O'Neil Family Portraits

Today I had the great pleasure of getting to photograph a friend of mine from middle school and her sweet little family.  I did portraits of their little guy when he was just a tiny baby, and today he was looking so grown up and was such a well-behaved little boy.  What a sweetie!  And it sure doesn't hurt that he is as cute as he can be.  He was chatting away with me and had the funniest things to say.  I could have just sat and listened to all his stories, but then we wouldn't have any pictures!  And as beautiful as this family is just the way they are, they are expecting a second little blessing in January, so there will be another precious little face to add.  Can't wait to meet their new baby soon!  For now, here is a Sneak Peek from our session on this gorgeous Fall day!!

Happy 3rd Birthday, baby girl!!

What a difference a year makes! From the moment of her birth to her third birthday today, this little girl has been lighting up my life. Her sense of humor is years beyond her age and she can make anyone laugh. She doesn't seem to miss a punchline! A genuine smile from her is pretty much the cutest thing you've ever seen. Her wit and sassy personality will get you when you least expect it. She has opinions and she is not afraid to share them. She is way smarter than she needs to be and is the fastest little learner I've ever known. She constantly surprises us when she uses big words that we thought she couldn't possibly know. She is so brave and welcomes new adventures with excitement and enthusiasm. She is a huge animal lover and has a sweet heart for little critters, even the ones that mommy wants to smash with a shoe. She is very affectionate and loves sharing her hugs and kisses with mommy and daddy. Her big brown eyes always tell you just what she is thinking, even when she's up to no good. And her little voice just melts me when she tells me she loves me.

Happy Birthday, Olivia!!

Mommy and Daddy love you more than you will ever know!   

Olivia's 3rd Birthday party....bring on the costumes! :)

Being an October baby means that when birthday time rolls around, there is no shortage of Halloween things everywhere you go.  This year, rather than come up with a theme, we just decided to go with the season's festivities and have a Halloween costume party, complete with a spooky, haunted castle!!  My mom and I took the castle that we had made for her princess party last year and we gave it a creepy face lift, complete with black flowers in the window boxes, silhouettes of mice running around, and a giant spider and web hanging overhead.  Olivia wanted to dress up as Rapunzel, so we found her a beautiful little Rapunzel dress.  Her daddy and I dressed up as the main characters from the movie "Wreck It Ralph."  It was really fun seeing all the costumes that our guests wore.  I was not a very good photographer that day because I didn't take very many pictures, and even missed some people entirely!  That always seems to happen when it's an event that I'm hosting!  Anyhow, here are a few quick snapshots from her birthday party!

The castle last year and the Halloween makeover for this year!

Isaac's Senior Session

I feel blessed and lucky to have been able to work with this family again.  Isaac is the third (and final) member of their family to be graduating from high school.  I did senior portraits for both of his older sisters, and now it was finally his turn.  I actually attribute much of my early success to his older sister because they were my very first, real paying customer that wasn't either related to me or a friend of the family.  She was fantastic to work with and her portraits were stunning, which lead others to come to me.  And then I was excited to work with their younger daughter, a couple years later.  She, too, did such a fantastic job and her portraits were gorgeous.  Both of their sessions were so fun and we laughed a LOT!  Now, five years after I started working with them, their family stuck with me and I was able to finish out their high school graduates with Isaac's session.  And much like his sisters before him, he was really great to work with and we had a blast on his session.  And it's no mystery that good genes run in the family, as they all look amazing and are wonderfully photogenic!!  His sisters and his mom all came along with him, so of course there was no shortage of laughs!!  And Isaac and his family are very close, so they were able to bring the real, genuine smiles out of him with ease.  I just love their family!!  Most definitely three of my very favorite sessions ever have come from this one fabulous family.  :)

Here is the Sneak Peek!!

(More photos coming soon!)

Quentin's Senior Session

So much fun!!  Quentin's Senior session rocked!!  (literally!)  I knew he wanted to include his guitar in his session and I was, of course, on board with that idea.  His mom had even mentioned his "studio" when we talked on the phone.  However, I was not expecting it to be nearly as cool as it was!!  This guy has a ton of guitars and equipment, much of which he built himself!  And he is really talented!  He plays multiple instruments and even writes some of his own music!  I was very impressed!  And anytime I have a session with a Senior guy, I always expect that they will be a little less interested than the ladies are.  But Quentin did a great job of staying involved and interested, and I'm thinking it's because he is a fellow artistic, creative thinker.  And I really enjoyed his mom and sister coming along with us....they really reminded me of how my mom and I are together.  What a great family!!

Here is the Sneak Peek!!

(More photos coming soon!)