Magical

I had been wanting to try out the new snowglobe template/tutorial from The Sleeping Willow, and tonight's adorable family were the perfect subjects!  So magical!

Sneak Peek: Sloane {One Year Old}

I just love photographing new families - whether it's a newborn session because they just brought home their first baby or a cake smash because their "baby" is turning one (or two or three)!  Because let's face it:  they'll always be "babies" to us ;)   

Not that I don't equally love sessions for families bigger than three, but there is just something so special about that time when you have your first.  You're feeling that amazing, unexplainable love for the first time, and you're still trying to wrap your head around how it's even possible to love someone as much as you love them.  You're still trying to figure out how to be a parent and what you did to deserve to be so lucky.  Everything is just so shiny and new.  And it's like a drug to me because, for that hour that I get to be a part of their lives (or three or four for newborns), it takes me right back.  Nostalgia City.  It's such a beautiful thing to witness.  And this family definitely gave me a good dose - of both nostalgia and beauty.  

Little Miss Sloane was full of smiles and had so much fun being cuddled and tickled by her mommy and daddy.  I was really looking forward to her excitement when it was time for the cake, but one taste of that gorgeous cake and she was all business!  Some babies need encouragement to dig in there - not this one ;)  She had herself a toe-curling, face-stuffing good ol' time. . .

Enjoy your sneak peek, H Family!

Sneak Peek: Emerson {5 Days New}

Oh my goodness, little Emerson.  You are just too cute and squishy for words!  And you modeled the gorgeous headbands that your sweet mommy & grandma made for you so beautifully!  So happy to have had the chance to cuddle you (and take a few pictures, too) for a few hours ;)

Enjoy your sneak peek, F Family!

Sneak Peek: Lexi {11 Days New}

Oh, sweet sweet beautiful Lexi.  You may be tiny, but you are such a fighter.  A hungry hungry little fighter.  But we were really patient with you (and fed you a lot!), and you eventually gave in and let us do our thing. . .

Enjoy your sneak peek, B Family!

Once Upon a Time...

Once upon a time, it was the night before kindergarten.  (It wasn't last night, but it did really happen).

I think I've confessed recently about not taking enough or editing enough pictures of my own children, so I'll spare you the whiny details (you're welcome), but I love these sweet pictures of my Anna the night before her very first day of kindergarten ever.

We had just come home from her "meet the teacher" event at her new school, and she had hugged her teacher, seen her classroom, sat in her desk - even put away her school supplies - but she still wasn't quite a *real* kindergartner.  And I had gotten her this adorable book The Night Before Kindergarten to get her excited about her first day.  So I decided to salvage those last hours before it really was real, let her read her new book, and make some memories. . .

It's that time of the year. . .

It's that's time of the year. . .

Fall?  Yes, but that's not what I'm talking about.

Halloween?  Yes, but that's not what I'm talking about either!

I'm talking about the time of the year that you are going to cross your Christmas Cards off your list by finally updating those family photos!  I know it's hard to think about when it's 90 degrees outside on a "cool" day, but the fall months leading up to Christmas are the busiest months of the year for photographers, so trust me - this is the time to do it!

I'm so excited that for the very first time, Sweet Everythings Photography is offering holiday mini sessions (and a set of cards is even *included*!)  But don't take my word for it - check out all the juicy details here. . .

I'm starting off with 4 sessions on just this one date.   Then, depending on how quickly it books and how much demand there is, I *might* open up one more date..  So really, it's up to you!

Email me at jennifer@sweeteverythingsphotography.com with questions or to book your session.  Please understand that I will be booking these on a first come, first served basis.

Back to School

All summer long I was counting down the days with dread, knowing that my sweet baby girl would soon be starting kindergarten.  Yes, I work full time, which means that I have long been accustomed to sending her off every day with a smile on my face and a little pang of sadness in my heart, but there was just something that felt so big and different about this new change - big new school, backpack, lunchbox, uniform, school supplies.  My little girl was going to be taking the first real step in the long journey that is her school years, and that reality was so much more than my heart could handle.  Not that I could ever stop her from growing up so quickly, but it just feels so much more out of my control now!

As a kid, I always loved the fall and going back to school, so I knew that I wanted to do a little styled session for her to mark the milestone - with her first little uniform and her brand new backpack and lunchbox.  But when the time came, it just rained and rained.  So I waited until the next weekend, and it rained again.  Finally, just as I was starting to wonder if she would be in first grade before I pulled this session off - over two weeks after she actually started school (and three times of "borrowing" that big bulky chalkboard) - it happened.  And I'm so thankful that we'll always have these memories. . .

I haven't been shooting my own kids as much as I'd like to or feel like I should lately, and even when I do, the images just sit on my computer unedited and unprinted.  So it felt really good to actually finish and edit a personal session. Maybe now would be a good time to actually go back and edit Parker's cake smash session - now that he's...um...almost 16 months?!  :)