Michelle Enebo Photography

Like Father Like Son

The first thing I tell parents when I am taking group pictures is "I'm only looking at the little people in the picture so keep smiling!"  (I also mention that the goofy faces I'm making are for the kids' benefit, not the adults!)  That being said, I took a string of pictures of Connor and his parents.  Of course, when I did a quick review of the pictures I noticed that Mike (Dad) was not smiling in any of them.  Apparently Mike doesn't smile in pictures.  Good to know!

Seems like Connor was going to take after his dad and give only serious faces (cute, but serious) until we stood him up.  Look how happy he was to be standing!   He's only eight months old but he is ready to move.  Look out Kelly and Mike, it's coming soon!

Here are my favorites...

I'm going to totally date myself here, but shouldn't the caption for this photo be "What you talking about Willis?!?"

Hola! My Name is Zoe.

Any parent who has a child who is a big Dora the Explorer fan will know that familiar refrain.  (The next line, of course is "And this is my friend Boots".)  It turns out that Zoe is a big Dora fan.  I was hoping that little nugget of information would help me make her feel more comfortable.  Nope.  This little girlie DID NOT want her picture taken. 

Thank heavens her parents were not above a fishy bribe.  As soon as I offered up some cheesy goldfish Zoe's lovely smile came out.  She was one of my toughest customers but it was definitely worth the wait.

Here are my favorites...

I love this last picture because clearly Zoe enjoys her goofball Daddy.  Nice job Chris!

She just couldn't wait

This lovely little girl, Tatum, had had enough of the cramped quarters and arrived 7 weeks early.  She threatened to come even earlier but Mom did a great job sticking to the bed rest.  (Not easy when you have a busy 2 year old too!)

I've been taking pictures of her brother Owen since he was a newborn too and these guys look so much alike.  Owen is adjusting to his new sister like a champ and he was perfectly willing to hold and kiss his new sister. 

We had fun taking some pictures in color, but those yummy newborn pictures just work so well in black and white (and then they match Owen's too).  Here are my favorites...

Resting on my laurels

I don't know what laurels are but mine are not well rested.  This weekend Allen took the girls on their annual camping trip.  It was my intention to just hang out all weekend but I just couldn't do it.  Didn't have it in me.

So instead, after I was finished with my two photo sessions on Saturday morning, I set out to do all those projects that have been hanging over me.  I cleaned our messy side yard (where I've been taking a ton of pictures lately), painted a window frame for my new business sign, hung a new backdrop in my studio, cleaned out the laundry room and straightened up my desk.

The biggest projects, by far, however were the girls' bedrooms.  I've got a pack rat a, mounder and a four year old.  I've been ignoring their rooms since the end of the school year and I just couldn't take it any longer.  So after many hours, three full garbage bags and many trips to the garage I finally finished their bedrooms AND I threw in the playroom for good measure. 

Of course I didn't get it done until mid day on Sunday so when they arrived home four hours later we started back on the slippery slope where we started. 

Here are some pictures to prove that their rooms were indeed clean.  For four hours.

Serious Sweetie

This is Ellie.  Her mom Kristen got a photo session as a gift from a good friend.  (That IS a good friend!)  Ellie was very serious (as many first borns are) for the first third of our photo session.  I wasn't sure we'd even get her to crack a smile.  Not that it matters because those eyes are so beautiful who is looking anywhere else?

All we needed to do was get Dad to make a few goofy faces and Ellie opened right up.  Dad's are always the secret weapon!

Here are my favorites...

Dinosaur Smile

Nels and Kellan came for pictures last weekend and it was so much fun to see them again.  I haven't seen them for a couple of years and boy have they changed!  For one thing, holy cow these guys look so much alike now!  Kellan is growing into a a mellower, slightly smaller version of his older brother Nels. 

Nels is such a character.  He's a 'talker' and he told me all about the boys in his family.  When I asked if his Mom had any other girls to hang out, like aunts he said "Sure, we have lots of those but they are outside at Grandma's."  Apparently he was talking about ANTS instead of AUNTS.  Poor mom is gets to hang out with bugs.

The first picture below is Nels' 'dinosaur smile'.  I had to agree to take a few pictures of this before I could get some natural smiles.

Here are my favorites...

These shoes were made for walking

I've taken Leyton's pictures three times in the last six months and I have really enjoyed seeing him grow up.  (The changes between 6 mos and 12 mos are monumental!)  Leyton turned one last week so he came in to mark the occasion. 

I took a few shots in my studio, but with those brand new shoes I could tell Leyton needed to be set free in my backyard.  I'm so glad I did, too because between his baby blues, the green grass and the red chair I'm going gaga over all that color.

Here are my favorites....

Faster than a speeding bullet

Meet my new neighbor Ryan.  His entrance into the world was not necessarily speedy, but it did require super human strength.  Ryan was born six weeks ago with his intestines in his chest cavity and his heart on the wrong side of his body and his parents never saw it coming.    By the time he was three days old he was having surgery to correct all of these problems.  Thankfully, Ryan is more powerful than a locomotive and has been home for a couple of weeks. 

When Ryan's big brother Nathan realizes he is living with a superhero he'll be so impressed!

Hilarity Ensues

That phrase has always made me laugh.  Two dry little words that are used to describe uproarious fun (clearly Ellie and Kendall could not stop cracking up).  This weekend we had great fun when we had some good friends for dinner.

We made pizza on the BBQ (thanks for the idea Whitney) and finished off the night with ice cream sandwiches.  I love summer!

All of my girls were in attendance, but since you see them all the time I thought I'd just show you the Breeden kids.

Cheers!

I have arrived

Technically it should say "It has arrived", but with the arrival of my fabulous new lens it felt appropriate to leave out the 't'. 

Internet, I felt that you should be there for the unboxing of the lens.  Can you smell that new lens smell?  Guess what I am going to be playing with this weekend?

Cheers!