I don’t really want to say that anyone had a great pandemic, but Shannon and Jason came as close as it gets when they purchased their amazing downtown Raleigh condo and adopted their sweet pup Frasier. Their patio view is just incredible and they’re within walking distance to everything, but maybe the icing on the cake is that they can hear all of the Red Hat concerts and have the best seat for fireworks. BUT if they didn’t want to hang out on their own patio, they can also go up to their condo building’s patio, which is equally incredible. They enjoy everything that the city has to offer and love walking to restaurants and around the little neighborhoods downtown. And the best part is that Frasier enjoys every bit of this. Frasier is their tiny pup who is SO adorable and very smol and sweet. Frasier is obsessed with Shannon and Jason. He follows them everywhere. He gives them non-stop adoring stares. He panicked for the two seconds that they went into a room without him. He climbs on top of them and looks super pleased with himself. Frasier is living his absolute best life, and so are Shannon and Jason. I’m so happy for them and their newfound home in the city! Thank you guys for having me out to documenting your life and love.
You guys remember Erika and Emmanuel. I’m not sure they need an introduction at all despite my two year hiatus. I photographed the incredible Felix a couple of times as well before my break. Last time I photographed him he was a little toddler. This time he was 3 (almost 4) going on 33-34. I pulled into the driveway and he burst out of the house, “Hi, I’m Fe. My mom told me all about you.” I asked him if he remembered the last time I photographed him, which received the response of “Nope! Do you want to see my skeleton?” Amazing. I adore him. He is very polite and hilarious and I know it looks like I stopped him every two seconds and asked him to smile for the camera, but I didn’t – that’s just Fe. He loves cameras and he knows he’s cute. It’s a dangerous combination. He also loves Halloween and showed me many skeletons, tombstones, and also his cat mask. He also showed me his actual cats and his dog and his chickens and his trampoline. During all this he asked if I wanted ice cream and what flavor. I told him vanilla with sprinkles but he said, “No, I think you want chocolate chip” and my order was abruptly changed. He is definitely a gifted young kid who will do incredible things and look insanely fashionable as he does them (just like his parents). Or he’s an alien. At one point he did discuss how “the humans” make chocolate milk… like he himself is not a human but rather separate from the humans… and Emmanuel told me that he does this sometimes. I think this makes me love him even more.
I went to Corey and Joe’s house to photograph the arrival of their newborn baby girl Harper, and arrived to find an elated set of parents, one very beautiful girl, and two VERY EXCITED DOGGOS! Corey told me that she’s always wanted to be a mother and it shows! She was surprisingly awake and looking fabulous and I think she was running on 100% excitement. And AS SHE SHOULD BE because Harper is a little bundle of adorable joy. She was a trooper through the entire session and multiple costume changes, and also gets along well with her two doggo siblings, Sandy and Bailey. Harper is the proud owner of a little dreamboat of a nursery – completely with sweet wooden toy camera! – that her parents put together for her, as well a series of what I’ve determined to be extremely cute baby clothes (there were too many that I wanted to put her in, and while we didn’t get to all of them, we DID get to the fox pants, thank goodness). Joe was also super excited to have a baby girl, and together him and Corey make a great couple and great parents (Joe was super sweet to make sure Corey was eating during the session, but then I promptly took her breakfast and put it in the closet, sorry). Can’t wait to see what adventures await Harper, and what a fierce little photographer she may become.
