There’s just something about a new baby.  There is so much unknown and so much potential.  Every day brings surprises and new stories to tell.  I recently had an opportunity to photograph Emmie.  She’s 2 months old and just as cute as she can be.  She wasn’t too thrilled with having her picture taken but when she got too fussy her mama just rocked her to sleep and we kept right on shooting!  This job I do is a little like a baby I guess.  Every day is a new day and you just never know what it’s going to bring.  I absolutely love what I do and am so happy I get to do it!  Miss Emmie, I had a great time with you.  I can’t wait to see you again and see how much you’ve grown!

At this point she had had about all she wanted of my camera and was drifting in and out of sleep.

And then she just couldn’t hang in there any longer.  So, mama put a bow on her head and we just kept going!  I love those little baby wrinkles!

She was awake for a bit and the rain had finally stopped so we went outside to get a special picture Mama had in mind.  Emmie’s daddy is a John Deere fan and they wanted a picture of her in this sweet dress with one of his collectibles.  She wasn’t very happy with the heat but she hung in there.

And then she just couldn’t take it any longer!

We finally left the poor baby alone and let her sleep.  But I couldn’t resist one more little attempt at making Daddy happy.  Somehow I don’t think she needs my help to do that.

And last but not least, my favorite shot of the day.

A few months ago Emily rescued a dog that was being abused near her home.  The dog was pregnant and in need of a safe place and veterinary care.  Emily built a pen for her and her soon to be family and took care of her until the time came.  For the past 3 months  she has been caring for them all and having a great time being a pet parent!  She grew very attached to them all but knew the time would eventually come for them to move on to new homes.  Mama dog has gone to live with a dear friend who has been a huge help to Emily during this process.  She is now healthy, happy, and very loved.  The first of the four puppies, Alice,  went to her new family last week.  But before the four became three we got together for some fun and a few shots of them all together.

Meet the family- from left to right Edward, Bella, Alice, and Enzo.  I know what you’re thinking.  Enzo?  Why Enzo?  Shouldn’t it be Jasper?  I thought that too but Enzo is a character from one of Emily’s favorite books and she knew she wanted one of them to have that name.

This is Enzo.

And Alice.

And Edward.

And Bella.

Of course Caroline and Cale were in puppy heaven.

I know Emily is going to miss having these guys around as much as they’ll miss her.

Kids are so fun to photograph!  With kids you rarely have to put them at ease or try to get them to relax in front of the camera because they just do.  Kids are natural.  They don’t try to pose and worry about whether they are going to look good in that shot or if their hair is right.  They just run and play and do what they do and I just keep shooting and in the end what we get it as real as it gets.  With every session my goal is for you, internet, to be able to see who the people in front of my camera are and not just what they look like.  Meet Taylor.  Taylor is everything little girls ought to be.  Beautiful bright eyes and bouncing curls.  But what I also hope you see is that she is sassy, playful, mischievous at times, and her moods change like the weather.  She’s inquisitive, occasionally stubborn, always full of energy, loves to laugh, and is the apple of her mama and daddy’s eyes.  By the time our session was finished these are the things that were so easy to see in Taylor.  My hope is that when you look at photos from her session that’s what you see as well.  Taylor, you are precious and I had the best time playing with you!

I think my favorite part of doing what I do is when I photograph a child or a family and then they return from time to time for an update.  It’s so amazing to see how they’ve grown and changed and I always go back to look at past sessions and am even more amazed to compare the two.  I first photographed Trace when he was only a few hours old.  I posted about it here.  Since then he’s been growing like crazy and making his mama and daddy fall more in love with him every day.  He is the happiest baby I’ve ever seen.  He’s always smiling and when he laughs he gets so tickled he almost cackles.  Recently I had the opportunity to spend some time with this little cutie to celebrate half a year of smiles, laughter, and milestones.

For his 6 month session we had hoped to get outside in the sunshine but the weather didn’t want to cooperate and instead we had cold and rain to contend with.  We decided to try some shots at home instead and we had a lot of fun looking for crooks and crannies that gave us some good light.  Hopefully soon the weather will warm up and we have plans to try again!  I’m definitely looking forward to that!  Here’s Trace, 6 month edition.

And finally…corny as it may be I have to say it.  I can’t help myself.  This kid ROCKS!