There are few people I would rather spend time with than our niece, Alex. I love her sweetness and her silliness and also the way that she just GETS things. Also, I think she is the cutest thing I have ever seen. I take pictures of her every chance I get, which she is TOTALLY over in a really funny way. Since the beach pictures were such a wash for the most part, we did these last week downtown. It was a new venue for me to take pictures but Corey's sister, Casey, is great about letting me experiment with photography on her daughter. I really love these pictures but I think it's mostly 'cause I REALLY love Alex.

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!

My little brother is getting married to an incredible girl named Kelly. She has been a part of our family for as long as I can remember and we are all beside ourselves that they are going to be husband and wife. They came to town a couple of weeks ago and let me take their pictures which was so so fun for me. My favorite thing about Andy and Kelly is the way that they laugh together ALL THE TIME. I hope you'll be able to see how much they love each other through the pictures. I am so thankful for both of them.

It is summer in Alabama! And that can make for sweaty and cranky kids. I expected my session with Avery to be a difficult one since it was so hot outside but the opposite turned out to be true. It was still a million degrees but Avery was an incredibly sweet and agreeable subject. No matter how hot she got, she kept on smiling. And couldn't you just eat her up? She is SO cute!

We got home this afternoon from a wonderful trip to L.A. for Corey's job. He had to be in meetings a lot but I got to explore some fun parts of the city. The weather was gorgeous and a nice break from the Alabama humidity! We are getting better and better about flying and really enjoy traveling. We are so grateful to have had this opportunity. Here are a few of our favorite pictures...

a view from the spot we ate lunch, paradise cove...

corey doing his baywatch scene from the lifeguard stand...

corey's incredibly generous boss took us to eat at an awesome restaurant in malibu called geoffrey's. here is a view of the parking lot if it gives any clue to what kind of place it is! i thought the food was wonderful and loved how it sits right on the ocean. i just knew we were going to see famous people there and as soon as we sat down, brad garrett (who played Robert, the brother, on Everybody Loves Raymond) was seated two tables away from us with his two kiddos. i wish that i was cooler than this but i am a total freak for famous people and thought that it was SO COOL. it was totally the kind of place where they kick you out for taking pictures of famous people since it's such a local hangout so one of the guys in our group took a discreet one from the tabletop. i'll try to post it soon.

a classic california scene...

an incredible organic farmer's market in santa monica...
sunset in the mountains...we were late to the company's catered dinner in order to catch this sunset but it was worth it. i can say that since there was plenty of food left.

It is not hard to see that Deklon and Saniya are two of the coolest (and silliest) kids ever. Their mama, Candace, is a co-worker and great friend of mine. Her husband's name is Corey, too,(which can be really confusing at work) and they love their babies so well. Many of you may remember praying for Saniya last summer when she had to spend some time in the hospital after she was born. She is doing really well and makes us laugh all the time. She may be little but talk about a firecracker of a girl!

Our friends, Darin and Leah, have two really precious, really fun boys that I got the chance to photograph several weeks back. Having known the two of them before they married, we have really loved watching their family grow! Leah was great to put me in touch with several of her friends, too. We did a whirlwind weekend of sessions but I loved trying out some new places and getting to know so many neat families.

Jackson and Hayden


Abbey, Anna, and Mary Beth

Rachel, Anna, and Caitlin

The Turners

Hampton and Houston

Madalyn and Maryn are two of my favorite girls ever. Madalyn was in my class when she was only three and now she is about to be in second grade! Madalyn has such a sweet and tender spirit and Maryn is so full of life and joy. Their family has been a great encouragement to me and I love seeing how much they love their girls.

I loved taking engagement pictures of Adam and Jessica a couple of weeks ago. We had to get them done before Jessica left for Thailand for the summer! Adam is an incredible musician and has been playing with Corey's band for the last few months. We have loved getting to know them better as a couple and are looking forward to more of that in the future! I am excited about doing the pictures for their wedding in October. They love to laugh and could not be happier together.

Okay, this is my real first post! I've never done this before! I thought that I would set up a blog so that my friends and clients could have a place to see recent photo sessions. I hope that you'll be able to link to the slideshows as I finish them. I don't really know how to do this so I thought I'd start by posting this picture of Corey and me at the beach on our third anniversary. We went to Mexico Beach for the week and had a wonderful time. He was great about letting me take all these pictures even though I had to run back and forth to press the timer button every time!

my first post