Calen is on the left and Nathan, my godson, is on the right:

They didn’t think standing near a tree was cool until I told them to jump up and down.

Heather, Chris, Calen and Nathan: This was so fun and I’m so glad we did it! I love that we’ve captured some of the the boys’ silly faces and a little bit of their personalities. I can’t wait to meet the new little one! Love you guys!

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We started inside so we could get some images before their little noses turned red. I knew this was going to be a hilarious session as soon as I saw these faces come out! What a riot! Here you have Bela on the left and Emma on the right:

Who doesn’t love a candy necklace?

Or a big monkey?! I totally adore Emma’s face in these two, it reminds me how much I loved my teddy bear when I was little (or…umm…still today).

As soon as we walked by these coats, it was time to suit up and head to the piano park!

Gorgeous Emma:

And sweet Bela:

Once we got back home, Melissa made some hot chocolate for the girls to warm their bellies. They changed into their pajamas and then I sat back and laughed as this happened:

Thank you to my Aunt Ginette for arranging for us all to gather for photos and thank you, Melissa, for bringing the two sweetest little girls back to Michigan for the holidays. It was sooo awesome to see all of you and it was such a treat to capture some memories from your time at home. We’ll miss you until next time! Love you guys!

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While James’ mom, Beth, and I planned the session because of him, we decided it would never be a better time to get some photographs of the whole family together. So we met at their house on a warmish November day and had some fun together in their backyard and around the house. They have a great backyard that was still pretty full of leaves so James’ older sister and brother, Grace and Michael, had fun raking and playing while I just kept snapping photos around them. Here are some of my favorites from our photo fun:

Beth and Kevin, thank you for having me in your home to photograph you all as a family. It’s so amazing to see how fast everyone is growing up – and how much energy the two of you must have to keep up with them! I had a great time playing with you guys and catching up a little bit! I hope you enjoy the photos and have a great Thanksgiving as one big happy family!

James…and his gorgeous eyes:

We headed outside for some family fun in the leaves and Grace flashed me her “cute face” which totally cracked me up:

I love this one, it just feels like family!

Once Michael got warmed up, he was all about hamming it up for me. Loved it!

James just taking it all in:

I processed this one a little differently than I normally do but I wanted to try something a little more dramatic.

Grace enjoying some swinging time:

And all of the boys:

Hugs all around:

I love this series of Grace with her watering can. Love it!

And I think this one is my favorite of Grace and Michael right here. What fun they’re having! And I love that their pup is watching them in the background. I hope they’ll always have this much fun together.

To the McCalls – Thanks so much for welcoming me into your home to capture some memories of your family just being a family. It was a pleasure to meet you all and to see where Jessica gets her sense of humor and style. I hope you all enjoy the photos and the update to that Facebook photo!

I love, love, love this series of Jessica and her dad. I’m telling you, he knew just what to say…

I asked them if they were huggers and this is what I got:

Jessica and her niece, Chandler, just catching up and laughing:

This little cutie, Courtney, did not want to smile or be in pictures at all so I had to be really stealthy. But, honestly, I sort of like being stealthy with my camera. I had a great time trying to get her into it…and I think it finally worked!

Jessica’s sister, Brandee, with each of her daughters:

They were so fun.

Jessica and her beautiful mother…

And we couldn’t forget the other little non-human friends!

When I was taking these photos, they started to talk about their wedding photos. I loved that they were channeling such great memories.

And then they closed out the session with some singing for me. I could have stayed all night!

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I have known their mom, Jill, for years as she happens to be one of my sister’s best friends and is also partly responsible for connecting my husband and I back in our high school days (thank you, Jill!)! So, because of this great mix of things, it was such a pleasure for me to photograph them! It was a gorgeous day and I had such a great time watching them all play together – and show off all of their blond hair, of course! On top of all of the love, they were all really excited about photos and had some fabulous ideas about where to go. Here are some of my favorites from our time:

The whole gang on the left! Macy, the littlest of the little ones, had to have a little help from Mom to sit on the railing with her brothers and sister. I thought it was too funny to leave out!

Ella, Ryan, and Luke loved when I asked them to run toward me…and they did it like champs!

We added Macy to the mix and stole a few photos before she decided she was done with group photos. Her brothers and sisters, however, were all about showering her with hugs and kisses!

I love, love this series as their dad, Matt, was telling them to touch their nose if they liked bubble gum and rub their bellies if they like pizza. Too much cute!

Beautiful little Ella:

Why is this little guy holding up five fingers?! Because he was telling me how many goals he scored in his first ever soccer game. Watch out, Beckham!

I love the static electricity in his hair! Ha!

And, two of my favorites while everyone was quenching their thirst at the end of our session:

Jill, Matt, Ella, Ryan, Luke, and Ella: Thank you so much for such a fun time and showing me just how amazing it can be to have a big, full family! I am totally impressed with all of your energy and love. I hope these photos help save some great memories for you guys! xoxo

I’ve known Genna through work for years – more of them than we could believe when we actually stopped to think – but this was the first time I’d gotten an email from her saying, “we’re over on the wooden castle.” I headed over with my camera and the next hour or so we all spent playing in the park happily.

By all signs, Gracie will be just like her mom. Totally outgoing and not shy at all. Every time I have a session with little ones, I’m nervous they’re going to be afraid of the camera and hide. Not Grace, she was loving it! We captured some great candid shots of her and Charlie as they had fun just being little. Little and adorable. And, later, the whole family got together for some laughs and a family portrait while they were in action – my favorite kind of family portrait! Here are my favorites of the little ones:

Charlie!

The beautiful Grace:

Charlie has the biggest and most gorgeous eyes!

Okay, so I loved this yellow slide.

There’s something about this one that I just love. I can’t explain it.

They definitely all have fun together!

Umm, seriously…how sweet is this one of Charlie and Chad?

And the whole family!

Chad and Genna, thank you so much for the great time. It was a blast and definitely an honor to be there to capture your family for a moment in time. I’m so glad we could make it work during your visit!

Jackson has so many little friends with all of the animals he’s surrounded by on his clothes, in his room, and even on his blankets!

Bah! Does it get cuter than a bear on his little bum?

Relaxing in his room with friends…

Checking out mom and dad.

Okay, wait for it… He’s already got big dreams of being NUMBER ONE! These just make me smile!

And my absolute favorite from the day:

Greg and Laura, it was such an honor to photograph Jackson and spend some time looking in the window of your new life. He is totally great and I can’t wait to see what lies ahead for all of you as a new family. Thank you! XOXOXO!

Peacefully unaware. Didn’t I tell you?

I loved the lightening rods! Amanda and Nate both got to pick an outfit for Preston that the other couldn’t veto. This was Amanda’s pick and I definitely enjoyed it!

I just love Preston’s look in this one!

He’s a heartbreaker!

I can’t help myself with this image on the right…all scrunched up and cute! And I loved this outfit too – he looked so gentlemanly…

Meet Moose, Preston’s brother!

Here are some of the photos I took from our celebration last weekend. Hope you have the happiest of days today and a countless supply in the future, Nathan! Lots of love.

I love how hard he’s thinking about his little wish…

And I love his, “okay I’m done, can we play now?” face.

So the playing ensued. Keep up the good work, Nathan, and enjoy being two! I think I might be a little jealous.

During the month of September, families of deployed soldiers are welcomed to work with local photographers to capture some amazing images that will be sent to their loved one in time for the holidays – all at no cost to the family. This is an amazing opportunity and I’m so excited that I will get to help show my appreciation to our soldiers in this way.

If you are part of a military family, click on the photo below to get some more information and learn how to get connected with a photographer.