Hissyfits Photography Blog

I complain a lot about living out here. I know I do. Not constantly, but frequently. I can’t help it – that is simply where I am in life. I could pretend that I love it here and I want to raise our kids here and spend forever cultivating our life in the desert, but that wouldn’t be keeping it real. What’s real is that tears flow frequently and my heart breaks often because I long for home. For Kansas. For the family that awaits us with open arms. For the country roads lined with trees as old as time. For the wheat fields swaying in the summer breeze. For the dandelions. For the fireflies. For the memories just waiting to be created. That’s real.

The truth of the matter is that life doesn’t always play out like that fairytale we envision when we say our vows. And while we may not always be where we pictured ourselves years ago when daydreaming about the future, that’s okay. That’s life. That’s real. Do I love it here? Of course not. Would I pack up and move tomorrow if Chris said we could? In a heartbeat. Am I sad for my kids because I know what they are missing out on not being close to cousins and grandparents? You bet. But will my heart break and tears fall freely when the time comes to say goodbye to our life here? Without a doubt.

When we moved here I made a promise to myself that I was going to get us involved. I was going to join a playgroup and we were going to make friends and meet people. That was three and a half years ago. That playgroup and the people we met? They are more than just people – they are friends. Forever friends that have given comfort. Friends that have provided encouragement and laughter. Friends that have shared advice on everything from the best doctor to directions to the new Carter’s store. Friends that have had babies. Friends that have closed the chapter of their life in Arizona and have moved on yet still stay in touch. Friends that see your faults, listen to you whine and yet still love and encourage you anyway. They are the constants in my life here {other than Chris and the kids of course!}. They are the bright spots on dark days. They came into my life at a time when I really needed them and I will forever cherish the place they hold in my heart because of that.

Meet Lindsey {and her man}! She is one of those friends. A forever friend. I remember the day I met her like it was yesterday. It was a Valentine’s playdate at my house – 2007. She showed up looking all cute and trendy with her bowl full of strawberries, a toddler holding her hand  and a baby on her hip. I can’t believe that was over three years ago. I can’t believe that day I made a friend whom I love and my kids adore. Lindsey gets it. She gets that our family is what seems like a million miles away and I can’t get back there fast enough. She knows how hard it is to be pregnant and miss your mom. She understands…wholeheartedly. I love that about her.

And Lindsey, if you do not have this image printed big and hang it in your home, I am going to do it for you!! I LOVE THIS MOMENT!! This is exactly why I love this gig – freezing real life snippets like this for people to look at and remember long after they have passed!

Lindsey and Bobby aren’t from Arizona either. They moved here from California –  she left behind her family too. Her mom. Her sister. Her dearest friends. Her life. Sometimes you don’t have a choice…I get that. But she too made the decision that they were going to meet people, to make friends. They were going to make the most of their life here because that is all you can do. Shortly after we joined the playgroup, she joined the same one. One decision. One simple decision that has created a friendship that will last a lifetime.

I had fun shooting Lindsey and Bobby! I RARELY photograph adults so it was something new and different. And easy! Oh my gosh! It is so easy to take photos of people who listen and cooperate without having to bribe with candy or a trip to Toys R Us after the shoot!

These two  have three beautiful kids…Jakob, Aiden and sweet Lucy.

Jakob and Huntler were in the same preschool class last year and while they knew each other beforehand, they grew to be good friends over the course of the year. But when Huntler returned for another  year of preschool, Jakob moved on to kindergarten. He is sweet and shy…much like Huntler. He rolls with the punches and is low maintenance. He enjoys school and is soaking up all of the new knowledge like a sponge!

And then they had Aiden! Their Aiden is the equivalent to our Gentry. Cute as a button but ornery as all get out! This little guy gives his parents a run for their money numerous times a day! Personality just exudes from his little body! He is so candid and real…

And eight months ago tiny little Lucy joined the world and won the hearts of her parents and adoring big brothers! Happy, adorable, petite little Lucy girl!

It’s been so fun watching these kids grow up! Jakob wasn’t in school and in a few short months he’ll be starting first grade. Aiden wasn’t even one yet when we first met him and now he is four. Lucy was just a dream and now she is here. It is amazing how much has changed and how much we have all grown in the last three years.

When my mom gave me this vintage white bowl at Christmas, I had a vision. A vision that involved a baby girl and strawberries! I had no idea how it would all play out and it was admittedly a bit more challenging than I had pictured {I’ll blame that on my large stomach and inability to get up and down in a timely fashion!}, but it was fun to bring an idea to life!

Little Miss Lucy was VERY interested in the strawberries…she couldn’t shovel bites in fast enough! And her outfit? Well, about two minutes into this set of photos it was gone! But the thing is, it was okay. I know Lindsey well enough to know that she would be able to just roll with it…that a few strawberry stains weren’t going to be a big deal! And they weren’t! Lucy girl was so focused on the strawberries I had a terrible time getting her attention for a few photos! In most of them she is far more interested in the strawberries and hanging out of the bowl to get them than in having her picture taken! But I did manage to get this one!

And this next one? It just makes me giggle. Laugh out loud really. Because it is Aiden. It is 150% orneriness and personality. LOVE it!

And of course a few of the fam! I will be perfectly up front and honest here in saying that this is the first time I have ever shot more than four people at a time! For some reason I have just never had any more than that involved in a session. It was challenging for sure…but I love a good challenge from time to time!

I kid you not when I say this is the first frame I fired off at our session {other than the one I took to check my exposure and get my settings right}. FIRST SHOT = FAVORITE SHOT.

And then we changed it up a bit! I promise Bobby’s eyes are opened in this one!! His allergies were really bothering him and I felt so bad! {Note Aiden and his ornery grin!!}

Lindsey {and fam!},

Thanks for meeting up with me for a fun family session! Thanks for humoring my ideas and letting me experiment with your family. But most of all, thanks for being such a good friend. I meant every word I said – while I can’t wait to move back to Kansas, my heart will break when it comes time to say our goodbyes. You have been such a great source of strength and encouragement in our journey out here and I am forever grateful our paths crossed. Big hugs!

Enjoy your photos!

Energy. Ohhh the energy of this little guy! How I wish he could give me just a tiny bit! I can still hear the sound of his little flip flops hitting the pavement as he hopped, skipped and jumped from one place to another during our shoot last week! In fact, he was skipping so much that I asked his mom if he had just learned how! You see, Gentry recently figured it out and has been skipping all over the place ever since! But Tucker? Nope. He is just a little ball of energy who is always on the move!

Tucker ROCKED at our session! He was so good! And he listened so well! And the smiles he would flash? Priceless!!

I love these two! I cropped them opposite because I think they would be so cute hanging one above the other!

As we rounded a corner and this bike rack came into view, I almost let out a little squeal of excitement! What a FUN element to work with! And so boy. Oh so boy.

LOVE LOVE LOVE this black and white one!!

The little guy does have some serious faces too…

And this one just makes me smile for some reason!!

We ventured up onto a hill during our time together too! For anyone interested, I started shooting in “evaluative” metering mode but when Tucker was way too underexposed because of  all the backlight, I switched to “spot” metering and had MUCH better results! I love it when I take the time to think things like that through and experiment a little during a session! That one decision made all the difference in that entire series of photos! And it took all of three seconds to do!

I LOVE this light!! For real. One of my personal goals is to get out of the open shade and start shooting in light more often! Now that I see the results first hand, there is no holding me back!!

And a couple with mom! Tucker is going to be a big brother this summer and his mom looks AMAZING. Seriously April, you look great!!

Dad wasn’t actually planning to be in any pictures, but I sort of insisted that he get in on just one!

Thanks Tucker and Co for taking a little bit of time to hang out with me the night before you left! It was so nice to meet you all and I wish you all the best! Good luck this summer with the birth of Baby #2!

Last week I had the wonderful opportunity to meet up with sweet Kenley and her mama and daddy. The second I saw her little blue jersey, I knew what I was going to title this post! We met up at the practice fields for the Kansas City Royals for our session. Words cannot express how fun it was to shoot somewhere so fun and different! When Katie mentioned the idea I jumped at it…the creative wheels in my mind spinning! And the thought of ALL that lush green grass? Such a treat for us down here in the desert! Chris was out of town four nights last week, so when the session was booked, I warned Katie that there was a pretty big chance that my own two littles would be tagging along…and they did. They too had a wonderful time and have since been to a Royals spring training game with Chris {I was at a photography workshop all day or I would have gone!} and from what I hear went on and on about Billy! Katie, as I share with you memories and priceless moments forever frozen in time of your precious family, I want to thank you for the ones you in turn have given mine.

Ahhh Kenley. Her mama warned me that it would be tough to get lots of smiles! She was right – but the ones we captured are darling! And her little tongue sticking out? Well that is just a bonus!

No smile here, but I love a serious face just as much as a smiley one!

And then it was time for a wardrobe change. I.LOVE.THIS.OUTFIT!! The photos do not even come close to doing it justice as there are all sorts of rhinestones and bling adorning this little number! If you look really hard you can see them! So, so cute. And glam.

A personal fave of mine. I can totally see this one printed really big! The retro feel I adore. The loose curls. The toddler walk. The bits of dust and dirt on her jeans from sitting on the ground. And the feet. Ohhhh the little bare feet. Mid-step. On her way to do bigger and better things than take pictures! Love this moment!

From her serious face in this photo you can’t really tell, but this little girl LOVES her daddy. We were having the hardest time getting eye contact out of her, let alone any sort of  a smile. And then her daddy made it over. She lit up and was so excited to see him! I love to see those connections. The recognition. The unconditional love. Capturing those moments are what this is all about for me. When I look at this photo I see love. But I also see strength. Look at how big and strong Billy’s arms are in comparison to Kenley’s little body. And his tanned skin next to her pale face. What a story this photo tells…

As a mom, I don’t love being in photos. I love taking them, but being on the other side of the camera isn’t really my thing. Yet, I know with 110% certainty that in 30 years when my kids look back on images from their childhood, they will cherish the ones of us together. I am their mom, their only mom. Katie…the same is true for you. I know you weren’t jumping for joy at the thought of having your photo taken, but think of how much these will mean to your family…now and years down the road.

These next two? Ummm….LOVE. I mean LOVE LOVE. I look at these and tears come to my own eyes. Yes, I am a pregnant and emotional mess, but what sweet, tender moments these are. I love how it feels like Kenley and Billy are the only two around in this image. I love the stadium lights in the background. I love that no matter where life takes this family, they ARE a family. They stick together. They share in each others highs and lows. They love.

Katie, I love this shot of you and your girl. I hope you see it and remember our time together that night on the baseball field. I hope you remember Kenley as she is right now. I hope as life moves you from one state to the next, you cherish the good times and learn a little something from the bad. I hope you cling to each other and your love to carry your family far.

It was so nice to meet you all! I hope that next summer finds my own family in Kansas City and gives us the chance to meet up again!

Last night I had the opportunity to meet up with an adorable little family who is in town for Spring Training. I was SO excited when Katie suggested we meet at the practice fields for the baseball teams as this was somewhere completely fun and new for me to shoot! It was so.much.fun!! I am going to be doing a bigger sneak peek in a few days so I’ll wait and share more about it all then, but here are a few that stood out as I was scanning through my captures!

This last one reminds me of an old time magazine cover or something! I had so much fun playing around and editing it to feel retro! And don’t even get me started on what a sweet moment it was! LOVE!

Over the weekend I had the chance to meet up with sweet little Abby and her mommy and daddy again. You may remember when I did her six month photos back in May. Well, as time does, the months have passed and this little princess has now turned one! And not only is she celebrating her first year, next month she’ll be a big sister! It was so much fun getting to catch up with Bob and Lacy again. They were my very first “official” clients and are from Kansas…they will forever hold a special place in my heart and I wish them the best of luck as they bring another baby into the world at the beginning of the year!

Since things are obviously a bit on the chaotic side for many of us now, I am only posting a few images in their sneak peek!

LOVED her next outfit!!

Thanks for letting me capture your family once again! I had a great time meeting up in your neck of the woods! Have a WONDERFUL holiday season!

On a side note, I PROMISE I have not forgotten my blog! It has just taken a back burner for the time being! I have lots of snapshots of my own two littles to share! My parents and Chris teamed up and pulled off a HUGE surprise and they flew out the day after Thanksgiving so things have been busy! Tis the season, right?!

Any just turned four year old that uses the words “actually” and “besides” in regular conversation totally suckers me in! Something about little people using such big words and using them appropriately just makes me giggle! My own kids use big, adult words all of the time, but because they are mine, I guess I don’t think twice about it! Yet hearing Lincoln carry on about everything from school to Sponge Bob to Optimus Prime with perfect grammar and confidence made my “almost majored in English vocabulary loving little heart” skip a beat!

{Please ignore the non-centered images! Chris did some work on my blog and one of the not so great things is that now my pictures won’t center! We are working on getting it resolved though!!}

Meet Lincoln. I am pretty sure he is every bit as ornery as he is cute! He looks like he is cooking up something in that mind of his, doesn’t he?

I am also pretty sure that he adores his mom and dad just as much as they adore him!

I had a wonderful time at this session. Lincoln was the chattiest, happiest little guy and was a total rock star when it came to listening to my crazy ideas and then following through! He tried really, really hard to give me lots of shots with the best four year old “cheese” smile he could muster up, but when I brought up things like transformers and school friends, he totally let loose and let his real smile shine through. And isn’t it a sweet one?

And a serious face every now and then too! I LOVED how Rachel dressed him for this session! He was super stylin’ in his layered look! And that scarf? Well, let me just say that I came home that very night and ordered Huntler the same scarf with a matching hat and mittens. And maybe an orange sweater too. Maybe not. You can be the judge of that one!

When emailing back and forth with Rachel in regards to this session, I knew that my gumball machine would be the perfect prop to tote along! I have had it for months now and have been waiting oh so patiently for a little guy just the right age to come along! Lincoln was definitely that little guy! I had an idea in my mind of how I wanted these images to look even before I took them…they had to have that vintage flair.

And this next one? One word: LOVE. It is quite possibly one of my all time faves. Ever. I can assure you it will be seen again on my website! I also would LOVE to try to recreate it with Huntler and Gentry both. I giggle as I type that…the odds of that happening are slim to none, but lucky for me, this gumball machine just so happens to be at my disposal, as are my two favorite kidlets!! Then I want to blow them up big and on canvas. But for now, back to Lincoln. Is this shot not amazing?! And the orange gumball peeking through his hand up there? Fab little detail I couldn’t have planned if I had tried!

Of course we did a few more with mom and dad too! As you can tell, I was totally feeling the black and white on some of these! There is just something so captivating about black and white photographs in real life moments for me. I can’t really explain it, but you’ll notice that a lot of the more candid shots I edit will be black and white…love the timeless feel!

And this next one…it is slightly out of focus and not quite as sharp as I wish it would have been, but it is such a sweet moment that I just had to edit it! I adore how Lincoln is looking up and has that genuine smile on his little face!

And one more black and white image to finish it off! If you would have seen me trying to capture this one you would have had to have laughed! I was shoved back in a corner as far as I could get and was bent over at one crazy angle! But I managed to get the shot!

Sam, Rachel and Lincoln…thanks for making the drive out to meet up with me! It was so nice to meet you all! Have a wonderful holiday season!

When I started blogging a year and a half ago, I am not really sure what I expected to get out of it, if anything at all. I knew I wanted to write – to babble on about the insignificant little details that composed my days as well as those that were actually important. I knew I wanted to post snapshots of my darling kids for friends and family “back home” so they could see what a day in our life was like. But what I didn’t know was what a huge part of my life blogging would evolve to be…the void it would fill and the friendships that would bloom because of it.

Two years ago I was happily oblivious to what “blogging” even was. I distinctly remember asking Chris one evening what exactly a blog was! HA! My how times have changed! I have connected with women all over the United States…some near and some far. We have bonded over chatter about everything from mothering to photography to party planning to crafting. We have shared our ups and downs…our victories and our failures. Everything from potty training secrets to who on Etsy has the cutest dresses to easy crock pot recipes has flashed across my computer screen. Quite simply, our lives have become intertwined in a way that only fellow bloggers can truly understand.

This past weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to meet up with one of my sweet “blog friends turned real life friend” and photograph her adorable family! {Out of respect to her family, I won’t be using their names…but you’ll catch on pretty quickly!} To be perfectly honest, I can’t exactly remember when “Mom” found me! But she did. And she commented. And so begins the circle of blogging. Curious of course, I clicked over to see just who it was that commented! And a connection was born. We continue to stay in touch through our blogs and also emails. Mom is an amazing party planner and our love for attention to detail has had us sending many a late night email with links, ideas and thoughts on upcoming parties!

When she contacted me in regards to taking her daughter’s four year pictures, I was thrilled! After months of this online relationship we had going on, we were finally meeting in person! It was SO nice to actually meet and be able to capture some images of her family.

Meet “Big Sis.” She will be four next month. She is just as cute and bubbly as she looks! It took her just a little bit to warm up, but once she did, it was like we had known each other forever! She was so comfortable in front of the camera and was such a joy to photograph!

Just to warn you, I am posting a ton of images! There were so many fun ones that I just kept editing and editing! Plus, these guys had quite the drive to meet up with me, so they deserve a little extra love on the ‘ole blog!

I am starting off with my traditional vintage retro look! You’ll notice that I processed these in several different styles…the colors and the clothes inspired me to do a lot of different things!

This first one is one of my personal faves…it is truly “my” style in editing! I love the haze and the timelessness of it!

How ADORABLE is this face? Love it!

And the shoes? And toes? Couldn’t you just scream at the cuteness here? Her grandma jazzed up these flip flops to match her dress! And her mama took her in for a pedi before our session! LOVE it!! It is ALL about the details, my friends, all about the details!

And now for a pop of color!! A little bit outside my “box,” but I love them!! She was looking up her mom here.

These next two were inspired by Laci Davis. She has a series called “Favorite Things” in which she takes images of kids and families with their favorite things. Mom thought it would be fun to capture some of her girls with their favorite things right now. Big sis here happens to love zebras! In fact, her upcoming birthday party is this same hot pink/black/white zebra theme! I have seen some of the decor and party favors…it is going to be DARLING!

Grandma made all the hair bows too! Doesn’t she rock?

Ahhh…”Little Sis.” This sweet thing was not loving me. At all. Despite all her protesting though, I did manage to get a few cute ones of her! Mom was worried that we didn’t get anything, but I think we captured some keepers for sure! Is she smiling in all of them? No. Is she giving great eye contact? No. But that really isn’t my style anyway! Freezing moments in real life is more my style, and this is quite simply, real life with a toddler.

Same shot…just wanted to try it in both color and with a little vintage haze! And yes, those are Smarties she is enjoying here!

Quite possibly my favorite shot from the entire shoot! Could that lip be stuck out there ANY further? I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

A little sisterly love!

And of course a few of the whole fam!

Another fave! I love how they look so relaxed and unaware of me and my camera! Just a family, being.

I want to thank you all once again for making the trek out to see me! It was so nice to finally meet you! I hope you look at these and remember our time together…your family is darling!

You know those friends you can count on no matter what? The ones who are good and true and allow you to be you? The ones you call when you are bored, sad, lonely or excited? The ones that when you stay the night at their house you are perfectly comfortable trolloping {I may have made that word up} about in your jammies and crazy bed head? The friends that assure you it is fine that your eighteen month old daughter just puked all over the pack and play and everything else and you believe them? The type of friends that are more like family than “just” friends?

We are lucky enough to have friends like that. The only problem is that these dear friends are back home in Kansas…and not just down the street anymore.

Every time we are back in Kansas, one of our regular pit stops is at Britton and Lisa’s. And although it is never long enough, we have been lucky enough to get to stay with them at least one night almost every time we have been home. When we were back in December, we had tentative plans of taking some pictures, but it just never worked out. So this trip I pretty much hounded them to death and we managed to make it to the park {after shoveling our dinner in mind you!} while we still had some pretty evening light.

We have known these guys for about five years or so. They lived down the street from us in our picturesque little neighborhood in Kansas City…the famous Summertree Court that I babble on about from time to time! It’s funny how we lived there for a good year and a half before we really got to be friends. They had their life…and well, we had ours, as boring as it was!!

Quite simply, we aren’t childhood friends. We didn’t experience the ups and downs of high school together. Nor did we share the newly found independence of moving away and going to college. We didn’t even know each other when we got married or had our first babies. Yet our friendship has most definitely grown and been strengthened in the experiences we have shared. So much has happened in both our lives in such a short time!

Meet Avery. She is three and a half. This little girl is as opinionated as she is beautiful! She possesses a spark and a strength that would leave most flabbergasted if they knew of the incredibly rough road she has walked in her short life. She has a spirit that is contagious, a giggle that should be bottled and a heart that bonds her family in only a way they can truly understand.

At just four months Avery was diagnosed with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex. Although I think I have a pretty decent understanding of it, I know I can’t begin to describe it fully or adequately, so click on the link to learn more.

Or to learn a little more about Miss Avery, here is an excerpt written by her mama from her Care Page:

{You have to be a member to read the updates…so if you want to follow along on her journey, sign up! Then search LittleMissAveryUpdates. If you need help, just let me know!}

Little Miss Avery came home from the hospital on Christmas Eve of 2005. I guess we should have known from her incredible birth weight- a whopping 10lb 3oz!!! that this little girl was anything but ordinary. On April 17th of 2005, when Avery was just shy of four months old she had a grand mal (genralized tonic clonic) seizure in my arms. At that moment I knew, I just knew that we were in big trouble. Forty eight miserable hours later we learned that Avery has Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (see www.tsalliance.org). TSC is a genetic disorder that causes tumors to grow in major organs, primarily the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs, and skin. Avery has multiple brain tumors, (also called “tubers” because of their ‘potato shape’), skin, heart, and kidney tumors.

On January 9th of 2007, after battling daily seizures for six months Avery underwent a two stage brain resection surgery to remove two large calcified tumors in her left frontal lobe. Avery suffered life threatening post operative complications, including infection, and a blood clot that traveled to her lungs. Yet Avery defied the odds and came home from Cicinnati Children’s three weeks after the first sugery. She then spent twelve weeks in an intensive rehabilitative therapy program in Kansas City.

Avery experienced almost six months of blissful seizure freedom before they returned in June of ‘07. Since then we have worked to gain seizure control with medication. Unfortunately on November the 2nd this year, Avery suffered a status seizure that lasted an hour. At first we didn’t feel that she experienced any lasting effects from this prolonged seizure, but we are now noticing issues with balance, coordination, and the use of her right side. Avery continues to receive speech, physical, and occupational therapies each week. Further brain surgery is never out of the question, but something we are hoping to avoid. Despite the challenges Avery faces on a daily basis, she greets me every morning with a big smile. She is extremely curious, ornery, and loving. She LOVES trains (whoo! whoo!), cows (Mooooo!), and her big sissy, Kaylen (Day! Day!) Avery enjoys reading her books, playing with her toy piano, and chasing Kaylen. As many other families affected by TSC we live by the motto, “Avery may have TSC, but TSC does NOT have Avery!”

So you see, life hasn’t been easy for anyone since this little one entered the world. Miss Avery suffered some extreme complications while at the hospital having brain surgery and she is in fact a true miracle in every sense of the word. She is one tough cookie…

This little cutie is also one tough cookie to photograph! She is a mover and a shaker and I was all over the place trying to snap frames of her! She certainly didn’t want to sit still for even one second…hence the blur in this image!

When I see this next image, my mind immediately goes to the mountains that this mama has attempted to move for the sake of her daughter. Nothing is easy when it comes to Avery, nothing. Therapies, school, doctors appointments, blood draws, medications, conferences…the list goes on. From day one Lisa has gone above and beyond to make sure that Avery gets the best care she possibly can. She has gotten second opinions. She has researched. She has fought for her daughter and been her advocate every step of the way. She says she is simply doing what any other mom would do for her child, but the truth of the matter is, there are a lot of parents out there who quietly accept what the doctor says and never even attempt to do better by their child. So my friend, while you are a mom who loves both of her girls selflessly and unconditionally, you are also most certainly a hero in their eyes. {And the eyes of others!} Embrace that.  This song comes to mind…

While the focus of this one is definitely on Avery and her big green eyes, I absolutely love how you can see her little fingers sticking through her daddy’s hand. This family was blessed with a daddy who is all heart and who loves his three girls more than mere words can describe. When a child is diagnosed with any type of illness, I think it is harder on the dad. Not because they love the child more or deeper or anything like that, but because so many men struggle with sharing their feelings. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is one daddy who would walk to the ends of the Earth if it meant bringing some peace to his youngest…

Before Avery happened on to the scene, Kaylen Rose was the only star of the show!

I hate to think about the fact that this beautiful big sister is now seven. Seven. Wasn’t it just last year that she herself was three and a half and sporting the uber cute Mod Zebra line from Gymboree? How has it happened that she has morphed from a Dora loving preschooler to a Hannah Montana loving girl? Time flies in every sense of the word…

Kaylen was a dream to photograph! So easy in fact that I wish I would have taken more of her with different props and in different positions! But…we were losing light quickly so I had to make the most of my time! {You may notice some of the grain in some of these…I had my ISO cranked all the way up trying to get enough light in!!} Next time we’ll start earlier and try some different stuff!

Kaylen has probably got to be the best big sister that two parents could ever dream of. She has a heart of gold and absolutely adores Avery. She loves that sister of hers like nobody’s business…their love for each other is mutual. They are lucky you see, for they have a tie that binds…that of sisterhood. It is something only they know. And while their relationship might not be the same as that of other sisters, I would bet you my last dollar that it will be one that carries them the farthest, teaches them the most and forever shines in their spirits.

Hart Family,

I hope you know how much we love you. How much our hearts hurt right alongside yours when Avery is having a yucky week or medications are being tweaked or setbacks are being had. I hope you know how happy we are for both of your girls when new things are learned, new places visited, new obstacles overcome.

Life is so much sweeter when it is shared with others. Lisa, I can’t imagine not having you in my life to chat celebrity gossip with, shop Gymboree online with and just simply talk to. It isn’t everyone who can listen to me babble on about nothing for hours on end! Some of my lonliest days have come while living here, but having you just a phone call away has been a lifesaver!

I love that our husbands have become such great friends. And although it bores me to tears to talk about mutual funds, the new grill and specifics of the hottest new boats, they seem to enjoy that kind of babble and it works!

I love how my kids love your kids. They are ALWAYS talking about them. Gentry remembers catching fireflies like it was this morning!

I hope when you see these images you see the beauty that surrounds you. I know all too well that each and every day with Avery is a challenge, but all of that seems to fade away when you see her eyes sparkle and her face light up. I know that Kaylen is growing up all too fast and that in just a couple of weeks the long days of summer will fade into a memory and a new school year will be upon all of us. I hope I managed to freeze in time just a bit of who she was this summer, who all of you were this summer…

Here’s to hoping we find our way back to Kansas for good sooner rather than later!

Meet adorable Abby. And of course her fabulous parents too, Bob and Lacy. They are from Kansas…Back Where I Come From. You can bet that they are “good people”…the kind I could sit and chat with for hours about nothing and everything all at the same time. The kind of people who adore their beautiful baby girl and want nothing but the best for her. The kind of people who miss the green grass and connectedness we find back home in Kansas. The kind of people who look forward to the day when they too are able to pack up their small family and head east, to where we will always consider home.

Saturday I was lucky enough to have my first “official” shoot with this family. Because I share just about everything, I’ll go ahead and fess up to the fact that I was a little on the nervous side when Lacy first contacted me! Not in my ability to forever freeze moments in their lives, but simply because this was the first time I had a “scheduled appointment” with someone I wasn’t already friends with! We all know I take thousands and thousands of pictures of my own family, but there is just a different feeling when you are shooting for someone else. I can’t really explain it…

As Lacy and I exchanged emails back and forth, we shared cell numbers. When she saw the area code for mine, she wrote back wondering if we were from the Kansas City area {we are keeping our Kansas numbers!!}. Crazy enough, she and her husband are also from Kansas and grew up just an hour away from Kansas City! What a small, small world it is! Bob even had a teacher who lived in my home town and commuted back and forth to work where he attended high school! In the days leading up to the shoot, I felt myself begin to relax a little…

I had an absolutely wonderful time! Abby was the cutest little thing and smiled away for me! She was about the easiest little person I have ever taken pictures of! In fact, I was having so much fun and taking so many that I filled up my entire memory card! OOPS! I’m going to have to invest in another one of those before too long!!

I love the connections I captured in these next few! A doting daddy and his little princess and a beautiful mama and her darling girl! As my kids are getting older, I guess I had forgotten how much pure love babies this age have. They are so happy and cheery and full of absolute adoration for those they love the most, their mama and daddy!

And then it was time for an outfit change!! What is better than a cute babe in a tutu and fun little headband?! {For some reason several of these images are losing some of their quality when uploaded to the web…the coloring is off a bit and they don’t appear quite like they do on the computer.}

I love her bright eyes and little crossed feet in this one!! You can just feel her happiness!

This next one is the first one of the batch that I edited. I can’t put my finger on it, but something about it just drew me in and caught my eye. And even after editing all of these and looking through the folder several times, it is still my personal fave!! Love the bright eyes and the pursed lips. Such a sweet, real, expression!

Thank you Bob and Lacy for meeting up with me! It was wonderful to meet some fellow Kansans and I truly had a great time hanging out and capturing some images of darling Abby and your family! You two are such a sweet couple and the love you have for Abby is evident! She is such one lucky little girl! I hope your first Mother’s Day was a great one!!