Missy Maternity

These pictures were an absolute dream to take. It was perfect outside, I had a wonderful person to photograph, and I got to be a little creative.  I had so. much. fun.

Missy is absolutely glowing. I think I told her at one point that I thought she looked like Mother Earth! :) 

I've probably said it a million times how much I love Missy, so I won't state the obvious again. 
Starr Family -- please become filthy rich so I can be your family's personal photographer!!

 

A Starr on the Way

Someone is getting nice and ripe....

and there are a few people who are very excited about it.

More to come...

Sweet little girls!

Little girls are so fun to photograph. Especially when they're this adorable! 

 Miss Maycen 

( even though 7 isn't really that little!! )

Miss Emmy Grace

Lovin up on Miss Kingsley

I tell families all the time " Ok, now just love up on your kids. Give them snuggles, kiss them, nibble on their ear if you want !!!"  My favorite pictures are usually the ones that are taken right after I say those words.

This one of Roxanne lovin up on her little Kingsley is simply perfect!  ( I know, how cool are those names!)

Where did I go??

Lately my pals have been texting me things like "update your blog, I need something to look at!!! So I thought I'd give them a mid week snack!  I dropped off the blogging world for a bit, I know. For those of you have no idea whats going on with me -- I am outta the Des Moines area and living in Waterloo with my sister and her fam. I'm here for just a short little stay and then I'm off to a new and exciting venture!! 

So what have I been doing this whole time??

Mostly giving hundereds of kisses to these two little ones. 

And Hanging out with this crew.

Here's a glimpse of some of the other fabulous people I've taken some photos for!

Have a great Wednesday kids!

At the moment I am...

• Not ready to jump off the ledge, so no worries my friends!!  I want this to not only be a blog where I show my recent photos, but to also document this crazy journey that I'm on. Even if it is only for myself. I just want to remember what I was feeling and going through at the time. So for those of my faithful readers ( Missy and Tara ) who just come to see pretty pictures and not hear this crazy girl vent, feel free to pass on the personal posts. I promise to give ya some eye candy soon!! Also- thank you for all the encouraging words. It helps. SO MUCH.

•  Packing up my hizzy. I've had some good times in my little house in Ames, and I will miss this place. It seems weird that I won't be living with Rachel anymore. She has not been the only great roommate that I've had, but she's been my roommate the longest. I'll miss waking up on Saturday mornings and going upstairs to see what she cooked the night before. I also miss our endless cuddling sessions and little treats she for leaves me. She's seen me at my best and worst these past four years and I'm going to miss not living with her.  For some reason I couldn't find a picture of us from our house, but I did stumble upon this little gem from our apartment sophomore year. I also put it up because I like my long pretty hair.

• So excited to see my new book in the mail today!! I ordered this book off of Amazon a couple weeks ago and almost peed my pants when I saw it in my mailbox today.  I discovered this author when Fawn brought in a book to work one day and told me to turn to page 68. She said that "this was so US".  I read it and looked up at her with amazement and she said  "I know, right?"  The author was talking all about people who tell "enter-paining" stories - which pretty much means you tell stories of your pain in an entertaining way.  Pretty much me in a nut shell,  I just never even realized it. I had to get my hands on more of this lady's work. So I bought this.  LOVE IT. It couldn't have come at a better time, and you will more than likely hear me talk about it a ton in the future.  

•   Obsessed with these almonds. They are probably healthy. Just not the way I eat them. aka half the bottle in one sitting. I want to try every flavor. I've got goals my friends.

•  Also obsessed with this song. Not for everyone, but it's so summary and I can't stop putting it on repeat. 

•  Feeling very, very grateful for siblings. I've noticed lately that my blog post have had comments from the siblings of the people in the pictures. These siblings have said some of the sweetest things, and it just reminds me how lucky I got with mine. My very busy sister puts up with so much from me. I usually call her whenever I put up a blog post and make her read it for me. ( even though she refuses to read it out loud. no it's not weird Elizabeth. Tara does it all the time. ) I then ask her what her favorite picture is and about 10 other stupid things like "You don't think it's too this, or I was thinking about doing this, would that be dumb?? She answers all my questions and then pumps me up with things like how she's proud of me. Such a great sister. Thankfully my two brothers don't have to deal with my incessant need of ego boosting. They are there to help me with all of my idiotic problems that I somehow always have. Problems where I have to call them and sheepishly ask for something. again.  And for some reason they always quickly tell me "yeah, no problem Allison. I'll be there in 10."  Even though I've done it more times then I'm sure they'd like, they always act like it's no problem at all. Such great brothers. 

• Currently Phoneless. and Car keyless. Remember when I talked about idiot things that always happen to me. Well this is one of them. Unfortunately the person usually causing these said problems is mio. I'm working on getting all the goods today. Sorry if you've tried to get in touch with me. I lost them last week. yikes.I know.  

• Special shout out to Jenn. If you ever want to feel like an underachiever visit her blog. She has twin boys who are 2, takes beautiful pictures, and works full time. And happens to be an amazingly nice person who sends me sweet and encouraging messages. Keep being your awesome self lady!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Holy long post. Less chatter and more pictures soon. promise!

Riding the Roller Coaster of Doubt.

When I made this new blog, and I took on this new adventure I asked if you would join me for the ride. I knew this ride would be a long one. I knew it would be full of learning, but I also knew that it would be an exciting one. What I didn't know was that my confidence would join in for the highs and lows There have been times when I'm looked at my some of my pictures with great pride and thought " I would love to have a picture like that of me."  But then there are times when I am sitting in the basement of my little house sifting through pictures that I have just took and I'm overcome with discouragement. I start comparing my pictures to other photographers and wonder if my work will ever look as great as theirs. Will my pictures ever be as crisp as theirs? Will they ever be completely in focus? Will they ever be good enough? I scroll through photography blogs and I'm amazed and in awe of their creativity and wonder how they continue to be so initiative . I know, I know.... it's so easy to get down on yourself when you start comparing yourself to others. And I shouldn't be envious of their work and brilliance, I should focus on myself and on honing my own craft.

But sometimes that's really hard.

This picture is hysterical.  But girl,  I know how you're feeling.