Talah's Birthday | Raleigh Child Photographer

Let's pretend I'm posting this much closer to August 6th. Oh, poor Talah. That whole shoemaker saying rings true sometimes : )

We celebrated Talah's birthday with family in Orlando and it was such a fun day. It included family, pool time, dinner at Boma, lollipops, cupcakes, and balloons. One word about Boma for people who don't know. This is one of the restaurants at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge. They have a nice buffet and you can walk around the impressive lodge and see animals on the property (giraffes, gazelles, zebras, etc.). If you can't or don't want to go to Animal Kingdom for a whole day, this is a nice place to go to get a taste of things on a much calmer level.

The koala bikini Talah is wearing below is kind of a family heirloom. For some reason, my youngest sister Joanna had it for a long time, even though it's been a couple of decades since she could wear it. I suppose since she was the last Summers girl to wear it, it was hard to let go : ) I was excited when Talah was finally big enough to wear it! As for the pettiskirt, Talah loves it and puts it on whenever possible--especially if someone comes over to our house. She'll disappear for a few minutes and come back out with her "pretty dress" on to show our company. I told her that she could wear it all day on her birthday. And she did.







Sometimes I get annoyed when my lens fogs up from the humidity, but in the image below I didn't mind it.












Let me explain what you're about to see. I read in a parenting magazine a few years ago about someone whose tradition growing up was to have lollipop seeds. Here's how it works. You get "seeds" (any seed-like item will do: sunflower seeds, jellybeans, grains of rice, etc.) and tell your child they are lollipop seeds and then you plant them together. Later, which could be the same day or weeks later, you put big lollipops in the yard for your child to find so it's as if they lollipops have sprouted up.
Okay, so this is all technically a big lie to tell your kids--but it's fun, right? Talah and my niece, Leah, loved it and I think we'll keep it up for years to come.















The anatomy of a birthday wish : )



I had to include this picture. Sure, the kids are cute and all, but the reflection in the glass is what is really funny to me.



Happy Birthday, sweet Talah! Yes, you are sometimes willful and know a thing or two about time out, but most of the time you're pure spun-sugar. I couldn't be happier to be your mom.

Round Holiday Ornament Cards | Raleigh Family Photographer

I'm SO excited about the Ornament Cards I'll be offering this year. This is just a small sampling of them so you can get an idea of what they look like. There are more ornament card designs not pictured here and I'll be posting more images soon (and will also show the front and back). These can all be personalized with the images, text, and colors.

I have several other gorgeous non-ornament card designs available, too, and I'll post some images of those. I just had to showcase these a little because they're just so darn cool. And fun. And round, for crying out loud!

Jackson + Peyton | Raleigh Baby Photographer

Do you remember these sweet things? What a difference six months can make! We did their six month session recently, and it was really fun to see them again and see how big they've gotten. I think they look so much alike (duh, they're twins) and yet, Peyton is distinctly feminine and Jackson seems to be all boy and it shows--even at this very young age. They just about killed me with the hats. So cute!

Andrea | Raleigh Photographer

This is my friend Andrea. Andrea had talked about how big her hair was when she brushed it out and one day last summer, she brushed it out to show me. I told her we needed to take pictures of her like that, and a few weeks ago, we finally did.
Here she is with her hair the way she usually does it--which I think looks gorgeous. Below that, you'll see the fashion-inspired shots and her big hair (equally gorgeous) : )
Andrea, you're beautiful inside and out!



















































These were taken at the end of the session, just as the sun was about to hit the horizon.

Enso and Talah at the Springs | Raleigh Children's Photographer

I'm very behind in blogging right now, but I'll try to catch up as best I can soon! These are a few from our trip to Florida over the summer. Talah got to play with her cousin Enso a little bit, as you'll see below. They literally have natural springs right in their neighborhood. How cool is that? It was so fun (and funny) to watch Talah and Enso play together because everything can change so quickly when you're three years old. One minute the two of them were fighting over the placement of their kids' table when they were eating (they were each pulling it towards themselves, like a couple fighting over a blanket), and the next minute they were having a blast taking turns turning off the light and tucking each other in and pretending to go to sleep. It was definitely entertaining.
I have more to share from our Florida trip soon, as well as client blog posts : )



Don't worry. It's not as high as it looks. Only a few feet off the ground--I promise!



He's gonna be a little heartbreaker!


















My sis-in-law, Laresa, had these awesome books with illustrations by Friso Henstra. Also, I love this blanket because it's been in my family since I was a child and was our picnic/beach blanket. Before that, it was my Aunt Kay's and actually started out on her bed!