A Friday Morning Miracle

When we were chatting on the phone about her maternity session, I told Rhonda that although it could be very difficult to get a nice family shot with two kids, a husband and a belly, she should bring everyone along and we'd give it a shot... if anything, we would get some great individual shots of each child with mom and her belly.

Then they showed up, and magic happened! Not only were the kids beautiful and animated and so happy to hang out and play, but they were actually so easy to work with and we got some great family shots with Rhonda's bump. I was especially crazy about little Siera, who had so much personality and charisma! She showed up and gave me that awesome first shot that I love getting from toddlers, that ultra-shy look when they're trying to figure out if they like me and trust me. And then within minutes she just exploded into this vivacious little quirky girl that wasn't just a joy to watch, but photographed just beautifully.

I have to talk about Brandon too! He was so cooperative and so sweet and so patient with his little sister, he's only five years old but he acted like he was twelve. I was so impressed with him! I cannot wait to see these little cookies again soon when this little peanut makes an appearance.

Cute as a Button

It could have been the little button nose itself, or those adorable little smirks and puckers she made when she chatted with me; whatever it was, I was totally smitten with Mia yesterday. What a sweet little soul to have around! I could see within minutes where the enchantment in her parents' eyes came from.

Here are a few of my favorites from my session with Mia. Look at the way she stands with her feet tucked together and one foot always on her tippy-toes... what a cutie!!

Seven Times Lucky

I spent a morning at the beach with a biiiiig family this week, and let me tell you... at first the thought of photographing 13 relatives didn't thrill me, but after meeting these folks, I was so glad we went ahead and did this shoot, because spending the morning with Sonja and Mikey's kids and grandkids was so much fun I could have stayed there with them all day and not felt the time go by.

I used to think that having kids was the best thing in life. But after seeing Sonja and Mickey with their seven little treasures, I realize now that the best things in life have to be grandkids!

There are soooo many portraits from this shoot, I decided to be fair and post this little compilation to celebrate the art of grandparenthood. Enjoy the peek, you guys! :)

Soul Candy

I had a bad day two days ago that put a damper on my mood and bled into yesterday and stuck around still early this morning. But then Mylah came over, and I've had a smile on my face since she left!


Danielle and Roger came to me months ago and gave me this money shot that I adore to this day:



I was more than pleased to see them today because after our maternity session, they moved to Ottawa and off my radar, I'd thought, possibly for good. I don't know if they made the trip for me, but I'm glad they made it period because meeting Mylah was an absolute treat. I'm really crazy about alot of these shots...





This little rat-tail is completely for real! When they came in I thought "Oh my goodness, why would anyone give their baby a rat tail!?" but when I laughed Danielle pointed out that it's just the way Mylah's hair grew in, and that she was dying to cut it off but Roger forbade her to. Thank goodness!! What a cute shot.

Unbelievable.

My sister, Roxy, was a translator a few months ago and not particularly thrilled with her job, so she decided to take a baking and cake decorating class, out of nowhere.

Now she's doing this!



That's right, those aren't real flowers, those are actually freaking cupcakes!!



It blows my mind. I'll post more information when we're finished shooting her portfolio!

Falling in Love All Over Again

My sister and her husband (aka; Captain Handsome and Plum) came over for a visit on Sunday afternoon when out of nowhere Roxy said “Why don’t you take a few pictures of us?” The last time I photographed them was almost two years ago so I was thrilled at the thought. I plugged in a strobe (what a gray day it was) and had them cuddle up as they would if they were spending a quiet evening in together watching a movie.

I’m pretty confident I got the desired effect because the next thing I knew, they were laughing and kissing and saying “Aww.. this is so nice! Who knew that on a Sunday afternoon after grabbing a coffee we’d be cuddling on Jo’s couch and falling in love all over again!”

I love these two, not just individually but as a couple. They're so into each other, if I wasn't such a romantic I'd probably find them totally disgusting. I’d say as far as the hope to find love goes, they have to be my best inspiration.

J'aime la Plage

Well it’s late in the season, but this was my first beach session this summer! I cannot believe how much time is flying by this year… wasn’t I just shuffling through snow not that long ago??

I met Dana and the family at the beach up & at 'em on a Friday morning at 7:30am when the light was absolutely perfect.

We had to catch Sarah at two years old before those little chubby thighs turn into little skinny limbs, and before those delicious golden locks grow into a whole head of long hair. Such a fleeting time! I completely fell in love with those little curls at the back of her head. What a pretty little thing!

Mamma Mia!

I met an incredibly handsome couple for a maternity session on Friday. It'd been a few weeks since my last maternity session and this was quite the way to get back on the wagon!

Sarah's belly was just impeccable. It would have been a travesty not to have it photographed! Here are a few of my favorites.

A little flower named Anita

Newborn sessions have to be my favorite kind of session this past little while, and I'm so glad I got to photograph a second five-day-old cookie last week. I'm spoiled! I saw Eliza and John with their little gem, Anita, a few days ago. Newborn sessions usually take the longest because we're often waiting for the baby to fall asleep, but if you're going to have to sit around and chat with a couple you don't know that well for up to two hours, wouldn't you choose to do it with a couple who's brimming with joy because they just had a beautiful baby?

My session with Anita was perfect. My favorite part of it was watching John being the expert at calming and putting Anita to sleep. I don't see it very often since dads are usually a little clumsy with this stuff, so it was so special to watch. I had to take a few shots of that.

Have a peek at some of my favorites... they'll make you swoon, I promise.