Expecting: Jessica and Steve

Jessica and I have been friends since our "singlehood" days of martini happy hours and late-night dance parties.  Now she and her husband are expecting their first little one, and I couldn't be happier for them!  I met Jessica and Steve over at the Mint Museum for a maternity session.  They are due at the end of October and can't wait to welcome their little boy into the world.   Here's the preview.  (Click on an image to see larger.)

There is a crazy bamboo sculpture on display at the museum.  Not sure what it's supposed to be, but it looked like a cross between a corn field and a giant bird's nest.  We couldn't resist taking a few photographs.

This cute clothesline decorated Jessica's baby shower so I asked her to bring it along.  Love those tiny little onesies and socks!

Back to School

This morning I had the pleasure of photographing my friend Carol's two beautiful kids, Healey and Hunter.  Healey is starting high school this year, and Hunter is in 5th grade.  Carol is a dear friend and my "Mom Idol" - she is raising two smart, well-adjusted, happy and did I mention beautiful children, all while balancing a successful career and keeping a lovely home.  I should give her husband Davis some credit too. They are both great parents!  Here's a sneak preview of our shoot.  Thanks for such a fun morning Healey and Hunter.  I wish you both great adventures and success this year!

  

I Heart Faces: Beautiful Eyes

Fresh from a long vacation in the mountains, I am back just in time to enter one of my favorite photos in this week's I Heart Faces photo challenge.

This is my daughter Sarah Beth at age 1.  She has the most beautiful eyes and the longest eyelashes I've ever seen.  We have this print hanging on our bedroom wall and it makes me smile every time I pass by those baby blues and chubby little cheeks. 

Head over to I Heart Faces to see more beautiful eyes and amazing photographs.

A Very Special Client

Last week was my daughter Sarah Beth's 2nd birthday.  I can't believe what a spunky little girl she has become!  I swear just yesterday she was barely walking, now I can't keep up with her.  For her "official" 2 year old portraits, we returned to the same location of her 1 year photo shoot, The Cradle of Forestry in the Pisgah Forest near Brevard, NC.  It is a wonderful place tucked in the mountains where you can learn about the first Forestry school in the U.S. and see where the students lived and worked.  Sarah Beth's favorite part of this visit was running through the old cabins they have scattered throughout the grounds.  She thought each one was her personal playhouse.

I also learned that being Mom and Photographer in one is not the easiest thing in the world when you're really trying to get a nice "sit-still" photo of a 2 year old.  She is very into holding Mommy's hand which presents obvious problems for the photographer side of me, but the Mommy side of me still loves her little fingers dancing across my palm.  Here are a few of my favorites from that day, as well as a few from our trip to a Sunflower field near Rock Hill, SC.

This Sunflower field was breathtaking.  It also was insanely hot and humid and abuzz with swarms of bees.  Not ideal conditions for a photo shoot but we snapped off a few shots before succumbing to our anxiety that Sarah Beth was going to be stung or pass out from heat exhaustion.

 

Mom in front of the camera.  Very rare photographs!

 A Sunflower Crown for the Birthday Princess.

Cutest Boy on the Block

 I can't believe it's been whole year since our friends and neighbors Nikki and Brian welcomed sweet little Gavin into their lives.  I met him on day 2 when I took pictures of this cutie pie and his parents at the hospital and he's been a wonderful, smiley, happy addition to the neighborhood ever since.  Last week I went to the park with Gavin and his Mom to take a few pictures.  Happy Birthday G!  We have loved watching you grow this year and can't wait to see what this next year has in store for you.