You & Me & Baby makes...six! {The Boyle Family}

Kick-starting the 4th of July weekend for me was a fun session with the Boyle family...who'll soon be welcoming their newest member! {I think the odds of another adorable blonde are quite good, don't 'cha think?}

So with three adorable kiddos and one more on the way, hangin' out with Mom & Dad at home was the perfect way to capture the fun of being a family....

after measuring Mom's belly, out came the paint! Baby Boyle {and Mom!} was a great sport in letting Harry, Amelia & Charlotte have a little fun "decorating"...

but of course the fun couldn't just stop on Mom's belly....

{oh goodness I hope this one pops up in a high school yearbook years from now!}

{to the neat-nics gasping, I should point out that it's all washable paint and no couches or clothes were ruined in the making of these memories...hehehe...}

You all are great! Gallery soon to follow! Thanks again!!

Chicago!

Ahhhhhh.....vacation! Gotta love it!

I get to share so many amazing family moments with you all, so I thought this time I'd turn the tables and share some of mine with you. But before I post any of the family moments, I wanted to share a few pics from the city of Chicago...

You can't go to the windy city without checking out the Sear's Tower. {I forget what it's actually called now since Sears no longer owns it...it's just not the same calling it anything different, anyway.} Way up at the tippy-top of the 103rd floor you can peek out and down at the city. {of course Mike and I had to play the part of the "cheesy tourists" and lie flat on the glass and get pics of each other looking like we were falling!}I snagged this pic of my fellow tourists in one of the overlooks.

" Mike and 'The Bean' "

This was my hubby Mike's first time to Chicago; both of our first trips to Millenium Park {I love that bean!}

a local artist painting "the bean"...

my favorite part of this day! It was sweltering hot, so getting to splash around with my 2-yr old niece was the best...but it was a great place to people-watch, too...

" Lunch Break "

This guy was standing off on the opposite end of one of the fountains, obviously just cooling off on his lunch break. With all the hubbub going on around him,the contrast of this moment of him just off in his own little world stood out to me while I was there, so I had to capture it...

Thinking back, I kick myself for caring about having to walk around soaking wet the rest of the day; I only got my feet wet - TOTALLY should have just run under like these kids!

Carla & Bowe {with baby Grant}

The past two weeks I've been traveling around catching up with friends and family back east. For the first part of my trip, I accompanied my hubby to Washington, D.C., while he was at a week-long conference. In addition to being able to visit all my favorite art museums again {I used to live in the area when I was fresh out of WVU} I got to link back up with Carla and Bowe for their maternity portraits!

I first met Carla and Bowe here at Irwin; they were actually my first engagement session! A few months later I did Carla's Bridal Portraits...so this was extra special for me that timing worked out perfectly for me to be able to get to D.C. to follow the next chapter of their love story.

Apparently they didn't remember to "Kiss the Coyote" on their way off Irwin when they moved - {for those of you not familiar with Ft Irwin, there's a huge coyote sculpture at the front gate. The theory is that if you kiss it after exiting post for the final time, you'll never be stationed here again} - they'll be moving back here after Grant is born! Selfishly I'm really excited about that...it seems like everyone I know is getting orders and moving out, so it'll be great to have a familiar face coming back...and I'll get to meet Grant! whoo-hooo!!

This was taken at the beautiful little church across the street from their apartment. As an artist, I really love getting to work in new placed; since 95% of my sessions are done locally here on Fort Irwin I really appreciated the contrast the city offers. Going from the clean-lined & modern apartment building to the quaint and cozy church was so great!!

Carla & Bowe- thank you so much again for allowing me the honor of continuing your love story!