Terrific Two's!!

Madelyn came back to see me for her 2 year pictures.

It's amazing how much kids change in one year!She did such a good job.

I figured Madelyn was done when I got this picture.It cracked me up.I usually get this look from my teenagers when I tell them,"Just one more,really." I'm so glad you guys came in.I love her personality and can't wait to see her again.

They're Getting Married-All 3 of Them!

Monica,Dave & Louie are getting married!Monica and Dave wanted Louie in their engagement pictures, which is totally cute.Louie was very sweet.Maybe he can be the ring bearer?

This is one of my favorites.This is just really you.

It was hard to pick just a few to put here-you were really photogenic!

We were at the Mokena Park District and had to dodge the frisbee golf people and I think the entire grade school soccer league.That was a little bit of a challenge.What a beautiful area though.

You guys are a beautiful couple! It was an honor to do your engagement pictures.Try not to stress out over all the little details and enjoy the whole experience.

Sunshine On My Shoulders

There was sunshine everywhere this day and not in a good way.These were some of the last ones we did-trying to find a shadey area that had some type of a background.

These guys were a lot of fun-really Kim! They were funny and energetic and helpful.The boys were so helpful-helping me carry my stuff.

We did these at the New Lenox Commons which is beautiful but a very busy place.There was a women's group meeting right where I wanted to photograph.Then it was movie night and more people hanging around than usual.And the sun was brutal that day. These guys were good sports though.

Lots of people get stressed out doing family pictures.It's hard to figure out what to where,where to do them and making sure everyone is behaving.These will be a treasure and you'll be glad you did it.

Beautiful family.Thanks for letting me share this memory with you guys.

Pretty Girl

Here are a few of my favorite images from a session I did last week.

Angela is not camera-shy which makes it fun to try different poses.

We used the area around the studio for some of these. This is at the Lockport train station.

I love this one!Look at those eyelashes!

Thanks Angela for letting me take so many pictures of you. You are so pretty in these!

The Sullivan Clan

The WHOLE Sullivan family! Gorgeous setting for a gorgeous family. We took these in Maria's backyard.It was fun trying to keep the younger ones still.I miss having all that energy.

The above picture is all because of these two. It always amazes me how big families always start with just two people.John & Betty came all the way from Ireland and eventually settled in New Lenox.I love these two.

Oh the stories I could tell you...just kidding. This is Diane, one of my oldest friends. Not really the oldest-we've just been friends for SO long.She married a very funny guy(so funny that he laughed during my first viewing of the Titanic movie!Who could laugh during that movie? :) )

and they have a beautiful daughter. I smile when I look at this picture-maybe it's because Davey is in it.

You might remember Michael from Christmas pictures I had on this blog. I smile when he smiles because he always looks like he is just about to crack a joke or pull a prank. He's adorable.He looks a lot like his mom Eilesh-whom I've know since she was a young girl.Now she's an awesome mom,successful business owner and going to school.She's amazing!

On to the family of Patrick and Bonnie.I'm so glad you guys moved back. These guys always look so good together. Beautiful family!!

It's kind of weird for me to see these kids so grown up. I've known them all since they were babies.Maria & Rich-you have a beautiful family. Thanks for letting me do your family pictures-it was so good to see all of you!

The cousins!

One Is So Fun!

I wish I could be one again. To just dive right into things and not worry if it was safe or ok to do. Rhyanna celebrated her first birthday in grand style.She's the baby you'ver seen grow up on my blog.She's SO funny! You're going to see these in backward motion.Meaning the end product first.I guess I wasn't paying attention.Rhyanna loved her strawberry cupcake.This was a "smash cake" session and it was fun.These are one of my favorite sessions to do. Look at her face!

She just dug right in. Here she has the wrapper in her mouth-just hanging. It's funny how all babies do this differently.Some don't want anything to do with it and others love every sugar-filled moment.

Here's the beginning.She's still clean. I love her smile in this one. Total happiness.

Rhyanna's mommy always dresses her to the 9's.I wonder where that saying came from? She left the headband on for all of five seconds.Then it was a game of putting the headband on-taking it off-putting it on-taking it off.Poor Mom-she got a workout this session.

LOVE,LOVE,LOVE the skirt! Rhyanna is lucky to have Mom's friend make these for her. They are beautiful!She has all different colors and they are good quality.She looks like cotton candy and she's just as sweet.My friend Tom was behind me,making her laugh.She just couldn't get enough of him.

We had quite a few good pictures from this part of the session. Rhyanna always has the cutest expressions.I could have posted her entire 1 yr old session-they were all good.I love the bikini!She had her friend Nemo in her hand and would pull the glasses up and just look at us.What a hoot!

Happy 1st Birthday, Rhyanna!Gina, I really feel honored to be documenting her growing up.
She's such a joy and so fun to work with.My kids are teenagers now and sometimes I just need a baby fix.Thanks for sharing Rhyanna with me.

Senior Boys Love Getting Their Pictures Taken!!

Just ask Josh. He LOVED our session.He was such a good sport. I'm pretty sure he didn't know what he was getting into.

I love this picture.I'm not sure if you can see it, but there's a reflection by his right shoulder that looks like a diamond.

Sometimes the non-smiling ones are better than the smiling ones. I really liked this angle.Plus-Josh was probably tired at this point.

3/4 of the way through our session-I asked Josh,"this isn't hideous, is it?" He told me he'd rather go to the dentist.Root canal or just a filling? He said root canal. Really?That bad?

Josh-I wish you the absolute best! I had fun with you & your Mom. Let's do it again sometime.Really.

I'm back!

Well-it's been a long time since I posted! Spring was a very "sick" time for my family. We all had mono at the same time. We went on vacation and couldn't understand why we were so tired.We thought it was the 14 hour traveling day to get there but then it didn't go away. So-now it's June and I'm feeling better but not arcia Brady's mono didn't last this long. What the heck?

This is my favorite out of all the shots. It's so hard to believe Rhianna is only 9 months old!She had the greatest expressions all day. Some serious,some quizical and a lot of funny ones. She was a blast to work with.

I photographed Rhianna as a newborn and before she was born. It's SO COOL to see the babies as they grow. She's the first child for Mom & Dad- so naturally she's always dressed to the 9's.

I couldn't get over how active she was. I think she's going to walk early. Maybe she'll be an olympian?

Gina- thanks SO much for bringing Rhianna back to see me. It was an absolute pleasure to work with her. She has a beautiful personality and is so smart. I have no doubts whatsoever that she's going to be a "mover & shaker" in life.

Celesia

I photographed my daughter's band Celesia. I love how fun teenagers can be. They aren't afraid to do wacky things. This is my favorite shot. They look like they could be in a magazine.

Celesia was totally rockin' the vintage look. Love it!

This was a hard shot to get, believe it or not. Carl is so much taller than the other three.It was a challenge to fit everyone in and have it look in proportion.

This is when I started to get nervous. You know how I said earlier that I love how teenagers aren't afraid to do wacky things? Well, I lied. I was VERY nervous with the boys up on that "former" ledge. I could think of 100 things that could happen to them. They didn't blink an eye. Crazy kids!

This was another hard to pose shot. I finally had to have Carl sit at the bottom because I couldn't fit all four of them in. Love the fire escape.

I love what this shot says. They've got a long road(or tracks) ahead of them. They are starting out their journey into adulthood and may end up taking separate paths.Hopefully they will stay friends and look back on these days fondly. Good Luck guys!!