Saturday morning I met Tanya, Dave, William and the new addition to their family, a beautiful baby girl named Ellie, at Fritz Park. I loved capturing images of this beautiful family and their newest bundle of joy. During a feeding break for Ellie, while father and son were off playing, Tanya remarked on what a good father Dave is, and how seeing that quality in him was how she knew she had found the one. She then shared with me the story of how she met David and some of the details of their wedding. And here they are, two kids later! It’s awesome to see such a loving family welcoming a new baby. Congratulations to Tanya, Dave and your family!
Birthday Cake Smash!
What better way to celebrate a first birthday then a birthday cake smash? I met Vincent and his family at Rochelle park on Saturday. We snapped some family photos and then set up for birthday celebrations! This family is awesome! Brendan and Danna were so friendly and filled with love for their kids and each other. Jackson is the awesome big brother. He is such a sweet young man and a great helper! I was so impressed by his maturity. And Vincent–well he is quite the cutie pie, as you can see!
Edmund’s First Birthday
Jack’s Birthday
Matt, Meg, and Jack are awesome, and I was so glad to take family pictures of them for Jack’s first birthday. Jack is an adorable little ball of verve and jubilation. Throughout the session, he was all over the place, exploding with smiles and giving mom and dad bear hugs. I know Meg from my young moms’ group. She is caring and genuine, makes delicious chocolate zucchini bread, and loves riding motorcycles(this last one surprised me! Meg is full of surprises!). Matt is the perfect match for Meg, cheery, congenial, and adventurous. They are great parents who love each other and their little guy so much!
And off he goes again! What did I tell ya?
Patrick’s Birthday
Patrick is one year old! To mark the occasion, I got to take some pictures of this little man and his awesome parents!
Stephanie, Mike and Patrick were our first neighbors here in Irving. When we first met last year, Stephanie would bring Patrick for a play date, which consisted mostly of the babies lying on their backs and looking at each other inquisitively. Nowadays, Patrick is all over the place, pulling up and going back down again, and crawling all over the room. I have just loved watching him grow! Patrick will often greet you with a solemn, serious face, but give him a smile or a tickle and you will quickly see him light up. What a cutie!
Julia’s Baptism
I had the honor of photographing the Baptism of a sweet baby girl at St. Mary of the Assumption Church in Fort Worth last weekend. Julia is the second daughter of Susannah and Anthony. She is about a month old, and like her older sister, Alicia, she is very petite.
Susannah, aka the Ever So Crafty Mom , is a woman of many talents: blogging, baking, sewing, decorating, and all-around master of anything crafty. In fact, guess who made Julia’s beautiful christening gown? Anthony is light-hearted and kind. With two wonderful little girls in tote, these two look like they could not be happier. What a beautiful family!
I was struck by the beauty and symbolism of the Latin Rite Baptism. It starts outside the church doors, symbolizing that the baby has not yet entered the Church. The entire rite is full of such beautiful, effacacious symbolism: laying on of the hands, the imposition of blessed salt, the anointing with chrism, and of course the pouring of the water.
What a joyous occasion! Anthony’s family came to witness and celebrate, and I got to snap a picture of the whole bunch!
Congratulations to Julia and here blessed family!
Baby Gianna
We spent a wonderful weekend down in Kileen visiting our friends Dana and Eric and their new baby.You may remember Dana and Eric from their maternity photos. As expected, their baby is adorable! At the time of these photos, Giana was 5 weeks old. In my mind, Ria is still a baby, but next to Gianna, she looked like a toddler. It is crazy how quickly they grow and change! Dana and Eric, you have a beautiful little girl!
Such a beautiful little family!
Ria’s Birthday
My baby girl is one year old! The year that has gone by since we first met her has been one of the happiest in my life. When we first brought Ria home, she was so tiny and wrinkly, Zach called her a “fusticated old man”. I remember I would wake up in the middle of the night to look over at my sleeping baby, and would be overcome with joy. It felt like Christmas. I still get that feeling often when she gives me her huge scrunchy toothless grandma smile or when she babbles to herself nonchalantly as she gets a diaper change. I am so grateful for this past year. I am grateful for my family and friends who have been kind, supportive and loving to the three of us. I am grateful for my husband, who gets up early every morning(often sleep deprived) to go work a long day. He lives out Christ’s sacrificial love for us everyday. He always encourages me, and always lets me know that he loves me and Ria. Most of all I am grateful to God for the loved ones in my life, and the material and spiritual gifts he has given me. I am remarkably blessed.
Easter Bluebonnets
This is my first spring in Texas, and my first experience of the bluebonnets! Spring is quickly turning out to be my favorite Texas season.
The bluebonnets are just in time for Easter pictures. I met Travis, Tricia and Edmund in a azure speckled field. Edmund is one happy baby. He always greats me with a huge, open mouthed, toothless smile that often has just a hint of cheesiness. Actually it looks something like this:
Travis and Tricia are such chill parents. Tricia is absolutely hilarious. She’s not afraid to say what’s on her mind, and her brutal honesty about everything (herself included) cracks me up. Check out her blog here.
Such an awesome family!
Mercy & Josi
Look at these cute gals! I love taking pics of this spunky mother-daughter combo. Josi is constantly on the move. As Mercy put it, take care of this baby for a week and you’ll drop ten pounds. Josi may be rambunctious, but Mercy can keep up and then some. These two are a force to be reckoned with!
Irving is iced in right now, so I hope these pictures serve as a reminder of the beauty of autumn. It feels like I was soaking in the warm sun just yesterday (probably because I was, on Wednesday!). Next up, an ice and snow photo shoot. How bout it, Mercy?