Milestone Session: Jessy, Jacey & Kessa

These girls are no strangers to the Blog. In fact, I have been photographing Kessa since shortly after she born! You can check out her adorable Newborn Session here. It’s hard to believe that this little baby is already TWO YEARS OLD! So, today we’re gonna put a little spotlight on one of my littlest loves!

These girls are always so easy because they are down for whatever. We’ve hiked miles into the woods for more than one session and this would be no exception. This time, our friend, Jamie at Lonigro Photography, invited us to a farm in Marguerite, Pennsylvania for a day of smoke bombs, rusty old cars and wheat fields for days! It was a dream come true shoot and you are going to get an inside look at this awesome Two-Parter.

Kessa, was…well, two. She was all over the place and making just the funniest faces throughout the whole shoot. She is such a sweet baby and you can tell that she has her Mama’s adventurous spirit. She really cracks me up.

AND THOSE CURLS!! Her Mama has notorious long locks and it looks like her baby girl is going to take after Jess. Jacey definitely has her Daddy’s hair so I’m pleased as punch to see those baby ringlets sticking around for this little munchkin. She’s like Jess’s mini-me!

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One of the greatest joys in my life is to have a front seat to these girls’ growing up. Jacey has taken on being the best big sister possible and it is amazing to see. She loves her baby sister so much and I am still in awe of how big Jace has gotten since the last time I was home. Every time I come back, I make it a point to put in some solid quality time with these girls. I make sure to listen to Jace and all her wild stories about school and Kessa. I don’t want to miss a thing.

If you didn’t know, I got to be one of the first people to meet Jacey. Right after this sweet girl came into the world, I got to shower her with a ton of hugs and happy tears. Heck, my best friend just had her first baby. I was bawling, big, fat sopping wet tears filled with so much love for this little girl. I could not be more proud of the little lady Jace is becoming!

After a quick outfit change, we made our way to the big red barn for a bunch of shots near the silos. Tell me Kessa is not the cutest thing with her little pink hat!

We had been expecting rain all day so Jaime and I had brought along umbrellas. Fortunately for us, it didn’t rain but thank goodness we brought the umbrella because these girls were just too cute carrying them around. Kess could barely hold it up!

Around this time, Kessa was pretty much over the shoot. We had played on the farm for hours. So as Jessy got Kessa ready to go, we took Jacey out for some fun with the smoke bombs. The girls were so excited and it made the shoot so much more fun once we pulled the caps. We were all running around with them giggling at one point. In fact, watching Jessy run through the field had me doubled over. She just looked so dang happy.

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It was long day. Hence the photo above. But, it was the best day. We had the absolute best time munching on Red Brick pizza and enjoying the last few warm moments of fall. Thank you again to Jamie soon–to-be Lonigro for allowing us to come shoot with you for the day. We cannot wait to do it again! To check out another Shoot with the Ray Girls, head here. 

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Harper’s 3rd Birthday Portraits

Wow!! I cannot believe this kiddo is 3 YEARS OLD already. Harper Lee was one of my very first clients. He was just about to turn one when I started this business so he actually became the first baby to make the blog. I think it is very fitting that we keep up with the tradition of Birthday Pics!

His first birthday pictures took place at a Baseball Park in Keller, Texas. Looking all dapper in his Rangers gear, we spent the afternoon giggling over a box of Cracker Jacks! To check out that 1st Birthday Session, head here.

The next year, we headed to a large mural wall in downtown Keller. With a bag of peanut M&M’s in tow, we set up in front of a Dr Pepper advertisement and then headed to a field nearby to watch the sunset and practice our Harry Potter spells! This session is still hands-down one of my all-time favorite shoots just because Harper had such a good time. That, and listening to a 2 year old try to yell “Expeliarmus” always makes for a good laugh. That shoot and all the #bts are on Harper’s 2nd Birthday Shoot Spotlight. HARPER3YR-16This year, we jumped in the car with no plan whatsoever and decided that for Harper’s 3rd birthday pictures, if we saw a fun spot to play, we would pull over. Our first stop was in North Richland Hills near a small pond located just outside a community neighborhood. Harper had packed his fishing pole in his back pack and I had the camera ready just in case this little guy happened to catch anything interesting.

After playing in the pond for a little while, we worked our way back to a nearby flood plain. This location would be perfect to let Harper play with his jets and rockets. He spent the next ten minutes playing “BLASTOFF!!”, a game comprised of throwing the jets near, but not quite at, the camera.

More than anything, I found myself in awe of his vocabulary. Though he has always been a vocal little guy, none of it had made much sense until recently. It was like out of nowhere, his jibberish turned into a full blown conversation. He was telling me all about his toys and telling Mama, Tiffany, how much he loved her. Harper, quite literally, left me speechless.

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His Mama and I became fast friends after a short stint at a flower shop here in Texas. I knew right away that I liked her. Tiffany’s passion and zest for chasing life’s dreams are inspiring. She is always the first one to jump on board one of my crazy travel “work” trips and she has made this entrepreneurship journey such a fun experience. Did I mention she is a total boss babe? A few years ago, she started her own floral design business, Wanderlust Florals. Her unique vision creates the most amazing arrangements for weddings, anniversaries, you name it. If it involves flowers, this girl is in. Follow along on her Instagram (@wanderlustflorals) for all the #bts of her creative work.

And because of our crazy journey together, I have ended up with the most unexpected best friend ever in Texas. Gosh, am I thankful for this girl and more importantly her little dude too. Harper is like my favorite little buddy here. Problem being, these guys just moved to Florida and I am definitely missing this sweet girl’s smile!

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But, it is looking like I may have to head to the beach for his 4th Birthday pics and that is nothing to complain about! Or maybe…dare I say…the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Don’t even get me started.

Seriously though, I miss these nuggets so bad but I can’t even begin to express the amount of joy I am sending her way as she tackles this new adventure. Best of luck to you sweet girl and make sure HarpDog remembers his Nina. We’ll need a FaceTime sooner rather than later! Happiest of Birthdays to this blue eyed baby boy! I hope 3 is your best year yet little man!

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To check out Tiffany’s latest floral design work, remember to follow along on her Instagram. While you’re at it, head over to @therustienail for our Travel Updates, Mini Session Specials and Fall Portrait Session Availability!