Of all the opening photos I have ever posted, that sequence has to be the cutest.

Lucky Amelia Cate.  For her second birthday her whole family came into town to celebrate with her.  Memere, Pepere, Aunt Allyson and Uncle Darren were already downstairs waiting for her to wake up from her afternoon nap.  I got to catch a quick photo of sleeping beauty just before she woke up, can she be more perfect?

I love that the quilt Aunt Sally Ann made in the background of this photo of Amelia Cate coming out of the land of sleep.  While taking this photo I asked her if there was something special she was going to get to eat today.  She removed the pacifier, smiled a secret smile and whispered,

“Cake.”

Yup, good stuff was ahead for sure.  But first she had to put on her party dress and get her hair done to receive her guests.  These two photos brought back a lot of memories of my own mother chasing me down with a brush and rubber bands…

Amelia Cate is all about giving fish lip kisses right now.  I adore the many fish lips I managed to capture that day, especially of the “adults”.  It was a sea of love.

Soon, Aunt Sally Ann, Uncle Bubba (technically, Uncle Clint… who likes being called Uncle Bubba much to family’s chagrin), Nana and PopPop arrived to join the party.  The family hung out in the backyard while AC checked out her gift from Memere and Pepere: an adirondack chair just her size.  Here the family is practicing relaxing together in the backyard.

The chair made a great spot to get photos of AC hanging out with her nearest and dearest.  Despite the summer heat, it was good times.

While the fam headed inside to cool off, AC and here parents spent some time on the front porch making sure the plants had enough water and singing Itsy Bitsy Spider.

Both sets of grandparents brought some new books to read, which was great for photographs.  Amelia Cate takes her sea creatures very seriously so when PopPop called a seagull in the book a mere bird, she was quick to correct him.  And give him a forgiving seagull (lip?) kiss.

AC’s birthday present from her parents was a big girl tricycle.  She decided that her bear Noah should ride it first to make sure it was safe.  And the family decided Noah should wear her helmut just in case it wasn’t.

Then it was time to take the tricycle outside for its first real test drive on the brick sidewalk.  Amelia Cate might have been more excited about the helmet than the tricycle at first but after a few minutes she was really getting the hang of the pedals and wanting to ride all over the neighborhood.

I just can’t believe how big Amelia Cate is now, running and riding a tricycle and talking about seagulls.  I can still see that baby face beneath the pigtails.  One day at a time…  Here’s a slideshow and if you would like to visit the online gallery click here.  Happy second Birthday, sweet Amelia Cate!!!

Posted by Mel @ 2:00 pm, in Portraits, Wee Ones | 2 Comments | Permalink

On July 7th of this year, Caroline became a big sister when Michael Joseph Boehling joined the world weighing eight pounds, one ounce.  I have been so excited to shoot these two together, Caroline is ridiculously happy about the new arrival.

The love that a 3 year old has for a newborn sibling is a precarious kind of love, one so innocent that you hate ruining it with the constant utterance of “gently” and “softly” but energetic enough to require a few boundaries.  Some kids want nothing to do with their baby sibs but Sweet Caroline was all over him like a like a fly on honey, there are some really sweet moments here.

I’m not sure if this reaction in Michael is shared enthusiasm or primal fear but I love the shot anyway…

Caroline is definitely Momma’s little helper:

Sam and I went a little gung-ho on the creation of Fiver’s nursery, we made sculptures and murals for Pete’s sake, so I worry that when the times comes for #2 that we’ll lack the energy to prepare with the same amount of creative zeal.  Will we even paint the room or will we just shove a crib in a corner and call it a day?  Catherine gave me great hope though, Michael’s nursery is every bit the visual wonderland as his sister’s.  Like their first pregnancy, Catherine and John chose to be surprised by the baby’s sex and choose a theme of circus animals, perfect for a little boy or girl, which organically expanded to include creatures of all types… even garden gnomes!  The pale, citrusy lemon-lime  wall color and bright green accents are perky and inviting.

While I was shooting the nursery Caroline found her vintage Fischer Price camera and we dueled.  I am especially in love with the b/w shot of Caroline, Jr. Photographer:

Auntie Carolyn likes to tell everyone that she is a novice knitter when she is actually a pro, she kind of blew her cover with the myriad of adorable knitted gifts she dropped on our doorstep for Fiver over the past year.  I loved this happy green blankie she made for her nephew over the weeks since he has been born, she finished it just in time for our shoot.  I just love babies snugging up to their handmade gifts…

I’ve often wondered what life would look like with two youngsters in it and this shoot gave me a pretty good taste.  I’m sure that its hectic and in moments very challenging but there’s never a dull moment.  In short, it looked pretty good!

Here’s a slideshow with my favs from the day and if you would like to see the online gallery with all the photos, click here.  Congratulations to the Boehling family, I look forward to watching them grow together.

Posted by Mel @ 4:39 pm, in Newborns, Portraits, Wee Ones | No comments | Permalink

Time is flying because I just realized that Baby Milo was born a month ago today, prompting me to get my act together and share photos from Day #1 like I promised I would.  It was a stealthy 10 minute visit to the hospital the afternoon of his birth, just enough time to congratulate our dear friends, oogle over Milo’s preciousness and duck out as Grandma Sue arrived.  Predictably I did more oogling than Sam but we both had to agree that Milo was one gorgeous kid.  Olivia looked nothing short of amazing, the woman makes a hospital gown look good.  And you can just see Lincoln’s pride.  They say its good to have a doctor and a lawyer in the family but I say its good to have a photographer too.  Congrats once again to Olivia and Lincoln and a very warm welcome to Milo Arthur!

Posted by Mel @ 2:44 pm, in Newborns, Personal, Wee Ones | 1 comment | Permalink

I was in a horrible mood on the car ride over to Cannon’s house.   I can’t even remember what exactly it was that had me down in the dumps and on the verge of tears as I  jammed CD after CD into the player in search of a tune, anything at all that could pull me out my funk and give me the right frame of mind to have a great shoot with a family I adore.  No dice.  Then I walked in and Cannon gave me a big, gummy grin as he beat his chubby legs against his momma in excitement and poof – just like that – I smiled right back at him from the inside out and the funk was finished.  I have decided that a baby smile might just be the best bad mood remedy on the market.

And Cannon is particularly charming, its hard to believe that the tiny little preemie I took photos of when he was 4 weeks old has grown into such a rolly-poly little boy.

Even though Cannon is only 6 months old, he’s already dodging kisses like he’s embarrassed…  You start stealing your kisses from baby boys early on I think.

We drove around in search of green grass unaffected by the brutal summer heat and though it took awhile to find the right spot, Cannon seemed to enjoy exploring grass and dirt like a wee boy should.

We had to play up all Cannon’s cowboy gear.   His cowboy hat is a little big for him still but it was too adorable to pass up, especially while sporting a diaper.

Here’s a slideshow of the shoot, it was a lot of fun for me, and here’s the online gallery too.  And I had to put these up on FB, of course.  Thank you, Cannon, for making my day!

Posted by Mel @ 3:17 pm, in Portraits, Wee Ones | 1 comment | Permalink