We *almost* rescheduled this session. ANOTHER Boulder wild fire started yesterday. So scary. In the morning, I smelled a little bit of a campfire, and then I went out mid morning to the doctor and as soon as I hit 28th and Iris the whole town was covered in a blanket of smoke. If you remember, the one last month was so bad-our house was filled with smoke for days and almost 200 homes were destroyed.

So, I drove by Wonderland Lake later in the day to see if it was ok. It was a little hazy, but not smokey. I actually love the magical feel the haze ended up giving to the photos. I shot there again tonight, and as far as I can tell, the fire has almost completely died down. Go Boulder firemen! You guys are amazing, and I can not thank you enough for the work that you have done for us this year. Thank you for keeping my family safe.

I always feel this mix of fear, love and excitement when there is a fire. Fear, because we live just at the foothills in Boulder, and the fire could jump into town at any moment. I want my babies to always be safe. I do not like staying up late worrying about them. Love, because we have such a strong community here. It was just hours before the women in my mom’s group were organizing places for the evacuees to stay and gathering items for them to replace those that they had lost. And of course the firemen, who work such long hours in such hard conditions to put the fire out. And then excitement-I can’t help it. It reminds me of my dad packing me into the car to chase tornadoes when I was a kid. Any kind of event like this just stirs me, wakes me up. It is good to be woken up, I need it. I am not saying it is right to love that excitement in the air, but when all the light around me turns a hazey red and everything just *feels* different, my mind just wakes up, and I remember that I am alive, and there is something to cherish.

Anyways, is this not the most beautiful pregnant woman you have ever seen? She is has such a calm, loving energy. Her baby is a lucky one. And so kind. I had gotten the flu shot just before this session. So I am going to blame that for me losing my car keys during this session. My only beeper key, so now when I lock my car door it does that annoying security beep whenever I unlock it, grrr. But thanks for spending so much time searching with me and then driving me home guys! I never did find my keys, but luckily found my spare key so I have my car safe at home now:) Can’t wait to meet baby S!

This was the first of the mini sessions and I did three that night. Let me tell you-it was COLD. And, so, so windy. I really kept thinking that one of these babies was going to get knocked over! I offered all three families the option of doing it a different day, but each wanted to brave the weather and get some photos then and there. Skyelynn did especially well. Even though the wind was whipping her around, she was still so happy and had a good time. And we got some beautiful photos of her, even if her hair is being blown all over the place. It is the model look, and it works for her:) She especially loved her mommy, too. When mama was holding her, she was all smiles.

Well, it is obviously autumn, but this beautiful little girl’s name means spring. I just love it. I do not normally take babies under 6 months for a mini session, but I love her and her mom so I made an exception. The reason is that babies this young can not sit up on their own, and really can not smile on cue, so it is really hard to get so many good photos in just a half hour. Before 6 months of age, it is better to do the photos in the baby’s home or studio, that way we can get them naked, put them in all sorts of cute poses, and get them happy. Yes, we did find this out the hard way-it was soooo windy and sooo cold for her session. BUT, that first photo is probably my favorite of all the mini session photos-and I did a lot of mini sessions:) She just has these huge, beautiful eyes, and they totally express her soul and who she is. And mom is totally beautiful, but doesn’t know it. I hope I get to see this beautiful little girl as she gets bigger!

You have heard me say it before-one of the best things about being a baby photographer is watching these babies grow. It is a unique thing-when else do you only get to see a baby every six months or so? I get to see them grow in a way that no one else does. Anna is such a beautiful, sweet baby, still. Here she is at 7 months. We had a cold, windy day for these mini sessions, but she braved it well. I think my very favorite shot is the last one-I caught that at just the last moment-dad was carrying her off so we could take some pictures down the path, but it was so natural and so them. Love it!  I also can’t stand how cute her outfit is.  Everyone should shop at Mini Boden for their session. Maybe some day I will be their staff photographer. I can dream, right?

Anyways, the colors are still gorgeous out! I am shooting all day today and will mostly be out of the office. In my free time, I get to schedule ten million doctor’s appointments, as I found out TODAY that our health insurance ends TOMORROW! I am freaking out a little bit. But I can do it. I am just going to try and schedule back to back appointments for the kids and I for the next two days. Wish me luck…lots more mini sessions to come!

Okay, let me tell you, I am usually very laid back and love to have fun at sessions. You might not guess that about me if you have only talked to me on the phone, as I have a little bit of a phone phobia, but I will talk about that later:) In person, I love to just get the energy rolling and make everyone laugh.  But, when I am contacted by another photographer to do their family photos, I get a little nervous. I know in the end they are going to see all the little things that might not be right, where a normal client would not. Plus, when I am shooting other photographers they ALWAYS want me to get mostly shots of their family, or them with their kids, as they already have a whole computer full of just individual shots of their children.  I had to add in a few just because her kids are so beautiful!  Anyways…by the end of this session I was wracking my brain to think up new and fun ways to get the family together. I actually loved it! Instead of just going through all the normal poses, I did a bunch of new ones. Good way to get out of my comfort zone.

Either way, it was such an honor that this very talented family photographer chose me, out of all the really fabulous local photographers (and there are a LOT of good ones in Boulder), to do her photos. I hope you love them, Gina! You can check out her website here. It was really hard to choose what photos to post! I hope I get to photograph your family again-you guys were so much fun!

Just love, LOVE brothers and sisters together.  These two were so sweet with each other the whole time. I just love how big brother was with his littler sister. In every photo he is being so kind, and patient. You know, except when he is not. But that is how it is, no? More tomorrow-so many mini sessions to post, and regular sessions, I guess I am way more behind than I thought I was when I got back from vacation. AND I will be shooting non stop for a week starting tomorrow. But I love it, would not have it any other way (well, I would love to have a maid, and a personal shopper, and a good organic chef, but hey. Someday.). You saw how cute my daughter was, right? So you are not feeling so sorry for me, right? Life has its perks, for sure.

I am off to bed after a longish day, but wanted to post one for this wonderful mama. More to come tomorrow! Wish me luck on my FOURTH night in a row getting some decent sleep. Adam has taken over the night time routine since Amelia was waking me up every HOUR. I am now sleeping in Elijah’s room, and it is working out for me so far. I still wake up a lot, out of habit. It was a whole year of waking up every hour on the hour, but I am getting more and more sleep as each night passes. Whoo hoo for Adam! Life will soon be truly good again:)

More, more, more mini sessions tomorrow, I promise!

xoxo

Well, this little collage has been sitting on my desktop for TWO months.  Seriously, I do not know why, but one blog post takes me like 1-2 hours. Amelia is already 14 months, and we are quickly moving into winter, so I thought I would get at least a few up before it was too late and I never would. We had the BEST birthday party. Everyone came-family, former clients, neighborhood kids, friends from college. We had the slip and slide and dress up and cake. Life is good.

And tell me Amelia is not just beautiful? I love her so much, I am not sure there is enough space in my heart for it. She is so rambunctious, full of life, ALWAYS testing me, pushing boundaries. She is going places. I did buy a leash for her. I will try not to use it too much.

My favorite one is of her in her tutu, hands up lackadaisically on her head, foot pointed upwards, flirting with the older boy. This is a glimpse into my future. Oh, and in case you were wondering, the baby in the belly in the last photo is almost two months already. Sigh, at least I got these up!

As for the mini session sneak peaks, those are coming! I know, people have been waiting. My vacation set me back quite a bit, and now it seems like every single person in Boulder has this awful cold. Including my own kids. More to come later today, though!

Well, Ella is almost two, she will be the day after Halloween. Happy birthday Ella! Your parents are sooo lucky to have you! I just love how filled with joy this little girl was-is it not evident in these photos? And every photo was like the ones below-it was hard to choose just a few for the blog. She just has so much life and personality. I love it. I can totally see how she is going to be when she is older. Full of spunk, joy, radiating happiness to those around her.

This shoot was a couple of weeks ago. I went back to Wonderland Lake last night and the trees are all a golden yellow and orange-just beautiful.  What a difference two weeks makes! And it will all soon be gone. I do wish autumn lasted just a bit longer in Boulder-it seems to always disappear so soon after it arrives.

I am just about to step out and finish all the mini sessions that got canceled two weeks ago due to the weather. It is sooo beautiful out right now, I hope we have a few good weeks left to capture more of these beautiful fall colors. Everything was still so summery before I left for vacation, and when I returned to Boulder the color was suddenly brilliant. So if you are thinking of doing a session this year, for Christmas cards, presents, or if you just want to have your baby photographed in this beautiful weather, contact me soon:)

I have been photographing Ty since he was just a year, and was so happy to finally meet his new little brother, Micah. They are soooo similar-both so sweet and calm and happy. I was so glad to see you guys again!