Another BEAUTIFUL lifestyle newborn session! I traveled to this sweet home in Bassett, Virginia to document the new arrival of sweet baby girl, Leighton. I had the opportunity to shoot a Christmas maternity mini session just before this sweet girl's arrival, and I was THRILLED to be able to see her beauty in person.
I knew my first shot as soon as I walked in the door! I saw the very talented Andrea Lee's camera on the couch and knew that was certainly part of this story! Andrea, of Andrea Lee Photography, has a new addition to her beautiful family! Little Emerson's beauty is contagious and turned even me giggly throughout the shoot. She is so darn cute! And those big brothers. They are the sweetest!
After he spent the day with Daddy and the boys watching football, I bundled up little Jericho and headed on a girl's trip from Keeling, Virginia, to Caswell County, North Carolina (The Casville Lights) last night to see this beautiful display of lights with family and some of my sister's awesome friends! Jericho wasn't quite sure what to think of it all. He liked watching the big set up of a train, but couldn't stop smiling at the man behind me long enough to pay much attention to it all! I swear, our baby is surely a people person!
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I'll admit it! I love a bearded dude! Of course, my husband's beard was actually as long as this precious crocheted beard by Lorien Koontz Huemoeller, BUT he TRIMMED it the day before. The NERVE! Nevertheless, this was FUN! Love these little dudes. It never gets old for me posting photos of my boys (obviously...so many...yikes!).
Beard made by: Lorien Koontz Huemoeller
Contact her by Facebook or Instagram (@lorien_koontz)
This was definitely no ordinary Christmas minisession! When Tommy told me ahead of time that he was planning to ask Erica to marry him in the middle of the session, I immediately became giddy! I was full of excitement with so many questions and plans for this to go perfectly, and it sure did! These images truly speak for themselves. They paint a picture of a true Christmas love story. Grab your tissues, it's going to be an emotional ride!
As I sat down to post this, I then realized that I had to write something, and then I realized there just is no way around crying! These photos were taken on Thanksgiving day with my family. We are happy, smiling, joking, laughing people, but behind these smiles, there is pain that we fought off all day long. Thank God we had each other. This was our first holiday without our Deddy. Deddy passed away September 14th of this year from a stroke while recovering from an initial stroke. It doesn't feel real. Like my sister, Rainey, said, he should have been lying on the couch with his blanket in his mouth or cooking wild turkey with Papa or talking "tough guy" baby talk to his grandson, Jericho.
We attended an eye organ donor ceremony this past weekend where we all went to the front of the crowd and talked about Deddy. I will say about the same thing that I said there while we all fought our tears. My son, Jericho Lee ("Mini-Lee" in the words of Deddy), was born about a month before Deddy's first stroke. All I can do now is look at him every single day, and it somehow makes it better for me, makes it better for my entire family. Jericho has no idea what he's done for his Granny, his Aunties, and his Mama.
These photos were literally taken just in front of Deddy's grave in the field in front of the house, and while some may find that kind of strange, we don't. We find it amazingly comforting knowing that he was right there with us.
Where do I even start talking about my love for this session? When we had our son, I decided to try out some newborn photography. I had done some shoots with babies before, but never a straight newborn shoot. I fell in love with the silence of my own sleeping child in his crib (http://photographybymariah.com/featuring-jericho-in-his-room/), and then I decided that I wanted to give this whole newborn photography a go. I immediately knew that lifestyle photography was it for me. I wanted to document the raw emotion of a family in their own environment and the REAL story of their new experience using just natural light. While I have an extreme respect for studio photography, and I do plan to do some down the road, it honestly, for me, just cannot match the organic experience of a real life love story.
How sweet and happy is little baby Cullen?! All you have to do is look at this little guy, and he cheeses that bright smile with those deep blue eyes that just make you melt! Cullen got his photos taken twice in one week and was such a big boy at his 8 month session as well as during his Christmas session! He is the youngest of three with a dedicated Mama who is just as sweet and personable as baby Cullen.
When Megan asked me to take her maternity photos, I was THRILLED! She is my cousin and lives next to some of my grandma's land, so this was awesome for me to shoot there! I take people there to shoot occasionally and ALWAYS like to take my own family photos there because it's just so special to my family. Her nursery is gorgeous, her family is gorgeous, and SHE is gorgeous! So happy to get to see them again and work with them to create these beautiful images.
Our little town in Virginia is home for the campus of the beautiful Averett University, formerly Averett College. When Samantha suggested we shoot here, I was up for the challenge! I had been on campus before, but wasn't familiar with a lot of the areas. We found more than I could ever imagine! Aubrey's granddaddy is an alumni of Averett, so we not only got to shoot awesome images, but we also got to hear a little bit about the history of the campus as well! I am thrilled to display these gorgeous photos. And that bike! Yes!
Claudia and Joseph are some of the most stunningly beautiful children that I have ever seen! Their mother, Frannie, and I were college roommates, and it was so wonderful to see her again and meet these adorable children. It's so crazy to think about how all of our lives have changed since the college days. Although we all had so much fun, we truly never realized how being mothers would completely transform our lives! From Thursday nights at Riley's hoping the nights would never end to Thursday nights just praying that you get to do absolutely nothing and sleep through the entire night! Frannie and Kevin, you did well! Your greatest achievements are just gorgeous!
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Does this family like to have fun or what? There is never a dull moment with this awesome bunch! I am truly in awe of the beautiful family that Bill and Pam have created. This family is loving, kind, and just plain FUN! Bill and Pam raised two amazingly caring girls who are now both teachers and a tough, kind-hearted son who is a Marine and has served overseas for our country. And now, they have two beautiful grandchildren! My heart was just melting the entire time I worked on these images!
The temperature was perfect. The sun was perfect. And those blue eyes were beyond perfection. I have known this little family for quite some time, and I promise you, they are just as sweet and cute as they look! Little Amelia Jane is so blessed to have such loving and fun parents. And can you believe that these images were shot in their backyard? Just gorgeous! These images alone tell such a beautiful love story.
Oh, how amazing this day was for the bride and groom, and for us as well! It was truly an honor to be Melanie and Jack's engagement and wedding photographer. It truly is a blessing to be able to document such an important event in the lives of two incredibly kind, laid back, and fun people! This day couldn't have been anymore perfect.
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