So, on to the shots from our time together - a few for the Christmas card & a few for the wall...

*Look at that twirling action! That is a Dot Dot Smile style dress from LulaRoe - if you have a young girl in your life, they probably need one of these. They come in all kinds of fun patterns (and, as mentioned, have great twirling capabilities).  :  )

I was blessed with 2 referrals in 2015! Thank you so much for putting your faith in my work and entrusting (you &) your friends & family's milestones with me. Although it was a slower year for Lolo Design Studio, that was not the case for the photographer & her family life! To keep a better balance moving forward, I will be making some adjustments in sessions, pricing and scheduling. Stay tuned for an update on that, as soon as I close the books on 2015...

This beautiful couple was one of those referrals, and we discovered they were a missing link of so many circles in our daily lives. That just might be my favorite thing about Life - connecting to people! We didn't even fall into the "6 degrees of separation" situation, but discovered 6 different, mutual connections.

For this session, we ventured to the beautiful Farmington Historic Farm on a chilly, but sunny, Sunday in November, just in time to document this last stage of their life as a Couple. I know they are very happy to have welcomed a healthy baby boy into that life, making them a Family. Congratulations!!

We met at their house first (which was my grandparents') and then moved over to Dad's parents' house (which was our great-grandparents')...Now that our grandparents have both passed away, that was the first time I'd been back in that house in about 7 or 8 years? It was exciting to see how they have made it their own, but how it was still enough of the same to provide that familiarity of when my grandparents lived there.

And, enjoy these bright blue eyes of their's (which I did not enhance at all) - #thehohlgang

Thank you for stopping by & checking out this beautiful family!

AND, the reason for my excitement is that I would also like to take this opportunity to announce that I'm one of the 10 (yes, ONLY 10 of us!) photographers able to shoot at the Historic Farmington in Louisville, KY, at the moment! As you will see, this is a gorgeous location & I cannot wait to get back there again! If you're interested in having a session there (and with me, of course), give me a call or send me an email.

​

If you want to see other versions of this family & how they've grown (in number and in beauty): 2011 Version & 2013 Version A & 2013 Version B. Thank you, Monks Family, for entrusting me with capturing your life along the way...

Thank you, E Family! Can't wait to see how big she is the next time I see her.

These two just really melt my heart...

And, really, shouldn't every session involve a little twirling? I think so.  : )

If you have some time on your hands:

The first post is here.

The second post is here.

And, see the 3rd post here.

Wednesday! We gave April the day off on Wednesday. :  )  My mom & I took an all day bus tour that encompassed some Japanese highlights - Mt. Fuji & a ride on the Shinkansen (aka the Bullet Train). Unfortunately, Mt. Fuji had received a record snowfall about 10 days prior (114 cm, or almost 45"), and we found out on the way there the roads were all closed. Bummer. We stopped off at the Visitor Center for a little bit, which reminds me of a fun fact - there are no paper towels or hand dryers in Japanese restrooms. And, sometimes not even hot water. That was a little disturbing to me. But, thank goodness for hand sanitizer! We did end up at Mt. Hakone, in the rain & fog. But, the sites & black chocolate ice cream were still pretty amazing!

The visitor center had a whole wall just filled with these little oragami Mt. Fuji's...

A little shrine on Mt. Hakone...on our way hiking up to the highest point we could get to that day.

This is where they "make" the black eggs. They are boiled in these natural sulfuric hot springs for an hour, then are steamed for about 10 minutes over in the metal boxes at the right. It is legend that each egg you eat increases your lifespan by 7 years. PS - It smelled REALLY bad!

We had a lot of travel time that day...we took a bus the whole way there (in the rain), then a cable car ride up the mountain (in the rain), a ferry ride across Lake Ashi (in the rain), a ride on the Shinkansen back to the city (in the rain), then of course the subway back to their apartment (I think it was still raining, yes, it was still raining). It was a long, soaked day. Once we got back, we were too tired to head out for dinner & just went down to the grocery store & picked up some random dinner items, including some different flavors of chu-hi (pronounced 'choo-high') to try out.

Part of our morning school drop offs that week... In the one mile trip, everyone was on bikes or walking & every once in awhile we'd hear, "Audrey!" from one of her little pals passing by. Its a small world after all.  : ) After we dropped her off one morning, we went to a little bakery nearby & tried melon pan (different flavors available, like chocolate and matcha). It was really delicious & if I had any baking skills at all, I would attempt to make it!

We "let" April join us again on our next outing.  :  )  On Thursday, we went back to Hakone for a trip to the Open Air Museum. Although, after our previous day trip to Hakone, we decided to call ahead to see if they were even open. Between April & Eric translating with their operator, they deciphered it was in fact OPEN! After a Romance Car train ride out to Hakone, then a switchback train up the mountain, we got to wander around this amazing outdoor museum. I was not disappointed, even with the brown grass... So many breathtaking sculptures & an extensive Picasso exhibit, too!

This is only a fraction of this particular exhibit, which is actually a playground apparatus for kids to climb through! And, the natural hot springs 'trough', with floating citrus & rocks on the bottom to rub your feet. Seriously, I loved this place... When we got back to Tokyo, we went up to the observation desk of the Tokyo Metro Government building for another view of the city, then had a teppanyaki dinner at April & Eric's favorite place, Panic. Hopefully, she has been working on the yummy cheese rice dish for my next visit to her, right April?  ; )

Friday and our last day in Tokyo... My mom's only request was to visit a Japanese elementary school. April, who was the hostess with the mostest, (aka 'master itinerary ninja', aka 'the miracle worker'), actually pulled off this hard-to-acquire access! At an elementary school named Higashimachi, we met up with one of the teachers (an english-speaking Canadian), then got to step inside a 1st grade classroom while the students were out doing something else. We met their teacher (shown above), who had 30 years of experience. Mom had 38 yrs of experience, so they were quite the the educating pair! The rooms were pretty plain, compared to US schools. Part of that was blamed on earthquakes, but I think its probably less distracting for the children, as well. It was really neat to hear a little bit about how they function on a daily basis & really just how different their school life plays out vs ours here. Perhaps the most interesting difference was the start & ending of each class time...the children all stand up, bow to their teacher, and say a phrase that basically translates into "teach me" and "thank you for teaching me." What an amazing act of respect and different mindset towards the learning process...

After our school visit, we headed out for our last Japanese meal, some shabu-shabu. This restaurant was not really on the tourist loop, so there was minimal English spoken & actually one of the (local) moms from Miss A's school had to call & secure our reservation. Check out the menu below! How great is that? Do you want a beef dish - look for the bull illustration. Pork? Check out the pig section (not sure what the sunglasses signify, though). Normally, you get to cook your own meal as part of the experience, but for 980 yen (or about $10), they just brought all of this to us. Arigato!

Another fun fact about Japan - everything is heated. The toilet seats, the vending machines, even the floor mat under this table! This is slightly ironic, because the school we went to was the only one in the whole city that had heated classrooms. And, a lot of the public restrooms did not have hot water. More irony - recycling is the only way of life there. You are expected to take any trash home with you or place recyclables in the appropriate bins in public. HOWEVER, everything you buy is extremely over-packaged, which just produces more waste. One thing that was true all around - the kindness and courteousness of every single person you come in contact with, everywhere. If you are not sure where to go, someone will walk with you, until they can get you to a spot where they can point you in the right direction. Crazy hospitality.

Friday afternoon & on our way back out to the Narita Airport... We didn't have a ton of sunshine during our stay, so this was a welcome sight. Tokyo Tower is in the middle. This shot looked pretty amazing in the custom album I put together (see below). The picture of that is bad, though, since its from my old phone...my apologies. 

No delays getting back to the US - yeah! HOWEVER, we were delayed and delayed and delayed (for over 5 hours!) in Chicago. Then, they finally cancelled our flight at 9 p.m. & we had to spend the night. Had we not already been up for 36 hours, I would've rented a car & just driven... After de-icing the plane the next morning, we were back on track & Louisville-bound never felt so good!!

And, Saturday! Back home again...to our 'Welcome Here Patty'...aka Welcome Home Party. :  ) So happy to see these smiling faces again!

*I hope you've enjoyed taking a peek into this trip. There were SO MANY more things I wanted to share & to show, but you know, you should just go there and see it for yourself!  :  )  It really is an incredible place & kudos to my friends, who took a HUGE leap of faith to live there. It is truly hard to believe its been almost an entire year since all of this happened, because it seems just like yesterday. The best way I can sum it up is that it was a whirlwind of amazingness... 

**For those of you curious - I 'only' offloaded 1192 photos, which took about 55 GB of space.

Here are just a few of my favorites from that day - hope you enjoy them, too!

Thanks so much, J + Z, for sharing your afternoon with me. Congratulations on a beautiful little lady!

A very special THANK YOU to all of my clients this year! It was a fun-filled year of business for Lolo Design Studio - with seniors, newborns, a VIP dinner, a 50th Wedding Anniversary party, lots of beautiful families, and a special shoot in the snow! I'm looking forward to everything 2015 may bring!   *At some point, I will be implementing a minimum purchase for this coming year. Please be sure to review my Pricing page before booking your session.

Miss J was kind of like a location scout on this session. She had outfits planned. She had certain spots picked out for the pictures. She was very decisive about it all. It was fun to work with her and get different perspectives, for sure! 

Miss J competes in bowling and swimming during the Special Olympics. Pretty cool! Did you read the Athlete Oath in the picture above? If not, you should scroll back up - its a good one...

Thanks for being a fantastic subject, Joce! You rocked it! Enjoy your last year at SHS.

*Stay tuned for 

For this session, we started out at the high school (southern IN) for a few sports shots, then ventured across the Ohio River to the Owensboro (KY) river front. *If you are ever in that area, please do yourself a favor and check it out. They have done a great job creating a beautiful space for people of all ages to enjoy! I can't wait to take my kids back.

I hope you have the most amazing Senior Year! Thank you for allowing me to capture this milestone for you & your family...

Baby D made his appearance back on April 1. What a great phone call for their parents to get - "April Fool's! You're a grandparent now!" He shares this date with a pretty amazing lady in my life, as well - my Grandma Norma!

This little guy was ready to meet me, and well, just hang out for a little while. No intentions of sleeping any time soon... Which is why I wonder how some of the professionals I admire *always* manage to get such amazing shots of sleeping babies, in the most perfect curled up positions. If you decide to book a newborn session with me, we will go with the flow of the baby & get some awake shots, some more "lifestyle" images & posed-in-props shots, too. But, know that your new little family member will be calling ALL the shots, which may make it very unpredictable & possibly not how you were expecting it to go. If you already have a child, however, you know that mentality is par for the course. :  ) We did wear him out eventually...   He was born right before Easter, so there were a few handmade knit sets he 'had' to model in a couple of images.

Loved this little guy's nursery - and that owl family sitting sweetly on a branch? Precious! Shelly, KD - look at the leaves. The way I see this picture is that the group of 3 leaves is your family now. There are 2 more leaves falling. Those HAVE TO be 2 more children in your future! Am I right? Anyone else read the graphic that way?  :  )

Dream Big, Little One.

So sweet!

Thank you for the privilege of capturing this milestone for you! He is off to the start of a great life in your family. Enjoy!

With Japan being surrounded by water, you can imagine that fresh seafood is a large part of their diet. We were able to tag along with one of the 147,000 restauranteurs in Tokyo as he made his way through the Tsukiji Fish Market (in case you're wondering, that's pronounced "skee-gee"). He is one of 3000 owners that comes to purchase daily, and the only foreign purchaser of those (he's British). He is VERY particular about the quality of food & wants to handpick everything he serves.

Since we were with Andy, we were able to hold fish, taste fish right out of the crate, touch it, walk pretty much wherever we wanted to...so.darn.cool. Above, my mom is holding a flying fish, while April is holding a huge chunk of frozen tuna.

Andy - wheeling & dealing with the fishermen. He has been doing this for about 26 years, and is the 3rd Generation to inherit his Japanese wife's family business. We learned a lot about his process for determining freshness of fish ('well, we've slapped it so much, we have to buy it'), where it was caught (no farm-raised) & his criteria for purchasing (1. Color 2. Taste 3. Texture). He only deals with certain vendors based on their catch areas & is very conscientious of pricing. One thing that was amazing to me was that he does NOT create a list of what he will need to purchase each day. He looks at his reservations list in the morning & makes a note of how many Japanese guests there will be vs Foreign. That information, plus pricing and quality of what's available that day, is what determines his daily menus (Japanese & English). Lots going on his head!

So, you're looking at possibly the best grilled fish I've ever tasted on the left. It's a Blackthroat, or Nodoguro. Market price for this one fish was $38 that day (April mentioned it was $78 the next time she went with him). But Andy said he was going to buy it & fix it for us as a gift that evening. The fish on the right is a John Dory, also known as St. Peter's Fish. It is one of April's favorite items on his English menu.

Another "Andy's" favorite of her's is the scallops. She took the opportunity to ask questions about them & got to see them "before". When we ate at his restaurant that night, we got to enjoy the "after", and they were delicious. On the right is a crate of sea urchins. He let us taste these right out of the box & wow! They were like butter. Who knew?

No computers. Just handwritten tickets & little old men in "offices" in the back of each stall...There are about 1200 stalls at the Market, and every 6 years or so there is a lottery held to see who gets what spot.

This is a working facility, so you have to be mindful of the workers - especially these motorized (beeping!) carts.

After our trip to Tsukiji, we wondered around the outer market ('where housewives come to buy their seafood'), had a coffee break, purchased the best roasted Nori in the world, then made our way to meet up with Eric & Mr. I for a Kobe beef lunch. Quite a few restaurants in Tokyo have minimal signage, are down a dark stairwell & the length of the queue is usually a good sign of how good the food is. Again, I didn't really grasp the whole need-for-a-queue concept until I actually got there. There are just THAT many people, everywhere, all the time, and they all have to eat, right? We had to bag our shoes for this spot & got to sit in a more traditional Japanese-style seating area.

Mr. I definitely knows how to work his chopsticks, too!

During the planning phase, April had sent over some tourist brochures & had us check them out to see if there was anything that piqued our interest. Being a designer and paper lover, I saw a stationary shop listed & then consequently saw this video about Kakimori. It was a little off the beaten path, but not an unknown place, for sure. There were quite a few high school kids there when we arrived. Some of the pens on the wall were $500! They are making my customized notebook in these shots. **UPDATE** For about 6 months, this notebook sat in my drawer, with me wondering what I would grace the pages with. In November 2014, I did a Bible Study at our church called, "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp. She challenges you to write down 1000, yes 1K, gifts from God. This encourages you to see all the good around you, things that are obvious, but maybe dig a little deeper ('cause you're going to have to get to 1000, right?!) and really search for things to be joyful about. Be in thanks giving about... Yeah! I already had the perfect vessel, sitting patiently in my drawer, to start recording these gifts. As of Feb, 20, 2015, I have written down a mere 86 gifts, but it is in my purse at all times, ready to go when I'm ready to record them. So happy that this special notebook has an amazing purpose now & will be treasured by myself & my family for years to come...

April navigated us through the (clean & extensive) subway system with ease.

Our next stop was Kappabashi, or Kitchen Town. This massive chef's head & huge tea cups flanked the end of the block at the entrance to this area. Pretty hard to miss, right, Mom?  :  )

Our primary purpose was to check out the knife shop. They have an English-speaking salesperson there, who is very knowledgeable about knives. I am not a culinary expert, so I had no idea there was so much to know about knives. She pared down a selection for me, based on our intended usage, and then I had to make the final decision. Ultimately, I went with a bigger knife than I thought I would, but it was so beautiful!  :  ) She engraved a Japanese blessing, our last name (in Japanese) and the year into it while we waited. My husband loves it!

Most restaurants in Tokyo have window displays of some of their dishes, which are fake and are made in Kappabashi. We went into one of the shops & it does look so authentic. All of that beer? Sadly, its fake. 

'Whew, what a day,' you say? Oh no, we're only half way through! After our Kitchen Town trip, we headed over to see the Sky Tree. (Anything to get the shot, right?!) Luckily for us, the wait was only 20 minutes, as its usually closer to the 1-2 hour mark. So, we went up & saw some pretty amazing views of the expansive city. Done here? Ok, on to Shibuya Crossing!

Shibuya Crossing had been in our itinerary earlier in the week, but with the rainy weather, we vowed to squeeze it back in later. We first walked through it, then secured a coffee & a seat at Starbucks to watch the 'show'. While this area is very congested, the Shinjuku station is actually the busiest in the WORLD - accommodating 3.5 MILLION people EVERY DAY! It has 202 exits. I am glad we had someone to point us in the right direction.  : )  Drinks gone? Ok, on to dinner!

We met up with Eric at Andy's Shinhinomoto, which is snuggly located beneath the train tracks. It's technically not a restaurant, but an izakaya. I LOVED it! Not only was the food amazing, but it was so loud & so festive - exact opposite of our Japanese cultural experiences to that point.

Eric has perfected his Shochu cocktail-mixing skills & we thoroughly enjoyed drinking these tasty beverages! Kanpai!

Can't say enough about how gracious our hosts were!

And, our group shot with Andy at his place. This picture nows hangs on its wall!! If you're in Tokyo, check it out.  : )

Remember the Blackthroat "before"? This is the "after". It came out looking like the picture on the left, but we had to eat it like the picture on the right. Patrons were so intrigued when it came to our table & one lady brought her menu over to ask us what it was. Sorry, Lady. Only one of these tonight! So, not only did I have the best grilled fish I'd ever eaten, I also had the best sashimi I'd ever eaten at Andy's. It was Spanish Mackerel, which I'd never had before. And, will definitely try to track down again! I'm sure it won't be as good as the pieces I had in Tokyo, but I'll just have to see...

Believe it or not, that concludes what was Tuesday! It was a lot to take in, so thanks for sticking with me to the end (of the day). Come back again for a post about Wed-Saturday...

If you missed the first post, catch it here.

If you missed the second post, you can find that here.

To see the 4th & (maybe) final post, click here.

13/52 "Vast" - A vast amount of candy to choose from at Schimpff's Confectionary during a recent visit with friends. Decisions, decisions...

14/52 "Radiate" - New adventures for Miss A this spring - she radiates each time she makes a play (and gives us a thumbs up!).

15/52 "White" - Lots of these white things flying around each evening - head's up! 

16/52 "Mine" - Back off, these are mine.

If you missed weeks 1 - 12, you can catch up here, here & here.

9/52 "Color Blind" & Caption - Had the amazing opportunity to visit my friend & her family while they're living in Tokyo. We attended Tokyo Baptist Church on Sunday, one of 3 English-speaking Christian churches. The congregation members represent 70 different countries!

10/52 "Soft" & Caption - The soft citrus smell, the hot springs water & the worn pebbles on our feet was a soothing break from our week long tour. *Taken at Hakone Open Air Museum, Tokyo, Japan

11/52 "Patterns" & Caption - I was in a foreign country for a week & had no clue what any of these characters meant along the way. They were simply beautifully displayed patterns to me. *Taken at Senso-ji Temple, Tokyo, Japan.

12/52 "Blue" & Caption: Meet Tamago! Our 9 yr old, 15 lb, blue-eyed Ragdoll... He looks a little ticked about me taking his picture, so he fits right in with the rest of my children. *If you didn't know, tamago is a type of nigiri, or sushi.

Everyone in my house is now documented! I'll be reaching out to the rest of you as subject matter moving forward. Consider yourself warned... :  ) 

See this little lady? She was our wonderful guide, and she informed us her nickname was "Ninja!" Her family is part of a long line of samurai warriors, and a long time ago they worked for the Japanese government to carry out assassinations! They are even depicted in the movie, "The Last Samurai." She also took over the track-down-April's-phone-from-the-cab-company mission! I wrote down my favorite quote of her's after she'd given us instructions for getting back to the bus on time: "Thank you for your cooperations!"

April introduced us to one of her favorite beverages there - Milk Tea. It was pretty delicious. Fun Fact: at some point in the year, some vending machine items become warm. So, one day you might get a cold milk tea (or soup or coffee), then BAM! the next day it comes out warm! Brilliant! But, again so wasteful of energy, right? This stop on the tour was supposed to have us seeing the Imperial Palace, but the police had closed the gates & we weren't allowed entrance. Ninja thought the Emperor might have gone out that day, as that is the most common reason they close the gate to visitors. Bummer.

Next stop: Tokyo's oldest temple - Senso-ji (Buddhist). They had the same water cleansing fountain option as Meiji Jingu (Shinto), but also offered an incense option, which we took part in. There was a quiet garden, a few Buddhas to bow to, a bathroom (with Western-style & traditional Japanese restroom options), a pagoda, the main temple area & a large gate guarding the whole campus (with ominous-looking statues within it to scare away evil spirits).

The bottom of the large lantern in the gate | the gate | the pagoda

Inside the main temple, we donated 100 Yen to shake out our fortune stick, match it up to one of the 100 corresponding doors (seen behind MBH), and reveal your fortune. My mom's actually said, "The lost article will be found!" And, could that apply to your completely hospitable hostess' lost phone, maybe?! Once you have read your fortune, you tie it up on this contraption & leave it up to the gods...

Before exiting the temple, we attempted to reach one of the massive O-Waraji (straw sandals). It is said if you touch it, you will have 'good walking.' April got me in action on the first attempt & was impressed with her photographic skills! I channeled my former high-jumping skills & was thrilled to jump that high on the first attempt! ha ha

On our way out, we walked through an adjacent street of little shops. MBH wanted to get some snacks to take back for her class of 2nd graders, so we stopped at this stall selling rice crackers. How adorable is this rice cracker server!

And, some teenage girls wearing their best kimonos caught me trying to (and not-so-discreetly apparently) get a picture of them & they quickly gathered to pose for a better shot - thank you! Notice the cell phone in-hand. Their culture is such a clash of traditional vs modern.

We departed from our tour group at this point, because of timing. We weren't too far from the temple when we got a great glimpse of these 3 attractions - the Sky Tree (tallest structure in the world), the Asahi Beer Hall (made to look like a beer with foam on top...yep, now you see it, don't you?), and the Asahi Beer Flame (lovingly referred to as 'The Golden Turd'). It was at that great photo op that I also caught the moment April received the news from Eric saying he'd taken a 35 minute train ride to the police station to see if it was actually her phone that had been turned in by a taxi driver - it was! Japanese culture at its finest! What a sigh of relief for her, for all of us, really.  : ) And, we were thrilled to have him meet us at one of the nearby train stations to return it to her. What a great guy!

Eric also hooked us up with directions to a nearby ramen joint (which was another food request of mine). It took us a little bit to find it, as it was not clearly marked with a numerical address (see the blue 13-13 sign in the picture below? That's what we were looking for, but on the OUTside of the building). We ordered some amazing ramen dishes + gyoza (pan fried pork dumplings).

As we were finishing up, this gentleman asked us if we had heard about Manpuku from a guide book. He started chatting with us about how this place was actually the 2nd oldest ramen shop in the whole city & was explaining surrounding streets (and a few other things that were somewhat lost in translation/accents, or I've just forgotten by now). But, how cool was that to stumble upon? Again, so friendly...

After a brief pit stop into a stationary shop on the way, we reached our next destination - Kabuki 101! April had gone to see a single act of a Kabuki with her aunt & cousin back in the fall (usually 3 or 4 {non-related} acts are grouped together in a session). She totally hooked us up for this experience, setting up a pre-performance meeting with Kazui for matcha tea & Japanese sweets at a Japanese Tea Salon and a run-down of Kabuki in general, as well as specifics on the shows/actors we were about to see. She was awesome. I was expecting the performances to be a bit livelier, but they were still really good. If you go to see a performance, be prepared for random yelling from the audience. And, be sure to schedule a pre-performance meeting with Kazui, and rent the English-speaking headset. Again - we had a super friendly audience member sitting next to us! He shared his binoculars with us throughout the whole session! We were able to see some Living National Treasures perform, so all-in-all, it was a pretty amazing experience. (because I don't think I've mentioned that at all, yet)

After our Kabuki experience, we headed back to Roppongi Hills. And, since it was the clearest it had been since we arrived, we decided to go up Mori Tower to get a night view of the city. What an amazing view. Good night, Tokyo!

*See the 1st post here*

***See the 3rd post here***

****See the 4th post here****

I've passed on her blog link before, but April has done such an amazing job soaking in the culture/education/opportunity. And, she's done an amazing job passing all of that information along to the rest of us during the past 2+ yrs. In person, I was equally, if not more, impressed with the confidence she had moving us from one train line to the next, to making & confirming reservations, and even acquiring a hard to fathom appointment into the ever-so-exclusive Japanese school system! Miracle worker, I tell ya! 

It was truly an amazing experience & I don't even know where to begin...except the beginning. I'll try to keep it brief & to the highlights, but who knows... *These photos are a combination of my DSLR, point & shoot and April's phone. So, basically I'm saying, the quality will vary.  :  )

My dad dropped off my mom & I at the Louisville International Airport bright & (way) early for the first leg of our trip. About 30 minutes or so before we were scheduled to leave, my mom saw "Cancelled" pop onto the board. What?! We hopped over into the line (4th, by the way) and 1 hour later we had been booked on a new set of flights, that would supposedly get us there only 1 hour later than originally planned.  That was a first in all of my traveling experiences & was definitely foreshadowing of how the rest of our traveling might go...

We arrived at O'Hare & were greeted at the gate by this lovely lady holding a clipboard with our names! Whaaat? She personally escorted us to our next flight, which was actually our original flight! I'm not sure what or how that happened, but I sent April a message from the runway & said, "We are on our way, as originally planned!" A smooth 12 hour flight later & we were in the Land of the Rising Sun! (without our luggage, but that's another story for another time)

When we got back to her house, we made a quick trip to the neighborhood grocery (which has Valet parking available - awesome!). Some things that really stood out to us were the excessive packaging in an environmentally conscientious society, the $10 Honey Nut Cheerios, the $7 brownies and the size of the milk!

April had planned out our whole week's itinerary so amazingly. She took requests & totally fulfilled them! Our first meal there was a restaurant where the sushi was served on a conveyor belt (in Roppongi Hills). There were several different plate designs/colors/thicknesses to let them know how to charge you. Check out the stack of plates behind my mom - those folks got their sushi fill, for sure!

More conveyor sushi - a shot of one of the infamous vending machines - and Mori Tower that first night, which was rainy, dreary & windy...

Tokyo, for being as large as it is, was very clean. I'm sure you've seen images of Japanese people wearing masks (both to prevent getting sick & to prevent spreading their germs if they are sick). The taxi driver who drove us to church the next morning was clad in a suit, white gloves and the mask. AND, the doors of taxis are automatic. So cool. Tokyo Baptist Church is 1 of 3 English-speaking Christian churches there & we enjoyed the music & message by Pastor Dennis (of Texas). Over 70 countries are represented in their congregation!

After church, we all walked to our lunch destination (in the Shinjuku area) & just took in the various sites/culture along the way. The 2nd picture is out of order, but that's alright.  :  )

Once we secured a spot in the lunch queue for Din Tai Fung, April took us out to the balcony to attempt to point out landmarks. It was really rainy & foggy, so we couldn't see as much as a normal day. But, MBH got April's narration on video explaining where they should be... Green tea at every meal - another bonus!

Miss A (5) knows how to work the chopsticks with her dumplings!

I had never had dumplings, and they were soo good. I was REALLY looking forward to all of the food on this trip, and I was not disappointed. I really miss it.

The restaurant we went to was on the 12th floor of the Takashimaya department store, so we caught a few glimpses of other floors on our way up & down. Photo on the left is a variety of indoor slippers you can purchase (since they do not wear shoes inside the house) & we also ran across an area set up with Girls Day displays. April has a great post explaining that here.

After lunch, we went to the Harajuku area & walked through the Meiji Jingu Shinto shrine (Shintoism & Buddhism are the 2 primary religions in Japan). This was a cleansing station before you entered the main area. Another surprising thing to me was that most signs were also in English - yeah! 

Donated sake barrels on display within the shrine… We learned the next day, on our bus tour, that this shrine is fairly young, built in 1920. After we left there, we tried to check out Yoyogi Park to see if any of the normal performers were out. But, it was so rainy that day, there was nothing going on.

With all of the rain, we quickly learned the importance of clear umbrellas. It was just a sea of people & a sea of umbrellas. The umbrella on the left image belongs to a total stranger, if that gives you any indication of how tightly we were all squeezed in this street! On Takeshita Dori Street, we hit a 4-floor "100 Yen" store (which is basically like our "Everything's a Dollar" store - Squid Jerky, anyone?!), had a snack at the oldest crepe shop in Harajuku, then walked over to the Oriental Bazaar & picked out kimonos for the kids.

I tried the Strawberry and Matcha (green tea) Cheesecake crepe…MBH & April tried the Chocolate Almond version. Yum!

For dinner, we grabbed Eric & went to dinner at Gonpachi, which is the inspiration for the crazy fight scene in the movie, Kill Bill. "Kanpai!" (Cheers!)

Yes, that was me at every meal...such a tourist! But, hey, love this camera! These bacon-wrapped asparagus were close to the top of my list for favorite foods we ate that week. We've tried to recreate them at home already, but its just not the same…we will keep trying, though!

And, that concludes Days 1 & 2! Even with the constant rain, we stuck to our itinerary except for 1 site, which we squeezed back in later in the week. Sorry for the picture overload, but you know me - I like love to take pictures! : )  Stay tuned for 1 (or 3) more blog posts about the trip!

**See the 2nd post here**

***See the 3rd post here***

****See the 4th post here****

5/52 "Noise" & Caption - Earplugs! The best solution to all of the noise - a snoring husband, random house creaking, lingering thoughts in my head after a crazy day. Life changing, really...

*All of our immediate family members (minus the cat!) have been featured in this project, so that equals success to me!

6/52 "Paradise" & Caption - Wintertime Paradise = a rare trip to Target, sans children, to pick out some baby registry items - on sale!

7/52 "Focus" & Caption - Focus: I need it, want it, pray for it, have it, lose it... Glad to have this project to focus on, creatively!

8/52 "Bright" & Caption - Up bright & early this morning to catch a few pancakes - perfect form and nailed it!

I should probably go ahead & start plugging these images into a photo book template, shouldn't I? Stay tuned for the next 4 images from this personal project of mine, along with a post (or few) from my recent excursion to Tokyo. And, if you don't see anything posted in the next week or so, feel free to call me out on it - I like peer pressure!

Each month I will try to recap the previous month's themes & photos I submitted. Its not necessary to stick to the theme each week, but its been a nice side effect producing more creative thinking for me. I have found myself looking forward to finding out what the next theme is, then figuring out how I'm going to shoot it. 

Here is January, Weeks 1 - 4. 

1/52 "Reflection" & Caption: "I got this bracelet last year to remind me (whenever I was feeling anything less) that I AM very blessed. So, every time I'm frustrated or sad or disappointed, I look down at my wrist & reflect on everything that is wonderful. This project is a first for me, so I can't wait to see what the year brings!"

*This photo, in week #1, was actually featured in the the Eye Candy post done by the administrator at the close of each week. I'm not gonna lie...I waited until the last possible moment to submit my photo for Week1. The thought of so many people/photographers seeing my images made me nervous. However, when I was zipping through this first Eye Candy post, my day was totally made & it gave me just the confidence I needed to kick out any doubts I had about being nervous in my participation. The goal of the project is not to be a competition, but make it what YOU want it to be...although, to be recognized among all of these amazing participants (around 1300 as of 2-2-14) is pretty cool, too.  :  )

2/52 "Imperfection" & Caption:  "Shared Imperfection: It wasn't until high school that someone pointed out my toes were short, compared to normal toe lengths. I had never noticed anything otherwise... Then I found out my mom & my sister's toes were of the same (small) proportion, and I thought that was cool. Now I've discovered my daughter has inherited these short toes of our's & I'm thrilled to have her share this 'little' imperfection with us!"

3/52 "Inside" & Caption: "The life of a little brother - wanting to be on the inside with his big sister who is having fun, learning, making new friends...but stuck on the outside for 45 minutes a week for the next 6 weeks."

4/52 "Joy" & Caption: "Joy is your husband getting to use his new "flame thrower" to burn off snow for the first time!"

I love that this project is giving me (or forcing me) to take advantage of the opportunities to capture our family in different ways each week. For example, I "had to" have pedicure time with Miss A for week #2's theme (but C also participated in that activity as well). And, I never would've taken my "big" camera to A's cheerleading practice to get that shot for week 3. And, well, I would've just let Ryan go take care of the driveway instead of following him out there. It's been such a wonderful experience already & we're only 4 weeks in! 

This smart dog was cooperative for a little while. But, he is getting used to the fake "Treat!" calls & whistling after all of these years. Lisa is always camera-ready, though!  :  )

Love the lighting on this one! Plus, an action shot!

Lisa always goes through & picks her favorites for the card. But, she didn't include this one in her final selection, for some reason. However, it's my favorite one of the whole outing. Lovely smile, lovely lady... 

And, that concludes all of my 2013 Sessions. That means I'm ready to start booking 2014 sessions!

Ooh, before I sign off until next time, I want throw out some photo PSA's:

1. A new year means you probably have a whole year's worth of digital images sitting on your computer. BACK THEM UP NOW! Shutterfly or Dropbox, the Cloud, burn disks, an external hard drive - something. Make sure those memories are still there when you (or your kids) want to look at them. I save all of my personal images to Shutterfly, as well as on an external hard drive. All client photos are stored on a hard drive + my website (in case you were wondering).

2. Get in the picture, please! The greatest gift you can give your children or spouse (grandchildren, etc...) is to be IN the picture. As you are right now. Real. As the one they love, know & will remember many years from now. Its just that simple.

3. PRINT those pictures! I am horrible at this. I did OK in 2012, but unless it was for a school project, I didn't print any of our family's pictures or create any photo books this past year. So this year, that is my goal (along with taking more artsy/creative/every day pictures of our family). If anyone has the magic secret to help me get into the habit of printing my pictures or creating photo books in a timely manner - please email me or leave your trick in the Comment section. I'm sure there are other people who would love to know your tips, as well!

Thank you for your business, your friendships, your support & for visiting my page. I hope you have an amazing 2014!

jaclyn

Even though I've been shooting for 2 years since I last photographed their family, I was still so nervous! Luckily, everyone in this family is used to having their picture taken (or knows how to work the reflector), so that really takes off the edge. Plus, they're just so darn nice! : ) It was a toasty August evening when we met up at her parents' property in Southern IN - still somewhat in the middle of nowhere, but at least I was kind of familiar with the area.

Oh.Sweet.Family...Favorite #1. 

I LOVE how real this shot is - E & G just looking at their entertaining Mom in the most genuine, every day way. There is a great connection between those 3 happening here. And, then of course, Dad & H are genuinely smiling. Maybe because of the silliness going on with the rest of their family, or maybe at me doing the army crawl? Who knows! Favorite #2.

Belly laughing is the best. As is opera singing, which their Mom totally rocks at! Another favorite (that's #3 - are they really "favorites" if you love them all?!)...

Love all of the color in this session!
Ok. These are favorites, too...

Here are a few images I wanted to share with you: Isn't he perfect?

^ I love this photo. ^  Maybe because of all of the textures...the wispy fur, the knobby knitting, the creases in his leg...

Congratulations, Dunn Family! He's a keeper.  :  )

This was the second trip made to this particular spot & it is quickly becoming a favorite location. The subjects are no stranger to this blog either, and I love them dearly. Our time ended with me carrying Miss L up the road & having a great conversation about favorite colors (her's is black, so we are totally kindred spirits). I loved a comment from Dad, after the fact, "I was there and have no idea how you got some of these shots." Total compliment - thank you so much! And, that is why I do what I do. I hope to see your family a little differently from the outside, but capture things that are inherently there that you already know, but don't always notice. If that makes sense?
 

Enough chit-chat - on to the Taylor Family:

So many favorites from this session...

Special request to keep this character shot on the left - agreed! Her dress had some serious twirl!

Loved this shot where Mom is describing an heirloom quilt, made by the kids' great-grandmother.

Another favorite - this is what a "loving Mom" looks like, in case you were wondering...

Ok, so maybe you are getting tired of me saying, "favorite!" by now. Sorry!

Thank you, Taylors, for another amazing session! 

It was a great morning of photographing a high school Senior, but even more exciting to see how he has grown over the years & I just wonder what exciting adventures his future will hold...

Congratulations, Zach! I hope you enjoy your Senior year & continue to amaze those around you...

Sooo, when I was approached about photographing one of these homes for an incredibly talented interior designer, I was pretty nervous. In fact, I'd already turned her down on another project, just because I have never done anything like this. But, she caught me in the right state of mind, and I agreed to give it a try.

Oh, and did I mention she was the YOUNGEST interior designer to exhibit at this year's show??? Impressive! She did an amazing job with this 4500 square foot, 6 bedroom, 5 bathroom home. Kudos to her on this awesome opportunity!

Owl painting courtesy of Nicole McClain of The Modern Social.

And, since I mentioned it...a cool kitchen sink.

The 2 oldest girls were so good with their brand new baby sister - it appears they are going to have the laid-back spirit of their parents, as seen below.

We grabbed some more traditional newborn shots along the way...Miss A2 was so content & gave me a few smiles, whereas her older sis, Miss A1, was not having any part of pictures or loving on her new sister.

Miss A1: very serious at 2 years old.

I LOVED all of the shushing, singing, comforting. So sweet.

You never know what will happen during a session. During this one, I had a first - her umbilical cord came off! I should've switched these images, but the cord is present in the image on the right & poof! gone on the left. Don't they grow up so fast!  : )

I'm not sure if this gal will be the final piece their family puzzle, but she is definitely an amazing addition. Congratulations, Jones Family!

I really just can't believe how much the kids have grown since I started photographing them! They are so full of personality & have such good hearts. You just really can't help laughing and being happy when you're around them. Here are just a few from the session - enjoy!

And, finishing up with my 2 favorites from the session!

Please stay with me - I have 4 new posts coming soon!

On another note: I am scaling back my personal time on Facebook, but will still post the links to the blog on there... And, you can send me private messages there, but I would prefer you email jaclyn @ lolodesignstudio dot com for anything photo-related. Thanks so much for understanding!

If you are a faithful blog follower, you'll remember big brother on his mama's piano, too...You'll recognize the trunk a couple of images down, as well. Handmade tutu by Emily Meyer (aka Mom).

And, another beautiful vintage barrette from A Hair of Flair.

While I go into every shoot with a list of ideas, I seem to leave every session with a spinning head of "oh, I should've done that!" "oh, I forgot to shoot that." Because let's face it, I could take pictures all day. And, sometimes you just have to know when to say when. This shot on the left is one of those I wanted to get in December, but little man was d.o.n.e. before I could get to it. Lucky for me, I got to make a return trip & rectify the situation!

As always, it's a pleasure spending time with your family, K & E. I wish you lots of sleep, minimal chaos & many, many amazing memories to come!

I'm always amazed how much bigger/older the first child suddenly appears when the next baby arrives. This was no exception, and I have proof of that in this family right here!

What a sweet big brother she has...

This beautiful vintage feathered barrette was handmade by A Hair of Flair.

Beautiful, happy mama...

The perfect pose...

M Family - Congratulations on your baby girl! She is perfect.

It was so cool to see all of the creative costumes, team names and participants at this event. We even saw a woman being pushed in a wheelchair holding a sign that said she was 96 years old! Holy cow. If I'm still around at 96, I hope someone is willing to push me through such an amazing event as this. Anyone?  : )

Here are the images from the incredible morning (which they had [correctly] forecasted to be "100% chance of Rainbows & Unicorns"). If you can participate in The Color Run, do it!

Oh early morning and still clean-

On Your Mark. Get Set. Go!

A preview of the Finish!

Waiting for the Start - Laura was such a trooper (and not preggo when she signed up for this)!

A little fun along the way! ~ Lisa R. gets credit for the cool shot in the middle. ~ We think Nicole needs to get some pink highlights, for real.

We did it! We jogged more than we walked - woo hoo! (See, I told you.)

LOVE IT!

Mission Accomplished - lots o' color all around.

Those crazy Hartz girls (and Baby Boy Hartz along for the ride)...

SHS Girls

Jeff Girls

I do love that they provided this service to remove the excess powder before you left. But, what a nice surprise seeing this lady's pants - now that's the spirit!

One more photo op on the way out...until next year, Friends!

PS - The 5 of us did go out for lunch looking like this. It makes me smile just thinking about it.  : ) Seriously. What a great day...

1. I was SOOO happy to meet him (after having to accept pictures sent to me via text for 4 days)

2. He was SOOO sweet. 

3. He was SOOO tiny.

4. His Mom was making it all look SOOO easy, adjusting to 2 kids & she really didn't even seem very tired. (The Fog, right?!)

5. He was SOOO sweet. Oh wait, I already mentioned that one.  :  )

*I really messed up on this one, Aunt-wise. When we arrived, I got right to work on the Newborn Session & totally missed the boat on having my children hold their brand new cousin, and getting pictures of that. Oops! In their defense, they had SOOO much fun playing with Miss E on the play set outside.

Meet Mr. E...

The adorable knit hat was handmade by Kara Heichelbech | Three Strands of Love.

Welcome to the Family, Little Guy!

Fast forward a month, with all of that behind her & an approaching due date... We spoke again, and she asked if there was any time in my schedule to this another try. Of course! Because, 1. I would regret that I could/would not document this time of their lives, and 2. She's my sister & I would have to live with letting her not get this pregnancy photographed for the rest of my (and my future nephew's) life! So, here a few shots we were able to get (with T-Minus 4 weeks to the due date).

Some of these are kind of personal-to-them moments, which is what I'm trying to capture for you, right?! The first shot captures Miss E & her constant need to push your hair back for you... She does it to my hair, she does it to both my kids' hair...it's one her "things". She's going to make a great Big Sister, with her nurturing ways!

And another moment...Ms E was so proud of her daddy for shaving off his whiskers (which she does not like). "Good job, Daddy!" So cute.

So, "No Regrets" on this matter! Now bring on the Baby...

Moving on to what I do better (and enjoy a whole lot more) than running...

What a little looker! And, Mom? Isn't she just glowing?! The goal of this session was yes, to document the belly, but to get some images of her & Mr. J together. She has been a victim of what has happened to most Moms out there - she is usually the one behind the camera & not in front of it. Get in those pictures, Ladies! But, if you can't, I will be happy to help you!

How is that for a reaction?! He got happier after a little jumping on the bed action & time with Dr. Seuss.

So excited for this wonderful family to expand to Four!

The girls are still being monitored for breathing & such, and there was discussion of removing their nodes. But, that is part of their story & I really felt like it needed to be documented. (Plus, they would've screamed bloody murder if we tried to take them off.)   :  )

Their beautiful big sister was especially happy to have her girls home. She is also a future photog in the making! After this group of pictures, she was done being in front of the camera & only wanted to be my "sun blocker" assistant. *Her mom did send me a message a couple of days later of her posing her baby dolls with different blankets & props. Too cute!

There were a couple of different times where the girls would look at each other or reach out for each other. It was absolutely heart-warming to see.

A VERY special thank you to Grandma for helping with the babies & blankets that day! There are definitely a few more logistics that go into a twins session...but, she already knows all about that because she is a mother of twins, as well. Yes, Mom (aka Ginny) is also a twin!

Can't wait to see these MoMo Babes again soon (and "off the clock").

For starters, I will share a "session" that was more of a fun thing for my group of girlfriends. Every year since 2000 (?), we have tried to schedule a fun trip. The attendance varies, with our first trip being a road trip to Memphis (or Nashville!) & only 5 or 6 of us. Other trips took us skiing in Breckenridge, on a Caribbean cruise, and a few of us even went to Europe (which would be 5 blog posts all by itself)! But, once we got through all of the bachelorette parties, weddings and baby showers, our girlfriend time together was hard to come by & a little more budget-minded.  : )  For the past several years, we've been getting together over a weekend at a fairly central location & just really enjoying our kid- & husband-free visits! Perhaps my favorite tradition of our get-togethers, is that someone usually announces they're expecting! Love that. I know one of these days that will end, which makes me a little sad. But, it has definitely been a highlight of the past 10 years of our gatherings for me.

This year, Rachelle was our Hostess with the Most-ess. She (lovingly) kicked out her husband & son, so that we could invade pretty much every room of her house & back yard. There was lots of catching up, laughing, story-telling, drinking, eating, more drinking & more laughing. So. Much. FUN! On Saturday, we had plans to meet up with April, who happened to be back in Indianapolis, at French Lick Winery. We had some lunch & did some wine tasting, then went over to the grounds at West Baden Springs for a little photo shoot. 

Finally, I have gotten some of the photos (from July) ready for viewing... Thanks for your cooperation & patience, ladies!

You might think this is a pretty large group, but in fact, we are missing a couple of our cohorts in crime, Ashley & Laura. They will be there for the next one. Right, girls?

It took a little while for everyone to warm up to the photo session idea. And the group shots were definitely more of a hit than the individuals (not enough wine, I tell ya!).

My Gorillapod worked wonderfully for all of our group shots that day. As did my new 35mm lens... Lots of back & forth, and counting the flashing light on the timer pictures to achieve this "pose"!

And, a behind-the-scenes shot of me on this one - the BEFORE & AFTER! Love this, Joni! Way to get some air in those boots! Thanks for the Before image, Taryn.

What a great weekend that was...can't wait to do it again!

But, we got some keepers & her handmade cards turned out fabulous, as always! Here are just a few of my favorites...

I need more practice at the silhouette thing, but I kind of like that you can still see some of the details. Especially Lisa's smile, because she is ALWAYS smiling (or laughing)!   :  )

I was so impressed with the tie-wearing capabilities of the last little guy. So, when I got back & saw Mr. G dressed with a tie, I was totally inspired! (I got my son one the next week, and he has yet to agree to wear it...of course!) It was a little windy, but warm enough to head into downtown Indianapolis for our session.

Squishy cheeks!

This might just be my favorite...

With this as a close second... 

In case you are just tuning in to the blog, here he is earlier this year (well, 2012) as a newborn.

Thank you for being such good friends! Hope your first Christmas together as a family was amazing... Oh, and Happy Belated Anniversary!

Happy 2013, all!

This session was primarily held indoors, as well. This time, there was no way a reflector was going to work on this boy on the move! Recently, I acquired a flash unit, so that is what I used for the majority of this session. It creates a different look than what I'm used to, but I think it will work in select situations...as a last resort... I still love natural light the best.

One goal of the session was to get some images for their Christmas card, so we worked on that first.

I posted this one on Facebook awhile back, as well. I absolutely love the photo wall behind him & how one day soon he will not be crawling up these steps, but running! This was probably a special treat for him, too, as we had to do a few "takes" of this shot. No worries on safety here - Mom was right behind him... 

This is the first time I photographed the little man with his mom's piano.

And now: what a difference a year makes!

This was also my first cake smash (for a client - I had done one for my own son). But, what a handsome man with that tie! I was so impressed that he kept it on the whole time. And, if I had to guess, this part of the session might have even topped the stair-climbing section as his favorite.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to capture this milestone for you!

I know you will be disappointed that this post isn't quite as wordy as the last one. ha!

So, this was the 2nd photo session I had over Thanksgiving weekend. As mentioned before, the weather took a crazy turn to "cold" and we were reckoned to shoot indoors. I don't normally photograph moving targets (aka little people) indoors, because I have lucked out for it to be warm enough not to have to. Nevertheless, I brought along my trusty reflector & we gave it a go!

Oh those curls...and that smile...and those bright blue eyes...what a doll!

I did save my favorite for last on this one...just LOVE it!

Thank you for sharing some time with me on your busy weekend, Chrissy & Jason (you too, Sharon!). Congratulations on your first year of parenthood!

So, rewind back to the previous holiday weekend of Thanksgiving, if you will. I had two sessions lined up & was really looking forward to both of them. It had been unusually warm, so all was good, right? Well that lovely lady, Mother Nature, decided to go from nice & sunny, 55 degree days to a windy, cold, 40 degree day in less than 24 hours. I suggested they dress in layers & off we went!

Family #1 - The Kempers.

I scouted out a spot that was down in the woods & a little less windy to start. I loved these pullovers - GO RAIDERS!  :  )  It was also during this round of images that I was informed that Dad/Grandpa hadn't been seen smiling in a photo for quite some time...challenge accepted!

When I got there, they asked if I found their house ok from my parents' house. And, Dad/Mr. K basically said, "I told Shea you just needed to go through the field!" Which is exactly the same set of directions my dad gave me...If you know either her dad or mine, you can totally see them saying that. While it really is true, its a much muddier option.

Do you notice anything different on this one? (Besides all of the personality, that is...) YEP - he's smiling! I posted this to my wall on Facebook awhile ago, because I just really love it & what it represents (all of the Dads & Grandpas out there who are reluctant to smile for the traditional family photos, but actually do smile in real life). So, please get this one in a frame, or made into a magnet for the fridge, or something where its visible... You do not want to keep this one in a folder on your computer or tucked away in a photo album.  Just my two cents on that. Thank you for acting crazy for me. It makes me smile every time, too.

P.S. Blog Readers - not only did I get 1 smiling picture, I got 2!

Such a wonderful family! I have known them since who knows how long, from church, from our tiny little hometown (with zero stoplights, by the way), from high school sports & so on... For about the past 2 years, every time I've run into Shea (top photo), she has mentioned they needed to get their family pictures taken. I'm glad it finally got to happen for her (and to have me take them, of course!). And, one of these handsome little guys (in the bottom photo) has the same name as my son, so that was an easy one to remember... They were all so full of energy - I can only imagine what a day in their house would be like. LIVELY, to say the least!

Mr. B & Miss B...such sweet siblings. They have been through so much together in the past several years - much more so than normal kids their age have experienced. I have kept in touch with Mr. B's story through his mom's Facebook posts, his Caringbridge site & updates given at church. He is one tough little guy! His bracelet is the yellow one, with the rest representing other brave little warriors they have met along their journey.

And, not to save the best for last, BUT I did take a few requests from these girls. When everyone else went in to warm up (and were just d.o.n.e. with pictures), they were still ready to go. Here are a couple of my favorites - they had so much fun thinking up what to do next & could have probably used up the whole session time if we would've let them.

Can you tell I haven't blogged for awhile? Lots of chit-chatting in this one... But, one last little note before I wrap it up. When the family went in for a wardrobe change (which I opted to stay outside, so I wouldn't thaw out), I got a little waft of homemade bread. That was a close guess, but it was actually homemade cinnamon rolls. And, Mom/Grandma told me she was sending some home with me - wahoo!! Unfortunately, it was dark when I left there & we ate them the next morning before I thought about getting a picture of them. But, you will just have to trust me that they were AWESOME! Thank you so much!!!

So, there you have it. I will now gladly accept tips in the form of homemade baked goods.  :  )

See you back here soon for a look at my last 3 sessions of 2012...

My friend is currently residing in Tokyo & she has been documenting their abroad experiences over on her appropriately named blog, Adventures in Sushiland. She (and her husband) were my first guinea pigs at attempting Maternity Photography. I also had the privilege of shooting their 2nd child's Newborn photos. AND, she was also the one who connected me to Sara! (How many links can I squeeze into that paragraph?!)

So, while they were here this summer, her dad's side of the family wanted to get their pictures updated. We originally slated this for the weekend it was 106 degrees (same day as, but later than the It's Hot, Don crew). I suggested we reschedule for early the next morning, since she had even younger children than the previous group. That ended up not working out & we finally got back together in August. You know, when it was a little cooler! ha ha! Actually, it was cooler. They got to spend more time together. And, like I said, probably had more of those yummy margaritas... It was a win-win(-win) situation!

Enough of the rambling, and on to the photos- Meet the Harris Family.

I just love that their Dad/Grandpa/Great-Grandpa Jim is smiling & laughing in these!

And, this was my assistant for the day! Yeah for fabulous sisters!!

So thankful to get to spend this extra time with my friend & her family before they left for another round of Adventures in Sushiland!

*I apologize for my absence on here. I promise I will be back in full swing the remainder of the year. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

This is also what a family looks like that has an amazing love that just radiates from them. I hope you can see that, too...

Oh, and did I mention Mom was the most recent recipient of the WHAS 11 Excel Award, as well as the Greater Clark County Teacher of the Year Award? Pretty fantastic, right?  : )

Ok, blog-friends, I must stop now. I could post more, but I think you get the idea.  : )

Thank you, Crystal (and family), for stepping outside your normal photo-box for these! And, thank you for being such amazing friends and neighbors. "Thank you" from the bottom of my/our hearts. Truly.

Here are some favorites of mine from the morning, taken at the same spot as this session:

Are they not just beautiful?

Sweet siblings you've seen over here & here...love the Scooby-Doo Band-Aid on Miss R! Mr. C has a new skill each year. Growing up soo fast!

This is her "it's hot!" pose. There is a little bead of sweat you can see on the left...

Everyone!

Thanks again to the Harris-Anderson-Andrews crews!!

So, back to the featured family. I had the honor of photographing them 2 summers ago (love my returning clients!), when their littlest was just 9 months old (I think) and not even walking. Now, she has grown into a little girl, with a big personality & is sleeping in a big girl bed!

We chose an evening time slot, and I was not disappointed with the lighting scenario. It might have been a little toasty starting out, but there was just such a cozy, hazy summer feeling.

Uh, I LOVE this first picture of Mom & Miss A. Melts my heart, really...

Oh so happy!

Their back yard is absolutely beautiful & so relaxing. They have created an amazing space to create many, many memories in.

They graciously gave me a tour of their house afterwards, and I did a little prop-shopping along the way! Now, I just need some twin newborns...Anybody?  But, Dad's office furniture is crafted out of wood from a pecan tree they had to cut out of the front yard. And, Mom's father created beds & flooring throughout the house. So impressive!

The promise of a trip to the local ice cream shoppe was getting ever so close at this point...

As I was editing, I started noticing all of the different facial expressions of Miss A. So, I thought I'd give you a sampling. My personal favorite is the lower left corner shot. Now, if she isn't enjoying herself on Picture Day, I don't know what that is.  ha ha

Hope you enjoyed your ice cream treats, kids! You definitely deserved them. Thanks so much for an awesome session!

She has the most beautiful curls & blue eyes...which reminds me of my younger sister when she was little.

Her mom is also my favorite location scout! She did a great job on tracking down not only 1, but 2 new spots for us. So, that is 3 new locations in all!

A quick wardrobe change on the walking trail, then we were set for the next round of shots.

You can never go wrong using bubbles with the 5 & Under crowd!

Such a little lady...

And, we finished the session with setting sun light...plus a quote from Mom, "You just can't get pictures like this in a studio." I would have to agree. :  )

Thank you for allowing me to capture this sweet little girl of your's, yet again!

Her amazing Momma & I met about 4.5 years ago, when she was hired to work my first maternity leave. Sadly, I never really got to work with her, but luckily, we have kept in touch all of these years! She is a driven, creative & passionate lady. I can only imagine the tremendous example she is going to be for this lovely little gal...

She was a tiny thing, but check out those adorable forearm wrinkles... This picture makes me smile. She is so loved.

Which leads me into the image above, as well as the fact I told you Mom was a Creative. She has a particular fondness toward typography and letterpress. What great pieces these are! And, little did I know the talent that ran through her family! Her Mom painted this adorable elephant artwork herself...what a treasure for MM to have! You know, I always love going into someone's home & learning/hearing/seeing how much this new, teeny-tiny member of their family means to EVERYONE. It is a pretty amazing thing, really.

The obsession continues... You will never see a shortage of baby feet on this blog, just so you know. Or consider yourself warned, whichever way you choose to look at it. :  )

She was pretty much wide awake the whole time I was there, which was unheard of, in and of itself, for being less than 2 weeks old. But, that's where her personality came through to me. Seriously, she is going to make some waves in her time, I'm just positive.

Eventually, she did tucker out (a little) at the end. So, we did get a few peaceful poses.

She was the first ever baby in this basket (which is another whole story)!

Thank you, L & G for having me capture the beginning of the next chapter in your story. You are blessed with a beautiful babe...

*** If you are expecting, or know someone who is, and would like to have this time of your (or their) life documented, I would love to help you. Gift Certificates Available!***

What a genuine family this was. I enjoyed watching them interact with each other. That even includes a little picking on each other, for getting smiles of course, which is allowed on Picture Day!

This was my first photo session down at the River Walk. I would definitely like to get back there for others.

The whole group - beautiful, right?!

I really enjoyed meeting this family, and working with Chelsea, the organizer. She has a great laugh (see below) & some pretty amazing eyes (see above).

A relaxed moment, with the guys getting a good reaction from the ladies.

At the Mill...Mom & Dad, who are getting ready to celebrate a very momentous Anniversary!

The girls - successful and gorgeous. Watch out!

The running joke of the morning was that this little gal had replaced the daughters. Then, this moment happened. We had to document that one, for sure!  :  )  Now, I'm sure Dad loves them ALL equally, but the other two don't fit in a carrying bag as nicely as this.

Happy Anniversary!

He wears a hat well, don't you think?

I completely love this image...my goal is to get more like this at every session.

Such a beautiful family...

I really like how this one looks so dreamy... Sweet Dreams, little guy...

First up is Baby G. He entered the world just a wee bit earlier than his parents were expecting. But, I can't blame him. I'd want to be part of this family as soon as possible, too! He weighed in at 7 lbs 2 oz, so I'm guessing he would've been close to 10 lbs, had he been full-term. Lucky he was early for his Mama, in that regard anyway...

Another baby with a head of hair!

Getting used to each other...

Soo sweet! And, he got to break in my new fabric...I know that totally made his day. Ok, it really just made mine. ha!

Matching cowlicks! I loved that. (I did have to do a search, just to make sure that was the actual term - it is, in case you were wondering.)

I actually get to see this little guy (and his parents) again this weekend. Yeah!

On another note: Happy Derby Week!

One of those new products happens to be this more "professional" blog. I'm still going to maintain the other, but devote it a little more to its original purpose...it will try to be a little more personal again. However, you will still be able to access it from the drop down box that got you here, just in case you want to go back to any of the old posts.

So, please bear with me as I get used to this blog & make a fresh start for my new business!

**I did have some exciting news shared with me in January...one my clients had a mini book made through MyPublisher, with the digital photos they purchased from our session together. They were contacted by the company to get permission to use them in future marketing. And, what do you know, they were featured on their Facebook page the next business day! Talk about proud parents!  It was definitely a great way to start my year, too.  : )