Jacob was an absolute sweetie, taking in his surroundings with his quiet and mindful little personality, and it was pure enjoyment to see how his parents have bonded with their first child.  They are smitten with their little boy, to say the very least.

Here is Jacob with his adoring and very much head-over-heels Mommy & Daddy . . .

Dear Brandsteads,

Thanks for this chance to capture you three at this age.

It was a pleasure, and I  really enjoyed getting to know you.

Cherish this first year, it is truly a treasure trove of

stages and changes, as I’m sure you are

already discovering

Hugs,

Kelly

He has also developed this very serious and observant side to his personality, and it was a treat to watch him take in the park surroundings, almost like he was “studying” the plants and buildings.

Their family bonds are very obvious, and Price has clearly become the center of their universe.  Here they are 8 months into being a family . . .

Dear Price & Mommy & Daddy,

Thanks for the smiles, the serious faces, and the giggles!

You 3 are wonderful to work with, and make my job awesome.

I LOVE everything we got, and I will be looking forward

to everything we get at the 1 Year Milestone!!!

Happy Growing until then

Big Hugs,

Kelly

Of course, my LOVE of world travel took over the first half of our shoot conversation, and I learned an interesting fact – airfare to Europe from Mexico City is the same as a ticket to the U.S.!  Bugger, and not at all fair, but it is a reality  I also marveled at how awesome it must be to have so many great beach vacation options in Mexico.  They are certainly among my favorites of the beaches I have been fortunate enough to visit!!!

Anyway, Marcela chose Faust Park, and so we made our way around the grounds on a very bright and sunny Spring day . . .

Dear Marcela & Family,

You were a delight to work with, and I found

myself wishing all shoots were this easygoing and laid-back!

Thanks for our enjoyable time together,

and thanks for choosing me to document this for you!

Hugs,

Kelly

Once again, blessed with the honor of capturing a newborn and his parents, I loved every moment of watching Jackson with his Mommy and Daddy.  There is just something truly awesome about observing the immediate bond between a newborn and his parents.  It really is this awesome wonder.

Here is Jackson’s first official portraits of his charm and adorable features (notice all that hair!), as well as their first official images as a family . . .

How about all that hair?!  Isn’t it just adorable

Dear Nikki, Matt & Jackson,

Thanks so much for choosing me to capture these

for you all!  You are such a sweet family, and it was

awesome to see you three just days into being

an “official” family.  Best of everything to you!

Hugs,

Kelly

Amy is the sister of my sister-in-law, and she is one of those peeps that I can not be around enough.  You know those types, they just radiate good and happy energy, the kind that causes me to laugh non-stop because no matter what the kids are doing (being happy and energetic or melting down) Amy is smiling and laughing.  I was not like this when my kids were young.  I wish I would have been.  Sometimes I hate it that hind-sight is 20/20 . . . grrrrr.

Anyway this entire shoot was filled with good and happy energy.  It was shoot #3 with them.  They don’t live in St. Louis and so we have scheduled meet-up places in the past, and now they live about an hour and a half away.  So meeting up has gotten easier, and we could schedule this one near me to showcase the newest Trimmer, little Miss Cutie-Patootie Ava Grace.  We chose the City, and I think it was the perfect choice .

Here are the Trimmers with their newest member and their happy energy . . .

These last shots were done in my backyard.  Ava had had it with the City shooting, so we finished-up a couple weeks later

when Amy’s sister, my bro and their kiddos were in-town for a visit.  They came up for an evening of Q-ing and hangin’ out!

Dear Amy, Derek, Alex & Ava,

Thank you for this.  I loved that once again,

I walked away from this, wishing that it never had to end.

Your shoots are a real treat for me, and I cherish the

feelings that they leave me with – happiness and love for what we get.

Biggest of Hugs,

Kelly

I’ve said it repeatedly, but it is one of the most amazing perks of this job, seeing new parents head-over-heels-in-love with their babies.  Amy was no exception, and I was blessed with not just one newborn shoot of Harper, but a 2nd shoot a week later.  Amy wanted to get a few more shots of the two of them, and I was absolutely happy about the prospect of seeing them together again so soon.

Here are those two shoots of Harper and her Mommy . . .

And our second shoot . . .

Dear Harper & Amy,

I loved this, and thank you so much for choosing

me to document such live events for the two of you.

You are off to a lifetime of having each other,

and I wish you infinite happiness throughout

that journey together.

Big Hugs,

Kelly

Here’s Luc, ready to take life to the next level . . .

 Dear Luc,

Thanks for much for such a pleasant hour!

I had a delightful time getting to know you,

and am certain you will make quite a mark on this world.

I wish you the best of everything, and hope you enjoy your

time deciding among all those school choices,

and your final months of high school!

Hugs,

Kelly

That’s what we got, along with more laughs than one would ever imagine could fill a photo shoot.  He’s quite a little character, and along with me, he had his Mom and his older brothers laughing a lot.

I can’t believe he is already a 1 year old.  Where does the time go?!?!?

Here’s Garrett, his adorable personality, and his unforgettable 1 year physique . . .

I just had to get those curls.

This is what happened when Mommy left the room to get the smashcake. lol

Dear Garrett & Mommy,

Thanks for the laughs and unforgettable shoot.

You were positively fun to shoot at this age, and I’m

so lucky to have been the one that got to capture

your adorable charm and curves.

It’s so sad that that chub will soon be whittled away with

the active little guy you are about to become.

Big Hugs,

Kelly

When I arrived, Amy showed me his adorable Cat-In-The-Hat smash cake, and we pondered what props/outfits/accessories we would use, and then she gave me some awesomely happy new . . . . . . they are expecting another baby.  I was infinitely happy!  This means another year of milestones that I get to document – the baby and the Dwyer Family of 4.  Yeah for me , oh and congrats to The Dwyers for their new addition! lol

I will cease the gushing.  Here’s sweet-and-adorable-beyond-words Samuel and his loving, sweet, thoughtful, kind, awesome parents . . .

Dearest Dwyers,

Once again, I can’t thank you enough for

being your wonderful selves.  I enjoy these more

than I can ever convey to you, and I am so delighted

at the thought of seeing you evolve into a family of 4,

and meeting that little person that will make you

that family of 4.

Big Hugs,

Kelly

Then she drops a wonderful, happy, life-changing bomb . . .

The adoption agency that she and Sean adopted Anna from, called and said that their daughter’s birth parents had had a little boy and wanted Sean and Gayla to adopt him . . .

That bit of news was followed with a bunch of OMGs, “that is amazing”, “I can’t believe it’s”, and overall happy conversation.  Gayla went on to ask if I thought they could handle 2 kiddos, and I replied that it would be challenging, but you don’t think about it, you just do it

Anyway, she got back into town, and then they went to get custody of their little guy, which required a stay over in Illinois until all the paperwork was completed and made official.

Looking back, I can’t imagine going from a family of 3, and being content to stay a family of 3, and then becoming a family of 4 in a matter of days.  That’s quite a change, in nearly the blink of an eye, and yet you see them, and you know that’s exactly what was meant to be.

Here are the Daugherty’s, as a foursome, with newest family member Benjamin David Daugherty . . . (tears filling my eyes as I type that) . . .

Dearest Daughertys,

What an amazing gift this was for me, and how awesome that I

get to shoot you all for another year.  You are a beautiful and

amazing family of four, and I will look forward to each time

I get to document the changes, in you all, in Ben’s first year.

Big Giant Happy Hugs,

Kelly