A few months ago, I received an email from Barbara asking if she could make him a new hat? With the thought of redemption, I eagerly replied “Absolutely”! We received the hat a few weeks later and it was just adorable — the colors were bright and fun while the shape reminded me of Peter Pan. Perfect for a little boy as imaginative and adventurous as our own! We can’t thank you enough for the delightful, one-of-a-kind hat, Barbara.

You can check out more of Barbara Kile’s whimiscal creations here.

Being that there is a great amount of distance, and often, time between trips, it is my goal to capture portraits of Elliott with family members while visiting.  I almost missed my opportunity this time around, but we were able to fit in a mini session right at the last second. I am so glad we did, just look at these two! Capturing moments like this makes my heart melt and I know that Elliott will appreciate these when he is older.

And while these photos were initially captured for Elliott as a visual reminder of his Nonnie, I was also gifted with beautiful portraits of my Mother. It’s been a long while since I’ve had her in front of my camera for anything more than a snapshot. It’s amazing how photogenic she is and I’m so excited to share these with my sisters!

Oh, and can I just say how in LOVE I am with this boy? I am over the moon about my little guy – he is perfection at its finest. I mean, this face is cuteness overload and his smile is ridiculous.

We also witnessed his first sugar high and all I can say is WHOA! It was pretty darn cute and gave us quite a chuckle as he bounced like a maniac on our bed, ran back and forth down the hallway roaring like a “monster”, and laughing uncontrollably. To wear down some of that energy, we played a little game of ball tossing in our hallway and it worked like a charm.

We hope everyone had as much fun as we did!

Details on Elliott’s costume:

Hat: Handmade (felt from Hobby Lobby)
Shirt: Children’s Place (girl’s section)
Pants: Old Navy
Boots: Old Navy (girl’s section)
Belt: Daddy’s old one that we cut down to his size
Basket: Hobby Lobby
Beard/Eyebrows: Handmade (craft fur from Hobby Lobby)

Currently, he is obsessed with choo-choo trains so we decided to make that his birthday party theme. And you know what Mama had to do, right? Have a choo-choo train photo shoot to use on his invitations! O.M.G…my cup runneth over!

Stay tuned for birthday party pictures!!

In a week’s time, we will be celebrating my son’s second birthday, and I thought, “wouldn’t it be great if I could make train cookies decorated with his party’s color scheme as a take away?” Yes, I’m a little overzealous at times (just ask my husband), but dangit, I really want to perfect this skill and this would be a great opportunity for some practice. Plus, train cookies? C’mon, the epitome of delectable cuteness.

I’m constantly looking for direction from two amazing bakers: Marian from Sweetopia and Callye of  Sweet Sugar Belle. Both are FAB-U-LOUS, very creative and I bow down to their their superb decorating skills. My hope is that with time, my cookie designs will be something to talk about, even if only within our four walls. A pastime I can share with my son during the holidays, a sweet tradition in the making.

I consider myself very lucky to have such beautiful & stylish little models (thank you Mom, Erin & Jessi!) and am thrilled that I have the opportunity to document their lives. Looking back at the progression of our shoots together is one of my favorite pastimes and I look forward to making many more.