rachel, 2008

I'm soo behind on blogging! I should have posted these sooner but this is the first chance I've had because I've been so busy!

Last Monday Dan and I did senior pictures for Rachel (Reagan's other aunt!) :). I had a blast hanging out running around with the two of them downtown searching for fun spots. I found a few gems for future shoots as well. :)

Anyway, here are a few of my favorites. I wish I looked like her when I was a senior! She's super cute, right!? I was SUCH a huge geek when I was a senior! Not fair. :)

courtney & ross

A few weekends ago, I 2nd shot for Shelly Valentine again. :) (FYI .. I love love love helping her. She's the greatest!)

Meet Ross & Courtney .. quite possibly one of the cutest couples on the planet. They worked it all day. Shelly and I had it easy .. they did their thing and pretty much needed zero direction. :) It was such a fun day. One of my favorite moments was when they rolled up to the McDonald's drive thru in a huge Hummer limo. :) Hilarious! I am obsessed with their french fries so you know I was all about it.

A few faves...

a day in the NICU

This past Friday was a rollar coaster of emotion. I met with 6 families throughout the day at Methodist Hospital for sessions through the ACPCG. I photographed 7 babies total! :) Every time I walk into a NICU, I never know what to expect. Friday was no different. There were a few tears but luckily smiles outshined.

I'm always amazed by how strong the families of these children are. Some of these parents may possibly lose their child, but they always find the strength to take the time to thank me with huge smiles on their faces. I am SO grateful that I get to share such personal moments in their lives. I cannot be more thankful that I get to provide this gift to families in need! :)

Baby Holden...

Baby Bryce...

Baby Miguel...

Baby Zane...

Baby Noah...

And last but not least, twins! Baby Chloe...

And her brother, Baby Connor...

happy birthday dan!

Dan, my favorite boy, turns 23 today! (what a youngin!) :) I decided to go all out this year and get him a Wii. He's basically been obsessing over them since we played at our friend's house a few months ago. I know we hopped on the Wii train a little late but better late than never right!? :) It's so much fun .. and I'm not even a huge fan of video games (unless the word Tetris is involved)!

Tonight I'm taking him to the new Weber Grill downtown for his birthday dinner. Our favorite friends, Billy & Sarah are coming along as well. I can't wait! :D

Here's the boy with his new toy .. (and our pup Otis, only the cutest dog on the planet). :)

andrea & mike

Andrea & Mike are getting married in only a few weeks! We did a quick engagement session at the IMA for some of their reception details.

Andrea is yet another one of my friends from high school who is getting married! I've actually known her since elementary. :) The wedding is going to be extra fun because two of her bridesmaids are also good friends of mine! :) I can't wait!

I'll be posting some of their wedding photos in the next few weeks so stay tuned. ;)

tagged!

There's this little blog game going around and I got tagged by 2 photographers (who happen to be on my list of favorite blogs to stalk!!) .. Kristy (Wreckless Photography) and Lauren (openField photography). Apparently with this little game, I have to list some random facts about myself then tag a few other photographers. :) I love random!

01 - Yesterday we had to take my pup, Otis, to the vet. He possibly has something wrong with his pancreas. The bill was $350 & counting, depending on what his blood work results say today.

02 - I'm obsessed with french fries .. McDonald's is the favorite by far.

03 - Before I left for photography school, I told a lot of my friends I was going to find a 'photographer boyfriend' .. and I did just that. We've been together over 2.5 years now. (Plus he looks like Justin Timberlake .. how's that for an added bonus?!)

04 - I leave for Germany with my mom, Aunt Sandy, and Grandma exactly one month from today.

05 - I'm deathly afraid of flying. My 9 hour trip to Germany is 1 - not going to be fun at all & 2 - be the longest 9 hours of my life. I'll probably be crying the entire way.

06 - Whenever I get married, there will be an old school photo booth there so I can have pictures of all my guests. It's not going to be one of those crappy digital ones that are taking over. It's going to be total old school (& probably way too much $$).

07 - I made up a song about the UPS man.

08 - I loooove polkadots!!

Tagging time! ...
- Shelly Valentine
- Rebekah Westover
- Nate & Amanda
- Amy Squires
- Jen Lee
- Kate Benson
- Jennifer McNulty
- Amy Wenzel

a new look!!

The blog finally has a new look (obviously!). :) Just last week I was doing my daily blog stalking and noticed my friend, Anne Ruthmann, had her blog revamped by the lovely Madeline Miller. I have been wanting a new look for my blog for I don't know how long! I wanted to hire someone to help me but I've been saving up every extra penny for my Germany trip. After seeing what Madaline could do, I decided I could spare a few extra dollars and splurge on a new blog design. :) We emailed back and forth for a few days and came up with this beauty. :) I can't believe how helpful she was and how quickly she had it online! I am sooo excited about the new look .. and how well it compliments my website!

If any of you other photographers or bloggers are looking for a customized blog template, you've got to email Madeline! She's got insane skills! I wouldn't have picked anyone else for the job. :)

Madeline .. thank you thank you thank you! :) Maybe one day I can repay you with some photos! :)

baby aerail & baby ayonna

My mom got me in contact with another wonderful family for photos through the ACPCG. It happened to be another set of twins! :D Girls this time .. Aerail & Ayonna. They were born early around four weeks ago, only weighing in around 3 pounds each!

I couldn't have asked for a better shoot. The girls were so alert and were way too cute for words! :) I also can't forget to mention how sweet their parents were .. as well as Great Grandma. :) I could have stayed and talked with them all day if I had the chance. :)

Here are a few of my favorites!

reagan is ONE!

My insanely cute niece, Reagan, turns one today! I can't believe a year has gone by this quick. It feels like just weeks ago I was rushing to the hospital because she was about to enter this crazy world. It's been so much fun watching her grow .. seeing her crawl for the first time to just recently learning how to walk! And we can't forget how vocal she is .. not many words as of yet but she loves to yell "HEY!" (which is absolutely hilarious). :)

I haven't had the chance to take her "official" one year photos yet but I wanted to put up a few (HA! .. and by few I mean way too many) of my favorite photos that I've taken of her over the past year. I totally overkilled it with all of these pictures but seriously, I'm a first time aunt who happens to be a photographer, what else would you expect? :) Plus it's fun to look back at them and see how much she's changed! At least I know Grandma will love it!

Her party is tomorrow so I'll be sure to post pictures of that soon! ;)

beth & david

I got the chance to shoot again with the wonderful Shelly Valentine this weekend. It was a beautiful day, minus the crazy hot weather Indiana has been having. It had to be 90 degrees or more. Not fun! Beth, David & their entire wedding party were total troopers though! I probably complained about the heat more than anyone else. :)

Oh by the way .. Beth is currently the front runner for the 'best wedding dress nicole's photographed, 2007' contest! I had no idea I was having any sort of contest until this very second. ;) Her dress was totally beautiful .. by far my favorite!