Graham & Gryder : 1 month old | 10.11.13 {Kingsport TN Newborn Photography}

These two cuties are identical twins! I am not going to lie, pictures with TWO newborns was more challenging than I anticipated ... and that was with them being SUPER cooperative! I was truly shocked at their easy-going demeanors. I just underestimated the amount of feeding, peeing and pooping that happens with two 5 week olds. Graham is the "older" twin and sports a sweet little green "big brother" anklet to help mom and dad identify who is who. Individually they were awesome, but pics with them together were hard to come by (due to the aforementioned eating/peeing/pooping). "We" were finally able to get them both full, and they cuddled up in the little basket and went to sleep. It seriously was the most precious thing I have ever seen! We didn't want to move them. Nancy (the twins' mom) said that it was the best they had slept since they were born! All I could think was , "bless her heart". Reluctantly we removed them from the basket and tried to get the precious naked baby pics that ever mother desires ... 2 naked babies was only going to make them more adorable. But ... you guessed it ... more pee/poop. We ran out of time, but I think we still got some really sweet pictures of both boys.

Stuart : 2nd Birthday | 9.13.13 {Kingsport TN Birthday Photography}

I absolutely adore this sweet family.  Their birthday parties remind me of my own growing up ... at home with  LOTS of family, lots of love and laughter, and lots of yummy food.  The main course this year was spaghetti with homemade meatballs.  

Little Stuart is so stinkin' CUTE!  He has developed quite the fascination with motorcycles over the last year, and according to mom Sunnie would watch the movie UP every hour that he is awake.  Thanks for including me in your special day!

Kindergarten Mini Sessions | 9.6.13 {Kingsport TN Children Photography}

I still have a hard time believing that I have a kindergartener ... I mean how did the past 5 years go by that fast??  I wanted to document this milestone in my little guy's life ... freeze time for a moment before he entered the big world of elementary school.  The two of us went out one afternoon back in the summer to get some shots of just him, and to be honest I wasn't overly pleased with what I captured.  The first place we went ... the place I had been DYING to take him ... the place I just KNEW would be awesome ... wasn't.  I didn't get the images with the awesome red barn in the background I had envisioned, and frankly,  I was frustrated.  I reluctantly loaded up the old school desk I have been holding onto for years for this very event and decided to head somewhere different.  Without a plan we ended up at the local park.  I grabbed the suitcases to get some poses that would illustrate the start of his educational "journey".  They were ok, but still not my favorites.  Before we left we got to talking (I don't even remember now about what) ... but whatever it was, it was funny.  We laughed ... laughed until we cried.  The images I got during that 3 minutes were some of my favorites EVER taken of my first born.  I look at these images and I can HEAR his infectious giggle.  

Weston : 18 months old | 9.6.13 {Kingsport TN Children Photography}

It is hard to believe this is the same little guy who was completely uninterested in taking his 1 year pictures just 6 months ago.  We traveled to Steele Creek Park for this session ... my first time ever going ... and it was lovely!  Weston's older sister Addison's 18 month pictures were taken at the same place, so their mom Tiffany knew before Weston was even born that she wanted to do the same for him.  He is still VERY much a boy on the move, but was much more generous with his precious smiles this time around.  Narrowing down shots from his impromptu dance party on the amphitheater stage was nearly impossible!

Andrew : 5th Birthday | 9.1.13 {Kingsport TN Birthday Photography}

September 1st in Denton NC was HOT!  This was the day we celebrated Andrew's 5th birthday with all things racecar, giant Jenga and an inflatable.  The heat didn't seem to slow down the kids a bit (although a few looked as though they had just run through a sprinkler).  I loved the way Andrew's mom Jennifer carried the race car theme to the food .. chocolate doughnut "spare tires", chocolate/sprinkle covered pretzel "dipsticks", "crew chief" chicken nuggets and "motor oil" to drink.

McNeal : Family | 8.31.13 ... {Kingsport TN Family Photography}

Stacey is my 2nd cousin on my Mom's side of the family.  Being the oldest in my immediate family (and an only child for nearly 5 years) cousins played a major role in my childhood.  I have such fond memories of growing up and vacationing with Stacey and her younger brother Ronnie. 

The picture below is from the summer of 1985.  I am on the bottom right, and Stacey is on the top right.  Ronnie (who is actually closer to my age) is beside me.  Crystal (my mother's youngest sister) and Angela (Ronnie and Stacey's older sister) are a few years older than us and are beside Stacey.

Now, nearly 30 years later, Stacey is married to Chris and they have two beautiful girls, Alexis (13) and Raegan (3).  I was thrilled to be able to meet up with them while we were in North Carolina for Labor Day weekend.  Alexis is a complete natural in front of the camera, and has matured into quite the lovely young lady.  Raegan took a little longer to warm up, but once she did, she had an abundance of personality.  She is absolutely adorable!  You can't tell from the pictures, but Chris showed up to the park with crutches. He hurt himself playing softball after we scheduled pictures, but was such a trooper.

Taylor Family : Noah Edwin is 1 month old | 8.25.13 ... {Kingsport TN Family Photography}

Noah Edwin joined the blended Taylor family on July 17th, 2013.  Leann spent the first month of little Noah's life in Nashville with her parents while Doug traveled back and forth spending as much time with them as possible.  She came home when Noah was around 5 weeks old and had already taken LOTS of pictures of just HIM.  She called me to schedule a session that focused more on them as a family and big brother Zack.  I had not seen Zack since Doug and Leann's wedding and was floored at how much he had grown!  He told me that school was going well and he was really enjoying being a big brother.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amber : Seniors {Take 2} | 8.5.13 ... {Kingsport TN Senior Photography}

Several months back I noticed that my camera was starting to struggle with focus.  I kept using it and tried to adjust, but around the time of Amber's senior pictures it was really becoming a thorn in my side.  I was shooting sessions only to have 1/2 of the images come out even remotely in focus.  I had been considering an upgrade, but her session solidified my decision.  After my new camera arrived we set up a time to try them again.   I can't believe that it has already been a month, but we took these the afternoon of the first day of her Senior Year.  

I am much more pleased with these and hope you will enjoy them as well!