“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! :)

“Other things may change us, but we start and end with family.” – Anthony Brandtthose little gummy smiles get me every time!nothing better than little baby toes!

Okaaaay so I know it’s not summer yet, but since my weddings kick off in the next couple of weeks and go well into the summer I thought I’d share this now in hopes of checking all of these off at some point over the next few months! Spring and summer are definitely crazy busy work-wise, so I should probably go ahead and block off a few days for some of these now, right? :)

There are a few things that help make summer complete in my world. Concerts, young life camp, and baseball games are all on that list! Last weekend I went to my first O’s game of the year with some great friends, and it was a great way to kick off the season. Here in Virginia, winter definitely overstayed its welcome, and I’m more than ready for warmer (and longer) days, sunshine, and more baseball! :)

here are a few iphone photos from this weekend:It was a GORGEOUS afternoon at Camden Yards, and we had the best view, but our seats just so happened to be in the most shaded, darkest section of the whole stadium, sooo it was a little chilly where we were sitting! The poor girl in shorts and a tshirt in front of us turned BLUE by the 3rd inning!Toward the end of the game we opted for the official 7th inning seat change, and headed to the outfield where the seats were in the sun, and we all said how it literally felt like two totally different days going from the shade/wind into the sun. I believe Scott phrased it best, “it’s like we went from Minnesota to the TROPICS!” :) Seriously look at the photo below, and you see that entire row of sections that arrow is pointing to?! Look how much darker it is than ANY of the other seats in the whole stadium! We decided they woulda been the perfect seats if it had been raining, or crazy hot, or just about in ANY other weather besides sunny and 60 degrees :)  So here’s the bucket list for this summer! Who wants to tag along?! :)

– A few more baseball games– gotta cheer on the Nat’s and the O’s a few more times this season (especially since the O’s lost this weekend!)

– Spend an afternoon at Pippin Hill Farm Vineyard– this is one of my FAVORITE places I’ve been to in Charlottesville! I didn’t make it there at all last summer, but this year it’s on my list to go sit on their patio with some wine and cheese for one afternoon and enjoy the mountains :)

– See The Lion King when it comes to the Kennedy Center– I’ve always had a soft spot for theater, and this shows is one of the best!

– Go to one summer concert– Jiffy Lube Live usually has a big handful of country concerts throughout the summer, but this year their lineup is pretty thin, and I have weddings scheduled for the few concerts that are coming. So we’ll see if this one happens!

– Shoot a portrait session in a lavender field– I’ve always wanted to do portraits in a pretty lavender field, and this year I’m making it happen! Katie and I already have plans in the works, and you know when she and I team up for photos the results are gonna be good! :)

– Spend a day at the beach– I’m not too much of a beach bum, but it just seems wrong to not see the ocean at some point during the summer!

– Young Life Camp– summer really doesn’t seem complete without at least one day here! Thankfully it looks like I’ll get to go be the official camp photographer again this year for YoungLives week at Rockbridge! Who wants to come serve with me?! It’s seriously the best time, and you will fall in love with these babies over the week!! You can read and overview and see lots of cute photos from last year HERE!

SO! Who wants to come with me for any/all of those?! :) What’s on your summer bucket list?! Anything else I should add to mine? :)