Baby Larkin… Colorado, Day 1.

Have I even mentioned that I really love Kristin, Brad, and Baby Larkin? Because I really really do.

I can’t think of another family that I feel quite this… intensely… about. It’s almost as if I have a crush on all of them. Kristin is the mom I aspire to be, with her refusal to be made to feel guilty (mom guilt is a horrible thing), her knack for laughing at everything, and her constant practicality. Brad is carefree, loving, and loveable. And Baby Larkin… well, she’s just ridiculously cute. And who isn’t a little bit in love with ridiculously cute?

When Kristin emailed me and asked me to join her on their family vacation to Colorado to celebrate Larkin’s first birthday, I was extremely excited for various reasons:

1. I’ve never been to Colorado.
2. I’ve always wanted to shoot in the snow.
3. I have a bit of a crush on this family, and was excited to really get to know them :)

I arrived in Denver, and Kristin, her wonderful parents (Papaw and Nana), Brad’s parents (Mimi and Pappy), and (future) Aunt Erin met me at the airport, and the trek to Breckenridge began.

Larkin was a serious travel trooper. She slept in the car, entertained us when we stopped and ate, and didn’t even get cranky until the very last few minutes of the trip. She’s a perfect angel :)

We arrived at the house, and spent a bit of time getting to know the layout. (Honestly, I never really figured it all out… I constantly was getting lost on one of the house’s three floors).

I really enjoyed this little detail shot :)

Then Brad and his brother Brian arrived “home” from their day on the slopes. They are master snowboarders (images of that to come in a future post). Larkin was VERY excited that her dad was home!

And then it was time for a bottle and a nap.

While Larkin napped, I snuck outside to grab a few shots of the house at twilight. I am amazed by the way the snow makes the world look blue, right after sunset.

After naptime, it was time to celebrate the birthday. We had a bit of delicious pizza, and then we enjoyed watching her NOT eat her cake, and curiously play with the presents she had received.

I love this shot of Brian and Erin watching the festivities unfold. They are engaged, and were a really fun couple. I loved getting to know them!

And I promised Brad that I was going to post the following image, just for him. This was his very special, very manly cup that he carried around all week. Not sure exactly why he picked this one, but the pink suits his personality perfectly ;)

Cake time:

Presents.

As soon as the festivities were complete, and exhausted Larkin was ready for a bath and bed. We took her upstairs to the giant claw foot tub, interested to see how she’d react, as she really prefers bathing in the sink.

She loved it :)