Archive for the ‘Family’ Category

Eleven years of marriage, and three beautiful children…and Jeff and Kristen still have that sweet, caring love for eachother. It’s obvious.  I drove from Toledo and they drove from FlatRock to meet in the middle at Monroe’s historical barn site. No one was out this evening except for us and it was so enjoyable to play around and to photograph their connections. Big brother Jake was honestly the biggest help as he rounded up two year old Cade. Little Cade LOVES to run…infact within 2 seconds of taking a family picture, dad said,”Ok, Cade, are you ready??” He set him down and Cade ran right to me with a huge grin on his face. I think most of his smiles came from escaping. I loved everything about this family as it is so nice to witness the clarity of their  love.

I am loving all these names lately-Sloane, Charlotte and now Delilha…how pretty. And yes, Delilha is a beauty. She came in with her big sister Leilani, who turned 3 recently. So while Delilha tried to sleep, I spent some girl time with Leilani, who I can’t help but love.  She brought her magic princess wand and mom and dad didn’t mind that she turned us into frogs. We talked silly talk and laughed about absolutely nothing except the fact they we were talking in funny voices. I think sometimes I make myself laugh harder than the kids, which is even funnier.  So, we all hung out in the studio and waited for Delilha to fall asleep, which she eventually did! Before packing up to leave, I took one look at this fresh newborn and thought how peaceful she looked just hanging out in the basket…though the shoot was officially ‘over’, sometimes we just can’t help continuing…and the last picture is just that, moments before heading out the door.  Tony and Kristin-it was good to see you both again, you two are blessed- bigtime.

I drove north to Manitou Beach a couple weeks ago to meet up with Brycon and his family for a few pictures of him turning 3. As I got out of my car, there was Brycon with a grin on his face and running around full of energy. This little boy has so many expressions and he is bursting with personality.  We roamed their property and also borrowed the neighbors blue garage to take some pictures at.  Between snacks we played in the sand, dipped our feet in the water and played around with the wagon. Brycon showed off his muscles by flexing for me   O, how I loved how relaxed this shoot was. Melissa and Mike, you can tell how comfortable you are with Brycon and it shows. While little guy is doing his own thing, you two are  just enjoying him. Thanks for having me up over the holiday!

I had a date on Friday night!  I know, I was excited too.  His name was Blaise and he’s just a little over 2 weeks old. He came into the studio lookin all cute with his little Harley onesie and socks on.  I could go on and on about this little one… his family… but for those of you who know his story and family you know he is so precious, he is a miracle and he shares a special name.  Blaise and I (oh and his mommy and daddy too) hung out in the studio for a while and got some cool cuddling and sleeping shots.  Then Blaise took me out on his Harley (or his daddy’s Harley).  hahaha!  This is going a little too far isn’t it.  Anyway, what a beautiful family and Juli you are so gorgeous.  Really, I couldn’t get over it! You are stunning.  Thank you again for hanging out and relaxing (wink, wink) you know what I mean.

The picture below made me laugh.  It was like he was saying no more pics!

I am a huge fan of this city-that’s right. I am one of those super optimistic people that believe in such things  as revival, opportunity, and growth I believe in renovation instead of demolishing and I believe that two people can look out the same window and while one looks down and sees the mud, the other however, looks up and sees the sky. I say all these things leading up to one of the coolest newborns I have photographed because well, during this shoot we spent most of the time talking about everything from decorating ideas to politics to the agreement that Toledo is a great place to live and raise a family.  Yes, I think many things you aren’t supposed to talk about to strangers and even close family without getting in a heated debate (been there),  but these people are Maria and Steve and really any conversation goes – and they aren’t strangers   I was so excited to hear the news last summer that they were expecting and so happy when they came in a week after having Tobin to get his pictures.  Tobin seriously ‘chilled’  the entire time. His long limbs flopped and folded and went every which way.  Tobin smiled throughout the whole shoot and he cuddled mostly in the arms of mom and dad along with the blanket that Maria had crochet for him. Ahhh, the love and excitement that surrounded this little man was so great to capture…