I have been photographing Sam since she was a teeny little newborn, and look at her now! A big girl, just celebrating her first birthday!

I’m always a little sad when babies graduate from the Building Blocks plan (our baby’s first year package), but this one is especially bittersweet.

Sam and her family recently moved out of state…so when they came back this past weekend for Sam’s final session, I knew it really was my final session with her.

I know! I felt the same way! Boo! Ah well, such is life. In the meantime, we got some fantastic photographs of Sam so she can always remember her first year in NC.

So to Sam’s mom and dad: thank you so much for allowing me the opportunity to watch Sam grow up before my lens! I have enjoyed her so much!

One last one for good luck! I love her expression and the tippy toes!

Fond farewell!

I got to meet Miss Madden yesterday, a sweet and tiny little newborn! She was so good for me, sleeping for a good long while and only waking up for some lunch before passing out again. I had a terribly hard time narrowing down my favorites for the sneak peek, so I ended up just throwing in just about everything and the kitchen sink! I couldn’t help myself - I just love this session.

I first met Alaya when she was still residing in her mama’s belly. Then again as a newborn. I hadn’t seen her since last summer, so when I first laid eyes on her this past weekend, I couldn’t believe what a little girl she had grown in to! She is celebrating her first birthday on Friday, complete with a ladybug theme, and her mom had the cutest ladybug outfits for Alaya that I had ever seen!

Alaya had a rough time letting go of her mom and dad during the shoot, so we ended up getting a lot of fun family shots!

I’ll be going to Alaya’s house soon to hopefully capture a few more individual shots, so I’ll have more of this little ladybug to share soon!

Almost three years.
Three miscarriages.
Seventeen weeks of bedrest.

And on January 14th, Rachael Lenore was born. Two months early. Three pounds, six ounces. Fifteen inches. She spent two months in the NICU at Duke, and finally made her way home on March 8th, into the loving arms of her mommy and daddy. Who, by the way, are absolutely over the moon thrilled with her.

Can you blame them? She’s a beauty!

Rachael is almost five months old now, and just thriving.

Sara and Mike, your perseverance and positive natures are just inspiring. Congratulations from the bottom of my heart on your beautiful daughter. You are such fantastic parents, and the joy just radiates from both of you. I only hope she’ll be a little less rascally when she becomes a teenager!

Sunday’s Mommy & Me mini-sessions were *this close* to being a complete wash - literally! The rain that wasn’t supposed to come until later that afternoon showed up a bit early.

Luckily, we had pockets of time that weren’t such a wash-out, and two of the three clients I was shooting that morning were still able to make it out. (And wouldn’t you know it…at the the time the 3rd client was scheduled, that darn sun was just a-shinin’! Just Mother Nature having some fun with me, I suppose!)

First up is Jacob, who I haven’t photographed since he was a teeny newborn! He’s got that little boy look now that makes me all smiley and teary at the same time.

As an added bonus, Sunday was his mommy’s birthday! Her 29th and final, she says!

Second up is Stella…I first photographed Stella last summer, when she was just a wee babe. Now she is a BUSY BUSY toddler!

No time for photos when there are important calls to make!

Happily, she did stand still for a few microseconds so that we could capture some of Stella with her beautiful mommy…who is expecting a baby brother or sister for Stella in August! (I so admire parents who can wait to be surprised about gender at the birth. I just do not have that kind of self-control!)

And just one more fave from the day!

Thank you to everyone who came out on Sunday! It’s such a privilege to me to capture these special relationships for you.

I first met Addie last year when she was all of 10 days old. And look at her now!

I love when clients return for another session…it’s such an honor!

Addie is on the verge on walking, and has a little independent streak in her that’ll keep her mommy and daddy on their toes, I think! Kind of reminds me of someone I know at home. I’m not naming any names…ha!

Happy birthday Addie! Thanks Andrea and BJ, and good luck with the big move!

Connor is also graduating from the Building Blocks baby plan! I just cannot believe all of these teeny tiny babies that I photographed a year ago have just bloomed into these little toddlers, full of personality and spunk!

He just looks so grown up, such a little boy now!

He’s “so big!”

Kelly and Chris, thank you so much for the opportunity to capture Connor’s first year!

Ella is my first ever graduate of the Building Blocks baby plan, and we had her one-year session last weekend. I usually try to get the sneak peek up within a day or two of the session, but Ella’s mommy and daddy were jetting off to a week of fun in the sun in the islands, mon. So I patiently waited for their return today to show off some of the goodies we got!

Just look at that face!

This last one just melts my heart.

Thank you, Danielle and Casey, for a wonderful year! It has been amazing to watch your baby grow up in front of the camera!

My nephew JJ recently turned a year old, and we snapped a few pics when we were in Richmond last weekend. Here’s a quick sneak peek!

My attorney has banned me from telling you what happened next. But IF he happened to topple over into the grass right after that shot was taken, well…it’s my mom’s fault. HA!

Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting a young man named Henry. Henry is a busy little guy…crawling all over the place and sneaking bits of whatever he can find into his mouth before his mama catches him.

We finally got him sitting still, by moving this beautiful chair out onto the screened porch. The sounds of birds and squirrels mesmerized him.

He really loved going outside, but wasn’t too certain about the grass. Which actually worked quite well for me, because I got some gorgeous shots of him while he sat still! Ha!

Thanks so much, Sarah! It was such a pleasure to meet you guys!