Someone's Two!

It's Ronan! Ronan and his parents, Christine and Ryan, belong to our co-op preschool, and won a session with me at our annual fundraising auction. Abby and Ronan were in the same Toddler class last year, and are in 2/3s together this year as well. It was so fun to spend some time with Ronan and his family at the Edmonds waterfront. I love seeing how parents interact with their children outside of the classroom. Ronan is a mellow, cooperative guy -- not at all what you'd expect from TWO, and that allowed us to get some fun shots.

A sweet family pseudo-portrait.
Happy, and just a tad mischevious. He was just about to bop me with a balloon.

A sweet moment with Dad in the sun.

Expecting a more typical two-year-old, I came prepared with photogenic bribes. Ronan didn't need a bribe, but I still wanted to use this lollipop from Nama's.

This may be my favorite from this session.
I love upside-down hair.
Pretty evening light.

Smush-kiss.

Lots of love here.

And another fav. It just feels so TWO!

I'm looking forward to seeing Ronan through another year of preschool. I feel like I know him much better after our session. Christine and Ryan, thanks for a fun evening. I hope you enjoy these shots of your little guy!

Mama-to-be-again Dawne

One of my hopes for every pregnant woman is that she has photos of herself and her belly to look back on. We forget so quickly what it felt like to carry our babies inside of us, how magical it is to feel the baby move, and how strange and wonderful those big bellies are. When my friend Dawne told me that she actually liked her pregnant form better this time around (she has a two-year-old son, Sawyer, who was born the same day as Abigail), I insisted on doing a few belly pics. I'm so glad I did because I've got some new favorites!

I love the light and Dawne's tender expression here.
A classic close-up.

Sawyer and Mama. Aren't his eyes great?

Beautiful eyes and cheek bones, with a hint of belly in the background.

Dawne, Tony, and Sawyer. The family of three, soon to be four.

And the much-desired, though not often captured, sibling kissing the belly/baby shot. I love it!

Dawne, I hope some of these will help you to remember how beautiful you are and how anticipated this little baby is. I can't wait to meet Sawyer's, baby brother or sister. I guess it won't be long now! Enjoy!

Welcome Calum

Eight days ago, Jennifer and Grady welcomed their son, Calum, into the world. At 6 pounds, 13 ounces, he was a little guy, but perfect and healthy and absolutely beautiful. This morning my entourage (Trevor and Wally) and I met the new family at their house for some newborn photos. Sadly, it was the darkest day of the summer, which presents a challenge to an exclusively natural-light photographer, but we cranked up the heat (and the ISO) and caught the following images.

When I met Calum (a traditional Scottish name, I'm told), I was struck by how perfectly round his little head is and how delicate his sweet features are. This is one good-looking boy. Mum and Dad said this was the most alert Calum has been during his first week.

Teeny feet. This was Calum's first time in his crib.

See how pretty? (I'm sorry, but he IS! And I don't think it's a bad thing at all for a boy to be pretty.)

Kissable lips.

Love the prayer feet here and his hands by his face.
Jennifer looks terrific eight days after giving birth. Her profile is breathtaking.

Mum and babe again. I couldn't resist.

Proud Daddy and son. Grady's smile is infectious and I couldn't believe how well Calum was able to focus on me.

Happy, happy family.
And a bonus shot. Lots of grain, but worth it to capture Mickey's kiss.

Jennifer and Grady, your joy is so obvious. Thank you for allowing me to photograph you during this time and share in your happiness. Working with you brightened my week! I hope you see some photos to love.

Newborn Sadie

I LOVE my job. I meet all kinds of wonderful people during the most miraculous, life-changing periods of their lives and get to play with babies on top of it all. Today I (accompanied by Trevor and Wally again -- I'm going to have to get Wally to try breastmilk in a bottle pretty soon) met Jen and Dave and their not-quite two-week old daughter, Sadie. I felt instantly drawn to this couple, and as we chatted through the session I liked them more and more. Their beautiful daughter seems to have already inherited her parents' mellow attitude and her mama's gorgeous red hair. Here are a few from our morning.

Jen and Dave requested some open-eyed shots. Luckily, Sadie was awake and alert when we arrived. I love the owl eyes in the background.

This was the first time Sadie had been in her crib. She looked so small!

Kisses from Mama. Beautiful eyes and you can see Sadie's hand by her face -- her favorite method of comfort.

Love this foot shot. Toes spread and everything!

A father-daughter moment.

Bum!

Sadies hands and feet were pretty peel-y -- a reminder of how new this baby really is.

Jen's friend made this ADORABLE hat.

A new favorite.
And finally a family shot. So much love here!

Jen and Dave, I had a fabulous time with you today. Your home is gorgeous and really reflects who you are. I loved watching you with your daughter and seeing how much love and peace she lives in. I'm honored to have met you!

One Month

I was Photoshop-less for a WEEK, so things have sort of pile up on me, but I wanted to post this while Wally was still around a month old. Our boy is changing so quickly, porking up and getting LONG. At his four-week check-up, he had gained nearly two pounds and had grown two inches since birth. He's currently the size Abby was at four MONTHS. Wally started smiling at around three weeks (though of course I haven't gotten a good shot of one yet) and loves to hear us make goat noises and fakey high-pitched laughs. Each day I fall more in love with our little guy. Abby calls him her "little bro" and "Mister Wally Man" and can't give him enough hugs and kisses. Trevor went back to work last week and I had to face my biggest anxiety head on: two kids and one me. But life has been pretty good and we are slowly figuring out how to make it out of the house on time. Here are a few shots of our blue-eyed boy at one month old.

Ali (our midwife) says that these blues don't look like the kind that change color like Abby's did.

Sister and brother. We think they have the same mouth and chin. Love the sun rays, lips, and chin. We've got more pics to share, but with work and two kids, they may be slow in coming. They WILL come though. :)

PS. Allison, you can stop bugging Trev now.

Meet Cooper

This session is chock-full of new favorite images. Wally, Trevor, and I met Lisa, David, and 6 day-old Cooper at their home last Sunday for Cooper's first official photoshoot. Not many babies are more eagerly anticipated than this little guy and I was thrilled to get to meet him. Lisa's birth story is rather harrowing (61 hours, half of them on Pitocin, but NO epidural!), but she is recovering and (as always) absolutely beautiful in new-motherhood.

Cooper weighed 6 pounds 13ounces at birth and was 20 and 3/4 inches long. That's the same length as Wally, but almost two pounds less. During the session I kept looking at Cooper and then at Wally and thinking that my baby looks HUGE!



Always prepared, Lisa had several fun props and hats for us to work with and I had such a fun time playing around with them all. (Too much fun, I think I overstayed my welcome.) The dilemma I'm having now is choosing favorites. I'd love to hear from some of you blog-readers out there. Which shot is your favorite and why?


First up, Phinnegan the dog watches over sleeping Cooper. When Lisa said they wanted some shots with Phinn, I got a little nervous. But this dog poses like a champ!
Cooper's nursery is drop dead GORGEOUS. I've never seen a more coordinated and well-appointed baby room. Lisa thought of every detail. Love the blue and brown. How tiny does Cooper look in his crib?

Love, love, love this.

We had lots of smiles.

These elf-hats are so sweet. I like how the curve of the tail follows the curves of baby's body.

Another bit of smile safe in Daddy's arms. (I think the smile was the precurser to a nice big poop -- all over Daddy.)

The whole family.

Not many things are more beautiful than the expression on new parents' face as they gaze at the miracle they created. I love that Cooper's ultrasound picture is in this shot.

Sweet lips.
More love from Mama and Daddy.

One of the last shots of the day. EVERYONE was exhausted and probably envying Cooper's cozy nest here. It's so fun to take babies outside, though. I couldn't pass this up.

Lisa and David, Cooper is wonderful and you are doing a fabulous job loving and caring for him. He's one lucky boy! Thanks so much for letting me bring my guys. I know it was a long day, but I hope you'll think it was worth it when you see all the images we captured. Congratulations!