December was sure eventful! Milo turned one, we were evacuated from our home for two nights due to the Legion Lake fire, and Christmas!

Milo did great for his first out-of-the-house photo shoot with mama. He loves to point/show he’s one, he got his eight tooth just after his first birthday and is already working on his molars. It feels like he is never not teething. He has started to crawl on his hands and knees and *loves* to pull himself up to stand. The pasta/canned goods cupboard is his favorite to raid. Anytime music is playing, he will dance and wiggle and point and wave and clap.

Elodie is talking constantly. The only time it’s quiet around here is when she’s in her room for nap/quiet time. Her new obsession with Doc McStuffins has us all getting checkups every day and writing down her “dinosis (diagnosis)” in her “big book of moo moos (boo boos)” and then we “feel so much better now.” Whenever she watches an episode, she says “tuggle me peas (snuggle me please)” and I can’t resist. She can say the names of all her grandparents, but my favorite Elodie-ism is when she wants to do “sup more else (something else).”

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas, and have a great last weekend of 2017! :-)

More and more of my couples are opting for sunrise engagement sessions and I am LOVING IT! Especially since sunrise this time of year isn’t until after 7am. But then again, during this time of year, none of us can feel our fingers at sunrise, which made this first photo even colder than it looks. Poor Becca had Mike’s ice-cold fingers on her neck, and there were some really hilarious outtakes that I can’t wait to share in my annual ‘best of’ blog post coming soon! ;-) But look how romantic they look despite freezing their fingers off!! #engagementsessiongoals

These two were so giggly during their session, that I hardly had to say anything to get them to get genuine smiles. Such naturals!

Plus, since it was so cold out, they automatically snuggled up as close as possible. *bonus points!!*

Mike + Becca – I can hardly wait for your morning wedding this coming summer!! I fully expect you to have some PB Bumpers to share with your guests. :-)

It’s not very often that I even try to take a photo of Elodie and Milo together. This is why:

Allowing them to play with a stuffed animal was the only way they could stay focused long enough to get a half-decent photo. But then again I kinda love how excited Elodie is to balance the kitty on Milo’s head, and Milo is being so tolerant of her shenanigans. #siblinglove

This month, Elodie is saying sentences with up to 4-6 words! My favorite phrases are:

“GUYS” when Lance and I are having a conversation that doesn’t include her.

“Ahh, so nice.” when I wiped the snot off her nose.

“Thank you, ma” whenever I ask her to please do something. “Elodie, can you please put your plate in the dishwasher?” “Thank you, ma!”

“Too hot? Juss white (just right)?” asking about the food on her plate.

She loves to play puzzle and watch ‘Doc show’ (Doc Mcstuffins) when Milo is sleeping. She also really enjoys window clings and painting and Play Doh.

Milo is turning into a little love bug. If I am laying on the floor, he will crawl over to give me a snuggle – resting his head on my chest or leg. When strangers (anyone he hasn’t seen in over a week) approach, he’ll wrap his arms around us and snuggle in real close.  He can bark like a dog (high pitched squeak with a whole body twitch), and snort like a pig. When I’m putting his socks on, he will lift his foot up in the air for me. He loves to hand over his toys and then hold his hand out to ask for them back.

We are enjoying a nice, mild fall! It’s so nice to be able to take the kids out to enjoy some fresh air!

Whenever a couple agrees to a sunrise session, I always get really excited to photograph an ‘old’ location in a ‘new’ way. And then I get really nervous that I’m going to sleep through my alarm.

That fear of sleeping in had me awake before my alarm went off, and I was out the door with my camera and hand warmers with plenty of time to spare. When David + Marcy pulled up, I couldn’t wait to show them the location I had scouted just a few days before. Since they had traded a leisurely morning of their weekend getaway to get up super early for pictures, I wanted to treat them to the best overlook I could find.

As we walked, I got plenty of time to chat with them and hear their story, and bond over our mutual awkwardness and freezing fingers. :-)

When Marcy told me before their session that David was ‘a whole foot taller’ than her, I immediately knew I wanted this next photo. How many girls can snuggle up right to their guy’s heart like this?! :-)

Elopements and small, intimate weddings have really been on my heart lately. Probably because of Chris + Kelsey’s ceremony + picnic near Keystone this summer. They met at the Sturgis motorcycle rally over seven years ago, and they came back every year as an anniversary getaway. One of their favorite stops on their drive through the Hills is along Iron Mountain Road, so when they decided it was time for them get married they knew it would be around Rally Week at their favorite stop.

I was lucky enough that their favorite stop was *so* beautiful, and that the rocks formed a natural ‘aisle’ for Kelsey to walk up!

As Kelsey was getting into her dress, Chris was standing on this rock, looking very calm and statuesque. I shouted up to him to remember exactly where he was standing so that I could get this image of him with his bride. I LOOOOVE photos of people surrounded by big trees!! 

Kelsey’s dad met her at the end of the aisle (since it was so narrow, only one person at a time could walk comfortably) to give her hand in marriage. Their families and close friends soaked up the ceremony (and morning sun) on the surrounding rocks.

After they were pronounced husband and wife, Chris + Kelsey walked down the path towards their picnic reception, and as I watched them walk away, I could almost see the bubble they were in. You know, that ‘I’m so in love with you, can you believe we just got married’ bubble. :-)

And so I coaxed them back up to the overlook for a few ‘just married’ portraits as their guests set up the picnic.

Chris + Kelsey – Thanks again for making my dreams come true by getting married here. ;-) And thanks for making a ‘rally wedding’ so beautiful. The love and excitement in all of your family and friends’ faces as they cheered for and congratulated you was so heartwarming! What a perfect day, to have had the people closest to your heart surrounding you as you promised the rest of your lives to each other.