SNEAK PEEK!

I will be posting a full post soon on this wonderful family.  Had to share a sneak peek.

ALBUMS!

I just started offering albums!  They are so yummy and sexy and beautiful and....well, I like them a lot.  Below is the price sheet for either option : photo album or modern album.  Both represent all the things I love about the world of paper, ink and some imagination.

Love Is In The Air : Campbell Family Welcomes Home Baby

When I entered the Campbell family, it was obvious.  Their home was full of love and I caught it.  When you bring home a new baby, you bring also this unique new feeling.  It isn't the same feeling as when you had your first kiss or came home as newlyweds.  No, the love you feel when you bring home a new baby fills the air as quickly as it fills your heart the moment you first see your baby in your arms.  And unlike the love you may have for your life mate; your companion which is an intimate love that grows over time  -- baby love is instant, consistent and infectious.  You remember no time when you didn't feel this way and can think of no time when it will end.  This love radiates from new parents and when you enter a home newly welcoming home a baby -- you get it too.  I left the Campbell home and drove home to my own children; my babies that are no longer babies.  I walked through my door and felt it again.  It has been 2 years since my last child was born, but it is still there.  Love is in the air.

Keep Calm and Carry On - a fantastic motto for all new parents! 

Nothing is sweeter than expecting your second child...

Our dear friends were expecting their second child when they asked me to photograph their family before his arrival.  We have almost everything is common - our eldest daughters are 2 months apart in age, she is a full-time stay at home mother like me and our hubbies are die-hard Democrats.  You could say that we have lots to compare and we understand what it is like to raise children in the city in small homes.  We have enjoyed conversations about dealing with preschoolers, creating extra storage space and going on city adventures together.  But one thing about our life in the city is different - the lake.  And not just any lake - but the most beautiful lake Seattlites treasure from all directions.  Lake Union.  It was pretty easy to think of a good location to take photographs for this session.  Living on a houseboat comes with a step-outside-my-door-into-the-lake kind of advantage and I enjoyed photographing this family in their natural surroundings.  Ahhh...the lake.

Photographing a second-time mom is so amazing.  You would think first-time moms would be the icing on the cake, but it is the mothers that have already endured the sleepless nights, the spit-up on the shirt and the cuddles, kisses and cries which warm my heart.  Parenting is a lot of work and is emotionally trying.  But these mothers know what they are getting into and do it all over again because the rewards of being a parent outweighs the negative.  Their beautiful anticipation and excitement radiates off of them spreading the contagious 'maybe I want another baby' to people like me.  As for now, I enjoy my restful nights.

Where was I?  Oh just dangling off the ledge on my stomach - anything for a good angle.

To date - one of my favorite family photos.  It had to be all by itself.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy FIRST Mother's Day to all first-time expecting mothers! 

And a Happy Mother's Day to all the women who have stayed up through the night with a sick kid, patiently watched their child learn to put on their own shoes, ran to the grocery store to then realize you have spit-up on your shirt and to discover dinosaurs and Cheerios in your purse, but more importantly, to the women who have been blessed with slobbery kisses and little giggles in their home. 

The work is tough; the rewards are a delight. 
Motherhood is a life adventure worth experiencing.  Celebrate your day!

Baby Makes Four : Myrtle Edwards and Olympic Sculpture Park

Ahhhh...we are finally getting a bit of sunshine in the northwest.  I have had a busy week and blogging about this session is one more ray of sunshine to my day.  I titled it 'Baby Makes Four' because this Capitol Hill expecting couple represents many couples in the metro-Seattle area.  When I spoke to them on the phone, they said they would like maternity photos including their doggie.  Like many with furry children, I understood that their next baby will make it a household of four.  They all had a glow anticipating the new arrival and even the doggie would sniff at the baby belly every now and then to make sure everything was okay.  This baby (expected any day now) will be well loved by two amazing, funny people and have a furry big brother to play with and get lots of wet kisses.

 The doggie checks up on how the baby is doing....and then needs some chasing.

 You know its love when you see two people in a park dancing to no music.

How beautilful is this belly - look forward to seeing the baby pics!

Lay Family : A Saturday Together at Home

It is so special when a friend asks me to photograph their family and even more exciting when it is a friend I haven't seen in a long time.  This is my friend Lindsey and her cute little family.  We spend all of junior and high school playing sports together.  Unfortunately, we hadn't made the time to get together in recent years.  On a Saturday afternoon, I spent a couple hours at their home photographing their nearly 2-year-old, enjoying catching up with my friend and seeing the life she has made for herself with her husband, Andy.  They are renovating an old home (amazing), enjoying time with friends and family and being awesome parents to this little 2-year-old that kept me on my toes and firing many frames.

This is a session where I photograph life as it is happening - no major posing.  I let the family interact together and just be themselves.  Looking back years from now when their life is different, they can see the dance of their life at this point.  I let Lily show me her world - her stick horse, baby and favorite books, stuff animals, yard and doggies.  She ran the show just like she is running this home.  I love two-year-olds.  :)

It was a nice little Saturday at home with the Lay family.  Loved meeting this sweet little girl- it won't be long and we'll be going to her basketball and volleyball games.  :)

Little dinosaur stamps on the feet from gymnastics - little girls love painted nails and stamps.