Ashley Schrage

Naptime

2012-01-20T14:20:00.006-06:00

I would love to post some photos from Lincoln's newborn photo shoot. Too bad that I have only edited about 5 of them! This little man may be having his 1st birthday by the time I get to them. So here are a couple of non-edited images from Lincoln's first nap in his room. Actually, this may have been his one and only nap in there. He hasn't been a fan every time I have put him down in there since.

Good thing he's super cute regardless of where he chooses to nap. Most of the time he likes to snooze on me. So I guess it's also a good thing I've got time to snuggle.

2 weeks

2011-12-28T10:09:00.002-06:00

The first two weeks of Lincoln's life went so fast. With it being the 2 weeks before Christmas and my mom moving to town, I feel like we were trying to cram a lot into that time. I wasn't sure what life with a newborn would look like for me. Turns out, I don't ever want to put my baby down. I don't want to miss out on a moment being with him. So that means I'm not returning many emails or phone calls. I'm not doing the dishes or housework. We've been eating off the generosity of family and friends making us food. The blog is neglected and no photos are uploaded to facebook. Life is good and I'm trying to cherish every minute.

Welcome Lincoln Jay

2011-12-16T19:40:00.001-06:00

We welcomed our son, Lincoln Jay into the world on December 12, 2011. It's so hard for me to put my emotions into words. It was by far the best day of my life and the most amazing experience. Even though the day happened about 3 weeks earlier than expected, I couldn't have dreamed of a better birth experience.

My labor was fast and intense. Travis and I had been preparing for a natural childbirth by going to Bradley Birthing classes. These classes were amazing in preparing us for the day and I would recommend them to anyone! An extremely short version of my birth story is that we checked into the hospital about 1:30pm because my midwife found me to be dilated to 8 cm at an appointment earlier that day. She was stumped as to how my body was so far into labor without me really knowing or being uncomfortable. I was experiencing NO pain at this point. They thought it was risky for me to go home because we weren't exactly prepared for a home birth or a birth in the Walmart parking lot! Kim, my midwife broke my water close to 2:00pm and things went really quickly from there. Everything happened so fast and my contractions were really close with no rest in between. I remember saying that I didn't know what to do. Kim reassured me that my body was already doing it.

Lincoln was born at 5:29pm. I was practically in shock when Kim told me to reach down and grab my baby. I brought Lincoln to my chest in utter amazement. I could not believe he was here! I honestly couldn't believe a baby had come from my body. Yes, it should be a given that it would happen after being pregnant for 9 months.

Travis was absolutely amazing during the experience. When we talked about going to the hospital after my appointment he was pretty much in panic mode. Once we got to the hospital he really stepped up into the role of "coach" and I know I couldn't have done it without him. During the really hard and intense parts, I could only look to him. He was amazing and poured on the praise and encouragement.

I think Lincoln looks like Travis. He has his nose and ears. His ears are really the spitting image of his daddy's. We were amazed our little guy had any hair! We were both bald babies and completely assumed our offspring would be the same way.

Our first family photo! It was important to me that my mom was there for the birth. I find so much comfort in her presence and knew she would love to see the birth of her grand-baby. Plus, she was our birth photographer! It's not hard to guess where I first learned the craft of photography. I am so thankful for these images. I can't look at them without getting weepy.

It's hard to even grasp this gift which we've been given. Lincoln is our little miracle boy. This is such an incredible Christmas season for our family. We've been living in seclusion this week, just enjoying our son. Praise God! He is SO good!

Full Term

2011-12-11T09:20:00.001-06:00

I'm full term, 37 weeks! (the above photos were taken at 35 weeks) This is such an exciting milestone. I "think" everything is ready, although I'm guessing we will find out soon enough. For me, the best part of preparing these past couple weeks has been washing baby clothes. I had so much fun doing that and putting them away. It's still sort of hard to fathom that our baby will be wearing those clothes soon. Now the big question is, when will he be here!?

too cute not to post

2011-12-09T13:15:00.000-06:00

Because this session was on RUSH order to edit, I had planned on skipping a blog post. Well, obviously Colin is just too cute not to post. I love these photos. It makes me get soo excited for Christmas! Doesn't it look like Colin just woke up on Christmas morning and is headed downstairs for presents?

First friend

2011-12-08T06:00:00.001-06:00

Our little guy isn't born yet, but he already has a first friend. My fantastic friend Leah had her baby girl, Marie, a few weeks ago. I loved getting to be pregnant with Leah. We practically spent our whole summer at the pool together. We took lots of walks in the fall around our neighborhood. And now Leah has her baby.... and I'm still pregnant :)

My Mowgli

2011-12-06T06:00:00.003-06:00

Not that Mowgli has noticed, but he hasn't had any time on the blog for awhile. Even though he's about to move down the totem pole, he is still VERY well loved around here.

The other photos in this series are pretty darn great. I'm not showing them on the blog because I think someone may turn us in for throwing a dog too high in the air! We "think" Mowgli has fun with this :)

Have you ever seen a more beautiful dog? NO, you haven't!

I think it's been 2 weeks since I last posted. I think I'm all "blogged" out, because I haven't missed it one bit. Besides for a special birthday boy tomorrow, my shooting season is wrapped up. I'm still editing and designing Christmas cards, but enjoying it from my living room. I am beyond excited December is finally here! I love celebrating Christmas all month and eager to meet our baby soon.

Our baby bump

2011-11-22T06:00:00.006-06:00

Sometimes it's still hard for me to believe that we are here. We are so very close to welcoming our son into the world. I feel like this is the moment I've waited for my whole life, cheesy I know, but I've been wanting to be a mommy since I was a little girl.

I've absolutely loved being pregnant. I feel like I've had a relatively easy pregnancy. There have certainly been some unpleasant and scary moments, but I feel great and have enjoyed this growing belly. I often sit around at night with my belly exposed. I love feeling his strong movements and love getting to watch him roll under my skin. I can't wait to hold him, but think I may miss feeling him inside me.

I tend to hear the same comments and questions every single day... even from the same people sometimes! When people hear our due date is the end of the year, the number one thing they comment about is a tax deduction. I couldn't care less if we get a tax deduction, but I guess everyone else is rooting for him to be born in 2011. I've also been really surprised at other's strong opinion to whether or not we should have found out the gender of our babe. I can't quite wrap my head around why some think that one decision is the only way to go. I strongly think there is not a right or wrong choice in this. We LOVE knowing we are having a boy, but I think it's very cool to find out in the delivery room too!

I can't wait to watch Travis be a Daddy. These past 8-9 months have been the best months in our marriage. We have grown so much closer and have really gained a deeper appreciation for each other. I've never felt so loved and cherished by him than I have while carrying his child. I'm pretty excited to be on this journey together.

I'm super frugal, and still have been when shopping for this baby. BUT, I have LOVED shopping for this baby! Everything I buy feels special to me and I could gaze around his room all day. I know you're not supposed to buy clothes because you get a lot of those for gifts, but I can't help myself. I really enjoy shopping for sleepers and soft things in general.

I know that you love your children more than you ever imagined. I didn't realize that I would love this little one so much before I even met him. We are so thankful for this blessing and not a moment goes by that I don't appreciate it.

That's the blanket that my mom knit for our baby. I have yet to give it it's own special photo shoot, but I'm sure it will be in LOTS of pictures in the years to come.

Baby Aubry

2011-11-18T06:00:00.000-06:00

Sweet baby Aubry was a delight to photograph. I jumped the gun a bit and took her diaper off too soon after a feeding. We all paid for that mistake :) Momma thought we should just keep the diaper on after that, but I don't give up that easily!

What a punkin. She had some pretty good focus skills for being a week old.

I love this image. Matt is such a good daddy and I just know Aubry will cherish photographs like this for a lifetime. I sooo wish I had more pictures of my parents and me when I was this tiny.... ok, I was never as tiny as Aubry!

We can't leave big sister out! I have gotten to know Autumn very well over the past 2 years. I'm excited to get to watch these sisters grow up together.

Lately I have really been missing posting black and white images. I actually wanted to only post this session in black and white because I thought we got some timeless images that would be really well displayed that way. Lucky for them, every image they select they'll get a copy in color and B/W on CD.

"S" family, I love you guys! Thanks for sharing a hot and sweaty afternoon with me. Your girls are gorgeous and I'm already looking forward to next time.

Sweet baby niece

2011-11-16T09:00:00.000-06:00

If you've followed this blog for the past year, this sweet baby girl is no stranger. My niece Alexis Jo turned 1 year old last month. Yes... last month. I'm a bad Auntie for just getting these up now. Maybe it's a good thing her aunt can take her photographs, but she gets booted to the back of my to do list behind all my client work!

She is just the sweetest. I can't kiss those cheeks enough!

After Lexi's session, her mommy (my sister in law) said, "why can't she just sit still and smile!" hahaha. Because she is 1! I better start preparing Callie now that she will be much more on the go for her 2 year old photos.

This little punkin is not a fan of sugar so far. She didn't want much to do with her birthday cake or the special SCRATCH cupcake we got her for her photo shoot. She just smashed it around. Now, being the great Auntie I am, I couldn't let it go to waste. Yup, I scraped that smashed cupcake off the blanket and ate it!

Love you Lexi!

Father & Son

2011-11-14T06:00:00.003-06:00

I had the opportunity to do a father/ son session recently. What a great idea! 2 year old Lathan turned out to be quite the little flirt! I think Dad may have a mini ladies man on his hands.

This image certainly isn't your typical 2 year old portrait. It may just be my favorite though, I really love how it shows an energetic silly toddler boy.

Lathan, you are too cute! I just realized we are about halfway through November. That's crazy! How does fall go by so fast?

Little miss Kiley

2011-11-11T06:00:00.005-06:00

Kiley and her parents had some gorgeous morning light for their fall session! I know people don't like the weather getting colder but it's fun for me when the sun comes up just a bit later in the morning and I can utilize that glow.

My favorite things about this image above, besides the adorable little punkin in the middle, are Dad's huge smile and Mom's gorgeous hair :) I love hearing how people find me to take their photographs. This momma was in a Lamaze class with another mom who brings her son to me.

THAT'S a smile! We were celebrating this little girl turning one. Happy Birthday Little miss Kiley! You are beyond precious.

I really like this picture. I have no idea if that is a scream, a laugh, or a cry. In my mind, it doesn't matter, her expression makes me smile either way. Photographing kids just never gets old to me :)

Hallie girl

2011-11-09T06:00:00.005-06:00

I feel pretty lucky that I have gotten to photograph Hallie so much in the first 2 years of her life. I think her mommy may cherish photographs as much as I do. I met this family over 2 years ago now at their maternity session. I remember how much JOY Molly (Hallie's mom) exuded at that session. Oh man, I was just getting to know the surface joy that is the "B" family!

They love this little angel so much! Hallie has such a fun spunky personality and totally cracks me up.

What a punkin... SO Hallie :)
Molly sent me a message earlier this week asking if I had noticed an increase in blog traffic from her checking every hour to see if her little girl was up online. Today IS THE DAY! Thanks Knut and Molly for making a fun morning out of a very chilly one :)

Little explorers

2011-11-07T06:00:00.007-06:00

I got to hang out with a couple of little explorers this fall afternoon. Ryan and Ethan had a lot of fun (I hope) playing in the woods. These are a few of my favorites from our session. It's hard for me to narrow them down and choose just a few favorites for the blog, I don't know how the Mom's do it!

At a family session, I'm more focused on the kids instead of mom and dad. I'm trying to get them to have a good time and be natural in front of the camera. This takes my eye off the adults. It wasn't until I was editing this session that I realized how gorgeous momma is! And flawless! She is looking picture perfect in all of them :) How do you do it April?

This would be a good one to sit on Daddy's desk :)

And there they go! I typically like to think that photo shoot days are freebies I don't have to workout. Chasing little guys just has to burn more calories than a yoga class!

Diva

2011-11-04T06:00:00.001-05:00

One guess as to who is the little Diva of the family is? Gus, Lucy and Ruby came to me for a FUN session! Only someone must have forgotten to tell the new 2 year old girlie that she was having fun. She caught on eventually and flashed us some major smiles.

I feel like every year I have a majority of a "type" of shoot I do most often. This year seemed to be the 2 year old year. Not that I don't love this age, but I'm eagerly looking forward to the year these 2 year olds turn 5 or 6!

I'm thinking all 3 of them look like they should be models in a catalog!

Those little piggie tails are so so cute. If I ever have a daughter, I hope to deck her out in fun outfits like Lucy and Ruby have. That's half the fun of having a girl, right?!

WOW, does Gus have an arm on him. He may or may not have shown up his Dad! We got to enjoy one of our last autumn evenings together for our session. I'm not sure I'm ready for snow, but I feel like we lucked out with a great fall!

Madi is 1

2011-11-02T06:00:00.005-05:00

I love this little girl. I got to meet her Mommy through Junior League this past year. I was honored to get to photograph Madi for her newborn session last fall and was delighted to continue documenting her first year.

She has the prettiest facial features. I'm guessing her mom and dad can't get enough of those baby lips.

Madi's precious little face looking up at her mommy couldn't be any sweeter.

Happy 1st Birthday Madi!

Soaking up the sun

2011-10-31T06:00:00.009-05:00

I was delighted when I got a message from this momma asking for a fall photo session. I photographed them last summer and had a great time. This year they have a new addition, so I was eager to get to get to meet baby Nolan! We had a perfect time soaking up the sunshine.

Payton getting some "air".

And Nolan doing what a 3 month old does best, looking all cute :)

This family shot makes me feel so smiley.

This October has been a fantastic month for me. I got to catch up with a lot of my favorite families and meet some awesome new people. It's always a really busy month for me. I still have several sessions this November and December but I am starting to slow down for the year. I didn't take on a lot of work during these last 2 months of my pregnancy. I wasn't sure how I would be feeling and didn't want to commit to sessions I couldn't carry out. But don't stop checking the blog now. There are tons more cute kids coming up!

Milo

2011-10-27T06:00:00.004-05:00

Milo is possibly the busiest one year old I've ever photographed. He sure gave me a run for my money! He is quite the explorer and never stops moving.

I'm really loving this shot of Daddy and son.

Their farm has some pretty neat and really interesting things around. I'm sure the whole family thought I was nuts when I asked them to sit on the bumper of this broke down camper :) Maddy has got to be the best big sister around. Milo is sure lucky to have her!

Man he's cute, and that hat just tops off the outfit.

I'm ending on my favorite shot of the day. I was thrilled that Milo thought it would be OK to sit on this chair for about 3 minutes. It probably doesn't hurt he had a few fruit snacks while there!

Happy Birthday Brecken!

2011-10-25T14:40:00.000-05:00

Today is Brecken's 1st birthday! Happy Birthday little man. This is my cousin Kaley's son. My mom and I went down to Cedar Rapids for his big party on Saturday. We had a lot of fun with him and the rest of the family celebrating.

I love his little teeth.

When Brecken was born, Kaley said she had really high hopes that he would be my perfect little model and I could try a lot of things with him. Brecken decided really early on that photo sessions weren't his favorite thing in the world. Luckily, he still puts up with us and gives us a few smiles :)

I love you Brecken Scott! Hope you had a great first birthday.

Z is for Zoe

2011-10-24T06:00:00.004-05:00

I am so so lucky that I get to photograph precious little angels like Zoe. Look at that face! I could eat her up :) She was feeling slightly under the weather, which was a bummer, but still did great!!

I was able to photograph Zoe's auntie for her senior pictures last year. It's so neat for me to get to stay connected to families I enjoy. Zoe was pretty interested in running and exploring, but very willing to stop and give Mommy a kiss.

My FAVORITE of the day! Look at those eyes!!

I love bright and colorful children's outfits! You can't really go too over the top in my opinion. Thanks for playing with me Zoe. Come back to me anytime :)

Drew, Mallory and Bryn

2011-10-21T06:00:00.003-05:00

No, I'm not that good, or that funny. Grandma is the secret ingredient for a fun photo shoot with these girlies. She's hilarious. In fact, before their next session, I think I'll double check and make sure their Grandma can be there on our scheduled day.

At one point during our time together, Grandma walked away to take a phone call. Their mom and I did our best on our own, but we got blank stares and fake smiles till Grandma came back. I have no idea what she does behind me. I don't care, I may hire her for all my sessions.

I had so many favorites of the 3 of them that I almost left individual shots off the blog. But really, how could I do that? They're too gorgeous to not get their own screen time. These little ladies are all so sweet too. I can't get enough.

I'm no magician... but I am 7 months pregnant and got this shot! I love these little girls! They are such a joy to photograph, I'm already looking forward to next time.

Brooke

2011-10-19T06:00:00.002-05:00

Brooke was so much fun for me to photograph. I think this first image really sums up her cute and spunky personality. I was invited out to their family farm for our session. It's so exciting for me to get to explore new locations.

You just can't beat those natural smiles. This shot was actually one of the very first ones we took. It's rare that one of the first images turns out to be one of the best! She was at ease in front of the camera.

My ultimate favorite from our session. I love her eyes and her blue sweater in the leaves just POPS.

Hope you have a great senior year Brooke! Thanks for hanging out with me :)

Laughter is good for the soul

2011-10-17T06:00:00.006-05:00

I am sure I've never laughed so hard at a photography session before. We had a great time together. My friend Kez (on the left) and I went to high school together. She is totally one of the coolest girls I know! I was honored to get to photograph her and her family.

LOVE!

Of course baby Tseidel is the star of the family. It only seems right to have a photo of her being front and center.

These jackets just scream fall to me! There is a very good reason everyone loves to have an October session. That's one of the reasons I got married in October. Autumn leaves are definitely one of God's prettiest ideas.

Yep, we had a lot of fun! Maybe a little bit too much laughter at one person's expense, but I think everyone had a good time. Thank you so much "E" family for being amazing inside and out. I loved photographing you guys!

Expecting... times 2

2011-10-13T06:00:00.005-05:00

My great friends Jay and Kelsey are expecting not one, but two babies some time next year. They are adopting two kids from Russia and I for one couldn't be more excited for them. They needed some photos for their portfolio and I feel so privileged to get to play a small role in bringing their little ones home.

I hate to be super repetitive about just how excited I am for these kids to get home, but I can't wait! Jay and Kelsey are wrapping up all their paperwork and then we'll all be on the edge of our seats waiting.

Happy 1st Birthday Lexi!

2011-10-11T06:00:00.005-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEXIS JO!

Today is my niece's 1st birthday! She is just the sweetest little girl ever. It feels like yesterday that we met her (click here). We are having her photo session this week, so be on the lookout for all the cuteness coming up. We love you Lexi!

Max is 2

2011-10-10T06:00:00.004-05:00

I'm starting out this blog with my favorite photo from Max's session. The rest of the photos came in a close second :) Max just turned two, and what better way to celebrate than document him at this stage. I loved getting to see this little man again. I met Max and his family last year when he turned one. He's changed so much!

I knew I could count on his mom and dad to bring something cool!

My thoughts about the "perfect" family photo are constantly being revised. I think it's so meaningful when the photo tells you about everyone in the picture.

Yeah... that's a GREAT smile!

Mom's idea! And what a perfect way it was to end our time together. It was a pretty hot day so it worked out great. I try to not be "creepy" and suggest parents take their kids' shirts off.... so when they suggest it, I'm pretty excited. I love images of little boys with no shirts.

The End. Max, you are wonderful, and not to mention have the perfect head of hair.

Kelly + Shaun + Emma

2011-10-07T06:00:00.005-05:00

Little Emma gave me a run for my money! She was by far the most energetic (almost) 2 year old I've ever met. I'm already tired, and a little nervous when I think about what my life will look like when I have a 2 year old. Good thing I'm getting so much practice now!

She is soo pretty. I love her hair :)

I have to share the inside story of some of these. Emma is trying desperately to get out of her parents grasp. But she does it with a smile on her face! Most kids would cry and their face would totally show it. It was too comical that her face was telling a different story than her body :) I think she really looks like she's having fun!

Note to all moms and dads having photos taken of their toddlers: bring something fun to do!! This is just an absolute must with rambunctious kids. I love having bubbles, toys, stuffed animals, wagons, etc in photos. Not only is it a fun prop, but an activity to keep their attention.

I heard the little miss had an incident and ended up with stitches in her forehead just yesterday! Yikes, feel better Emma! Thanks for a wonderful and fun session "S" family. I loved meeting all of you!

4 years!

2011-10-06T06:00:00.005-05:00

Happy 4 year anniversary to the main man in my life. Hopefully he doesn't mind sharing that role soon! I love you Travis!

Star of the show

2011-10-04T07:00:00.004-05:00

I promise you I did nothing to those eyes but my typical eye POP edits. That is Mieke's natural eye color and sparkle. Her mom says the turquoise really comes out in the natural light. I really gravitated towards her close-ups when picking out a few of my favorites because of those eyes!

I think profile shots of little kids are too precious.

Last year Mieke was not very interested in me or my camera. But this year as she is turning 5, she was all about posing and showing me her ideas. I loved it. It was really fun to see what her thoughts were and watch her "turn it on" for the lens.

...that is until she had to share the spotlight with mom and dad. Oh gosh, she was funny. Mieke really liked being the star :)

Summer photos are definitely starting to look more like fall. We had such a warm night for Mieke and her family's session. I love seeing them and love that they don't mind seeing just how UNglamorous a photographer looks when working with children :)

Happy 5 years Mieke!

Grandma's hands

2011-10-03T08:26:00.002-05:00

My mom has been busy with all her projects this year. The past couple of times I've seen her she's been knitting a blanket for her first grandson. The blanket is gorgeous and I love thinking about all the memories this little boy will have under it. I love watching her knit and get so excited about what she's creating. I also love my mom's hands. I was eager to photograph her knitting this blanket for our boy. I'm not sure if he'll ever be sentimental about images like this. But I know over the years I'll love thinking about the days this was knitted together.

Are you having fun?

2011-09-30T06:00:00.008-05:00

Drew and Elsie are bundles of energy. It was tough for me to keep up with them. At one point, I sat on the ground and was shooting from there. Elsie REALLY didn't want me sitting down and tried to make me stand up. I was far too tired at that point. Good thing they're so darn cute and sweet... I kept going :)

Sometimes I get lucky and a little one turns around to look at me :)

I definitely always try to get the regular "look at me and smile" photograph. But kids don't love that one and often give me fake smiles. The hug um and sqeeze um method is my best friend at almost every family session. Sometimes I'll say to mom and dad, look like you're having fun, even if you aren't. To which at this session, Dad replied, "I am having fun!" Music to my ears.

How gorgeous is this HOT mama?!

And I'm going to go ahead and give myself a big fat pat on the back for getting this last picture. Drew and Elsie are pretty happy to smile at me, except when the other is in the frame :) haha. I'm not even sure how we pulled this one off!

"G" family, it was wonderful as always to see you!

Hope to see you there!

2011-09-29T16:06:00.000-05:00

Annika

2011-09-28T06:00:00.005-05:00

Sometimes I will do sessions in Des Moines when I visit my mom. Annika's senior photo shoot just happened to be one of them. It's fun for me to get to use totally new locations. I have a fun connection/ contact to Annika. Her big sister was my church youth director when I was in junior high. I met Annika when she was very little, so it was fun to see her again!

I loved all of her outfits, it was such a great mix. I was telling her about the outfits I had for my senior photos. They didn't have quite the pizzaz that the girls these days can put together :)

Isn't she gorgeous!? I'm especially loving this shot. Her mom might like it too since Annika is smiling at her :)

Annika, you are beautiful inside and out! I can't wait to see what the future holds for you. And a special HI to the Roesler crew if you're reading this :)

Little boys

2011-09-26T06:00:00.003-05:00

Now that's what I call a good looking family :) I loved getting to meet Shaunna, Jared and their little boys. It was quite the special day too. Little man Ty turned one on the day of our session! I love telling babies Happy Birthday... like they know what I'm saying :)

It's not a good session unless there is hugs, kisses and snuggling! I also have to say, I love their outfits. That yellow is one of my favorite colors right now.

Mom said that even more than smiles, she wanted to get a great photo of Brady and Ty's eyes. CHECK.

I LOVE THIS! Oh man, this photo makes me smile. A special kiss for TyTy on his big birthday. I hope you love your sneak peek "H" Family. It was hard to leave out so many favorites for the blog post, but I like to keep lots of great ones for the online gallery too.

Michelle

2011-09-23T06:00:00.003-05:00

I think she's waited long enough :) I told Michelle she was going to have to wait awhile to see her photos since we took so many. In case you missed my post about our weekend together... Michelle is my half sister. My Dad came up to Iowa for Labor Day weekend and we did Michelle's senior pictures. I had SO much fun doing these for her. I hope she had as much fun as I did.

I remember the day she was born... I feel like that makes me kind of old. We are 10 years apart, so the fact that I graduated high school 10 years ago makes me a little nervous :) I love the stage of life I'm in now, so I guess I should just embrace getting older.

I'm glad she was willing to get a big wet and dirty. I don't think this is the cleanest river ever! And these weren't even the last shots of the day. Michelle then put on her "fancy" outfit and we hit downtown!

I have LOADS of favorites from our session, but the one above is definitely in my top 5. I cannot wait to see which are her favorites!

Michelle was a fantastic model for me, I loved photographing her. I really loved getting to hang out with her for the weekend too, please come see me again soon!

Our Christmas Stockings

2011-09-21T06:00:00.002-05:00

I think my Mom is nesting more than I am. I can't count how many projects she's been working on since finding out I was pregnant. It makes me so excited to watch all her creations come to life!

I haven't purchased stockings for Travis and I in our home yet. My mom was up for the challenge of making our whole family stockings for Christmas this year! We picked out the colors together and she started them this summer. I think they've been hanging up on her mantel for months now. It's funny to see "Mom" and "Dad" written on something and know they are Travis and mine and not our own parents. The little one on the right is Mowgli's and baby boy's is the one with the blue toe (in case you couldn't tell). His name isn't on there quite yet.

Baby does have a name! Actually, this baby's name has been picked out for years. Girl names were really easy for us to agree on and we liked a lot of them. We've really only been able to agree on this one boy name. It's been at the top of my "list" since college. I brought it up to Travis when we were either engaged or newly married and he loved it. We've tried to come up with other names for options or back-ups but we just don't seem to like any other as well. So, his name is pretty well set. We've been calling him by name since our ultrasound when we saw he was a BOY!

All the way from Serbia

2011-09-19T06:00:00.003-05:00

I was honored that Jelena came to see me all the way from Serbia :) She is the exchange student of one of my favorite families! I had a great time hanging out with her. It was so interesting to hear about some of the traditions in Serbia. Getting your photograph taken is not one of them, so I was extra impressed with how natural Jelena was in front of the camera!

I asked Jelena if she was enjoying any American foods in particular. I loved her response! She said that we eat a lot more cupcakes and cookies over here and she has really liked that :) Me too.

She is so pretty, and has a great personality to go with it. I studied abroad in Rome for a semester in college, but I can't imagine being completely by yourself in a new country for a whole school year while in high school. Wow, what a woman!

Jelena, I hope you have an amazing year in Iowa!

Goodbye Summer, Hello Big Belly

2011-09-15T06:00:00.006-05:00

I am 25 weeks! The photo was taken a couple of weeks ago when I was visiting my mom. I'm probably a tad bit bigger now. We had our last pool weekend of the year and soaked up the rays. It was also the ONLY time I wore my two piece this summer. By August, the extra fabric of my typical top made me feel too hot. So since I don't know anyone at her little pool, I cut loose :) My belly button is gone. It hasn't poked out, but it's pretty much flat.

I've been feeling slightly huge and clumsy lately. I know that's funny to say because I'm fully aware that there is still a long way to go. I've had a great second trimester. I felt like the first was a bit rocky, mostly because I worried about everything! I've managed to relax a little more and now that he's moving all the time, I'm reassured that he's just fine in there. I don't think I could ever tire of feeling him wiggle around in my belly, he is such a blessing already to us.

Travis has been incredible! I would say we've gotten a lot closer these last few months, he may say differently :) I'm pretty impressed with how attentive he is to me and how much more patient he's become as my patience level drops. I know I snap a bit faster at him and don't have as much tolerance for anything less than perfect. OH YES... my perfectionism is back in full force! In college, I realized that I wasn't perfect and couldn't really make anything perfect. Up until then, I was a BEAST when something wasn't done right. I'm not sure if it's part of my nesting or what, but I have totally been feeling those things coming back. I do not like it, so I'm trying to keep myself in check. We'll see how it goes :)

I'm still working out pretty close to my old exercise routine, just slower and with more breaks. Everyone tells me how healthy it is for myself and for baby, so hopefully I can continue into the 3rd trimester. I love that I have a membership to the YMCA so I can get good use out of the pool and track as the weather gets colder. Last winter, I did a lot of the treadmill, but with how clumsy and bulky I feel, I'm thinking I should not try that in the next 3 months.

I am loving being pregnant! Feeling so connected to this little guy just makes me happy. I don't know if you'll ever be able to get me out of maternity clothes! They are wonderful. Luckily, I haven't had to buy much at all. I've gotten to borrow from my cousin and sister-in-law which has been fantastic. Why doesn't everyone where stretchy elastic pants? As much as I am enjoying this, I am soo excited for December (or January) to get here!

Baby Khloe

2011-09-12T06:00:00.005-05:00

I had the privilege of meeting sweet Baby Khloe last week. She was fairly alert, but so content... I only heard a couple of peeps out of her. I thought taking her outside on a warm day would lull her to sleep. Don't let the blink fool you.

I sooo wish I had a photograph of my mom and I like this. That's one of the coolest things to me about photography. Khloe won't remember this time in her life, but I know she'll treasure images like this that show how much her Mama loves her.

The hat was over-the-top adorable. The color matches her bedroom walls perfectly!

And I can't think of a single reason not to end the post with baby toes in black and white. In fact, it would be a great way to end every single blog post :)

Labor Day weekend

2011-09-09T06:00:00.003-05:00

We had a pretty special Labor Day weekend. My Dad, his wife (Ann), their daughter (Michelle) and her boyfriend (Cody) came to visit us. They all live in Kansas so we only see each other about once a year. It was their first time coming to our home. They asked me to take Michelle's senior pictures, so that was their original purpose of the trip. We had a lot of great time to hang out though, and my Dad helped Travis with a project at our house.

Travis and I really had a fantastic weekend with our visitors. We had lots of great food, of course that's always a highlight for me :) Ann, Michelle, and I did a bit of shopping on Main Street and I got to show them a couple of my favorite places, Peek-a-boo Baby and Scratch! They bought us some fantastic gifts at Peek-a-boo that I can't wait for baby boy to get to use.

Our photo session lasted a little over 3 hours. It was fun to get to hop around to so many of my favorite locations. Michelle was pretty tired of smiling after that long but I took so many images, it's going to take a LONG time to get through them all. Here is a little sneak peek!

Nana's Photoshoot

2011-09-06T06:00:00.003-05:00

This photoshoot was for Nana (aka Vicki or Grandma). We had lots of people there and did lots of stuff, so this blog post doesn't even scratch the surface! But here are just a couple that caught my eye.

5 generations!

I have grown to know Lindsay and her family very well over the past couple of years. I love that I've gotten so be there for chilly mornings, baby bumps, first moments and so much more. I adore them and can't wait to watch these kids grow up!

And a proper summer photo shoot of course ends with a little sand and water. Nana, I hope you LOVE your photos. Until next time...

Logan is 1

2011-09-02T06:00:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday Logan! I actually got to be a part of this little man's special day. We planned his session on the morning of his first birthday. Logan is a new walker, so I was thinking I would get a good workout in by chasing him. I'm so thankful he was easy on me and liked standing still... thanks buddy!

I love those genuine smiles :)

Look at those teeth! Logan is the next door neighbor/ boyfriend of my little baby niece... who is turning 1 SOON. Yikes, the first year goes by so fast. It feels like these kids were just born.

I'm so glad Logan's mom and dad brought these tractors along for him to play with. It appeared he was nearing the end of "putting up with me" but the toys gave me a good 20 minutes longer!

One year ago at Logan's NEWBORN SESSION we photographed him on this rocking chair. I'm really glad we got to use it again this year. It never gets old seeing these cuties as they grow. Have I mentioned lately what an honor it is to be asked to capture all these special moments?!

Baby Bump Snapshot

2011-09-01T06:00:00.002-05:00

I could eat him up!

2011-08-30T06:00:00.004-05:00

Little man Colin is just the sweetest punkin. I absolutely loved seeing him for his 8 month photo shoot. This is one of my favorite stages to photograph babies.

He is quite the serious little guy, but will sneak HUGE smiles in there!

OK, here's where it gets REALLY good. His Mama forgot his diaper cover, I am soooo glad she did. His little buns could not look softer and sweeter. I can't help but want to eat him up. My heart just melts at this naked baby.

This time next year, I should have an 8(ish) month old. I cannot WAIT to do this fun stuff with him. You can bet that baby will be naked in several fields in the Cedar Valley :)

Easy Peasy

2011-08-26T06:00:00.007-05:00

Yes, Kamryn is a GORGEOUS 2 year old! This first photo reminds me so much of a senior picture photo. Look out Mom and Dad... she'll be there before you know it! I just can't get over how pretty she is, and SWEET. What a sweetheart!

This little girl makes my job EASY! She was so happy and cooperative. It's not unusual at all to have a child that fusses or is a bit crabby while we're together... I really do come to expect that it WILL happen. So when Kamryn was so easy-going I was taken off guard. I actually think our session lasted under an hour!

Gotta love the lip!

I have come to really look forward to any sessions with this family. Betsy, Kamryn's Mom always rocks out the clothing choices. Of course I don't love them just because they dress great! Kamryn held my hand the whole way back to the car. I could have taken her home with me :)

Putt Putt

2011-08-24T06:00:00.002-05:00

I love photographing babies and small children, but it is definitely refreshing to work with all adults! I was really able to relax and hang out with this crew. I met Ashley (blue shirt & sweater) through Junior League this past year and then got to meet her whole family the other night. What a cool family! Ah... I loved them.

My own mom is truly my best friend. So I feel really comfortable and love getting to know others in her generation. I typically end up calling the Mom and Dad of the group... Mom and Dad. It's easy for me and I can say it faster than thinking of more names. This mom and dad were super wonderful.

We had the first half of our session in a classic setting and then did something unique with our second half. I'm sure I don't really have to tell you what we did. I had a blast! It was such a cool idea of theirs to get some candid shots while playing mini golf.

I feel really blessed to constantly be meeting new fantastic people. After just one session, I typically switch from saying my client... to my friend. I'm not sure I could ever find a better job.

the dirty truth...

2011-08-22T06:00:00.004-05:00

I feel like this is a "coming out" sort of post. My blog has definitely been an ALL in one blog. I post both personal and business stuff here. So because I have clients, and potential clients coming here, I haven't ever wanted to be TOO personal. However, being that I do want to post pregnancy and baby things here, it is going to start getting a whole lot more personal and maybe a bit less business.

Travis and I tried for 2 years to get pregnant. Oh, how that felt like an eternity! I have never felt so sad and isolated. After a year, we sought out doctor's help and did that for a year. No one had an answer. You certainly don't want to have something wrong with you, but to not have any answers is very frustrating too.

The more I shared my story with other people, the more they shared theirs with me. I realized just how common of a struggle this is. During those years of aching and trying so hard to be pregnant, I felt like absolutely everyone I saw WAS pregnant. Obviously this is a very big exaggeration. Of course everyone isn't pregnant. But that's the way I felt. It's so difficult to be young and married and hear the never ending questions of, "when are you going to have a baby?" or maybe if I didn't feel well, "are you pregnant?!" Of course people don't mean to be insensitive, but when you are hurting so bad, it simply feels like someone is rubbing your face into your sorrows. It makes me feel nauseous just thinking about how heavy my heart was during this time.

We finally did become pregnant this spring. THANKS BE TO GOD! What an exciting yet fearful time it was. It did NOT feel real. Sometimes, it still doesn't. I was elated to finally see the word "pregnant" written on that little stick. Yet, I was so cautious and scared that it could all be taken away from me. For awhile, when I would talk to my mom about it, I would say things like, "well if I really am pregnant" or "if I do really have a baby". It probably took a month for me to say I was indeed pregnant.

Infertility is such a bigger issue than I think most people realize. An obstetrician told my mom that 6 out of 10 couples will suffer from some sort of infertility in their lifetime. WOW. That's high. This is an extremely hard battle to endure. I couldn't count how many tears I cried or prayers I prayed over the years. I am beyond thankful to be experiencing this pregnancy and the chance to become a Mom.

I already love this little man so much my heart aches in a way it never has before.

Pretty in... everything!

2011-08-19T06:00:00.005-05:00

Beautiful Miss Kate brought her whole family to me early this week! We were technically celebrating her being 6 months old but had to get a few shots of big brother Taylor and the whole family... they're too gorgeous not to!

I always have a blast being around this family. Their love for each other overflows and I enjoy getting to watch Mom and Dad's great "team dynamic". They work so well together parenting their children. I should have brought Travis along so we could learn how the pros do it together.

These kids have AMAZING eyes!!! So big and blue :)

Baby Kate was such a good little model for me. She is so easy going and was always giving away her smiles. Mama changed her clothes plenty and she just smiled through it all. This baby looked pretty in everything. I'm already so excited to go to this family's garage sales and snag their wonderful children's clothes... whenever they may be :)

A new Favorite!

2011-08-16T06:00:00.006-05:00

This is totally my current favorite family photograph! I just love everyone's expression and all that's going on. Ahh... this job makes me happy :)

Griffin is one of the most animated little boys I've ever met. He's such a fun little guy to be around and so so so smart.

Sweet Ainsley... I got to photograph her last fall for her one year pictures. She's sure changed a ton since then, but still the cutest little peanut. I love those dark eyes!

Both these images crack me up. I think they'd be great sitting next to each other on a shelf or desk. It's really important to me to get both posed and classic photos along side fun in the moment stuff. If I succeed, it makes for a wonderfully balanced gallery!

I'm loving this weather! But who isn't?! It's great not to be sweating my way through sessions. Is it really August? Bring on fall :)

Halfway there

2011-08-12T06:00:00.010-05:00

We are halfway there to meeting our baby BOY! Travis and I were both pretty shocked to find out "it" is a he. I know Travis would have been very happy having a daughter, but he is pretty darn thrilled he will have a son. It took me a few days for the news to sink in, I am beyond excited about having a little boy. My first thoughts were, what will I do with a boy? I just love dreaming about him and praying that I will do a good job in raising a Man of God! What a privilege we have been given.

I'm so excited to have hit this 20 week milestone. Right around week 17 I thought I felt some movement but wasn't sure. This week the kicks have gotten stronger and happen more often. I absolutely love feeling this little guy moving around inside of me. It is such an incredible experience. Most of the pokes have been happening pretty low, and the ultrasound technician confirmed that he's curled up low in my pelvis :) I also found it comical that his head is buried into the placenta like he's using it for a pillow!

A friend helped me paint the room last week. I'll show some photos when it's all done and put together. The wall color is a light blue with a hint of teal to it. I thought it would be fun to use some of the left over paint to write "BOY" in the photograph at the top of the post. My wonderful husband took that image of my belly tonight to mark the milestone. Right around week 17 I really popped. I'm sure there will be many more of those growth spurts to come :)

I couldn't be more thankful for the little miracle being knit together inside me.

Sweet sweet summer

2011-08-10T06:00:00.003-05:00

I couldn't wait one more day to share the rest of Colin and Joey's photos! If you missed my post yesterday, don't forget to take a peek below these. I was going to try to keep you in suspense for another day, but I'm so excited to share :)

This family is simply amazing! I'll be the first to admit our time together started off slightly rocky. We had barely gotten out of our cars and 5 minutes later it started to rain... and not a slight sprinkle, but a decent amount of rain. I was more than nervous we were going to have to reschedule. The boys didn't seem too "in to it" either. Dad even joked they were going to have to schedule another shoot since this one wasn't seeming to be going very smooth. haha. But they all stuck with me, the rain stopped, the boys started having fun and I'm pretty proud of the photographs we got.

This is when the REAL fun started to happen. Once we let the little guys get into the water, they were all smiles!

I hope you noticed how priceless Joey's face is :)

Then again, that's a pretty priceless face too!

Thank you so much "S" family for hanging in there with me and being GREAT sports! I truly had a wonderful time and soo appreciated your creative ideas for our time together.

A perfect idea

2011-08-09T06:00:00.006-05:00

I kind of feel like crying when I look at this photograph, yes sappy I know. But their pure joy just makes me soo happy. Joey and Colin's mom wanted to get some images of them playing in water... it was a perfect idea.

You can bet I will be sharing TONS more of these soon :)

Up for a challenge

2011-08-05T06:00:00.002-05:00

I said I wanted a challenge... and a challenge is just what I got! I found out it is tough work to get 3 babies to smile at once :) How cute are these 3?! The "T" triplets were absolutely adorable. I am so glad I got to meet them.

As you can imagine... I took a lot of photos that turned out like this. But I love how they're all doing their own thing.

Little man Aidan probably cheesed it up the most for me. Maybe he's a ladies man already?

Look at those eyes on miss Olivia! I wonder if she bats them at Daddy and gets whatever she wants :)

And of course Addilyn! She had started crawling shortly before our session and was definitely on the move. I'm thinking all 3 are going to be running circles around their Mama soon.

TaDa, 3 perfect babies :) It was soo hot this morning. Thanks Courtney for braving the heat and sharing your gorgeous children with me!

Welcome Clara Elizabeth

2011-07-26T06:00:00.002-05:00

Brand new babies (sigh)... what could be better? I went to high school with both Brad and Mollie and was absolutely thrilled to be able to photograph their tiniest addition. Clara is the sweetest little angel.

Clara let me off easy and gave Daddy all the mess :) I just had to rinse out a blanket from a small clear wet spot. Brad got a bit more than he bargained for probably just seconds after this image below was taken. Although, I felt pretty good about planning ahead and throwing an old towel on the carpet!

She is just itty bitty, which makes her that much more fun to photograph.

I think I see the tiniest bit of a smirk... could it be?

What a fun morning. This tiny little babe is already pretty spunky and knows just what she wants. I would occasionally try to move her hands away from her face. Even though she was sleeping, she let out a scream letting me know that was unacceptable for her. Brad tried to say she got that feisty spirit from Mom. But I think she gets a heavy dose from both sides :) I'm glad I'll get to watch this little girl grow up. Welcome to the world sweet Clara Elizabeth.

All in One

2011-07-22T06:00:00.006-05:00

What a fun session! It was certainly an all in one kind of shoot. We did family, maternity, and child. A quick side note: my packages are super flexible so you fit in what you want to during our time together! Sweet little Macie was one big ball of energy! They call her Mae Mae, it doesn't get much cuter than that.

Who doesn't love a HOT mama with a belly?

Just look at his adoring face at all 3 of his girls... LOVE! wait, have I overused the word love in this post already? Well, it's coming a few more times.

This may just be my favorite from the session. I love it! I love both of their expressions!

I'm so excited for baby girl to make her appearance. I really enjoyed working with this family, so I'm eager to get back to their home and watch their family grow. Thanks to all 3 of you for a great night... and especially thanks to Matt who picked a tick off my neck... MUCH appreciated!

Michigan Vacation

2011-07-20T06:00:00.008-05:00

I am FINALLY getting around to posting some of our vacation pictures. We spent 4 days in Traverse City Michigan a few weeks ago. We actually took two smaller trips to different places around Michigan too.

My personal photographer. He does such a great job!
This was supposed to be my "beach" vacation. When we went, I was in the last week or so of my first trimester. Luckily, I was never really sick, just on and off nauseous, but I was exhausted. I was still very tired for our vacation, so sitting around by the pool and beach sounded like a perfect getaway to me. Unfortunately, it rained almost every day and was pretty cool and cloudy. It didn't turn out like I had planned, but we really had a great time anyway :)

Travis' favorite toy is his Go Pro Camera. Mostly, he attaches it to a motorcycle or dirt-bike. He brought it on our trip to try to do some fun things. It's got a wide angle lens on it and captured interesting shots like the one below:

One of our little trips was to go to this historic fishing
Ahhh... our tandem bike experiences :) We rented one of these last year on our Milwaukee trip and had such a great time. It was hard not to recreate the memories. And recreate we did! We have a lot of fun with Travis in the drivers (front) seat. It's pretty calm and we have fun biking and looking at the scenery. But when we decide to switch... we go about 200 feet laughing hysterically and trying not to tip over before we switch again. I might not be the best steering and in charge of balance and Travis has big issues not trying to control the bike from the back!

Like I said, it really did rain a lot. We didn't let it damper our vacation, or our outdoor dining experiences. You can see the rain pooling around our plates on the table cloth. We certainly had some strange looks.

Trav, always being the extremist, wanted to hike to the very top of the sand dunes. I just couldn't make it. I think we went half way up which is still pretty darn good in my book!

We did a culinary walking tour that was very fun... ending at Trav's favorite spot :)

I know I've said it before, but I'm super cheap. It's tough for me to spend money on vacations, even though I love them and really value the quality time it gives me with Travis. I love the trips we've taken together and can't wait for baby to join us in the future :)

Happy for them...

2011-07-18T06:00:00.004-05:00

I am so happy for my friends' Kim and Rodney. They are getting married next May! These two are just perfect for each other and have such a fun relationship. I'm already excited for the wedding you guys!

LOVE!

Kim and I became friends in elementary school, so we go WAY back! I love having "old" friends that are still good friends... but not that we're getting old or anything :)

This is one of my favorites from the evening. I don't like to do too many kissing photos, but this definitely makes the cut. I loved their clothing colors with the earthy greens, browns, and blues.

Thank you Kim and Rodney for asking little ol' ME to take your engagement photographs! I hope you guys have a fun rest of your engagement and obviously a GREAT wedding.

I peed on that!

2011-07-12T15:30:00.000-05:00

Loving new life

2011-07-07T19:50:00.000-05:00

Introducing sweet baby Grant to the blog. I had such a great time with this little guy and his mom. He was such a wonderful baby to spend a few hours with. His rooting instincts were sure a kick to watch. He would be fed, then laid on a blanket and instantly start rooting again. So.... more food he got :) Eventually he got enough and was OUT!

I think I could have showed his whole session in black and white. Every time I took the color out of an image, I loved it even more. Of course his handsome brown hair, and blue blanket made me keep some in color :)

How precious is he? :)

I had to pose a picture of his gorgeous locks that are already falling over his ears. I wonder how old... or young he'll be when he gets his first haircut!

LOVE! I don't think I could ever get tired of photographing brand new babes. They require a lot of patience, but soo worth it. Thank you baby Grant for being so cute, and mom Jen for letting me hang out :)

31 never looked so good!

2011-07-03T14:38:00.004-05:00

Happy Birthday to my sweet sweet husband! I love you more every day... yesterday you drove me nuts! Hahaha, just kidding :)

Little beauty queens

2011-07-01T06:00:00.001-05:00

Little beauty queens for sure. These sweet girls are absolutely adorable, I can't get over it! The big girls were total pros for the shoot. The second I held my camera up, they knew just what to do. Little Bryn was a bit more unsure. It took some convincing, especially from Grandma that the grass wasn't so bad :)

I don't want to take away the "magic" of this photograph... BUT, it's too funny. Little Bryn really didn't want to be out of Mom's arms. So I told Beth (the mom) to run ahead of the girls and then jump in the trees. She did, the girls all ran after her, and we got a great shot!

This photograph was just kinda fun, so I wanted to add it. After all of our "nicely sitting" images, we let the girls throw some rocks. I love all their expressions. Thanks so much Beth and Grandma for making this a fun session!

PS: it's always a good idea to bring Grandma!

Engagement session!

2011-06-28T06:00:00.004-05:00

How I love doing engagement sessions! It's refreshing to get to work with 2 adults :) I had so much fun traipsing through the fields with this couple. I hope they had fun too.

The close up shots make me feel happy :)

This was all Ashley's idea! We have the same name... I don't want you getting confused. Anyway, she suggested this pose and I love how it turned out. I hate to even say the word "pose" because it sort of goes against my All natural approach. But either way, I love it.

HOT HOT HOT

It was fun to see how in love these two are. I remember having our photographs taken when I got engaged and how exciting of a time in our lives that was. Congrats on your engagement you two!

home

2011-06-26T12:00:00.001-05:00

We're home from vacation! Travis and I went to Michigan for the week. I'm sure I'll be getting caught up on everything for a little bit. I'll be back in full force soon :)

I do

2011-06-17T06:00:00.003-05:00

Every once in a while, I photograph a wedding. I get asked quite frequently, but they just aren't my regular thing. However, sometimes I just HAVE to for one reason or another :)

I love the getting ready pictures!

Travis and Michelle were wonderful. They really did a great job of planning a fantastic day, for both them and their guests. The wedding was at one of my very favorite locations, which could have been the reason I got excited about this particular event.

... because the focus IS the bride!

I'm thinking baby Melia will love this photograph some day :) It's such an incredible honor to get to capture these memories for generations to come.

It was VERY hard to pick some favorites for the blog post. But I can say these are definitely all my favorites!

Travis and Michelle, I had a great day with you! Thanks for letting me share in your special day.

That was short lived

2011-06-15T06:00:00.000-05:00

My "not so extreme couponing" days that is. A little before TLC's "Extreme Couponing" Show aired, a friend of mine started couponing. I thought it seemed like a pretty good idea, so I wanted to try it out. It was fun for about 3 weeks, now I've officially given up!

My Mowgli Boy...

2011-06-11T06:00:00.003-05:00

is 3 years old today!

Brecken @ 6 months

2011-06-10T06:00:00.006-05:00

Little Brecken boy is growing fast. Every time I see him I realize just how big he's getting. He will be one before we know it!

I can't wait for some pool time with this little one this summer! His mommy and daddy REALLY need to get the pool up :)

A very typical Brecken skydiving move :) We got lots of these during our session. Plus, the cute little diaper cover just MAKES the photo. I love being "in" on the outfit picking for kids and families.

I was so happy we got some sitting up on camera. When we took these, Brecken was just starting to have those first moments of sitting up all by himself. We got lucky, or maybe he was waiting to show off for me :)

I love these 2!

Hallie!

2011-06-07T07:45:00.000-05:00

I love this little girl! She couldn't get any cuter. I've been privileged to photograph Hallie quite frequently in her young life. I was so excited her mom, Molly wanted to do a year 1/2 session! Wow, 2 years is just around the corner.

I guess Craisins are the way into this girls' heart.

Walking on the path... or more like off of it :)

These 3 are just the coolest family! I adore all of them. Could Hallie be any more loved? I wanna burst just looking at those smiles :)

Randy

2011-06-03T06:00:00.005-05:00

Today, my family will celebrate the life of someone who meant a lot to me. Randy was my mom's cousin. That label sounds pretty distant, I know. He was much more like an uncle to me. As one of my mom's best friends, I saw him a lot growing up. He made everyone feel pretty special and like they were his favorite :) At every family gathering, I'd say he was one of the highlights! We will all miss him so so much.

It's so sad that his life was cut dramatically short. He meant a lot to a lot of people and had some quite amazing accomplishments. There has been many articles written about him both from his home town of Clear Lake and the Theatre community in NYC:

http://www.globegazette.com/entertainment/local_entertainment/article_e3283af8-871b-11e0-b84d-001cc4c03286.html

Randy passed away from complications to Carbon Monoxide poisoning. I'm pretty sure we have a carbon monoxide detector somewhere. But I went out and bought another anyway. It's horribly scary to think that a leaking stove could do this much damage. I thought it fitting to put some information up about Carbon Monoxide poisoning so we can all be a little safer:

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/carbon_monoxide_poisoning/article_em.htm

not so much of a post

2011-06-01T06:00:00.002-05:00

YIKES, I haven't blogged in a week! It's not because of being bored. I've been very much enjoying the beginning of my summer. I took the liberty of a VERY long weekend in Des Moines with my mom. We only had one pool day because of all the rain. But we had fun shopping on the other days. Have I mentioned Homemakers is my favorite store? Rarely do I walk in actually planning on buying something, but they let anyone eat the cookies :)

We didn't take a single photograph, so I borrowed these from a summer weekend last year. The funny thing is, we basically did the same thing this year. Had I photographed our activities from the weekend, it would have looked a lot like this anyway:

I'm hoping this buys me a couple more days until I have to put up a REAL post... with pictures from this year :)

Alexis Jo's 6 month photoshoot

2011-05-24T06:00:00.003-05:00

My little baby niece is 6 months old. Actually, now she's 7 months old. I've had these images on my "to do" list for weeks. It's easy to take way too many when you're in love with your subject.

This was one of her first experiences playing outside in the grass and flowers. With a cold and wet spring, she's been cooped up inside. So she didn't care too much about us. Alexis was so interested in looking around and trying to grab everything. It's such a fun new world for her!

She's SO stinkin' sweet!

Lexi is one of the happiest babies. It's a treat when I get to babysit because she's so "go with the flow". It's a lot of fun for me to be an Aunt.

It's going to take me "forever" to go through all the rest and finish editing. Sorry Callie :)

27

2011-05-20T06:00:00.002-05:00

This baby girl turns 27 years old today! Yep, it's my birthday, and I'll eat chips and ice cream if I want to :)

Charly is ONE

2011-05-16T06:00:00.003-05:00

This little lady is one year old! I don't play favorites. BUT, if I did... she'd make it on the list. Charly is such a sweet and cute little girl. She was a bit feisty for this session. I told her parents sometimes one year old is a tricky photo shoot because by this age, they have an opinion! 6 and 9 month olds kinda just sit where you put them and grin at your goofy faces.

Charly's birthday was actually in February. We opted to wait until the weather got a bit nicer so we could get this little beauty outside! Who doesn't love to be outside in the spring time?!

There you go! The many faces of Charly. I've gotten to watch her grow from a little baby to a toddler this last year. I'm sad that I won't be seeing her and her parents as often. Please come see me again soon! Happy First Birthday Charly Grace!

Happy boy Nile

2011-05-11T06:00:00.002-05:00

Nile was one of the happiest baby I've been around. I thought the big happy smile was just a show, but his Mom and Dad said that's what he does. Who wouldn't immediately fall in love with that little face?

We got lots of great images of just Nile for his big 6 month session. But it's the family photographs I fell in love with the most. His parents are smitten with him and he seemed to love being snuggled between them.

I wish I could have gotten this photo above up in time for Mother's Day. Well, Happy (late) Mother's Day! I loved meeting this family!!

Just like his Dad

2011-05-09T06:00:00.006-05:00

Little man Colin is growing up! I loved meeting him in December for his newborn shoot and REALLY loved getting to see how big he's getting.

If you're my facebook friend, meaning you've "liked" my page... you may have heard me asking about cute knit/crochet baby hats. How lucky am I that his Mommy can make amazing pieces like this? VERY lucky.

I hear this is a pretty typical Colin expression. Just like his dad :)

There it is again :) Colin was one of the many sessions that had to get pushed back in April due to all the rain! Yuck, I had a crummy couple of weeks watching out the window just waiting for it to clear up and rescheduling to days HOPING they would be nicer. Well finally the sun did come back out and I've been trying to make the most of it. Stay tuned!

Baby Trevor

2011-05-02T06:00:00.003-05:00

I felt so much nostalgia and love walking up the steps to baby Trevor's newborn photo shoot. I vividly remember the day I photographed his (week old) big sister Ava a couple of years ago.

This one is a "website keeper" for sure. I took some images similar to these with Ava. I'm wondering if these two siblings will end up being very different from each other. Ava has been extremely calm for all of her photography sessions. She was a heavy sleeper and really content for her newborn shoot. Trevor was not only awake much of the time, but opinionated! He seemed like he wanted to be on the go and scoot off my blankets.

I absolutely LOVE the milk drip!

What's funny about this image, is the very next one he was happy and fast asleep. His mood seems to change very quickly. He was such a sweetheart and I could have stayed to snuggle him all afternoon.

A big fat THANKS to Craig and Sarah for making beautiful babies! Keep it up you two ;)

Early retirement?

2011-04-29T06:00:00.004-05:00

Mowgli may have decided that he's going into early retirement. He didn't do so hot in this last week's dog show. He REALLY didn't want to "stack". In the photo below, he is actually doing it, but I'm almost positive he didn't stay like that too long the way he's supposed to. He did NOT like other dogs being behind him. My mom thinks he was trying to protect the family jewels :)

He was shown on Easter Sunday. We didn't go to that one because we were at church. But we got an interesting report when we picked him up. Apparently he was "excused" from the ring. He wouldn't let the judge touch him! I'm not really sure what that meant, but I know it wasn't good. Mowgli seemed to enjoy dog shows during his first couple years. He didn't seem to love this one, so I'm wondering if he's "done" with them. He has received his "Championship" title, and made cute little puppies, so I guess he's done what was asked of him!

Trey

2011-04-25T06:00:00.000-05:00

Trey's mom Tricia is a wonderful friend of mine. She also happens to be dating Travis' brother. It all works out pretty well. Trav and I both love Trey and think of him as part of our family. So when Tricia and I set out to photograph Trey for his 3rd birthday... you can bet we had some fun with it :)

I'm pretty proud of myself for finding a GREAT location for a 3 year old boy. My mom was actually the one who "found" it. One of her friends has a bunch of old cars, trucks, and even some farm equipment.

I love these two!

Trey is definitely at an age where it doesn't work to say "stand here and smile for me." Actually, that never works great. So we got inventive when it came to finding things he would want to do. In this one above, he was looking for "magic sticks." Duh... of course he was.

Happy Birthday Trey-Man!

a very Good Friday

2011-04-22T06:00:00.010-05:00

Travis has been gone all week on his annual motorcycle trip. I've been home alone until last night when my mom came to stay for awhile. So I'll be glad to have some company for the holiday weekend.

How will we be celebrating this Good Friday? Well, by going to Mowgli's dog show of course! I've actually come to enjoy going to dog shows. If you're looking for a unique, fun, and family friendly activity, we would love to see you there! I believe Mowgli shows about 2:30pm on Friday at Cattle Congress.

I'm hoping we get to see those sweet little puppies again!

New employment!

2011-04-20T06:00:00.007-05:00

Yeah, you totally read that correctly. I know you are dying to know what kind of job would lead me away from my current one. I got a job offer a couple of months ago and accepted. I am the newest Yoga sub at the YMCA :) hahaha

But really, it's true. I've been in an "AM Yoga" class for over a year now. The instructor must think I'm pretty awesome... or maybe she just knows I am available at that time every day. Anyway, I was asked if I would be a sub for her when she couldn't be there. So far, I think I've taught 5 or 6 classes.

I'm enjoying it more than I thought I would. The first day, I was so nervous!!! Actually, terrified I would completely embarrass myself. I probably did, but I'm getting better every class. Here's to a small new adventure!

Almost 3

2011-04-18T06:00:00.002-05:00

I love this little man! We did a photo shoot to celebrate his upcoming 3rd Birthday. I'll be sure to work on the rest this week.

Print Sale

2011-04-15T06:00:00.008-05:00

I can't tell you how many photographs I've taken in the past years. It's a lot. I couldn't even begin to imagine the exact amount. And, the file sizes are so stinkin' huge that they fill up space fast.

Soo.... Print Sale! For the rest of April, I'm offering 40% off on any prints from sessions taking place in 2010 or years earlier. I'm going to go through a lot of my old files and purge client photographs. After this, there will be no guarantee I will have certain photographs from sessions. Because of the sale, I will repost your old gallery for one week for no additional fee. So you can see what you didn't purchase the first time around! Go ahead and feel free to order all those oldies (but goodies) from the past. You can email me or send me a message through the website for more details. Only paper prints, not canvases are included in this sale.

just a few snapshots

2011-04-13T06:00:00.003-05:00

Happy (belated) Birthday Mom! This post is a few days old because I was with my mom for her birthday. Travis and I were in Des Moines the whole weekend celebrating with her. We decided we had a great weekend but did not take great photographs documenting our fun. She sent me a few snapshots so I could have something to put on my blog.

Food is always a big part of our time together.

Mowgli was a big help during geocaching :)

I did something fun for my mom's birthday present. I wish I had taken a photograph of it. I made her a canvas of one of her favorite images I took. Don't worry, it's not of a random child. It's of a picture I took a couple of years ago during one of our living history farms days. It's most exciting because it's her first canvas and everyone needs at LEAST one!

Love Cedar Valley

2011-04-08T06:00:00.002-05:00

Have you heard of Love Cedar Valley? A bunch of churches in our area pull together to perform random acts of kindness in the community. You can sign up to be part of different teams who do things like give out food/ drinks, clean, paint, visit nursing homes... really, just anything nice :)

I was bummed that I hadn't signed up to volunteer anywhere. Then I got a message asking me to be a photographer for the day. So it ended up working well. My wonderful husband drove me around town to the different locations, I would hop out and photograph the event. I thought I would just share a few of my favorite photos I took of the day.

Charity Ball 2011

2011-04-07T06:00:00.003-05:00

Whenever I post pictures of myself, I get more comments from friends saying they are glad to see my appearance on my blog once in a while. Well, you don't see me to often on here because I don't really DO that much. My life is kinda boring and I don't have too many reasons to show up in pictures.

Except this weekend I did something :) Travis and I attended Junior League's 2011 Charity Ball on Saturday night. I joined Junior League in the fall. I was excited to get involved in the community and meet some women. It's an organization built around women and volunteerism. I've really enjoyed being a part of this group this past year. These woman do a great job raising funds and are constantly trying to make the Waterloo-Cedar Falls area a better place.

I am thrilled at the friendships I've made from this group in such a short amount of time. I've heard a lot of correlations between the group and a sorority. I can see it :) The year you join, you're part of the "new member" class. I have really gotten to know the new member women lately. They are ladies I enjoy spending time with and could definitely see growing friendships.

Travis bucked up and went to the annual fundraiser this weekend with me. I wore a dress I bought CHEAP (my style) in college. A good friend of mine came over and did my hair for me. I don't know how to do my own hair on a day to day basis, so I sure couldn't master a dressier hairdo. I had a fun time getting dolled up and spending a night out. If you're a woman and thinking of a way to do some good in our community, I would recommend this organization. Plus, we usually go out and get drinks after our meetings!

Inside and Out

2011-04-05T06:00:00.004-05:00

Seriously, this girl was so beautiful inside and out. I have a lot of fun photographing senior girls. I really like hanging out with them and having a good time. Alex was a blast to photograph. She was super fun and had lots of ideas for our session too!

I wish I looked that HOT when I was in high school Actually, I wish I was that HOT now :)

GORGEOUS!

And she's athletic! It doesn't seem like there is much this girl doesn't do. She's definitely one I'd expect some big things from.

Alex, I hope you have a great rest of your senior year! You are such a wonderful person, I wish you ALL the best!

Simply Stunning

2011-04-04T06:00:00.001-05:00

This young woman is stunning, truly beautiful inside and out. I couldn't wait another day to give her a little sneak peek.

Winner!

2011-03-29T06:00:00.006-05:00

Congratulations to Madi and her family! They were the winners of my 2010 Photo Contest on Facebook. The winning image was Madi's Baby in a Basket photograph. Oh... how I love this image. Her momma made that photograph into a canvas to go in baby's room. It looked stunning and was definitely one of those things I got in the mail and wished I could keep for myself.

So the Facebook contest prize was a FREE mini photoshoot! We were able to capture all the great faces of a 4... almost 5 month old sweetie. Madilyn is such a pretty baby! Often, if a baby doesn't have on pink or blue, you might not be able to tell if they are a boy or girl. I think Madi's face looks ALL girl!

This looks like a sweet little moment, especially in black and white. Plus, you can really see those little eyelashes.

OK, how ridiculously cute are those little chubby legs!? I thought this outfit was so cute. Amy said she got the outfit from Children's Place. I LOVE that store! I love getting to go in there with friends and shop for their kids :)

I love just the hint of tongue sticking out! Oh, and I really wanted to title this post "winning" but I like to keep it classy around here :)

Never have I ever

2011-03-24T06:00:00.002-05:00

Have you EVER seen a little face like this?! I promise, I am not being sent child models. I feel like the luckiest gal ever to get to point my camera at the most gorgeous children in the Cedar Valley. COME ON! Joey couldn't be any cuter if he tried. I'm not sure it's going to be possible to look at this whole post without getting a smile on your face.

MAN, that smile is contagious!

Joey only took a few minutes to warm up to me. When he broke out this phenomenal grin, I couldn't get enough. I'm calling this my first official spring photo shoot! I love being back outside. I think it was almost 70 degrees.

Joey and his family were so wonderful. I just love meeting great new people.

a crazy year

2011-03-22T06:00:00.002-05:00

This has been a crazy year for me. I went back and read some of my blog posts from this time last year.

Full Time Photographer

The View From Here

Sometimes I still can't believe I had the guts to just up and quit my "steady income" job! It's been a great year, and wanted to write down some of my thoughts about it. The best part about this year was making my own schedule! It felt so liberating to get to decide when I start working and stop working.

I'm proud that I overcame the "haters" around me. The majority of people I have chosen to surround myself with are so encouraging, but of course there were and still are some people who don't like or support my decision to leave architecture. I spent a very long time worrying what they would think and coming up with arguments to back up my choice. Of course they thought I had wasted time and money by leaving a degree it took me a long time to achieve. Or that I was lazy and didn't just buck up and go to work. I'm not making this about justifying myself, but instead just doing what I know was right for both Travis and me.

One of the best things I did for myself was join the YMCA. I was not a workout person... at all! I'm still not sure I technically am. But I do try to go to the Y every week day and most of the time enjoy it. I take classes two days out of the week, yoga and a cardio class. I really enjoy the classes and having the structure. Plus at the Y, they are free with your membership :) I find that I don't push myself that much unless I'm in a class... so I should probably go to more! I've been really wanting to try Zumba!

Jesus. Why is it that this goal always seems to get pushed to the back. I have been doing things to strengthen my relationship with God. I just know I could be doing much much better. One of my goals this time last year was to quiet my heart and spend more time with the Lord. I definitely think I did a good job of quieting my heart... but I probably found other things to fill it back up. I'll keep working on this one, hopefully I'll have a better report next year. I've always been very envious of those people that can get lost in the Word and just want more and more. This is more of a lifetime goal than a one year goal for me.

It's certainly been a year of ups and downs with lots of crazy twists and turns, both with work and my personal life. I'd like to think I'm stronger and wiser because of everything.

This pretty much sums us up as a couple.

Logan is 6 months

2011-03-18T06:00:00.004-05:00

Yeah... he is THAT stinkin' cute! I absolutely love 6 months sessions. It is the time to really catch the baby phase. Newborn photo-shoots are incredible to remember how tiny they were and the amazing moment of becoming a new parent. So 6 months is a great time to remember the baby stage of life.

I melt over baby close-ups. I adore them in black and white :)

It almost looks like he's saying "I'm flying!"

This set of photographs might just be my favorite from the day. The bright whites are so crisp and really make Logan the focus.

Is the drool not the best part of this image? Oh Logan, how cute can you get!?

Of course you need to remind yourself of newborn Logan. Click HERE to see how much he's grown. Specifically, take a look at the one of him and his mom when he was so small. I love the comparison to this next one!

I can really tucker out a little one. If you've had a session with me, you might be able to attest to the baby asleep all the way home. I'm so happy to be able to watch this little guy grow up. He is such a wonderfully happy baby, full of expressions!

still in love

2011-03-16T06:00:00.010-05:00

I love him :)

Finally, I took an afternoon and edited these photographs! My friend Heather, who I've talked about before, was so fantastic and took them for us last October! I wanted to do something like this for our 3rd Wedding Anniversary. I was starting to get kinda jealous of the photos I was taking of other people's families and really wanted to capture mine at this stage in our life. Photographing a dog can be a real big hassle. So I saved Heather the headache and left Mowgli out this time.

I also learned something about myself from this experience. I am a horrible photography subject. I feel really bad because I was pretty bossy and controlling over the whole thing. I knew what I wanted (poses, angles, looks, mood). Heather and I agreed we should do it again some day. BUT, I am vowing to not control our next shoot and to let Heather be in charge! I can't wait. So even though they are 5 months overdue, I'm excited to share my favorites.

I love him more and more every day.

where did he go?

2011-03-14T06:00:00.002-05:00

When did this little skinny, dark haired newborn turn is to this rolley-polley, bald, over-the-top cute baby?

Brecken has changed so much from his newborn days. I've been lucky enough to get to spend lots of time with him and his Mom (my cousin) Kaley these past few months. Life is good :)

My favorite thing

2011-03-11T06:00:00.002-06:00

Look Out! I am about to write the most materialistic blog post ever!

I'm pretty frugal. Ok, I'm just plain cheap. Years ago in college, when everyone was getting Ugg Boots, I wanted a pair so badly! Then I found out how much they were, certainly not your $20.00 shoes from Payless. I obviously could not bring myself to buy them. So since then, I've bought the cheep boots every year. Every year they break, leak or get worn out and then next year I buy another. I figured that this wasn't a very frugal way to go about boots either.

I made the decision that I was going to break down and just buy these boots! This was actually a couple of Christmases ago I decided this. Every time I went to look at them, it physically pained me to spend the cash and I walked away defeated.

Well the stars all aligned this winter and I was PAYED IN UGGS. I photographed a family member's child and was payed with a gift card and note saying.... Treat yourself to something you've wanted for a long time :) What a day for me! I cried :)

My Uggs have got to be my most favorite THING this year! Hey, I warned you this was a really materialistic blog post. They are beyond warm and comfortable. I didn't think this winter was that bad. These boots really did keep me so warm and cozy. They really are worth the money. That's saying a lot coming from me.