My friend & fellow photographer Erica hired me for the most important session. Something that was a true honor to be trusted with. The birth of her 4th baby.

She called me on a Tuesday night at 9:30pm saying this was it, her husband was driving her to the hospital. So many emotions ran through me. Excitement & anxiety mostly. For a couple hours I waited. She was being held in triage and even though she had time-able contractions the labor wasn’t progressing. Maybe this wasn’t the night. After hours of being monitored and walking the halls she was sent home. Then for the next 6 days I was on edge, just waiting for the call. This was the 4th baby, everyone said it would come fast. It was hard to concentrate on anything! But finally the day came. Somehow, she made it to her induction date.

I met Erica and Justin at the hospital on September 18th at 9am. Things started progressing at a great pace. Around 1:30-2pm her labor stalled. She was so close at 9cm dilated.  For the next couple hours we waited. Erica was amazing. Her epidural was wearing off and she was getting exhausted. You learn a lot about a person by how they handle pain. She never screamed or cried. Her quiet determination was inspiring. Finally around 5:30pm the Dr came in to access what was the right thing to do. C-section came up for the first time and you could feel the mood change. It wasn’t the plan but her cervix was being stubborn and stupid-Dr’s words not mine. Even though she tried pushing through it just wasn’t going to happen.

Usually a C-section is the end of the line for me. After doing 7-8 births with a few ending in C-section I have never been allowed back. But thanks to Erica’s persistence the hospital staff made an exception. I was allowed to scrub up along side Justin. Waiting for her to be prepped in the O.R seemed to take hours. Everyone was ready to meet the baby. Erica & Justin didn’t find out the sex so it was very exciting to find out if it was going to be McKenzie or Colton! Finally we were allowed back in the room and before we knew it, a beautiful healthy baby boy was raised above the curtain for mom and dad to see. We all breathed a sigh of relief.

At 6:40pm Colton Thomas came into the world with a loud healthy cry. He weighed 9lbs 8oz and was 22 inches long. A gorgeous big baby boy! Erica did amazing through the whole delivery. It was so wonderful being there to document her and Justin falling in love for the first time with their new baby boy. It was an experience that has been on my photography bucket list for years and they were the perfect client to accomplish this with!

The fun continued as they got to introduce Colton to the rest of their children. I think Aiden was the most excited. He just couldn’t take his eyes off his new baby brother. Capturing the first snuggles and kisses was amazing. I’m so happy to preserve these happy memories for years to come.

Congratulations DeRue family!! 

Brooks just turned one and that is a milestone worth celebrating! He has dimples for days and a little smirk that you have to smile back at. He is sweet and happy and loves walking and climbing up on all my different props!

Laura contacted me to set up a family session with focus on little Brooks and was looking for a location with grassy, natural areas. I knew just the spot. I am incredibly blessed by the land we live on and love offering sessions here on our little rental farm where we are living while building our new home. I have so many favorites from their session and can’t wait to share the whole gallery with the Maro family soon! What makes a session a favorite is when all the elements come together. That includes a loving family-chaos welcomed. A wardrobe in the same color family, that fits perfectly and a location that brings it all together.

I hope you enjoy this sneak peak!!

I had the pleasure of getting to know Danielle & Bryan (and Tucker) when they were expecting their first baby just over 2 years ago. Being included in this new milestone, welcoming their daughter Sophia was such an honor. She is such a perfect little addition to the Smith family. I couldn’t be happier for them.

I love in-home lifestyle sessions because it is more comfortable and relaxing for the parents. It also gives me the opportunity to see the nursery and Sophia’s did not disappoint! Danielle and Bryan, with help from her mom made this room such a beautiful oasis for their little girl. The hand made details were everywhere. Danielle’s creativity amazes me.

Please enjoy this sneak peek into the Smith’s session. If your interested in a lifestyle newborn session for your new bundle of joy I would love to talk more! 

I got to spend Saturday evening with the Kleinberg family. It was loud and a little chaotic and I couldn’t have loved it any more!

Jessica is a fellow photographer & I’ve said it before but it is the biggest compliment when another photographer trusts me with their family’s photos. When she pulled up and the family climbed out of the van I was thrilled at the amazing job she did on their wardrobe! If you’ve had a photoshoot done in the past you know how stressful it can be to dress your family but she nailed it! They have 5 children from 10 years-10 months and the second thing I noticed after they clothing was how fun this family was! I was so excited to get to know them all. I come from a bigger family and always dreamed of having one myself. There were so many personalities mixing together at once, I was laughing thru the whole session at the different antics.

I hope you enjoy this sneak peek of some of my favorite moments! If your interested in a family session I have limited availability left in 2018. I would love to talk soon!!

The Price Family. There’s just something amazing about a session where it feels like I’m  hanging out with friends instead of working.

It’s been 2 years since our last session but we picked up right where we left off. The only change was how big Colton and Hadley have got! They are a model family and what I mean by this is that their outfits were perfection, the children smiley and well behaved and the parents? They have been together since sophomore year in high-school but they still act like teenagers in love & its the best thing ever. Nicole is a fellow photographer which is such an compliment that she trusts me with her family photographs. The night before the session we found out the location we were going to use wasn’t available anymore but i’m so happy with where we ended up. It’s one of my favorite hidden gems from this area & is going to be the location for my Fall Mini sessions. Although, I will be making the trails easier to navigate before that happens. It was quite the adventure getting down to the creek 😉

I hope you enjoy this preview of a few of my favorites from the Price family session!

The Hunt boys. Andrew and Jared are the cutest brothers and every year it gets better!

Andrew just turned 6 and Jared is turning 3 soon. The age gap between them is perfect and the bond these two share is the best to watch. Jared looks up to his big brother in everything he does and you can tell Andrew just eats it up. He loves his brothers attention and shines in it. I don’t see this changing anytime soon & in fact I predict they only grow closer as the years go on. Makes me wish I had a couple boys of my own 🙂 Here is a few of my favorites from their session!

If your looking for a photographer to document your child’s milestones or just update photos I would love to talk more.

Oliver & his Oliver tractor. I look forward to this session every year!

This year Oliver turned 2! Since he was a newborn we have photographed him around his great Uncle’s beautifully restored Oliver 77 row-crop. As a farm girl myself I can’t help but get excited every time I visit. I love that the family gathers to watch, it’s obvious Oliver brings a joy to everyone in the family. This year Oliver’s little personality has grown. He is funny and sweet and such a little ham. He is talking so much and it’s so fun to see the changes from last year. This year his cousin joined him in some photos and the way he looks up to her is adorable. It was a great time catching up with everyone! I hope you enjoy this small preview from Oliver’s 2 year session.

If your looking to update your family photos & capture a special milestone like a birthday I would love if you messaged me so we can talk more!

My littlest nephew Camden is celebrating a huge milestone! He is going to be ONE!!

This year has flown by for me, not so much for his mom since he still doesn’t sleep through the night, but I for one am in disbelief he is turning one! The moment he was born he added a sweet new complexity to our family. He is the 7th grandbaby for my parents and has been the first baby who was born without a ‘cousin partner’ born close in age. That hasn’t stopped all the older cousins from loving on him every chance they get! Especially his big brother Colton, I don’t know if I’ve seen a closer duo at such young of age. Camden loves watching big brother in everything he does. He can’t wait to get walking so he can keep up! He is super close too! He loves pulling up and cruising on everything in sight. He also LOVES food. He can keep up with my girls who are 7 in his appetite and is not picky at all!

It has been such a fun year watching him grow and I can’t wait for his birthday tomorrow! Celebrating important milestones like a birthday’s are a part of why I love what I do! Does your little one have a new milestone to document? I would love to talk more about it. Message me for more information!

I met the Lynch family at Fort Gratiot County Park on a hot and humid Tuesday right before the 4th of July. This wasn’t our first meeting though!

I was so excited when Laura reached out and contacted me about an extended family session. I’ve known Sara and Laura since high school. Playing tennis (with Laura) and riding on the equestrian team together and graduating in the same class (with Sara). For a while, my family’s farm even delivered their hay so eventually, our whole families got to know each other! It has been way too long since we got to catch up together and the family session was a perfect time to do so! That’s what a session always feels like to me, catching up with old friends (while taking a few photos in between)

Laura is living in Dallas now and I got to meet Maninder, her long-term boyfriend who is the perfect compliment to her. Sara brought along her little family from New Jersey, Darren, and their adorable little girl Milly. Who if you couldn’t tell, absolutely stole the show! I’ve been dying to meet her after seeing all the great photographs her dad takes of her!  I was so happy to see Pat and Cindy again too! They are both retired now and told me about all the travels they’ve been on lately. Pat who is incredibly….stoic…even cracked a few smiles for me 😉 It was a great session and I have a huge gallery that I can’t wait to send over to them!

If you’re looking for a Fort Gratiot Family Photographer I would love to talk more! Let’s plan a session where you walk away with great photographs and a new friend. I can’t wait to talk more.

We braved this heat wave with confidence and an adventurous spirit. The benefit was, even the bugs were too hot to bother us!

I met Erin and Eric at their grandparent’s farm where the acreage is so abundant that we needed atv’s to navigate the trails. If you know me at all this is a huge bonus because there is nothing I love more (besides taking photos!) than to spend time riding through the woods.  A gorgeous couple, sunshine in the sky and tons of beautiful property to explore. I was in heaven! Erin is due in August and is perfectly pulling off her baby bump. Over 32 weeks along and she is glowing. Her and Eric have been married almost a year so this is such an exciting time for them. Eric just lit up when I asked him about the nursery and getting ready for their first baby. They brought along their 2-year-old pup, an adorable shepherd husky mix named Bryn & the current love of their life. I always welcome clients to bring their pets, I love all animals & love photographing them too! All in all it was a great evening well spent. I can’t wait to see them again once the baby arrives for the second part to their session 🙂

Erin & Eric chose my Bump-to-Baby package. I love it for my expecting clients. It includes a mini maternity session & full lifestyle newborn session. If you’re adding to your family & looking for a photographer to document this next step in your lives I would love to talk more!