Grant was in for his 3/4 month session a few weeks back, and I wanted to try out some natural light shots. Perfect time to bust out a down blanket and some pillows that I had been wanting to use for a session. I love how they turned out! Grant’s newborn photos can be seen here – I couldn’t believe how much he had changed since the last time I saw him! We even caught him on camera rolling over for the first time – so sweet! Can’t wait to see what he’s up to at his next session.

I’ve been friends with Natalie’s awesome mom for a long time, and have been taking Nat’s pictures since she was just a newbie. Now here she is, 2 years old already and full of energy. She wasn’t too interested in having her photos taken (what two year old is?), so we had to improvise some.

Life Songs
“Heart of Gold”
by Neil Young.

Welcome to a little blog post series that we like to call Life Songs. I am thrilled to be a part of this life stories project with eleven other talented photographers! In this series, we will be documenting our lives with a different theme song each month. The images in the posts will be taken from a less traditional approach, showcasing “real life” in our own ways. This month’s inspiration is ” Heart of Gold” by Neil Young. It might be worth finding it and having a listen as you browse our blog circle. See the link to the next photographer in the circle at the end of this post.

I had to pull this song up on you-tube, and I immediately recognized it and realized what a great song it is (even though my husband was cracking up at me rocking out to Neil Young on my iPad when he got home – not quite what he was expecting to see). My photos this month were actually taken a few months back. I tried to get out with my kids and shoot something inspiring, but it was hard to get a shot off with a three year old that wouldn’t let go of my hand on our 1.5 hour hike. We did, however, have a fantastic time looking for giraffes that she swore we would find if we just kept going a little bit further. We never found any giraffes – go figure! We did see a bunch of squirrels, three different types of woodpeckers, a nuthatch, and a couple of dogs. The golden retriever was the highlight of her outing, and she insisted his name was Shadow, and that we should follow it on the trail. I didn’t want to look like a creepy stalker, so needless to say we didn’t follow the dog or it’s owner for too long.

So, I was thinking about what to incorporate for the song this month. After some thought I decided that this song was talking about my heart of gold. Seriously, I think anyone who has kids must have a heart of gold. For all the times I hear the fighting over toys, the “you’re not my best friend” because of something I didn’t let someone have or do, all the times I hear “no!”, the times they stomp to their room and slam the door, they still make my heart swell every time I think of them. For every crappy parenting moment, there are at least 2 great ones where I’m hearing “you’re my best friend, mom”, “I love you, mom”, “hold my hand, mom”, “I just want to snuggle with you because I love you so much, mom”, and other gooshy things kids say that completely melt your heart and make you forget all the not-so-fun stuff. Even though they don’t always like what I have to say (and vice-versa), they are my world. Parenting is tough, and I seriously DO think it takes a heart of gold to raise kids. No one ever said it was going to be this hard. Heck, before I had one kid I thought I wanted at least four. The second one has just about done me in.

I don’t post many photos of my kids on here, but these ones fit our lifestyle theme. They are from our vacation to Door County, WI this September. Most of the time when I’m out with my kids I just have my iPhone to take photos, but this time I made a point to bring my work camera out and try to get some photos of them just being themselves, having fun, and not paying attention at all to me or my camera for the most part. These are some of my favorites. Enjoy!

Please be sure to check out Photos by E J Russell – Beth’s take on this months theme can be seen here. Each photographer from our group will be linking to the next photographer’s take on it – lots of great posts you won’t want to miss!

Early in December I had the chance to meet up with Ellie and her family again. Last time I saw her was a little over a year ago. Her 1 year photos can be seen here – I still have that photo as a canvas hanging in the studio. She’s got a little more hair this time, and is cute as ever! I just LOVE her big smile, and had to post one to share here with everyone. Enjoy!

I met up with Brynn for her second session (her newborn photos can be seen here) at four months old.   She is still a peanut, but man, this kid is totally adorable!   Poor girl wasn’t feeling very good, but you can see form the photos that we were able to get a couple of smiles in with the more serious looks she was giving me (the get-that-camera-out-of-my-face-and-give-me-my-tylenol-and-blankie looks, as I like to call them).   I think my favorite photos from our entire session were the ones where she was just quietly resting in mom or dads arms.  Nothing seemed to make her happier, and you can tell Julie and Dave are just smitten with her.   Can’t say I blame them.

Another session I’m finishing up this week – two of the cutest little guys I’ve ever seen! Seriously, I don’t think they come much cuter than this. I would kill for lashes like theirs, and I’m sure, like any other guy, they will never really appreciate it – LOL! We had a great time looking for grasshoppers (should have brought my macro lens because they were everywhere!) and playing with trucks. And apparently both boys love smarties. I had so much fun with this family – can’t wait to finish up the rest of their session! Just a few for now – enjoy!

I photographed Mia around this same time last year, and this year she had a brand new little sister to bring with! Little sister Lauren is 2 months old, but we were still able to get a few sleepy photos along with some of her beautiful eyes. Just a few photos for now – I’m sure there will be more to come later when I finish up their gallery. Enjoy!

I just love this little guy. He is the son of my neighbors daughter (don’t spend too much time trying to figure that out). Mason and my youngest are just a few months apart, and my kids absolutely adore him! So, I was pretty excited when his mom asked me to take his 3 year photos. I knew he wouldn’t be too shy because we hang out, and he is such an outgoing, fun kid! So much energy, and always a great big smile on his face. I had a great time with you guys, Jess – I hope you enjoy the photos!

All the rainy weather the last couple of days has made me realize that the nice, warm sun of summer is probably close to gone for the year. I’m still not giving up my flip flops quite yet…maybe once it starts to snow, but I don’t want to think about that yet.

I took my kids out earlier this summer to try out a new spot. What kid doesn’t want to be dragged out to a field to be photographed, right? Mainly I got photos of them running around, but with enough bribery (this time it was an orange shake and some gum) they sat still for a second and pretended that they like each other. PS – bribery works wonders – if you’re opposed to it, let me know ahead of time. It’s a great last resort.

I think I told them to look for grasshoppers to get them to sit for a minute…

This is what I got most of our time out – someone running towards me or away for me. These kids don’t like to sit still for long.

The begging, pleading, and eventual bribery paid off in the end, and I finally got this photo. It’s being printed right now as a 30×40 canvas for our livingroom. I can’t wait to see how it turns out!

Just a quick one of Harrison from his 1 year session.  I have SO many photos to go through – it’s going to be hard to narrow them down.  Makes it tough when they’re so stinkin’ cute.  :)  Here’s one for now – I’m sure I’ll be posting more from this session a little later.