It’s really hard to believe that Cali will be celebrating her first birthday this coming weekend!  I will always remember getting the call on Labor Day last year while I was vacationing in Charleston to find out that Cali had made her arrival to our dear friends Stan and Kristen.  It’s been quite a wild year for them as they’ve not only added a new member to the clan but also moved back to Indiana from Tennessee, made new friends and started new jobs and adventures along the way.  I cannot tell you what a joy it has been to have them only a short hour away!  Cali has grown before our eyes…so much better than through pictures!

Kristen is planning a button-themed party for Cali’s birthday and knew this custom shirt and tu-tu (from Maggie Moo’s Mom) would be a great complement to the festivities…and equally perfect for a quick session as well :)

I’m wondering if anyone has noticed the slightly bare spot on this pot of flowers from Cali picking them off…it was for a really good cause!

Cali has the cutest smile and BEST cheeks ever!

Miss Cali, I wish you a very Happy Birthday filled with lots of sugar ;)  Kristen and Stan, we are so thankful to be a part of your lives and and share in the celebration of
Cali’s miraculous little life and what she means to all of us!

Last week I blogged about Will and Ella and mentioned they were soon to be big siblings to a little brother.  Zack made his arrival on June 21st and has spent the summer napping away and swimming every day with the family.  Bailey was lucky to know exactly when Zack was to arrive and we planned accordingly, meaning we had his newborn session scheduled a month in advance!  I arrived at their home not sure what to expect from Will and Ella..I couldn’t wait to see how they were with him!   Would they be jealous?  Would they be protective?  While I’m sure they are both at times, they were only interested in showing me their clean rooms ;)  Zack was content to wait his turn!

I can’t remember for certain, but I think I asked Bailey if she had trouble choosing a name for the newest member of the family.  She told me how when they found out they were  having a boy, one of the twins threw out the name Zack as an option ;)  Bailey left to go to the store later that day and when she returned home, everyone was calling the baby Zack!  How could they have chosen anything else?!

Such a sweet man’s face…and all that dark hair!  I’m sure he is growing like crazy…looking forward to photographing him again next month!

There is nothing I don’t love about my sessions with Will and Ella.  I love that they remember me and seem to look forward to my visits.  I love that they sometimes argue about who is going to tell me their latest story first.  I love that when their mom, Bailey, calls me every year to schedule their session she has only one request.  Images of them playing, and being who they are.  These two have so much personality and I always get a kick out of watching the dynamics of their relationship.  Being twins, they share so much on a daily basis.  They are each other’s best friend.  And sometimes, are each other’s worst enemy ;)   I’m sure it gets quite interesting having your greatest ally also being the one who can tell on you, in great detail, to mom and dad!

We shot this session at the farm where they will call their home in the near future.  There is a lot of construction going on inside the house, but the yard was free reign!  Thinking back on all the years I’ve photographed these two, it seems like there is always one who is more eager to be in front of the camera than the other.  And it usually flip flops from year to year on who that is.  This year it was Ella and she reveled in having my undivided attention while she gave me a few of her brilliant smiles!

Ah, yes…the divided household.  The women are Reds fans, while the men love their Cubbies!  At the time of this session, Bailey was still awaiting the arrival of the newest member of the family.  Now that baby Zack is here, time will tell which team he will root for!

My man, Will.  He’s was little more stingy with his real laughs and giggles, but I managed to trick him into a few.  He’s too busy running and being a boy to care about getting his picture taken ;)

I remember being a kid and trying to get away from my brother when he got too close to me too, Will ;)

And time to play….and they wore.me.out.  We started off running down the hill beside the house at FULL SPEED!

…and they kept on running.  Notice Will trying to push Ella to make sure he will win the race ;)

And we ended with rolling down the hill, over and over.  A favorite thing that has been repeated a couple of times now at their sessions.  It makes me dizzy just watching!

And I’ll end with my favorite of them :)  I just love them!  And I’m already looking forward to having Zack in the mix when he’s old enough to keep up!