Still in all, I will certainly attest to the wait being worth it (and from his parents’ obvious smitteness, I’d say they think the wait was worth it, too.)

Congratulations Michele & Chris! All of my best to you guys, and many thanks again for your patience. xox

Thanks for waiting for the long overdue sneak peek, Julia & Dennis!

Congratulations guys! I’ll think of you always on my daughter’s birthday. :)

Now I know that few hours I spend photographing newborns doesn’t really say everything about their personality or temperament, but Ava was one of the easiest babies to date that I’ve ever worked with. So knowing how different my kids were/are from one another, I was totally expecting a more challenging session with Emily thinking that no family ever gets *that* lucky to have two easy-going babies. To my pleasant surprise, Emily was as much of a photographer’s dream as her sister. Perhaps there’s something extra special in their DNA that makes such agreeable and beautiful babies!

Congrats again, Joey & Kelli! All my best to you and much, much love.

Love those baby smiles caught on camera…

And because I couldn’t resist taking one of Ava…

But first, some big news: This month, I am beyond thrilled to be featured in Berks County Living. It’s funny how, 10 years ago, I was fresh out of college right at BCL’s infancy: I so desperately wanted to land a job writing for them, but never sent in my resume because I was scared to be rejected due to a lack of experience (which I was gaining at another magazine, not nearly as cool as BCL–well, unless you consider writing articles about anal incontinence cool. ;) Never would I have envisioned that 10 years later, I’d be so lucky to have my photography on the cover. If you’re interested in picking up a copy, you can find them at the GoggleWorks, at Barnes & Noble and other news outlets around town.

This is Ben, who I think looks an awful lot like a Ben, dontcha think? Maybe it’s just that my son’s friend Ben is a redhead and that makes me think of Bens as being redheads, but I think he was aptly named.

(Ben also has a talented grandma who knows how to make very cute knit hats and blankets…)

(and this is Ben showing me his 2-week-old muscles… ;)

And then this is Morgan. I’m not quite sure I have any pictures of her making muscles, but I tell you this: The little one is going to be walking before she turns one. Guarantee it. She was a strong and alert little girl whenever she was awake (which isn’t in any of these pictures, but just take my word for it, ;)…

And finally, this is Caroline, who is newly blessed and simply stunning in her first communion dress (despite not wanting to wear it again to have her portraits taken–that’s what I think living with two brothers will do to a girl!) Congratulations and blessings, sweet Caroline!

You have no idea how fortunate I feel to be able to photograph the day they celebrated their love AND the day they fell in love with their new little baby. A beautiful circle:

All of my very best and my warmest congratulations to you Amy & Jimmy!

You might also not believe me if I told you those lashes were real (always on a boy, right?)

…And for what it’s worth, I’ve never believed those who purport that baby smiles happen because of gas. I believe they happen because of pure joy, comfort and happiness:

Congratulations Colleen & Steve, and many thanks for sharing your beautiful son with me!

Seems he wanted to greet the world so quickly that he arrived 3 weeks before his due date AND so quickly that his mom wasn’t able to get the epidural she wanted.

For our session, I might say he had a similar disposition as I would finally get him to sleep, get him *just about* posed, and he’d twitch or suddenly be startled, fall out of position, and wake up and we’d have to start all over again. I’d say it became evident as our session wore into the 5th hour that he had no patience for me or my photography antics.

Still in all, isn’t he a complete cutie? And definitely, good looks run in his family as his brother is just one of my most favorite little guys to photograph.

Thanks so much Kevin & Kami, and congratulations again!

xox

So when Olivia’s parents called to ask me to photograph her and then told me that she’d be nearly 6 weeks old when we met (which is like a collecting-Social-Security newborn for a photographer!), I must admit that in the back of my mind, I was unsure if the session would work out or would take on the characteristics of a newborn session–in other words, if she’d still fall into sleep deep enough that I could pose her without disturbing her since older newborns typically do disturb and wake a little easier than “fresh” newborns.

To my pleasant surprise, Olivia was just as easy as 6-day-old. And better able to focus on the camera, so we got some amazing eye contact, to boot.

Thank you so much for such a fun day yesterday, Lisa & Matt! Congratulations again, and enjoy!

We spent a good majority of the day trying to lull Eli into a nice deep sleep to pose him for his portraits, but the moment we’d carefully start unwrapping him from a swaddled blanket, he’d wake up. The little guy just loved being swaddled, and was certainly very modest about being naked, as his parents warned me the moment he arrived at the studio. He’s definitely a little guy who takes after my own heart with a love of being cozy, snuggly and warm.

Still, I was thrilled to get as many cute awake pictures. Eight day olds are not usually very good at making eye contact with the camera, and often their eyes are crossed or staring out into space, but since Eli has already mastered the art of alertness, he certainly never wanted to miss a moment.

Congrats Bevin & Todd, and many, many thanks for sharing your beautiful son with me!

(and two from when he finally succumbed to sleep:)