Rocco's ONE | Cake Smash Session

My sweet heart! I'm not even going to pretend like this was an easy session!!!! Goodness!!! He's EVERYWHERE and into EVERYTHING!! But he's so dang cute!!!

Thankfully my friend, Arlissa who is also a photographer, was here to help me out, keep him from crawling too far off the back drop and keep him from falling out of the chair! haha! 

As you may have already read in my last blog post, I shared Rocco's birth story! You can read that here. WHAT an incredible day that was! God blessed me with the strength to make it through his birth without pain medication!! Such an answered prayer!!

This boy has really taught me so much this year! He's most certainly been the BIGGEST challenge of my ENTIRE LIFE!! He's so different from his sisters. His personality isn't like theirs and that has always worried me and kept me from feeling like I have a bond with him. The past several months have gotten much easier. My PPD isn't taking over my every thought any more - HUGE praise for that!! He is on a really good sleeping and eating schedule and we have really learned what makes him happy AND what doesn't! lol

He amazes me by how much he can eat! Is it just a boy thing or what??? My girls were NEVER as hungry as he is! EVER! He has taken many steps, crawls faster than I can walk, LOVES his sisters beyond measure and completely lights up when they talk to him or love on him, loves to eat, shy smiles when strangers talk to him, waves at our goats, says "bye bye", "Momma", "Dada", can sign for "more", he has FIVE teeth (four on top and three on bottom), loves avocados, and when he smiles, no matter how crazy he has been that day, it melts my heart EVERY. TIME!

Happy birthday week Rocco Koi! We love you so much!

Social Circle, Ga Engagement Session | Tara & Tommy

Look how amazing these two are together! Tara and Tommy met me at my little farm, Creekview Farm, for their engagement session! We had such a fabulous time in the unreal warmth we were blessed with! I met Tara through her mother, Kathy. Kathy is an exceptional painter and wall paper hanger! We hired Kathy to paint the interior of our home when I was pregnant with Olivia, over four years ago! When Kathy found out I was a photographer she brought her granddaughter, Bella, to my annual Santa mini sessions. Her session was ADORABLE! I remember during her session she had on the cutest little pj’s and she was so excited to meet Santa! The very next year, Kathy brought along her entire crew for Santa sessions and I got to meet Tommy, Tara, their daughter Remi, Bella, Amelia, Amelia’s momma, Vaneta and Bella’s daddy, David. They are the most fabulous blended family and I loved photographing them ALL! 

So, now that you know how I got to meet Tara and Tommy, let me tell you about how they met each other! Waaaaay back in eighth grade, Tara was the “new girl” at her elementary school. Tommy was the “cool guy” that hung out with a crew that he had known most all his life. While they both attended the same school, they didn’t really get to know each other until their Junior year of high school! Tommy would walk Tara to her 6th period class every day. They never dated but remained friends.

Tara ended up moving to a different high school for her senior year and once Tommy graduated he became a soldier in the U.S. Army. After two tours, Afghanistan and Iraq, a big move to New York and several huge life changing events, Tommy found himself on this new site called Facebook! As he was navigating through, finding old friends, he sent Tara a message, “Hey, we went to school together, right?”

Back in Georgia, Tara had just put her sweet daughter, Bella, to bed and was looking forward to some quiet time. As she pulled up her Facebook page, there it was! Tara was one click away from falling in love with her future husband! They chatted through messages for months and got to know each other all over again!

One day Tommy sent Tara a message letting her know he was moving back home to Georgia! Tara felt a rush of excitement and butterflies! It had been years since they had seen each other in person! After Tommy moved back it didn’t take long before they were dating and falling in love! Tommy accepted Bella, Tara’s daughter, and loved her like she was his own. The two moved in together and got the surprise of a lifetime - they were pregnant! Although they were scared, they were also very excited!

Just last year, on Super Bowl Sunday, while our Atlanta Falcons were doing their best to beat the Patriots, the halftime show was on and Lady Gaga was doing her thing! Tara was totally stoked and glued to the TV watching her performance when all of the sudden the TV gets muted and a different song replaces Lady Gaga! Jason Derulo, Marry Me starts playing and Tommy walks into the room. Shaking, he kneels in front of Tara and he asks her to marry him!!! Her response, “YES, YES, YES!!!” 

As Tara put it, “We go together like peas and carrots. Okay, I wasn’t a fan of that combo growing up - let me try this one more time, we go together like sweet peas and mashed potatoes!”

Robbins' Hilton Head Island, South Carolina Spring Break

Trey and I have been coming to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina every year for over eight years now. We absolutely love it. We love the beaches, scenery, food and the shopping too. This trip we decided to try out a few new restaurants. Some were so good we went right back the very next day. Some were so bad I was grossed out. Eew.

On the way to SC we stopped off in Savannah at Paula Dean's restaurant, The Lady & Son's. Man-O-Man was it good! You can order from the menu or pick up a plate and head to the buffet. That's what we did! The buffet was loaded with fried chicken, pot roast, mashed potatoes, collard greens, cabbage, black eyed peas, mac and cheese, and corn casserole. While we were eating a server was walking around offering everyone a biscuit on a pancake. Weird, but good. Although we were stuffed beyond belief, we couldn't pass up dessert. Our buffet meal came with dessert. We ordered the gooy butter cake, banana pudding and peach cobbler. They were all fabulous.

For breakfast the next morning we ate at The Hilton Head Diner. I had the Western Omlet. Yumm-O!

For dinner that night we decided to try out a new place, The Hickory Tavern. We were so disappointed. The restaurant was very attractive but the food was just gross and the service was blah.

Thankfully a friend of mine responded to my Facebook plea asking for recommendations for good food! Thank you Rebecca for helping a hungry girl out!!! We headed over to Amigos Cafe Y Cantina. It's in a shopping center and looks a bit like a hole in the wall but the food and service were top notch! We started off with their Cheese Dip, Salsa and Chips. The cheese dip was a very large portion. I lurvvve me some cheese and this was good! For my meal I ordered their famous BBQ Chicken Salad. So many fresh textures and flavors! The salad has cole slaw, fresh crunchy corn, crispy lettuce, black beans, tomatoes, all topped with cut up BBQ chicken served in a fried taco shell. We all left with very happy bellies!

Trey and I love pizza. We eat pizza sometimes twice a week. When we were on the island I knew I had to try out a pizza joint! I looked it up and according to a local magazine New York City Pizza was voted the island's best pizza restaurant. We headed there for lunch one day. The location was super cool with outdoor dining - my fave! The service was great but the food was flavorless. I was upset. We ordered the fried chicken BBQ pizza that came with bacon on it. We added banana peppers for a 1.00 charge. I could see the toppings but I couldn't taste them. I'm guessing I couldn't taste them because they weren't fresh. Total bummerrrrr!

One of our fave spots for breakfast/brunch was The French Bakery & Cafe. The atmosphere is very pretty and the smell is intoxicating! While reading their menu you will find out how to drink a cup of coffee correctly. lol I left feeling like a coffee conasurè! I ordered a Cafe Mocha. It was hands down the best mocha I have ever had in my life! The first morning I had the French toast on Brioche. It came with thick cut bacon that they served on the same plate as my French toast and everything was covered in syrup. I also ordered a side of cheese eggs. Everything was so so good!!! Trey ordered Brioche French toast with cherry topping, whip cream and a cream cheese drizzle. My mouth is watering just thinking about the goodness of that meal! While paying for our meal at the counter there are cases of bakery goodies that they make daily. The macaroons caught our eye. They offer several flavors. We picked the strawberry, coffee, orange and chocolate. I had not ever had a macaroon before. It was incredible. Light, fluffy with a crispy outer layer.

The very next morning we headed back to the French Bakery for another dose of deliciousness! This time I ordered the Eggs Benedict on a Croissant. It came out looking like it belonged in a food magazine. The Croissant was flaky fabulous with perfectly pouched eggs, asparagus, cooked spinach, thick cut bacon and covered in Hollandaise sauce. It was served with a small cup of fresh fruit.

Poseidon was another restaurant we tried out. When we sat down to eat we noticed they didn't have crab legs on the menu. We thought this was strange considering it's a sea food place. We asked our waitress if they offered crab legs and she said yes but they were on their dinner menu. Thankfully she said we could order from the dinner menu - RyAnne is a crab leg-aholic!!! Trey and I both ordered salads. They were okay. Nothing special and not very fresh. The crab legs were good but we kept finding empty legs. lol We would work so hard to crack those suckers open only to find nada in them. Although, when we did get meat it was good. Poseidon is located in a new shopping center. Which was fabulous. Also, it's right on the coast! There is a beautiful play ground and park that my girls had a blast at. We walked down the sidewalk overlooking the water during sunset.

Trey was feeling the need for some speed (even though the speed limit was 25-45 on every. single. road! :( lol I found a car rental shop and got us the most beautiful red convertible. This little car was so much fun!!! Totally not practical for a stroller carrying family of four BUT we crammed ourselves in (stroller and all) put the top down and jammed out!!!

Our girls had a blast in the frigid kiddy pool. And on the beach they made new friends, built sand castles and tossed around a beach ball while Trey and I chilled (literally) in our beach chairs. lol It was pretty chilly during our Spring Break trip.

I'm so thankful to have had this little break from reality. Our schedules have been quite full the past few weeks and we really needed this time to just "be"!

Conquering that Session

I've been photographing family + children sessions for over five years now. I've noticed some patterns + a few things I think we can implement into your child's session that will set the perfect tone and give you guys the shots your hearts desire. Trust me y'all! I know it can be challenging and that some of you even dread it. I have been on the other side of a camera many, many times with my cray kids! lol I have to remind myself, just stay calm, whatever happens, happens. This is how my family is! Through trusting my photographer and trying to stay as chill as possible our sessions have always looked natural and fabulous! :) Even if in my mind it feels nuts.

Setting the tone. I'm just gonna jump right in. . .I love it when parents don't do a lot of talking. Eek. I hope this isn't too harsh. I love getting sweet little candid shots of your children looking around their environment in awe and it's how I get a lot of those fabulous side profile shots. LOVE! I know you guys want those perfect shots of your child looking directly into my lens with their gorgeous toothy (or toothless) smiles - believe me, I want those too! It's always a goal of mine to make that happen. But first, I need to earn your child's attention. Letting them be for a moment to acclimate and get used to my voice and my directions is important. Some times this means, you will need to just walk away. So, some advice to parents: please don't talk to your children (especially not in a negative way) while I'm working with them - unless of course you see they are miss behaving in some way that is totally inappropriate. Even then I feel like I can handle it (I have TWO of my own. lol) I've noticed when parents start reprimanding their children during our session it only gets them in a worse mood. :( And if we only have 20-30 minutes together, I say just let them be the wild child!

Dressing for sessions. With Pinterest at our disposal, I think it's much easier to get ideas for your outfits. It's def helped me out on many occasions. Neutrals are so fabulous and simple. Think creams, khakis, grays, light browns. Pastels have my heart! <3. Especially for the spring. Bold colors are super fun too! Rich jewel tones like navy blue, turquoise, ruby red - so gorge. A color that I don't recommend is hot pink (like florescent pink). It always seems to photograph so weird. Knowing these color palates will help when you start putting together multiple outfits for your family. The goal is to coordinate, not for everyone to match perfectly. Mix it up! Not everyone has to wear a solid color. Mix in patterns and florals with your solid colors and bam - you are picture perfect.

I love, love, love getting my girl's all dolled up for sessions. Here are some places I have found outfits. Lollipops Children's Boutique is located in downtown Monroe, Georgia. This is where I found RyAnne's dress she is wearing for this session. They carry boys clothes too! DollCake.com is an online boutique that has some of the most gorgeous, elaborate dresses and accessories for little girls. 3claps.com is another online boutique that has super cute clothing for girls and accessories as well. Old Navy + Gap have fabulous coordinating outfits for family sessions. Just take a peek at their mannequins if you are having trouble putting together an outfit. ;) Keep in mind when ordering outfits online that you give yourself plenty of time for them to arrive well before our session and you have time if you need to exchange for a different size. For parents of little boys, I wish I had more suggestions. If you guys would like to share where you find your cute little guy outfits please leave your suggestions in the comments box below - Thank you!

Makeup. Ladies, when doing your makeup for your session, I recommend going a little heavier than you typically do. It will show up better in your photographs. :) Don't forget to bring that lip color! Depending on how much time we have together you might need to touch it up a bit during our shoot.

Locations. Unless, I am hosting mini sessions in a central location, I always ask that my clients pick their own locations. How awkward would it be if you asked me to pick your location, your family shows up and it's not what you had in mind. . .I would be embarrassed. When considering your location, think about this - Do I want a city-scape, a field, a forrest (aka the woods), a local carnival, a state park, a lake, my backyard? There are so many more options! This is why I love when my clients pick their own locations. You make your session that much more perfect and unique to your family.

Snacks, food, juice - Bribery! I'm not opposed to any of these. lol Please make sure your child has had a full meal before arriving to our session and a clean diaper (if they wear them). This can help with mood. The last thing we want is a hangry child. :( Bribery isn't off the table. at. all! I do it often with parents consent. I have been known to console a child with a lollipop or two or just a bag of them. Whatever it takes. lol

I sure hope this post has been helpful for any upcoming sessions we may have together or just your future of sessions in general. With some pre-planning we can make it happen! If I'm missing something or you have any questions - leave me a message in the comment box! ;)