Clara & her parents met me at Quiet Waters Park in Annapolis over the weekend.  It was a pretty sticky, hot day, but we made the best of it.  All the time we kept Clara going by promising her a look at the turtles in the Quiet Waters pond.  When we finally came through on our promise, she was thrilled!

Take a quick look at all the fun we had & at Clara’s wonderful outfits!

And that is my ideal.  I don’t want to just photograph someone’s family & then leave.  I mean I usually am only with you for 2 hours, but I invest a lot of myself in those 2 hours with you & the hours afterwards looking back over your sweet faces!  I want my clients to feel like we made a connection, like we bonded, like we could be friends.

Okay, enough emotional-ness…on to Clara.  Clara is lucky to be born where each major milestone sort of coincides with a holiday/season.  She’s about 15 months now & we took her to downtown Annapolis for some fall/Halloween photos.  Her momma & grandmothers MADE her awesome pirate costume!  And Clara can even say, “ARGH!”

And the knit hats….OMG!  Clara’s mom turned me on to a cool shop through Facebook called CrazySocks Crochet.  Kelly always finds the coolest things and these hats are definitely “in” right NOW!  I even got sucked in & bought a pumpkin hat for a prop!  Awesome.

Well, now on to the reason you are even looking at this post…photos of Clara!

And for those of you wanting to know, here are the specs on these cases:

Template: Design Aglow “For Collectors of Art & Style” DVD Cover

Printer: White House Custom Colour (WHCC)

Model: Clara

How do I get this case for my digital images?

Now tell me you’ve been a faithful blog reader for the past year & have waited with as much anticipation as I have for this little cutie to turn one!  I mean come on!  Haven’t you followed her sessions every three months?  Haven’t you waited to see what great outfits her mommy has picked out?  Haven’t you waited to see what new milestones she’s accomplished?  Well, if you haven’t, then shame on you.  Don’t you know you have to LOVE everything I LOVE?  I forgive you…so keep reading…

These are a few sneak peeks from Clara’s 1-year session.  I was out of the country on Clara’s actual birthday, so her mom & I scheduled her session for the week after I returned.  I cannot believe how much a baby can change in just three short months!  Clara has gotten so much older!  Where is that little baby?  She is cruising, talking/babbling, making animal noises, and almost walking!

I have so enjoyed our sessions this past year.  It’s just hard to believe that I came to her at 3 weeks old and now she’s one!

Happy Birthday, dear Clara.  I can’t wait to see you grow even more!

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…

Clara’s mom got this super sweet Candy Corn outfit from Etsy & it fits Clara perfectly…from the little ruffle on her butt all the way down to her candy corn tights & headband!  (If you have never looked at Etsy before I urge you to do so, but with great caution – it’s addicting!)

She was an absolute gem & gave us many smiles.  I think Clara’s favorite outfit was her cloth diaper.  As soon as she got down to that she just sang & talked & growled to her heart’s content!

Thank you again Clara, Kelly & Grammy (and Zelda the cat) for letting me into your home to photograph such a sweet, darling little girl.  I always look forward to it!

Clara’s Halloween costume!

I first met Clara about 3 months ago when she was just a little thang, and she has blossomed and changed so much in such a short time.  She can smile, coo, kick the toys hanging from her play mat, and even produce the pouty lip!  It’s so amazing how children grow and change so quickly.

Clara was a real trooper, too.  When I arrived yesterday she was finishing up a morning bottle and then we put her through about 4 outfits, 2 head bands, one flower pot, and one beach towel…and she took it beautifully, all while looking good at the same time!  Here is little Clara…

Relaxing in the flower pot.

The famous “lip.”

Clara’s first headband of the day.

On to the bathing suit.

And these are my favorite series.  I can’t get enough of that headband!

And lastly, Clara’s tutu!

I love little girls!  They are so sweet, and feminine, and petite, and just so….girly!  Don’t get me wrong, God has gifted boys with all their uniqueness, but I am partial to little girls because I have two of my own.

Well I met a sweet bundle of little girlness yesterday named Clara.  (Don’t you just love that name?)  Clara is three weeks old and the first granchild in her family.  So you can probably imagine how she is doted on from all sides.  When I arrived, her mommy showed me all the possible cute little dresses & shoes she had pulled out for our photo session.  One was even a dress that her mom wore when she was a baby.  There’s just something about little baby girls in little baby dresses that almost makes me want to have another….almost.

Clara was an absolute jewel during our session.  She tolerated my cold hands trying to curl her little body into the “perfect” newborn pose.  She even allowed three outfit changes!  She was a doll, and only cried when she was hungry…which is what I do too!  Here is Clara in all her girlie sweetness…