Luke's One Year Mini Session

I honestly can't believe this little guy is a year old already! He's such a cutie, full of so much personality. He was such a stud during our mini session. 

These were taken yesterday- the day after the unbelievable snow storm here in Cache Valley. What you can't see in these pictures is that on either side of Luke the snow is almost as tall as he is! 

 The snow was both distracting and FREEZING- so we ended up pulling out a fun red chair for Luke to chillax in. He was totally loving it. 

 But do you know what's even more fun than sitting in a cool chair? Standing backwards on a cool chair! 

 It was so hilarious to watch Luke rocking out in the chair and playing peek-a-boo behind the chair with his mama. 

 Happy Birthday little man! 

A Personal Post

Pregnancy is a beautiful thing- ask anyone and they'll probably agree with me. Unless however, they happen to be the one who's pregnant. :) 

Most pregnant women I know feel anything BUT beautiful. We feel pudgy, flabby, achy, and heartburn-y (Yup. That's a word.) I can say that because I know! I've done the pregnancy thing 5 times now, and I know from experience that it's not always pretty. However I also speak with experience when I say that however un-pretty you may feel... pregnancy truly is a beautiful thing. Every single moment a mother spends with her child is precious.  

A year ago I had just found out I was pregnant with twins. Beautiful, miraculous, identical twins! All through my pregnancy I kept thinking "I really need to take some pictures of my growing belly... but I look awful today. Maybe tomorrow..." but I never got around to it. Then, without warning, half way through my pregnancy, I lost my twins. Amidst the tears and the heartbreak was the nagging guilt that I don't have a single picture of my beautiful round pregnant belly. 

I am happy to say that I am pregnant once again, with a very active baby boy.  As I sit here typing this post I can't help but smile as my belly moves with the familiar flutter of his tiny kicks... evidence of the beautiful life growing inside of me. This time I have vowed to cherish these moments, and every moment he is with me. They are truly priceless. 

To stay true to my promise I decided to snap a few quick self portraits today, but then realized the remote to my camera isn't working. So I set up the shot (outside in the bone-chilling 4 degree weather of course- because my house gets zero natural light in the winter) and then had my husband press the shutter for me. He's such a good hubby. 

I present to you- The bump. :) 31 weeks along. 

We are so excited to meet this little guy in just a few weeks! 

Thank you for letting me post something a little out of the ordinary. 

One of my New Year's resolutions is to take more pictures of me... especially with my kids. (Easier said than done when I'm always the one behind the camera, but unlike my resolution to eat less chocolate I actually feel strongly about this one and am dedicated to making it stick!) When my kids grow up and look back on pictures of them when they were younger I want them to have evidence that I was there too! I want to be more than just the face behind the camera. So there you have it- my soap box for the day! Now go grab the nearest camera (even if it's just your phone!) and snap a picture of yourself with your kiddos- EVEN if you're hair isn't done or you didn't bother to put make-up on today. Trust me- your kids don't care, and in the long run you'll be glad you did it.

 

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

 The day after Christmas I met up with this darling family to take some pictures while their whole family was together for the holidays. In true Cache Valley Fashion it snowed and snowed and SNOWED... and I gotta tell ya, it was a blast! 

Oh how I adore this shot of "Grandma and "Grandpa". Still as much in love today as they were the day they were married. Absolutely priceless.  

As the snow got deeper the men of the family took it upon themselves to carry their women to safety. And who says chivalry is dead? 

 Little Miss Amber just ADORES her older brothers! She was just on cloud nine having them them home for Christmas. And I gotta say, she's a lucky girl to have two older brothers watching out for her!

 These two love birds could only stay for a few minutes... 

 and then they had to say goodbye and head home.  

 It's hard to live so far away from family. But tearful goodbyes make for sweet reunions :) 

 And of course, what snowy shoot would be complete without a snowball fight?!

BOOYA! Nice shot! 

Thanks again to this amazing family! 

We'll end with a personal favorite of mine... a candid that captures the day just perfectly.

 Lots of love and lots of laughter. 

Bradshaw Family

This was one INCREDIBLE family! 

I am so grateful I got to spend some time with them. They were so amazing to work with! 

Due to some crazy circumstances they were all able to be together for Thanksgiving, even though some of them live across the country, and they won't be together again for another 18 months! It was so fun to see how much they truly enjoy spending time with each other. 

I had to post this one because it cracks me up. Little Andrew is the star of the show! He had a few grumpy spells while we were shoot, but the whole family worked very hard to keep him happy. This kid is SO loved! 

 Classic. :) 

 The proud grandparents! 

 Little Andrew is already trying to WALK! I believe he was 7 months old at the time these pictures were taken. What a busy little guy! Isn't he adorable? 

 Thanks again everyone! It was my pleasure to meet you and work with you! I'm so happy the stars aligned and we were able to get some great shots of you together!