Sara+Sam+Julian // A Holly Springs Family Session

I last photographed Sara and Sam back in May of 2015! So much has changed for them since then: different jobs, a different house, and now they have a darling son named Julian. The things that have not changed are Sara’s love for cats, Sam’s love for board games, and that both of them are still two of the nicest people in the world. Julian is busy keeping them on their toes: adorably yet intentionally dropping sweet potato on their beautiful kitchen rug juuuust off his plastic mat where it would be okay if food landed, making them drive him around in his sweet orange convertible race car wagon thing that inexplicably yet awesomely makes engine revving noises when you push the horn, and enjoying listening to his parents read him books about role-playing games. He’s a fast kid – on the verge of deciding whether he wants to walk or crawl everywhere but is fast at both, and clearly a cat lover at a very young age. Cats Biscuit and Miss Poofy (technically titled Lady Esmeralda von Poofington) made appearances: Miss Poofy living up to her dramatic name by suddenly jumping up and walking on the piano and then lounging on the piano bench. And we took some updated headshots of Sara while we were at it – she has a gorgeous new office where she works on astrology. It was so nice to see these guys again and to photograph their clearly very adorable and spunky young son! Also their cats… obviously.

Jo+Brad+Laurel+Sam+Frank // A Raleigh Family Session

Ya’ll know these guys so they don’t really need any introduction, but we will say that meet a lot of people on this job, but Jo, Brad, Laurel, and Sam are some of our favorites. They’ve kept in touch with us and invite us to their lake house and cook us dinner and let us play with their french bulldog and send us text messages when Carrie Fisher dies. We love them, and they are near and dear to our hearts. We photographed them last year with Frank, their newly adopted French Bulldog who has become, perhaps, the most babied and spoiled of the family and is possibly the favorite child (I know Laurel and Sam won’t be offended by this statement but will likely agree with me, so I feel like it’s fine to put that out there). They LOVE him, and how could you not, given that face!? And lucky for Frank, he was adopted into a family who took their adoption of him seriously, and so they are doing everything they can to get Frank back on a path to health and wellness after some pretty devastating news. Frank was diagnosed with Granulomatous Meningoencephalitis. Essentially, it’s an autoimmune disease brought on by a bad reaction to a vaccination. He’s had seizures and pneumonia, as well as other significant reactions to the disease and the drugs used to treat it. Currently, he is doing quite well on chemo and is a very strong, brave little pup. He is on the upswing and his family is taking great care of him in conjuncture with the NC State Veterinary Hospital Neurology Team.

So this year – we did their family pictures at the arboretum, but Frank was recovering at this current juncture from a recent hospital stay, so he was only able to join us for half of the pictures. He has since made significant strides and we are so happy for him! He is still sporting his veterinary hospital haircut in these pictures but also sporting a cool French t-shirt to represent his heritage. We’re so glad that Frank has this wonderful family in his life, and WE’RE so happy to have this wonderful family in OUR lives. Sam and Laurel remain two of our most favorite children, and they just keep getting funnier and more amazing as they get older. Probably because they have some pretty great parents whom we adore. Happy to photograph this family once again!

Brandrew Have A Baby

Pennsylvania’s very own Brandrew is back on the blog! Well, Ohio’s very own I guess. Brandrew (Brandy and Andrew, respectively, although I’ve given up trying to call either one of them by their correct names because for whatever reason my brain has decided to run the two permanently together) used to live in Pennsylvania, but have since moved to Ohio for Andrew’s job. During the session at Andrew’s parents’ house in Pennsylvania, we had a conversation that went like this (Brandy and I went to high school together):

Me: Brandy, I miss youuuu!
Brandy: I knowww, I miss you too! I wish you still lived here.
Me: But Brandy, you don’t even live here.
Brandy: … (really sad face)… I know. :(

:) I don’t normally do maternity sessions, but Geoff and I shot Brandrew’s engagement and their wedding, and instead of a traditional maternity shoot, they really just wanted pictures of the two of them and their pup Cody while Brandy just happened to be pregnant. Cody likes to growl at anyone who comes near Brandy now, but I quickly won him over by talking to him about squirrels and chipmunks, and then we were best friends. Brandy and Andrew are having a baby girl, named Eliza, in March. I’ll then have to think of another name combination. Maybe Brandriza. Or Ebrandrew. I’ll think about it.