I was excited to get an email from Miss Kristen’s mom a few months ago saying she needed to schedule a 1 Year session for her newest little girl. I’d photographed her first daughter, Tara, in July 07 and I always LOVE to see how families grow over the years. We set a date just after her first birthday.

Kristen was a true delight – beautiful eyes and a gorgeous smile. 

I have a special introduction for a very special family who is near and dear to me. Christi and her daughter Bella (as a suprise for Dad, Rick)  had the pleasure of being one of the first families I photographed when I started business nearly 6 years ago.  Realizing that we had a TON of things in common (love of cupcakes being one of them!) we became great friends and have decided that Bella and Kevin will one day marry each other so that we can fight over who gets to take care of the grandkids.

But, I digress…  What I want to share that Rick, Christi and Bella are wanting to complete their family through the adoption of a child. As Christi shared on her recent holiday card:

… word of mouth is one of the most successful paths to adoption. As you are catching up with friends and family this holiday season, if you hear of anyone who may be in a situation where they are looking to place a child for adoption, we hope that you’ll pass our information along to them.

So, as you are gathered around the table this holiday season, gossiping (c’mon! we all do it!) about the happenings of the past year and speculating about the New Year, feel free to gossip about a wonderful family in Arizona that is hoping that 2010 will bring them a new member of the family to welcome with lots of love and adoration.

To find out more about Rick, Christi and Bella, visit their adoption PAGE and be sure to stop by the BLOG.

I really have to admit that my new favorite location to shoot casual, fun family sessions is Saguaro Ranch Park in Glendale. Every time I am there I find new, fun areas to explore and LOVE to watch the kids chase after the chickens when the shoot is all done.

Andy, Matt and Grace (and their Mom & Dad) were such a joy to work with! Here are a few from their session.

It was a tough decision to make – shoot at beautiful Anthem Park north of town or explore Scottsdale Civic Plaza. I knew I had two gorgeous girls to work with and either location would be fantastic, but the lure of ice cream and arcade games won out as soon as their mom mentioned that they LOVE the Sugar Bowl in Old Town Scottsdale. There is not much of a better treat for after a wonderful portrait session, so we were Civic Plaza bound…

… us and HUNDREDS of white tents. I neglected to check the Civic Plaza calendar to realize that there was a HUGE artfest being held on the Plaza grounds.

Thankfully, after we finally found each other (thank goodness for cell phones!) we had a fabulous session! Still plenty of prime locations for shooting and looking at the final images you’d never guess there were a see of white tents all over the place. Huge thanks to E & L’s parents for having to gorgeous girls who more than deserved their post-session visit to the Sugar Bowl!

For the past 4.5 years we’ve had the awesome opportunity for our children to attend Shadow Rock Preschool which is located near our home in North Central Phoenix.  Kevin absolutely LOVED the teachers and classmates and Sarah is enjoying herself this year as well.

This upcoming Saturday, December 5th, Shadow Rock Preschool will be hosting a holiday shopping boutique as a fundraiser for the preschool. I will be participating in the event along with many other great vendors/business.

I had the pleasure of photographing Mr. Hudson a couple weeks ago. Such a cutie at 6 months of age! While he was born in AZ, I think he’s a TX boy at heart since both his mom and his dad are from the Lone Star State.  I predict cowboy boots, a Stetson and Wranglers in his future… but throw in some wrap around Ray-Bans for an AZ touch.  Give him 16 years or so and he will be making the girls giggle and sigh with a simple wink.

But for now, he’s a little munchkin who likes to cuddle with Mom & Dad and loves his stuffed lion doll…

Did I mention the gorgeous eyes?

I have to start off by saying that  I’ve been a neglectful photographer and haven’t scoped out new locations for a LONG time and thus have missed a GEM of a location on the west side of town. Saguaro Ranch Park in Glendale is truly a delightful place to visit even when you are not having portraits taken! For those who are unfamiliar with the venue, it’s a historic farm and still boasts many of the old buildings, tractors and other rustic accessories that were required to operate a farm during the late 1800s into the early 1900s.

Such a location was the perfect spot for Jackson & Owen – two delightful boys who knew exactly how to charm this photographer. I wanted to pack them both into my car after the session and haul them home with me.  I’ve decided that my Sarah should marry little Owen and that Jackson & my Kevin would delight in bucket after bucket of Legos.

Here are a few from J & Os session.

There are various chickens running around the farm area of the park. If you EVER need to find a way for your young children to burn off loads of energy, I guarantee you that chasing chickens will lead to tired children.

You definitley will recognize these two beauties – Maddie & Melanie were featured on the blog a few months ago when they came in for a studio session to capture Melanie at age two.  Dad, however, couldn’t make the session, so Mom decided that we’d follow up once the weather cooled off for a family session outdoors. And BOY has it cooled off!  With temps in the low to mid-50s, it was a bit chilly for our morning session at DC Ranch Market Street, but the results were worth it. Huge thanks to Mrs. G for the chance again to photograph her gorgeous girls and to Mr. G who just smiled and went along with it all!

Miss Brittan has a birthday this weekend, so I REALLY want to share this sneak peek now so all her family and friends can see what an adorable gal she is.  Big thanks to her Mom and Dad for the privilege to photograph their little girl.

Hunter turned 9 months and to keep in line with the portraits we took for his older brother Carter, we captured some ADORABLE portraits of him in his monkey Halloween costume.  We even prop’d it up a bit with a banana!