Kael and Bryan welcomed Beckett Gregory just a little over a month ago and oh my, is he sweet!  I feel so fortunate that my camera allows me to be a present during some of life’s most exciting and precious times.  Thanks for reminding me yet again why I love doing this.  : )

Vinny is a senior this year at John Marshall and because his family hasn’t had an updated family photo for awhile, we decided to do a joint family/senior session.  Things like these make moms happy.  🙂    

Where to begin.  Molly is my dear, dear friend dating back to our days at Concordia.  I was her RA.  We share a love of darkrooms and all things photo.  She was the other half of Lemon Lime Studios.  We have tons of good memories revolving around photographing weddings.  We spent many airplane rides to Jamaica.  We were in each other’s weddings.  She’s one of those friends that I get teary eyed talking about because I love so much.  And now she is a MOM!  Much, much, much love to you, Molly and Brandon!  We are thrilled about your new family!  Here’s a few photos pre-Nora-entrance:

And now, announcing Eleanor Margaret, or Nora!  You can see more of Nora and read about her birth story on Molly’s blog.

Tora is another cute peanut that is growing up waaay too fast!  I met up with these guys when I was home in Watertown on a beautiful late summer evening.  Tora’s dress is from this new adorable shop there called Shoppe of the Corner and it’s probably a good thing I don’t live closer or I’d be there every day.  So cute! 

You all know I have a weakness for dogs.  Especially dogs named Ike.  Especially dogs named Ike that are a part of families with 2 sweet little boys.  An though Ike is pretty adorable, he wasn’t the star of this shoot.  The newest addition, Lincoln and older brother, Jaxon were.  And believe me, they stole the show.  Thanks for spending a fun morning with me!  🙂

We spent a day with the Berg Family at Lake Okoboji and it was seriously the quintessential summer day.  Boating, wake boarding, knee boarding and tubing with a stop at Arnold’s Park for a roller coaster ride and a nutty bar.  Then a quick shower and change of clothes before heading out for some more photos and finally ending the day with dinner on the beach.  At the end of the day, I crawled into bed happy and exhausted from experiencing the best part of summer.  Thanks for sharing a piece of your summer lives with us!

This is the Durgin Family.  In their backyard, summer 2011.  The morning was filled with giggles and a couple tears, jump ropes and sidewalk chalk, baseballs and three wheelers, dirty feet and mosquito bites, scraped knees and sunscreen.  Real life and real love.  I hope years and years from now these photos bring back memories of this ordinary summer day that perhaps wasn’t so ordinary after all.

Ok, it never gets old.  I love photographing little kids and families.  Love, love, love it!  These guys were no exception!  Lily is a mini-dad and Levi is a mini-mom.  And they are both seriously adorable.  Happy Saturday, everyone!  Hope you can take some time to enjoy your own family!

Milo had his first birthday and we took some pictures to remember this beautiful day.  It doesn’t seem that long ago that we were taking these pictures or these pictures.  Though it doesn’t seem that long ago, lots has changed (i.e. Milo was born and grew a lot!) and I feel so happy that I get to tag along with my camera on special days with your family.  Happy 1st Birthday, Milo!

Elizabeth and her mom and dad live in Duluth but came to Rochester to visit family and we squeezed a photo session in too!  I have photographed Elizabeth’s cousins before and they warned me about how cute she was.  Yup, she’s adorable.

To view the slideshow, click here.