it’s been a while…  she was busy kicking breast cancer’s @$$.  here’s her last post on the blog.

and the next chapter in her journey, which i’m honored to document, is adoption.  with all that cancer business behind her, she and tim are ready to start their family, and adoption is the road.  we got to hang out a bit, and it was so cool to see their excitement about everything in their world these days… adoption classes, creating a portfolio, home visits… the whole process is a bit overwhelming just to hear about.  for sure, they will be formally prepared for the baby they will some day call their own… much more so than many of us who have planned or unplanned babies. 

she is the short quirky, spunky, artsy jelly to his tall methodical, electrical engineering peanut butter.

of all the things cancer taught them, it seems obvious they it must have given them an appreciation for carpe diem and finding humor wherever you can.  for sure they know how to laugh at me

and each otherand themselves.and i’m sure, while most of us take such things for granted, they learned to admire each other’s uniqueness so much…“Bridget, tell Tim ‘i hope our baby learns to have your….”“and Tim, ‘Bridget, I hope our baby learns to have your…”

i don’t know what was whispered after the “…”.  that’s for them:

to be reminded that before everything, there was the new immature love they had for each other.

 and since everything, there is the strong mature love they have grown thru’ their struggles and time together. 

what i do know is that they are waiting, planning, hoping and praying for a baby.  if you or someone you know is pregnant and considering adoption, perhaps the Beattys would be the right match.  a little girl with a B name or a little boy with a T name will soon change Bridget & Tim to Mommy & Daddy.  I cannot wait to share that chapter with you all!

i’ve been super busy shooting like a mad woman thru’ october and november.  this was one of my last shoots before i ran away to the mountains with my BDs for a break.  

how thankful must Ellen and Michael be to have these 3 little girls?!

they have a lot to be thankful for in fact.  Ellen, Villanova tennis star, and Michael, of NBA and UK basketball fame, spend their time now enriching the community thru’ their Moksha yoga studios in Cincinnati and NKY, and pouring profits back out with local and international outreach programs.  you can read more about all that here. 

for our time together, i got to skip around with the three little beauties and we pretended like it wasn’t 30* out.  the bright sun was a good start.

we spied on mama and daddy, chased the farm kitty (or some of us ran from it), had a mini camping adventure, raced down the tree lined gravel, snuggled to keep warm….

…they even pulled mama into a few rounds of ring around the rosie and got major air from 6′10″ daddy!3, 4 and 5?  these dolls were serious troopers out there in the bitter cold.  i wish you girlies full bellies and warm lazy turkey day naps.  can’t wait to meet up again for more fun, and if the temp is above freezing, even better

and in the spirit of black friday, i guess i should remind all of you that if you send your 2012 session deposit in before the end of the year, you lock in the 2011 rate.  AND if your next session is within 6 months of your last, you save another $50.  AND if you want to present your deposit as a BD gift certificate to the BD addict in your house {i’m looking at you Mike Martin} i can email one over for you to pop into a picture frame and hang on the tree.  the flurry of family, friends and holiday parties starts now thru’ new years.  i wish you all safety and sanity.  til next time, cheers!

this means i got to spend more time with a family i love, and be part of a great gift, freezing this stage in holly’s life for her w irreplaceable images.  this time… when she’s young and drop dead gorgeous and has two blondies hanging onto her legs pretty much ALL the time.  pretty sure she wouldn’t change a second of it.  she’s a hot wifey and amazing easy going mama.  she’s a great friend, so easy to be around and respect and look up to and learn from, even if she is younger as she accidentally reminds me over and over again ;)  if there were an award for being most the single most excited and supportive in my life about our baby BD#5 {due in just one week!} i think it would have to go to her.  i can’t tell you how it feels to have that energy and love poured out on you, but i can tell you it’s exactly why she is my doula and i’m so glad she will be there when he arrives.   

hello joel’s new screensaver!apparently there’s a well kept secret in the world that only moms of boys get let in on.  i’ve been a mom for 9 years and i never knew this, but suddenly moms that have boys, and especially moms that have boys+girls keep telling me something along the lines of “my girls are great, but there is something SO special about your relationship with your boy.  i can’t explain it but it’s incredible.”  holly looks like the perfect “boy mom” for me to go to for lessons in snips and snails and puppy dog tails.

holly i hope through these images you see how much i adore you and i’m so grateful to have you in my life.   big props to joel for booking your session and helping you make such cute boys.  i love you all!

to boys and sweat and giggles and bashfulness and pure feel good smiles.  happy summer to you all.

 Noah-Cayd-Avery

i’m quite sure i’ve never been more impressed by two parents.  i happily expected sheer chaos from this shoot.  one year olds are crazy enough in singles.  the fact that we enjoyed such a seamless session together blew my mind.  i don’t recall a single tear or tantrum.  with the three of us there, we each had only one to tote from spot to spot and i was blissfully exhausted by the end.  when they told me that they both work outside the home on opposite shifts and it’s usually just one or the other of them home alone with the gang, i couldn’t believe it.  Andy gave Leah all the credit for keeping them on a tight predictable schedule.  i can’t tell you how much i admire you guys- Leah, for even being able to carry three babies for those long months in the womb, and then to look as gorgeous as you do on top of it, and the pair of you for making such an amazing team.  you inspire me.  it makes me so happy to see a happy marriage, and when you guys publicly acknowledge each other’s hard work and express your love and appreciation for each other on facebook it’s so refreshing and uplifting.  i’m so blessed to have met you.  thanks for choosing me.sleepy eyes we wore them out so much that they could hardly keep their eyes open to enjoy their first cake

happy birthday, happy birthday and happy birthday.  and a hug for you each!

he really impressed me as a mature little man who does a good job of taking care of his mama.

quite the gentleman indeed.  it was my pleasure to shoot the little ham, and get him out of his morning classes at school

next up was Lawana with her girls.  i always love witnessing the energy that a bonded group like this shares.

and i love having them tell me embarassing childhood stories about the guest of honor

such a gracious host to give each of the ladies their own time in the spotlight.  especially after they brought up those old jeans and the skating rink LOL

my favorites   ↓  ↑   family ties and real emotion. doesn’t get much better than that.  happy birthday Lawana!!!

first up is sweet 6 month Jacob.  i really don’t love shooting indoors except for newborn sessions.  actually i loathe it… but Ohio’s weather is wonky and sometimes magic comes from being pushed out of your comfort zone.  we will do a real family session outdoors when it’s consistently warm, but he was only 6 months old once so here’s what we came up with!  he showed me some of his favorite toys, we danced around the kitchen and tempted the kitty with treats.  all in all, it was hard work but so worth it.  i would give anything for some classic pics of me with my girls like this in just diapers and smiles.

cara, i can’t wait to hook back up with you guys and see what he thinks of the great outdoors.  looking forward to our next session!

**if you all are wondering, my own baby boy is coming along quite nicely.  approximately 80 days left for him to grow from his current 2.5 lbs chinese cabbage size to my perfect little real live cabbage patch doll at the start of august.  for now he is busy practicing his tae kwon do moves out on me so he has a chance against his senior yellow belt sister when he arrives  **

i don’t do a lot of open eyed pics with my newbies.  they have such a hard time focusing but i couldn’t resist this awesome expression.

ben was so good to us.  and by us i mean me and his mama.  he gave daddy a hard time, especially when we took off his diaper and he got very comfortable hovering over daddy’s head.  i will let you imagine why he is smiling in that pic… and why mallary and i were literally on the floor laughing!  oh.my.gosh.  hilarious impeccable timing for a mess.  kurt gets the award for my most good natured, cooperative dad ever.  who else could keep a smile on his face and keep the baby safely balanced long enough for us to gain our composure and take the baby for cleanup? 

i had so much fun with you guys and i just wanna eat that sweet pea up.  hope you are enjoying his sweet first month as it flies by. thanks for choosing me!

She gets so much lovin from her Mama and Auntie and DeDe.  I think it’s really beautiful and empowering to see all the girls together, three gorgeous generations.

i’d say one is old enough to rock the TTD trash the dress trend right?

and after all her hard modeling work she got to celebrate with her first birthday cake!

it’s all so delicious i think i might melt.  yummy light, yummy cake, baby pearls, baby blue eyes and baby chunk rolls.  i.can’t.stand.it

. 

ok, my favorite candids??  swoon.  mama kissed icing off her Jovie girl

and Jovie girl kissed her back!

and then as we treaded back to the car, chilly and exhausted and i glanced over my shoulder and this was my view.  it’s like you can see how full Lauren’s heart is with her precious sleepy birthday girl snuggled in her arms.  it might be my favorite real moment capture ever. 

It was a pleasure working with you girls.  Thank you for making me pause my crazy week to appreciate that life is SO  incredibly beautiful.

hello cutest pout in the history of pouts!

he’s a living doll huh?  see who gets to claim him?  meet Lillah and Olivia

check out the scene stealer center left

serious cheese face!!  how cute are these kids??

is everyone else in love with newbie wrinkles and fuzzy man-baby shoulders?  is it just my hormones? why so many questions this post??

when you love Boston so much that you name your dog Fenway, a little beantown photo homage is basically mandatory

congrats to both of you, as well as the girls.  can’t wait to catch up this summer and record the relationship they develop with him.  thanks for the honor of photographing your gorgeous family   pleasure meeting you and adding you to the {BD}photo family.  i’m so happy with the results of our session and can’t wait for you to see the rest!