I feel like May had been a long time coming for everyone in the Midwest! With so many April snowstorms, we couldn’t wait for green grass and lilacs, and May did not disappoint!

There were a couple of really beautiful foggy days right around Mother’s Day, so of course we had a mini photo shoot in our backyard before heading to church! Also, Elodie now knows how to wink. ;-)

Both kids love to spend their time outside now that it’s warm enough out to play! They also cooperate sometimes for impromptu photos. :-)

Elodie and Milo are both getting to be so grown up! I just put away Milo’s 12mo clothes and Elodie said, “He’s growing up so fast! I’m growing slow.” But she is growing up fast, too! She talks a mile a minute, narrating every part of her day (sometimes in song) and has now decided to simply not listen to mommy and daddy when she doesn’t want to do something. #threenager

I have been waiting for the right couple to come along to explore some places near Sylvan Lake that I haven’t yet been to, and David + Marcy fit the bill perfectly! They had a free evening during their vacation, so we could be flexible with the incoming bad weather. They spent that morning and the day before hiking trails around Custer State Park, so I knew they could handle climbing around a few more rocks. PLUS they had already been in front of my camera once before, so there was less directing and less pressure (which means MORE FUN)! (Side note for those of you planning your wedding: have your wedding photographer take your engagement photos for this very reason!!!)

Huge thanks again to these two for making room in their vacation for a fun little photo shoot! I LOVED hanging out and I LOVE what we created!! Raise your hand if *you* want to go on a photo adventure the next time you come to the Black Hills! :-)

And in case you were wondering, we did have a *little* bit of fun out here! ;-)

Who else is enjoying this lovely spring weather?! I know we had *so much* snow, but the nice days in between have been perfect for playing outside and going on adventures!

April started out with a fun little Easter egg hunt for the kids. They *loved* eating all the M&Ms inside of them, and then when they were all empty, they had fun re-hiding and re-finding them for the next week!

Milo and Elodie now share a room, and it’s going better than we expected. They both sleep through the night and they usually wake up happy in the morning. Elodie used to wake up, knock on the door and call “mommy, mommy, mommy,” but now that Milo is with her, she calls for “mommydaddy, mommydadddy” (because someone has to get Milo so she can get mommy snuggles).

Both kids are very much enjoying spending time outside. Even though Milo doesn’t like to have dirty hands, he can’t help but dig through the dirt with his fingers. If it’s too rainy or chilly outside, I have a pail of dirt in my office for potting plants that they play with more than any toy in the house.

When I asked Lex + Heidi a few questions about each other, he said ‘her blue eyes made him weak in the knees’ and she talked about how ‘he always makes me feel safe and secure.’ Plus, together they like to enjoy nature, which I think is the perfect compliment to me as a photographer because I LOVE photographing people in nature! They traveled from northern North Dakota (so basically across two states) for this session, and they will again for their wedding in September, so I was thrilled to capture her blue eyes and his strong presence in the beautiful hills of Custer State Park!

They were so fun and loving and comfortable in front of the camera. They are also good dancers – wait till you see him spin her (fun surprise video at the end of this post)!

Throughout their session, I kept waiting for this moment to happen naturally – Lex’s arm around Heidi’s shoulders. Holding her safe and secure as they walked along. :-)

Also, creating videos has been on my list of ‘things I want to do’ for a few years now.

The fear of the end product not being worthy of sharing, on top of the fear of missing moments I should be capturing in still-frames stopped me from even trying.

But then I read this book about being the best-possible-version of yourself, and how you should only compare yourself with your past self. In small, every day tasks (like putting dishes directly into the dishwasher instead of next to the sink) and taking steps to reach your personal goals (i.e.: making videos).

It’s a simple concept, but man it is doing great things in my heart!!

So… long story short… these clips aren’t extraordinary, but they are fun and I hope my couples love watching them because that’s all that matters!!

In between snow days, we had a few nice days – nice enough to go out for walks after supper, and even an adventure on one weekend!

Not only is Elodie talking all the time, she is now singing her sentences (she gets it from her daddy). “IIIII’m eating breaaaakfaaaaast yummm yummmmm yummmm” She is also ‘reading’ more books, and by ‘reading’ I mean making up stories similar to what the book actually says. Whenever we see a stop sign, she says “S-T-O-P-Q-R-S-T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z now I know my ABCs next time won’t you sing with me.”

She made up a joke the other day: “What’s the sun say when it comes out from behind the cloud? Peekaboo!”

Milo can take a couple steps all by himself, but he gets so excited to reach his destination (mommy/daddy) that he just falls forward into our arms. He likes to entertain us by pulling his shirt sleeve over his hand and smiling until we ask “Milo, where’s your hand?” Then, he sticks his hand out and giggles when we are ‘surprised’ that it magically re-appeared.