This sweet little session makes me want to return to my childhood...tea parties, eating cupcakes, running, jumping and playing with friends.  There is nothing better than this and I am so excited to have been able to capture these moments below--two girls who turned two...sweet moments.  

Lil Jordan has grown so much since the very first time I met her at just two weeks of age.  It has been so much fun to capture her at every milestone...what special treasures.  Not only do I get to capture Jordan and her family on occasion, but the beautiful friendship that has developed with her mom and I has made this time even more precious.  When Jenni contacted me, we were both pregnant with our second child and we were both having girls.  So, Claire and Jordan are just a few months apart in age.  Over the past two years we have watched our girls become little friends while our own friendship was blooming.  I can't begin to tell you the blessing they have been to our family.  I truly believe that God places people in your lives at just the right time.  This family was that for us...friendship, support, offering to keep Claire one day a week to help with the workload, and so much more.  We love you guys...    

This was about the time that she started performing for us...love this one!

Little features, even at the age of 2, melt my heart...

After the tea party came the cupcakes...Claire came in to celebrate as well.

Oh, how they loved these...

Sweet, little friends...

We couldn't have had a better day in March...thank you Indiana for giving us such a beatutiful start to spring.

Ummm...some of you have seen this on facebook.  I can't get enough of it.  There was no planning in this shot...just them being them.  Love it!

Next, came the jumping...this was one of the cutest things ever.  I'm pretty sure Claire could take after her mom and be a high jumper one day...  ;)

What a day...

I will try and share a few more of Claire later...

A while back I shared the PhotoMommas blog with you.  The feedback from so many of you has been wonderful...thank you!  I look forward to the continued efforts of helping moms using their cameras better.  On top of helping other moms, this blog has also helped me document our little family better.  It's easy to take the cute, dress-up pics, but I haven't always been the best at what is going on right now...the moments where I just need to stop and absorb what is taking place around me.  The photo above may not have ever been captured if the challenge wasn't there.  It is now a favorite of mine.  I will remember this little moment indefinitely.  So, thanks for the accountability to make this happen.

I wanted to share with you a little contest I am doing right now on the PhotoMommas Blog.  Click here to check it out.  I would love for you to send this on to all of those moms you know.  It's not about the best quality image for this contest...it's all about the moment.  As moms, we tend to take the pictures instead of getting in them.  This is a challenge to put yourself in front of the camerat this time and capture some of those precious moments with you and your little ones.  Everyone will get to cast their vote once the images are posted.  Check out PhotoMommas for more information.  Have a wonderful spring-filled day!      

Meet Grace.  She has had quite the journey in her short little life.  She came into this world at 26 weeks weighing a mere 2lbs 13oz.  Her struggles were noticed in the womb as an omphalocele and it was later discovered that she had Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome.  Even though she has experienced these few hiccups in her life, they haven't gotten her down.  She is still a happy, full of energy, 16 month old who is loving life.  I had so much fun getting to know her during the session.  She is so sweet...I could just eat her up.  I mean...seriously, look at her! ;)          

Sweet, sweet girl...

This was one of the most precious moments ever!  Grace is quite the fan of Elmo and he made quite a few appearances during her session.  Well, during one of the songs she looked over at her daddy as if to say, "Daddy, Elmo is SO cool!!"  It truly was one of the sweetest things I've ever seen.

This was the result of that little moment...absolutely precious!

During their session, we talked for a bit about the journey that Grace has been on.  It is completely amazing how we all adapt to situations that are out of our control.  Obviously, this wasn't what they envisioned parenting to be nor was it the life they envisioned for their sweet Grace, but to them it's their life...it's perfect--Grace is perfect.  The best part is that Grace doesn't know life to be any different...she is happy, full of personality and so much fun to be around.  The pictures below describes their lives...perfection.  

Grace was blessed with an amazing Mommy and Daddy!!

This one takes me to a whole new level.  It doesn't need any words...it speaks for itself.  One of the many favorites...  

It was such an honor meeting the 3 of you.  I am so glad to hear that Grace's surgery went well and that she is home and back to her happy self.  I can't wait to see you all again.  Many hugs and blessings...

There is something about little girls, polka dots and cupcakes.  It makes me want to stop in my tracks and think back to those days in my own childhood.  These sweet girls have been so much fun to to capture over the years and this year was no exception.  We started off the session with little Ellie who is turning 1 soon.  It is amazing to see how quickly little ones change in their first year.  The last time I saw Ellie she was teeny-tiny and here she is getting ready to turn 1.  Sweetness, I tell you...  

She wasn't too sure at the beginning, but it didn't take long for her to realize how yummy cupcakes are...especially cupcakes from the Flying Cupcake.

Yum-yum-yummy...

As for Ava, she will be turning 4 soon...so it was necessary that she also got to celebrate this joyous occasion...

After the girls got cleaned up from their sweet treats, I captured a few precious moments of them.

This sweet family knows how much they mean to us.  We are honored to not only capture these milestones for their family, but to also have their friendship...love and hugs to you guys!

You may remember seeing these girls from a post last fall.  After that session was finished, Mindi mentioned how much she would love to get Marcus in for a few pictures before they had to go back to the state of Washington--where he is stationed.  That was already in my mental agenda, of course. ;)  We just had to wait and see when he would return and play out the midwest winter.  We knew we would only have a few days to make it happen before they had to leave and let's just say it was meant to be. ;) 

After being gone for 7 months Marcus is home...and what a sweet reunion it was!  I loved listening to him talk with the girls and I loved watching the girls interact with him.  I wanted to bottle up all of the emotion shared during that time and keep it forever.  Sometimes it takes someone being gone to realize how much more you appreciate them.  Of course, I don't believe that families should be separated for periods of time, but I do hold it as a gentle reminder that life is precious.  Life is a gift.  Life is meant to be shared with those you love everyday.  We often fail at this because the craziness of life gets in the way.  

Missing you all already...so glad that you are a family of 4 again (even if you have to be miles and miles away)...love you all.

Mindi loved this area from their session last fall...had to duplicate these shots with Marcus in them.  ;)

This series makes my heart ache...in a good way!  There was so much love and emotion being shared...

I'm pretty sure this is the point where Marcus asked Ava..."Can I take these pictures and hang them up in the plane?"

Another one I love...true joy, true happiness!  Daddy is home!

It's obvious that Ellie and Ava missed their dad, but I'm pretty sure these two missed each other as well.  ;)

Love the lighting and the subjects and the scenery in the next three...ok...I guess I should have said-I love the next 3.  ;)  

Loved this moment...Ellie said, "Do the wedding kiss!  Do the wedding kiss!"

So, they did and the girls loved it...welcome home Marcus!  We all appreciate what you do and are equally happy to have you home!

Gabe joined us for this quick session...he misses his girls. ;)