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!

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.

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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Ellie’s Newborn Session: Part II

And, they’re back! Mama Carly, Baby Ellie and I had so much fun doing Ellie’s Newborn Shoot that we decided to extend their session so Daddy could join in on the fun. We met at Twin Lakes Park in Greensburg, Pennsylvania so we could capture a few photos of this adorable Trio!

Fall was really starting to kick in and you could feel the temperature dropping as we got closer to sunset so we decided to keep this shoot sweet and simple. I love shooting Newborns outside in the natural light because every little wrinkle and dimple is so perfectly exaggerated during that golden hour but I had no intentions of letting Baby Ellie get a cold. I assured first time parents, Carly and Jesse, that we would make it quick!

Because Mommy and Baby had a chance to do a full on photo shoot together already, I wanted to make sure got some photos of Daddy and his little lady. After snagging a few Family Portraits, I told Mama to hand Baby Girl over to Dad!

So he of course grabbed her up like a football and began snuggling his newest little nugget. Ellie was as happy as a clam cozied up to her Daddy!

Did someone say Daddy’s Girl? Just look at the way she is looking at her Papa Bear!

But as cute as Daddy is with his little girl, my all time favorite images from this set are the ones of these three together! Jesse and Carly are naturals. You can tell that they are over the moon with joy and Ellie seems all too pleased to be along for the ride.

This session was so fun and so easy. I had these 3 in and out of the park in less than 20 minutes! I had the best time getting to hang out with this adorable trio and I look forward to seeing them again! Congratulations Jesse & Carly!

 

Garden Party with the Foley Sisters

Hey guys! I am just getting back from another whirlwind vacation home to the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania and I am so excited to share a few sneak peeks of the Portrait Sessions that I crammed in during my visit. My first session was a long overdue play date with my younger cousins, Kaylee and Ryan! Their Momma is my first cousin and we have been trying to work her family into my books for months now!

We decided to meet at one of our family’s favorite restaurants, Rizzo’s Malabar Inn. In fact, Russell and I had our Rehearsal Dinner here. Settled into the quaint, country farming community of Crabtree, Rizzo’s has grown and evolved over the last 75 years from a small sub shop during the coal mining days into a fine-dining establishment with a massive banquet hall and outdoor patio!

After initialing launching Bar Rizzi, the company chose to adapt the space to fit the needs of their clientele. They turned the Bar into a Banquet Hall. Weddings, company meetings, baby showers and many other events have graced the adjacent ballrooms but the staff still felt like something was missing. Just this year, Rizzo’s chose to add on an outdoor ceremony site, a gorgeous water feature and they even added a Fireworks Package for those who book the space.

Because these little girls have a Daddy with a major hookup at Rizzo’s (He’s one of the longtime chefs!), we were able to sneak out onto the property and use this location as our shoot site! I must say, Rizzo’s has done a fantastic job with the space! The pergola is simply decorated with Boston Ferns and the water feature was exquisitely designed making this site a perfect backdrop!

We spent the first half of the morning frolicking through the freshly planted flowers and practicing our best dance moves! Kaylee was her usual self; quiet, reserved yet silly and polite at the same time. From the time that she was little, she was always good at taking direction and this shoot would be no exception. She patiently waited for instruction and followed them meticulously. You could tell that she has come into herself over the years. She knew which side was her “best” side and which smile was her “best” smile. She has become quite the little lady and I am so proud of her for being so responsible all the while maintaining her childlike wonder!

Ryan, on the other hand, is Kaylee’s opposite. She is crazy and wild and has a short attention span. I guess that’s the way it goes with sisters. Ryan is constantly moving. Whether she is exploring a new place or telling a story, there are always a lot of ideas running through her little mind. She told me all about her summer plans and how NOT excited she was to go back to school in the fall.  Ryan is a handful, in the best of ways. Even when she was a baby, she could find a way to keep the whole family in stitches. We are kindred spirits in that sense and I am so happy to see that someone else on the Miller side of the family, besides me, got the “wildchild” gene.

We ended our shoot by jumping in the water. I had promised them in the beginning that if they were good, I would let them get dirty and play in the water feature. Both girls were so excited when I told them it was time to make “Martha Washington” hair! They built houses with the rocks they found in the riverbed and even tried to climb into the massive water bowls at the base of the fountain. We ended the shoot by drying them off and giving them both their first photography lesson. I let each of them have a turn at taking a few photos! I loved getting to spend some time with my baby cousins and I look forward to seeing them every time I come back to visit!

For more information on this location or how to book your next event at Rizzo’s, head to www.rizzosmalabarinn.com. And for information on how to book your Portrait Session or to learn about our Pennsylvania Travel Dates, shoot me an email at therustienailhead@gmail.com.