Babies and Kids: Peyton.

Peyton took one look at my camera and me and ran the other way. No joke. What did I expect? A two-year old to sit down and give me his best smiles. I asked him to just look my way. He smiled, gave me that sneaky two-year old expression and ran the other way. I asked him to sit still for one moment so maybe, just maybe, I could grab one cute picture of him. What did he do? Smiled, laughed and ran the other way. That is when it finally dawned on me. He is two. Two years old. Meaning, he wants to have fun, he wants to play and he wants to be able to be free. In other words, he wants to be two years old.

Now, I do not have any little ones myself, so I can never speak from a mother's point of view. However, I have dealt with my share of toddlers especially in the two year old range, and the more I am around them, the more I realize, to get the best pictures of them, you have to be fast with the camera, you have to be energetic and most of all, you have to be playful with them.

As soon as I put aside the whole let's-sit-and-smile and decided to play with sweet little Peyton, I got to see a whole different side of him. We played the tickling game, we played hide-and-go-seek and best of all, I got some of the sweetest hugs from this little man. And, this is why I absolutely love photographing kids. Somewhere in between the tickling, the hide-and-go-seek and the sweet little hugs, I got some of the best pictures from Peyton. I got to see that genuine smile, that free spirit and those eyes that sparkle when he saw a dog running around. I got to witness that two year old spirit that ran so wildly yet so lovingly.

Kelle, your husband and you are so lucky to have such a fun and spirited little man on your hands. He is just the cutest! I hope you enjoy some of the shots I got of him. xoxo.

Family: The Beckers.

Nothing beats being a photographer and getting to capture memories for your friends. Especially friends you have known for quite some time. Enter the Becker family.

Mark and Emily have been good friends of ours since college. Bryan and I actually watched them both exchange their vows in front of family and friends just about two years ago. Before they knew it, they were expecting a little one who has blessed their home with smiles, lots of silly faces and has given them great joy. Their baby boy, Davis.

Mark was a football player back in college and your all around tough guy, but he was the kind of guy you just cannot help but think is going to make one amazing dad one day. And, he lived up to my expectation of it. He is completely in love with his little football star and his awesome wife! Emily is and always was meant to be one amazing mama. She has a heart of gold and is one of the kindest people I have met. Together these two make up a great team of parents and husband and wife.

As for Davis, he is just about as cute as babies can possibly get! I mean this little guy had me laughing more than I could take with his silly facial expressions and his amazing little side tricks he picked up. He is about the happiest little guy I know of and is a perfect creation of Mark and Emily's best features!

Mark and Emily, it was so wonderful to see all three of you again! I am pretty sure the guys and I had a blast taking pictures of all of you especially Davis. Hope you love my favorites below, and be on the look out for a little package being sent your way! xoxo.

(Shout out to our friend, Sean, who came along to help Bryan and I during the session! You rock, Sean!!!)

Family: The Webers.

She has eyes that sparkle. And a smile that is too contagious for words. He has a laugh that is music to my ears. And an independent personality that makes me think he is going to grow up to be a very successful young man. They are both sister and brother. Their names: Grace and John Peter.

At first glance, seeing these two, I could not help but think how stunning they were. They were full of smiles and full of personality. John and Tamara are the proud parents. And, you can see the glow on their faces when they are laughing at something silly they say or do or the cuddly hugs they get from their two little ones.

I love when I get sessions with little ones because you really can never tell what you will get from them. From my experience, you pretty much get a mix of their happiest, saddest and funniest emotions and I am lucky because I get to capture it all. Grace and John Peter kept me on my toes throughout the whole session which I LOVED, and my most favorite part was when no one was looking or paying attention, I captured a smile from John Peter!

John and Tamara, I hope you enjoy some of my favorites below. They truly did come out fantastic, and I hope you love them! I am just going to come out and say it, your kids need to be models! xoxo.

(The one below is my absolute favorite from the session! That and the one that looks all Secret Gardenish.)

Family: The Bahrs.

It's been something I have been wanting to do. But, each time I come to a session, see little kids, I get all frazzled, scared and overwhelmed. However, I finally did it! I finally made myself take a deep breath before I walked up to the family and told myself, it is now or never. I decided on now. I shot this entire session in manual mode, and it was hard at times, frustrating and I definitely felt frazzled trying to get the right settings to get the right picture. I still have a lot to learn and not every picture came out perfectly, but this is the beginning of MUCH better pictures. I for one am ecstatic!

Now on to the Bahr family! I have noticed how small the world is through photography and the people we meet. For instance, Eric, the husband, of this family was in the previous graduating class from Bryan. And, he works with some of my good friends. And I am pretty sure he was an aid in one of the classes I took in college. Needless to say, Eric, Bryan and I had a LOT in common, both being Structural Engineers! Bridget is the gal you see in the pictures who has one of the MOST patient hearts I have ever witnessed. Imagine being a mother of three children, two who are TODDLERS. Now, imagine how patient you have to be with TWO toddlers and one baby. You get the picture. She is very patient, kind and just has the most beautiful personality. And smile. Their two toddlers, Madison and Kaiden, are just the happiest, most energetic bunch of toddlers Bryan and I had the pleasure of meeting! My favorite part of the session was just how happy Kaiden would get when he saw the ducks at the park. I'm pretty sure if I had his attitude in life, my life would be way less stressful! And, then there is sweet baby Kealy who has the BEST BEST BEST smile I have photographed. I mean all it took was one look at her and she was the happiest. I think six to seven month babies are becoming my favorites lately. All is takes is one smile from them and my heart is doing laps!

Eric and Bridget, it was so so wonderful spending the evening with the two of you and your family! Your little munchkins are too cute for words! Enjoy some of my favorites!

Family: Melina and Lia.

The words rolled off her tongue, and I was mesmerized. Think Penelope Cruz meets Salma Hayek. She made every word sound enchantingly beautiful. Even the word precious or tree sounded unlike any word I have ever heard. And, her smile and laughter were ever so contagious. I am not kidding. We laughed the entire session, and I am pretty sure Bryan and I had laughed quite a few times to the point that I could not take pictures. She is SO funny! I should mention her gorgeous name. Melina.

Don't even get me started on her daughter, Lia. She is as breathtaking as her name. Her smiles are just like her mama. Ever so contagious. She could not stop giving me her best smiles. Everything made her happy. Everything. Just saying her name would form the biggest smile that made my own heart smile...from one side to the other.

Melina and Lia are a beautiful pair! They made my job so incredibly easy. Hearing Melina's story of how she made it to America, married a wonderful American man and is the mama to a beautiful baby girl made me feel uplifted. It made me realize how I don't just love taking photographs of the people I meet. I love their stories. You know, what lead to them to who and where they are today. SO many of my clients' stories are so inspiring, and it gives me a better understanding of who they are just like Melina and Lia's story.

Melina, you are beautiful. That is all I can say to describe you. Beautiful. Inside and outside. You have a gorgeous personality that radiates. Like the sun. As for Lia, can we babysit her?! For real. I want to hang out with her more often b/c she is just too cute for words! I hope your husband enjoys these b/c they are simply stunning! xoxo.