I get VERY excited to meet the new babies of my maternity clients. I am always curious to see who the baby looks like - is she more like mom or more like dad or (more often) the perfect combination of the two?
I met Miss B last weekend and I will admit, the first thing out of my mouth was “THAT HAIR!” She had a TON of it and (as you can see) it’s really dark! Mom admitted she was pretty surprised too at all the hair B was born with.
If you count the little fingers on the lower half of the belly, you will see 15. Divide those digits by 5 and you have three… and those are the already baked ones. Number 4 is still in the oven.
With three kiddos, the session was bound to get a little crazy, but I had a lot of fun and I think the family did too. I can’t wait to meet the newest addition!
The Misses E’s are two of my favorite girls! They are always so much fun to photograph and they have the BEST wardrobes (I’ve seen their closets - mom has fantastic taste!) They came in earlier this month (I am behind on my blog posts) for some holiday portraits. Definitely too cute! 
I love the close up shots of babies and kids. This brother & sister duo came in this past week for some holiday portraits - such a fun session!
I’ve had a run of WIDE awake newborns recently - I mean, teeny tiny babies that should be sleeping HOURS at a time decide that a session with me is just TOO exciting to sleep through! While I am flattered, poor mom & dad are mystified at the change in their bundle of joy’s habits! Nothing to worry about - the sessions may take a little longer, but I have more patience than a newborn and am more than happy to wait until they give in to their heavy eyelids.
Mr. C was such a newborn - he was good natured, relatively happy, but just would NOT go to sleep no matter how much milk he was stuffed with. Finally, at the very end of the session, he gave in and closed his eyes for a few moments. Beautiful….
And the shot we were waiting for….
V&H: I hope you have the chance to view these images together. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to capture these moments for you!
I started out almost 4 years ago with one studio light, a single black backdrop and a few willing subjects. This past Saturday I had the opportunity to get back to those basic elements again photographing a wonderful mom with her two boys. When she scheduled her session, she had a “look” in mind - a portrait of Princess Diana with her sons. It’s a classic image that we all recognize.
We of course did a variety of shots to tie in with the overall theme of the portraits - black on black. I love the basics! So classic.
For now, her arms reach around her boys…
Look who’s two! Yes, you may recognize this little guy from my website - a very popular subject! (He’s the kiddo in denim on the “previews” page of the main site!) He’s celebrating a birthday this upcoming weekend and came to see me with his mom and dad this past weekend for his pictures! He showed up with his Chicago Bears Halloween costume - complete with football and helmet! Here are a couple of my favorites:
I celebrated my birthday on Friday - I love birthdays… well, for the most part.. next year’s birthday might hurt a smidge. LOL
What I love most about birthdays is that you get to eat cake and I LOVE CAKE!! My parents came to town for the weekend and my mom made my favorite type of cake - Mayonnaise Cake! I swear it’s the best chocolate cake EVER! Tastes nothing like mayonnaise - even the staunchest of mayonnaise haters will admit that this cake is pretty darn good (you just can’t tell them that it has mayonnaise in it before they try it!)
So, now that I’ve peaked your interest in this delicious cake, I will share the recipe:
Mayonnaise Cake
1 1/4 c sugar
1 c Miracle Whip (okay, so it’s not really mayonnaise, but USE Miracle Whip!)
1 tsp vanilla
2 c flour
6 T cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 pinch salt
1 c water
Cream sugar and Miracle Whip, add vanilla. Sift dry ingredients together and then add to sugar/MW mixture. Mix in water. Bake in greased and floured 9×13 pan for 30-40 minutes. (also makes a nice bunt cake, but you definitely have to bake it closer to 40 minutes.)
Yum Yum Yum!