This next mommy you’ll see is my friend Lauren…and my slave-driving personal trainer!  I mean she was almost 9 months pregnant while pushing me around in the gym the last time I saw her.  And now she’s given birth to this beautiful baby boy!

Lauren is such a blessing & an encourager to me while trying to help me reach my health goals that I felt honored to return the favor in taking photos of her dear, growing family.  Her new son was born just a few days after Thanksgiving and just a few days after she & her family moved to a bigger house.  Talk about great timing!  Her dad was telling me the family had Thanksgiving, moved Lauren’s family to the new house, & then she had her son a few days later!

Thank you, Lauren, for all your encouragement.  You are making a lovely momma of two!  You & James will be great with them both!

I met Adele through our daughters’ preschool.  We are working on a special project for Asbury’s upcoming fundraiser & I got the priviledge of working with her.  And I’ll even credit her with turning our family on to Deer Park bottled water delivery!

Adele asked if I’d be able to come out to her house & get some quick photos of her family in time for their Christmas cards.  I said, “Uh, yeah!”  They have such a lovely, warm home.  Not only is it decorated so elegantly, but it just makes you feel right at home when you walk in.  Adele just has a way of making you feel welcome from the start!

Thanks so much for inviting me in to your home & letting me get to know your family better.  I had a great time and you can feel free to invite me back any time!  (*wink wink*).  Have a wonderful Christmas!

Well, I’ve been a busy little bee lately.  And very happy about it, too!  A smile always comes to my face when I get an e-mail from Kelly about taking Clara’s next set of photos.  I just love love love seeing her grow & change each time I visit…and she’s not even mine!  This is why I love my job:  I get to meet new people, invest in their lives, capture meaningful moments for them, & in the end, come out with friends!

You might remember Clara from her Halloween/6-month photos.  Well, she’s gotten even bigger & cuter!  It’s almost Christmas & Clara is as well dressed as ever, plus she is crawling, babbling, saying “uh-oh”, and she smiles at me! (a little)  Besides Clara’s uber cute & stylish outfits, what I really enjoyed this visit was a book she had.  It’s “T’was the Night Before Christmas” and upon turning each page Clara is read the story by her grandpa on a recording!  How cool is that?  So whenever she wants to hear his voice she just opens this book & he’s there, reading to her!  I want one for my girls when I’m away this coming March in Ethiopia.

Thank you again, Kelly, for inviting me in to your home.  And it was good to see you again “Grammy” and wonderful to meet Clara’s daddy too.  The smiles she gave when you came ’round were priceless!  Enjoy Clara’s first Christmas…

Okay, so when you see these kids’ outfits, you’re gonna say, “OMG! Their momma sure knows how to dress them!”  Well, that’s what I said anyways.  But before I move on to their clothes & their cuteness, & their endless energy, I have to share the funny story their mom told me when I arrived.

Apparently Jennifer had taken  her oldest on one of those buses that takes you to New York City, lets you sight see, and brings you back.  Well, wrong!  Her bus left her, and her son, and a slew of other passengers too!  When things all got sorted out, & she explained what bus she had booked, the other bus people told her, “Oh, you booked that Chinese bus?  Bad idea.  They always leave people behind.”  AHHH!  A bus that is known for leaving people behind in NY City?  That’s crazy!  Needless to say, Jennifer & her son got back early in the morning of our session, and STILL managed to get her kids looking this good, as well as herself.  That’s like super mom talent!

Here’s a little of what we got…

Oh, I almost forgot.  She got these super cute clothes at The Children’s Place.  They were having a darn good sale!

Just an advisory to those of you who care:  When weather.com says there is a wind advisory, don’t go up to Federal Hill & expect it not to be too windy.  Federal Hill is windy on a regular day, and then, add a wind advisory on top of that & you’ll get some crazy swirly hair & teary eyes.  Now that I’m done with my meteorologist report, on to the blog…

Shortly after Thanksgiving I had the opportunity to photograph a neat family that my husband’s family is somehow connected to.  My father-in-law says Barb (or “Barbie” as he fondly refers to her) babysat Josh as a child.  But I think  she & Josh are close in age, so that would be kinda hard…and illegal.  I don’t know!  Regardless, I have made a new friend in their daughter Rebecca.  She is a doll baby!  Apparently she just turned two & only wanted to play on the playground on top of Federal Hill.  With a lot of coaxing, goldfish crackers, and Princess cookies we managed to get Becca away from the playground & out for some family shots.  I LOVE 2-year-olds!  I have one myself who is very trying when she wants to be, but very sweet at the same time.  I love how they can swing like a pendulum between 5 different emotions in a matter of two minutes!  Becca, Barb, & Rob were all great & so flexible.  Thanks for putting up with my many attempts at getting Becca to “cooperate.”  I just loved our morning together.  I hope she napped well afterwards because I know I needed to!

Presenting the Frederick family….