Austin- 4 months

I had the opportunity to take pictures of this sweet family last spring.  Heather was barely pregnant with this little guy.  Now he is 4 months old.  We are playing a bit of catch up as we didn't get newborn pictures.  My favorite part about this session.....big sister.  She stole my heart last year with her old spirit and hate for the cold.  This year she was much less weaery of me and couldn't wait to have her picture taken.  

Other than the stupid wind, it was a perfect winter Colorado day!

Austin was just like his sister and a bit weary of me at first.  But we managed to get a few smiles out of him!  Babies at this age are so fun!  They are smiley and aren't mobile yet so I don't have to chase them around.  And seriously....is there anything cuter than an adorable baby in a basket in the middle of a field?  I don't think so!

We got a few family shots and mom/dad shots during this session as well.  I love the variety we were able to get and that Austin was so chill and go-with-the-flow.  Gotta love second children.

Sibling shots.  My favorite!

Austin is just as cute as his sister.  I can't wait for our next session.  Perhaps he will be used to me by then and want to smile a bit more!

For more pictures visit my website or my Facebook page.

Jason and Cori- Engagement

It has been awhile since I have done an engagement session.  I have missed it!  

I am so thankful to call this couple friends as well as clients.  It was also an honor to be one the first ones to know about their engagement.  Cori contacted me about doing pictures and then let me know they were secretly engaged.  We decided it would be a blast to be able to get engagement pictures done and then use them to announce to the world that they were engaged.

I was also thrilled that they wanted a mountain backdrop for their pictures.  I was going to be in Fairplay for the weekend with my family and they made the trek up there on Sunday morning so we could do pictures.  

These two were such good sports.  They were up for whatever I wanted to try and were willing to trudge through the snow and endure the FREEZING temperatures.  I am so thankful that they were!  They even strapped on snowshoes for some of the pictures.  

 They were both shaking from the cold by the time we were done but it was worth it.  These pictures make me smile.  I love to photograph two people in love and engagement pictures are always full of such love and hope for the future.

I can't wait for May 1st to be able to be there to document these two families becoming one!

Congratulations Jason and Cori!  Thanks for letting me be a part of your love story.

For more pictures visit my website or my Facebook page.

Happy Valentimes Day

My 9 year old still calls it "Valentimes Day".  I love it.  I am going to be sad the day the kids learn how to say all of their words correctly.

I have never been a big Valentine's supporter.  But 2 years ago I tried to up my game and do something awesome like my mom used to when we were kids.  So I got everything ready the night before and got up early in the morning and went all Pinterest on my kids.  I made heart shaped pancakes and even fashioned bacon into heart shapes.  It was a big deal for this mom who exclusively serves cereal and eggs for breakfast.  The kids came down and were delighted with the hot breakfast.  After they came up for air, I asked them if they liked the theme.  They all looked at me with blank faces.  They had TOTALLY missed the heart shaped everything.  One of them actually said "the bacon was heart shaped?"  Hand to forehead.  Unappreciated mom.  Oblivious children.

So needless to say I will not be getting up an hour early on Saturday to shape the bacon into a heart.  That ship has sailed.  However, I am always up for an easy, fun holiday project.  I love to be the crafty mom, but I feel like I never have time or energy for anything fancy.  So when I came across this post on one of my favorite blogs, I knew I could make it happen.  Thank goodness that my work was a little slow today!

The kids had fun finding the hearts that applied to them and sticking them to the wall.  It has been a while since I have pulled out my big camera for something related to the family!  It felt good to be taking pictures of my own family for a change (one of my goals for 2015)!

All you need for this project is pastel colored paper, scissors and a red marker.  Then you can personalize them according to your family.  I had fun coming up with what to put on these.  I used some things we like to do together and also nicknames for the  kids.  They loved them.  Easy.  Fun.  Memory Making.  

Give it a try and have some fun with your family!

The Shimizu Family

There isn't much better in life than being able to see a family interact and to be able to document their love for each other.  I love multiple generation pictures.  Watching a Grandma and Grandpa with their grand-kids brings such joy.  I enjoy seeing the family dynamics and watching how different families express their love.

This little family was super sweet and fun.  I had the privilege of taking little Kamden's newborn pictures and I was flattered when they contacted me just after Christmas to do some big family pictures while the family was visiting from Nevada and California.

Older couples are some of my favorite to photograph.  Their easy-going and gentle love that has stood the test of time is precious.  These two have been married for over 40 years.  Congratulations you two!

I can't believe how much this little guy has grown in the last 2 months or so.  He's not even mine and it makes me sniffle a bit!  They grow up so fast (says the women who blinked and now has an 11, 9 and 6 year old).  The smiley, happy baby phase is my favorite!

Olivia was super cute and didn't mind having her picture taken.  However, getting her to actually look at the camera was a bit difficult.  We finally managed to get on the same page and she gave me some great looks!  Aren't her eyes so beautiful and expressive?

Grandpa is Hawaiian so we had to get some pictures of the grand-kids in their Hawaiian Shirts.  It was pretty chilly so these two were troopers!

 Big multi-family sessions are the best!  We have extra time to get all sorts of combinations.  It really is the best way to do pictures (and you can split the cost)!

 Oh. My. Goodness.  Holly, you are so photogenic!

Thanks Shimizu Family!  It was a joy to be with you and I hope you enjoy these photos for years to come!

For more pictures visit my website or my Facebook Page.