Noah James

This week I had the chance to shoot pictures for Kiersten's god son, Noah.  I think he is about 8 weeks old and I have to say he is quite the charming little guy.  He was very tolerant considering he had 3 women fussing over him for a few hours, changing outfits, doing everything we could to get a smile, and so on.  But what a fun, fun afternoon I had! Thanks for putting this all together, Kiersten and for letting us use your home...I'd hire you any day to be my assistant.

I'm sure you all remember Kiersten's husband, Matt...or maybe you know him better as Amos....or the Matt Hatter...either way, he's once again getting a mention here.  He came home during our photo shoot and hung for a little while and after heading out the door for the evening, he soon returned with a fistful of dandelions and said we need to use those in our shoot.  We did just to humor him and the results actually weren't too bad even if they were dandelions.  Could you pick something a bit prettier next time, Amos?

We had a few moments when Noah wasn't too thrilled about an interruption in feeding or the multiple outfit changes...

I think Noah's mommy is beautiful and although the angle of mommy and baby in this shot looks a little out of proportion (it really wasn't), I couldn't resist sharing.  Becca has stunningly beautiful eyes and I think I was more focused on catching her pretty eyes during a few of these than I was focused on Noah.

This little guy hung in there all afternoon and I think all in all, we got some good pictures for mommy.  Noah, it was a pleasure to take your pictures and spend time with your mommy and Kiersten, I think you're absolutely adorable.

Easter Blessings

April has certainly brought about it's share of showers and although the wet, miserable weather gets a little tiresome, without it we wouldn't be able to enjoy the colors that are seeming to pop up everywhere and the way the earth seems to come alive after a months of dull, lifeless browns.  On Saturday evening my family got together to celebrate Easter and we were very thankful for the thick green grass and a break in the moisture.  Everyone had a great time...well, mostly everyone...Isaiah was happy when he arrived, but unfortunately his belly wasn't through most of the evening...poor guy.

After a yummy dinner of beef brisket, veggies, mashed potatoes, and mac'n cheese for the kids, it was time for Easter baskets and egg hunts.  Mom had put together fun baskets for each of the kids and before she gave it to them, we needed a picture with the big kids...trying to get them all to look at one time and smile...lets just say it wasn't going to happen.

And the trying to get them all to sit and smile with their Easter baskets...again, not going to happen.  But the joy of watching them get excited about seeing what was inside and starting traditions that I remember as a kid, that was priceless.  Boy did this bring back memories for me.

"Rachel, are you excited about your Easter basket?"
"YES!!"
"OK, everyone look here and smile and then we'll go and look for eggs....uh, guys....over here....guys..."  Ahh, forget it...Isaac's out in left field, Elianna's in her own little world and Jessie is in pretty girl mode...gotta love my crazy family.

Alright...let's go hunt for some eggs!!

This one showed me a different side of herself that just made me love her all the more.  Little did I know that Elianna is a cuddly little girl...who knew?!?  At one point in the evening as I was sitting on the floor talking with Mom, she came over put her hands on my shoulders, laid her head down and before I knew it was cuddling in my lap.  I looked over at Mom, very surprised.  The rest of the evening she was my little shadow.  We had gone for a walk later on and afterwards I was inside taking my shoes off, having a conversation with someone and before I knew it, I had a little hand tugging at mine and again I was surprised to find Elianna on the opposite end of my hand...it made my night to know she wanted me to play with her.  Elianna, you're welcome on my lap any day!

The kids had a great time hunting for eggs.  They would have been perfectly fine just hunting for eggs that were empty inside but when they discovered that each egg held a little prize inside, well it just made the hunt all the better.  They were so excited about their treasures they didn't wait to get inside but plopped down in the yard to open each and every egg.  What a fun and beautiful evening amidst a week of much wet weather.

Even Isaiah and Caleb had a grand time...OK, Isaiah had moments when he was happy, or should I say when his belly was happy.  At one point Isaiah was on the floor with mommy and discovered that Caleb was right beside him and his joy over sitting next to someone his size was so much fun!  He got very animated and I do believe he and Caleb had an entire conversation...one we didn't understand but never-the-less they were both giggling and having a grand time with one another.  It was quite comical.

There was also a point in the evening when Mike and Jason recreated events we thought had long since gone away and were wrestling on the living room floor.  Now that Rachel has reached 3 years, she had magically moved to that "Why?" stage and has also become rather bossy and vocal.  During the wrestling where Mike and Jason were both laughing along with the rest of us, Rachel marched over, pounded on her daddy's butt possessively and loudly "hollered" at Uncle Mike saying,

"That's MY daddy!"

She is apparently DID NOT and is VERY protective of the one's she loves...world, look out!!

Mom, you did a great job making it a memorable Easter for the kids and Papa Smurf, as always the food was delicious!  Our next adventure is an evening at the Baltimore Aquarium in May and I can't wait for it...stay tuned for more fun and adventures.

Caleb William Smucker was born this past October and I've sadly not been so great at getting pictures of him.  I've been so busy chasing after his sisters that there has been little time to capture him.  (And this photo session sure had it's share of "I wanna's", "But why's?", and "Take my pitture's"...poor Caleb!)  I have a friend who asked if I would take some baby pictures for a friend of hers and as I haven't had much of a chance to really do any "formal" baby shoots, I thought Caleb would be the perfect guinea pig.  (Please don't judge me by my wrinkled muslin...it needs to be ironed before my next shoot and that will happen this week, I'm just a little behind the 8 ball.)  So without further excuses let me introduce you to Caleb as well as give you a first hand look at one of my first baby shoots...I have MUCH to learn!!

A BIG thank you to my sister-in-law, Lacey, for not only letting me use her children to practice but for helping me with setting up, smiles, and props.  I think we made a great team, Lace!