[Newborns] Fresh | Hayti Missouri Newborn Photographer

Their smell. Their hair. Soft skin. Tiny ears, fingers, and toes.

Their freshness.

I make it no secret how much I love babies. Love them. Dearly. And since I don't get to have very many sessions with newborns, I was very excited to not only get to shoot this little one's momma's beautiful maternity session, but I also got to spend a couple of hours with this handsome, wide-awake little fella.

Mom had a little bit of a rough time bringing him into this world, but all that pain and sacrifice can never compare to holding him in her arms. Nothing. And although I consider myself a seasoned veteran of holding babies, there's something about those small bodies and new, fresh smell that makes my ovaries do flips. Like a NCA cheerleader.

We had completely different plans of what do with his session, incorporating some ideas from mom's maternity session. But the weather had been so dang hot, even early in the morning, that we just didn't want him to be exposed. So we went to his sweet little nursery in blue.

He spent most of our time together awake, I mean, he wasn't down with missing all of the action. Who could blame him? He'd been couped up for almost 9 months, he had to check it all out. And he certainly didn't like being naked, hence the swaddling. He gave me plenty of eyes-wide-open looks and I couldn't asked for more. Those eyes, just so full of wonder.

Mom and Dad, thank you for allowing me be part of this special time in your lives. Your little man is just so very precious and enjoy every sweet moment you can. He'll be big before you know it. And my ovaries are thankful, too.

And Where Does Time Go Exactly?? | Hayti Missouri Photographer

Today, my baby boy is 11 weeks old! 11 friggin' weeks! Can anyone tell where time goes? Because from my records, those last 11 weeks of my pregnancy moved at a turtle's pace. On this side of the pregnancy, time has kicked up to super-high speed!! So, can anyone tell me, where does time go exactly? Depressing, I tell ya. Pass the Prozac, please.

John Cooper is a growing boy, no doubt, and he looks older than 11 weeks. But that's expected when the kid was born the size of a small car! Just kidding, kiddo. At his two month check-up, he weighed 14 lbs. 6 oz and was 23 in. long. In medical terms, he's in the 99th percentile!! That's how my little Michelin man rolls...literally. Rolls and rolls of fat everywehere!

(On a sidenote: The kid sleeps like a dream! Like, up to 8 hours each night! I know, I'm so lucky. And no, I'm not giving him a sedative.)

So, John Cooper and I had an impromptu shoot this past Saturday. I tried to get him to sleep so I could get those sleepy images so desired in the beginning of their lives. It took a while and it ended up working to my advantage because the light coming through was stunning.

So here's to you my chub-a-lub. You beautiful, sweet chub-a-lub. How I love thee!

[Family] The Henfling's | Dyersburg Tennessee Children's Photographer

Liz talked with me about getting some images of her new precious addition, Knox Walker(dontcha love the name?). She has two other boys, Jackson and Riley, and it was quite evident at our shoot that they are in luuuurve with their new baby brother. How sweet is was to get them all together for pictures! Like I mentioned in my previous post, there's something so special about the bond between mother and son. And in this case, the bonds between mother and sons.

Liz's boys are sweet and handsome and polite. I know they will grow to be the same way and make some girls very happy wives someday. (I think Liz just had a heart attack to think of her boys growing up!) They are also very sweet on their Nan, Liz's mother, whom she brought along for ride. Oh Nan, er, Mrs. Gardner, how you ever put up with all of the kids at your house, I'll never know, but you were always so patient even when we were holy terrors, up all night watching Def Comedy Jam and scary movies and laughing and prank calling every one. Except me. I always feel asleep early. Darn narcolepsy.

Liz, I'm so glad that you wanted me to photograph your sweet boys. I think you look fabulous as you always have and you have a beautiful family of which you should be very proud. And I'm glad we got to have a few laughs. Oh, how I miss your everyday witty humor.

And thanks for the awesome bibs and wipey case. Much love Hooch.

[Lifestyle]Newborns:Baby Kasen

Babies. The epitome of all that is perfect in an imperfect world. Miracles only God could bring. Beautiful, sweet-smelling, and perfect. Oh, I already said that.

I was very excited to shoot with an 11-day old newborn over the weekend. Excited because I rarely have newborn shoots(this is only my 2nd time) and even more excited because of the thrill of meeting my baby boy soon. As I held Kasen, all I could think of was my little boy in my arms before too long. Aww, babies don't stay babies long enough.

This is Mom & Dad's first time being parents and you could sense the newness of it. Baby Kasen is a sweet and calm baby, ideal for new parents. So much so, they've talked of having more! We had to squeeze our shoot between rain showers and fortunately, the weather cooperated perfectly during our time together.

Tom & Kelly, thanks so much for the afternoon with your new family. I know you both will make great parents and best wishes for all of you!

[Sneak Peek] Newborn:Baby Kasen

So, if I wasn't already pregnant, today's shoot would've led me to it in a heartbeat! Baby Kasen is only 11 days old, and I just melted getting to hold him and rock him and undress him. Oh my! He was such a sweet little baby, I just wish I had more newborn shoots lined up after this!

For now, I wanted to post a quick sneak peek for the new first-time parents, Kelly and Tom. I had a great time with your new precious bundle of joy, best wishes for your new family!

[Lifestyle] Reed:Making Faces

One day last week, my BFF stopped by and wanted me to photograph her daughter Reed making various (entertaining) faces. Of course, I obliged, even though Reed was waaaay more interested in eating pizza!! But the highlight of the visit was getting to hold her two month old baby boy, Brody. Gosh, he's grown so much from his newborn shoot when he was two weeks old!! He's a fatty, the best kind of baby to snuggle, and my son completely adored him, but don't get any ideas, dude--at least not for now!

This is the collage I made of the ever-hilarious Reed. She has this spunky personality and it certainly shows in her images! And she's been a great big sister to her new baby brother!



I've also included a collage I did of baby Brody from his newborn shoot. He really is so very precious, adorable, and sweet as melting ice cream on a hot summer day! Let me know what you think of it as these are the first collages I've ever created!

He's my best friend's boy

This is the son of my best friend Tara. He is two weeks old and yesterday I snapped some pics for her. He was so sweet and slept most of time. I was rewarded with getting to feed his hungry little self. His sister has been very excited about having a little bro. Congrats Tara & Jarrett!