With newborns you never know what you are going to walk into (I say that as though all other ages are completely predictable...). They may sleep the whole time, they may pee 6 times covering everyone involved, they may cry because all they really want is to be swadled or nursed. But it is always fun because there really is nothing you can do but hope for the best and work w/ whatever state they are in. Fortunately I have been lucky lately & all the newborns have been on their best behavior. Last week Scarlett (3 wks old) did an outstanding job. She even gave us a few smiles.


Two of my favorites w/ mom & dad.


Extended family was in town. It was hard to stop taking pictures of her cousins. Gorgeous little girls!

Sarah + Eric

Last week I got to photograph incredible wedding of..
The location, details & bride & groom were spectacular!
Sarah getting ready

Trying to sneak a peak at all the guests.

Right after their first kiss. I love their reactions.

The wedding was at Eric's childhood home. They are a beautiful couple and just as nice too.




The flowers were amazing!

One of my favorite things after a wedding is seeing the groom w/ his new ring.
While the dancing was in full swing Eric & Sarah snuck away for a few quiet moments together. It was so cute. I like this image because there was just enough light to see them.

Christopher & Graham are beautiful little boys. Christopher was so full of energy & excitement that getting him w/ his brother was almost out of the question but somehow we managed to get a few.

Christopher's hilarious little personality just shined. I have never met a 2 yr old that can wink...and he can do it w/ both eyes. So cute!

It's obvious that the boys got their beauty from their mom who I have enjoyed getting to know.

I returned last night from a whirlwind Oregon trip to find our interenet down. So I am sitting in a neighborhood coffee shop and realizing how great it is to be working outside of my office!! I think I need to make a regular practice of this. But since I am not in my office I only have a few images to share. I went to Oregon to photograph an incredible wedding outside of Portland and took advantage of being close to my hometown. My boys LOVE visiting their grandparents in Salem. Here are a couple pictures from the visit.

warm weather + kids + sprinkler = endless hours pure fun!!

I snuck up on Oscar as he was exploring my old room. He was entranced by this teddy bear (my mom's when she was a little girl) & rocking chair. This may be one of my all time favorite images. It is a simple image but I love it.

Friends of the Children

Last week I had so much fun meeting and photographing some special people. I had been asked to donate work for Friends of the Children to use in a fall fundraising benefit. I learned a little bit about the program and was excited to work with them. The program identifies "children facing challenges - from poverty, homelessness and poor academic performance to family histories of domestic violence, substance abuse and prostitution" from kindergarten and they are then enrolled in the program until high school graduation. Each child is paired w/ a paid mentor for 12 years. If the child moves mentors follows them so long term success can be acheived. I am looking forward to attending the benefit in October. If you are interested in donating to this wonderful program or attending their benefit please let me know. Now for the photos. I am going a little overboard w/ my posts on this one but these kids are so beautiful!

With their mentors...

And finally the theme of the benefit is Every Minute Counts so we had fun w/ clocks

At the end of their Seattle visit we managed to squeeze in time for family photos of the Festersen/Crawford relatives before they headed off to the San Juans. We had a few tears and boys that really would have preferred jumping off the dock than sitting for pictures but in the end I think we got a few keepers.

The Millar Family

When we returned to Seattle last year life was a little chaotic having a baby before our moving truck arrived & needing to get my business up & running ASAP. If you are from Seattle & have little ones you know how difficult it is finding childcare. Wait lists are the standard so I felt like I had won the lottery when the "school" that came w/ the highest recommendation had one opening specifically for a boy. We snagged the spot for Cooper & felt so fortunate to have him there. Lori and Brooks Millar created an amazing atmosphere for toddlers to fluerish.
This was Millars Place last year as Lori & Brooks are returning to their home in Michigan. I was so excited to get to meet Larson Alden Millar the day before they departed. Larson is 8 days old & obviously very much loved by his sister & mom & dad.
Sister Kilee was all smiles and full of hugs and kisses for her new brother.

Although Larson's eyes are closed I like this next image because his smile is precious.

We went to Gas Works Park as the city scape epitomizes the beauty of Seattle.

My camera had a tough time staying idle w/ my husband's cousins in town. With amazing weather kids were running in all direction at every gathering. Here is a rare moment when we had all the kids' (excluding one napper)...popsicle time!!!




Cooper was probably the slowest in the bunch but with the head start he granted himself he clinched the win up the hill.

I love this last one because you can see how hard Cooper was working to get the big W.

If you have time on your hands here is the slideshow...