The Finegan Family

This is my third year taking pictures for the Finegan family. The first year I took pictures for them I was 37 weeks pregnant, waddling around trying not to go into labor. The past two years have been much easier! :) We met at Chautauqua Park this year, and were greeted by the best weather yet! It's hard to believe it has been 60 degrees in November, but that is just one of the many things I love about living in Colorado. The sun set a bit earlier than we had hoped for, but we were able to get some beautiful light for quite a few of our shots before it slipped away behind the Flatirons. This time change has been tricky!

Thanks for letting me take pictures for you again this year, Ki and Steve -- I hope you and the girls enjoy your sneak peak!

 

The Raking of the Leaves -- A Family Affair

 I think leaf raking might be right up there with Christmas in Benjamin's book. He looks forward to it all season long; eagerly watching the leaves fall off the trees in anticipation of the day that we finally tell him that it is time to rake them up. Well, that day finally came last Sunday, and he was not disappointed. Even Drew got in on the action. This was the first year Drew really got to experience jumping into a giant leaf pile, and even though he was sick he still managed to have a pretty good time with it. Our dog Bailey is an old hat with the leaves, too, but Riley was not as sure. If nothing else it was good training with his recent obedience classes to get him to sit in the leaves and STAY long enough for me to get a picture.

Now we just need the maple tree in front to finish dropping its leaves so we can do the front yard next!

Stopping for a snuggle break...

Doesn't Riley look like he is enjoying himself?

One last leaf remains on our crabapple tree...

The Sykes-Maxey Family

I should start off by saying that this is a very special family to me. We have known them for many years now, and we have been lucky enough to get to watch their kiddos grow up. And because we are such good friends, they were very patient with me as I was trying to find a great spot for their photo session. :) The recent flooding in Colorado was devastating -- we were fortunate to live in an area where we were safe from any potential damage. However, many of my favorite photo spots were not as fortunate. Even as I tried to find new locations, many of the new places I checked out were damaged from all the water or even closed. Eventually (thank you, Aimee!) we happened upon this spot. I fell in love with it when I went to check it out during the day, but as beautiful as the area was, I don't think we were prepared for the number of mosquitos that would take over in the evening. I have never seen that many mosquitos flying in one area before! Luckily, we were armed with lots of bug spray and they had a good sense of humor about the whole thing. I'm not quite sure how, but we managed to escape without any bites the next day, even though they were landing on us the whole time we were there.

But I digress.

I took pictures for Avery's slumber party over the summer, and these guys are just FUN. They had a cake fight at the slumber party, and then for this session they decided to end it all with a silly string fight! And the love between Avery and Elijah -- it is the real deal. You can't fake the look in their eyes. I don't know that anyone can get a smile out of Elijah quite like Avery can! :) 

Thanks, Hayley and Gabby, for letting me take pictures for you -- I love you guys! I hope you like your sneak peak!

Happy little Jameson, 2 1/2 weeks

I have to say, little Jameson is one of the happiest newborns I have had the privilege of photographing. He was born in Boulder on September 11, (right in the middle of all the flooding) so he was 2 1/2 weeks old for his first photo session. He was awake for most of the time that we took pictures, but he was content and smiley the entire time. I marveled at how happy he was during the session, but once I went back and started looking at all the pictures I realized just how much he smiled in front of the camera. This kiddo is a charmer, for sure!

Thank you, Rachel, for allowing me to photograph sweet little Jameson for you!

When Rachel told her mom that she was pregnant, her mom bought this adorable hat as a first baby gift for her upcoming grandchild. 

It's still a little big... :)

Someone loves his mommy!

Sweet Milena, 2 1/2 Weeks New

I was lucky enough to go take newborn pictures this weekend for two different babies. The first was sweet little Milena. She is such a doll, and SO alert! I loved watching her as she took in everyone around her. You could tell she was listening to the voices, and that she knew her mommy, her daddy, and her big brother. She didn't want to miss any of the action, either! She managed to stay awake for the whole session--she has this whole modeling thing mastered already!

I had a great assistant for this shoot, too! Milena's big brother Zander was quite a helper. He sang sweet songs to his sister and played with his friend "Bark" nearby so that she could hear him. He even checked my camera so that he could let me know which pictures were keepers. I might have to see if I can hire him to come help me on other shoots! :) He got to hold his sister for the first time while I was there, and he was so careful. Milena is a lucky little girl to have such a good big brother!

Thank you Rebecca and Joel for letting me capture these newborn moments for you -- I hope you enjoy your sneak peak!

Zander loved playing with his legos and blocks. He did a great job building this city while we were taking pictures!