Real life is beautiful.

05.21.12

Baby Preston… double header :)

This blog has been much neglected over the past three months as I have been recovering from my evil knee surgery… because of that, I’ve got a bit of catching up to do. Today, I’m going to do that catching up in the form of a double header… Baby Preston in February, and Baby Preston just a couple weeks ago… It’s amazing how much he has grown!

Let’s start with Baby Preston back in February…

I was greeted at the door by this sight….adorable, right?

And Laurel is always beautiful… I love photographing her.

Even three months ago, Baby Preston was already such a big boy. I love his little face :)

I love photographing baby food feeding… It always gets a little messy…and I enjoy that.

Trey and Baby Preston are always adorable together.

I just LOVE this bathtub. I get excited every time I get to photograph it…

This is our spot where we watch Baby Preston grow up… I love looking at how much bigger he is getting!

He needed a quick snack…

And some playtime…

But our time together was coming to end… Baby Preston was a bit tired, i think :)

Fast forward a couple of months, and I visited Baby Preston’s house again. (This time I was on crutches, but we totally worked it out :)) Laurel and Trey had bought a new house and were planning on moving out of this one, so they wanted to squeeze in one last session in their “old house.”

Once again… Laurel is a dream in front of the camera.

And I didn’t think it was possible…but Preston has actually gotten even cuter.

We had to utilize that bathtub one more time… I’m very sad to say goodbye to it.

And here is proof of his growing up!

Then it was time to play… Everyone was in a playful mood, and Baby Preston was enjoying every second of it.

His first “trick” was learning to wave… he’s definitely mastered it :)

Baby Preston is finally big enough to really enjoy the outside… I loved seeing how much he loved the swings.

Love this family shot.

Then back inside for a bit of a snack, and some much needed snuggling.

Laurel and Trey… I’m sorry it took so long to get this online… I hope this double header post makes up for it just a bit. Thanks for being awesome, and I can’t wait to see the new house!! I hope you enjoy your slideshow!!

love,

amber

Posted in babies

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05.18.12

Baby Everest & his big sister Ada… Birthdays!

This post is LONG overdue… Back in February, I had a knee surgery. Just before that surgery, I did a TON of sessions… trying to get myself all caught up prior to my surgery recovery. I thought it would be no problem to work on editing and posting all of those sessions while I recovered… I was wrong. This recovery has been pretty difficult, and I’m just now digging myself out of the haze and really getting back on a focused work track… So prepare for a blog overdose :)

I can’t believe Baby Everest is already one (actually he’s closer to 15 months at this point! We are WAY overdue for a session!) I always say this sort of thing… but I REALLY feel like I was JUST photographing his arrival into the world. I have no idea how a full year (plus) has already passed. I think this officially makes me old… I’ve become one of those people who is always remarking on how fast time flies :)

And to make the day even more fun, not only was Baby Everest turning 1…but his amazing sister Ada was turning 4! So fun!

The details at this birthday party were to die for. Brittany seriously pulled out all the stops. This is the most Pinterest worthy birthday party I have ever been to, I think. Sooooooo amazing.

I mean, how much do I love that she used tons of my images as decoration?!?!

But I don’t just love the details because of her use of my photos…I’m not quite that egocentric :) She seriously rocked every single thing… even the straws were super cool!

The whole Moncrief house was absolutely adorable. It was perfectly festive.

Ada wanted a donut as her special birthday treat… She’s a girl after my own heart. (Although mine would’ve been Krispy Kreme… I’m picky like that;))

How cute is the birthday boy in his birthday bowtie? Seriously. Too cute for words.

And Ada’s dress was pretty adorable, too!

I grabbed this image as Jimmy was saying the blessing before the party madness began… I LOVE how angelic Ada looks her. I adore her.

After much eating and chatting and all around good times, it was finally time for the main event.

Everest was very curious at first…

And then he was a tiny bit dismayed…

And then he was tentative…

And then he realized that this was the best day of his life :)

Cutest family ever, yes?

Ada got her turn too… She was SO patient. I was very proud of her. (I wouldn’t have been nearly that patient!)

Things got just a little messy… but that’s what makes it fun, right?

Happy Birthday Everest! :)

I have to take one second to brag on my Addy… Because Brittany and Jimmy are personal friends as well as clients, we were all invited to the party… and there were many of our friends there, too. At one point during the party, we found Addy and some of the younger girls in Ada’s bedroom. Addy had tucked them all into bed and was reading them a story. She’s such an amazing little mom :) Love her.

Brittany looked ridiculously gorgeous, as always…. even after running around like crazy, making sure the party was perfect. I kinda hate women like her ;)

The party was winding down, and I captured these last images of Everest and Jimmy doing a bit of snuggling. They’re some of my favorites from the whole day. So glad I was there to capture them.

Brittany and Jimmy… Love you guys lots and lots… but you already know that, I hope. I know this blog post doesn’t even count anymore, since you’ve already seen all of the images, but I think this party was very Pin-worthy, so I wanted to make it available for people to share :) Can’t wait to see you again soon. I need to photograph your kiddos before they grow up any more!

xoxoxoxooxoox!!!!!

amber

Posted in birthdays, families, photographer fun

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02.16.12

Happy Birthday Baby Sierra!

At the end of 2011, I flew to Fort Lauderdale to document Baby Sierra‘s first birthday. And then, as always, life got a bit busy, and this blog fell far by the wayside. Well, better late than never, right? :)

Baby Sierra was adorable and happy, as always…right from the very start.

Her uncle Shawn had to leave right as I was arriving… I’m glad I was able to capture a few quick images of the two of them before he headed out.

I love this image… Heather’s mom looks SO happy in the background. She’s such a wonderful Nana.

I love Sierra’s smile… it’s completely contagious. And how adorable is her little birthday dress??

Heather was in her element… it was so great to see her surrounded by her family. She and her sister Amber were amusing Alana with their fake phone conversation.

And Sierra was loving having her aunt Amber to love on.

Alana was very ready for the birthday celebrations to begin so she could have some cake… we were taking too long for her, so she started singing her own version of “Happy Birthday” without us. It was hysterical.

So we had mercy on Alana and got the whole birthday thing moving :)

Step 1. Get Baby Sierra into the highchair and pause for the entire family to document that moment :)

Step 2. Light the candle, and look gorgeous while doing so. (Seriously, sometimes I hate Heather a little for how easy it is for her to be pretty) Please note that the family documentation is still going strong.

Step 3. Bring flaming object close enough for the birthday girl to see without actually allowing her to grab it. (Lesson learned from Alana’s first birthday ;) )

Step 4. Encourage the birthday girl to dig in.

Step 5. Watch as the birthday girl becomes more and more confident in her cake-eating. Good stuff. (My favorite part of this first image is Alana’s little face in the background… she looks very anxious to enjoy some cake of her own!)

Still documenting…

Nana and Papa look awfully proud and happy, don’t you think?

Perfectly adorable family.

Sharing sisters.

Sierra did some impressive damage to that cake.

And these people never stopped documenting… crazy photographers ;)

Winding down…

What an awesome birthday mess!

Best moment of the day – Baby Sierra is in the bath. Giant chunks of cake are being washed off of her. She is DESPERATELY trying to chase those pieces of cake around in the water in order to continue eating. Love her. She’s my kind of girl.

Three amazing generations. Happy and full of cake.

There were a few presents to be opened, so we decided to do that before the sugar crash hit us all.

Tutus!

I love all of the sisters in this image. Really. Love them.

The beginnings of tired-ness setting in. Typical reaction after consuming a year’s worth of sugar.

Sweet dreams, birthday girl!

I love love love love love you, Rich and Heather and Alana and Sierra (and Nana and Papa and Amber and Shawn). Thank you for letting me be a part of your family for a day… I hope we can do it again sometime! Enjoy your (very delayed…but here at last) birthday slideshow.

all my love.

-amber

Posted in babies, birthdays, families, my travels

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12.12.11

baby ann chandler and her adorable family :)

It’s been quite awhile since baby ann chandler’s birthday party, so when Caroline and I finally got our dates together for a family session, I could barely wait. I just wanted to head up the mountain and spend some time with them before they could grow up any more.

Ann Chandler decided that we were going to be best friends the second I walked through the door.

Nelson was a camera hog. He constantly wanted me to take his picture :)

And Jack… well Jack has grown up so much.

Caroline has her hands full with these three…

In love with this little face…

“Take my picture, take my picture!”

Lucy is Caroline’s first baby… She’s getting old, but she’s still Caroline’s baby.

Ann Chandler’s favorite book is Dick & Jane. She chooses that book every time she wants to be read too. Cute, right?

There’s always something fun going on around this house. I want to come over and play more often :)

Caroline had purchased these fun mustaches…and the kids had a blast playing with them.

One of the family’s favorite things to do is to have dance parties. Nelson turned on some music, and suddenly all of the kids ran to the front room and started dancing like crazy. It was awesome!

And I love all of these little moments that were captured during the crazy dancing… this family amazes me.

Nelson and Ann Chandler are such cute little buddies. I loved watching their interaction.

And finally, one last picture of Lucy to finish out our session…

Caroline and Nelson… I’m going to miss you guys :) I hope you enjoy your slideshow.

love,

amber

Posted in babies, families

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12.12.11

Baby Christian and his big brother Cole… round two.

Baby Christian and his big brother Cole are so adorable. Baby Christian is three months old, and he’s absolutely perfect. (It’s been so fun to watch these babies grow up… baby preston, baby callaway, and baby christian were all born within a week of each other, and I am so excited to capture their similarities and their differences!)

Baby Christian looks SO much like Cole did at this age. It’s amazing.

Erika is completely in love with her new baby… and he is in love with her. He smiles so easily when she is around.

Cole has become such a big boy… It’s almost Christmas, and he’s got an Elf on the Shelf watching him… He’s trying so hard to be good.

I love Baby Christian’s nursery. I’m going to love shooting in that room. So many great details, and such great light.

I love how animated Baby Christian is. He’s never still, for even a moment. He’s always talking and moving around. So cute.

Cute, right?

He has the most perfect little mouth.

Tim and Baby Christian are adorable together.

Cole is the smartest three year old I’ve ever had the opportunity to meet. He picked up the book, Elf on the Shelf, and read the whole thing. It wasn’t memorized, but read. I was very impressed!

Latte is still the king of the family… at least he thinks so.

Toes and eyelashes. Always my favorites.

Cole’s a pretty cute kid, don’t you think? :)

And Christian is adorable. Erika and Tim managed to make some adorable little boys:)

Everything about this family makes me smile.

Brothers.

Can’t wait to see this family again.

Erika and Tim… I am so glad I had the chance to hang out with you guys again…I can’t wait til next time. Your boys are so adorable, and I really enjoy the time I spend with all of you! I hope you enjoy your slideshow.