Bella turned three the day before we took these pictures. She is definitely a three-year-old in all the best ways, including her willingness to wear this super cute hat for a ton of pictures! We had to hurry to dodge the late afternoon thunderstorms and she was such a trooper the whole time, barefoot and all. One super cool thing about Bella: the pillowcase dress she wore was appliqued by her great-grandmother, the lace was put on by her great-great-grandmother, and her grandmother turned the pillowcase into a dress! How cool is that. The only bad thing about my session with Bella was that we made the unfortunate discovery that the BBG has replaced the famous red door with a brand spankin' new one! It hadn't been painted yet so I'm hoping hoping hoping they'll paint it the same color.

Though I end up at the Botanical Gardens here in Birmingham a lot, I am always amazed at what it's like to see them through the eyes of a child who's never been there before. I tell people a lot that the fact that so many kids have never been is one of my favorite parts about taking pictures there. There's so much to look at and it lets me capture the natural explorer in whoever I'm photographing. Walker was always ready for whatever was around the next corner and his gentle but endearingly silly spirit made him an easy subject. Not to mention that his red hair and cowboy boots are awesome!

Corey and I love living in Helena and one of our favorite parts is the park down by the river. We love to take our dog, Attie, down there to swim and run around. They tell me that technically it's not a river but a creek but we call it that anyway. I was excited to have the chance to take pictures of Holly and Hannah by the water a few weeks ago. They are sweet sisters who love each other a ton and make each other laugh like you wouldn't believe. They were super patient with me as I made them get in flower beds with the bugs, climb up on fences and trees and picnic tables, and wade in the water. Their song choice was requested by their mama and I think it's a perfect fit!

We just got home from a wonderful weekend at the beach with Corey's family. (Actually, I'm the only one who's home already...most of the fam is still there!) We did all the usual beach things--putt-putt, sandcastles, walks on the sand--but they were especially fun through the eyes of an almost four-year-old. Corey's mom, Vicki, made this incredible dress for Alex and it was finished just in time for pictures on the beach. Unfortunately, an otherwise cloudy weekend was as bright as could be when it came time for the pictures. So...we didn't do too well on the dress pictures but I got some good ones of playtime on the beach. I'll post more later but here's a couple to start. This picture of Corey and Alex is one of my favorites ever!