Mr. and Mrs. Cruz

I've known Tara and Justin for a while now. They're great people with an amazing family and I had the privilege to photograph their beautiful wedding this weekend :) Love you guys.

Lawson Boys

I spent my morning with the Lawson Family. These little guys were too cute. They were excited to take photos for Daddy in their Ohio jerseys :) Such good sports through their outfit changes for photos... Sneak peek... lots more to come soon.

Summer fun

Beautiful Charleston family :)

Love this beautiful little family :) Katie was willing to let me put her little guy in a wash basin outside... too cute. There's some others but these were some of my favorites :)

Pouting

I remember growing up, I was a screamer and crier and man oh man, I would cry every second of every day if things didn't go my way. And, quite honestly, I didn't grow out of that until later in my childhood, like, my 20's hahah I would cry about all kinds of things. Just a bad day or something ridiculous. .I even remember one time when I was about to learn how to drive having a meltdown about raccoons on the side of the road and how I was so depressed that they wee being hit by cars. Yes, i was an emotional wreck. I'm not sure if it had to do with puberty or just being stressed out or what. it just would happen. i think i was under the understanding that love and life had to involve crying otherwise it wasn't worth it. but, the thing that used to make me the most mad, and i can remember lots of instances of this, was if i was upset and someone laughed at me. first, i would realize that i was ridiculous..."KT, seriously? they're laughing because you're overreacting or acting like a baby." but, still crying, i would then realize that i had to prove my point, so i would continue crying... and sometimes i would even forget what i was crying about... i mean, i can remember these moments... crying to get what i wanted and realizing there's no possible way to save the lives of raccoons without putting nets around all highways (yes, I even thought of that) or inventing some kind of scent to scare animals away from the highways. either way... i know my parents stood by and laughed a lot of times and now, when clara makes her little pouty face, i do the same. i mean, really you have to smile at her, because if you start to act sad, she will instantly feed into it and cry and pout... so, i've started training her, when she bumps her head or something makes her upset, i laugh and cheer for her... at daycare, when other babies cry, she now thinks it's a good idea to laugh at them... i dunno if that's good or bad. but, these two photos are a perfect example.. first a pout, then momma made her laugh. she has an amazing laugh and personality, i just love that we can make each other laugh and smile all day just because. Thanks for making me a Momma, baby bear, you're the best. i'm one lucky gal.

Botanical Gardens

What used to be known as "lay here and let me take a thousand photographs of you in different poses and little smirks on your face" has transformed into "chase me, Momma...and go ahead and try to take a photo" But, I must say, I prefer the most recent endeavors....more exercise, some sunshine and some true laughs, nothing forced and no torture, just pure, raw emotions. No, these are not the greatest photos in the world but, as a good friend once said to me "this isn't about making money, it's about making memories"... well, we made them this day at the Botanical Gardens in Norfolk. As Clara waddles around and runs away from me, and I try to keep her from the rose bushes, it was fun....exciting...and wow what a great day to spend with my beautiful baby. this was her first time in a fountain as well, she had a blast. we WILL be going back... she has way too many cute outfits to wear to not photograph them all here.

while walking (and partially sprinting) around this place I was just taken aback at how incredible it was. it really was like a page out of a storybook... when i was younger I always took to the movies with real people. I was never into cartoons that much, i guess because cartoon worlds just seem too easy. I mean, anyone can draw something and make it animated, but making something appear real in real life is way too difficult. And, as a child I'm sure I found the combination of the two really cool because my favorite movie was Mary Poppins. The songs and dance and animals, I mean, what else could a kid dream of? Nowadays with kids wanting all of this crazy cartoon 3D stuff, just seems to be overpowering. Clara and I stay unplugged a lot of our day.. We go outside and take walks and even when we are inside, we play on the floor, cuddling, talking to each other (even though I can't really understand her) and, that's our life....the gardens were a perfect place for us. we bonded and laughed at each other. Like 10 people asked me if I went alone, I did meet a friend there but only saw her briefly, keeping kids on the same schedule is next to impossible, by the time she got there Clara had drank half of the fountain and was sleepy. Some other Moms I know seemed shocked that I would want to take Clara and go alone to a place like that. I don't really understand it...I don't need anyone else to have fun, my best friends are my husband and my baby girl, who else do you really need? :)

The Avett Brothers-Portsmouth, VA

Anyone who knows me well knows I love music. What do I love more? LIVE music.... and even more than that? A band that can put on a GREAT live show. Well, The Avett Brothers do it every time! Although I have definitely seen them perform better, the lighting at this show was phenomenal. I took so many photos, it was really hard for me to pick out some for the blog (sorry there's soo many...I said they were my favorite, didn't i??) Their music inspires me and I suppose their shows do too... I looked back through these photos and was just amazed. And, actually, one of their photos made it my final portfolio show for my Undergrad show as well.. So, I guess their shows are always great for me! Stand up bass, cello, banjo, guitar, kickdrum, amazing melodies and lyrics that will take your breath away?? well, COUNT ME IN! some of my favorite lyrics come from their songs...and some of my favorite memories come from singing these songs with my best friends. A conversation I had with Kris a while back was... "i've noticed that the only friends I have that have stuck around listen to the avett brothers..." so, reverse thinking... you can't be my friend if you don't. I guess it's a silly thing to say, but, nothing makes me more made than a closed-minded person... be accepting, don't say "i hate country music" give it a chance... don't say "i don't date guys like that" or "i don't like those kinds of cars" because one day.... you might. I used to dislike a lot of things but we were always taught growing up to say "I don't care for that so much" as a nice way of saying no, thanks, don't like it hahahah it's the little things you remember the most. well, time to head to bed. cable guys coming tomorrow "between 8-12" ugh... whatever happened to appointment-making?