Lifestyle Favorites of 2017

I have had the incredible privilege of photographing so many special events and memories for people this year! As I started pulling my favorites I realized I had to break it down into lifestyle favorites and bridal, wedding, and engagement favorites. There are just too many to pick from! I have gotten to photograph several births, siblings meeting for the first time, newborn snuggles, special announcements, and the sweetest families! I am so grateful for those who have continued to allow me to photograph their special memories and those who let me in for the first time! Honestly, it has been an incredible year and such a privilege for me!! I am so grateful, and I cannot wait to see what 2018 has in store for this little business! 

Baby Kittrell #2 Is............

Well, apparently my patience is not as great this time around! If we would have waited to find out what the gender of this baby was until our anatomy scan, it would have landed at 20 weeks (same as Evelyn).  Tuesday was my birthday, and I told my husband that I would love to find out what we were having! I am 16 weeks and the thought of waiting 4 more weeks didn't sound fun, but I was of course willing to do so. Well, he sweetly set it up for us to go get a little sneak and we were able to find out if Evelyn was getting a brother or a sister! Because we did a little video to announce that Evelyn would be joining our family, we thought we should do the same for this little one! We cannot wait to welcome this sweet baby in January! 

Crosby Persinger (Birth)

Long time...no post. Sorry for the absence friends! I have so many posts in my drafts that will be on display over the next days/weeks. I have tried so hard to edit more quickly and get images back to clients that it seems the blog has taken a backseat. What sweeter way to come back to the blog than to share the birth of a precious baby boy. :) 

As a photographer, I get to be present at so many precious moments. Family sessions are so sweet and chasing kiddos around is fun. I treasure getting to be a small part of the wedding day of so many dear couples. But, a birth....a birth is so intimate. I can't tell you what a privilege it is when someone asks me to be in the room during the birth of a baby. It is a true honor. 

Well, this dear friend has had me come to the births of her last two children. Sweet Annie also has had her last two children completely naturally. Now, if you ask Annie...she, in her humility, would claim that she has no idea how crazy she acted, and she would apologize for her behavior over and over. Well, I am here to tell you that she was the epitome of grace during Crosby's birth. She labored calmly. I knew the pain she was feeling and you can see it on her face. However, she also would laugh with the nurses and constantly say thank you to anyone who was trying to help and serve her. 

Annie had her sweet husband and sister in the room. Her sister is an amazing doula (Pure Grace Doula Services). They were both so attentive, knowing when to step in and when to back off. Natural labor is a funny thing. Women handle it all so differently, and you really have to know how to read them. I could go on and on about how amazing Annie did, and how precious that little bundle was when he was finally born! He is an angel!

Annie, you are a dear friend and I am so grateful that you have let me witness two of the most special days of your life. It is a sweet gift and privilege! Here are some photos and a video at the end documenting the day. 

Baby Hattie

This little girl was such an angel during her session. I have known Jonathan for several years, and it was so good to meet his sweet wife, Kristen, and of course their two precious children. Hattie honestly slept through almost her entire session....not to mention sleeping through daddy and big brother playing and wrestling! :) She was a dream! Also, can we talk about how amazing Kristen looks...and also this was her second natural birth...so obviously she is a rockstar! :) Thank you Kristen and Jonathan for letting me capture your sweet family of four!! Your babies are just beautiful!! 

Baby Wallace

I was so excited when Genny contacted me to take her baby boy's newborn photos. Genny and I did our student teaching together, and it was so much fun to catch up with her! Sweet Wallace was an absolute dream during his session. We moved him around, and all he needed was a little white noise to keep him happy! Also, let's talk about his parents.....seriously, hearing them talk about the first couple of weeks with Wallace was so sweet. They were so relaxed and didn't speak about the lack of sleep or crying in a negative way at all. They were taking the whole learning to be parents thing in stride, and it was so encouraging!! Josh and Genny, thank you so much for letting me capture your sweet family! Wallace is just the sweetest!! Enjoy every minute!

Favorites from 2016

I cannot adequately express my gratitude to all of my sweet clients in 2016. I have truly been so blessed by so many. As I was going through all of the many sessions, weddings, and special events I had the privilege of photographing this year, I felt so thankful. I had the opportunity to shoot countless families, lots of weddings, a few births, and so many other special memories. 

This was my first full year both working and being a mama. So many of my first weddings in 2016 I spent breaks in the back of my car pumping (haha). Many of you were kind enough to reschedule if my little one was sick. I cannot get over the grace that I was shown. 

Thank you so much to those of you who have allowed me to be a small part of your memories. Thank you to those who have come back year after year to let me take photos of your precious families. Thank you to those who let me be in the room as you gave birth. Thank you to my sweet couples who allowed me to be with you through your engagement and your wedding days. I am overwhelmed by how this little business has grown. 

To those of you that I get the privilege of serving in 2017, I am so excited!! Thank you for entrusting me to capture  your most priceless memories! 

Enjoy a few of my favorites from this year......It was tough to narrow it down! :) 

Welcoming Baby Ellie

The Waite family is so precious! They are dear friends of ours, and I had the privilege of documenting the first year of that curly-headed big sister, so I was thrilled I got to take photos as they welcomed Baby Ellie to the family. Y'all, this little girl is almost 6 months old, so clearly I am a little behind on blogging. But, I loved taking these so much and just had to share! Aren't they a beautiful family? Oh, and this was just a week after having Ellie....how amazing does Caitlyn look?!? Pretty mama! 

Baby Rowan

Photos of this little boy are long overdue! I got to take his big brothers newborn photos a couple of years ago, so I was super excited to find out Whitney was expecting another baby boy! He was so perfect during his newborn shoot. He barely made a peep! Big brother was super sweet as well! I am so grateful when people allow me to take photos as their families grow! It's such an honor! He is the perfect addition to their sweet family!

Favorites (Fall Sessions)

It has been such a busy 2016 already, and the end of 2015 was crazy as well. I have gotten so far behind with adding posts to the blog, particularly sharing all of my photography. I still plan to go back and share my other weddings from the fall as well as several engagement and bridal sessions. However, I wanted to share some favorites from my other fall sessions. Ideally, each of these would get their own individual blog post, but alas...life. I am going to try and do better with blogging! :) 

It was SO hard to narrow down favorites from this fall! These sessions were so fun! It is exciting to have returning clients, and get to watch families grow and kiddos get bigger! I also had several new clients, and enjoyed meeting them as well! I am so grateful for the sweet families that I get to shoot! It is truly such a blessing!