You may have heard me repeat this fact before, but I have known Clara since she was 2 weeks old.  Her momma contacted me way back then to get some newborn shots & we have been clients & friends ever since.

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!

This is what I look like after I run.  I H-A-T-E having my photo taken, but I’m trying to get better about it.  This is probably me not looking my greatest.  But it was a good run, & a good time with my client & friend Kelly.  Thanks for pushing me those extra few strides Kelly!

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…

If you are a faithful blog follower (or stalker, for those of you who follow & don’t comment), you may remember Clara’s newborn & 3-month shots.  Well, here are her 6-month photos!  Can you believe how quickly she’s grown?  I can’t & she’s not even my little girl!

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!