{Tractors, 'Ouy Juice' & a Handsome Little 2 year old}

Last Tuesday I ventured a little out of town to my clients grandfather's farm - it was gorgeous and huge!  We got to follow the big'ole John Deere tractor in a golf cart to other parts of the farm.  The little man I photographed, Heyward, just turned two and he was amazing to photograph.  He seemed like an 'old soul' more mature for his age, more aware of his surroundings and who he is.   I felt like he wanted to say so much but his little 2 year old vocabulary wouldn't let him say it.  We walked to the pond on the farm which he referred to as 'ouy juice'.  Anything that's water, liquid, etc. is 'juice' so as an example the bathtub is 'bubble juice'.  Isn't that cute?!  Love how kids have their own way of referring to things.  I have to brag a little more about this little 2 year old... he has such a sweet demeanor, and when he says 'thank you', he says it in the sweetest little voice, looks you straight in the eyes and says it with such sincerity.  I was amazed!  I had a great time photographing him on the farm.

Here's  a little peek at our session!

I'm showing this in b&w too since my husband really likes the b&w one and I like the color one (okay, so I like them both but I'm gravitating toward the the color one).  :)

{early morning sun, faint mists of fog and pie?}

I had a session on an early foggy Saturday morning, but that fog quickly faded as the sun rays filtered through the trees.  It was a hot and humid morning - the bees were buzzing, the birds were chirping and the ants were marching (that would be 'red' ants) ;-).  As I unloaded the truck with all my props (I had a ton), early morning bike riders and walkers gave me inquisitive looks followed by friendly smiles.  I must've looked pretty silly lugging a suit case and what looked like the entire contents of a small apartment into the deep foggy forest.  One sweet elderly lady even pulled over and said with a smile, 'What in Tarnation?!' okay she didn't say those exact words, it was more like 'oh my, what are you doing with all of this'?  She chuckled after I told her and said 'looks like fun'.   Anyway, I was soon greeted by little Simmons, who's 2 years old and her parents.  What a doll Simmons is!  She's little, she's fast and she hung in there well with all the humidity.  During the session she asked a couple of times for her 'pie' - I thought 'hmm, pie - that's something I didn't bring to the session with me...' but it sounded yummy.  Then her mom told me that's what she calls her pacifier - so funny what each child calls it.  My kids called it their 'pah-nue'.... I know, how can pacifier be shortened to pah-nue?  {shrug}.  Anyway, I had fun photographing Simmons and my favorite part was when she wanted me to hold her toward the end of the session - melted me.    Here's a little peek at our morning.

{Tyler Made the Cover!}

Tyler made the cover of Kids Trends Weekly!  It's the 'Back to School' issue and the information in this issues covers 'back to school' products, style tidbits, tips and ideas for a smooth transition back to school, recipes and more.  Kids Trends is a great way for mom's to be 'in the know' with a wide array of topics and the newest trends & products for your children (topics cover ages 5-9 years old, for under age 5 Tot Trends is a good resource). 

Here's a picture of the cover.  Tyler being my funny boy.  When I told him about the cover this morning, he looked at me shyly with a little grin, then he quickly changed the subject.  So funny...

{dancing, digging and running from buzzing lil' bugs}

It was a hot & humid Southern evening when I photographed these cute little blonde haired, blue eyed siblings. The gnats and maquitos tagged along throughout the session, but thankfully the kids were troopers and weren't bothered too much by all the little buzzing bugs.  One little gnat flew right into little Jacqueline's eye and she patiently held still while I carefully got it out, then she was right back to playing and dancing like a ballerina.   Yes, Jacqueline is very girly (I just love that) and once she got on the fluffy tutus and petticoats I brought, she was off dancing and prancing around showing me her cute and very graceful ballet moves.  Below is one of the several photos of her entranced in dance.  I love this age, when a child just gets wrapped up in a world of imagination and their feelings are released through play and acting out those feelings - Jacqueline's reflected dance.  And her brother James, he just in awe by the trucks and tractors that were around.  He was on the move and determined to explore all things 'boy'.  It was fun seeing what he wanted to search for next.  Here's a little peak at our session. :)

{they're growing up...}

Such a happy time and yet a part of me feels sad that my babies are growing up.  Today was their first day of school - Brielle in preschool and Tyler in Kindergarten.  They went to bed giddy and eager for the sun to rise all in anticipation of their first day of school at the same school - just two classrooms away from one another.  Tyler helped tuck Brielle in, gave her a kiss and a hug and then put his hand on her forehead, his face inches away from hers and quietly assured her that every morning he was going to walk her to her class room.  Oh my...so sweet and so grown up hearing him volunteer to accompany her class each day.  Part of me ached for a third baby seeing how they were hitting this milestone before I was emotionally ready. I was looking forward to waking them in the morning knowing how excited they were.  I remember my  'first day of school' - the butterflies in my tummy, not wanting to eat because I was too excited to head off to school - I felt so grown up as each year passed.  I also remember what I wore on my first day of school {kindergarten}; a white ribbed tank top with a white knit sweater and a blue & green Scottish mini skirt, patent leather shoes and white cable-knit knee high socks.  I was so into my white knee highs and patent leather shoes - I even wore them riding my bike.  Anyway, Brielle confidently reached for her ballerina dress up clothes, her flower wings and her princess crown and before I knew it, she had them all on over her pajamas and proudly said 'I'm going to be so beeutiful for my first day of school' while she spun in circles and began to prance around the kitchen.  I was so close to just letting her go to school in her dress-up clothes.  But I managed to talk her into wearing another 'beautiful' dress explaining that her ballerina dress needed to be washed and would be waiting for her when she returned home later that day.   She was content.  Waving good-bye to the kids made me think of waving good-bye to them as they leave for college.  It's a long ways off, I know, but they really do grow up too fast.  Anyway, thanks for hanging in there and reading this post if you made it this far.  I'm sure many of you can relate - such a bitter sweet chapter of life.  Here's just one of the pictures I took of them this morning- Tyler kissing Brielle on the cheek before leaving for school together...

{Urban Attitude... hip, fun family}

Urban twist for a gorgeous hip family - sooo fun!  I had a blast photographing this session!  This age group is so refreshing, they get so into being in front of the camera, which I love.   Oh, I love the little tots too and I always will, teens just add a different element to the session since they typically want to be there, they rarely have meltdowns or need diaper changes, and I normally don't have to chase very far after them {wink}.  Anyway, this was another Seattle session but the only urban session I photographed during my time in the NW.  Next  time I'm going to try to do a few more with an Urban flair.  Isn't this family just beautiful!  They were so comfortable in front of the camera and were up for anything.   We even found a random bowling ball {yes, an abandon, orange, dying to be held, bowling ball} and I had to incorporate it into part of the session although we found it toward the end of our time together.  Anyway, Shanna is the amazing mother of these four beautiful children.  Wow, she's a busy lady - I have trouble keeping up with just two.  Anyway, I loved every minute of this session!

Here's a little peek inside....with varying post-processing techniques.

Ahhh... the bowling ball....

This last one I processed two ways...Kara's bright color in the first and Kara's yesterday fade.

{Almost Rained Out...two beautiful munchkins}

Oh you guys have been so patient waiting this long for your sneak peeks {I know, I'm not done yet.  There are others waiting and I'm pouring through each session keeping the 'zipfizz' going so I can get more done.  Off Topic: Have your tried 'Zipfizz'?  It's pretty neat stuff - just put it in your water bottle watch it fizz and sip on a yummy energy drink.  Prob not the best for you but I rationalize drinking it by reading the label again and again noting the huge amount of vitamins in each tiny pink tube. ;-) I digress... }

We almost got rained out during this session - yes, it was raining just as we were about to get started.  So we hung out in our cars for about 15 minutes hoping that the rain would stop... it didn't stop but it lightened up enough to step out to my favorite lush green field in this area.  I was so excited to have a session with Makenzi and Kennedi - I photographed these two when they were much smaller so I was giddy.  Jeff & I were in the same child birth class as Michelle & Cliff (the two girls' parents) and we've been close friends ever since.  I can't believe how much this age group grows in just a years time!   I wish I could just take them all home with me to SC so I don't have to miss seeing them grow and we can have play dates whenever we wanted!  I'm realizing that those days are numbered as these kids get older - the idea of a 'playdate' will be no longer after a certain age :(  Why can't we keep them small? 

Here's  a little snipet from our session!  I did a bunch of different post processing on these, some vintage washed ones with texture, faded wash post processing and my classic color.  

The next one I processed to get a sun bleached look to the image.  This is one of my favorite home-brewed actions.

Normal Kara color...

Vintage play and my own texturing (psst... to make your own just take a picture of something like a blank canvas, a crumpled piece of paper, the side walk, etc all on macro on your camera.  It's super easy and fun!)

Vintage play and other textures applied to the one below....

{Nuxiemade - Designer Spotlight}

Remember Nuximade?  I featured this amazing hat designer several months ago and I am again thrilled to feature more of Nux's amazing work.  She's also in the process of designing other styles and colors so stay tuned. 

I always bring these hats to sessions and my clients fall in love with them asking me for the link and information on the hats.  Some clients even show up to our session with the hats since they've seen them featured and used on my blog with so many clients.  Love that!

My children love the hats and Brielle has gotten a little possessive of them.  I use them primarily for my sessions but if the kids want to wear one I let them - why not?  Well, when Briella sees pictures of my clients in 'her' hats, she says 'Hey, why are they wearing my hat?  They didn't ask?  Was I sharing - no one told me'  - I have to remind her that the hats are for my clients to wear and she gets to wear them when I'm not photographing.  She's got that just turned three attitude and drama.  I'm nervous for her teen years.   Tyler on the other hand will see pictures of clients in the hats and say 'Oh cool they wore our hats, looks good mom'.  And then he'll point out his favorite image.   So funny how the two are so different - could be the age or it could be the difference in gender - who knows? 

{Scotch Broom?}

I'm very behind on my sneak peeks and I apologize for those of you who have been patiently waiting.  I'll be posting more from my Seattle sessions hopefully this week. :)  I'm home again in SC and it is hot - heat index of 110 - wow!  And air conditioner in my car is out again!  This is the 3rd time in less than a year :(.  Maybe it's time for a new car... we'll see {shrug}.  It's good to be home but boy do I miss Seattle and living in a big city.  Don't get me wrong, I love it here too, I just think I'm more of a city girl, even though I crave small town living at times.  I'm fickle I guess... ;-)

Dominick and Drake (the two dashing boys below) were telling me about all kinds of plants as we passed them - they sounded like little botanists discussing each.  Anyway, they pointed out with concern that  Scotch Broom was a plant/weed  that their daddy was allergic too.  But they assured me that he had medicine that made his eyes 'not be red anymore'.  So that stuck in my head - who knew two little boys (5 & 3) could know so much!  Anyway, I got a kick out of their personalities and interaction with each other.  These boys are my dear friend Clarity & Jeff's and we've known each other since the birth of our oldest boys.  I photographed Dominick since he was a little tiny guy - so it was fun to see him again and get some one-on-one time him and his brother Drake.

Here's just a little peak at our session.

 

{In search of 'Habitat' - no better way than in a tutu. Who knew?}

I'm still here in Seattle and loving being in a 'big city' again - so much to inspire me here.  It's been a blast and a whirlwind of appointments (3 in one day yesterday - crazy, I know, and now my body is feeling it by getting some sort of bug.  Ugg :(  )  But it's been worth every minute and I wish I could stay longer to photograph those of you who were on the wait-list or who's sessions got rained out.  I will be back and I'm excited to meet more of you and your children.  I fly to South Carolina on Thursday morning so I will spending my last two days here with family, trying to get well before flying home and organizing everything to fit into the luggage I came here with - it's lika huge puzzle, every piece has to be placed in the right spot for it to be a success.  ;-)

This was a fun session because it was with my adorable niece and nephew!  We met them at a beach near my sisters house.  This location was amazing but I couldn't take any of my other clients since it was an hour from Seattle - so I just soaked it in during this special session.  The beach had some cool old (but well maintained and preserved) historical buildings, old bunkers, huge gnarled tree roots that dipped into the saltwater below and other cool things that I freaked out and got excited over.   My nephew just turned five and he has such an imagination which makes things fun.  On this adventure he was in search of 'beach habitat' and his little sister followed in his very serious mission.   Love that girls can do 'boy' things (like throw rocks, dig in the sand, and squirm over seaweed) while looking so pretty in all girly-girl threads.  That's just what Mikayla did in a fluffy little tutu.  I couldn't resist her gorgeous sun-kissed ringlets - soooo adorable.   As we step out on to the beach she took my hand, pulled it in close to her, and said in her quiet little voice, 'can you follow me?  I'll take you somewhere' - melted my heart.  I don't get to see these two very much since we moved across the country so this was a real treat for me - complete one on one time.  I loved every minute of it!!

I had fun playing with the images below.  I used different texture and other fun techniques to get a different mood/feel to some of them. So fun :)