Tag: mother

Haley’s 11th birthday, plus my photographic vision

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So I went from celebrating Lincoln’s 5th birthday with photos on Thursday, to Haley’s 11th birthday yesterday. Isn’t she just gorgeous? I love, love, love the red shirt on her. It’s perfect with her eyes. I enjoy photographing this pre-teen age group. I think it’s an often over-looked age group when it comes to professional photos. We always photograph our babies and little kids, and then again when they are Seniors in high school, but often the middle years are less documented.

A few weeks ago, I went to a photography conference in Atlanta. One of the workshops I took was specifically on capturing tweens and teens. The photographer who taught the class, Neely Ker-fox, had a specific package in her business that focused on photographing this age group at home, focusing on the connection with their parents. I thought it was beautiful and very inspiring.

Another class I took at the Click Away conference was called “Your Voice, Your Vision” with Caroline Jenson. For that class, we had to submit 3 of our favorite photos to the instructor before the class. During the workshop we reviewed each others photos and talked about how the photos we picked gave some clues as to our photographic vision…things that we were drawn to in photography, whether we realized it or not.

Some of the things that the instructor and my classmates said about my images were that I was drawn to bold, colorful images and strong black and white edits. That was no surprise to me. But one thing that the instructor said that stood out to me is that all the photos I chose had at least two people in them. I guess I kind of new that, but it was interesting to have it pointed out. I do very much prefer photos that show a connection between two or more people.

I thought about that as I edited these photos I took for Haley’s birthday. Even though I love the photos of just Haley, who is gorgeous, all of my favorite photos were of Haley and Christy together. This is true for me even when you can’t see a lot of Christy in the photo, but she’s there…I love the way Haley is looking at her mom instead of at the camera. You can just see the love there.

Alicia’s Quinceanera Part 2: The Celebration

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As I said in my blog post the other day, I have soooo many pictures of beautiful Alicia’s Quinceanera last week that I decided to split it into two blog posts.  The first post focused on the formal pictures we did before her celebration at the lovely Homestead Manor. But today I want to share photos from the actual event itself, which was a beautiful celebration of this lovely young woman. 

Alicia’s mom Nery did such an amazing job planning this special day for Alicia.  It was so perfect down to every last detail.  The event was held at the Hilton Garden Inn of Franklin / Cool Springs, TN. The hotel did a fabulous job with the event and no detail was overlooked.

The absolutely stunning cake was made by Pink Blossom Bakery. Isn’t’ it just gorgeous? It tasted as good as it looked.

As I stated in the first blog post, Alicia’s Makeup and hair was done by Kari Flournoy at Nashville Hair & Makeup. She looked stunning.

For entertainment, the DJ for the event was Osborne Studio & Sound, and the grand finale performance was by Sol Azteca Mariachi Band. I LOVED the band.. It was so much fun and all the kids really enjoyed it.

I cannot even tell you how much fun it was to photograph this event.  Just being a fly on the wall able to observe these kids having so much fun just enjoying life was truly an honor.  And my favorite part was the Mariachi Band at the end…they were absolutely fantastic! 

Alicia’s Quinceanera Part 1: Formal Pics at Homestead Manor

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I have soooo many pictures of beautiful Alicia’s Quinceanera last week that I decided to split it into two blog posts.  This post will focus on the formal pictures we did before her celebration at the lovely Homestead Manor. I will write a second blog post in the next couple days that will focus on the fun party pics with Alicia and all her friends, so be on the lookout for that one! 

When I was discussing the event with Alicia’s mom, she knew that she wanted to get some outdoor portraits with Alicia and immediate family before the celebration began, but we went back and forth trying to decide where the best place would be to do that, which would be not too far from the event location in Cool Springs, but didn’t require a lot of walking. I am so glad we decided on the Homestead Manor, because it was just perfect. As I was editing these, I kept feeling a Cinderella vibe with Alicia’s GORGEOUS dress, set against the beautiful mansion, and even a lovely carriage.  

Alicia looked absolutely stunning (her hair and makeup was done by Kari Flournoy at Nashville Hair & Makeup), as did her gorgeous mama, sister and grandmother. There was so much love for this young lady on her special day, that it made it truly a joy to be a part of and to photograph.  

Stay tuned for lots of fun pictures of the actual Celebration, including a Mariachi Band!!

Capturing Christmas Tradition at a home Photo Session

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The years pass quickly, and that’s one reason why Whitney wanted a home portrait session to capture her family’s Christmas traditions while Haley is still young. They wanted a session that captured things they do each year around Christmas time, like decorating the tree, making Gingerbread houses, and listening to the Christmas Story and the Night Before Christmas while drinking hot cocoa by the fire.

I mean, how can you not just feel all cozy and filled with the Christmas spirit by looking at these photos? I just love this so much.   🎄❤️

What about you? What kind of memories would you like to capture for your family?

The best weekend for Family Photos with Fall Color

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First of all, I want to say that any time of year is perfect for a family portrait session. The important thing is to get them done, and to do it regularly, preferably at least once a year as our littles ones grow so fast and are constantly changing.  Beautiful memories can be captured any time of year. I’m now booking January photo sessions, and those can be absolutely beautiful (you just need to dress warmly!)

With that being said, lots of my clients really want that gorgeous fall color, and ask me when they should schedule family portrait sessions to get that color.  I always hesitate to answer because mother nature is unpredictable and I cannot promise you we will get beautiful fall color at all.  Sometimes, an early freeze or drought conditions or other things can put a damper on that beautiful autumn color.  

But I can tell you, after some experience and actual forecasts, when to schedule your session to get the best chance of gorgeous color, and that is the first weekend of November (the last weekend in October is a good second choice).  That’s when our fall colors peak here in Middle Tennessee.  I find a lot of clients who assume it happens a lot earlier than that, and that’s probably because it does up north. Our friends in Michigan saw their autumn peak several weeks ago (and now they are getting snow!). 

This beautiful family portrait session from this weekend is a bit past the peak.  The sessions I did the weekend before had a lot more color, but I can’t share those with you at the clients request (some are surprise Christmas gifts, and we don’t want to ruin the surprise!) But I’m so glad that this family had such a beautiful day! We had actually rescheduled this session from earlier in October because of rain.  Are they not absolutely stunning!  I’ve known this gorgeous family for years, but this is the first time I’ve been able to photograph them.  They were so much fun to capture and I hope they love the photos as much as I do. 

The autumn leaves are going to be gone very soon, so get out and enjoy this absolutely gorgeous color while it lasts!  

A list of things I can (and will) photoshop for you, and a few things I won’t

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This was supposed to be an outdoor session but unfortunately, it started raining right before the session time. As I discuss on my FAQ page, there are several options for you if i should happen to rain for your session time.  Nicole chose to move the session to her home, rather than to reschedule, which is a great option as I love capturing families in their own surroundings.

Another issue that Nicole had was that little Scarlett got a fairly significant boo boo on her chin before the session (isn’t that the way it always happens?), and Nicole was afraid it would show in the photos.

I reassured Nicole that Scarlett’s boo boo wouldn’t be too hard to remove in editing, so not to worry about it.  So I thought this might be a good post to go over what I will and will not edit in family portraits.

What I will photoshop:

  • That random zit that popped up right before your session.
  • The boogers in your two year olds nose (but lets try a Kleenex first please!)
  • The bruise your four year old got riding her bike (or boo boo on her chin).
  • Generally anything “temporary” that isn’t part of what you normally look like.
  • That ugly trashcan in the background that I saw, but knew it was worth it to remove in editing.
  • The horrible bike lane stripe on my favorite path.
  • Minor “wardrobe malfunctions” that result from clothing not laying perfectly because I don’t operate perfectly posed portrait sessions. For example: your bra strap is showing, or maybe your shirt or dress is poofed out in a weird way.

What I won’t photoshop:

  • “Can you remove this logo from the shirt I chose to wear?” (I might could depending on the location, print, etc, but if you want it done more than once or twice, I’m going to need to charge extra.) 
  • “Make me look 50 pounds smaller?” (You are beautiful, just the way you are.)
  • “Can you make most of the photo black and white and leave this one part in color?” (I just don’t want to.) 
  • “Can you get the wrinkles out of my husbands dress shirt?” (Usually, no…especially if it’s a print and not a solid color.)

So my general rule to myself when it comes to editing…I want you to look like you, because you are gorgeous.  But if something happened recently that isn’t a part of your normal, let me know and we can probably work on that.

Repeat Portrait clients are my favorite

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One of my favorite things about my job as a family portrait photographer is getting to know families, especially when they come back for repeat sessions.  I photographed this beautiful family around this time last year and just loved getting to know these three beautiful sisters, so I was so excited to see them again this year. 

Last year I wrote: “They are totally my happy place. So much energy, and wonder and joy.  They were just perfect.”  I would say exactly the same thing about our session this year.  Only one thing was different…

Last year for their session, I wrote about how important it is to tell me if one of your children is particularly shy before the session. That lets me know that I need to maybe approach that child a little differently and give her time to warm up to me.  

But you know what’s great about being able to see client again and again?  This time, the children remembered me, and they knew that the session wouldn’t be scary or boring.  They came into it knowing we’d play and have fun.  This makes it especially easier for kids who may be a little shy.  Knowing me coming it to it, they feel more at ease and have an easier time getting into the session.

And I got the chance to see how much they’d grown over the year, and hear about their new interests and what brings them joy.  (New Harry Potter fans are the BEST.)  

What exactly is Lifestyle Photography?

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This beautiful family was able to take a last minute opening that I had available, and I am so glad they did.  We had so much fun running and playing in the leaves. 

I thought I might take the opportunity to talk about exactly what it means to shoot lifestyle photography, which is what I consider most of my sessions. To understand lifestyle photography, it helps to understand a few other types of photography.

One type of photography is classic posed portraiture.  These are what you think of when you think of a photographer telling you exactly where to stand, how to hold your chin, elbow, etc.  While I believe there is a time and a place for specific posing, this is not the type of photography that inspires me.  I do, however, try to capture at least a few of these shots throughout a session. 

Another type of photography (one that does inspire me), is documentary photography.  In documentary, the photographer doesn’t give guidance at all, but is merely a fly on the wall capturing what happens as it unfolds. I LOVE documentary.  I love to capture real life moments and emotions.  My birth sessions are documentary, as you can imagine.  In that setting, I am dictating nothing, but just capturing the story that is happening in front of me.  

The problem with using a PURE documentary approach for family sessions is that if I tried to be a fly on the wall and just capture what was happening, it’s likely, at least at first, that your family would stand around awkwardly, not sure what to do with themselves. Probably after enough time passed, they’d forget about me and start going about life, but unless something particularly engaging were happening it may take hours and hours to get a full gallery of images that showed a variety of things. 

So that brings us to lifestyle photography.  Lifestyle photography, for me anyway, is a balance between posed and documentary.  My goal at lifestyle sessions is to capture images as I would at a documentary session, but to hurry things along a bit, and if possible, make them happen in pretty light.  Instead of being a fly on the wall and waiting on your children to play, I’ll suggest they race (on the pretty bridge), play in the leaves, play ring around the roses, or play Simon Says with me.  These are things they might do naturally, but probably not in the span of an hour long photo session unless I asked them to.  

I want to capture real emotion, but instead of waiting on it to happen organically, I might whisper to your kids to go give you a big hug.  I don’t believe that the fact that I asked for it, makes the emotions any less real. It’s a combination of posed and documentary because sometimes I tell you just what to do, sometimes I just suggest an activity and sit back and wait for a moment to happen, and sometimes I act like a documentary photographer and hang back and capture moments that I notice have happened organically without any interference from me.  

This is the combination I find that works best for me at my family sessions, and I think it helps clients to feel more relaxed and natural as well.  As my friend Emily said recently, “my favorites are the posed candids.”What exactly is Lifestyle Photography?This is the combination I find that works best for me at my family sessions, and I think it helps clients to feel more relaxed and natural as well.  As my friend Emily said recently, “my favorites are the posed candids.”

The junk in my trunk

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I’ve photographed the birth of both of these beautiful babies, and documenting their growth through photographs is truly one of the greatest joys of my job. This is my favorite session so far, probably because this age is my absolute favorite.  For both of them, the world is still so new and interesting and every tiny thing is a wonderful discovery.  I will never ever get tired of photographing toddlers.

Every now and then, there is a photo that stops me in my tracks as I am editing, and the one below of sweet Charlotte running towards her family did that for me in this set.  Have you ever seen anything as beautiful as that overwhelming and enthusiastic love a toddler has for her parents? 

I recently received a really random text from an acquaintance. She said she new it was an odd question, but wanted to know if there was any chance that I had any sparklers…well past July when they were available at stores and fireworks stands. She needed them for a birthday party she was helping to plan.

I told her that of course I had sparklers. I keep them in my trunk. How many do you need?!?

The sparklers had recently come in handy another time too…I was at the birthday party of one of my closest friends four year old, and they had forgotten candles for the cake. I ran to my trunk and brought her sparklers and we lit those as we sang “Happy Birthday” to the guest of honor. In some ways, it was more fun than candles and maybe that will be a thing from now on.

The sparklers led me to think about the other random things I carry in my trunk, so I thought I would list them for you in case you were curious. So here it is – a list of things actually in my trunk this very moment.

  • Sparklers
  • 6 quilts in various colors
  • A bubble machine
  • Bubble Juice
  • An extra camera bag with camera (not my main camera…I carry that inside)
  • A lightstand
  • Some bottles of water
  • A lighter
  • Some smoke bombs
  • Three clear umbrellas
  • Sophie the Giraffe
  • Yummy Earth Suckers
  • Organic Bug Spray
  • For Real Bug Spray
  • A Tide Stain Remover Pen
  • Wet Ones Wipes
  • Rain Ponchos
  • Sun Screen

Sometimes, I don’t use anything in my trunk, but I like knowing it’s there if I do need it.  For this session, I pulled out the umbrella, though we didn’t need it thankfully as the rain stopped just before we started, and lots and lots of bug spray.  I also stuck a poncho in my bag just in case I had to protect my camera from the rain.  And of course, the suckers came out after the session.

What about you? What do you have in your trunk?  Is there anything in mine that you are surprised about?  Anything you think I’m missing? 

10 moments I want to capture for you

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I feel like I was super lucky at yesterday’s marathon sessions.  I had three sessions scheduled with a 15 minute break between each session.  Between my first and second session, it rained fairly hard.  But then stopped in time for my second session. It caused some humidity and so vengeful mosquitoes, but we made it through. 
I warned this family ahead of time that I was going to struggle with their names.  These girls are Kaylie and Morgan.  My own girls are Megan and Kayla. The similarities helped me to remember their names, but I did, as I knew I would keep mixing them up because Megan is my oldest, but for these two sisters, Morgan is the younger sister. 

I finally managed to retrain my brain by the end of the session, and I hope they forgave me.  What a fun family to work with! I so enjoyed getting to know these girls and their parents. They were so fun to work with and naturals in front of the camera. We had a fantastic time. 
Before a session, I have a survey that asks clients what their most important shots are.  That helps me to balance the priorities of the session, but I always have in my head a list of shots I want to be able to include in a clients gallery. These girls made it easy to capture those shots.

  1. A family shot with everyone looking at the camera. (Not my favorite, but I feel like I need to include it.)
  2. A candid family shot, that shows emotion. (My favorite)
  3. Individual close-ups of each of your children.
  4. Full body & candids of each of your children.
  5. A more posed sibling shot, if possible. (May be difficult if they are super young.)
  6. Mom & Dad together. (It’s important to capture where the family began.)
  7. Details (feet, hair, lovey, hands, etc)
  8. Mom with the kids
  9. Dad with the kids
  10. Fun, create shots of everyone having fun.

Did I miss anything? What would be on your shot list?

Mom was there too

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Lisa said something in her questionnaire when she booked me that really struck a cord with me. 

“I have almost no pictures of myself with my children that aren’t selfies since I am always the one behind the camera. That’s usually how it works though, right?” 

Yes, that is how it usually works, and it sucks. I’m so glad that we were able to get Lisa on the other side of the camera with her beautiful family. It’s hard, and as moms we have SOOOO many reasons why we don’t have enough photos of ourselves, but it is so important to our children that we get in the pictures too. In the years to come, the photos we give to our children are such a gift, but they don’t just want to see photos of themselves…they want to see mom (and dad!) in the pictures too.  

I just love taking photos of mothers with their babies, and this session was no exception. This group was such a joy to capture and made my job so easy. 

And can we just talk about the clothing choices for a minute?  I love the color tones so much. The burgundy and the blues against the backdrop of the green trees was just perfection.

So moms, what’s keeping you from getting in front of the camera?

Of all the families I photograph, mine is the hardest

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I wish that I could say that this was a lovely, easy experience, but that would be a lie.

Last weekend, I was quite surprised when my husband suggested that we do a family photo session of our own. It seems like every year I forget to Schedule time for our photos and end up scrambling to get them done. But he is usually the last one who wants his picture talken, so I was pleasantly surprised when he reminded me. So I set off to find outfits for everyone that two tweenage girls wouldn’t whine about.

I was lucky and found things that everyone was happy with, except my husband who complained that it was still too hot for long sleeves. Oh well … you can’t please everyone.

So I was all set, and then it rained.

And rained.

And rained some more.

And finally, yesterday, the sun came out. So we all got dressed and drove out to the new park that I had never been to but wanted the check out. And as soon as we got there, my oldest started complaining that her head hurt. Because I knew that meant she’d never cooperate, we went home. Of course as soon as we got home, she felt better.

But that is how it goes. So no problem, because guess what??? There are TWO magic hours inthe day! So we got up bright and early this morning and headed out.

The bad part was that it was super wet from the dew and the kids didnt want to walk too far in it to explore the farm. And I got soaked from kneeling in it. And we got there later than I I wanted and the sun was brighter than I would have liked causing horid grass colors.

But the dew in the grass and all the spider webs were absolutely stunning. And it wasn’t hot at all. We also finished in time to go to a pancake breakfast for a friend’s gymnastics team, so score!

What the world needs is more dancing in the kitchen. Nashville Lifestyle Portrait Session.

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Brother & Sister reading book by flashlight at a home Lifestyle Portrait Session in Spring Hill, TN

I saw that phrase written in a meme recently and it spoke to me.  I love a good dance in the kitchen.  My husband…not so much, but he humors me.  To me, it’s one of those things that reminds us to savor the mundane…those little moments at home that don’t seem very grand. Aren’t those really are the ones that matter, and that we cherish for years to come?  At a lifestyle portrait session, those are the moments I want to capture.

The days are long but the years are short.

Things change so quickly as we are raising little ones, and before you know it, some things that seemed so much a part of your daily life that you didn’t even notice them, are suddenly gone. At my house, there is not a playroom anymore.  There is no swing set in the back yard.  My children bathe themselves and read to themselves at bedtime. I don’t remember the exact time when many of these changed, but gradually, they did change.  I look back to photos of when they were smaller and am so thankful that I have those mementos of days gone by.  

Seeing the possibilities.

That is one thing I love about doing these home sessions for families. I look at these photos and imagine all the possibilities they hold in bringing back the past, years from now.

10 years from now, will Renae’s family look at these photos and think about how that was the first year Coen played the violin, which he later grew to master and love?  Or will they remember it as that time Coen tried the violin before he found what he really loved?

Maybe Coen and Peri will look at these photos and fondly remember the photo of mom and dad’s wedding day that was hanging over their bed for years.  Will they giggle about when Peri was obsessed with Fancy Nancy and the giant caterpillar and Coen (and Mommy) was obsessed with Harry Potter? 

Will Peri look around the kitchen and smile at the “Happy Fall” chalk sign? Or remember the kitchen table that the family shared so many meals on before it was traded in for something new?  

These are the things that can’t be captured at a park.  

The home session advantage.

One advantage to home lifestyle portrait sessions is that we don’t have to worry about weather or sunlight.  My outdoor lifestyle sessions are all booked up for October & November, but I have been able to add some at-home session dates to the November calendar for weekdays where the early sunset doesn’t allow for outdoor sessions.  You can book one of these spots now on my calendar. These sessions would be a perfect time to decorate the Christmas tree, make some Gingerbread Houses, and just create beautiful memories of your family together capture forever by the camera.

So what do you think? Would you be up for an at home lifestyle portrait session?

Home…where our story begins | New Home Sweet Home Portrait Sessions

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It’s no secret that my passion is family photography.  I enjoy seniors, newborns & couples photography as well, but families, especially with younger children, are what inspires me.

Up until now, most of my family sessions have been outdoor, lifestyle portrait sessions.  I love these for many reasons, most of which is probably the gorgeous natural light of an outdoor session, particularly at golden hour.

But for a while now, I’ve been feeling drawn to encourage clients to also consider another option for family photography.  I want to offer in-home lifestyle & documentary sessions. I’ve always felt like the purpose of photography is to capture meaningful moments that a family will cherish always, and what better place to capture these moments than in a family’s home? 

I find that many clients are hesitant to schedule sessions in their home because they are so used to seeing outdoor sessions and they don’t know quite what to expect from an at-home session.  Here are a few things you can expect from an at-home photo session with me:

* We will be silly and play games, just like at my outdoor sessions, but those games might look a little differently.  For example, we may jump on the bed (with your permission), play shadow puppets, or have tickle fights on mom and dad’s bed. 

* Instead of awkwardly posing, I will ask that you do some activities together.  What these activities are will vary depending on what your family likes to do together.  Maybe mom and dad will have coffee on the back porch, while the kids play at their feet.  Maybe you’ll make dinner or cookies.  Maybe you can play board games or decorate the Christmas tree. The possibilities are endless. The point is that we will try to capture real moments for you…of things your family enjoys doing together.

* Your house doesn’t need to be fancy, or immaculate, or even clean.  For real. This is real life and real moments.  We are making memories…not caring about whether or not you swept the bathroom. The camera is forgiving and I promise I don’t even notice.

One advantage to home sessions, other than being able to capture memories in the place that you make the most memories, is that we don’t have to worry about weather or sunlight.  My outdoor lifestyle sessions are all booked up for October & November, but I have been able to add some at-home session dates to the November calendar for weekdays where the early sunset doesn’t allow for outdoor sessions.  You can book one of these spots now on my calendar. These sessions would be a perfect time to decorate the Christmas tree, make some Gingerbread Houses, and just create beautiful memories of your family together capture forever by the camera.

So what do you think? Would you be up for an at-home family session?

A Strong united pair

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When Jessica contacted me about doing this family portrait session, she told me that she was going through a divorce, and wanted a way to document a new beginning for she and her daughter, Kaila.  She wanted the photos to show a strong, united pair.  

I think that documenting new beginnings is a perfect reason to schedule a portrait session.  I thought Jessica’s words in her survey to me were beautiful. 

She said ” I want to show Kaila that we are still a family even though we’re divided now and that we will be stronger and better from everything.  I want her to see how much love there is for her and how much fun we can have together.”

I love it when clients really put their thoughts and feelings in my client survey. It really helps me to have an emotional connection with them, and to understand truly what the photos mean to them. I can’t even explain why this matters.  The closest I’ve come to verbalizing why it matters to me is the quote by David Alan Harvey that says “Don’t shoot what it looks like. Shoot what it feels like.” 

Maybe it’s all in my imagination, but I somehow think I do a better job with the photos when I feel that connection to the clients story.

I know it felt super easy to capture a strong, united pair when I was photographing Jessica and Kaila.  Photographing mothers with their babies (no matter how old!) is always one of my favorite things and I just loved watching these two interact with each other.  It’s so obvious just by the look in Jessica’s eyes that there is so, so much love for this beautiful little girl.