Another happy grad of our Growin' Like a Weed Baby Program (designed for the first year of life). We started our sessions on the mountain and ended with a big bang for his last session...the Birthday Party!!!! Family was in from everywhere, so we thought it would be fun to document the groups of people who came to celebrate this little punkin! 

I love working with this uber hilarious family. :) 

Here's some fun stuff....

after the second session (newborn), we printed a "super portrait" of the baby and didn't tell her. This is what she looked like when she walked into the studio and saw it for the first time. 

this is what she saw....

sweet, eh? We love looking at that lil' fella everyday. :) 

Now, for the family that came to celebrate the birth date of sweet, beautiful boy.... 

It's so cool to photograph history. The visual of a family tree makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. 3 generations is represented here and every last one of them are fun, FUN, fun! They're a hoot! We laughed and laughed (and sweat and sweat). They wore awesome colors and textures for this session. I believe that one of the keys to selecting wardrobe for a large family is to not over-think it. Go with a few basic colors for your overall palette and tell everyone to wear something in that family. It works!

We did this session in the grandparents backyard. Words (nor these images for that matter) could really do this backyard justice. It's magical. A little wonderland of it's own. If the folks at Pottery Barn ever discovered this place, they would want to do catalog shoot after catalog shoot there. Truly amazing. 

If I could have a session like this once a week, I wouldn't know what to do with myself! 

.....and told me she hated that "rustic" look. :P

Not really...hate was my word, not hers. BUT she did say she didn't want Rustic...at all. 

I was dying! Perfect, perfect, perfect location...old cars, campers (which I snuck in a few shots just for me), busses, barns, creek...just perfect. I digress. 

What she *did* want is what we gave her. Sweet, lovey, precious, innocent images of her punkins. They were toooo fun! You can see for yourself here.

This session took place just days before the oldest son went off to school. I love that in most of these images, his mom is looking at him so sweet! Can't think about my kids moving away anywhere!!! I cry just at the thoughts of it. 

I love the simplicity of this session. It feels good to me.

 

The family is gorgeous and just as sweet as they are beautiful. When she came in to see the images, I couldn't contain myself. I cried for her! Ridiculous, I know. Just couldn't help it. 

Her boys are growing up, graduating, moving out...they're just in a new phase of life and it made me sad to think that one day in the not so distant future, Kevin and I will have to go through that, too. Oh Lord, I'm gonna start crying again! 

Isn't it funny how we spend our whole lives as parents preparing our kids for "this" moment and when it comes, we don't want to let go. Seems like it should be easier knowing the goal has been achieved. Not to say that parenting is over at 18/college by any means, but just leaving the nest, ya know? Heck...I'm saying *we* don't want to let go...I'm just flashing forward. I know I won't want to let go. All of my sentences are running together, I'm rambling. Sorry. Sigh....