Two year old in the garden - {Albuquerque child photography}

I was so happy when, right away, I got to do a session at one of the locations I recently discovered. This little guy was just about to turn 2 years old, and he & his family were a ton of fun. His mom & brother definitely had the knack of getting him to laugh.

I last met him when he turned 1 and I took some first birthday pictures - with birthday cake. And when he was really young. Aren't he & his brother strikingly handsome? I love that I have peek-a-boo pictures from both his 1 year old portraits and his 2 year old portraits!





I LOVE this. It's a little tricky to get a 2 year old to go through the tall tunnel. And it was muddy down that path. But worth it!








When I first saw these pictures I was blown away by his eyes! I think he had been a tiny bit sad, not wanting to stay standing on the reflector we put him on, and it made his eyes glisten. (Also it was super-hot that morning - does that make your eyes water? :) )




I love to include props and special toys. He mainly wanted to throw them but we got a hug or two too.

Little 6 month old redhead - {Albuquerque baby photographer}

Another of my favorite "baby plan" babies. I love getting to see them as their first year progresses. I met him when I did all the bunny portraits last spring, and now he's sitting up and just as smiley as before. We had a really nice session at a park - quick & easy & fun. Look at those gorgeous eyes!





















And a slideshow of his whole session:

Love this 2 month old! - {Albuquerque newborn baby photographer}

I just finished up this little guy's gallery, and I found more that I can't resist posting.





And a slideshow/video of his session (this is about 1/3 of it, I can never decide how many pictures to include):

Baby at the Duck Pond - {Albuquerque baby photograper}

This little guy is one of my favorite "baby plan" babies - some older pictures here - he is so happy and photogenic! We met at the UNM Duck Pond, one of my favorite places, and he was so fun! I love sessions that are done in 20 minutes with a card full of great images.















I love crawling off the blanket pictures. Maybe because I got so many of my babies. (And eating the grass pictures, but he didn't really do that.)








I love seeing the babies grow throughout the year. The only problem is that the time goes really fast, and before I know it the year is up! (And that means my daughter is another closer to middle school.... scary.....)

"Christmas in July" open house shopping and give-aways

Every August I think that I really need to get my Christmas sh0pping done along with the back-to-school shopping. Some years I do get a lot of it, and it helps so much later in December! This year my goal is to shop AND wrap in the fall, and pay zero expediting shipping later on. :) (Also to make a list of what I've bought so I don't forget and overbuy.)

This Sunday I have a $50 gift card doorprize & some coupons at a "Christmas in July" open house that also includes some other great vendors. I love supporting stay-at-home moms, especially when the products are fabulous. So if you're interested in seeing what all is offered, just email me and I'll send you the address.



Also, I'm having a Scentsy party next week - on Tuesday from 10:30 - 12:30 - as you know if you know me, I'm a zero-pressure person. I just wanted to smell all the scents - they are SO good! If you'd like to come, just email me & come smell scents and eat muffins with us. (Kids are welcome.)

And here's to getting as much Christmas shopping done early as possible! :)

Olympic rainforest vacation

TEMPERATE rainforest, that is, not a tropical rainforest (a fact that plagued me all through school).

Our family got to spend a week in the Seattle area this month. It was amazing! Both my husband and I grew up there and we both still have family in the area. We started out our trip with some camping out on the peninsula... in the actual rainforest. Guess what? It's rainy in the rainforest, even when you're camping there and camping in the rain isn't your favorite. (But it wasn't so bad - just a little muddy.)

I always say that Seattle is the opposite of Albuquerque. Well, the Olympic Rainforest is REALLY the opposite of Albuquerque! It was like being in another world entirely, especially for our kids, to whom a "forest" is an exciting thought. Giant slugs! Trees bigger than tall buildings! Green everywhere! Actual rain! We got some incredible beach time too, but I think that's a post for another day.

We went into the Hoh rainforest - just outside the Forks, WA area (yes it's true, we were in Forks on the very day Eclipse premiered, but that is another story. Or, sadly, it's not, because there were no Cullens to be seen in Forks).

Anyway - along the side of the road would be these signs:
"Big Spruce"
and you could turn off. Sure enough, that is a BIG spruce!


First of all, how do those phonebook pages stay dry?


We did actually see an elk, but no calf, and we weren't chased. Kind of disappointing after a sign like this.








The whole state is an Albuquerque photographer's dream!




When you're not used to running through mud, it can be slippery! I can only post this picture because 30 seconds later she was happily running through the mud again, after we wiped her face clean with some socks I'd had in my pocket. (Handy.) It was a true face-plant, and not the last of the trip either.


Think of the forts you could make if you lived here!


The sign here:
"Big Cedar Tree"


And to prove that we really were in Forks:

I remember when my grandpa used to get out his slide projector.... more slides, anyone? :) I'm calling it a night - catch me again next week?

Beautiful blue eyes - {Albuquerque newborn baby photography}

I am always telling people that if they want newborn-style portraits, I need to do them EARLY, preferably before the baby is 10 days old. (And that is one of my favorite perks for my job, which I love, that I get to be one of the first people to meet the newborns!) So anyway, I'm always so happy when I get a baby who's a little older, but I can get them to sleep for portraits anyway! I think 2 out of my last 3 2-month-olds I have been able to coax to sleep, I love it.

This little guy was DARLING, and he had the most beautiful deep blue eyes! I had to do most of these preview portraits in color, not in black & white, because I just had to see the blue. :)

He started out asleep...


Then awake. And - his mom brought some really great hats!


Usually it's kind of tough to get 2 month olds to smile for pictures. I always hear "Well, he smiles all the time at home..." but he was so smiley!




And then we got him to sleep! LOVE this hat.






I've been working on this pose - so tricky to get them up on their elbows! He was so good. :)




Then - awake again, and so happy! What a good boy.








His mom is great. They just moved to the area, and I'm so happy she found me for portraits! I loved meeting her. (And isn't she beautiful?)










Thanks so much for coming! There are tons more great pictures, and I should have your gallery in the next week or so.