Willa: 1 Year

You may recognize Willa along with her parents Amie and Jeff from the blog last fall when I took her 6 month photos. We had such a great time back in September, so I was definitely looking forward to seeing them again when Amie booked a session to document Willa's 1 year. We met last weekend at Cornell College in Mt. Vernon (which by the way, is one of my favorite little towns - they have lights on the trees on Main Street! All year long! It's so quaint and I love it.) and took advantage of the warm weather. Despite Willa's long weekend of traveling, she did a great job and gave me lots of smiles! Here are some of my favorites from their session...

It must be said that Willa has to be one of the best dressed little girls I've ever met. Amie has fantastic taste and the clothes she picks out for Willa's sessions (not to mention how she and Jeff always complement Willa's ensembles) are perfection. I love that she chooses bright, fun colors and isn't afraid to mix in a pattern or two. If anyone is wondering, Willa's clothing came from Gymboree and Crazy 8.

Ok, now we're really onto the photos - I love this first series, Willa has such a great smile!





















I love these photos of Willa with Amie and Jeff individually, they're so sweet.












And of course, I had to take a photo of these fabulous shoes! They were so adorable, I couldn't resist.

Oliver: 1 Year

I first met Oliver last summer when his mom Nicole booked me for a baby session. Oliver was just 10 weeks old and I just couldn't get enough of his pouty little lips and chubby cheeks, so you can imagine my excitement when Nicole contacted me about coming back to Des Moines for his 1 year photos. One thing I love about Nicole is she has great ideas and so when she suggested a cake smash as part of the session, I was super excited.

The session started out at the Des Moines Botanical Gardens, which was perfect - lots of pretty greenery and flowers everywhere made it feel a little more like spring. I wish we had something like this in the Iowa City area, it would be wonderful for winter photo sessions. Oliver was ready for his session from the start, although he definitely kept my on my toes as he's walking around a ton and curious about everything!











I love this photo, just look at that smile!






After we finished up at the Botanical Gardens, we headed back to Nicole and James' home to take the cake smash photos but first we had to get a few more beauty shots. A model's work is never done...




Then came Oliver the Owl's photo debut! Nicole is throwing an owl themed party for Oliver's 1st birthday at the end of the month and found this adorable hat on Etsy (love that place). I proposed the idea of doing a sort of "nest" for the photo and here's how it turned out!


After all that work, it was finally time for Oliver to enjoy his first taste of birthday cake. He's never had any sweets, so Nicole and James were interested to see his reaction. These pictures are some of my all time favorites - it was such a fun way to end the session. Thanks again to Nicole, James, and Oliver for inviting me back to take your photos - it was great seeing you all again and I hope you like the preview!

Once Upon a Time...

8 years ago I spent the afternoon watching Dirty Dancing and trying to take my mind off of the events coming up that evening. I had been set up on a blind date and was understandably nervous. I didn't know much about this guy I was meeting, except that he was tall and "normal" (a good thing to be if you ask me, lol).

I set out on the date thinking to myself that it was only dinner, and if he invited me to go to a movie or something afterward I would agree if I felt it was going well. I remember that I didn't know what to order at the Italian restaurant. (I love spaghetti but it's way too messy, so I ordered the chicken instead.) The conversation went well, I was having a great time and when he asked if I wanted to go to a movie after, I knew he was having a great time too. I can still remember the butterflies in my stomach when we held hands in the theater and how it was so sweet that he kissed me goodnight on the cheek.

Three years later we went to that same restaurant to celebrate the anniversary of when we first met, and later that night he asked me to marry him. As I'm sure you know by now, I said yes and the rest is history.

Tonight we will be celebrating 8 years since that first evening. I never would have guessed that a blind date would end up being the love of my life - just goes to show that you never know what life might bring. In other words, don't be afraid to take chances.

And to lighten the mood, check out this awesome photo I found of Josh and I about 6 months after we started dating. We were attending my best friend's wedding where I was a bridesmaid (and yes, I was blonde!!). I truly can't believe I am willingly posting this. (Sorry for the crappy quality, this is a scanned photo)



And as a comparison, this photo was taken at my sister's wedding in January of this year...oh how we've changed (for the better I hope!!)!