The Hoover Family | Family | Portraits

A few weeks back we got to spend some time with the Hoover family celebrating their sweet little man's 6 month milestone!! Instead of just celebrating with a session focused on the little one, we spent time photographing the whole family and capturing all of their sweetness in this season of life!! Enjoy a few of our favorites from this session!

A big thank you to the Hoover family for trusting us with some of their most precious memories!! We look forward to working with you guys again in the future!!

We are about to move into a really busy few weeks around here so look for some beautiful previews in the weeks to come!! We can't wait to celebrate every milestone with our incredible clients!!! 

Michele, Seth and Alec | Family | Portraits

A few months back, my cousin Michele asked me about doing some photos of her and her two nephews! I love Michele and my little cousins so I was really excited to get to work with them! Little Alec was just not having it after the first picture, but I think even his little stone face gave us some beautiful shots. 

Enjoy a few of our favorites from their aunt and nephew session...

Look for our Monday Moments posts to return this next week and some stunning previews to show up over the next few weeks!! We have a busy month and a half heading our way and we cannot wait to show you all what we have been up to!!

Monday Moments | The Real Us | Personal

I can't believe its been a whole week since the first Monday Moments post! The last week has been crazy busy for us!! We are packing up a storm around here getting ready for our big trip this coming week!! Lists are made, suitcases are out of the attic and the stock piles of stuff have started to be assembled. Im kind of an organization freak so my lists may go a bit overboard, but! Not one thing is ever forgotten. And I can brag on that fact haha!! Well, nothing Malachi needs is ever forgotten. I usually leave one or two of my own things behind. But I can survive haha!!

Nic finished up a few painting jobs this weekend so Malachi has absolutely loved having daddy around again! Nic has been such a Godsend since my dad got a hurt a few weeks back. He has picked up all the slack, and for that I will always be grateful. We are very happy to have our Nicolas home again though!

We finished up the rest of our shopping for our trip and I finally found a swimming suit that I don't completely hate, which is a win! Post csection recovery is no joke, and neither is post baby body. The struggle is real haha. Also! There is  Lush cosmetics coming to our mall. Im in trouble. And so is our bank account. All the bath bombs coming to my house. All of them! Malachi also discovered that if he drives the giant truck that is not made for riding, but he most certainly rides, over to this gate and then stands up on it, he can get over the gate. We are in trouble. Thats all.

We took some time yesterday and let the little man play in his baby pool and facetimed with Grandma and Aunt Desi for a bit!! We are so excited that Grandma and Poppi will be coming to Orlando to spend a whole day with us next week! We are going to go to Chef Mickey's and enjoy the characters with them, do some swimming at the Disney Jr. Pool Party at our resort and do some shopping at Downtown Disney. It will be a fun day for sure!!!!

We had three nights this week where Malachi only woke up once and it was before Nic and I were in bed, so thats a major sleep win!! For any one that knows anything about whats been happening with Malachi and his sleeping issues, this was big for us! Hes the sweetest little guy, he just hates nighttime. Which is a problem. But God gives us grace. And we are surviving and this too shall pass.

The biggest thing that I have been working on and learning in my personal life this week, is that every single day is a gift. There arent any promises for tomorrow. So instead of wishing away today because tomorrow Nic is home for the whole day, or being short with Malachi because hes crying nonstop because of those stupid teeth (Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr) or being more concerned with my blogs or my editing or anything inbetween, Im enjoying every single moment that I have with this sweet boy. Teaching him and playing with him. Moving from moment to moment and remembering the little look on his face when he reacts to every little thing in his world. Watching the movie he picks out and brings over to me, saying yes to the bright colored ball in the store when his eyes light up and he says "pease mum mum" and playing with him the whole way home. Every moment is a gift. We have to treat it that way.

And thats been our week!! The blog will be a little quiet next week as we will be having the time of our lives in the most Magical Place on Earth. But you better believe there will be a blog full of characters and Malachi giggles when we get back!!!

Look for a beautiful in home newborn session later this week!!!

Oh Malachi | Fifteen Months | Personal

Hey sweet boy,

Its been a few months since I've written to you, but oh my so much has happened!! You are growing like a weed and changing every single day. There's never a stop to the adventures that we have.

We haven't had your fifteen month well visit yet, so Im not sure exactly how tall you are and how much you weigh, but if I had to take a guess, you are probably upwards of 27 lbs and close to 34 inches tall. It seems like you have grown about a foot in the last two weeks (way over exaggerated but it gets the point across haha!) so I know that you are definitely significantly taller than your last well visit. You are wearing a combination of 18 and 24 month shirts with a few 2Ts thrown in there. You wear 18 month shorts and youre still in 12 month jeans because of those short little legs of yours. You were consistently wearing size 5 shoes, but I put your sneakers on you for a walk yesterday and you pointed and said ow and sure enough they are too small. So we got you some new ones today!! They have Jake and Captain Hook on them. Im a huge fan! You live in your crocs and now that its warmer we usually have a pretty serious case of the diaper butts around here. Not always my choice, you take your own pants off haha. We are still in size 4 diapers during the day and at night. And you are wearing 3T pajamas!! You are just growing so very nicely!

You're little personality is something special my friend. You are very strong willed and you know exactly what you want. We have reached the age of the semi temper tantrum. But you are learning discipline so gracefully and what we are teaching you, you are remembering and learning so well. You have a way that you like things and your own little ways of telling us. You point to your cabinet if you're hungry. You show us what you want or whats bothering you. You even know where we keep the gripe water and if your belly hurts you point to that. I love that you are more able to communicate with us what you need. It makes caring for you seem so much more effective haha. You still make the best faces and your eyes have gotten even more expressive. You smile with your eyes and you give the very best cuddles. But only when you want to. The key is taking full advantage of the snuggles when you offer them. You give kisses now and those are my absolute favorite. You do that little wiggle run across the room and give me a big kiss, just because you want to. It doesnt get any better than that.

You coordination has gotten so good. You run everywhere you go and its rare that you fall. You dance like a little rockstar and you spin in circles just for fun. You love to climb. Up and on anything you possibly can. You can throw and kick a ball, you can blow bubbles by yourself, you climb onto chairs and sit on them like a big boy, you can color on your sprout pad, you drive your cars and trucks around like they are on a road, you run the sweeper and you love to sweep with the broom. You cook in your play kitchen and stir things up in the bowls or in your little pots and pans (thank ikea for your cheap and wonderful kids toys). You love to swing and to explore. You love love love exploring. You will look and study and try and figure out each and every little thing that is happening. You love coloring and drawing and playing Little People. You also love reading books. Especially the books with the look and find flaps. Those are your favorites.

With the warmer weather we spend a lot of time playing outside. You love looking at the birds and playing with all your deck toys. You love the little house that Grandpa found for you and you love climbing into the patio chairs and sitting and looking around. You also really love being under or inside of things so you spend a lot of time under those chairs as well. Hey. Whatever works man haha. We also go for a lot of walks!! Mama is trying to get back to her prebaby self and so we have been walking with our good friend Megan and your little friend Mila. Its nice to have someone to talk to that actually speaks english haha! And the exercise has been amazing!!

You are so smart. Way too smart for 15 months old. You know how to put all your shapes into your shape sorter and you turn them and twist them until we find the right shapes with the right holes. You can screw your little screws into your work bench and you can hammer all the pegs into your hammer board. You can identify anything if we ask you where it is. You run and get it. You know all of your characters by name and you know which ones you prefer to play with. I could go on forever with all the things you are doing that amaze us.

You eat constantly. Nonstop. There are forever fishes, or graham crackers, or fruit snacks, or fig bars in your mouth. You are eating all solids, with a fruit and a veggie pouch everyday just to make sure that we are still getting enough of the good stuff in you since you are so very picky about what you will and will not eat. You will eat chicken now though which is a plus. You love eggs and grilled cheese and mac n cheese. You eat oatmeal and a whole banana every morning which is awesome. You love to eat whatever we are eating so that works out well for us! You love water and you really love almond milk. You drink really well out of a sippy cup. Especially the ones with a straw and you can actually drink out of a regular cup fairly well also!

You have music in your bones. You love to dance and to sing. You clap on beat pretty much every time. I hope you have your daddy's voice with my sense of rhythm. You can't lose with that combo, kid.

You are talking up a storm. Not always understandably haha, but you talk. You say dadda, mum mum, hi, hey, yes, no, thank you, bubbles, kitty, dog, and a few other things that slip out every now and then. You point and shake your head yes and no. And you are a pro at avoiding eye contact if you know you are doing something you are not supposed to do. I kind of love that about you...

You still love Mickey Mouse and you also really love Jake and the Neverland Pirates and Miles from Tomorrowland. You smile so big when you see any of your friends on tv. And we are getting ready to take your first trip to Disney World! I cannot wait to see your face when you get to meet all of your friends in real life. We are also really looking forward to having a break away as a family. To not have to stress over work or the busyness of life, but to just breathe and relax and be together. It will be a beautiful time for sure.

Malachi as you grow and your little personality begins to develop more and more I can't help but be so humbled by you and all that God has so graciously blessed us with. The calling on your little life is so great and so big that I can only be thankful that God felt your dad and I worthy of you. Our prayer is that as this little you comes to be, that we will stay close to his heart and seek him enough that we can guide you and teach you what is right and what is wrong. That we will know his heart in such a way that we can show you the gentlest and most beautiful parts of our savior. That our family will show the world love and joy that only our God can bring. That our lives will be love. Thats what we want for you, my sweet boy. A gentle giant in the lord.

You are the sweetest part of my everyday, Malachi. You bring my life so much meaning, and so much joy. I cannot wait for whats next. I love you to the moon and then back again.

All my love,
Your mama