Miss Molly Turns One!

One of the things I love about portrait photography, especially newborn/children/family photography,

is watching families change through time.

I took little Ms Molly’s pictures a few weeks after she was first born and this was my personal favorite.

Blink your eyes and it’s one year later. Little Miss Molly is turning one and her mom and dad invited me to

take her 1 year pictures.

Oh how a year can change a baby!

And I love it that they have the same tradition for first birthdays that my family does.

What tradition is that? Give the baby their first piece of cake to do with what they please!

It’s so fun to watch them discover the texture and best of all, the taste of this sweet birthday treat.

After a few bites and a little finger painting with icing, she was done.

Off to the tub she went!

Happy first birthday Miss Molly!!

Advertisement

Family Shoot September 2011

I love doing family shoots, it’s fun for me to see the family interact and watch the little ones play. 

One of the challenges on family shoots is that the little ones, especially those under the age of 8 or 9, tend to lose patience quickly. These little guys were great, they got bored, but put up with one pose after another.

 

 Looks like a formidable trio here!

Thank you Jeff & Kristi for asking me to capture this time in your lives!  

The Family That Lived Outside My Door

I have been lucky to have a sweet family live outside my sliding glass door for the past several weeks.

I have watched their personal journey and felt at times like a giant gawker.

Here are the links to Post 1, Post 2, Post 3 and this is my last installment of the story of this miniature family.

I considered having a huge goodbye party like Oprah, but, well, didn’t want to detract any attention from her. After all, she had her show for 25 years, the Robirdsons haven’t been around quite that long.

When opening the squeaky screen door, one of the babies, who was considering leaving the nest, jumped ship so we were down to 3.

 

Then, just a day or two later, I could see that baby #2 was stretching his legs, trying to gather the nerve to make that big leap.

Then there were two. 

 While at work, the other 2 left. I came home to this:

We humans can become so self-absorbed that we, at times, forget about the other creatures we share this earth with. The Robirdsons are a family, different from ours yet the same. It truly makes me wonder if they are they more like us than we will ever know. After all, in the matter of a little over a month, the Robirdsons have had a family, cared for it, raised it and sent them on their way. It takes humans 20 years (more or less) to do the same thing.

I literally stare at my empty nest hanging outside my window and feel that bitter-sweet set of emotions. I miss seeing the little ones snuggling together all sweet and adorable and yet I know that this is what nature intends for every living thing.

Goodbye Robirdsons, thank you for sharing your precious family with me. Sorry if the goofy lady with the camera freaked you out at times but you reminded me that this world is full of wonders both big and small and they exist right in front of our eyes if we take the time to see them.

Thank you for that.

They’re Growing Up Quick

Days 5, 6 and 7 of the Robirdsons

If you missed it, here is my first post on the Robirdsons.

And here is my second post.

I will have one last post after this one about my little birdy family.

Seriously, I try so hard to stay away from this little family in my back window but I just love to watch them.

 Does this mean I need to get a life?

Um, nevermind, don’t answer that, it was a rhetorical question, I don’t think I really want to know.

 

These hungry little piglets seem like they grow by the hour.

 

We had a couple of days of damp and colder than normal weather and momma took her place on her nest in order to keep her babies warm.

 

I feel as though I am truly blessed having a front row seat to this little life event. 

 

 

It’s rare to see momma and pappa at the same time on the nest but I was happy to get the rare shot. 

Ok, now admit it, they are (finally) adorable!

 It’s getting close, I can feel it, they are getting old enough to go out on their own.

 

The Robirdsons – Day 4

 Here are a few pictures of the Robirdson Quads just 4 days after they were hatched.

If you missed my first installment of the Robirdsons, you can read it here.

Their feathers are starting to come in, and like human babies they eat and sleep a lot.

Notice in the picture below that Momma has a worm in her beak.

Momma and Daddy Robirdson fed them every half hour or so all day long. I am amazed at their stamina and dedication.

Dare I say they are approaching cute! 

My oldest daughter, now home from college for the summer, laughs at me everytime I climb on the kitchen chair to take pictures of these babies. She said “Mom, you are going to be crushed when they leave the nest.” I promptly explained to her with one daughter that goes away to college and is about ready to enter her senior year and another getting ready to go off to college, I am getting used to the feeling of my babies leaving the nest and am just enjoying them while they are here.

An Angel Baby

I have been busy with newborns and babies and loving it.

No, not mine, other peoples, let me show you one of the results from my last session, my new favorite picture.

A New Touch

I did a little redecorating yesterday.

The simple, easy kind of re-decorating. I changed out pictures on my wall.

Take the old down, put up different ones & now I have a refreshed look to my room.

I love it when a plan comes together.

While out photographing, I try to keep in mind a ‘trio’ of pictures. A set of 2 or 3 that would look good together on one wall.

In this particular trio my main photo was the St. Louis arch in the springtime, by the lake, with trees flowering everywhere. It was truely a pretty sight to behold.

I took my main photo, the one of the arch, then I took one of a few of the dogwoods by themselves, and one, from another perspective, of the lake.

Badda bing, there is my trio. It all seemed good in my head,

but I wasn’t sure one of my new favorite ‘trio’s would look good in my living room.

 I don’t know why I thought they may not look good in my living room, I think I worried for nothing.

 

 

 

Spring has Sprung!!!!

Well here in Mid Missouri, spring has sprung! Thank God!!!

It was a long winter and as much as I love all of the seasons, I longed for the warmth and the rebirth of the greenery and florals!!! This year, it seemed to go from cold to almost summer in the blink of an eye. Before we knew it, everything was blooming and I think you’d be hard pressed to find someone who was disappointed with that (except for maybe the allergy sufferers!)

I found myself down in Forrest Park in St. Louis. What an oasis in the middle of city life!

I had a brief visit to the Jewel Box and here are a few of the samplings of what I came home with.

I LOVE tulips! They are so beautiful! I was in the middle of springtime, tulip Heaven!

This weekend is the St. Charles Spring Art Fair which I have been juried into.

And the forecast of rain this weekend, ALL weekend? AH, doesnt scare me!

 Who would be scared of a little stinkin rain? (right?) Not YOU surely!

So get out your umbrellas, your rain slickers, your rubber duckies & come visit me Rain or shine!