Often times I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have a job doing something I love in the company of amazing people.  This year’s senior class is proving to be a great group made up of motivated, hard-working, kind and generous kids.  I’ve been leaving each and every session feeling so encouraged and inspired by my subjects.  Anna, a senior at Mahtomedi High School, is one of this year’s graduates.  She has an incredibly sweet disposition and has one of those smiles that lights up a room.  It’s clients like this that make it so fun for me to get up and go to work every day!

When this client approached me about capturing everyday moments with her family I couldn’t have been more excited for the project.  Her boys are at such fun ages and I can’t blame her one little bit for wanting to document this time in their lives.  My goal was to walk into their home and let moments unfold naturally and to capture the boys doing what they do on a daily basis.  That’s exactly what happened and below you’ll see how the day’s events unfolded.

I arrived and found Henry playing with his blocks:

When he realized he had an audience he excitedly starting stacking another set of blocks:

And, what goes up….must come down!

When I asked him what happened to his clothes, he climbed on the table and told me he was a big boy now (a.k.a. potty trained):

I was in the process of snapping a few portraits…

when suddenly he gave me “the look”.  As a mother of two boys, I know this look well.  So off we ran down the hall:

We made it just in time…WHEW!  He washed his hands (with soap) without an ounce of prompting from me!

Little brother was ready to get in on the action when his mom mentioned it was time for morning smoothies!

He was so excited about drinking out of a “big boy” glass!

His mom threw a little spinach in his smoothie and we waited patiently to see his response.

I think he liked it, but I’ll let you decide!

After snack time the boys looked through books…something they both love to do!

A little brother snuggle time:

When it was time for me to leave I asked Henry to help me find my shoes…he found them all right!

Based on the title of this blog post I bet you’re expecting to see photos of a high school senior, but no…let me introduce you to the ever-adorable Addison.  She just turned one year old and she is on her way to Harvard!  Yes, you read that right…Harvard!  O.k., O.k…she isn’t actually heading to Harvard but her Daddy is.  This beautiful family recently received the news that Dad was accepted into Harvard’s graduate school program and in a few short months they’ll be packing up and heading east.  Luckily they have friends and family are here so I have no doubt I’ll have many more opportunities to photograph this beautiful little girl over the years.  I’m very much looking forward to hearing about their ventures!

The series of photos below made me giggle!  I’m sure a lot of parents have experienced this exact scenario!

I’ve been away all week attending a photographer’s convention in Las Vegas.   I loved meeting so many wonderful people in the industry and it was great reconnecting with some of my friends.  While I was gone we had quite a few client orders come in, so today I’ve been busy packing them up and getting them ready for delivery.  This is truly one of the most rewarding parts of my job…seeing finished work leave the studio on the way to clients who I know will treasure the images for a lifetime.

It’s hard to believe this little guy will be off to Kindergarten next year!  It has been such a treat for me to watch him grow over the years and see his personality take shape.   He has character galore and his enthusiasm about going to school is absolutely adorable.  He told me just how excited he is to learn math, science, but most of all he is excited about reading…a kid after my own heart!  Considering my youngest son started Kindergarten this fall, I know all too well how hard it will be for his parents to watch him get on the bus for the very first time next year.  Something tells me there may be a few tears shed!

If any of you follow my This Lunch Rox blog you’ve probably heard me mention someone named Maria quite a bit…if not, here’s a little backstory:

Maria Emmerich is the person responsible for my family’s transition to a healthier lifestyle.  You can go back and read about it HERE, but to summarize…I had been working out for a little over a year and was so frustrated that I wasn’t achieving my weight loss goals.  A friend of mine from the gym introduced me to Maria one day while we were working out and I learned that Maria had a book called “Secrets to a Healthy Metabolism”.  I purchased the book that day and the rest is history.  Everything she wrote in her book made perfect sense to me and since then my family and I have taken baby steps toward a healthier lifestyle and the results in how we all feel is nothing short of amazing.

Maria and I  talked often at the gym and over the years have become quite good friends.  She encouraged me time and time again and helped me achieve not just my weight loss goals, but also helped my family learn healthier eating habits.  Words really can’t express all that she has done for me.  The fact that I am no longer plagued by sugar cravings, tired for most of the day, forgetful (the list goes on and on)…it truly feels as though Maria has given me the best gift a friend could ever give.  With her help I’m so much more awake, alive and energized and my day isn’t consumed (pardon the pun) with thoughts of food than I’ve ever been before.  I can safely say that my life has changed for the better because of the hard work and dedication Maria has put into her research about food and how it affects our bodies.

Not long after I purchased Maria’s book I learned that she wrote the book as a way to fund the adoption of two precious boys in Africa.  For two years I’ve agonized with her as they were met with one delay after another.  They were matched with their sons over one year ago and expected them to be home shortly thereafter, but yet again there were delays.  It has been heart-wrenching to know how eager Maria and her husband, Craig, were to get those boys home yet have absolutely no control over it.  Imagine the joy we all felt when we received word that they got the go-ahead to head to Africa to retrieve their boys.  They kept me updated on their travels back to the states via texts and I breathed a huge sigh of relief when they finally touched ground in the United States.

Maria and Craig were so eager to have photos taken of their family that they invited me into their home just days after they arrived.  I didn’t want to interfere at all with their bonding time so I quietly observed and captured moments as they unfolded.  It took every ounce of energy not to pick these little guys up and snuggle them to pieces during the session.  Luckily, since then I’ve had plenty of opportunities to spend time with them and they have given me the unofficial title of “Auntie Jamie” which absolutely makes me heart sing.  The little boys will always hold a very special place in my heart to say the very least.

I’m often asked who is behind the cakes I have made for my kids’ birthday parties and events.  So without further ado let me introduce you to the insanely talented, Becca, also known as “the cake lady” by my kids.  Becca’s creations are nothing short of works of art.  Her attention to detail is awe-inspiring!  Needless to say, she has brought her fair share of smiles to my kids’ faces over the years!  Not only is she an incredible artist, but she is a fabulous mom as well.  I’ve been photographing her family for a few years now and her kids are so well behaved and each has personality galore.  It’s always such a joy to work with them!  Before I get to their session images I just have to share a few of the cakes Becca has made for us:

And now for a few of the images from their family session we did last Fall:

What a fun session this one was!!  My client wanted her Christmas card this year to include her Grandma’s delicious sugar cookie recipe.  Together we came up with a plan to photograph her kids baking and decorating cookies to use on the card.  The kids loved whipping together the dough, but nothing compared to when the frosting and sprinkles came out.  Oh, the fun they had!

One of the many things I love about my job is putting together invitations and announcements for my clients.  For the past few years I’ve had the opportunity to create “Stache Bash” invites for wonderful clients of mine who host this annual event in honor of the Movember movement.   My client along with his teammates grow mustaches for the entire month of November in an effort to raise funds and awareness to men’s health (especially cancers that affect men).  This has turned into quite the movement and last year the Minnesota Wild and 1,131 fans broke a Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of mustaches.  It has been so fun watching this movement grow and gather more momentum with each passing year.   I especially love that there are people out there who are willing to use their talents to raise money and awareness to a cause they believe in!  Here’s a peek at the invite we came up with for this year’s event:

My job as a photographer has allowed me to work with some pretty amazing people in my lifetime.  Susan is one of them!  I’m not sure if I’ve ever met someone who gives so much of themselves as Susan.  If she’s not participating in 3-day cancer walks, she’s volunteering at school or hosting fundraisers for other causes she feels passionate about.  Her generosity and selfless attitude is so incredibly inspiring and I know is appreciated by so many people in her life.  I’ve loved getting to know Susan and her family over the past few years and it’s been such a treat to watch her boys grow into gentlemen.  Not surprisingly,  her sons are sweet, compassionate and full of life…just like their parents.  Here are just a few of the images from their recent session: