Madi, you may remember, is the daughter of my dear, dear friend Stephanie.  We’ve known each other since our teenage years, and have managed to keep in touch & in one another’s lives.  Miracle.  I’m so glad to see her fall in love, get married, fall more in love, and welcome Madi in to her & Brad’s lives.  And it’s so hard to believe over a year has flown by & Madilyn is one!

Steph really wanted a session with Madi when she was walking, so we waited…and waited….and waited.  Finally, at about 15 months she began walking!  So we headed out to Historic Ellicott City & Steph made one of her amazing cakes.  Brad got balloons.  I borrowed a table & chair.  We made some memories.

Check out Miss Madilyn!

I will admit, when these cuties’ momma asked me if I had access to a live bunny, I was a little surprised.  A bunny?  Well, their mom had a vision in mind for their photographs & I loved it!  I put the word out on Facebook & my dear friend Laura said she had a great bunny to offer.  Laura even came to the park, brought Belle, & stayed to make sure she was alright with the girls.  Initially, Amelia did NOT want to be near the bunny.  She wouldn’t admit it, but I think Belle scared her a little bit.  Once her mommy walked away a bit, Amelia was right at home with Belle.

By the way, mom’s who are professional photographers with an office at home, do NOT edit photos of a cute bunny in front of your kids.  They will want that bunny, whine for that bunny, & beg for that bunny until you set up a bunny play date!

This week I’m going through all of the weekend’s portrait parties I did.  In all, I completed 6 sessions for 6 different families.  What I love about portrait parties – everyone is all in one place.  What I don’t love, EVERYONE is all in ONE PLACE!  Some kids do great in a confined area for 20 minutes, and other children need more space & time to warm up to the idea of their photo being taken.  It’s definitely a new learning curve for me.

These two girls, however, did amazing.  Anna & Kate are our sweet neighbors & friends.  Thanks for coming by girls – we enjoyed playing with you!

As my first image of 2010, yes, I know this isn’t the greatest.  In fact I just picked up my iPhone & snapped it quickly before the moment passed.  (Maybe I should sleep with my SLR next to my bed from now on!)  This is my firstborn, Emma.  We took her to her cousin’s house last night so the girls could play while we adults played games & enjoyed some New Year’s Eve festivities downstairs.  She was so excited to go because Josh told her that when she went to sleep she would be in Mackinzie’s bed & when she woke up she would be in her own bed!  And that’s the truth…that’s exactly how it happened!  I just love that I have been blessed at this time in my life to be able to stay at home with my darlings, have a husband who works hard so it can be that way, & still have a small photo business as my creative outlet.  God has been so good to our family.  That is why I share this photo – it is just a reminder to me of how wonderful life is in these tiny little moments.

I hope that sharing an image a day will become one of my New “You” Resolutions for 2010 (more on why I call it that another day).  I’ve been following Tasra Mar’s journey of 365 images in 365 days & have been really inspired & spoken to through her honesty, bravery, & consistency.  I thought I would model what I know to be successful.  So, in following along her path, I’ve:  1) Taken an image  2) Read a page in my camera manual and  3) viewed another photographer’s work.

For point number 3 I visited Amy Wenzel’s site & happened upon her post “10 Tips for a Sharper Image” – GO. READ. IT. NOW.  Besides all the personally trying times she’s going through currently, she has an inner strength that will encourage you as well.

Now I’m off to pace the house a thousand times, check my camera bag two thousand times, & change my clothes three thousand times for Mandy & Kelvin’s Wedding this afternoon.  Happy New Year!