Taylor's 9th Birthday

Everyone prepare yourselves. You are about to see the most precious birthday party with some of my most favorite little girls in the entire world. If my daughters have half of the sprit, sweetness, spice, and spunk of these little girls I will be a happy momma. Taylor decided she wanted to have an American Girl themed sleepover and picnic tea party the next afternoon for her 9th birthday party. Taylor's mom and very dear friend of mine asked if I would tag along to photograph the cuteness. Unfortunately some of the things you wont see (because they happened at the sleepover the night before) are the girls and their dolls dressed in matching pajamas and covered up in matching blankets and sleeping bags- all of which were made by Taylor's mom and Mimi (wow, right?!)

I had a ton of posed shots planned for the afternoon, and we started with a few of them, but I quickly realized the pictures I loved the most were the candid photos I snapped while they were playing, giggling, running, and just being little girls. I fell in love with almost every shot I took because of the pure joy and happiness these little girls had. As a result, I will be posting this in segments, adding a few pictures when I can. Check in occasionally for additional adorableness. :-)

Whitney, Cory, and Esther

2 weeks ago I had the opportunity to fly up to Indianapolis to meet my first niece! Mom, Dad and baby are all doing very well. Sweet baby Essie was 12 days old when we did these pictures, and she was a star. Special appearances were made by Grams and Gramps, Maw maw, and Athena (their St. Bernard). Side note- she's modeling a beautiful multi colored checkered dress in a few of these pictures, which she got from her Auntie Aubrey. :-)

Brian's College Graduation

Brian is a class of 2012 College of Engineering graduate from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. I feel like for everything engineers go through to get their bachelor degree, they should get something extra special. :-) Brian and his fiancée have been some my my very best friends over these past 2 years. I was honored to be able to help them commemorate this special day. 

Cory and Whitney (and Athena)

Cory, Whitney, and Athena were so incredibly fun to photograph. I had never worked with any animal before, and to be honest, it's almost identical to working with a toddler- you get one, maybe two chances at getting the shot you want, and that's it. It was a most beautiful November day, and the light and the colors were the best I have ever shot in. My pictures don't do justice to the beauty of this Autumn day, but hopefully they capture the fun and the love that this small family has.