Sneak Peek: Hagan

I met Shannon a few years ago through mutual friends.  She is one of those gals that when you meet her you just know she has a great heart, and as a PA she has some really lucky patients.  I was so happy to hear that she got married last April and that now she has a new baby. 

Hagan was born 3 weeks early and I was lucky enough to meet him the day after his due date.  He was a little older than the typical newborn shoot, but he was such a good baby.  He was so good that we were able to get some great shots.  We even got a few good ones with his little eyes open!

Shannon and Aaron were super calm, relaxed and parenthood suits them VERY well.

This is one of my all-time favs!

Aaron used to play football for Oregon so Hagan donned the "00" onesie for Daddy.  Don't you love the look on Aaron's face here?

Big Bad Football player gets all gooey over his son

With hands like this...he might be following in his daddy's footsteps

 I love this flannel blanket that Shannon's mom made.  Isn't it so awesome!?

Mr. Sandman

Congratulations guys!  Hagan is a handsome little man and you guys are so lucky to have found each other.  For more pictures visit my website or my Facebook page.

Euser Family Sneak Peek

Meet Heather and her adorable family!  Heather is the sister of a past client.  I love meeting extended families.  It makes me feel like I already know them and have a relationship.  Heather looks a lot like her sister and I kept wanting to call her Hollie the entire time.  Sorry Heather.

Heather could be a consultant for how to dress your family for a photo shoot.  They all coordinated, but weren't matchy-matchy.  I also loved the bright colors that she chose.  It helped to add color and vibrancy to the drab backdrop of winter.  Good job Heather!

I am glad we were able to get this one on the books.  We had to cancel once for sickness and once for the freezing cold and snow.  It was a little muddy at our location, but for the most part we had ideal conditions.  I love Colorado!

And would you look at these kids?

I had fun with these guys.  Kase was a hoot and was very engaged with me.  He loved to krinkle his nose for pictures, but other than that he was a perfect little two year old.

Quinn was a little more camera shy.  She was more interested in what was going on with big brother.  But can you even stand her hair?  I LOVE the baby bird fuzzy hair.  Makes me smile every time!

I think we got some good shots- candid and posed and that makes for a great session.

Heather and Mark were super relaxed during our time together too.  That makes things so much easier and more fun for the kids, making smiles come a bit easier.  They even let Kase play in a mud puddle toward the end of our time.  Love it!  Makes for such fun memories (and pictures).

If you haven't had family pictures done in a while....don't wait.  We tend to use so many excuses: I want to lose weight, it is too cold outside, the kids are in a crabby phase, I will wait until we have a little more money....etc.  Don't wait.  Make sure you have lots of pictures and memories with your kids.  The days are LONG, but the years are short.  You won't regret having done pictures.  I promise.  Even if you just have a family member snap a few candid pictures....JUST DO IT!!!

For more pictures, visit my website or my Facebook page.

Blackberry Oatmeal Muffins

I love baked goods.  There.  I said it. 

I love to bake them almost as much as I love to eat them.  I cringe now to think about how I only used to use boxed muffin mix.  I didn't know any better.  Now that I have kids with tons of allergies, it has forced me to do more baking from scratch.  And you know what?  I have come up with some pretty amazing recipes!  I can't even remember the last time I bought an overpriced, full of processed crap muffin mix.

It doesn't take that much longer to make muffins from scratch.  You should try it.  They are so much better (and better for you-sort of).

I bought some blackberries the other day with the intentions of making my hubby his favorite Blackberry Sour Cream pie.  However, we are both trying to eat healthier so I didn't make it.  Now I have a ton of blackberries that I have been trying to use up.  I don't really love blackberries (I buy them mostly for the hubby who is the Blackberry King) so I needed to find a way to hide them in something.  I have also been craving some muffins...so today I made up a new recipe. 

I did some hunting on Pinterest and I couldn't find a recipe that fit the needs of my high maintenance allergy family.  So I adapted this recipe that I have used in the past that we LOVE.  And Voila!  I came up with this.  They are delicious!

Here you go:

1 1/4 c. Oats
1 1/4 c. milk (I use rice milk, but you can use any kind)
1/2 applesauce (I use this in place of 1 egg)
1/2 c. oil
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 1/4 c. flour
4 tsp. baking powder (and a dash of baking soda)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
Blackberries (about a pint)

Topping Recipe- (Combine these 3 ingredients)
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. oats
1 tsp. cinnamon

Combine oats and milk and let stand for 10 minutes or so.  Stir in the rest of the wet ingredients.  Combine the dry ingredients and add to the liquid mixture.

Put batter into muffin tins.  Put 3 blackberries on top of the batter.  Add a bit of topping to each muffin.

Bake for 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees.  Enjoy!  These muffins are moist and delicious with just a hint of sweetness.   Only 120 calories per muffin!

Andrew Turns One!

I love chunky, happy babies.  And this guy is one of my favorites!  I loved walking into their house the other day and seeing him give me a big goofy grin!  It was also fun to see pictures all over the house that I have taken over the last year and a half.  Way to go Julie for getting all of those pictures printed and framed.

It is so fun to take pictures throughout the first year of a baby's life.  It is amazing how much they grow and change during that first year!

One thing that hasn't changed about Andrew is his chunkiness.  Thank goodness for that!  Isn't he just the cutest?

It was also fun to have Nonnie there for the photo shoot.  It is fun to see multiple generations interact together.   It is obvious that this little guy loves his Nonnie!

Julie found the cutest outfit on Esty.  Perfect for our one year photo shoot!

 

Recognize the chair?  I spray painted it YELLOW!  Such a happy color.

They can even stand on it without worrying that they are going to fall off!

After the chair, all he was interested in were the balloons.  

 

If you take a balloon away from a one year old, it looks like this:

That's not very nice, lady.

 So we had no choice.  It was cupcake time!

He loved it.  I loved the cupcake.  It was so cute and even had a fondant "wrapper" so there was no waste and he could eat the whole thing.  I will have to find out where she got it!

Happy birthday Andrew!  It has been a joy being a part of your life.

For more pictures, visit my website or my Facebook page (LiLo Photography).

Gavin is Three!

I love repeat clients.  It is so fun to watch their kids grow and mature! 

Remember Gavin?  Now is a big 3 year old.  His mom was a little worried because he is a little uncooperative at home these days (in my opinion the threes are much more terrible than the twos).  However, no need to worry.  Gavin was a pure delight and quite the ham for the camera!

 We also got some great family shots.  I especially love the candid shots.  It is so fun to see families interacting together and catching those precious moments on film!

Don't you just love how Katie is looking at Steve?

Love this city shot!

Steve made the comment that this background looks like the Full House opening.  So true!

Love how Katie and Steve are focused on Gavin and he is looking right at the camera!

Guess what?  These two lovebirds are going to be tying the knot in July.  I am so grateful that I get to be their wedding photographer as well as their family photographer!  We grabbed a few shots for the invitations to their rehearsal in which they are inviting everyone to the 4th of July Rockies game.  Genius! 

Can you see Coors field in the background?

I love how Katie glanced over to check on Gavin when I snapped this shot.

Congratulations guys!  I can't wait to be a part of your big day!  For more pictures, visit my website or my Facebook page (LiLo Photography).