Since I neglected to post these months ago… I’m going to begin my promise to catch up on my blog posting with these beautiful photos that my friend and colleague, Andrea Hallett, took of my family and then of William. I am so grateful for these photos. Its a gift that I can’t even put a value on…and I’m still trying to figure out how I will ever return the favor. I wanted maternity photos, but I really wanted to capture the entire family… keep in mind that my window for maternity images fell right during the busiest time of year for portrait photography… October! So we tentatively planned to do these in early October, I had ideas and visions in my head, but time and crappy weather was not on our side, and by the time we could do the photos, it was November. I was ready to pop, the weather was cold, BUT Andrea convinced me that I should do it… and I’m so thankful that I listened! Then we had high expectations for the newborn session…I shopped for special props, drove to Andrea’s house so that it would be less chaotic (imagine my house with 3 kids and 2 dogs and remember this was during the holidays) but little Will had something else in mind… NO SLEEP and LOTS OF EATING! Now how could he do that to his photographer momma at 9 days old??? Luckily, my hormones were at bay and I didn’t lose it– I guess after 3 uncooperative children, I’ve learned to let it go! I was so grateful and thankful that Andrea was able to capture the few sleeping ones. We were a little desperate– so despite my gross appearance (I did have a shower, but very little else) I jumped in the photos with him. So that’s it, the beginning of my inability to tear myself away from a couple hours of sleep or baby long enough to post to this blog… if you’ve made it this far, thanks for indulging… here are Andrea’s photos:

On to SPRING! As we pulled back into our driveway, we were amazed… Spring had arrived while we were gone! The trees had gorgeous green leaves, the grass was thick and lush, the tulips were in full bloom, the cherry and dogwood trees were loaded with beautiful pink and white blooms, the bleeding heart plants were weighed down with little dangling hearts! WOW– all the rain we’ve had over the past few weeks has really made for a beautiful blanket of color! Thank you mother nature– I’ve really missed these little friends over the long winter!

And the nice weather gave us the opportunity to clean off the outdoor kitchen! YUMMY!

*P.S. Thank you to last weeks Two Tiny Hands participants for allowing the use of the images on the flyer!

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of working with two very talented photographers, Danielle Hobbs and Andrea Hallett to photograph children for Two Tiny Hands. We offered spring mini sessions to the community with 50% of the proceeds going directly to Two Tiny Hands. Since every photographer has a unique style and working preference, I’m sure we got under each others skin and stepped on each others toes in some small way– BUT I had so much fun! (After posting this, I was assured that no toes were broken, and a harmonious “YOU guys did not get under my skin”… so I retract that statement!) Thank you for allowing me to be a part of the event!

Below you’ll find a few “sneak peek” highlights… including a sneaky behind the scenes shot of Andrea as she showed one of our beautiful models an image on her camera display! I know how much she loves being in front of the camera– so if this image isn’t showing tomorrow– I’ll know who hacked my blog! LOL!

The Two Tiny Hands Board Members– gorgeous ladies!

Look at this beautiful pouty face! Mom is in so much trouble, don’t you think?

As an educational note, when planning and ordering large portraits (over 11×14), full body portraits tend to work best. An image where your child’s head size is smaller than it is in real life is most aesthetically pleasing. However, rules are meant to be broken– so use this as a guideline for planning, but if you fall in love with an image that breaks this rule– go for it!

Updated: 8/2011, unfortunately comments didn’t reach the  number needed the give away the frame… BUT I have one to give away before the end of the year!