I have taken pictures of a few different babies this summer, so here’s a sampling of pictures.  This is what I’ve been doing when I’m not working on the 365 project or on vacation.  (Though some of these were taken on vacation.)

A couple of weeks ago, I was contacted (on Facebook, of course!) by a friend from high school who lives in Columbia near me.  Her two sisters and their families were coming into town for the weekend, and she wondered if I would take some pictures of all of them together.  What did I say?

OF COURSE I WILL!

It was really wonderful to see all three sisters (we were all around the same age in high school, which means that, in my head, they are still Bartows!),  and to meet their husbands and children.  We lucked out on the prettiest day of fall, at the nicest time of day, in the bestest spot at Shelter Gardens (a very popular spot for photographers- and other people- in Columbia).

This is the kind of family where no one has to be prompted to smile!

The three beautiful sisters.

All of the family together.

And a few shots of each family!

The older cousins together! I love that they’re at similar ages, because I remember how much fun I had with my cousins when we were kids.

You can see a slideshow of all the images with these families at my Zenfolio site.

My sister-in-law has been my sister-in-law for such a long time now that I consider her family to be my family, even though I rarely get to see them.  But I was thrilled to get to visit with my sister-in-law’s sister and her boys and her fiancee earlier this summer, in preparation for the big wedding in June.

Say hello to a couple of handsome little boys!

We had a great morning at a park in Warrensburg, Missouri, where they live.  The boys warmed up to me pretty quickly and everyone had a good time.

That smile will break a few hearts someday, I think!

And the beautiful couple… the happy parents… the now-newlyweds!

Aren’t they gorgeous?

Wedding photos are finished and a blog post is forthcoming!  Congratulations Lynn & Justin!

I’ve been shooting Bethany and her family since she was born, and now I can say that for her new baby brother Owen as well!

Welcome Owen!

His dark eyes just kill me.  He didn’t show them off too willingly during this session, at which he was only about two weeks old.  He was much more interested in the basics: eating, sleeping…

And letting the world know that he is here!  Loudly!  With enthusiasm!

(Please don’t nom the baby toes.)

The whole beautiful family:

Big sister Bethany turns two this summer!  She is quite the little blond-haired, blue-eyed beauty.

Big sisters sometimes have to be told to be careful around their little brothers.

A sweet baby boy addition to a lovely family!

We’re making a habit of this!

It’s amazing how much you can grow in six months, especially when those six months constitute a full third of your whole life.  I did pictures of Bethany and her family back in June, when she had her first birthday, and now here we are, six months later, photos of the family for Bethany’s second Christmas.

Such a cutie-pie.

One-and-a-half is a pretty wiggly age.  

Happy holidays to everyone!

I’ve been so busy working on photos from my second session this month that I never got around to posting about the first session!  But here they are- better late than never, right?

My cousin married my sister’s all-through-college roommate, so I feel kin to both of them!  They live in the Chicago area, and I’ve been trying to get together with them for photos for a long time.  Finally, after their second baby was born in November, I went up there with my equipment and we got some holiday and family photos done over a two day stretch.  It was a great little trip for me, and we did both posed portraits as well as candids.  Photography has me learning all about the many moods of toddlers.  I may have been quite the babysitter in high school, but that never required the eye contact and smiling that photography does!

The big sister.

And she’s 2!

The little sister.

With little pink baby toes.

I really love doing the casual candids.  It’s so much easier to coax smiles out of a wary toddler when they have slides and swings around, rather than while they’re trying to decipher the strange equipment in the place where their living room furniture usually goes!

I don’t know why I said the other week that Denise’s family was my first family shoot, because I’ve been taking pictures of Jo Ann’s family since their daughter, Bethany, was born.  I must be crazy!

Jo Ann is my sister’s best friend, and I offered to take photos of Bethany when she was an infant.  We followed that up with pictures when she was six months old, and now Bethany is one year old!  She can talk a little and walk a little and sing a little, and she is just millions of light years away from where she was a mere year ago.  (Just like me with photography!)

It was a pretty hot and humid morning on the last day of May, and we had to search out a park with mature trees in suburban O’Fallon, Missouri, but we finally did locate a pleasant place for photos in front of the Baptist Church.

Here are some of my favorites.  (The whole gallery is available on my website.)

I think she was singing along to the ABCs in the last picture.  Well, not so much singing the letters as her own words to the melody, but that’s ok!  Knowing your ABCs at age one is a little pretentious, Bethany!  Don’t be in too much of a hurry to grow up.  I don’t think your parents could stand it!

I first met Denise through Model Mayhem.  In fact, she was the first model that I shot with.  We had an after-work session outside the Governor’s Mansion in Jefferson City last February in forty-degree weather.

When she asked if I would do some pictures with her fiance and children, I was thrilled!  We met up at Binder Lake State Park in Jefferson City for a few family pictures, a few engagement-style photos, and some candids of her kids on the playground.  It went so well!  Here are some of the great results.