Mila's a Sister!

I was so ecstatic to hear that Mila just became a big sister, and that I would get to photograph her again with this little cutie. I hold this family really near to my heart, not only because they're great and always a joy to photograph, but because they were with me right from the beginning, when I met Mila for the first time! That was back in the day when I was working hard on getting my feet off the ground while moonlighting as a waitress. I can't believe I'm already at the point where I'm seeing families for the third time now, and watching them grow... it's so special, and touching. It makes me feel like a distant family member.

Have a peek at my first shoot with Mila by clicking here! And here's the second, on the beach... remember that perfect cupcake baby? That was her!

Now look at how she's grown... I can hardly believe how much time has flown!






You know what saves me at almost every toddler shoot?? The sleeping bunny song! God Bless the sleeping bunny song!



This is soooo adorable it made me squeal!

Oh, Ethan!

My favorite part about Ethan was that he had eyes so enormous that his blinks almost looked like they were in slow motion because of the weight of his beautiful long lashes. Who could resist these?




This was a really nice session with a set of parents completely in love with their baby, which I loooove... because it takes quite a bit of distraction for us grown-ups to stop worrying about how we look, or where we should look, or where we should put our hands and all that jazz that we've learned to worry about when we're in front of a camera. All it takes is a beautiful baby for all of that to go out the window, and for everyone to just be real and authentic, offering me the most precious of moments to capture.








Here's a really fun, silly shot... not much to it artistically, but look at that face!

Death of the Banana Phone

The Banana Phone died on a Wednesday afternoon two weeks ago. This is how it went down:







Don't be sad; the banana totally had it coming. I had SO much fun shooting Zachary with his mom & dad. They all came in for a maternity session but I have to say, it's not easy to keep myself focused on even the prettiest belly when there's a babe with this much charisma in the room!






Don't worry, I didn't forget the belly... Here are a few shots of beautiful Jillian expecting.

Sweet & Poised

Not long ago, I had my second shoot with Maeve and Dylan (check out the first shoot), this time at the studio. Dylan remembered me right away and turned into a little maverick for the entire shoot.


But I had to spend a little more time getting Maeve's personality to shine through that sweet and poised exterior she is really really great at maintaining.





A challenge I welcome, because I find it so rewarding to get an array of expressions from an introverted child. I got some really great shots of Meave when she was a little shy and reluctant to open up, and then after a little chat about a few of her favorite things, I got a peek at a more comfortable and relaxed Maeve, smiling with a twinkle in her eye.



This may go down in history as one of my favorite sibling shots, ever!

Smirky Buddha

I love spending an afternoon with a smirky baby and Aiden gave me just that! Look at this...



When babies' eyes turn into little crescent moons, I all but melt. What else do I love, you ask? Why, the Buddha belly, of course!!



Here are a couple more of Aiden...

Hands Off That Ponytail!!

It's not often I get an urge to smack a parent's hand out of the way but when Mia's mom reached over to fix her crooked ponytails, I had to chime in! "Hands OFF that ponytail!!"

I had a really good reason, though... This is my reason:







Now you may be thinking: "Josee, those are sort of all the same, did you have to post every single one of those ponytail pictures?" and my answer to this is: "Yes, very yes, they are each more beautiful and unique than the other, and together they work like a little poem that sings of what it is to be a little girl."

I think children are never more perfect than when they've come undone on the outside, because it's proof that on the inside, they are free little spirits that are too busy exploring and enjoying the world to worry about how they look. It's one of the reasons I completely adore photographing children.

Jenny & Michael aren't just blessed with gorgeous little Mia, they also have a little cookie named Carter who was just as lovely and fun to photograph. Here are a few more of my favorites from our session together.

*Siiiiiiiiiiiigh.....*

I lost my heart on Friday morning. Jesse James stole it, and the funny thing is he was asleep the whole time! I don't really have words to describe the pleasure it was to photograph him, I can only say that browsing through the photographs has had me sighing and awing, and wondering how I'm going to get my heart back. What a little muse he was with that hair and those adorable squishy lips and those sleepy newborn moves that make you wonder if there's ever again a time in a human being's life where sleeping can feel as comfortable as a newborn looks when dozing.

I'm going crazy here... here are a bunch of my favorites.











I know I've been teRRible at blogging lately; not for lack of wanting to, I can assure you. The truth is I think the last time I was this busy was just before the holidays, and I'm having a heck of a time catching up. But will you ever catch me complaining about spending countless hours working on photographs of beautiful children and sitting with teary parents as they enjoy their angels in my work? Never! Bear with me as I get through the next week and keep an eye on the blog as there are about twenty sessions I should be blogging about the minute I get the chance to. I've been meeting alot of adorable & interesting people that warrant a little chat about.