{Happy Thanksgiving!}

This morning I overheard Tyler asking Brielle if she knows why we celebrate thanksgiving.  She answered 'because we're thankful'.  Tyler began to tell her the story of the pilgrims, how the woman back then had to keep their caps on or it was considered rude, etc.  He was so excited sharing with her what he knew about the this special day.  He even drew her pictures of Turkeys but added, 'Did you know they didn't eat Turkey at all on the first Thanksgiving?'.  Who knew?  LOL 

 There's  so much to be Thankful for this year and every year.  I'm trying to stay away from my computer today but wanted to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving.  I hope your day is filled with warmth, togetherness, and positive reflection.  Have a great holiday celebration!

{one of my new favorite images} :)

{Designer Spotlight: Kait Emerson & NuxieMade}

These two keep coming out with amazing new designs and color combinations.  I was so excited when I saw what Feanna, of Kait Emerson sent me.  Her fall/winter line is fabulous with the peasant patterned tops, ruffled pants, apron dresses, and solid twirl skirt (passes the 'twirl test with Brielle' - it's one of her favorites to wear).  Melissa, talented hat designer for NuxieMade, coordinated the hats perfectly with the Kait Emerson's line.  As we were photographing, people (in particular woman) would stop and say 'I love that hat! Where did you find it?'  Of course I carried her business cards with me to the shoot :)  Also during the shoot another photographer who does 'corporate profile work', stopped me and asked all about Brielle's outfit...then we talked shop ab0ut lenses, lighting, camera bodies, etc.  ;-)  It was fun chatting with passer-by's - so friendly and warm (love people like that).    Anyway, I wanted to share with you these adorable designs that can be found at  Kait Emerson Designs and Nuxiemade, check them out!

{The Little Traveler}

I have the best job ever!  I was so lucky to photograph this darling little 13th month old who flew in from Washington DC last week.  Okay, so they didn't fly here just for the session....they were visiting Sedona and made a little detour mid-trip to meet me for a session!  And they even brought gifts!  Yes, for me, Tyler and Brielle. Such an awesome greeting - thank you again Pamela you are so thoughtful.

What a happy, expressive little girl.  She was on the move and fast so her mom, dad and I got a serious workout LOL.  But it was fun and Juliana was full of curiosity exploring everything around her.    Here's a little peek from our fun session together :)

{ZoGirl's Spring Line Peek - 'Brielle Dress'}

Ekkk!!  I'm so excited!  Julie, designer and master seamstress behind the amazing ZozoBugBaby clothing brought me in on a little secret.  I got to see and photograph part of her super fun ZoGirl Spring line  (for girls sizes 6 and up)!!  I've had these images done for a little while now, but I've had to keep them hush, hush until the designs were released to her whole-salers and other peeps in the design industry.  These Spring styles were 50's inspired - they are flirty, with a vintage flare and a touch of retro.  I love the combination!!  And guess what?!  She even named this one 'The Brielle Dress'.  I'm completely flattered and ecstatic!!  See more of her fantastic work here! 

{Autumn just might be here....}

I woke up foggy eyed  this morning and ran the thermometer to see what the temperature was outside.  And guess what?  It was a crisp and lightly windy 51 degrees out!!  I was so excited.  I love cool weather and it just doesn't feel like fall until the coolness nips at your nose in the morning.  I even wore jeans today - the first time in 6 months!  Tyler forgot he had long pants and was shocked when I he saw what I had laid out for him - his jaw dropped and he giggled 'I love pants, I didn't know I still had any'.  Brielle....well she was not going to put on anything but a dress.  But squealed with excitedly about putting on the warm and cozy fluffy sweater I had out for her.  She said 'I haven't seen this since I was a baby'.  Too funny.    Just wanted to share my excitement!  Happy Autumn blog friends!   

The picture above was taken this morning.  Of course the kids aren't wearing their sweaters since the house was too warm for them.  But it was pretty chilly outside - really.  Oh and today was tie day for Spirit Week at Tyler's school so you can't really see it but he's wearing one of daddy's ties with his green t-shirt.  He really gets into spirit weeks at school -  I love that about him.

{Brothers}

Aren't these boys adorable?!  I'm lucky to be friends with their momma, my dear friend Clarity.  I got the biggest kick out of this session - these two were absolute characters and they got along with each other so well.  I loved seeing their interaction, listening to their silly jokes, and hearing their laughter.  Dominick, the adorable older brother with red hair was giving me all of his impersonations  (I happened to snap a shot during one of him singing the SpongeBob theme song, love his facial expression).   Drake, the younger brother, was a little quieter but just as much fun and silly.   I think he was pretty entertained by his brother and together their laughter echoed off the alley way where we were photographing.   Here's a peak into our session. 

{Designer Spotlight: ZoZoBugBaby Pattern}

Oh my, look what ZoZoBugBaby has been up to now!  For you crafty people out there who can follow a pattern (unlike me), Julie, owner of ZoZoBugBaby, has teamed up with P&B Textiles to create some gorgeous pattern designs.  This is just one of three that she's releasing in late November or early December.  The fabric is by Pat Sloan and I think they work so well with Julie's designs.   Julie is truly talented and amazes me with each of her designs!  I don't know how she does it all, she's a very in-demand lady with her work and stays up late into the night working on customers' orders and new designs. 

Brielle, was a hoot during our session here.  She kept offering ideas and insisted on laying down for that first shot.  I just let her go with it even though some of her poses I didn't process since she looked like a flamingo with one leg tucked behind her - she kept insisting on that pose.  So funny.  She's makes me laugh.   

{Seattle Session: Michelle & Cliff + 3}

Okay, so the title....what can I say.  I don't watch Jon & Kate + 8 but I'm seeing them all over the media these days so I couldn't resist this title.  LOL.  Yep, another Seattle session :)  Look at this beautiful family!  I've known Michelle for 7 years now.  We met at our birthing class when we were both ready to pop.  Now her family has expanded to three adorable  children. This session was taken in her huge backyard - it's pure exploration and fun with the pond, a playground, trees, arbors, and cozy places to sit.  Michelle really wanted pictures of her youngest since we'd previously had sessions with her two girls.  We packed a lot into our 20 minute session :)

{Designer Spotlight: Miss Priss Tutu's!}

This blog post is a bit overdue.  I photographed some gorgeous tutu's for Miss Priss Tutu's a little over a month ago and alas, I'm just now posting them on my blog.  When these were delivered and we opened the box, Briella's eyes got so big and as she squealed, "It's a princess in a box!  It's three princesses in a box!"  She loved dancing around in these beautiful tutu's during our session. We found an abandoned home up high on a hill - I loved the stone steps and the rock around the place.  Oh and we also found a cool abandoned light green school bus to photograph the second tutu - it was 114 when we took these so we were quick, kept the car on with the air conditioner blasting.  :)

  The first tutu is called the 'Long Tutu' - I love it, you can choose any color combination you want with these!  The second is called the  'Double Tutu', so fluffy and girly.  And the third is called the 'Halloween Tutu' - very fitting with the black, orange and purple.  Check out  her many other designs at www.missprisstutus.com.

{Still Alive - just surrounded by moving boxes}

Okay so it's not that bad...the boxes are starting to get unpacked and our house is starting to look more like a house.  For those who don't know, we just moved from Gold Canyon, AZ  (where we were temporarily while our house was being built) to Mesa!  I feel like this last 6 months have been so crazy with all of our moves.  I'm hoping for some normalcy now ;-)  And time for editing, posting and clients.  I haven't officially opened for business yet due to our moves, but I'm hoping by late fall or winter to start.  Thanks for your inquires - I'll post more soon.

Below are a couple pictures of Tyler and Brielle in front of our house in their  Pajamas  getting ready to head to an evening at Tyler's school of Bedtime Stories.  It's the coolest thing - the principal comes in his pj's and reads a story to the kids, then we can head to several classrooms throughout the school and listen to more bedtime stories.  At the end they serve milk and cookies and have a drawing where kids can win books.  Tyler won a book!!  It was such a fun night!!