Sparrow & Me Featured on ONTO BABY!

I'm so excited to announce the feature of Jenn's "Waiting for Summer" baby shower on Onto Baby today! I put together the shower for her back in July just before her little munchkin arrived. I did a little photographing as the event went on and our other amazing friends took over some hostessing duties so I could do just that :) So a whole hearted thank you to them for allowing me to snap a few shots.

Onto Baby hosts some extra lovely inspiration surrounding bebes and all the adorable-ness that comes along with them. I feel amazingly honored to have my work featured on this site as Onto Baby is most definitely one of my fave daily reads. I often check out the Maternity session features on the site as well. There are tons of really gorgeous sessions to gather lots of pretty ideas and to help get your wheels turning in order to add that spark to every session you shoot. It's also a great tool for clients to take a look around and see if a particularly styled session might suit them beforehand if they're unsure of how they are hoping to be captured. 

Thank you so much Onto Baby!

Amanda, Matt & Bebe

Ok, Amanda is the most stunning expecting Mom ever. She was SUCH a trooper, wading through the river behind her parent's gorgeous property and crawling up on top of farming equipment all for the shots! Amanda and Matt are expecting their first baby this September. The baby's gender will be a surprise and I've got my vote in but I can't wait to hear! I'll be thinking peaceful birthing thoughts for you Amanda and I cannot wait to meet your new little bundle once they arrive.Thank you both for helping me along with my creativity in your session and for being totally present all morning! 

{PHOTO SESSION INSPIRATION}

Onto baby featured the most adorable twin sister maternity photo session. These girls are out of this world gorgeous! How fun would it be to expect at the same time as your sister, let alone your TWIN sister?! I honestly LOVE this session and I'm sure these sisters did too.
Onto baby features some of the cutest sessions {plus a million other fun ideas} and it's one of the places I head to for inspiration almost daily. One of my newest favorite photographers rebecca amber {who is originally from the Valley} recently had a session of hers featured on the site! I was so excited for her because I know how amazing this site truly is. Her featured session was full of extra natural light and true to rebecca amber form, tons of creativity. Be sure to check out rebecca amber on facebook as well. Her engagement photos are SUPER fun! You definitely won't be seeing any button down matching white tops and kakis with her sessions and I think that's what makes her stand out among others. 

{CASH WILLIAM}

Introducing cute as a button Cash! Cash is my friend Courtenay's first born. He was born very early and very tiny but his personality is definitely not. Cash is growing bigger and stronger every day and each time I see him, I get a little comfier picking him up! I don't know what it is about tiny babies and the worry people have with holding them. I never imagined being worried to hold such a small baby but then again, all the babies I was use to, in our family, were adorably huge at birth. Court and I spent the afternoon moving sleeping Cash into sweet little positions, cozying him in her gorgeous turquoise throw blanket. I just love Cash. Love his name. Love the hardcore blonde Hawk he's got goin' on with his hair. Love. Him. To. Bits. Courtenay & Bob's puppy, Bailey, didn't leave our side the entire session so we couldn't possibly have left her out of the shots. She was a huge fan of cuddling in the blanket with Cash and I'm so glad we caught the memories on camera for them to remember forever. Love you three!

{A LITTLE RAIN CAN BE PRETTY TOO}

Are these little mobiles not especially perfect for the West Coats inhibitor? I LOVE this Whimsical Rain Cloud Mobile for a child's nursery handmade by The Butter Flying! You can find these adorable little creations on her Etsy shop! It's no wonder I pounced right to the blushy pink powdery shades {insert eyeroll here} but it looks like she absolutely takes custom orders. Like the very last photo ~ a lovely jewel toned custom piece with a star & moon accent, headed to Australia to sit above an equally lovely little sleeping babe. I absolutely want one when it comes time to need one ... these are just so unique and so delicate looking. Perhaps even an olive green, grey and white for a boy? Check out her designs in the above Etsy link. I encourage you to poke around at other Etsy shops too ... there are some extra unique pieces out there for you and for your home, just like these :)

I do hope the rain can stay a away a little just for the weekend perhaps ... I have plenty planned and I'd love to wear sandals and fun dress for most of it if at all possible ;) It's Ryder's Second Birthday this weekend so I'm really excited to go snap a few action shots of him diving into his cake, tearing open gifts and being gushed at by a house full of people that love him. I've probably mentioned it before but in case I haven't Ryder is my best friend, Laura's, son. Along with Ryder's Birthday, it's mine and Ben's One Year Wedding Anniversary. All I can is time flies ... it's been an amazing first year and I think we grew taller not only together but individually. It was a big year for both of us in terms of careers and accomplishments and I've enjoyed being able to focus and spend the time together just him and I. For all those inquiring with love ;) ... Ben and I both absolutely want to start a family. However, we are both so very much wanting to have a few things pegged down before we do. So that's what we're doing :) We've got a plan. We're planners and it works for us right now. We're feeling like the harder we work to get our careers in order, the better of a position we'll be in. I know we've told a few people our plan and they say to us "you'll never be ready though!" I can appreciate the thought but I KNOW we can be a little more ready than we currently are, in terms of a home especially. That's number one for both Ben and I ... a home. I do feel like we've made this place our home in many ways, but it's not actually ours and I think both of us would thrive in a space that we can do what we want with. That's our story and we're stickin to it ;) Enjoy today, rain and all friends because it can be kinda pretty too!

easter luv

There's quite the history behind this car the boys are sitting in. Any one of the kids in my family can tell you. We all ate our Easter dinner outdoors in my Aunty's back yard, soaking in the first really incredible day of sun we've had in months. Both boys were barefoot and happy but Colty spotted the cars which were actually hung up on the garage wall. My Uncle happily crumbled under the pressure of Colton's sweet "pleaseeeeee!"

 Our Uncle had to do a ton of re organizing to get it down but he did it anyhow so Colt could try it out! I explained to Colton that Mommy had driven in that car and Aunty too had driven in the car when we were little. He responded saying "Mommy drive, Aunty drive, Chayse drive, Toton's little too". He looked at me for a minute and then said "Uhhh, Tolton drive car too". He was so patient while our Uncle moved other things to get it down. We thought we'd let Eli have a quick chance too and although Colton wasn't quite sure at first, he whipped around and gave his brother a kiss on the head. Now if that ain't cute, what the heck is?!

C is for Colton and E is for Eli :) I bought these bags pictured below to house their Easter goodies in (the only two left in the store). They suited them pretty perfectly with the green bunny and the baby blue chickadee. We had an Easter dinner at my Aunty's house last night and because we wouldn't see the boys today, we gave them their little bags there. Get ready for the worst Aunty moment I've had yet ...

I bought Colty the Crayola Colored Bubbles and FYI they are awwwwwful! They're pure dye, they DON'T rise out simply as they state they do, and when they say blue they mean BLUE. As you can see in the photo right above this of Eli in his hand knit sweater we bought him for Christmas, Colty happened to be wearing his that we bought him too when I started to help him open his colored bubbles. As I was opening them, they seriously started dripping everywhere. ALL over his hands, his bare feet, all over the grass we were sitting on and even in his hair. He started vigorously trying to wipe the bright blue dye off his hands and onto his sweater and I started screaching "no, no ... someone get a cloth!" My little OCD panic attack scared him so badly, he started crying and crying hard! Ohh my did I ever feel bad once I realized that my panic made him panic. I swear I do realize that the more you freak out, the more the child will do the same but I didn't even realize I was sounding so panicky. In true Colty fashion, my terrible Aunty-ness didn't seem to phase him all that badly because once we wiped up the excess dye the best we could (which wasn't really all that good at all, thanks Crayola), he ran off to go "dig dirt" with the blue streak of dye stuck in his hair and all. Meanwhile, the crowd of family around me was congratulating me on my awesome Easter gift. I had faith in Crayola ... what can I say?! P.S. Colton is potty training so I thought he needed a few pairs of big boy under pants. I figured the Mr. Happy collection would do the job. We'll see. 

For Eli, we bought him some SUPER cute retro style swim shorts for our up and coming trip to Hawaii and a pair of jeans for the summer. Casey offered to snap the shot of Eli and I because I don't yet have one shot of him and I together. I am so thankful he is around. Him being here makes me feel exactly the way I look in that photo ... so happy. Just so it's even, I have to say I feel the exact same way about Colty too! In case their Mum reads this - she always wants them to have an equal amount of love ;) I guess that's one of the reasons she's such an amazing Mumma. Happy Easter!

xoxo