Ryker

Little Ryker came to see us for his one year old portraits and boy oh boy we have never seen a little one crawl as FAST as Ryker! He is a master crawler! Want to know his secret? Hand skates! Yep, hand skates! He uses these plastic toys in his front hands and is able to slide them along while his legs do all the work….genius!

His parents told us that he rocked hats until he discovered he could pull them off. We were able to to still sneak a couple of pictures in with his hat….pretty sure it can’t get much cuter than this!

Towards the end of the session Ryker started showing off his lung capacity….we’ll be the first to admit, he’s got a strong pair! J There is nothing quite like discovering the power of your own voice! Sometimes Ryker and his daddy have contests to see who can be the loudest….and we loved it!

Ryker - We loved your hand skates….you are too smart for your own good! Thank you for making us laugh so hard over your mad crawling skills. Seriously, I think you could definitely rival some walkers with your speed! We can’t wait to see you again!

Sadie and Justin

came to Ames for some engagement session fun! They knew how to work the camera....for sure!! We had so much fun walking all over the park, learning more about them and hearing about their engagement!

They were having so much fun being goofy and we were having a blast capturing it all!

The funniest part is that at the time they got engaged, Beyonce's song, "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)," was getting some serious radio play. At the time I remember talking to Eric about all the couple's out in the world who are about to get engaged....I said, the guy has to hate that song! I know I would totally be the girl singing that song non-stop! Well...in Sadie and Justin's case...it wasn't so much Sadie singing the song...it was Sadie's mom!! I love it!! Without further ado, the RING!

Sadie and Justin - Oh my goodness we are so very excited for your wedding! We are going to have a BLAST capturing all your love! Have so much fun with the rest of the planning!

Madeline...

was all smiles for us the minute we walked in the door! Like, ridiculous amounts of smiles especially since it was an evening session!

Her eyes and smile (gosh, I think I could just talk about her smile all day long!) were just about too much to handle!

It wasn't long before we took off for the park for a little family fun. Ummmm, can it get much cuter???

Her mom and dad said that the instant she hit her car seat after our park session she was out like a light! Guess we wore the little punkin' out!

Jared, Abby and Madeline - Thank you for inviting us to capture your adorable family! Man alive Madeline is so stinking sweet! Pretty sure you may never be able to say no to her for anything...those eye's are going to be her secret weapon! :)

4 girls and a boy...

Ha! I don't know why, but the title makes me giggle! Little Connor was the highlight of all his cousin's eyes!


The two oldest girls, Taylor and Regan are sisters and were a hoot together. They were so goofy and pulled out some great one-liners that had me cracking up!

Gwen was the bravest of them all and jumped right up to the plate to be the first one to have her pictures taken! Her sister Charlotte on the other hand wasn't so sure about the idea of having her pictures taken.....at all. But it wasn't too long before she was all warmed up and totally hamming it up with her sister! Check out the little dancing queen walking with her sister...

Such a sweet little moment between sisters...

I love how Charlotte has her whole hand around Gwen's thumb...adorable!

Oh my Connor you are loved soooo very much by soooo many girls! It's a tough life you must live little man! We haven't pulled out a behind the scenes in awhile and I think it's time to show you another because Connor is too funny here! Check it out, he is doubled over complete with his hands over his eyes...he is SO done with picture day! Check out Charlotte too...she was soooo done too!

Were you afraid it was all over? Nope, we got them all pulled back together with a little pep talk and we were back and happy and clapping in no time! Way to go team! :)

Taylor, Regan, Gwen, Charlotte and Connor - you guys are AWESOME! What fun we had hanging out with all of you and getting to know each of your personalities! Such a fun group....when can we hang out again? :)

Hartwick family

There has been a common theme with our families lately....they are growing! The Hartwick family has grown by another girl since we saw them last fall!

There is sure to be lots of sugar and spice at their house with THREE little girls growing up!

I could not believe how much the girls have grown since last year! They warmed up so fast and we had so much fun sharing secrets with them. They were so sneaky and we got a whole 15 feet away from all of their family to capture some "secret" shots. They were so proud to be smiling for a surprise for their mommy and daddy, it was so cute.

As with all little kids, secrets are only as safe as the length of time it takes to get back to mommy and daddy and they were sure to spill the beans about all their smiling right away! "SURPRISE", here are the secret shots!

How adorable are these socks and shoes?!?! I couldn't help but have an image showcasing only the accessories!

Hartwick's - What fun to see the extended family and capture all of you this year! Little Layla sure has fantastic older sisters! Oh the squeezing and love from them to her was too cute! Thank you for letting us share in the life of your 3 sweeties!

Sara and Tod

are expecting their first baby in just TEN days!!! Yes, I said the big arrival will happen in just ten days!

Ladies, I tried to do everything to get Sara to look at least 7 months pregnant....I failed and we can all be jealous that she is 39 weeks pregnant and looking like there's no way she's ready to deliver! :)

I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned that we LOVE what we do? Oh maybe I have? Well, we LOVE what we do and it's session's like this that remind us all over again! We captured their wedding just a year ago and now we had the honor of capturing this next big event in their life! LOVE!

(I'm fairly certain they are pretty excited about the arrival of the little one! How cute is that picture?!?!)

Back to Sara and her teeny tiny itsy bitty little baby bump....

Tod, Sara and baby bump - Oh my goodness, we are so excited to hear the news of the arrival! I still remember the text message you sent when you found out there was a baby on the way and I can't wait to get the next text with the super duper exciting news! We are sooooo excited for you guys and can't wait to meet the little one!

Renuad family

The day we captured them was almost a year to the day since the last time we captured them...it was the perfect example of how crazy September weather can be! Last year it was sooooo cold and we were all in jackets, vests and stocking hats. Not this year! It was a beautiful day and there was no way we were bundling up!

I love how relaxed this image of the kids is! They are each in their own little world and I'm diggin' it.

Grace is beautiful! She was so awesome and totally brought along great ideas! We loved it so much that she was so involved!

Garret loves his sports! He brought along all the sports gear and we told him to imagine he was trying to create his own trading card! Pretty sure this one might fit the bill perfectly!

Owen, Owen, Owen....is a go getter!! I'm not so sure he ever stopped to catch his breath! He was being so goofy, telling jokes, making faces and just being a kid at heart. This image of him totally cracks me up!

Renaud's - What fun to see you guys again and see how much the kids have grown in the last year! The kids did a great job and we had a great time goofing around with them! What a hoot! Go Cyclones! :) Gotcha boys!! hehe!