Tyler, 9 months

I took Tyler's 9 month pictures back in December.  It was extra special because I took his sister Addie's 9 month pictures back in 2010 [see HERE].  I had some flashbacks during the session, because they were so similar.  Tyler was a little sober at first, but I managed to get a few smiles out of him.  This was a fun change from my everyday newborn sessions.  Tyler was a lot bigger, squirmier and drooled a lot more than newborns do, haha!  He kept me on my toes!

Click HERE to see more pictures from this session.

Baby James

I can't believe it's the middle of January and I have yet to post the "newborn" pictures I took of James last September. James was born on July 27, which means in just a few days he'll be 6 months old!  He was probably just about 2 months when I took these.  He did such a great job during the session!  I can't believe how much bigger he's gotten in the past few months!  Hope you enjoy a few of the pictures from the session.

Click HERE to see more pictures from this session.

baby shower

On Saturday my mom, aunt, Heather and I hosted a baby shower for my cousin Kristin. I wrote this blog post back in July about how they had been approved to adopt. Well, right before Labor Day weekend and a very selfless woman chose them to adopt her 5 week old little boy. You can definitely see God's hand working through their adoption journey that lead them to sweet baby James. We had so much fun planning, buying presents and decorating for the shower. It was wonderful to see it all come together. I took James' baby pictures yesterday and posted them on my facebook fan page. He's such a little stud muffin. Here are a few pictures from the shower!

adoption

Hello sweet blog readers! I wanted to share something a little more personal with you all today.

I am super excited to say that my cousin Kristin and her husband recently announced that they have decided to adopt a baby! They have gone through all of their home studies and are currently waiting to find their baby. The program they are doing involves more networking and searching out a birth mother.

On the 4th of July they gave us letters to announce their wonderful news and these awesome pass along cards to share.

You can see their adoption website HERE. I absolutely love the letter on their homepage. Please take the time to read it and pass this website along to anyone you know who might be interested. Thanks in advance!

anniversary

My parents celebrated their 28th wedding anniversary on Saturday. I found this picture from their wedding on my mom's computer. It's one of my favorites. Congrats mom and dad on the past 28 years and here's to another 28!

I actually found a bunch of other old pictures that I emailed myself. They might be popping up on the blog in the next couple weeks. It's funny to look at mine and Heather's baby pictures after being a newborn photographer for a while now. I can't wait to share!

I hope everyone is having a happy Monday!

training

I had my first day of training today! It went so well! I feel like this is exactly what I'm supposed to be doing. Tomorrow is another day of training and then on Saturday we'll all go to the hospital to start. I'll be on my own Tuesday and Wednesday. I'm excited! These are a few pictures I took today when we role-played with the fake baby. It's disturbingly life-like, but makes for a great practice tool.

Everyday Display

My mom has been a Creative Memories consultant for 16 years. So when Heather, Jenny and I needed baby shower and wedding presents for our friends Dani and Laura at the end of May, we decided to give them Creative Memories' Everyday Display Boards. Heather and I spent about an hour one afternoon making them before our trip. They were super fast and fun to put together! It was such a meaningful gift to give on two special occasions.

My parents gave Heather and I each display board when we graduated college in 2007. I absolutely love mine! I wish I had taken a picture to post on here too (duh!). I love changing it up every couple months with new pictures. With Creative Memories Digital Scrapbooking, you can order a 12 x 12 page print and just slip it in.

Info about Everyday Display Boards (Price US - $52):

Available in White, Black and Chocolate

18 x 18 inch frame with beveled edges

13 1/2 x 13 1/2 inch fabric covered magnetic board inside the fram

Six decorative magnets for attaching items to the magnetic board

A thin ribbon stretched across the lower portion of the magnetic board

Six clothespins on the ribbon to hang additional items

A ribbon and decorative peg to hang the frame on the wall (as seen in the bottom picture)

Dani's baby display: Quick Kit - 12x12 Baby Girl (on sale now!)

Baby letters and quote not included

Simply Beautiful - 12x12 Power Palette System (on sale now!)

Letters created by Heather. Quote not included.

This is another display board that Heather and I made last year for our dear friend, Jenn's wedding.

For more information about Creative Memories visit my mom's website here, or email her at albummaker@msn.com.

Adilynn, 9 months

Here are the rest of Miss Addie's 9 month pictures. Like I said in my previous post, I set up a studio in the dining room next to the large dutch doors. I had been afraid it would be too dark because of storms passing through, but the clouds lifted and gave me gorgeous light. After sitting for a while she got bored, so she pulled herself up to look out. Then she started crying so her daddy tried to make her laugh. I just can't get over how cute she is!

Miss Adilynn

I had the pleasure of taking Addie's 9 month pictures this past week. I made an informal studio in the dining room and it worked perfect! I had so much fun with her! I'm in love with all of her pictures and ended up using one for my final project for my Photoshop class. I'm really happy with how it turned out!