Toeing the Line Between Baby and Toddler | Folly Beach, SC Milestone Mini Session

We spent an early morning photographing this beautiful little girl and her wonderful parents at Folly Beach during sunrise. 

We arrived first thing at Folly Beach before the sun was coming up over the horizon for our beach  session. It was a gorgeous sight and the light was perfect.

I previously photographed this little girl for her nine month milestone session. Look how she has grown!

She is such a serious little soul. You can see it in her sweet face that she is thoughtful and pensive.

She would get brave enough to splash in the water, but then to run to mommy for a snuggle when the waves came in a little too fast. 

As she got more comfortable, she loved to point out the birds.

She is right at the age where she is toeing the line of baby and independent toddler. It is such a lovely and bittersweet transition and capturing this stage is such a privilege.

June 2017 - Part 1

June is the month that I need to go slow and go fast all at the same time. It's the last month before Rhett joins our family, but it's the last month before Rhett joins our family - know what I mean?! 

The month started off with some typical nesting... planting flowers and putting down new mulch. I'm pretty sure I also did major yard work when I was super pregnant with Landon. At least one boy had fun :) Landon is really into watering the yard and likes to announce that he's being a "biggggg helper!" 

Did you notice his shirt tucked into his undies? When I saw that I ran inside to grab my camera because it just doesn't get cuter than that! 

I finally finished the baby's nursery and I LOVE IT! I am thrilled with how it turned out even thought it took me 35 weeks and a few meltdowns to figure out. I purchased an entire airplane blueprint set that I obsessed over for weeks. When it finally arrived, I hated it and ended up switching back to 'ol faithful - nautical/sailboats. It's probably for the best anyway, the boys will probably share a room at some point (Landon's room is also nautical/whales). 

I also almost changed the baby's name, but "Rhett" survived (and so did his already monogramed homecoming outfit!)

Landon is still obsessed with airshows, airplanes (which he calls "the Air Force") and helicopters. 

We did even more testing on Rhett. This pregnancy has been much tougher than Landon's. This time around I had morning sickness and then got really sick with a fever, which apparently is bad while pregnant, the same week Trip was working nights. Thank the Lord my mom drove up to keep Landon. Then Rhett tested at increased risk for Trisomy 18, which was terrifying. That required additional blood work, an echo ultrasound to check his heart and now weekly non-stress tests. AND because Landon was thought to have IUGR, I've done two extra ultrasounds to check Rhett's size (those were just fine with me though!). Anyways, we will be happy when a healthy baby is placed on my chest and this will all be behind us. 

We also had maternity pictures taken by my friend and fellow photographer, Alisha at Hampton Park (downtown Charleston). It's one of my favorite spots.

Despite how cute Landon looked he was SO bad. Landon is always hyper- but this was next level. 

I have such a love-hate relationship with the lovely age of three. He is already asking a million questions and there are moments when I just want a few minutes of silence. But then he does sweet things like tuck Catboy and "Monkey George" in for his nap and my heart explodes and I want him to be three forever. 

Hopefully the last half of the month is just as fun. I could use some rest, but honestly, I'm enjoying how fast time is moving at the moment... until Rhett comes. Then it needs to go slow because babies just don't keep! 

What to do with your kids art work?

Years ago, before I was a mom, I was horrified when I watched a friend throw away some art project her son had made at school. I got the "mom look" and was told I would understand one day. 

Flash forward a few years later and now I get it. My son goes to school 2-3 days a week and there is so much art! I couldn't just throw this stuff away, but I quickly realized I needed another way to preserve his art or we'd be up to our ears in paint and paper. So, thanks to Pinterest, I came across some tips. I started a Chatbooks album just for Landon's artwork and I thought I would pass this amazing idea along to you. So, here you go... 

A tidy, 5 step solution to the piles of paper your kids bring home.

1. Make a stack of art and photograph it all at once. My pile lives in the dining room. It takes the pressure off of photographing the papers as they come home because you know you'll carve out 15-20 minutes once a month (or whatever frequency works for you). 

2. Photograph the art work. I am doing mine with my iPhone because this is my 3 year old's art work and I'm not spending too much time on this. I have my stack next to me and I take a picture of his art on a solid white background. 

3. Next, I quickly edit my pictures within my iPhone. Again, we are not going to over-think this (repeat it with me)!  I basically just increase the exposure to get my whites- white. You can access some basic edits by clicking the little arrow across from "Light". 

4. Then I go into the Chatbooks App. I already created a book called Landon's Art. I upload the pictures I just took. 

5. When my book is full, I'll order it. Done and done.
I've decided to only keep art that is really stinking cute and/or if it has his handprint on it. Everything else can go because now I have a picture in a sweet little book to enjoy for years to come! 

Seriously though, how easy is that? 

They grow up too quick | West Ashley, SC In-Studio 1st Birthday Milestone Session

The last time we photographed this handsome little man was back at Christmas time with his big sister. This time around we photographed him in-studio in West Ashley for his 1st birthday milestone session.

Last time we photographed him he was just starting to sit up so we would have to play the balancing game to snap a few pictures before he started to tip over. Now he is standing and getting ready to start walking any day now!

He is such a happy baby. He loved to smiled and the camera loved him back. It was such a fun milestone studio session.

He thought animal sounds were the funniest thing - "meow" was his favorite so his mom and I took turns being cats. The results were well worth it. Look at this handsome guy!

You're doing a wonderful job, mom! He's growing up beautifully. Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of his first year. Here's hoping year two doesn't go by as quickly as year one!

Session Preview: Mount Pleasant, SC Family Session

I spent the evening with these two silly kids on a private slice of Mount Pleasant. 

Maternity Client Closet

Cream Lace Dress
Size: S/M (runs big)

White Lace Dress
Size S/M

White Split Front Dress
One Size

You can open the front of the dress to show off bump

Blue Split Front Dress
One Size

You can open the front of the dress to show off bump

Sisterly Love | West Ashley, SC In-Studio Newborn Mini Session

This pretty new baby and her big sister did amazingly well at their newborn mini photo session at the studio in West Ashley. Big sister is falling beautifully into her role and is so sweet and loving with her new baby sister. 

She loves being mommy's helper and her sweet personality and adorable giggles made shooting these sister pictures so much fun.

We took advantage of her short snooze to get some classic, sleepy pictures. 

She woke up, but was content so we were able to get some wide-eye pictures. What a gorgeous little newborn! This was such a wonderful in-studio mini session.

Folly Beach Milestone Session

The age where they toe the line of independent toddler and baby- this is one of my favorite and sweetest ages to photograph.

Folly Beach Maternity Session Preview

Yeah, it was a good night at Folly Beach.

Newborn Smiles | West Ashley, SC Newborn Photographer

So many smiles this morning from this handsome boy!