I can’t even begin to describe all the work this little beauty’s parents went through to get here here. After countless doctor appointments, procedures, and more, the parents of little H finally heard the “you’re pregnant” news and have been beyond elated ever since. She is truly a miracle and I am SO incredibly honored that I was able to capture her cute-ness yesterday!

Guess who (at SIX months) started crawling last week??? This little lady! So happy we were able to capture this milestone.

Thanks T for having me yesterday — so excited to finally meet you and your family. Can’t wait until our fam session/bday celebration for little H!

Hope you’re having a lovely day! ~mm

We braved the heat a couple days ago (a hard thing for these Washingtonians!) and set out for some updated family pics.

Oh do I love this smiley guy!

Babies bring so much peace, love and happiness. I love watching families grow.

Have a splendid day!
~mm

This little beauty of a baby is visiting ME and my lucky family this weekend. We took a couple minutes this morning between a nap and feeding and hit a favorite green spot. We literally had…oh…5 minutes and 39 seconds. But we’re champs and made it work AND he thought the trees were fascinating for a couple of those minutes. I’ve been waiting to use this gem of a crib for a month or so, and it worked out perfectly! Just what I imagined. Yay.

I met his momma, the fabulous Jen Fox, at a photography workshop about two and a half years ago. We’ve been chatting/collaborating/visiting lots since. It’s been wonderful. And to see her with a little family now is beyond amazing.

Speaking of family, I took pics of their WHOLE fam two days ago and those are waiting to hit the blog, too. L-O-V-E them.

Hope you have a fabulous weekend. I have some exciting shoots scheduled for tomorrow and then am going to ‘kick it’ with our guests their last day here (is it TIME already???). {Hope you like these Grandma….they’re headed home to you soon!}
~mm

Meet the sweet soccer superstar S (and the rest of her siblings below).

Mom brought a hat for this little guy, too — SO cute with his little outfit.

Oh these kiddos make me smile.    Mom was one of the first women I met in Texas and it’s been a pleasure seeing their family several days a week through various kid classes & sports we have our children enrolled in.  Mom and I are on an endless quest to find what’s BEST for our kids (soccer? ballet? piano? dance? gymnastics? which camp? which teacher? the list goes onnnnn….).  It’s tough work, I tell ya!   We also volunteer at the elementary school library together, so over the past year, we’ve bonded over shelving books and escorting adorable kindergartners to the latest, greatest book.    OH, AND their dad coaches the girls’ soccer team…so yeah…we see quite a bit of each other!

Anyway, back to the portraits.  Aren’t these kiddos STUN-NING!!!   And so super duper sweet.  My daughter always gets giggly when she sees their oldest (pictured up top), which makes MY heart sing.

M Family — thank you for being so FUN & willing to do crazy, zany running (after these portraits, of course) and trusting me to capture your kiddos. You will receive gallery links shortly!

Have a terrific day!
~mm

After emailing with little R’s mom for quite some time it was incredible to finally meet yesterday morning!  This sweet little lady turned one the day before our session and mom wanted to document this very important birthday in pictures — love it!

As you can see, we had a fun, nature-filled morning!  I wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Mom has her own business making custom clothing for toddlers and children called Sand Dance Designs on Etsy, so I was really excited to see what she’d bring.  I can’t wait to get my daughter in some of her clothing.  The little outfits I saw were impeccably made and she has SUCH a gift for mixing fabrics.  I just love the little knot dress in the first two portraits.  Stay tuned for more of her creations AND  you’ll see her family on the blog again very soon!

Have a lovely rest of your weekend!

~mm

{oh these images just make me SMILE!!!!}

Ah…my time in Indianapolis has been wonderful!  Several months ago, I was invited to fly out to Indy to be with the B family to capture the newness of their fourth child.  Forth BEAUTIFUL child, I must add.

I met the momma, a FABULOUS photographer, a couple years ago at a workshop and am so very honored that she chose me to record this special time in their lives.  This week, I was flown out to take pictures of this cute, cute little gal and had an amazing time being welcomed into their great big happy family.   Their house is decorated amazingly well (wow!) so I had fun choosing this and that to use during our session(s).  I’m holding out on a couple VERY favorites because they’ll most-likely use the images on the birth announcement, but just know they’re fun!    I saw this cute lamb and pig in a cabinet and just knew that the simplicity of the folk-y animals would be adorable next to her on this piece of furniture.  You should have SEEN all the moving around we did –  all 100% worth it. 

Enjoy this beauty and thank you to the B family for your gracious hospitality and trusting me to capture your little baby girl.  {mwah!}

Have a lovely day!

~mm

Oh…and isn’t her hair UNbelievable? 

Fun FUN session today! We’ve been postponing meeting up for a while because of the weather and FINALLY we found a day with the most.perfect.sun.EVER!!!

I was thrilled when, discussing our session, this sweet mom brought up her son’s love for tractors. I knew immediately that the tractor tie-in would be just perfect. I think it’s awesome when parents and I can work together to come up with something fun for the child AND fun for us! Plus, remembering this adorable stage (tractors, trains, whatever a child’s fancy!) is so important! And get this…for this little man’s first birthday, they had a John Deere party! I love it.

And I have a new VERY favorite picture. Seriously…her boots, his little smile and jacket, the green background… SO adorable. I even put a little texture on it!

More to come! Thanks for SUCH a lovely time today, T!
Have a lovely weekend.
~mm

Ahh…a sweet, soft, fresh-smelling, newborn. How lucky am I that several days after I’m back in Arizona, my kids and I got to spend some time with my beautiful girlfriend & her kiddos???! This little baby girl, also seen {here} was perfectly kiss-a-licious!

{those LIIPS!}

During my last visit to Phoenix, I happened upon this little wicker stroller (my mom kindly kept it in her garage) and just couldn’t pass it up. The texture, the color, the size, the handle…it was love at first sight!!!

The momma and I love all things vintage and I was thrilled she was up for putting her little gal in the buggy for a couple minutes. Even though little N was a bit too long for it, she snuggled right in and started to sleep away…

…even though her toesies were exposed JUST a little.

Have a super, relaxing day!
~mm

This cutie’s momma and I met over 4 years ago. In fact, she came to our house for a playgroup when her oldest son was a mere six weeks old. I remember feeling a mom/teacher/artist/friend connection right away and we’ve definitely bonded throughout the years with life’s ups and downs.   Our kiddos have grown up singing Happy Birthday to each other year after year and have played for as long as they can remember.   The hard part about our family being in Texas now is missing out on the day-to-day fun with our Phoenix friends — the Bales, Robertsons, Finchers, Arces…zoo trips with the Baneys.

I was really REALLY hoping to be able to photograph the birth of this little lady, but she surprised her family more than FIVE weeks early!!! I just feel fortunate to be able to capture her in her newborn state! Typically, I only photograph newborns around 6-10 days old, but since she was born so early (AND we didn’t have much of a choice with my travel plans to AZ) we gave it a whirl! It’s typically more difficult to get older babies to sleep, and she definitely fought, but we got plenty of lovely newborn images.

Can’t wait to watch this little lady grow up. Love ya, C!!!
Have a lovely day!
~mm

Newborns are so peaceful & precious. I love when mommies give them some major cuddles and look SO at peace. This little lady is the third of three beautiful kiddos…according to mom, she’s been a joy so far, just going with the flow. Gotta love that!

Stay tuned for some family images soon!
Have a great day. ~m

{HOUSE update} — We are 1/2 packed!!! The kiddos had wild eyes when they crept upstairs this afternoon to see their rooms completely in boxes. It’s starting to become VERY real (especially with all the cardboard, tape, and permanent marker smell around here).