Special Storm Socks, oh my!

For the last few weeks, Skylar has been telling us that she is scared of storms. She can tell when a storm is coming and will say, "the clouds will open up and then the rain will come. My like the rain. My don't like storm. My scared of the storm." And it is true. If it is raining, she wants to go out and play in the rain- which we have. But, if it is thundering or lightning, she gets scared and wants someone to hold her. The worst is when we are driving in the car and it storms. She gets so scared- poor baby!

Typically, it seems to storm at night most of the time. When she is in bed. By herself. So what do we do then? Go sit with her until she falls asleep and each time thereafter that she wakes up from the thunder? No. Instead, thanks to my awesomely smart hubby, we get her special storm socks out (mommy's socks) and she puts those on. The best part? They.work. Yep- they actually work! We put those on her and she feels safe enough to go to sleep by herself. Which, if you know her at all, is a HUGE accomplishment!

Now, this past week she has been telling us that there are monsters in her room. Oh my. What to do about that one?!? The special socks don't work for monsters. She has even graduated to, Skylar: "The monsters are in my closet."

Me: "No baby, there aren't any monsters in my closet, see I will even close the door."

Skylar: "There are monsters on my shelf."

Me: "No, there are no monsters in your room."

Skylar: "There are in the hallway."

What do I say to all of this! Isn't she too young to be scared of monsters!!

Jasmine- Portraits

The other day I met up with Jasmine and her mom Jessica for some portraits. There is a local modeling agency interested in Jasmine and they wanted some formal portraits of her being serious, smiling and playing to send to local magazines, etc. I had a super fun time and as you can see from the pics below, Jasmine is a super easy subject! I mean, really, how cute is she! She has a great personality and was so fun! I can totally see her modeling!

P.S. I love this outfit. I wanted to go get one for Skylar, complete with the big bow, but I'm fairly certain she wouldn't wear it. :( She doesn't want to wear anything that isn't a dress these days.

Look at those lashes! Long, thick and dark!!

I asked her what she liked to do for fun and she told me, "Play in the sand and play with my scarves." And sure enough- here are her scarves!

I love these next two. You tell a kid to play around and have fun and they do this: see below. You tell an adult to play around and they certainly don't do this!

She looks so much older than 5 to me in this picture! I guess from the way she is standing.

Thanks Jessica and Jasmine for letting me come play! Good luck with the modeling agency!

Chris + Leanna = Maternity

The other day, I met with Chris and Leanna at the local park for a maternity shoot. I was super excited and nervous since this was my first maternity shoot; and it's one thing to know the type of picture I am looking for... and quite another to actually achieve that picture! But Chris and Leanna were super easy to photograph and talk to, so they made my job much easier! I can't wait for little Hailey to show up!

Thanks Chris and Leanna for allowing me to take your maternity pictures!

Sweet summertime... da da da dah!

The best part about being a teacher is having the summer's off! It totally makes up for the fact that we don't get paid all that well. This summer, we are taking advantage of the Wet 'n Wild water park located in Greensboro and have bought a season pass. For $55, all three of us can go any day through Labor day! We have gone a handful of times so far this summer, and both Skylar and Grey seem to be serious water babies. No fear whatsoever! Skylar loves the big slides and the waterfalls- she has no problem with going underwater although she hasn't learned how to hold her breath yet.

"Here mom, I've eaten all the peanut butter off, so you can have the cracker back."

I'm nowhere near brave enough to take both kiddos to such a large water park all by myself, so my mom and niece, Cheyanne, also got passes to go with us! Here is my mom and Skylar going down one of the slides.

Father's day was also Cheyanne's birthday, so the rest of her family, my brother and his family, came for the day with us.

Aunt Michelle with Grey. In case you can't tell, he is teething.

Amanda + Mike= Wedding :)

Last weekend, I traveled down to Rockingham, NC to shoot my very first wedding (!) for Mike and Amanda. I had never met them before, and really didn't quite know what to expect... BUT I had a great time and am so blessed that they allowed me to shoot their wedding!

They had these cute little wedding activity books made out for all of the kiddos! I thought it was a great idea.

A few detail shots: The bouquet. Did I mention that their colors were blue and purple? It was truly a day of firsts for me on many levels!

A friend of Amanda's made this box for her to go on her gift table.

The head table was adorned with this little guy!

Mike and Amanda's last name begins with K and they had their and all of their 6! kids' names on this K. I haven't seen that before and really liked it.

The bride getting ready:

I was able to get several fun shots with mirrors and really liked this one:

Amanda's daughter: watching her mom get ready as someone else was working on her hair. Look at those lashes! I'm jealous.

I like how you can just guess what her expression is here:

This one is priceless! This is the Matron of Honor. And that is a feather hairpiece she is trying to put in her hair... Eventually they compromised by wearing it like a boutonniere.

Amanda had such a great smile! Love it!

I was able to grab a few shots of the bride during the busy day!

Stunning!

Sweet ceremony moment.

P.S. The ceremony and the reception were in an older church with no windows, horrible light and dark wood paneling. I've never shot somewhere like that before and honestly, it was like my worst nightmare! Hah! So, hence the shadows being cast in this picture. I will definitely have to do more practice/research before shooting an indoor wedding again...

Such a sweet picture! This is one of Mike's sons holding Mike and Amanda's little boy during the ceremony. He actually drove him down the aisle in a little white wicker buggy. Possible the cutest thing I've seen in a long long time! But seriously, how sweet is this older sibling! It was evident how everyone in the family loved and cared for each other.

I think she got a little bored!

Again the shadows... but I love this sweet impromptu moment between the newlyweds as they were waiting for everyone to take pics.

First dance sweetness.

Did I mention this was a casual affair? Well, it most definitely was! Shortly after eating, I went to grab the newlyweds for a few portraits outdoors where I was more comfortable shooting and lo and behold... Mike had already changed out of his tux! So, Amanda promptly told him to go get dressed again and here she is helping him with his accessories. I love these next two! Especially Amanda's smile. I'm not sure she stopped smiling at all the entire day!

Once again, I am so jealous of those lashes!

And here is what happens when a baby gets cake! Hah!

The End! Mike and Amanda- thank you so much for letting me photograph your wedding! I had a blast... hope you like your pictures!