I really like this next picture because a) Baby G’s eyes are such an amazing blue and b) Mom’s smile radiates such complete love.  Looking at this photo reminds me of the sweet smell of my baby’s skin.

Here’s our little munchkin with Dad.  She’s such a little sweet potato!

I really do have a thing for baby skin.  There’s something about the softness and the plumpness…like a perfect peach.  I so treasure moments when I’m able to capture a naked baby in all their fresh-skinned glory.

My goodness!  What fantastic, sparkly eyes you have, my dear!

I love this next image.  The look she’s giving is questioning and a bit pensive, and at the same time, so soulful and pretty.

We started our photo session with a brainstorming session about photos that the family was hoping to capture.  One of the ones they were looking for was a silhouette.  I’ve got to say that I love when my clients share some inspiration for our sessions.  It gets the creative juices flowing.  And what a sweet family silhouette we got!

Thanks so much for a wonderful morning, guys!  I loved meeting you all, and I smile every time I see Miss G’s cute tongue:)

I saw that they are doing it again this winter, so for a little fun in Madison on a winter morning, head over to the Great Dane on February 4 & 18 and March 3.  Maybe I’ll see you there!

Here’s an excerpt from my personal blog that I wrote last year after going to the party.

~ ~ ~ ~

March 15, 2011 – Bryan had taken Sylvia once before, but this was my first time going, and it really was like a crazy disco party…for the 2-8 year old set.  There was loud music, a bubble machine, a magician, and Tami, our favorite face painter from Funny Faces Family Entertainment.  Between that and the much-beloved “dino nuggets” and mac & cheese, Andrew and Sylvie were in 7th heaven.

I have an album of pics from the event.  Here’s a few favs.

Andrew was a dancing man.  Off  the wall!  His hair was full of bubbles when he took a break:)

Sylv had fun too:)

Here’s lovely Tami hard at work painting kids.

The disco dance floor.

We waited in line to get Andrew and Sylvie’s faces painted.  Here’s some of the pretty paint pallet.

Sylvia asked for rainbow flowers.

And Andrew requested a rainbow right across his forehead.

Here’s Dad admiring his new artwork.

A view from the balcony.

I’ll leave you with the view from behind the bubble machine.  What a great event!  We’ll have to try to go again if they do it next winter!

They have such a cozy, loving home, and it was so much fun to spend some time together, documenting some moments in their lives.

This guy is such a handsome man.  I would have liked to snuggle him if I could have caught him.

Just loving the sibling love.

With those curls and those eyes, I think the world is going to be pretty defenseless when this little miss comes calling.

After some time, we headed out to the yard for a little fresh air and play time.

I don’t know what it is about fuzzy, sun-flared photos, but sometimes I just love them the best.  Maybe it’s because it almost feels like I’m looking through a memory.

Our little guy was full of energy, and when we got outside and let him run it out, he was so much fun!

This little sweet girl just captured my heart.   What a wonderful spirit she has about her!

Thanks, guys, for inviting me to photograph your family!  I really had fun!

xoxo

Althea

Take a look at these sweet folks below, and I think you’ll agree that our tiny Mr. N is wrapped up with love.

Those tiny heads fit so nicely in Dad’s hands.  It must feel good to be so cradled and safe.

So snuggled up!  This little guy was born big – over 9 lbs and 21 inches long.

Here’s my favorite.  I just love those lips!

Curled up sleeper.

Here’s the sweet new family.  Those first days witha  new baby are exhausting…you two are doing great!

Lots of love to you!

~Althea

Here’s Miss S sporting a stellar pink tutu.  Her mama found an adorable shirt and hair clip to match.  LOVE it!  My own little Sylvie would heartily approve.

Check out these eyes.  Blue as fresh blueberries, and in black and white, they just sparkle.

This sweetie little girl is just learning how to walk, and she looked so cute cruising along with a supporting hand (or two) from Dad.  Big brother Mr. E is handsome and sweet as a caramel.  He taught me all about the cars from Cars 2, and I’d love to snuggle down with him and a good story.  This young man is someone I want to know in 20 years.  I sense that he’ll be doing some pretty neat things in his life.

We headed down to the Farmer’s Market and capitol square for part II of our session.  Love this guy’s bumble bee back pack.  And his orange jacket too.  I have kinda a thing for little boys in orange jackets:)

Amanda, I thought you’d be relieved to know that amidst all the wiggling, running, and crawling, we did get at least one (there’s more!) cute family photo.

It was such an honor to photograph your family today.  Hope you enjoyed your sneak peek, and stay tuned!

Love,

Althea

Callie and Nate are getting married in June, 2012, and we had a lovely time exploring some great locations for their engagement session.

Sometimes, you just know it’s right.  That’s what happened with these two.  They met in an ice arena in Grand Forks, North Dakota. He was working down on the ice, she was an event manager at the arena.  Weeks after they they met, he moved to a different state.  So began a long-distance relationship.  Two years later, Callie moved to Madison, and this summer amid the summer fireworks on the shore of Lake Mendota, he proposed.  They’re finally together, and they’re making lovely plans for their wedding next summer.

Callie and Nate live near this cool railroad, and we had some fun exploring the field and car in the autumn sunshine.

Love this  – autumn sunshine, tall grasses, and people in love.

We found some milkweed pods, and these two had fun sending the fluffy seeds off in the soft autumn air.

The light in the evening is amazing.  So are these two good looking people.  Callie, you are working it!

Callie is a super-organized bride.  I’m so impressed with all the details she’s organized at this point.  Mostly, though, she and Nate seem to be really enjoying being together and planning their future together.

Looking out over Lake Monona.  So glad I didn’t take another step backwards:)

They both went to school at the University of North Dakota, and Nate came to Wisconsin to work with the Badger hockey team.  Callie followed, however, still bleeds green:)

My favorite part of photo sessions is capturing images that tell a story about the way that people love each other  Callie, I think he likes you.  And you look pretty pleased with him too:)

Love the fall color and the happiness that you two are radiating!

Down on State Street.  This image looks to me like it could be in Paris.  Glowing urban street scene.

This one might be my favorite image of the evening.  Callie and Nate, you’re both so relaxed and comfortable.  Callie, I get to see your great carpe diem Tom’s shoes in this picture, which makes me love it all the more:)

I can’t look at this one without smiling.  Thanks you two, for a wonderful evening.  I can’t wait for your wedding!

‘

Love,

Althea

This afternoon, I had the great pleasure of photographing a beautiful family of four.  I’ve spent a lot of time this summer photographing couples and newborns and high school seniors.  It’s a real treat to turn my camera toward little kids, with all their energy and charisma and plans-of-their-own.

We couldn’t have gotten a more beautiful fall day.  October – can you believe it’s October?!  It’s got to be my favorite month of the whole year.

This little guy has such a radiant smile.  He’d be doing his thing, running around; and then when he turned his beautiful eyes to me and laughed…it was like the sun coming out!

I love using my camera to capture the connections between people who love each other.  There’s something about the way people touch or lean in to each other that speaks so clearly about how they feel about each other.

Our little ones grow up so very fast. People keep telling me that about my own, and I can see that it’s true. Looking at this sweet girl, I can see the little one she’s been and the young lady she’s growing to be.  I love having the opportunity to help families stop time for a moment…and then to fill their home with images that froze time.

Kids can be pretty rowdy!  And they often enjoy a photo session the most when they get to rough-house with mom and dad.

Here’s the lovely mama of this loving crew and a hand-holding photo of mom and dad.  There’s little I like more than loving hands:)

Here’s a collage showing some of the fun times we shared.

Thanks, guys, for a great afternoon!  Hope you enjoyed your sneak peek!

Sometimes getting siblings pictures can be a huge challenge, but their mom has these boys photo-friendly:)

This dad has a house full of fun.  The way these boys snuggled together was really precious to watch.

Look at those eyes.  Love it!

I snuck off with each boy for a few portrait shots.  Loved how each of their personalities came through so brightly in just a few moments.

This little guy is a heart-breaker.  With his sweet eyes and soft little curls at the nape of his neck…  I loved getting to spend some time getting to know him.

Had to end with a few bare foot images from these brothers.

Thanks, guys, for inviting me to join you for a nice morning of fun and photography.  Hope you enjoyed the sneak peek!

We had a good time scouting out some fun locations.  And the light was amazing!

I think this is my favorite portrait.  Just makes me smile to look at.

Joe plays lacrosse, so we headed down to a park to get some images of him in his jersey.

His jersey is #22, and he has a new XXII on his arm that I noticed as well.

We finished up at the beach on a beautiful evening.  I just love Madison this time of year.  And the light right around sunset is so warm…it wraps around everything and just makes people glow.

Thanks, Joe, for picking me as your photographer.  I hope you love this sneak peek, stay tuned for your gallery soon!

To give you more information on this fundraiser and on the tremendous things my friend Melissa is doing, check out her blog post that I’ve posted below.

Auction Fundraiser for Mikayla’s Grace and October 15th Event

I wanted to share this here for those of you that don’t follow our Facebook Page for our non-profit Mikayla’s Grace.  We are holding an online auction that starts today, 8/21, until this Thursday, 8/25.  All of the proceeds will go towards hosting the first ever event in our area for October 15th to honor Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness day.  The event was the inspiration of Alissa (Kennedy Kate’s mama) and then our non-profit jumped on board to support it.  It is called Forever in Our Hearts Remembrance day, and will be a wonderful event for local parents to remember their babies.  We also have a few options to involve babyloss parents who would like to support the event but are unable to attend that day.  You can visit the Eventbrite site for more details, but I do plan to do a post about the Memory Butterflies soon!  Any proceeds from the event itself will also go directly back to the non-profit to help provide more NICU care packages and Angel memory boxes to hospitals.  We are hoping to reach both of these goals and if we exceed those goals be able to start expanding our services to include support for early losses as well.  There are over 200 items up for bid, many that are related to infant loss, so I hope you’ll come over and check it out.  You can start bidding now and bids will continue through this Thursday, August 25, at 10 pm Central Standard time.  Thank you for your support and I hope you enjoy bidding on the amazing items up for bid.  Rules for bidding are posted on the second page of the auction album and in this note.  Feel free to share on your blog or Facebook pages as well!