I was scrubbing bathrooms this morning when Kennedy came out of her room and asked “Momma, what all goes in a cake? I have already put milk, sugar and banilla” (that would be vanilla in case your wondering!) so I rattled off a few other ingredients and then decided the bathrooms could wait. I grabbed my camera and captured her doing her thing. And it made me all sappy happy and sentimental. She really pays attention to what I do and how I do it. Watching her in her little kitchen I felt like I saw bits of myself in so much that she did. It made me think of how much children watch and learn, and how I want to set the best example I can for her… and her sisters

At this point I had to put my camera down and be a part of the tea party… Thanks for looking

Another family shoot on a gorgeous fall day. I don’t have favorite clients or anything like that…but if I did… well this family would be right up at the top

Chris and Jennifer with their adorable little boys…

Last time I saw Sullivan was when I did his newborn shoot, I could hardly believe how much he had grown. He went from tiny sleeping baby to crawling-everywhere-full-of-personality-baby-boy. Including jeans and shoes. What?! How did that happen so fast?! He is precious.

I love it when real life happens in front of my camera.

I love how little boys play and pretend to do whatever their Daddy does. Chris works on a NASCAR race team, so Logan was racing his cars and pulling them in for a pit stop, changing tires, and getting them back out on the track. It was so cute. From what I understand, these cars are pretty special to him, so of course we had to get a few pictures

Chris and Jennifer…Thank you for being you in front of my camera. And for your trust and total calm when we pull up to our loction to find a fence all around it! (yikes!)

This post is late, it’s been a long time coming. In fact, I found this draft that I had started and saved back in October, I got this far, then never finished:

So hard to believe it’s been 5 years since we said “I do”! These past few years have gone by fast. It happens doesn’t it? Seems like just a short time ago that we were really getting to know each other. Dating, eating out and going on spur of the moment trips whenever we pleased. 
Now we are a family of five (in just five years!) Crazy busy, hardly have time to think as we pass each other in the hallway giving baths and swapping babies. We are blessed.

As I mentioned, ‘crazy busy’ kept me from finishing it. And today I am going through my folder of pictures that haven’t made it to the blog yet and decided it was time to finish this blog post

You can read a little about how we first met HERE if your interested…

We found ourselves at the beach on our anniversary this last year. Just the two of us with our three girls. And honestly, it felt just right.

Once we got there we hurried down to the beach before it got dark… Kennedy and Bristol were SO excited!

Kennedy was fearless..

Bristol was a little fearful, here she is doing her Happy Dance…

But if the water got to close, she ran!

making sure not to get that skirt wet

Our room had floor-to-ceiling glass, and while the view was amazing (we could see all this, and then the ocean just to the right of this shot) it was also a little discomforting at first..I felt kinda dizzy when I walked in, but we got used to it!

I love the beach in the fall… warm enough for bathing suits and swimming during the day, and cool enough for long walks and light jackets later. And, the best part, it is not crowded

I never want to forget the feel of her little hand gripping mine, and how she looks up at me…

I took this last shot the last night we were there..we were at a nearby campground where some of our family were staying…

Thank you for looking

Julie’s house always inspires me. So when I arrived a few minutes before they were ready, I meandered around and captured things that caught my eye. I love being able to do this, since it always makes the shoot feel more personal, to just add in a few random things that are in the home.

Emerson came running in the kitchen to hang out with me, and at first wanted to just hide out under the table…

I talked him out of that idea, and seriously adore these images I got of him…I feel like they are so real life, in the best way…

ohhh, how I love this.

His ‘monster face’ is awesome! … color and b&w because of course I couldn’t choose…

Emerson insisted on driving his Momma around on his tractor…he tried a few different ways!

Sean, Julie, Emerson and Liam….thank you

And in case you’ve missed seeing Julie on here before, she is a friend of mine, and an artist… if you are in need of any custom art, be sure to check out her blog

My middle child. My little blondie. Bristol Bee. She dances to the beat of her own drum, and goodness, she keeps us laughing! And for the record, her name is not actually Bristol Bee, it is Bristol Lynn. I started calling her Bristol Bee when she was a baby, and it kinda stuck

Going through a few files on my desktop today I found these images (taken back in the fall) and since I love them, I want to share them (there are more where these came from, so look for more random/personal posts coming soon)….

She found a ladybug…

Fake smile.

Words cannot even describe how much I love this next one…

Ahhh, bare feet…summer dresses…I miss it! And I just built a fire in the fireplace…cozy night in tonight

Have a fabulous weekend everyone!

I had two shoots scheduled on the day we did this one, and then they called for rain. And I panicked. So we changed the time at the last minute and did this shoot in the middle of the day. And that made me uneasy because I am a light snob and like to shoot when the sun is lower in the sky. But I LOVE the light in these pictures, I think it’s good for me to be forced to shoot in different lighting situations, it helps me become better.

The shoot was intended for Marty, Gina and their four kids. But we got Gina’s parents in a few pictures too, considering we were at their house, it worked out perfect.

Amber, oldest – and only – girl in the fam. She’s been in front of my camera before

Gina said one of her earliest memories of her Dad is him on his tractor, he loves tractors and has always had them. So of course we had to get a couple of pictures of him with one of his tractors…

I just happened to get a closer shot of his watch that I noticed, and found out that he is almost never without it

Obviously, Trevin is part monkey because while I did some individual shots he climbed this tree like it was no big deal.

Marty, Gina, Amber, Trevin, Rendon and Quade- Thank you for getting in front of my camera. I loved having you there

So. I started a 365 day project of Tenley. Oh yes, I did. We are 31 days into it and I am not really sure how I feel. Some days I wonder why I even started, but most days I look back on what I’ve gotten so far and am happy that I am doing it. I have considered doing a 365 project for awhile, but didn’t want the pressure that comes along with getting a shot every day. Then, inspired by Drew B, I jumped on the bandwagon.
What I love about this project is I feel that I am capturing everyday moments. Un-posed, un-planned moments. And I love that. I already do a ‘weekly picture’ of Tenley, where I do a simple little shoot every week for the first year, but those are more posed. I try to get one really good shot out of those, and mostly keep them similar week-to-week so I can see her change and grow when put all together in a book. (Bristol’s book is still not done and she will be 3 in March! so, admittedly, I am behind…but, I do have the pictures!)

What I don’t love is the fact that I am using my iphone for this project and the quality is driving me a bit nuts. BUT, I think this will help me to take better iphone pix. And, doing this project with my ‘big’ camera would just take too much effort I think. For right now, anyway.

My plan is to use these pictures and create a little book at the end of the year. I feel like it will be a great story – in pictures.

So, I guess I’ll trudge forward with this little project. And try to keep it simple. And if I don’t get a shot every single day, I am going to try to be okay with that. Because really, I know there will be some days that it just won’t happen. But for now, we have 31 days of Tenley Rhyann.

(sorry for the bad quality of this collage…obviously, I don’t know what I am doing!)
*You can click on the image to see it larger*

Feel free to follow my project on Instagram using #tenleyrhyann2013

Thanks for looking And to all of you who do follow me and cheer me on along the way…thank you! Tell me, are any of you doing a 365 project, or any kind of picture project? If so, I want to hear about it!

The girls in this family support and encourage me in my photography (always have, and I am so thankful) and the boys? Well they show up, look at their watches and say to me “You’ve got 20 minutes…Go!” (then proceed to mock and make fun of me the entire time)

I love them.

This session was actually a Birthday gift for Keitha (the Mom, wife and Mimi of the fam). They considered having their pictures made (just the kids) and then giving her a large print to open on her birthday along with the disc of pictures. They decided to wait and include Keitha in the shoot, and opted to do a gift certificate for the session for her to open on her birthday. Which was in March. My due date was in May. We quickly scheduled a shoot, and I was all psyched up to do this session in April, 8 months preggo and all. Then Reece (the baby boy in the family) wound up sick in the hospital the weekend we had planned on.
Then I had Tenley.
Then it was summertime. Scorching hot + Large Family = Not a lotta fun for them.
Finally, Keitha got her Birthday session in the fall when it cooled down a little, but was still gorgeous and green and summery out.

I am so glad they decided to include their parents in the shoot… here are a few of my fav’s….

Here I go again, unable to decide between b&w or sepia!

Boys will be boys!

Okay, ending with this one…it’s real, and I love it!

To each and every one of you; Thank you. XoXo

Truth is, I have an entire family shoot that I planned on posting today. But for now, I pulled these few out of that file…because a) I adore these shots. And b) I simply don’t have time to get the entire family posted right this minute. But, it’s coming! Soon

Till then, Brooklyn:

I really could not decide, color? b&w? or sepia?… tell me, which do you like best? I think if I had to choose, I’d say color…but goodness those other two are gorgeous!

Skipping Miscellaneous Monday to blog this good-looking family instead

Steve and Brandy and their 3 adorable kids (well, I’ll go with ‘handsome’ for these two boys…they probably would not appreciate being called adorable!) got in front of my camera back in September. Yes, September, I am going back that far for ‘pre-Christmas’ shoots!
Warning: there is a smile-inducing baby ahead…

Meet Steve, Brandy, Nicholas, Luke and Olivia….

Love a good ‘everyone is looking’ shot. But I have to admit, I am drawn the crazy ‘this is real life’ shots more!

I just have to point out the sweet little hand Olivia has propped up on…oh.that.wrist-roll! Love!

We moved out into the sunshine for some gorgeous light…

I told ya…smile-inducing baby. This sweet girl was SO happy!

I couldn’t choose between these next 3, so they all got posted…

I’ll end with these shots of Steve and Brandy…because I love them.

Brandy, thank you for getting your family in front of my camera!