Remember this little darling?

There was a photo from his newborn session where he was wearing a hat that I had purchased on Etsy (of course) with the cross and bones sign (typical pirate sign, right?) on it and he had just one eye open. haha It was perfect! Well, that photo kind of set the “theme” of his first year. And it is perfect that the Walden family LOVES to be in the water so naturally, we headed out to the beautiful Torch Lake for some of his one year pictures!

Always a pleasure being around you Stephanie, Scott and Silas! Thank you for letting us watch Silas grow into a handsome and hilarious little toddler!

We love you!

Enjoy your sneak peek!

xoxo

Melinda Ann

He might have fallen in a few times, but didn’t bug him one bit!

Pirate Silas!

This picture cracks me up!!! He wasn’t sad, just making one of his many faces!

you sweet little farm boy!!!!

Mommy doesn’t really like this face but I LOVE it!!!!!!

His one year pics won’t happen till this weekend but I couldn’t help share some of the cake pictures from his big ONE YEAR DINOSAUR party!!!

You’re fabulous little boy and we love you much!

xoxo

Melinda Ann

*Silas’s daddy made this awesome Dino cake and didn’t use any kind of instructions. Just used his creative eye!

He LOVED looking at his cake! Once he realized those little things on top were edible, he went for one while mommy removed all the others….

And then mommy removed the one from his mouth (choking reasons) and Silas wasn’t too happy. :*)

Aww!!! Check out more pictures right here!

Just a very quick post….

I’m often asked for tips on how to capture kids in a natural way.

“How do I get my kids to pay attention?”

“How do I get them to smile naturally without saying cheese?”

It doesn’t have to do with how expensive the camera equipment is. Or how you edit a photo in photoshop. It is all in your actions as the photographer. And if you ask a lot of the parents that I photograph for they would probably say something along the lines of, “YOU ACT LIKE AN ABSOLUTE FOOL AND NEVER THINK TWICE!” haha Okay they may not say THAT but I bet they would agree.

This post also goes hand in hand with, “my son/daughter is very hard to capture so good luck.”  All kids are different! You have to change your style up from kid to kid. Sometimes you only have to say their name to get them to look but other children you have to go above and beyond and act as if you’re a kid yourself. Which is NOT hard for me at all.

Here is Ronin, he rocks! He is the kid that will make you WORK for a picture! I LOVE kids like him!
He had found a stick around our area and wanted to hold on to it during photos, completely fine. But that darn stick was then a wand, a symphony baton and at one point I think a sword. The wand, baton and sword were making it hard for me to get Ronin’s eyes looking at me & Mark (aka camera).

Then the stick broke the moment he bent it across his legs (see above)… so I put one half in my mouth and barked like a dog….

It’s always worth it.

The sweetest little reason why:

*I’ve fallen off the face of the earth the past 11 weeks.

*Driving to Martha’s Vineyard by myself was a bad idea. haha

*It takes me a few days to reply to comments, emails and phone calls.

*I start to tear up when Disney commercials come on.

*Between narcolepsy, work, the house and Leighton, I don’t look my best.

*Why your sneak peek is usually a day or two late - MAJOR apologies!

But I wouldn’t have it any other way sweet little baby. Well…. I probably wouldn’t drive to the Vineyard again.

We’re pretty excited for February 8th to come around! I think it’s another girl!

xoxo
Melinda Ann

If you follow me on facebook then you may have noticed I’m a big fan of CourtneyCourtney, (otherwise known as a simple CC) her items are all VERY original! VERY! There is not a single CC item that is reproduced! But that’s another post.

This post is about the durability and craftsmanship of each CC item. I thought for sure Leighton was going to ruin her newest CC dress when we were outside for a mini shoot. Now that she is walking there is not stopping where she goes. She LOVES being outdoors and doesn’t walk but RUNS when we get out there.

AND attempts to climb things…. VERY dirty things. :-D 

BUT WHO CARES!!! We’re having fun! Notice the dirt covering the front…

Getting her CC nice and dirty, really testing the durability!

This is how Leighton pays assistants.

Okay enough SUPER cuteness from my DD, back to the point… all CC ends are served for durability! I love this! My mom taught me that, “Serging is important in durability; make sure you get what you’re paying for!” Well, I’m sure from the photos above you can see that we have given our latest and greatest CC dress a good durable test! I like how Courtney makes sure to have all the seams align. And they align so perfectly!!! Another thing my mom taught me about good, quality craftsmanship.

So THANK YOU Courtney for making such beautiful, durable clothes for sweet little girls!!!
WE LOVE COURTNEYCOURTNEY!!!! and we LOVE the new ruffles!

I had the pleasure of capturing Mr. Braylon’s One Year Birthday Party!
The weather was a little iffy the weekend of Mother’s Day but the day of his party (and actual birthday) the sun was in full force! It couldn’t have been a better day to celebrate turning one. There was a lot of great people who came to celebrate with the sweet Green family. Leighton would have LOVED to be there but there was no way I could juggle a toddler and work. haha

Enjoy your sneak peek Green Family!
WE LOVE YOU!

xoxo

Melinda Ann

Lot’s of fun things for all the kiddies!

An absolute crazy amount of gifts! Sarah and Justin - Make sure to put our gift to use this summer…. UP NORTH though!

I love the family shots!

Such a sweet but very tired boy!

The moment he did this everyone said “Awe!”

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.”- Mary Anne Radmacher

The quote above is something I picked up from a mom of multiples.

I wasn’t sure how to sum up my weekend with the Frenznick family for this blogpost. Do I talk about how amazed I am at the amount of patience Jeremy and Sarah both have? And how they are a great team and co-parent like it is nobody’s business? Maybe I should talk about how they have done a fabulous job raising well behaved two year triplets. Ah, I could also mention that it was so heartwarming to see that at the end of a long day with their kiddos, they still have lot’s of hugs, kisses and smiles on hand.

I had a FABULOUS time and I hope you did too! You’re AMAZING parents! Those three little miracles are very blessed to have parents like you.

This sneak peek is not even finished but I have to head to a shoot! Enjoy the sneak peek of your sneak peek!
XOXO
Melinda Ann

A big THANK YOU to the Hoxie Family for busting out some awesome tractors for the kids!!! Thank GOODNESS they had three!

AVERY

TYLER

ASHLYN aka pipsqueak

Family photo take 1,2 & 3… these were all within 1 or 2 photos of each other. Please take note as to who is missing first. haha

NO WORRIES! We have professional triplet wranglers with us. Tyler was the first one back this time.

It happened again not long after…

Attempt #225 - Please take note, again, as to who takes off first.

Silly little boy! The photos leading up to that moment are hilarious, he is standing/dancing everywhere BUT near his family.

FAVORITE!

And now some beach photos. Jeremy & Sarah enjoyed some quiet one on one time before we let the kiddies join us.

LOT’S of cute kissing pics. LOVE LOVE LOVE these photos.

UPDATE: ALL THREE SPECIALS HAVE BEEN TAKEN!

Well, this is a few days behind but life as a mother means lot’s of things get left behind…just not your kids! Unless you’re the mom who has 15 kids and left one in Walmart! WHAT was up with that?!?!?!

This Special is dedicated to my sweet little TODDLER, Leighton, because she is OFFICIALLY walking and decided to start saying MAMA on Mother’s Day! How sweet huh? BEST gift ever!

In the next few months I will begin booking for fall, but I thought I would get the ball rolling right now…. the first three people who email me with a subject line of “LEIGHTON SAID MAMA!” will receive $100 print credit for booking a session ONLY in September or October.

Hope to hear from you soon! Can’t wait!

Mama & Leighton

xoxo

Melinda Ann

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE BRAVE…

#43 HALEY - haleybaur@gmail.com

I think meeting for coffee sometime would be a great way to start planning your session!

Contact me at MelindaAnnPhotography@gmail.com please

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ENTERED!!! I was so happy to see 55 BRAVE entries!!! WOW!

I will be offering a few Boudoir Sessions a year, please contact me if  you would like some information!

xoxo Melinda Ann

It’s no secret that I LOVE ZozoBugBaby clothing and TinkerDot Designs!

Leighton’s closet is full of Zozo Clothing which is “Zozo” fabulous and my house is decorated in TinkerDot canvases & prints!

And the two of them together!?!?!? FANTASTIC!!!!

Add in a little tiny Leighton, a cherry orchard filled with dandelions and a very fast working photographer momma because we were about to get rained on…*phew*….you get THIS!

She was clapping here! haha She has her own original clap.

The canvas says “YOU’RE AS BIG AS YOU THINK YOU ARE!” and it couldn’t be more perfect for Itty Bitty Leighton who thinks she is She-ra!

It was windy right before it rained, so the fabric flower is blowing, it doesn’t normally sit like that.

OH I SO LOVE the canvas in the dandelions!

Wondering where the headband came from? Bella’s Bowtique on Etsy! LOVE Bella’s! I buy majority of Leighton’s headbands there!

The fabric flowers on the TinkerDot canvas match the fabric in the ZozoBugBaby dress! ADORABLE huh?

These are two completely NEW items from both artist! Leighton and I are feeling pretty blessed that we were asked to show off these new items!

They are not only amazing artist and designers but amazing women too! Thank you Julie and Jenni for letting us in on your fun collaboration!

xoxo
Melinda Ann