Featured Friend: Lauren & Peapod Design

One of my goals for this blog was to feature my friends' businesses when I wasn't busy posting my own photo sneak peeks...(un)fortunately, it's taken me until August to get myself organized to do that! But, I'm going to start off with Lauren. She was hired to work my maternity leave for Miss A. And, while we only overlapped 2 weeks or so before my leave & 2 weeks or so when I was transitioning back, we have stayed in touch since then & are always sending each other, "did you see this?" "can you believe this?" on typography, designs, wedding dresses and whatever else we find inspirational.

Lauren has her own freelance design company, and has showcased some amazing work in the portfolio section. Her true (design) love is invitations (to which I can totally relate!). Stop by to "Like" her Facebook page to view some examples of those.

So, please go check out her work on Peapod Design. She built this website herself, which is very impressive to me (as I have no desire to learn web design at all). She also has a blog, which can be found here. And, there's more - she also has great fashion sense, is an accomplished runner & is compiling an impressive Derby hat collection!

Lauren, I'm so thankful Farley hired you 4 years ago! : )

My Baby: 0-9 Months

Click here to view this photo book larger

Quote of the Day

“Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.” ― Victor Borge





Have a great day, and be sure to laugh a little!

Mr. I: Newborn

This little guy must have really liked me, because he just did not want to go to sleep. Sooo, I had to keep holding him. A few different times I employed the 3-Part Calming System (hmm, totally made that one up, but as Barney Stinson would say, "It's gonna be a thing!"). Bouncing up & down, swaying back and forth & patting his bottom simultaneously did do the trick, though. : )

Unfortunately, they are going to be moving soon, so I, along with the rest of our friends, will miss seeing them live and in person. But, hopefully we'll be able to see these two continue to grow via emailed photos, Facebook updates, maybe a new blog??? (you can do it!) and Skype, of course. Love technology!


Wide-eyed little man in the first hour - sleepy guy in the 4th...check out that extra crease in the middle of his bicep. Chubby babies are the best.

Ok, I lied. He must've been resting his eyes for a second in that first hour (seen here). ha ha

For this session, I got to try out some new knits I'd acquired recently from Kara Heichelbech, of Three Strands of Love. Thanks so much!! I love his fingers gripping through the holes. He did that all on his own - too sweet.

And, during one of the baby breaks, big sis', dad & I headed outside to get some photos...such a big girl!

Hope you enjoyed the sneak peek of Mr. I (& Miss A)!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

The whole day of this session was beautiful...until about 30 minutes before we met (and, we even moved it up 30 minutes to try to beat the rain). ha! Mother Nature pretty much just does what she wants. Even so, it wasn't too hard of a rain & we braved it. Wouldn't you know, it stopped raining for the last 15 minutes or so of our time together - of course! : )

The setting for this session was Cool Springs Education Center. It is a vast property, with lots of features. We got some great shots in the rain, so I can only imagine what we could've done in the sunshine. Another wooded area = more ticks. None for me this time, but one of the little guys had 2. Luckily, I had the Tick Twister on hand from my last tick experience. By the way, if any of you are familiar with that product, can you please let me know where you got it or have seen it? It's my mom's, but she can't remember where she found it. Thanks!

Now, on to a little sneak peek!

The main lake was the safe haven for most of our session - you can see the rain drops (and overcast, but bright sky, which made for great lighting).

What a great family - I so enjoyed spending time with you!

How about all of these bright blue eyes?! They were all excellent models, too. Every so often, they'd each decide on another pose they'd want to try - loved it! You could totally see their different personalities coming through, too...

Thank you for being such troopers, G Family - braving the rain, walking the property, surviving ticks & little brothers!

Furly's Family

I like to keep client's names anonymity in my posts, but I thought this title wouldn't be too much of a giveaway (unless you know her already, obviously). Another beautiful family photographed and catching up with an old friend along the way makes for a great evening. They were troopers, though, with some of them having been to the doctor or hospital only 2 days prior! Or a day trip to Holiday World, which is equally as tiring! That place is tons of fun - you should go, if you haven't already.

The backdrop was their family farm, complete with a litter of kittens. I would definitely love to go back and photograph that spot another time (and, peruse through the various barns and buildings for Alphabetography)...hint, hint. : )

A look at some of the images we got:

Proud Mama K.

Look closely at those sweet boots! (Miss K's, not Dad's, of course) (click each image to enlarge)

She was so smiley, despite being sick. What a doll.

I did get some serious shots of her, too. Those are some seriously big blue eyes!

Sweet baby girl...

We (ok, I) didn't have enough time to explore every nook & cranny, but they had staked out this area for a shot - good spot!

I do love upside down pictures! And, more big blue eyes...

Thank you, Furly & Family!

Growing Up

Here is a sweet sibling duo for you...You might remember them from last year, but boy, have they grown up since then. It's always fun riding around on this property, taking pictures, catching up with their mom, too. What a great way to spend a morning! And, it was just like being at home, with Miss R (who is my daughter's age) wanting to sit on my lap as we rode around. She also took quite a liking to the idea of being the photographer, because by the end of our time together, she was repeating all my instructions to her family & attempting to pose them. It was so cute, and she was great comic relief for the entire group. Oh, and she was very concerned with checking me for ticks (my total count ended up being 7, by the way!).

It's also a good thing that we moved our session to a week earlier, because our original date was today & it is supposed to be raining and storming all day.

I noticed they enjoyed picking on each other a lot more this year...the "nice" shots of them together were a little trickier this time around. : )

A little time down by the water, looking for minnows...

They had matching guns, but Miss R's was pink camo, of course!

Such a cool little guy - heading to Kindergarten in the Fall...

Little Miss Motherly...

...and, my future assistant! Getting the family picture, and making sure it's good. For some shots, she had to take the picture first, then, and only then, would she accept being in the picture so I could take it. It was too cute.