Ahhhh. This adorable family. It’s always a treat to photograph friends and their growing little ones!

When planning for this session we really considered what a “family” portrait meant. We decided it would be great to look back and really capture the C family NOW in this phase of life, treating the everyday as the moment worth remembering. We ditched the timeless family portrait idea (i.e. focusing on everyone looking at the camera at the same time with full faces and perfect smiles) and went for the fun, unique, very Portland family. Success!

This upcoming weekend I’m headed down to SoCal to visit my family and introduce me little 20lb 5mo old peanut (!) to his Great Grandmas and Uncle whom he has yet to meet. I’m so excited to have my family see him again and how much he’s grown since most of them were here for Christmas. It’s incredible! He feels like a different baby then he was over the holidays.

I photographed this family at Mount Tabor in Portland, Oregon last… gosh, was it summer? Well, they are darling and it was so fun to photograph the two brothers! They are 4 years apart and very much “boys.” I loved what mom said to me about being the only girl in the house. She said (and I’m paraphrasing here), “You always get to be the princess.” Can you get any better then that? plus a well behaved charming family? I think not. If you have a family boys OR girls don’t forget to be a part of our Mother’s Day portrait event on May 4th!

Oh, and you’ll notice the last grid image– it’s how they ordered their 20×20 standout. Perfection.

It’s Spring Break! Yipee for all those in school. I’m not, but I’ll be breaking away from home here for a few days. My family and I are meeting some friends for a little get-a-way in Sisters, Oregon at The Lodge at Suttle Lake for a few days of (hopefully) relaxation. It will be our longest car ride with our 4mo old and the longest time away from home. I hope the friends we’re meeting there still wish to be friends after the trip is over! Hopefully they still want to have kids after the trip too! 

Deyla Huss and family have been enjoying these portraits for time time now. In fact, some of these portraits are already on canvas occupying wall space! We had such a great time down on the south marina in downtown Portland. What a fabulous place to have your portraits taken especially at dusk. What are your favorites? I love the one of the parents and kids. They are just so dear to my heart. Enjoy!

I had the privilege of photographing this new family of 4 last week! Baby Evelyn is about 2 weeks old and her brother, 18 months, loves to give her kisses It was such a joy to meet and work with Jennifer and her growing family! I often see her work and have used her personally for her hair and makeup talents of Face Body Beauty.

As a new mama Jennifer looked and felt fantastic! I’m fairly certain I was is much worse shape after labor and delivery than she! I mean, look how fantastic mama looks! And her family– so sweet. Enjoy!

Ashley has great style! It was so fun shooting her for her senior portrait last year… she’s super bubbly and really kind. The type of kind that just penetrates your soul. We had such a great time, her session was shot downtown in the John’s Landing neighborhood or Portland, Oregon. Don’t you love her blue dress?? She found it thrifting and still couldn’t decide if it was in fact a dress or a slip. Either way, it’s fantastic with that big chunky belt, don’t you agree?

Anne contacted me for new business portraits for her upcoming website and business marketing material. I love working with realtors because they are always so happy , excite sand want to incorporate their personality. Anne wanted to have her business portraits taken outside in the location she will be working the most, she wanted a recognizable building in her background… we chose a local gold course and club as well as a listed property in her target area which happens to be in the Tigard area. I think she looks stunning and I’m sure all those who frequent Summerfield will too!

It’s just amazing to me how little ones grow so quickly. Is this what my little nugget will look like in another 3.5 months? Simply amazing. Mr. R is 6 months here, these were taken during the summer at the south waterfront in downtown Portland. This is the second time I’ve photographed this family — I saw mom and dad for their wedding a few years ago! It’s so fun to grow with people through life!

A big part of their time together involves reading… so we made sure to be reading books! I love finding out what families do together… when you book your photo session make sure to let me know what’s important to you. Do you like to read, play hide and seek, be outside, have a favorite spot in your home…? possibilities are endless.

Ahh maternity sessions. I went for it. I felt like a whale! Do I now think I look like a whale? No. Because Deyla and Paige were awesome. I did show early and I ended up begin HUGE. I’m happy I scheduled my maternity at 34 weeks, which is my recommendation for other mamas. Reason is you have your nice round bump but you aren’t terribly uncomfortable (like 38+ weeks!).

I was planning a water birth for my little boy, which really influenced my location decision and wardrobe. I wanted to keep the clothing neutral and  not be girly- I plan on hanging a few of these in the nursery. Looking back on these images now I’m so happy I had them done… I actually miss my belly and miss feeling him kick inside me. I’m looking forward to sharing these with my son when he is old enough to understand where babies grow

Without further ado… And yes, this location is special to me. I always vote for sentimental or beautiful when choosing where to shoot. I love how I look thanks to Jennifer at Face Body Beauty and Deyla and Paige.

Crochet Dress - Free People

Scarf – Nordstrom

Knitted sweater- vintage Pendleton

The session was also featured at On To Baby — a huge compliment!

Well, I know that I’m a tad late with the i-promise-i’ll-write-more-about-my-pregnancy post. I’m not sure what happened to that. One thing I am sure of happens to be true; children bond mothers to other mothers. I feel bonded with all women who are mothers; this has been one of the coolest perks of becoming a mom. It’s also been a pleasant surprise that not many acknowledge or give credit to. It’s awesome.

When I was first pregnant I carried all these lofty ideas about a daily journal, weekly pictures a adorable pristine nursery… the list goes on. In the past few year I’ve really learned that time with the people I love (face to face) is must more valuable and rewarding to me then spending my time behind a computer. So while I could try and write about my pregnancy, I won’t. Too much to say. If you wanna know you can invite me out to coffee. I’m a chatter

I will, however, provide some helpful tips/links because I believe if it helps one person it’s worth it. Here are a few things I’m really  happy I did while pregnant.

• Read books to prepare myself for labor (another post… would people like to read my birth story? my husband and I wrote it all down the week following my delivery). My favorites were, Hypnobirthing, Active Labor and The Birth Partner (husband read). I was preparing for a natural child birth so having some tools in my belt for coping with labor were VERY helpful.
• Taking a pregnancy meditation class with Caren. She’s awesome. I’m not usually a “granola” person and meditation would fall into that category for me but being pregnant does something to you. Labor is not something I didn’t want to play-by-ear. Caren was amazing at teaching me to relax my body. I’ve even used the tips I’ve learned in mediation to help me sleep!
• Date my husband. What they say is true. You have less time to yourself and also with your spouse! Get those date nights in now! I wish we went out even more then we did… with a baby in tow date lunches and brunches are now the new date night. Some of my favorites while pregnant were Brasserie Montmartre, Portland City Grill, Le Provence and may others… also Casa del Pollo!
• Sleep. Do what you need to do. Get those zzzz’s in.
• Exercise. I was a runner… that turned into a walker while preggo. Don’t laugh but I also went in search for a work out vid. I ended up with this Knocked-up Fitness. I think the name got me… I’m still using them post. It’s ok, you can laugh.
• Get your nursery essentials. I’m going to do a post on what to register for. Baby gear deserves a post all it itself.
• Vitamin E oil. I picked this up at Zupan’s but you can get it at health food stores or online. My skin was ITCHY! This is the only thing that helped soothe my sensitive  skin while pregnancy. I’d also like to think it helped with elasticity too.
• Get yer self some comfy clothes! I didn’t give in until the end of my pregnancy and I wish I had sooner. These jammie pants from Gap are amazing. In fact I’m wearing them right now! I also love and still wear these maternity leggings (i read a lot of reviews and these are the way to go) and these black pants from ASOS. See a theme?
• Do something for yourself. Get a massage, nails done, read a book… for fun! Trust me… spa day has a whole new meaning as a mom. Do it.

That’s about it. Enjoy yourself. Don’t stress (it’s bad for you and baby). Look forward to becoming a mom but don’t forget to savor the moments of being a independent woman… she’ll disappear for a while but eventually come back… or so I hear!

You can view my my maternity session…you can also read about my 1st pregnancy post here.

2012 has been a wonderful year! I would love to send a giant thank you to all my 2012 clients, without you I would not be able to do what I love. I can’t begin to count the amount of wonderful, generous people I had the opportunity to work with this year. It has truly been a blessing. This year I’ve photographed most in the Portland Merto area but also as far as San Diego, CA and New York City, NY. It’s been such a wonderful year photographing people get married, make babies, grow their family and then send the kids off to college. Thank you to all who have invited me to be a part of life!

As a small thank you to my clients for yet another wonderful year I’d love to offer up to 30% off gift products from now until October the 26th. This will be the last opportunity to place any orders for 2012, if planning holiday gifts this would be the time! Please see the details below or Click HERE to order online.