Bellies
Brand New
Babies
Posted on May 23, 2010
A tiny little baby girl visited my home studio this week and boy, was it an adventure! I told her mom and dad that I always expect my things to get…well, let’s just say messy…when newborns are to be photographed, but this little pooper princess sure left her mark! Good thing I’m a mommy, too, and am not at all squeamish with babies and all that comes with them!
Truly, I had a lot of fun with them during our session. We tried some new things (for me) including a team jersey, a large stuffed bear, and real, honest-to-goodness fire gear! You might remember this family from my most recent birth session – Daddy was the one to deliver his little girl! So, we decided to try to use his fire gear in a creative way. My original plan was to drape her, sleeping, over the top of the fire hat. But, she was so small and not completely asleep yet. And that’s when the big explosion happened. 
So, we all mopped off and decided to give it a go with her awake. I actually kind of like the result and I know it has special meaning to her parents, so that makes it all worthwhile!
She did, of course, sleep for me so that we could capture all her itty bitty baby parts. I just love how peaceful newborns look when they are sleeping!
And we headed outside for some fresh air, too. Which made her sooooo sleepy – and I was ready for that wide-mouth yawn!
Congrats again to her mommy & daddy! I’ll let you know when the full gallery is ready!
Posted on May 20, 2010
I received the most amazing e-mail recently from one of my OpLove clients. His wife wanted to surprise him with the album of photos, so she didn’t tell him about our session and he opened the package to find a Spiral Bound album filled with photos of his two beautiful girls. Here is the e-mail he sent to me:
Amanda,
I just received the Spiral notebook of photographs of my wife and my daughter and they are absolutely beautiful. I mean of course my wife and daughter are beautiful, but the pictures themselves are amazing. I have never seen pictures of such quality in such an amazing design like the notebook album. The settings are great and I can tell the photographer was great because my girls are smiling wide in every picture! This was a welcome gift for someone who has been away from his family for over 5 months now and is missing a good portion of my baby’s development. I cannot express the emotions that came to me as I looked over the pictures and want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. You sure know how to make a deployed military member happy and I hope others get the same opportunity I had in the future. Thank you again and I hope my wife and I can do business with you again, hopefully with me being present next time!
My goodness, I can’t express how wonderful that made me feel! His reaction is exactly the reason that I decided to sign up for Operation: Love ReUnited. Our servicemembers make so many sacrifices – too many of them make the ultimate sacrifice – and if I can give back to them just a wee bit of happiness, my job is done.
So, I’m previewing yet another OpLove session today. This mom, too, is keeping it a surprise (so SHHH! if you recognize these beauties!) but I have to share these. This little guy is only 10 weeks old and his Daddy got to spend just a blink of time with him before deploying overseas until October. His little girl is not quite 2 years old, but was a total doll! And this mommy’s eyes are absolutely gorgeous – doesn’t she look fabulous for just having a baby?? Enjoy this peek…can’t wait to share them all with this daddy for Father’s Day!
If you are interested in an Operation: Love ReUnited session for your family, please visit the OpLove Finder page to see if there is someone available in your area. I am completely booked with OpLove through August, but have some openings for the fall. I would also be happy to refer someone to you!
Filed Under Children, Families, Operation: Love ReUnited, Sneak Peek |
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Posted on May 19, 2010
A dear friend of mine gave birth a year ago to a sweet little big baby girl {she had to copy me by birthing a 9lb 10oz baby just two months after I did it 
!} and today, that sweet baby girl is ONE! She came over for some good cake smashing fun this week with an adorable ladybug cake made especially for her by her grandfather. Boy this girl LOVED that cake, too…and I just love birthday babies!!!
Posted on May 17, 2010
I don’t often share photos of my own children on the blog – but saw the title “Mine on Monday” on another photographer’s blog and realized I had just the photos – and the story to go with it – to share with you today! I must admit that I haven’t taken nearly the number of photos of my own kids as I used to…before I launched this business, that is. But I had it all planned out for Easter weekend – cute outfits were chosen for the kiddos, we would open Easter baskets in our jammies, go to church, brunch afterward as usual, and then we’d do a little “photo shoot” in the backyard.
Well, that didn’t happen. What DID happen was a weekend full of sickness, rashes, and hives. My daughter (age 4) had a 104 degree fever off and on the week before Easter and on Saturday morning, woke up with a rash covering her entire body. My son (age 1) woke up from his nap on Saturday afternoon with the largest hives I’ve ever seen! The evidence:
So, the Easter portraits didn’t happen. And then, I was so busy for the following….well, four weeks with births, OpLove deployment sessions and homecomings, family sessions, mini-sessions, preschool volunteering, strawberry picking, (the list goes on!) and those Easter portraits took a back seat. The outfits hung in the hallway taunting me every day. My plan had been to get the kids’ portraits taken, edited, and a special Mother’s Day gift made for my mom, aunt, & mothers-in-law. Guess when I finally got the pictures done? You guessed it. Last weekend – on Mother’s Day. (*insert eye rolling smiley face here*) So, I’m hoping that my mothers-in-law aren’t very interested in my blog and won’t read this before their present finally arrives (nearly 2 weeks late!).
To make a long story short, here are my babies’ Easter pictures – taken in our backyard. It took two tries, a few tears (theirs AND mine ), and a very patient husband (Thanks for putting up with me, honey!) but I think it was a success. I’ll be featuring a new product on the blog VERY soon (after my in-laws get their presents 
) and can’t wait to show you how they turned out! Enjoy my cuties – I still marvel at my dark-eyed girl who looks so much like my husband and his side of the family and my blonde-haired, blue-eyed baby boy who looks like….well, we’re not quite sure. Ha!
Posted on May 16, 2010
These girls arrived in the cutest flower dresses – I love when outfits coordinate but don’t match exactly! I am posting this sneak peek super quick since I know that these little girls’ daddy is leaving this week for a 7 month deployment and I want him to be sure to have seen these!
I feel like I haven’t shared many black & white photos lately, so I am posting this one first and the color second. I’d love for every person to post a comment to tell me which is your favorite!
I hope you enjoyed your sneak peek! More to come soon…