Chealyn

i just finished chealyn's graduation pics... and i love them! isn't she beautiful?! i had so much fun with her and her older sister who came to help. we were constantly laughing and catching up on the lastest news. i love my cousins!

Charly Mae

when charlene was six weeks i took her newborn pictures. since i don't usually shoot newborns, i didn't have all the fancy backdrops and cute props, but i think charlene made the pictures turn out adorable anyway.

i know that some don't like pictures of their children's pouty faces, but i love to. i want to capture how her tiny face scrunches together and her tongue that almost always sticks out. i love how she creates her own chunky roll above her nose when she cries. i want to remember everything, including the sound of her newborn cry, which i can almost hear when i look at these pictures. sadly, she's already lost it.seeing the picture below reminds me of how she has a slight hiccupy-cough movement when she cries really hard. can't you almost see her do it? so adorable.calm and beautiful. i'm in love with all her chunkiness.

i tried to capture all the silly faces she made. some parents will only pull out the camera when their children are all smiles and happy. but that not who children are. take pictures of everything: happy, sad, and silly. in twenty years, looking at those pictures will help you remember your child with all of her quirkiness. you will be so glad you did.

charly mae is mine forever, and i love her.

The Woodbury Family

funny thing about the world, it's so small. my sister and i went to school with two of the woodbury's together. i don't think brian and i ever hung out, but we knew eachother and sometimes sat at the same tables for lunch. michelle (my sister) graduated with brian's sister dana and even roomed with her at efy - where they introduced me to their counselor, the man i later married. my hubby kyle went to school with jill, the oldest woodburry. now, two of my younger sisters are going to school with the youngest - allison. it's funny to look back at all the times our circles overlapped.

this is the reason i always wanted a son first. i just know he'll be a great protector and he's already so sweet to his baby sister. love it. my favorite from th whole shoot:

all th ladies. they look so much alike, except for michelle.

the third 'grandbaby' is jet, michelle and jesse's first.

one of my favorites. love the color.

how sweet is she?! seven weeks old and so tiny!

nothing beats a boy and his dog.

Fall In Love...

after laboring for nine hours thru the early morning hours on december 6th, beautiful charlene mae (charly) came nine days early at 11:06 am, weighing in at 8 lbs 14 oz and 21 1/4 inches long. i pushed for just five minutes and then she was here. the delivery was perfect and i have a perfect baby. charly has beautiful, round cheeks and bright blue eyes. i am so lucky. meeting mommy:

and daddy:

meeting big sister addison:

charlene was named after my grandma charlene (who got married two days before little charly was born). by naming our little girl charlene and calling her charly we honor both my grandmother and late grandfather charles brown. her middle name (mae) came from my great grandmother ella mae. our little charlene is named after great people who have done amazing things and i know she will be amazing too.

meeting her namesake:

we love you charlene and couldn't be more excited for you to be in our family!