ayda

this was another one of those "i live here, they live there" kind of sessions where we ended up shooting in a state where neither one of us lives.  i'm in alabama, she's in florida, and we shot in georgia.  but this time was a little different; this time i was doing photos with my seester.  i've known rebekah since she was in eighth grade and josh brought me home to introduce me to his family.  now she'll be the first to tell you that she wasn't a big allison fan in the beginning...not because we didn't click but because i was stepping in on her brother's life.  it seemed that more of me might mean less of him. 

thankfully, as time passed, rebekah and i established a close, intimate friendship of our own, and we eventually moved from acquaintances to friends to seesters (if you don't have one of those, you should look into getting one).  :-)  it's been a joy to document some of the milestones in her life through the perspective of my lens.  she's gone from a single gal to a beautiful bride to a glowing mommy-to-be...



and then this tiny tot was born...



it's been almost two years since ayda joined the family, and rebekah and kevin wanted to spend some time this weekend capturing her life as it is right this moment.




i know i say it all the time, but nothing makes me as happy as when families will just live life in front of the camera.  rarely does a session go by that i don't snap a handful of traditional portrait-type shots, but the real fun and memories come in the context of the "this-is-who-we-really-are" pictures.  i imagine that one day as kevin is walking his beautiful daughter down the aisle on her wedding day, he'll be remembering the way she used to scrunch her nose up when he tickled her tummy...



or even how she used to wear those sparkly glitter shoes on her tiny feet.



those are the memories that will make you kind of weepy.  rebekah, kevin, and ayda, i love you all so much, and i can't wait to watch as you enter this next phase of your family's life together.  (oh, what?  i didn't mention that rebekah's expecting again?  stay tuned for her gorgeous maternity pics...)