I met this beautiful family on the most gorgeous September evening, shortly before little Adam's first birthday. He was such a sweetie, despite being up so close to bedtime, and gave us so many smiles. His parents, Alissa and Sandro were naturals in front of the camera, and did such a fantastic job keeping their baby boy happy. It was one of the most beautiful outdoor sessions of the fall with all that golden light, and I'm excited to finally be sharing it with you here! Enjoy!
Sometimes when the weather is being a pain and there's too much rain and cloud and I have a bunch of sessions that have to be rescheduled, I start to ask myself why I even bother shooting outside at all?! But then I have sessions like this and I am reminded. Because a gorgeous fall evening + a beautiful and fun-loving family + the golden setting sun = magic. That's what my session with the Morris family was. Audrey and Linden had a classic brother-sister relationship, which I think you can get a feel for in some of these photos! Being only a year apart they have the perfect blend of sweetness one moment and teasing the next. It made for some fun moments! Theresa and Jason are so obviously adored by their kiddos, and I absolutely loved capturing all of the joy and fun that this family brought to our session!
Huge overshare happening in this post, my friends. This beautiful family made my job so incredibly easy. Nine month old Grayson was SO charming, I could have photographed that sweet smile alllll day. Rebecca and Andrew were a lot of fun and knew all the best ways to entertain Grayson as we got closer and closer to bedtime. They introduced me to the best kids playlist on Spotify (Upbeat Children's Songs...give it listen, you won't be disappointed!) and showed me how much fun I missed out on by not letting my husband throw Levi in the air! Our session was so fun and it was a joy to capture all the love between these three.
Hello friends! Things have been a little crazy around here, but I couldn't wait to share this beautiful family with you. Baby girl Emma surprised her parents, Peter and Madeleine, by showing up several weeks early. We decided to hold off her newborn session a little while to give them time to settle in, and when I met Emma she was the sweetest, roly-poly 2 month old. Perfect age for a sink bath, am I right?! Her big brother was so proud and an excellent assistant to dad during her bath time. I loved capturing this little routine and now I'm thinking sink baths may need to become a regular part of my sessions...I'm hooked! I'll leave you to scroll through the images below and trust that you'll feel the love this family has for one another and their sweet new addition!
I had such a fun morning with this little family of three in their beautiful, bright home. They were super kind when I was 15 minutes late because I couldn't find their house (my dear friend Google Maps led me astray)! Matthew found me knocking on the door to the wrong house, where luckily no one was home! When I finally did arrive I met baby girl Kaya, who is only 6 months old and already sitting and crawling...she was always one the move! Her parents certainly have their hands full with this sweet little lady. The combo of giant windows and her gorgeous eyes gave us some beautiful images. Matthew and Vanessa were so full of love for their sweet and spunky daughter, and I just loved capturing these memories for this family.
Brace yourselves, folks. There is a whole lot of perfect, chubby 8 month squish below this text. His name is Abdullah, and along with the cutest role-poly little baby bod, he is also sporting a pair of gigantic, expressive brown eyes. I'm actively holding back from writing all of those adjectives in CAPS LOCK by the way ;) Abdullah and his parents, Daniel and Sadaf, were in Ontario visiting family (they hail from Australia), and wanted to take the time to freeze this adorable and fun stage in their family's life. Like my Levi, Abdullah is (or hopefully was by now!) a terrible sleeper, so Daniel, Sadaf and I bonded over mutual understanding of the tortures of long term sleep deprivation and I tried to pass on some hope that maybe he will start sleeping at 10 months like Levi did! I had such a fun morning with this laid back and loving family, and I'm now seriously contemplating making 8 month sessions a thing :)
It's been quite a while since I've posted any personal photos, so here is a little glimpse into our spring! I haven't felt super motivated to shoot in our home since finishing my 365 in February, but I think the warm weather and spending time outdoors is bringing that desire back to me. Watching Levi discover all the things the outdoor life has to offer has been a lot of fun, and has also had the added benefit of exhausting him so we are getting some good naps these days! Also all this humidity is making his curls just amazing! This spring we celebrated our second Father's and Mother's Days, took Levi bowling for the first time, spent the long weekend at the cottage and (one of us) started falling asleep in strange places. One of my goals this summer is to learn to do video on my big camera, so stay tuned for some super amateur vides of Levi ;)
Oh heavens. I apologize in advance because this is a LONG blog post!!! This family allowed me to capture so many beautiful moments that I just couldn't choose. Between a gorgeous old home, a spunky and fun 2 year old and an incredibly sweet newborn baby boy, this session was what dreams are made of! Little miss Millie (the cutie in the pigtails) was so much fun to hang out with. She didn't hesitate to warm right up and enjoy her time in the spotlight, which I think is very evident in the photos of her below! She was a darling big sister to baby Woodrow, giving him lots of kisses and trying to calm him when he cried. Woodrow was the most adorable little squish, with plenty baby chub since he arrived 2 weeks past his due date! He slept so well and was such an easy model. Niki and Chris (parents to the two cuties) were so incredibly kind and seemed to navigate life with two littles with and admirable amount of grace and humour. If you haven't gotten the gist, I really enjoyed my morning with this family, and I hope you can feel the love they have for one another in these photographs!
At the beginning of May I had the pleasure of meeting the two cutest little brothers, Darius and Alexander. Two week old Alexander just had the most serious look in his eye the whole time, and was happy as a clam looking out the window as I took his portraits. I had to work hard to coax him into closing his eyes for a few shots, but this little man didn't want to miss a thing! Big brother Darius was soooo much fun and gave us some wonderful candid and joy filled moments in the the way only toddlers can. He was so careful and gentle holding his baby brother, and giving his mama some sweet kisses. Judy and Cyrus, you certainly have your hands full with these beautiful boys, but in the best way possible! It was an honour to capture these memories for you.
I met miss Caleigh when she was 3 months old, and I definitely forgot what a sweet stage this is! She's as beautiful as baby girls come, with a beautiful head of hair (complete with an endearing little bald spot in the back!), some gorgeous long eyelashes and cheeks for days. I have to say I have been getting so lucky with all of the older babies I have photographed lately...they've all given me the sweetest sleeping shots, which are much harder to come by once the newborn days pass! Caleigh was in her Fisher Price lamb swing when I got there, the same one we have, and it brought me back to the days when Levi was tiny enough to fit in his (insert crying emoji). I never felt like each stage was passing as quickly as it did, and I still find myself thinking that the current stage will be much longer, but it never is! Natalie and Justin, I hope you treasure these photos of you baby girl and that they will bring you right back to the days of bald spots and chubby cheeks.
If ever there was a blog post to convince you to have photos taken of your 2 month old baby, this is it! Little Celeste was so sweet and smiley, gave me some beautiful eye contact and was just a dream all around to photograph. Seriously such a wonderful age to capture! Her parents Danielle and Matteo were so fun to work with, and naturals in front of the camera (we know where Celeste got it from!). Celeste's name was chosen partially because her parent's loved the sound of it in English and Italian, since her daddy is from Italy and it's where her parents met. I had such an enjoyable afternoon hanging out with this new family and learning their story. I know Celeste will only add to her parent's already beautiful adventure!
Say hello to miss Bea! Her family's beautiful and charming old home was the perfect setting for Bea's newborn session. She was five weeks old, but as you can see that didn't stop her from sleeping through most of our time together! As you will note below, big brother Wally was a bundle of fun and energy, and although he kept insisting on "no pictures", he still somehow managed to give me a few of my favourite toddler shots to date! I think it's safe to say we were friends by the end :) Their parents certainly have their hands full, but in the most wonderful of ways! Congratulations on your sweet girl Caitlin and Blaine!
It was a grey foggy morning when I pulled up to this family's home after a bit of a sketchy drive (because of the fog, not my driving skills!). But as you can see there was nothing grey or dreary going on once I walked through the door! I was greeted with so much warmth by Kassandra and Brent, as well as by the littlest cutie who was running around sans pants! Both boys totally ignored my camera which was a real treat, and we captured some beautiful, candid memories of them enjoying time together, with their parents and destroying a beautiful cheese board. There was also a very patient kitty thrown into the mix somewhere. It would be crime for me not to mention their gorgeous home...it was the perfect setting for an in-home family session and I will be stalking Kassandra's beautiful blog, Little DeKonings, for decor inspiration for many years to come! If anyone has any suggestions for how to convince my husband to redecorate our entire home, please send them my way ;)
December is always an exciting month. The Christmas tree goes up, a tub (or two, or three) of candy cane ice cream makes its way into the freezer, we celebrate birthdays, wrap up presents and get to spend many days cherishing time with family. This December was extra exciting though because my baby sister got engaged to an amazing guy just before Christmas, and I can finally officially say that our family has the best siblings-in-law. That's right, be jealous. The Christmas festivities themselves were a little crazy with a toddler (remember how he was just a little immobile blob last year?!) but Levi loved all the attention and we are thankful to all the uncles, aunts and grandparents and others who helped keep him out of trouble. I hope that your holidays were both fun and restful and that your New Year is off to the best start!
Are you feeling it yet? That sense of impending doom when you realize that winter is really just beginning and is going to last foreverrrrr?! Well friends, fear not, because this family is going to show you how properly handle a freezing cold Saturday morning in the comfort of your own home. That's right, don your sweats and some cozy socks, break out an elmo snack catcher, cuddle up with your favourite people (and pets) and you're good to go! If your favourite people are a squishy baby boy and a sweet-as-can-be toddler, even better. Seriously though, Vanessa and Scott have the sweetest little guys and were the warmest and kindest people you could ask to spend a freezing cold Saturday morning with! Here's to hoping the rest of the winter's in-home family sessions are this cozy! Keep warm friends :)
