.

Little teeny tiny smile in this last photo. 

Love baby feet!

Sometimes a photo session is just exhausting and you need a little nap.  Look at those little lips!!  Love!

It was so good seeing you again little N.  I hope to see you soon when you are sitting up and and playing!

Look at the smile!

Told ya, we had some fun!

Funny story about the serious face, we had to try about 10 times to get it because we couldn't stop laughing!  As soon as you tell someone to do a serious look they will crack a smile!

Stunning!!!

Very last photo of the session. It was almost dark out and it was raining on us but I am glad Megan was a good sport and let me snap this last one!

Good luck to you Megan on your future plans!!  I can't wait to hear what college you decide to go to!

Gorgeous!!!

Thanks for finding us some flowers mom!  They were a beautiful addition to the session!

Thank you so much Rhiannon for letting me capture such a special time in your life!  Good luck to you and your future adventures!  I know you are going to be awesome!

Seriously can't get enough of this little guy!!  So handsome!

Look at those beautful eyes!

Another beauty!

It was wonderful meeting all of you!!  Thanks for allowing me to capture such a special time in their childhood.  These moments go by so quick!

Look how ready he is!

This years selection was spiderman back pack and star wars shoes.

Big sister was very ready to go to school, so much so that she wasn't really feeling the photos today.....

My daughter went with monster high and sketcher tie shoes. No more velcro or light up shoes for her.  :(

There he goes for the bus. No hesitation!

And off she went.  I only got this one photo of her at school because as soon as we got there she spotted friends and ran off.

So it was great first day of school for both kids!  I can't wait to hear how their days went!

Here is Bernadette with her god parents!

Peek a boo!

She smiled through the whole thing!  Not a tear or a fuss!

Congratulations!!

What a great day filled with family, friends and God!

I can't believe how old she is getting! 

This is the guy who really keeps me laughing! 

This little lady is just the sweetest!

Lol, boys will be boys!! Anyone remember the old Toyota commecials?  I kind of had a flash back to those commericals as I took these photos!

As always it was great catching up with you guys and I look forward to our next adventure!  xoxoxo

Look at this sweet baby, loving on her mama!

There is nothing like seeing a brand new baby just a day after it was born.

Oh my goodness, look at this little angel!

This big brother is ready to be an awesome little helper for mom and dad!  He was so gentle and loving with baby Nora.

I love the look of awe and wonderment in the boys faces.  They will probably not remember this moment in a few years but this photo will be an awesome reminder for them!

I think this little princess has already stolen daddy's heart!

The day I got to visit was also Mom and Dad's anniversary!  What a great anniversary gift!

I love how Nora is sticking her tongue out and no one else sees it!

Austin finally gave his baby sister a little smooch!

Thank you so much Rivest family for inviting me to take photos during this very special time in your lives!  I loved every second of it!  I can't wait to see how this little one grows!

This guy was on the move the whole time! So much to explore when you are 1!

Look at this sweet heart! 

Look at me mom, I'm about ready to climb out of this crate!

This smile is contagious!

Sometimes you just need to twirl in the last light of the day!

As always it was a pleasure freezing time for these beautiful children!  Loved being a part of such a special time in their lives!

Just going to start with this adorable brother and sister!  No words, just love right here!

This little sweetheart steals the show every time! 

Owen you are such a handsome and funny guy!  Love all the laughs we have when we get together!

Beautiful family inside and out!

Dad and Mom and big brother were behind me doing something hysterical during this series of shots!

Lol, the bottom photo is priceless!  Nuggies for big brother!

So sweet!

Thank you Syd and Dave for allowing me to capture your family for another year!  I enjoy every session we have!  Big hugs to all of you!!  Have a fantastic summer!

Look at this beautiful family with one more on the way!

These two brothers are going to be awesome big brothers! 

Doesn't get more handsome then these two!

Glowing with excitement!

Stunning!

Smooches for mama!

One of the boys favorite activities of the evening was throwing rocks into a little pond.  I swear that could've easily occupied them for at least an hour!

After our time at the pond we took a little walk to the park. 

Perfect way to wrap up our session!  Many thanks to the Rivest family for letting me capture this special time in your lives and I can't wait to meet the newest addition in a few weeks!

The shower was hosted at Carly's friend's property which was simply beautiful.  Her friend Tommy also happens to be a chef which you'll see his amazing creations in a minute. He and his wife were such sweet people and know how to host an amazing event!

Originally the party was to be hosted outside but unfortunately it was raining that day so the party was moved into the green house.  That just added to the atmosphere and it turned out great!

No detail was left out. Everything was so well thought out and just beautiful!

How cute are those handmade blocks!?  Love it!

Soon to be Bride giving her mom a big ol hug!! Carly's mom is one of the nicest people I know! 

Here is the wonderful Maid of Honor!  So much love here!

Here is Tommy the host and chef!  Seriously some amazing talent!

The Happy Couple!!  You guys are adorable!

Ok now lets talk about the food for just a second.  This was the first thing that was presented. 

Uh, yes everthing was as delicious as it looks! 

Look at this beautiful spread!

Last but definitely not least was gelato bars that Tommy also made.  This one here was a banana gelato with a salted caramel sauce. 

It was a beautiful day even if it rained.  Amazing people and lots of laughs were had! Thank you so much Carly and Mike for giving me such a great opportunity to capture this special day for you.  I know your wedding is going to be spectacular and so will your marriage!  Much love to the both of you!!

This is Nevaeh! At first she seemed like the quiet and reserved one but by the end of the session she was nothing but laughs and giggles!  She just needed a little time to warm up.

Look at those eye lashes and perfect lips!  Just love!!!

This is Noelle!  She was very interested in all the balloons and keeping busy.  She definitely keeps mom on her toes at all times!

So sweet!

There we go with the smiles from both girls!

If only we could read their thoughts....  I feel like they are saying, "Hey we look good! Look at these outfits!!"  This has to be one of my favorites of them interacting together.

And then it was time for CAKE!!  I absolutely loved this cake smash session because both girls were really loving it. Sometimes babies want nothing to do with it but these two girls went for it!! 

Happy first birthday girls!!  Thank you so much for coming and spending the afternoon with me!  It was a pleasure meeting the both of you!

Over Christmas break Abby and a few of her friends had the opportunity to visit the American Girl Doll store.  I knew we were going for over a month but kept it a secret because its more fun that way and also with the amount of viruses floating around I didn't want to tell her and then have to break her heart if we had to cancel because someone got sick.  So the day before the big trip we saw a commerical for American Girl and she asked when we could go to the store and with the most serious face I said, "How about tomorrow?"  The look on her face was priceless!  What I didn't tell her was that 3 of her friends were also coming with.  Always have to keep a little something in my back pocket.....  So the big day had arrived and we drove to her friend's house where we were all meeting.  Another fun surprise when she realized who was going!

We finally made it!! 

Immediately the girls were mesmerized!  I had never been to American Girl before and I have to admit that it really is something.  I can't imagine what I would've been like if I was in their shoes.  So much to see and take in.

I don't know what the fascination was with this chair but all the girls had to take a turn sitting in it, lol!

Quick pose with Caroline in the background. It was really hard to get any real good photos because the girls just wanted to explore.

The displays at the store were pretty cool!  So much detail and thought for a doll store.

One of the activities you can do at the store is have your dolls ears pierced. So of course we went ahead and did that. They also have a hair salon and a hospital for the dolls.

Here's a photo after most the dolls got their ears pierced.  No tears out of any of them.  :)

After ear piercing we had lunch at the cafe.  Its quite the production for meals at the cafe. You are only seated at certain times and its highly suggested to have reservations.  I must say though that no detail was left out.  They had seats for all the dolls along with a little tea cup and saucer that was ours to take home.  Also there was a little box of cards on the table that the had questions on them that kept the girls busy while we waited for our food.

It was an all day adventure but I think in the end the girls really enjoyed it and I enjoyed seeing them explore the store. 

I am ready for my close up!!!

See it looks like she is sleeping here but she is really taking really long blink breaks, Lol!  The only time she would close her eyes was when Mom put her hand on her chest.  Look at that content look in the bottom photo.  Mom has magic hands!

Look at those perfect lips!

OMG She is smiling for us!!  Absolutely love it!

Perfect in every possible way!

More smiles and happy to be in mom's arms!

Just beautiful!!

And when I got this look out of her I knew our session was done!  She rocked her first photo session and it was seriously my pleasure to come and take her photos!  Gaelen and Tim I love you both to pieces and am so glad that I could capture this amazing moment!  By the way, you two do good work!

I had the opportunity to photograph my cousin's sweet little guy this week!  I seriously love this little guy!  He is welcome in front of my camera ANY time!

Those eyes and cheeks, LOVE!

Mr. Serious!

Watching his mom be silly!

Future Gerber model?

Lol!  This guy is going to have a great sense of humor, I can already tell! 

Any time you guys are in town you better call me so I can get some photos of this guy!  Love all of ya!

Seriously, look at this adorable face!

6 month olds always have the best expressions as they are still discovering the big world around them. It also is fun to watch them when mom and dad are being silly behind me, lol!

So often parents want their children to look at the camera and smile but for me its the shots like this that really make the memory!  Absolutely love seeing such sweet interaction with families!

Who doesn't love a baby in a crate!?  So cute!

I always try to get a few photos of just mom and dad because they deserve to be in the spotlight too!  They are working hard behind the scenes raising a beautiful baby boy!

It was so great meeting all of you!  I am glad that we were able to find one more nice day to capture this amazing time in your lives!

I had a session last week that was so much fun!  I got to meet the cutest little 19 month old!  She had her own agenda but we got some great photos of her just being a typical 19 month old. 

Its a bird, its a plane, nope its a super girl flying through the air!  She was loving her daddy tossing her up into the air!  Looks like so much fun!

Doesn't get any cuter then this, does it?

You know, just hanging around!!

Look at those beautiful eyes!

We had a lot of fun at our session!  Lots of flying through the air and running!  Thank you so much for the opportunity to photograph you guys and your beautiful little girl!  It was a pleasure meeting all of you!

Look at these beautiful kids!

Love!

This little sweetheart steals the show everytime a camera shows up!

This guy is the comedian of all the kids, for sure!  Always keeps me laughing!

This young lady is the oldest and is such a great big sister!

Some serious faces and then some silliness!

We found just enough leaves to have some fun!

Just the guys!

These two crazy kids just celebrated their 11th wedding anniversay!

This might be one of my all time favorites!  Big sis was taking photos by herself and little sis hopped on in and then gave a nice big hug!  These are the moments that truly make my day and I am so blessed to have a job that allows me capture such candid moments!

As always I had a blast Jania family and thanks for asking me to capture all these sweet moments!

And there is that personality I was talking about!

What little boy doesn't love throwing rocks into a pond?

The sweet reward of smiling for the camera!  Worth it!

Checking out some guitars and being silly! 

Thanks again for an amazing time Owen!  You are a complete rockstar when it comes to taking photos!

I can't take any credit for her learning how to ride on two wheels. It was all Steve doing the running and teaching.  So glad he was up for teaching her because I really did not want to be running behind that bike, lol!

She picked up the concept within 20 minutes.  Phew!  There were some falls and crashes but all in all I think she did great!  Alex enjoyed watching from a far.

Star pupil, right here!

And she's off!  What I love most about these photos is the smile on her face along with my husband. Everyone so excited and proud!

Look at that!  She's doing it!

Trucking!

So proud of Abby! 

Couldn't leave these last few photos out. Alex enjoyed the swings while a majority of the learning was going on!

What a fun session I had with this little guy and his family!  I simply love 6 month olds!  They are sitting up on their own but not quite on the move yet and its usually pretty easy to get a smile out of them!

Seriously, the cuteness is too much!

Loved watching these two brothers interact with each other!  Austin is so interested in what his big brother Nate is up to!  Nate is being a great big brother!  "Hey buddy, let me straighten your bow tie for ya!"

Mr. Serious!

Big brother was loving all the bike traffic on the bridge!

Thank you for letting me capture such a fun age and great milestone!  As always it was great seeing all of you and meeting Austin! 

Look at these beautiful sisters!  Thanks ladies for making this session a lot of fun!  So nice to have such willing models!

Aunt Jill with the girls! 

Lovely ladies!

Wonderful family right here!

Just the girls!

I was beyond excited when the girls asked me if I could take their photo up in this tree!  Are you kidding me, I live for this kind of stuff!  Thanks for being so adventurous girls!

And here is the whole family!  What a great memory to capture!

Jill, I swear you have not changed one bit from high school!!!! 

Love it!

Over 40 years of wedded bliss!  Makes my heart happy to meet couples that have been together this long!

Thank you so much Holloway family for such a great session and giving me the opportunity to photograph all of you!  It really was a great time and I enjoyed meeting all of you!  Jill, it was so great to see you again!

Look at that adorable face!!  He gave me smiles 5 minutes into his session!! 

Switched the set up with not even a stir.  He slept through the whole thing!

Of course we can't forget all the little newborn details, which for me is my favorite to photograph.  These are all the little things that change or disappear in a couple of weeks so I always try my best to capture them because they are so easily forgotten.

Congrats to the proud parents Jamie and Josh and big sister Allison!!  We couldn't be happier for all of you and can't wait to see Ben causing trouble with the boys when he gets bigger!  Much love to all of you!  Thank you for allowing me to capture such a sweet moment in time!

How gorgeous is this little model!?  She is a natural at modeling!

So happy to be wearing all of mama's sparkles!

Then the veil came out!  I think this may have been the best part!

Stunning!

She posed herself in these photos, see a natural!!

Can't forget all the little details!

Ummmm, look at those eyelashes!!!  Wow she is one lucky girl!

And here is her beautiful mom!  What a wonderful moment that I had the pleasure of capturing! 

I think these photos will be a wonderful thing to have as a keepsake but imagine how great it will be to have on display when this little girl is a grown woman on her own wedding day!  Gives me chills just thinking about it!  So for all you moms out there, myself included, take that wedding dress out of the sealed box and let your daughter try it on. It will make her day and give you an amazing feeling seeing her in it!!  Thank you Althea for allowing me to capture such a sweet moment!  It was really a magical session!

Such a beautiful little girl!

I love this age because there is still so much wonderment in the little things!  Look mom, I am a butterfly!

Lots of giggles!!!

Love when I capture moments like this! All too often moms don't get to be in the photos because they are usually the ones taking the photos.

Perfection! Everyone is smiling and looking at the camera!

Time to spot the tadpoles and the big mama frog that was hanging out in the pond.

Kellie got to explore some super fun things while we were at the children's garden.

Can't handle all of Kellie's cuteness!

Love these shots!!  Such a little lady!

Look at all this love!  Happy early 3rd birthday Kellie!!  Hope its an amazing day for you!

I always have a blast when I photograph this family and Ainsley has such a fun personality like the her mom and dad and brother!

Such a great milestone!  The big ONE!

This photo in particular makes me laugh every time I see it.  She wasn't sure if she should climb up on the crate and once she did she had such a look of pride and "hey look at me, I am up here and I am not sure I am supposed to be up here but I am doing it!"

Every girl needs her accessories!

Awesome big brother Owen got in some of the photos too!  He seriously loves his little sister!

I have been photographing Owen since the beginning of my photography journey!  I can't believe how big he is now.  Always such a fun guy! 

Daddy and Owen picked some "flowers" for Ains!  She loved them and only tried to eat them once!

Lovely Ladies!

Gorgeous family!!!

Some handsome guys right here!  Dave makes everyone laugh every time I see him! "Watch out for that car!"

Happy 1st birthday Ainsley!  As always it was good catching up with you guys and always a fun session!  Owen I owe ya double the smarties next time I see ya!!!

Here is Lucy as a newborn!  So sweet!

And here is Colin!  I can't believe how much each of them has grown in the last year!

Ok now what they look like at one year!

Wow!  A year changes them so much!

Soooooo Big!

Such a wonderful party the twins had!

Always so great to see family and friends!

Somebody was very excited to be turning 1!

And someone else was not digging the whole turning 1 thing!

Loving every minute of mom singing happy birthday to him!

Colin needed a little encouragement to taste the cake but once he did, he was loving it!

Once Lucy was out of her chair and realized she could have some of Colin's cake she was having a great time!  Maybe the orange cake scared her?  Either way everyone got to eat cake!

Oh boy that's a lot of green frosting!!!!! 

The big kids had a super fun time as well!  Can't go wrong with an indoor park!

I would say the twins first birthday party was a success!  Congrats to the twins on turning one!  Love you guys to pieces!  Now that you have tested mom and dad to the max you can ease up on them, or keep doing what you're doing and see what they are made of!  I think I know which one you guys are going to pick....

Ready for the fun to begin!

No detail was left out!!

Yay, time for the gifts!

Kevin's facial expressions while opening the gifts were priceless!

Kevin had a saying throughout the gift opening process, "You can't have just one, but you gotta have two!"

Future White Sox fans or Ballerinas?  Maybe both?

By this point of the opening of gifts Kevin was working the whole room with his commentary on the gifts!  Seriously a good time!

What a great baby shower it was!  I wish you guys the best on the next chapter of your lives!  Thank you for including me on such a special day for the both of you!  I can't wait to meet the twins!  They are definitely going to be the best dressed in town!

This glowing mom to be is Jessica!  Doesn't she look amazing? She is expecting TWINS!

Super exciting!!!  She and Kevin seem so calm and ready for these little girls!

Can you tell it was in the 30s this day?  These two were such good sports about hanging out in the cold while I snapped away in a big jacket and snow pants!  Thanks you guys!

Even in the middle of winter we were able to find some beautiful colors for these photos!

So beautiful!

Loved this part of the session!  Such a sweet moment!

Thank you Jessica and Kevin for being such troopers out in the cold and snow that eventually fell upon us at the end of the session!  It was so nice to meet the both of you and I will see you at the baby shower!

Here are the parents to be!  YAY for good sports who didn't care if the snow was past their ankles!

Simply beautiful! 

Love, Love, Love this one!  Pam I think you are glowing for sure in this one!

Rett you had to be the best sport of day after we did this shot.  In theory the snow was just suppose to go up and come back down but we didn't account for the wind and Rett got the bad end of the stick on this one.  Thank you Rett for laughing it off!

As you can see they are a fun and loving couple who I know are going to be awesome parents.  If you can laugh, that is the most important thing when you have a newborn testing your mental and physical limits!

Thanks again for a super fun session and for being such good sports about freezing your tails off!  Much Love to all three of you!

Here are the expectant parents playing one of the shower games!  They were such good sports!

It was so great for Pam to be able to catch up with old friends!

Of course it's always great to catch up with family as well!

Our Uncle Mark never disappoints with his amazing art work!!!

Loved these invites! So creative and original!

This cake was delicious!! 

And so were the cookies!

Loved the idea of leaving mom and dad some advice on a post it that was stuck to a diaper.  In those first few days those diapers will hopefully bring a smile to their face as they change diapers and try to get a few winks of sleep.

Look at these cute little nuggets!  Get ready guys, you will be the ones that little baby Tanner will look up to for ways to push mommy and daddy's buttons!

Game time!! Diaper a balloon while blindfolded.  I think this would be hard without a blindfold!! Pam and Rett did fantastic!  I have no doubt that the baby will always be diapered appropriately!

Grandma and Grandpa's turn!  I think Grandpa would have maybe won if he had a chance to review the diaper tabs first.  Grandma has had some recent practice so it may not have been a fair match!

Time for the gifts!!

Amazing quilt made by the grandma to be!

Everything the baby could need all made into a creative "cake!"

I know Pam and Rett are going to be amazing parents!  You guys know how to work as a team and remember that when its 3am and the baby is crying and it feels like you both just shut your eyes.  Strength in numbers!!  Congrats and much love to both of you!  I can't wait to meet little baby Tanner!

So lets take some time to flash back to June when it was sunny and warm and we celebrated Alex's 3rd birthday!

I asked Alex what kind of birthday party he wanted and of course his response was Star Wars.  I knew he would pick that but wanted to check with the birthday boy first on this important topic.  I had all kinds ideas so this was going to be a fun party to plan!

Here is the birthday boy and his sister in her Star Wars tutu!

The nice thing about your son having a ton of Star Wars stuff is no need to buy any decorations because I just used his toys to decorate with!

I really wish I could take credit for the refreshment set up but truthfully I got these ideas from Pinterest.  They were a huge hit with the adults that got the play on the words!

The edible lightsabers where a huge hit!

Of course there had to be a Star Wars birthday cake!

Happy birthday Buddy!

Darth Vader Jello mold anyone??

Now here is where the fun really started!  I bought pool noodles and cut them in half and decorated them to look like lightsabers.  The kids loved them and the parents had some fun as well with them. Best party favors EVER!

Ahhh the force is strong with this one!

Watch out behind ya Alex, I think someone is coming in for a sneak attack!

Time for some presents!

Ok so after this party we had my side of the family over the next day. The Star Wars theme continued on....

Twinkie cupcakes! May not be a Star Wars cake but still just as tasty!

Speaking of twinkies our cousin brought her twins to their first star wars party!  They are so tiny here. Hard to believe they are fully mobile now!

More presents!

This was a really special present from my very talented uncle Mark!  He drew a picture for Alex with all his favorite things!

Simply perfect for Alex on this 3rd birthday!!

So I hope the nice warm, sunny weather was a nice change from the current snow storm that is occurring right now. 
 

The line up for the filling. I decided to make the filling a couple of days ahead of time so the day we made the dough it wouldn't be an all day event.

Chop the onion.  Boil the saurkraut.  Melt the butter, mmm butter. Then saute the onions

Add the mushrooms to the onions and then add the kraut. That then simmered for a couple of hours.

Today was the big day to make the dough and hope I chose a dough recipe that would be forgiving for the first time pierogi maker.  The dough was super easy to work with, phew!

In walks my helper.  She hates eating pierogis but I figured she would at least like to help make them. 

I was right, she loved to work with the dough. She helped cut out a few circles for me but her real interest was in playing with the scrap dough. That's ok because that's what I used to do when my mom made the pierogis. See tradition.

Ready to be sealed.  Doesn't it look delicious?

Tray one done.  With the dough you have to work quickly before it drys out on you so there weren't a ton of photos being taken at this point. Working against the clock here.  In the end I ended up with two and half dozen. 

My other little helper who didn't have any interest to join us until we were done.  Oh well maybe next year he'll want to participate.  We are planning on having these tonight for dinner. Fingers crossed they taste good and they don't fall apart on me in the boiling process....

********  Update on the pierogis:  They were delicious! All the hard work paid off!

Gorgeous family right here!

Umm...When did this guy get all grown up?  Time goes too fast when you have kids!

Beautiful girl!  She was a perfect model for me!

Love this kid!  He was super pumped to get his photos taken this day!  Every time I asked who wanted to go first for their photos he would say, "Ooh me! Me! Me!"  That is music to my ears!

Seriously, stop growing up, please!  Thanks!

For real, look at the color of the leaves!!  Sorry still really excited about how great the colors were!  Got some handsome guys here!

Ok Karen, when I took this photo I thought, yeah that's going to be a nice one. When I got home and actually pulled it up on my computer I was speechless.  What a fantastic photo of a mother and daughter. Cherish this one, this moment will fade in your memory but you will always have this photo to remember this exact moment in time.

What's a fall session without the classic leaf toss?  Usually the kids are the ones to get in on this photo but I was super excited when mom and dad wanted in on the fun!

Ketchens I loved being able to do your family photos!  As always it was great seeing you and thanks for letting me capture such a sweet moment in your lives!

Look at these adorable siblings!  Love it!

Look at this love! 

For all parents that want an awesome genuine smile out of their kids, I highly recommend being completely goofy behind the photographer.  Works every time!

Total pros for the camera!

Its the simple things in life!!!

We had a visitor during our session.  Can you find the deer?

It was so nice catching up with you Margaret and meeting your sweet children!  It was such a heart warming session!

First the serious pose.  Then the smiles were on!  They can't talk yet but I swear they have some secret language or way of communicating with each other. Watch out mom and dad, there may be some plotting for world take over....

7 months is also fun because of all the exploration they like to do.  Something as simple as a pumpkin kept they entertained for at least 5 minutes which in baby time is super long!

This photo speaks volumes!  Gaelen and Tim are amazing parents! They have their hands full but they are never short on the love, snuggles and hugs!  Seriously love this photo!

These two guys love the camera!  Colin is such a laid back baby. Smiles the whole time!

More smiles from the ladies!  With Lucy you have to put some work into getting those smiles but once you do it is beyond priceless!

Enjoying their first wagon ride!  I think they loved it!

More family love here!

Ok, could they be any cuter??!! 

No words for the cuteness here!

I love you little nuggets with all my heart!  Please keep being the cutest twins on the planet and stop growing so fast!  Gaelen and Tim keep up the amazing job and give these guys an extra squeeze for me!

What an adorable little girl I got to meet and photograph last week!  Claire is going to be one soon!  We had lots of fun taking photos and exploring nature, and by exploring nature I mean Claire trying to eat every leaf she could get in her tiny hands, LOL!  She was such a doll to work with! 

Happy first birthday Claire!  Hope its an awesome day for you and you get to eat lots of cake! It was a pleasure meeting all of you!

What a fantastic day it turned out be for David and Annie's engagement photos!  I thought when I woke up that we would have some clouds to contend with but after I got to our location it was clear and sunny! Truly when I think of Annie and David together I think Sunny.  They are always laughing and easy going.  I couldn't be happier for the two of them.  They are a perfect match!  Annie is my husband's cousin so I have known her for 10 years and David came into the picture a couple of years ago.  I knew David was a good egg when I saw him playing with my kids at a family party.  He survived the human jungle gym game and continued to come back to family functions AND he would bring these amazing dishes.  Annie you got yourself a great guy and you deserve every bit of it!  Congrats to the both of you on your up coming nuptials!

Thanks you guys for a fun morning and giving me the opportunity to capture such an exciting stage in your lives!  Love you both!

Oh what a fantastic day it turned out to be for my cousin Jane's wedding shower!  The air was a typical fall day, crisp and cool but the sun was shining brighter then could be.  All of this fit in perfectly with the venue and the theme (which of course was a fall theme) of Jane and Alan's wedding shower. 

Loved all the decorations from the little pumpkins to the simple, yet elegant center pieces!!

The little tree with the leaves was probably one of my favorite details.  Leaf Some Advice and everyone could take the opportunity to give the happy couple some marriage advice or well wishes.   The sign with Jane and Alan's name was so original and pretty!  Oh what's that I see hiding in the little tree, yes it's an owl!  Jane and Alan registered for several Owl themed items and every time they would open one up, the look on their faces was so cute!

Moms of the bride and groom!  Truly a pleasure meeting you Joan!

Proud mom and her girls!

My lovely cousins and one of my amazing aunts here!

Time for some mingling and catching up!

Some delicious treats that were tempting me all afternoon long!

And let the gift opening begin!!

If its one thing I love about showers, its the handmade items that are given!!

The girl scout themed apron was a super fun gift!!

I think Jane's expression in the top photo says it all for her excitement for the Owl items!

Jane's mom made this amazing quilt!  The stories about this quilt being made is what really makes this quilt amazing!  Hey Jane do you know how many times you surprised your mom by coming home early or unexpected and she had to hide all of it in 10 seconds?? 

Kim, the expert bow/bouquet assembler!  I had many laughs with you on this Kim! You did a fantastic job! 

One last game for the happy couple to participate in!  It was really funny watching your answers you guys!

One last photo of the future bride and groom to be!  I wish you guys all the best and can't wait to watch you guys as your start a new journey in the book of Life!  Love you both and looking forward to the big day!

What a fun session I got to photograph last weekend!  A friend of mine from grammar school contacted me and wanted to know if I could photograph her family and her sister in law's family as a surprise for Nana for Christmas.  I thought what an awesome idea!  So we set a date and the morning of Michelle contacted me to let me know that Nana found out about the photos and she was coming as well.  Too bad the surprise got leaked but it turned out even better that way because Nana was able to be in the photos as well! 

Look at all these cute kids!

Nice big smiles!  Hooray for funny parents dancing around behind me!

Sisters!!  I bet they have their disagreements but one day they will be grateful for each other and maybe even best friends!

Well last Saturday was a one of those days where it was cloudy and gloomy with rain pending.  All the forecasts said rain all afternoon.  I had a session planned for late afternoon.  As the time came to make the call if it was going to be canceled the sun started to peek out!  We decided to go ahead with the session and boy am I glad we did!  It turned out to be gorgeous!

Meet Nate!  He is going to be 2 very soon.  He is also going to be a big brother in January!  Big things are happening for this little guy!

I had an awesome surprise for this cutie, a peddle car!  He really was fascinated by it. What little boy wouldn't be?  He loves cars and trucks. Every time a car would drive past he would watch it until it was out of sight.  I believe that's what he was looking at in the bottom right photo.

We had such fun with all the freshly fallen leaves!  Its really the simple things when you're almost 2.

We also had some fun playing peek a boo around the large trees!  Such a handsome fella!

It was so great seeing you guys!  Thanks for the fun and laughs!

Aaaaahhh  it's that magical time of year.  A time of year when mother nature puts on her most splendid display of colors, tickles our senses with different smells and sounds, and allows even adults to travel back to their childhood memories.  Its FALL!!!  This is my most favorite time of year.  I just love the crisp air, the beautiful displays of colors on each branch, pumpkin spiced lattes, apples pies, just everything about this time of year.  Halloween is probably my favorite holiday as well.  So I really get excited when Fall arrives.  Every year I have a checklist that I like to complete before winter decides to stop in for 5 months and give us all cabin fever.  One of those items on the list is a trip to County Line Orchard in Hobart, Indiana.  The kids love this place because of all the fun activities for them.  My husband and I indulge them this trip mainly because of the DONUTS that they bake up fresh around the clock.  Pumpkin and Apple donuts. Seriously the best donuts I have ever tasted.  We usually make that our first stop before we get started with the rest of the activities they have to offer.

Seriously some awesome donuts!

After donuts we hit the petting zoo. You can buy a bag of feed and let the different animals eat right from your hands.  I typically let my husband be in charge of this because I am grossed out by these animals licking my hands.  The kids love it!

Next up is the corn maze!  This year they did two corn mazes with the Black Hawks.  Abby loves these type of cut out displays.  Always a good laugh.  This years corn maze was a good one. Took us a while to get through it.

Of course we had to hit the moo-choo train while we were there.  This was Alex's first time riding solo and he did great but did look a little scared when they got back......

The last part of our trip was apple picking.  You can take a tractor ride out to the orchard and they drop you off and you start picking.  The kids had a hard time not picking every single apple they could reach.  I had to remind them to slow down because we didn't need 50 lbs of apples.

Big fan of the apple picking!

You see that shadow at the bottom of this photo? Yep that's the only proof that I was on this adventure with them. I seriously need to teach Steve to use my camera.

I can't recommend it enough to take a trip to County Line orchard if you can!  It is a great way to spend a Saturday.  Plenty of exercise, fresh air, apples and DONUTS!