Graham and fam

Last week on a very HOT day I had a session with a very cute family. I've had the pleasure of photographing Graham and watching him grow into a big one year old. This time he brought his mom and dad along.



We braved the heat and headed to the park near their home. Love this one...



And well...all of these...







But I think this one is my fav...



Such a cute family!

Its the little things

This week has been a doozie so far. It started off on Monday morning with an ER visit. That wasn't a good sign. Marlie has croup. I knew that's what it was, but if your kid has ever had it then you know its pretty terrifying. She is on the mend finally, but its been a rough few days. Lots of coughing, not lots of sleeping.

So I've been breathing deeper, taking it one hour at a time, and celebrating the small things today. For instance, I love hydrangeas. I have always dreamed of having several big hydrangea bushes in my yard so that I could have vases of hydrangeas all over the house. We have four bushes, but for the last two summers they did not bloom. I figured I just had some bum bushes but continued to dream. Well in the last few weeks they have exploded with blooms. Today before a big storm hit Marlie and I went out and picked a bunch for vases....



Ahh love it. Just like I dreamed.

Later in the day during a huge storm this little guy took cover on my window sill...



I have mixed feelings about birds. This guy is cute, but they crap all over our windows in places I can't reach. I like them in art work, but those beeks and claws give me the willies.



I felt so bad for him and he was looking at me with those big bird eyes. I was honestly tempted to let him in, but then thought I might regret that when he was pecking my eyes out.

Other small things to celebrate...I took off when Shane got home for some alone time and took refuge in a fabric store to look at crafty things, I saw a huge double rainbow on the way back out to my car, and Shane stole my camera and snagged this shot of Marlie...



And my bed is so very very comfy. Its the little things :)

Beth and family

Last week my friend Beth's family was in town and we took advantage of their time together with a little photo shoot. I love these ones of the girls...



Especially this one of little Lunden being all sassy..







We even convinced Beth's Dad to get in a few shots. I love this one...







What a cute family. Thanks guys!

The time we went camping

A few months ago Shane and I sat down to plan a little fun in to our calendars. If I'm not careful and don't plan ahead then all of a sudden my weekends are all filled with shoots and that leaves no time for family fun. I need family fun. I love family fun.

For this weekend we marked down "Take Marlie camping for the first time". And so we did. We went to a really cute little campground very near home. Ya know, just in case it was a disaster. I remembered reading Emily's post last year about how they liked Jellystone Park, so off we went.



I must say, its funny how things change when you become a parent. I was a backpacking guide in Colorado once upon a time, Shane loves to backpack and hike, but when it came down to it we went for the campground with nice bathrooms and a pool for this little trip. Although, in two summers in Colorado I never saw one snake and I ran in to one at Jellystone before we even got the tent up. I am terrified of snakes. Shane suddenly became a hardcore animal rights advocate and would not kill it for me. Whateva.



We had a good time. The pool was really really cold. So we did a little less swimming and a little more relaxing...



We played in the woods. Dug in the dirt. Marlie got a little droopy at the end of the day. Like this....



The smore's helped a little bit...



We thought she was just tired, or didn't like camping very much. It turns out she was getting sick. Poor thing woke up in the middle of the night with a fever and cough. It was touch and go there for a bit, but we made it through the night. For all of you St. Louisans, I do recommend Jellystone. It is a great place to go with kiddos. Just watch out for that snake that Shane let go.

hello again

I've been trying take a little bit better care of myself lately. This means more sleep, which sadly means less blogging. Honestly I haven't had a lot to say anyway. I've been taking photos of some ridiculously lovely people so its no reflection on my clients, just feeling a little speechless for some reason. So, in no particular order and not necessarily related to each other here are a few of my favs from recent shoots...

Monkey Pants' new toys

A few weeks ago Marlie spotted a super sweet Disney Princess scooter at Target. I told her that she could buy it with her pacis (pacifiers). I don't think I ever mentioned it, because maybe it was slightly embarrassing, but up until recently Marlie slept with anywhere from 3-6 pacis. She was an addict. Anyway, much to my surprise she went for it and gathered up all her brightly colored plastic best friends and handed them over to the Target lady in exchange for that scooter.

She is so cute when she rides it. I love watching her scoot along.





The day we got it she was telling Shane all about it and said "It has a special purse with a zipper on it on the front and you can put your wallets... your lipsticks... and your donuts in there." I almost wet my pants. It was a both hilarious and slightly troubling statement. Jamie Oliver would not be amused.



She is such a hoot.

While we are talking about Marlie's new toys let me show you the little project we took on for her b-day present. The grandparents all chipped in and got Miss Pants a playhouse for the backyard. I picked it out online. One of the customer reviews said that it was easy and fast to put together. I am convinced that this person was either.. a) on some hallucinogenic drug, or b) a liar liar pants on fire.

Here is the before...



Literally a month later and still without the chimmney...



She loves it though, so it was worth it. And it doubles as a tiny jail cell.



Just kiddin.

After last year's tiny kitchen debacle and this years playhouse it seems we are getting more and more complicated things to put together for her b-day. Next year we shall assemble a child sized helicopter made of toothpicks.

Saturday at the farm

About a year ago a client of mine sent me an email after seeing this post about my barn search. She wanted me to know that her boyfriend's family happened to have a cool barn on their property not to far from St. Louis that I could use for a shoot if I wanted to some day. That sweet client was Erin, here with her adorable Lily...



So, I've been dreaming up this shoot for about a year. Thinking about an antique couch in a field, rustic barn wood, tall grasses, and this weekend it all came true.





I can't thank Erin and John, and John's adorable parents enough for making this shoot happen. Meet Charlie and Joan who still live on and take care of the farm. The sweetest couple ever. They have been married for 54 years and Charlie grew up on the farm himself. As we were walking over to these rose bushes he told me that they were over one hundred years old. Amazing.



Also a big thanks to everyone who came out on Saturday for a shoot! Click here to see a slide show of some of my favorite shots of the day. This shoot was only open to Erin and John's family and friends, and a few of mine too, but guess what?! I am headed out to the farm again in June and you should be there!




There are only 7 slots available so go.. email me quick and I'll see you at the farm!

Lauren and then Luke

Its been raining buckets here in St. Louis. While I've been enjoying watching the lightning and listening to the rain hit the windows, all this rain has been screwing up my photo shoot schedule and that is pretty frustrating. So, if I've had to reschedule your shoot please bear with me, unfortunately I can't control the weather.

However, even with all the storms I still got to shoot some cute little people this week. First Lauren came over...



Oh is she cute!





And then Luke came over on Friday...



Such a sweet little guy. Those eyes!





And he brought his adorable big sister along who reminds me a lot of my Monkey Pants.





Lets face it, they are both stinkin cute. Thanks guys!