This maternity/family session is a secret surprise for a special dad for Father’s Day, so SHHHHHHH!!!

This session was so much fun! As the mom of two girls myself, I got several glimpses into what lies ahead when my girls are 5 and 3! (But no, we will NOT be having a third!)

You would never know that Alaina is pregnant with her THIRD daughter!

Amelia was a pro at modeling for the camera…and the camera loves her!

Francesca reminded me so much of my Macy…energy and drama, all around!

You can just feel how much they enjoy each other in this photo…lucky, lovey girls!

I can’t wait to meet the newest addition to the family!

I love babies! I just can’t get enough of them, which is why I love being a child and family photograper.

Aiden is seven months old and is such a happy little guy! Check out those giant peepers! He also has a big brother Andy who wasn’t feeling well this particular morning…hopefully we’ll capture his gorgeous curls on camera one day! The brothers are only 14 months apart - I’m sure they keep mom on her toes!

Leave some blog love for baby Aiden - his family will receive a free 8×10 from this session if we can get them 25+ comments on this post!

Shashonda and Richard are expecting their first baby in June, and we met up to document this special time! Someone definitely dialed in a favor from upstairs - it rained on our way to the arboretum, and it rained on our way home! But in between, it was a mix of overcast and peeking sun…just right for an outdoor maternity session. Well, we could have done without the oppressive humidity!

Enjoy your sneak peek, guys! I can’t wait to meet your baby girl!

I’m back! I have a special surprise for this couple…if we can generate a total of 25 comments on this post for them, they will receive a free 8×10 from this session! Ready, set, GO!

Stella is too young to ever remember this picture, surrounded by the three women who love her most in this world. But she’ll always know that - from the time she was just a baby - she is treasured. This photograph is a piece of her history.

Yesterday, I was honored to photograph a very special session - four generations of beautiful ladies! Baby Stella was also named after her great-grandmother, which made this Mother’s Day session even more special.

I hope you enjoy the sneak peek, ladies! There are many more to follow!

I’m back! I have a special surprise for this special family. If we can generate 25+ comments on this post, they will receive a free 8×10 from this session! Ready, set, GO!

1. This will be a photo-less post. Sorry! I’ve been so busy I haven’t had much time to actually take any pictures. Sad, isn’t it?

2. I go back to work in less than a week. Before today, I was feeling confident that I CAN do it all. Today? My stomach is starting to knot up. :/

3. Does anyone have any good crockpot recipes to share? It’s one of the strategies I’m putting into place to help manage my time and still feed my family something other than Happy Meals.

4. I’m still about 20 lbs over what I weighed when I got pregnant with Claire. And I need to start fitting into my work clothes next week?! So I started doing the 30 Day Shred by Jillian Michaels. It’s totally kicking my butt, but I think it’s working! I haven’t lost any weight yet, but I can feel my strength and endurance building. The best part is that it’s only a 20 minute workout, so I can exercise in the morning and get on with my day. I’m going to try really hard to stick with it when I go back to work.

5. Mike has started doing the 30 Day Shred DVD too…and amazingly I might be in better shape than he is! He’ll probably lose more weight faster than me…boys have it so easy.

6. Claire will be 11 weeks old on Friday. That’s almost three months. It’s just unbelievable how fast time flies!

7. I’m really excited to show you some of the new products I will start offering this summer. I’ve got one thing in, but I can’t post about it until after Mother’s Day!

8. I don’t grocery shop anymore. You might find it lazy, you might think it’s a waste of money. But I order my groceries online through Lowe’s Foods Personal Shopper Service and set up a time window to pick them up. It saves me a lot of hassle and stress in trying to get through the store with 2 kids…it saves me time because I can do place my order online while I’m watching tv or editing photos…and it does save me money because I’m still able to compare prices BUT I don’t buy all of the random crap that ended up in my shopping cart while wandering the aisles! It’ll work out pretty well when I go back to work too, as the store is right on my way home from work.

9. Now I just need to get better at meal planning. Any tips? I really hate cooking, but I need to learn to embrace it.

10. One year. That’s my timeframe for going full time with my photography business. Wish me luck and send your friends my way!

Just a quick note as to my availability: My maternity leave has come and gone, and I am headed back to my full-time job on May 11th (boo hoo!). In an effort to stay SANE (and to provide outstanding customer service to my outstanding clients!) I will be limiting photography sessions to 4 per month. I have one opening for a session in May, and June is all booked up! If you are interested in a May date, let me know right away! I’m also opening up July and August dates…get them while they’re hot! =)

Happy Anniversary to my dear, dear husband as we celebrate 5 years of marriage today. I remember when we first got married, we said we’d plan a big trip for our fifth anniversary. Ha! Luckily Grandma and Grandpa are taking the 2.5 year old AND the 2.5 month old for a night so we can at least have some alone time…to sleep!

In honor of flashback Friday, here are some pictures from our wedding. (Images by A Moment Like This.)

Happy anniversary, honey! I can’t wait to see what the next five years bring. I love you!