Every mother knows that motherhood does not come without a price- whether the price be our sleep, our sanity, our privacy, our old sense of identity- or yes, even our hair. This gorgeous mama has spent 8 years growing this gorgeous head of hair and has THE most beautiful dreadlocks- which her gorgeous nursing baby spent the last year slowly wearing bits and pieces away until the ends began thinning in places. So before her mama went to cut off inches of her lovely hard earned hair, she wanted one more photo session with her amazing baby. Motherhood is beautiful in the most unusual way sometimes.

It was a beautiful evening with this family- and I mean, come ON- this family is just STUNNING all around. Watching them laugh and play together just warmed my heart, and that little girl is just the sweetest ever!

What was your biggest sacrifice after becoming a parent?

Every year I pull that little tiara out and it seems to get smaller on your head. This year when I look at you I see so little baby left in that face. We are fast approaching full blown childhood and I keep looking for the brakes. Last week you turned 5, and today you started kindergarten. 

I can't believe what an amazing little human you're growing into. Every day your silliness and love bring me more joy than you can know.

You, my wonderful girl, are my sunshine.

A few weeks ago I got to work with the awesome kiddos on the Pinery swim team! We got our basic photos done and then I asked to see if anyone wanted to try some underwater photos- the eyes of both kids and parents lit up so I knew I was on the right track haha!

Shooting underwater is a new challenge- my current action camera doesn't have a viewfinder or screen on the back so basically I'm shooting blind underwater, and I'm definitely not the strongest swimmer, but that said I got a pretty decent handful of really fun photos! Next year I'm planning to upgrade to a more professional level underwater use camera and start really playing with some water photography!

This girl was sweet as can be. She started a little shy with me and very concerned about posing, but she relaxed very quickly and was a perfect little fairy! I styled her in a Tutu Du Monde dress from my client wardrobe along with a beautiful pair of Belle Chiara ballet flats that I've been dying to put someone in! But her eyes really lit up when I pulled out some beautiful wings from Hello Faerie and a very regal feeling crown from Joyfolie. Okay so I may never have fully grown out of the dress up stage haha!

I really love the Denver Botanic Gardens in the early summer- the diversity of plant life is amazing and offers so many unique backdrops. I could wander for hours and never stop finding a new beautiful spot...which is basically what we did this day. I also like to keep moving when working with kids- it keeps them interested and having fun- a bored kid never photographs well!

​If you're interested in booking a fairy session for your little one please 

Oh man these girls were too much. I shot their session simultaneously with a long time friend of theirs, so I had a whole flock of fairies running around these gardens with me...we certainly got some attention haha! 

These two were total hams- they loved playing fairy and once they settled in they started posing for me like little rock stars. The little one was basically vogueing at one point which was endlessly entertaining.  I loved styling the girls in coordinating Tutu Du Monde dresses from my client wardrobe- and while I don't yet have a full selection of shoes I just happened to have gladiator sandals in both girl's sizes. Kismet! 

The best was seeing how much these two love each other...sometimes posing siblings is like pulling teeth, but these two had a sweet comfort together that was fully genuine.

This was a 'make it work' day. I had multiple sessions scheduled for my spring fairy photo shoots- and of course the weekend I picked decided to be the one rainy weekend of the month >.< For this shoot we ended up in one of the Denver Botanic Garden greenhouses- fortunately I had an amazing assistant with me (Kenesha of Kenesha Facello Photography) so we were able to provide enough light for this sweet girl despite the overcast day.

Speaking of sweet- oh man this little girl stole my heart. I have a soft spot for mini introverts...often I connect just as easily with them as my spunky extroverts- kindred spirits and all haha. Her quiet excitement and gentle nature were just precious- and she rocked the Tutu Du Monde dress like it was made for her!

Wardobe from:
Tutu Du Monde
J. Crew
Hand Made Botanicals

A few days ago this perfect little girl (who happens to be one of my 6 nieces...yes I'm an only child...that just means I get to choose my own haha) turned one year old! She was born 3 years and 11 years apart from my daughter- down to the minute. I was so honored to be asked to photograph her in her first weeks of life...and I get to do a one year portrait session with her in just a few weeks!

This cutie's mama is a dead ringer for my own mother- and her dad is just this side of identical to my husband...so I was certain she'd come out looking just like my little one- NOPE haha! But she's still a dead ringer for her own mother, with the same adorable squinty smile ^-^ She was so amazing during her session. Working with newborns is unpredictable to say the least, but this little one was very quick to soothe and held her poses easily- so I put this one in the win column!

It has been an incredible year watching her grow- even though I'm states away from her parents I've absorbed every snapchat and facebook post, knowing how fleeting these moments are. So far she has grown into a social, sassy, and confident baby girl- walking well before her year mark! I'll be there for it all little one- I'll be the one behind the camera ;) <3

So someone on the marketing team for the state of Idaho is a genius at tugging those sentimental heartstrings. They're running an ad campaign called "18 summers" ...the message of course being that we get 18 summers of our babies' childhoods. When I'm sitting here buried in work and shooting every other day I have to remember to stop and enjoy the little moments with this incredible tiny (but oh man getting so much less tiny every day) human. 

So today we'll be at the pool. I won't be answering calls or emails- I promise I'll be back on the grid tomorrow. Today is for chlorinated shennanigans and popsicles with my baby...you know...while she still almost qualifies to be called that. 

The Daddy-Daughter dance is an event I look forward to photographing every year! I shot my first one three years ago when Mel Miles (the event director for The Club at Pradera and The Pinery) got in touch with me last minute (read: days) before the event. She had just taken the job and had weeks to coordinate the whole thing, but you would never know it!

Fortunately the last two years have been a little less stressful haha- and this year was the first combined Daddy-Daughter dance for Pradera & The Pinery! Mel is super creative and always has her theme sussed out by the day after the previous year's event haha! She has been wanting to do Alice in Wonderland since the first year- and man did it show. From the color scheme to the adorable little teacup salads everything was spot on. And of course, Alice herself was present- and just incredible...I'm not sure I actually caught her real name (whoa...maybe it was actually Alice haha) and she was there for almost 7 hours and I never saw her break for more than a moment for a sip of water. On top of that there were carriage rides, a dessert table to make any kid's eye grow to the size of saucers, and Holly and Craig from Adventures in Dance mc'ing and leading some super fun dances for the group....including an impromptu "Thriller" lesson towards the end of the night which was nothing short of hilarious and adorable- something about 7 year olds grooving to the King of Pop just tickles me haha!

Beyond the amazingness of the event itself is the girl's with their dads. I'm a softy for that particular bond in the first place so documenting these doting fathers and their utterly gleeful little girls (who of course are all dressed up) is really something special. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next year!

If you've followed me for any amount of time you know by now that if I travel I shoot. I love finding cool new locations to work in- in this case it was the incredible back yard at my Aunt & Uncle's home in Palm Springs! Their yard is an artists dream- there was so much variety in a relatively small area, and fortunately we were there in March so the crazy desert heat had yet to really amp up.

I brought a whole suitcase of wardrobe for this little princess- one of the hazards of shooting away from home haha! Between Nellystella, Tutu Du Monde, and Bowie James we had plenty of options to work with. This girl was so ready for her portraits...I find that most kids get that camera in front of them and ham it up a bit, which I love! I directed her very little and mostly just followed her lead. I really can't wait to make another trip out there to shoot again- well and maybe for just a little pool time ;)