Introducing...Elsa!

One of my favorite families has added a beautiful new little girl to the mix! Introducing Elsie Morris...little sister to Jack, Jed, and Brielle. I have had the privilege of taking newborn pictures for each of the Morris babies, and Jack was my very first baby on the blog! It was so cute to see how all of the kids acted around their new little sister. Jack is the oldest, so he has this big brother thing mastered. Then Jed was the nurturer of the three. He was SO gentle with Elsa, and was all too happy to shower the baby with lots of snuggles and kisses. And Brielle wasn't quite sure what to think, but she was very happy to get to hold her little sister (with Mom's help)! This was the first newborn session that I have done completely outdoors, but it was so much fun! The weather was beautiful, and we were able to walk just a short distance from the house to find this beautiful lake and grassy spot.

Thank you, Erika and Kyle, for allowing me to capture these moments for you again -- Elsa is an absolute doll! :)

The Twins are ONE!

Wow -- it has been awhile since I have posted anything on here! It has been a quiet couple of months in the photo world for me. Between Drew's birthday and the holidays, December was pretty busy. Then I had foot surgery at the beginning of the year that had me sidelined for awhile, too. February has gotten me out there again, and my first event to shoot after getting off crutches was the Younger twins' first birthday party!

I'm not sure where the past year has gone, but somehow these sweet babies have already celebrated their first birthday! Their moms outdid themselves with the party, too. I'm thinking they missed their calling -- they definitely should have been party planners! The theme was The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and every little detail was planned from the kids' outfits to the cakes and the decorations. Everything was SO cute -- although not so cute that it overshadowed the two stars of the day! 

Happy, happy birthday Tyler and Morgan -- may the next year be full of smiles, giggles, and many firsts! :)

 

The cupcakes were VERY colorful...

...but at least my family is ready for St. Patrick's Day! :)

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!