Grace - 6 months old

Time never seems to go as fast as when I do milestone photo session for babies! I’m grateful that my friends Mary and Aaron have wanted to document both their kids growth during the first year because it also gives me a day every three months to catch up with them. At six months old, Grace loves her pacifier and sucking on her bottom lip. Getting smiles smiles was difficult until big brother Ian came home from preschool and made her laugh :) Since it was an unseasonably warm day in February we also took a few pictures outside in their yard and of course had to get one of their dog/ first kid Toby.

Hounakey Family 2023

Ending the year with another returning family! The Hounakey’s are spread accross multiple states, but gather back home in Grand Rapids for Christmas each year. This was the third year of their new tradition of getting family photos when they are together and as a photographer there’s no bigger compliment then having returning clients :) It’s always fun to see their coordinated outfits and the effort every member of the family puts into choosing their poses. Since it was unseasonably warm outside, we started with a few photos by the Christmas tree outside at Rosa Parks Circle before moving inside to the beautiful JW Marriott Hotel. Here are some of my favorite pictures from this very photogenic family last weekend!

Grace - 3 months old

I love when families choose to do milestone photography sessions for their kids because they grow and change so much in the first year! When their first child, Ian, was born Mary and Aaron scheduled photos every 3 months for him and I was so happy they decided to do the same for their second born :) Grace was pretty confused about the camera in her face, but she didn’t cry and her big brother stayed close by to try and get her to smile. Here are some of my favorites!

Still family 2023

The Still’s are likely the people I have been photographing the longest, and I love that I’ve gotten to keep in touch with these friends over the years through their annual photo session. This year they wanted more winter/ Christmas themed pictures instead of fall and though the kids were not happy about the cold weather at first, after eating lunch it started to snow and they wanted to go back out and play in it :) So we managed a combination of more formal family photos, pictures of the kids by the Christmas tree inside, and some playing in the snow (all with their dog running in and out of the frame). Here are my favorites from earlier today!

Bopp Family fall 2023

This has been a slower than normal October, so last weekend I posted on Facebook asking if any of my friends wanted photos before the leaves fall off the trees. Luckily, the Bopp family responded and we got their pictures scheduled the same day at the beautiful campus of Aquinas College in Grand Rapids. I love taking pictures there and hadn’t had the chance in a long time, so when they suggested the location I immediately agteed Here are some of my favorites of the Bopp family :)

Brumels-McNally Family

Fall colors have peaked here in west Michigan and Elissa planned a beautiful evening for a photo session with her three kids! I love walking around Grand Ravines and luckily it was not busy so the kids could run (literally) and not be in anyone’s way. Though the boys didn’t have any interest in holding still or being in pictures with their mom, I had fun capturing their personalities and seeing how excited they were to explore the trails at park :) Here are some of my favorites!

Baby Grace

Just a couple months ago I was taking maternity pictures for Mary and now baby Grace is here! She was born at the end of August and I was able to meet her on Labor Day just a week later. Big brother Ian gave her lots of kisses and even wanted to try using my camera to take some photos. Of course I also got to hold her for a few minutes at the end of the session :) Here are some of my favorites of 7 day old Grace and her family!

VanOss Family at the fair

When I asked if anyone would be interested in a mini photo session at the Hudsonville fair this year, Jess was the first one to respond yes! I last saw her and her husband Jeff in March 2020 right before Covid lock down when I took their maternity photos downtown Grand Rapiuds. It was so fun to meet their daughter Addie who was born just a few days after that photo session and also surreal to realize it has been 3 years! We managed to find a few spots at the fairgrounds that were not crowded to take pictures, and at the end they let Addie try an elephant ear (which she licked all the sugar off then asked for more)! Here are some of my favorites of the VanOss family!

Aniszko Family 2023

One of the families I get to photograph every year are the Aniszko’s! It’s been a joy to document their engagement, wedding, dog, birth of their son and now pregnancy with their daughter. After rescheduling three times we ended up doing this photo session at the end of June in their backyard. Despite the poor air quality and tight timeline Mary, Aaron, 3 year old Ian (and even the dog) were good sports and we managed to get some cute pictures! Here are some of my favorites :)

Bopp Family

I got a request for a last minute extended photo session at the beach with the Bopp family a couple weeks ago and I’m so glad I could make it happen for them! The beach is a special place for their family to gather from close and far and despite all the stairs to get down to the water, the kids were full of energy and excited to show me the tipi they had made out of sticks earlier in the day. My favorite pictures are the candid ones of them jumping and running, but the group pictures also turned out well!

Lloyd Family

Back in 2019 I met this family at Keagan and Nicholas’ intimate wedding and it was fun to see how they have grown since then! After a week of cooler summer weather the day we chose for family photos was sunny and humid. No one complained though as we sought out what little shade we could find at Millennium Park. My favorite moment of this session was when the entire family started singing in order to get the babies to smile, not every kid’s attention can be gained that easily and I love that they all knew the trick :)

Sophie (almost) 2 years old

My niece turns 2 at the end of this month and when my sister in law asked if I’d take some family photos for them to display at her birthday party I was happy to! We ended up doing two photo sessions a week apart due to cold weather the first time and wanting to capture memories at our new family cottage the second time. Sophie didn’t like the idea of sitting still or being held so most of the pictures are her running around, like a 2 year old would :) Here are some of my favorites!

Baby Delaney

My friend Rachael and her husband Alex have been through a lot of ups and downs on their journey to have a baby and Delaney was born via surrogate just 11 days before I met her and took these photos :) She was not very happy that we kept disrupting her nap to change positions for photos, but luckily her parents were able to comfort Delaney each time she started to cry. Plus, after a diaper change and bottle we even managed to take some pictures with the dog, Rosie, and outside on their front porch. I have learned so much about advocacy and surrogacy laws in Michigan from watching Rachael and Alex and am proud that they are using their voice and their story to create positive change for others!

Klein Kids 2023

The Klein family started off the new year with updated pictures of their kids! It’s crazy how much they have grown since I last saw them for photos in December 2021. They did such a great job dealing with the cold and we had fun walking around downtown Rockford looking for good locations (and looking at dogs walking by). This year also included pictures of the kids with a great aunt who was visiting from out of state, thanks so much for letting me capture memories of these ages/stages of your family :)

Hounakey Family 2022

Winter can be a tricky time for family pictures, but I’m grateful for hotels with beautifully decorated lobbies and families who are up for anything :) I met the Hounakey’s for the first time last December and we had lots of fun, so this year I was excited to do holiday photos for them again! The JW Marriott downtown Grand Rapids has an iconic staircase that I’ve used as a backdrop for photos during the day before, but I didn’t realize they lit it up blue at night and this just added to the festive look. Plus the Christmas trees were so pretty. Here are some of my favorites from the Hounakey family last Saturday!

Johnston Family 2022

Fall photo season wouldn’t be complete until I saw the Johnston family whose pictures I’ve been taking annually since they only had one kid :) Luckily, we had unseasonably warm weather at the start of November and even though the leaves were gone from the trees it was fun exploring more of their property and finding new spots to take pictures. Claire, Andy, their kids and parents are experts at this by now which makes the photos so quick and easy. This year we even did a few inside with their new cat, a very unique sphynx. Here are some of my favorites!

4 generations - Johnston Family

Some of these faces might look familiar and that’s because I’ve done family pictures for one family several times and senior pictures for two of the girls. The day after I took Brooklyn’s senior pictures, I met up with her extended family at Hager Park for round two of photography! It was so great to see four generations of a family all together and I’m grateful for this opportunity to capture a beautiful fall day with them.

Still Family 2022

Fall family photo season is officially beginning with the Still family! I’ve photographed Chris and Sarah so much over the years and it’s always a joy to see how their family has grown. This year Chris’s parents and sister joined for an extended family session and the kids had fun showing me their garden and the horses next door!. My favorite part of this session was after the group pictures were done watching the kids
(and adults) in the garden picking vegetables and smelling flowers :)

Sophie's first birthday

At the end of June, my niece Sophie turned one! My sister in law set up a cute photo backdrop in their home and decorated for a mermaid themed birthday party. Sophie was in a good mood and eager to show off her new skills of pointing and waving to everyone at the party. She loved eating her cake and looking at all the gifts she was given. Unfortunately, the day we took family pictures Sophie had not slept well and was very attached to her mom. We managed to get a few smiles when she saw dogs or other kids walking by and she loved the few bites of ice cream she was given! Here are my favorite pictures of Sophie from the two photo shoots :)

Ian's 2 year old photos

It was so fun seeing how much Ian has grown since I took his pictures a year ago! He is definitely a toddler now, and in typical toddler fashion had his own agenda for this photo shoot his mom had carefully designed :) Ian enjoyed looking at all the Pooh stuffed animals but wanted to carry them around rather then sit still with them. He was very uninterested in taking photos with his parents but we did manage to get a few smiles! Here are some of my favorites of the new 2 year old.