We photographed her wedding I think three years or maybe it’s four years ago now.  We met her for coffee at downtown starbucks and talked things over, I’m pretty sure that when she booked with us I was still working at the Journal, WOW that seems like forever ago now!  Anyhow it was a beautiful wedding and I especially remember enjoying time with her family before hand photographing Rachel and her siblings.

Fast forward to July 2010 and Rachel and Sean welcome a sweet baby boy into their lives— little Harrison— HARRY!  So, they called me up and I had the pleasure of photographing their new addition.  I was pregnant at the time with Ezra.  We chatted, enjoyed ourselves and I did my best to document their sweet baby.  Little did I know that dinner and several conversations later that we would be seeing Rachel on a regular basis.

Many of you have asked what we do with Ezra while we’re working— well Rachel is just one of the people who makes what we do possible, she graciously shares her time, knowledge, love and son with Ezra several days a week making it possible for me to work on all your lovely photographs!  Thank you so much for sharing your lives with us we are blessed to call you friends.  And I know Harry can’t read this or even understand this sentiment right now, but thank you little man for hanging out with my buddy, showing him how to smile, growl, crawl, giggle, bang things, bump things, pretty much all things boy and for sharing your summer, your mommy and the last several months with my Ezra.  Happy First year Harry, here’s to many new adventures!

What a relief it was to have a professional (the ohhh so talented Abby Miller of Lavish Photography)  come to our house for a newborn session, and to take some sweet pics of our new little guy. I now realize not only how difficult it is to photograph your own child, but how exhausted you are when it comes to having a new little addition. I am sooo glad that this was one thing we did think to do!  Being in photographs is not our forte, but these photos will be something we treasure forever.

The reason I blog about this at all right now is that I traded a session with Abby, which she recently cashed in on and am working on her family photos right now, so I thought it might be fun to see some behind the scenes from our shoot before I show you her shoot, and to let you all know that when it comes to getting your photos taken we understand. We understand when you aren’t sure about what you are wearing, how you are standing, what the weather is like, or even what you are looking for, because we’ve been there too!  Feel free to talk through with us before hand. I love to hear your thoughts, concerns, ideas and want each of your shoots to be exactly what you are looking for!

Stay tuned for Abby’s family session up next on the blog— and YES it involves a little homemade tent constructed by my amazing husband, {thank you Shane}

I think sometimes when people hear "I shoot on location or in your home" they think ohhh my house won't work for that. But really everyone's home has someplace to shoot, and I now know from personal experience how awesome it is to have someone come to your house for newborn sessions! Love it, you probably would too.

some of you got these thank you's in the mail. But I thought you'd all like to see a few of the images that Abby captured at our session. I ended up with three announcement type cards that we sent out.

Abby at work. It was so nice to completely trust her. Random fact-- Abby and I met because I tried to buy an ikea closet from her off of craigslist!

Janelle and I have talked often about the dividing line between professional blog and personal blog and what is appropriate, and if anyone even reads these little meanderings, does it really matter or is it just more filler in an information over saturated world?  We read other people’s blogs – we stalk them, love living vicariously through them, gleefully mining ideas, gathering inspiration, hunting for new and interesting  artifacts, images, angles, and designs and think we don’t have anything that interesting to post about.  In all honesty, we feel our lives have been extremely full of business over the past few years and sorely thin in personal adventures – which is how we approached it in getting our little boutique up and running – we don’t regret it for one minute.  It’s hard to believe that 4 short years ago we were stumbling into this and flying by the seat of our pants.  That so many wonderful people have given us a chance, have opened themselves up to us and our cameras.  Maybe it’s time we opened ourselves up to those that have entrusted us with their milestones, with their bench marks, their zeniths, their successes, their love.  Their lives. It’s incredibly humbling when you stop to think about it.

Can you tell I have had ample time to reflect?  So you might begin to see some subtle changes around here.  We have something new to talk about – crazy baby things like urban camouflage man diaper purses (am making Janelle return it) or strange Native American infant swaddling practices involving sage and cotton fibers, antique baby cribs are cool but only if the space between the rails is too small for an infant to wedge its head, whole food diets, mall walking, feng shui paint colors for brain development, the new thing Ezra did today, why we love groupon but won’t be doing a groupon, and other general new age, post modern, vintage revival, steam punk weirdness for you to be amused by.

And then there is the lifestyle and photography stuff that we love and think is worth sharing but haven’t considered the fact before now that, you dear reader, might enjoy some of the same things that we enjoy.  Tiny example – Kiss The Groom.  Or are The Raconteurs appropriate to play at my wedding – yes.  Or should I think McSweeny’s Internet Tendency is cool – absolutely.  Is it a little smarmy – yep.  Or random ideas like instead of a hotel why not have the bridal party (or portion) stay in a Bed & Breakfast like the Worthington Mansion?  You love a vintage flair, we love a vintage flair – why not?  Can we be purveyors of good taste?  I don’t know but we can try.  Have questions we can answer – feel free to ask – others might want to know answers, too.  What will this all end up looking like?  I have no idea but you should click on the subscribe button to show us some love and help us stay number 6 in your programs but number 1 in your hearts, we can figure it out together, after all so many of our clients have this little habit of becoming extended family.  It makes us very happy to grow together – doesn’t it seem like that’s how God planned it?

This all brings me back to Mr. Chompers.  He lives in a box nailed to a tree in our back yard.  It used to be a bird box but he modified the opening for his purposes.  He has a mangy tail.  He eats our bird seed.  He is Bella’s frenemy.  He likes to sit on top of his little box and squirrel bark at Bella.  Bella loves to hear him from inside the house and go absolutely bonkers until we let her out so she can run around the back yard maniacally searching for him until she remembers to look up (approx 6 minutes) into the trees.  Then she decides he must be easier to get to from inside on the 2nd floor.  His tree is outside the window of the room that used to be the office but is now the nursery (long story).  When it was the office, Bella could look out and see him eye level, which may explain her confusion that she couldn’t find him eye level when she went outside.  Her confusion could also be explained by the fact that she is a ditz.

You know that feeling you get when you are being watched but can’t see anyone?  I was leaving the house last week and felt that way.  Looking around I finally saw Mr. Chompers with his head and paw hanging out of his home.  He looked so forlorn.  It was a miserable gray day in a long string of miserable gray days after those 3 good days we had that just teased us.  I hadn’t seen him since last fall and felt his pain immediately.  Why is it not spring yet?  Of course by the time I ran back in to grab a camera, he had changed to a more dignified position, but this is what I could grab of him at the time.  Today, as I wrote this Mr. Chompers was in a different tree, eye level with the window in our current office, barking and twitching his mangy tail – as if to let Bella know he’s ready for a visit.  She hasn’t connected the dots yet.  But the buttercup buds look about ready to open and the tulips are springing up so we have to be close to full fledged spring now.  Lord knows I am ready for it.

I finally stopped to take a minute to sort through a few pictures.  Thank you to all who attended (and many of you who couldn’t make it) I can’t tell you how encouraging the love, support, prayers, gifts, kind words, advice, and general spoiling have meant to us!  We truly have felt showered by your love!  To my sister, Jen, it’s been so fun to share this with you, to my small group girls, I can’t imagine this time without you, and to all those who have been with us through this journey sharing in our excitement THANK YOU, seriously thank you.

Without further ado I give you a sampling of images from the Circus themed baby shower, complete with a big top constructed in my dining room, little fish soap (you know the kind you win at a fair/circus), friends, family, and some yummy treats!