I’m coming off a weekend high of having my mom and family visit for my daughter’s 4th birthday festivities – so much fun and, with all of the extracurricular commitments, I actually did not work late nights the entire time. Yes, sleep is a beautiful, beautiful thing! I’m playing catch up on several sessions and have lots to blog later this week, including the gorgeous Stella, handsome high school seniors Cody and Zach and could-very-well-be-a-model high school senior Abby.

Important calendar note: If you’re an expectant mother (or are planning to purchase a baby shower gift certificate for an expectant mother) and due in July or later this year, it’s not too soon to get on the session calendar for a single Signature Newborn Session or a newborn session as part of baby’s First Year Program. I reserve a limited number of newborn spots each month so that I can give the highest level of attention, planning and creative detail to each one within a flexible schedule around baby’s due date (because we all know they have minds of their own even before birth.) May and June sessions are now closed. As always, it’s a good reminder that babies are best photographed within the first 5-10 days of life when they’re most sleepy.

She came with many nicknames and those big, curious eyes. My favorite by far was “Ana-Banana.” It’s been in my head ever since our session. But then, so has she. Just a tiny, tiny little force to be reckoned with, she entered the world a few months early and only a few pounds. And, at 8 months, she’s still small (wearing 3-month sizes), but I can tell already that beautiful Ana is no shrinking violet – something I say is going to serve this little diva well as she grows.

This session was one of the first sessions we were able to do outdoors this Spring season; it’s actually a combination indoor studio and outdoor natural light session. And, in typical Kansas fashion, just one hour after our field pictures, the sky got very dark, temps dropped significantly and storms came in. I’m so glad we got out there when we did!

Enjoy a few of my favorites:

Having some fun with a washed out vintage look in post-processing. Yes, I still love my rich colors, but this is nice, too.

If you’ve been following the blog for any length of time or just know me personally, then you also know well my obsession with vintage treasures, designer chairs, textured fabrics and my signature hot pink color. As it turns out, this sweet girl’s mom suffers from the same affliction.

On our first phone conversation, she had me at “hot pink velvet chair.” Hook. Line. Sinker.

Not kidding, folks. I’ve had dreams about that chair. In full color.  As it turns out, mom is an UH-MAZING interior designer. And while we shot our  newborn session here at my studio, that didn’t prevent us from incorporating that beautiful pink velvet chair and vintage baby carriage from baby’s room.

Meet beautiful Ingrid. One of my best little newborn subjects ever, sleeping nearly the entire session.

I had some fun playing with a vintage look and texture on this next image:

This was the third in our First Year sessions for handsome Brekken and, well, let’s just say we weren’t short on expressions this go-round. Mom says he can be a little stinker, but I’m not buying it. All I see is happy, happy baby … “this close” to taking off on two feet. These are a few of my favorites from his session:

This is apparently how he feels about my camera …. or maybe it was mangoes, I can’t remember where we were in our little conversation.

Future Mizzou track star or offensive lineman?