Ibrahim, 7 weeks

Meet adorable Ibrahim and his family.  I just love his pudgy arms and face.  I wanted to just gobble him up!  He is so cute and adorable.  And the little suit they dressed him in with the hat and tie......ADORABLE!

I just loved the little shoes he had on, too.

Mom and Dad looked great, too.  I think that the picture of Dad with Ibrahim is one of my favorites.  You can just feel the love pouring off the page.

Avery, 1 month

Welcome to the world little Avery!

You got to meet little Avery before we knew she was going to be little Avery.  Remember that maternity shoot I did a couple of months back?  Well, they had their baby.  Isn't she adorable?

And very much loved.

Lions and Monkeys and Boys, Oh My

When I was downsized from my job last year, I joined a couple of mom's groups to help keep me and my girls busy.  It worked.  Now the girls and I have a very social calendar.  Add to that my photo sessions and my husband's motorcyle riding forays, we are a very busy family.  And you're probably wondering what that has to do with the title of this blog post.  Well, being a part of such large and active mom's groups has introduced me to some of the cutest kids and great moms.  I got to meet more kids and moms today when I hosted a mini-Halloween photoshoot.  Moms brought their kids to me at Mears Park to take memorable photos of their darling kiddos sporting their Halloween costumes (or just for a fun fall photo).  I had so much fun!  It was so hard choosing just one or two photos from each family to showcase.  But here it goes....thanks for looking!

Liam, 14 months

 Santiago, 8 months

Rylee Marie, 16 months

Melody, 23 months

Everett, 22 months

Optimus Prime Strikes Again!

I had a fun photoshoot with Henry (4), his little sister, Thea (5 months), and parents Marty and Nina.  Henry is your typical 4-year-old boy - more interested in making funny faces and playing than getting his picture taken.  But after Mom and Dad promised him a visit to Dairy Queen, Henry was picture perfect. 

Little sister Thea was absolutely adorable.  Such big blue eyes!  She even let me hold her for a bit, so I was in heaven.

All in all, it was such a fun shoot.  Thanks for looking!

Baby Liam (3 months)

Ohhh....I just love little babies.  Now that my two are getting older, I have to get my baby fix somewhere, so I just love when I have a photo shoot involving an infant. 

Liam isn't quite 3 months old, but Mom and Dad really wanted to take advantage of the beautiful fall weather to get some pictures outside.  We had such gorgeous weather, too, so I'm glad we opted for outdoors.  They even brought along the family pooch, Milo, to get the whole family in the shoot.  Such a good looking family!

 And Liam was too cute all by himself.  Mom and Dad opted for my Grow with Me packet, so you'll get to see more of this cutie in 3 months!

The H family

All of my shoots are a lot of fun, but this one was really fun.  Kate is a former colleague of mine, so we've known each other for a while.  I think that having the history helped everyone be so relaxed.  Besides, her daughter, Sammy (4), is just a ham and LOVES playing it up for the camera.  You can tell how much this family loves each other.  They didn't even have to pretend too hard when I told them to pretend to love each other to help break the ice.  I had such a hard time choosing photos to showcase, so you get a lot to view.  I'm just going to let them speak for themselves.

And of course, I have to include one just for me.  Isn't Sammy adorable?

Meet the T family - October's Winners!

Meet Nick, Grace, and Henry.  Their mom won my October drawing, and as they live in the Mankato area, I was able to capitalize on my visit to my hometown for my nephew's birthday.  We went to Minneopa State Park to do the pictures.  It was such a beautiful day, the park was crawling with photographers!

Nick is 14 and VERY TALL.  Grace will be 5 soon and Henry is 3.  We had to make sure that Nick didn't tower over the younger kids, so I pulled out our old family loveseat to help group them better. 

Henry really didn't want to cooperate in the beginning, but after a little persuasion and a few tricks up my sleeves, I got some cute smiles out of him.  I heard his mom say that they were going to get some DQ once they were done.  Lucky kids!

And then there's Grace.  At almost 5 she didn't know how grown-up to be.  You could tell she wanted to play, but she also knew she had to be on her best behavior.  Of course, that meant she had a little difficulty always looking into the camera, but we talked about her favorite princesses.  She likes Ariel and Cinderella the best.

And once again I'm going to share a picture that I just love.  There's nothing like secrets between siblings, though I don't think Henry really shared a secret.  I think he just whispered funny words into Grace's ear.

Fatima (13 months)

It was an absolutely gorgeous October day....almost too gorgeous some would say.  I mean, whoever heard of 80s in October?  The heat mixed with the hazy sun and the fall colors helped keep spirits high for this photo shoot with 13 month old Fatima.

I was originally supposed to meet with her and her family at Mill City Ruins, but due to some changes in scheduling, we decided to go for a more natural landscape.  I drove to their house where they have a wonderful backyard.  It was absolutely delectable in fall foliage, so I can only imagine what it's like during the spring and summer.  Maybe I'll get to go back when the garden is in full bloom (hint, hint :)). 

Mom, Dad, and Fatima were resplendent in their red outfits.  Some people say that red isn't a good color for photos.  I tend to disagree.  Red totally pops off the page.  And the outfits certainly went with the apple props I brought to help direct Fatima's attention.  She LOVED those apples.

After we had gotten a few shots with the red outfits, mom put her in a traditional outfit.  I loved the color of that as well.  So pretty!

One of my favorites from the day isn't even that great as far as composition goes.  But it makes me giggle every time I see it.  What a moment to capture!  I hope you enjoy the pictures!