E is for Emma

I had another tiny Emma come to the studio last week. Love this "E" necklace that her momma got when she was born...



Emma was really sleepy. And really adorable.







And then she opened her eyes just long enough for me to see how beautiful they are...





Thanks guys!

Happy Valentines Day

It was a nice Valentines Day around here. Church, lunch with family, some errands were run, then a fancy steak dinner at home with my Valentine. I even cooked some potatoes in my heart shaped pot. One of my favorite unexpected wedding gifts...



Every year Shane and I write in a Valentines Day journal. We each list 50 things we love about each other. I enjoy it every time. And its fun to read the lists from years past. When I took this photo today I was struck by how few pages were filled and how many were empty, and I smiled at the thought of how many more Valentines Days we will have together.



Thank you to all of you who have been praying for Beth and little Lily. She will be in the hospital for a while longer but is responding well to the treatment. I still haven't gotten to meet her sweet face because she's been tucked away healing up, but I can't wait to see those cheeks.

Hope you had a great Valentines Day!

prayers for Lily Louise

Last night Beth had her baby girl. She was about a week overdue so we were all anxiously waiting for her. Lily Louise came in to the world super fast weighing in at 8lbs 2oz. and 19.5 inches long. Beth is doing well today but Lily is in the NICU and will be for a little while. She seems to have an infection, they are still running some tests to find out exactly what is going on. So please pray for Lily and Beth and Kurt while everything is sorted out and Lily heals. I haven't gotten to see her in person yet, but I saw a photo and she is beautiful and round and I am fairly certain she is going to be just as nugalicious as her big brother.



Welcome to the world Lily. I love you already.

baby Emma

On Saturday morning little Emma and her family came over for her first photo shoot.



She is tiny and beautiful and has peaches and cream skin...





and gorgeous dark blue eyes...





We even got her aunt in a few shots. Julie was my roommate my freshman year in college...



Love this one of you Julie...



Thanks guys and congratulations! She is really stinkin cute.

on being stranded and some shameless promoting of bands I like

Monkey Pants and I were a tad stranded today. We are down to one car since one is in the shop. I kinda wanted to just stay in my pajamas and watch cartoons all day to be honest. But, Marlie gets enough TV as it is so I knew that wasn't the best idea. I put my big girl pants on and made the best of it. We played with every toy twice I think. But in between we did some baking...



It was so fun. Marlie is finally old enough to really help and she loved it. Heart shaped cookies for Valentine's Day of course...



And we even ventured outside. If you remember last year didn't go too well, so i was a little nervous.



I wondered if her new tricycle could handle snow and..it did! I heart this tricycle. I want to hug whoever the genius is who thought to put on the optional handle for the parents. Its amazing. Its like a stroller on steroids. And Marlie loves it too. And when she hops off to walk a while (because she always does) I just push it along instead of having to carry a trike over my shoulder. Awesomeness.

We walked up to a new restaurant in the neighborhood for a little lunch date. It was just what we needed. Marlie is pretty easy to please. When she saw that she had drink with a straw her eyes lit up and she said "That's awesome!".

You know what else is awesome? (Good segue eh?) This band that Shane and I saw Friday night. That's right I took off my sweat pants and put on my tight jeans and stayed out past 10:00. It was a big night, and totally worth it. These guys are really good folks so check them out. Also, check out these guys. They are equally as awesome and are doing a Valentines Day show here in STL.

Good night blogees! Tomorrow you will meet Emma, the sweet newbie that came over on Saturday.

little Harper

Yesterday I got to meet tiny Harper and her family. I love this one of her big brother looking at me...



Such a sweet little girl. She was awake for a little bit and then took a long snooze for us so we could snap some good shots.







Welcome to the world little Harper!

Jen + Chris

When I shoot weddings I take a second shooter with me and usually that second shooter is my talented friend Jen. Here we are at our last wedding together in a photo in which you can see my esophagus and also up my nose to my brain.



Jen is really fun to shoot with. She keeps me calm, keeps me from having to get EVERY shot, and ... keeps me laughing. Especially when she wears mismatching socks to shoot in...awesome. She lives in Columbia, MO so check her out if you live there and need a photog.



Anyway, she is great and this past year she met a great guy named Chris and in August these two great people are getting hitched!

Yesterday I finally got to meet Chris when they came in town for an engagement shoot. We started out at my favorite door ...



They are so cute together.





We played around with my new green chair. Love it!



And bundled up a bit. It was cold.



This was such a fun shoot. Mostly because Jen and Chris are hilarious and really had fun with their shoot. Somtimes clients show up stressed out, nervous, and stiff and I have get them to loosen up. These two did not need any encouragement. They came up with these poses on their own...





Congratulations you two! Thanks for a fun afternoon!