“I’m learning that in the long hard days
there is beauty.
Do you know my favorite place to see it?
It’s when I look at you.”
– Bethany Dillon
the lips. the cheeks. the eyelashes… too much sweetness in one little face!Sweet Gracie was MORE than excited about digging into her 1st birthday cake! look at her little toes covered in icing! then at this point, she decided it was more efficient to just dig in face first ;) Happy 1st Birthday, Gracie! :)

Take me home where we met so many years before
We’ll rock our babies on that very front porch
After all this time, you and I
Oh my, my, my
– Taylor Swift
love catching those newborn smiles! kisses for baby sister!LOVE these photos of Connor! this gorgeous tree was the perfect backdrop for their photos! showing off her Elvis lip ;) Happy Monday!

“The smile that flickers on a baby’s lips when he sleeps- does anyone know where it was born? Yes, there is a rumor that a young pale beam of a crescent moon touched the edge of a vanishing autumn cloud, and there the smile was first born in the dream of a dew-washed morning.” ― Rabindranath Tagore
We had a beautiful morning at Bishops Garden at the National Cathedral for Luke’s one year portraits! one of my favorites! the flower beds were in full bloom! :) love this family portrait, and how Luke and Ella are laughing together :) ya know, just a girl and her castle :)kisses for his mama… makes me laugh every time :) Happy 1st birthday Luke! You can go back and see his 8 month session, 5 month session, and newborn session too! Happy Friday! :)

“The tenderness of God is twirling around
In our living room tonight
Lighting up your daddy’s eyes
And know he just wants to freeze you in time”
-Watermark
I’m not sure how her first year flew by so fast, the last time I saw Miss Hayden she was teeny tiny… and now look how she’s grown! the pigtails. the blue eyes. the sweet smile… it’s all too cute for me to handle! we wanted to incorporate all of Hayden’s favorite things into the session, including her baby doll :) she’s a pro at rocking her baby!LOVE this shot of Allie and her girl :)
learning to walk is tough stuff!Hayden is a girl after my own heart, she loves looking at photos! it’s a sad day in Hayden’s world when swing time is over… i couldn’t resist snapping this next photo, even if it was mid-melt down :)
thankfully she thought her slide was equally as awesome :)just incase i haven’t already said it a dozen times, i completely adore these three :) helloooo blue eyes! then the sun peeked out just for a few minutes right before cake time! not gonna lie, that shot on the right is one of my favorites :) Bjorn is teaching Hayden all of his cool tricks :) such a pretty baby!… and then hayden’s world changed for ever with one taste: chocolate!! she was loving life and makin’ a mess! yup. i understand completely, baby girl :) You can go back and see Hayden’s newborn portraits and Bjorn and Allie’s wedding too! Happy 1st Birthday, Hayden Grace!! :)

“If you were a boat, my darling
A boat, my darling
I’d be the wind at your back
If you were afraid, my darling
Afraid, my darling
I’d be the courage you lack
Oh, do you know we belong together?
Oh, do you know my heart is yours?”
– JJ Heller
Pepper has finally learned that Turner is fun to have around, especially when he’s dropping cheerios! :)Turner tried so hard to get as many of these little animals in his mouth as possible.. I think he maxed out at 2 ;) one of my favorite shots of this handsome little man! this cracked me up! Turner was trying to be sweet and give kisses, which quickly turned into him just licking Chris on the nose… which according to Turner (and the image on the right!) was pretty darn funny!  You can go back and see his 8 month session, 4 month session, and his newborn portraits too! Happy 1st birthday, Turner! :)