{Green Grass, Slimy Slugs and Two Boys}

The other day, I photographed two young boys who were so much fun.  {I know, I say every session is so much fun, but it's true - I love photographing children, I have a blast and usually the kids do too ;-) }   Big brother Daniel, was followed by little Evan who was just a happy go lucky little guy.  His all boy voice echoed across the field as he excitedly told us what he had found.  Ladybugs and slugs - wow, what more could a boy want!  Daniel was entertaining me with some of the silly expressions -shown below (he's bound to be an actor someday)  while Evan continued on his mission in search of more wildlife (aka insects).  These two boys really have a close bond, they didn't argue or poke at each at all throughout our session, and their mother re-affirmed that they really are the best of friends.   So cool to see that kind of relationship between brothers. 

Here's just a tiny peak at our session. :) 

Evan playing PEEK-A-BOO!  ;-)

{Sparkling Brown Eyes...and 'the Reflection'}

Little Cosette.....what a cutie-patootie.  She just turned two and showed me with her two little fingers just after arriving at our location.  And what a little trooper Cosi was, we went on a bit of a hike during this session and Cosi hung in there.    I should always mention that there's a possibility of a good work-out during my shoots since we either walk a distance or carry heavy props from venue to venue {it's really not that bad  ;-) I promise.} Anyway, it was a gorgeous day and we stopped to listen to the birds along the way.   Here's a quick peek at our session.  Note: I'm editing these quickly on my laptop so bare with me till I get back to SC where I do my real editing. 

I was reminded again after opening my images to edit, that I should never wear red, orange or any other bright colors {look at the close-up of Cosi's eye}.  Isn't that crazy?!  I had to edit my shirt color out of every image so it wasn't distracting (or look like 'red-eye').  I know better since this isn't a first - thankfully it's an easy edit.  ;-)

{Dimples + Melt-Your-Heart Smiles= Rex and Julia }

Yes, these two siblings are absolutely adorable!  They have the cutest little dimples and bright sparkles in their eyes - it's clear they are brother and sister.   And I have to say, Rex is one of the best big brothers I have seen - he was so good with Julia when she was having a little 'reflective moment' (aka girl drama over not being able to ride on her Dora toy - we girls can relate) ;-)   Rex tried to distract her and offer her comfort until she finally calmed down - it was really sweet to see. 

Anyway, the weather was gorgeous this past weekend in Seattle and these kids were ready to show me around.  Rex started by showing me his football and his cool dinasour boots.  And Julia, who's not quite two yet, fell in love with my petticoats & tutu's as well as several of my hats (a photographers dream....)   I promised I would try to blog while I was here so I've done what editing I can on my laptop so I could share a few of the images from this session.  :)  Thanks for stopping by-- more Seattle sessions will be posted soon so stay tuned. :)

{Sessions in 'Starbucks Land'...sigh... can't wait!}

Okay, so Seattle isn't 'Starbucks Land' but it is where Starbucks was born and is head-quartered.  It's a place where you can find a Starbucks on every street corner and then some...oh I miss that...was I spoiled? ;-)  I'm so excited for my trip and all the sessions I have lined up... it's going to be a whirlwind 2 weeks and I can't wait!  I've got some tiny-tots, some tweens and some teens to photograph and I'm loving that variety. 

Anyway, I'm frantically trying to wrap things up here - hence the neglected blog (I hate that...).  And in doing so, I'm getting things prepared for my sessions here at home when I return so for those of you waiting for your client information packet - they are in the mail!  Had to show proof with pics!  ;-) 

And being that I will be flying - my kids accompanying me- I couldn't resist photographing my sons beloved plane (I think this one is a bi-plane, but non-the-less it's a plane).  The kids can't wait - they get to spend time with Grandma & Grandpa while I'm working.  Lucky kids ;-)  Hopefully I'll be able to squeeze in some Seattle Urban photographs of my little munchkins while I'm away (fingers crossed).   Anyway, I played with the processing on these images slightly changing the feel of each - so fun (and dorky I know).  Oh I'll have my laptop with me in Sea-town and I'm going to try to post some entries to my blog so it's not neglected again. ;-)

{More from 'Earthgroovz' - Designer Spotlight Series}

Kerry, the designer and owner of Earthgroovz, sent me 3 more fun dresses to photograph!  Oh... I love them all and my daughter was Little Miss Giddy putting them on (especially the one with the apple & pear pattern) - she kept saying  'oooh these are so so pretty mommy... aren't they so so pretty?'.  Thankfully she has a fondness for fun clothes just like her mommy ;-).  I love how these dresses  tie at the shoulders so you can choose to tie them higher or a bit lower.  And I found the coolest melon green wall to photograph one of the dresses in front of.  I'm a sucker for colorful walls, although you won't know it looking inside my house (every wall is creamy white - an off-white that looks like it has a touch of yellow in it).  Anyway,  here are some pictures of Briella in some of the dresses Earthgroovz offers.  Oh and I couldn't resist adding the one of her curling her tongue - isn't that supposed to be an autosomal dominant trait or gene or something?  Anyway, she got some giggles out of that one. 

Note:  Kerry will be back from vacation on the 12th so hold tight that's only a few days aways.  After the 12th take a peek at Earthgroovz  to see all of her fabulous handmade items!

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{Whispers, Giggles & Quietly Emanating Echoes}

This week I had a photo session with 5 fun and happy kids! The kids stayed energized the whole session which took 3 hours!! With snacks in between, clothing changes and location changes we did it! Phillip and Izzy' (the two dark haired children) had their cousins (the 3 light haired kids - I know, stating the obvious - I do that) in town from Washington DC. The kids played so well with one another and you could tell that these cousins are close and miss each other being 7 hours away. The youngest in the group is 5 months old, then a busy and silly 2 year old and three 5 year olds!

Being with these 5 made me think of visits with my cousins when I was their age. I didn't have cousins that lived close by, but every summer we got to see many of them. I have 15+ cousins so summer visits were so exciting for my brother, sister and I. Anyway, photographing these five brought me right back to my younger years and remembering all the fun times I had with my own cousins. Here's a little peek at our session. I couldn't resist going 'vintage' on a few of these. They just had that vibe and I went with it :)

{Almost Two...}

Okay, so I'm really behind in sneak peeks and other fun projects so I apologize for the delay.  I've been swamped and working as quickly as I can to get things done.  Why do I always feel like a chicken with its head cut off?  I guess that's life - going non-stop with full schedules, places to go, things to do....  Oh well, I'm enjoying it so that helps!   Rachel, thanks for your patience with this sneak peek from your session last week.  As soon as your gallery is up, I'll let you know.  Hopefully these pictures of Garner will help with the wait.  Yes, I photographed Garner who's almost 2 on one of the hottest days of the year.   The air was thick with humidity and the sun was blazing, but this little guy hung in there, as did his mom and his uncle.  Here's a few from our session :)

{Faith Works 4U - Designer Spotlight}

Lemon print, grosgrain ribbon, and light cotton fabric - that's a small précis of just one of the designs that my daughter fell in love with when we were photographing Faith's great summer dresses. Faith Works 4U is a clothing and handmade goods line based in Florida by guess who... Faith! Her line has varying fabrics and she offers a variety of items - I'm loving her 1970's inspired plush owls.I have to tell you, photographing these dresses was quite an event. I took my daughter, Brielle, out to this abandon school house to take the pictures. It was out in the middle of no-where , tucked back from the street. The session went great - Brielle kept doing her little ballet dance (she does that when she puts on something 'pretty'). Anyway, Tyler and my husband were with us too. We were wrapping things up and headed back to the car (about 15 steps away) got everyone buckled, comfy, and ready to head to Starbucks for a little treat. I turned the key in the ignition and ....nothing. I tried again... nothing. So we thought we'd call our friends Bobby & Mary Beth to see if they could come out and jump our battery. Not so easy....we both left our cell phones at home assuming the other had brought theirs. So we're out in the middle of no-where without cell phones....not smart, I know. Since not many people drive by this area and Jeff was having no luck getting anyone to stop, he decided he was going to walk to try to get help - Brielle hearing this and seeing daddy walk away yells 'Daddy, we love you....' Oh my...then I got panicked and started flagging down any car that I could see in the distance - of course Jeff turned around and saw me and freaked out saying ' what are you doing - you're a girl with 2 kids - you can't do that - you never know what someone will do to you and the kids.' As we're trying to figure out what to do, Jeff decided to push the car closer to the road pop the hood and waive jumper cables by passing cars. A few passed by without stopping and my heart began to sink. Then I notice the last car slowing and turning around in the road - he was heading back our way! I was so excited! Jeff was relieved too. The nice man was disabled and was so sweet to stop and help us. We had no money with us (just credit cards) so I couldn't even give him money. All I could do was thank him profusely for stopping to help us. Anyway, I got the pictures I needed and we got home safe so it was a happy ending and we are laughing about it now! Lesson: Always bring a cell phone with you when you venture into no-where land (and hopefully you'll still have a signal) :)

{Brielle made the Cover!}

My little girl is on the cover of Tot Trends Magazine!! Just thought I'd make a quick post sharing what the cover looks like! And that cute little vintage dress...was made by Monkey & Me one of my featured designers! Thanks for looking!

{My boy...}

So finally, I'm posting a few more pictures from my trip to Arizona a few months ago (I know, you forgot I went there didn't you? wink). I had a little mini session with my son while we were there and he was just a goof - giving me serious 'trying to be cool' looks and then wiping out one of his silly faces and making me laugh and then reverting right back into his so serious trying to be mature looks. The picture of him jumping was so fun and spontaneous - he was standing, again looking so serious ,then he suddenly leaps in the air, arms and legs spread at the top of the hill. I loved it and was so glad I caught it on camera (have to be quick with kids, especially when they are so used to my camera and last about 5 minutes).The bottom set of images are with Grandma Doh Doh and Grandpa May. That's what they called them.... long story behind Grandma's name and my kids say it lovingly (I think Grandma likes it a lot too) ;-) Sorry this post is short - tons of work to do and I'm so behind. Thanks for looking!!