Ohhh, friends of the blog will remember Jessie and Dan’s wedding at the Pittsburgh Aviary in 2018 where I met a really lovely little penguin named Disco who pooped on my shoe and it was the best cocktail hour ever. I also met a very small adorable owl. It was the best. Anyway, it was also the best because Jessie and Dan were there and they are absolutely two of the kindest, sweetest people in the universe. I like them a lot. I’m sad that we’re far away from each other, especially since I developed a strong, undeliable, and presumably lifelong bond with their cat Lola in the 1.5 hours I was at their house. Lola is an *extremely friendly!* cat. I’d like to assume that she only loves me, but I don’t think this is the case since she seems to also really love Jessie, Dan, their dog Charlie (also very sweet!) and their lovely little toddler Lilli (also VERY sweet!). Lilli is extremely close with Lola and Charlie. She hugs Lola a lot, and Lola is totally cool with it. Charlie also accidentally hits Lola in the face with his wagging tail a lot, and Lola is totally cool with it. Lola recently went to the groomer and came away looking like a small little tortie lion, and she is totally cool with it. Lola is cool with a lot of things and I am totally cool with Lola.

I love toddlers who love animals and treat them gently and lovingly and I know that Lilli will grow up to be a sweet and kind person like her parents. She offered both of her parents her crackers. She offered both of her parents her ice cream (!!). She even offered Charlie and Lola her ice cream (we intervened). I can’t say that I’ve voluntarily offered anyone my ice cream ever, and maybe I think I should take some notes on sharing from Lilli. It was so much fun to see this family all together – cats and dogs getting along together, toddlers and cats getting along together, world peace and harmony. I’m so happy to have gotten to work with Jessie and Dan again and to meet their amazing little crew!

toddler sitting on couch holding a book
parents sitting next to toddler on couch reading a book
parents reading a book to a toddler in front of fireplace
parents holding toddler in living room with black dog
portrait of a toddler holding a book
toddler walking through a babygate
toddler standing in a hardwood floor and smiling
mom holding laughing toddler upside down
toddler feeding a dog treats and cat with lion haircut
family portrait with pets at home
dad tickling toddler and laughing
dad and daughter at home with black dog
smiling toddler on couch
mom handing juice to her daughter
toddler standing in a kitchen
cat doll on fireplace
parents helping toddler walk on the couch
mom and daughter sitting on a chair
girl hugging baby bunny doll
girl carrying around bunny doll and black dog
girl carrying around bunny doll
parents playing blocks with young girl
dog photobomb
girl laughing as blocks fall
girl stacking blocks in living room
dad crawling after baby girl
toddler photobomb
family portrait with pets
mom reading book to daughter
parents reading a picture book with toddler
toddler climbing to look out window
toddler looking out window in pittsburgh
pittsburgh family photographers
little hands on windowsill looking out window
mom and daughter looking out window in pittsburgh
toddler running around house
mom laughing with daughter
parents trying to get little girl to dance
smiling toddler reading book in a chair
mom reading a book to her daughter
mom reading a book to her daughter
parents reading book to little girl in chair
parents reading book to little girl in chair
parents reading book to little girl in chair
dad reading a book to his daughter
dad reading a book to his daughter
little girl carrying book around house
little girl and bunny doll
toddler meltdown
toddler meltdown during family photos
toddler smiling during family photos
toddler looking at stained glass in house
mother carrying daughter down the stairs
little girl eating crackers
little girl eating crackers
little girl eating crackers
little girl eating crackers
toddler hugging cat
toddler and cat with lion cut
toddler and cat with lion cut
parents coloring with daughter
parents coloring with daughter
parents coloring with daughter
black dog and tortie cat with lion cut
girl holding ice cream cone
girl offering ice cream cone to dad
toddler gets cold while eating ice cream
toddler eating ice cream next to cat while holding cat doll
toddler eating ice cream next to cat while holding cat doll
toddler offering ice cream to dog
black dog smiling

Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer

What better way to start of my 2023 shooting season than a 30 second walking commute to my neighbor’s house?! Best commute ever. Was very tempted to send them a text shortly before telling them that I would be late because traffic was bad. Meet Sam, Casey, Desmond, and Spencer! They are most excellent neighbors with good taste in music (if you ever see me wearing my rainbow Nirvana shirt it is because I saw Sam walking around the street with one), good taste in holidays (Desmond is a big fan of Halloween and loves discussing The Nightmare Before Christmas), and good taste in felines (they have a very adorable orange and black cat named Lily who is extremely sweet). I was very excited to go photograph them hanging around on a Sunday morning, especially because I knew it would involve Desi’s amazing Power Wheels bulldozer. The kids on our street all have Power Wheels, which makes me very jealous of them even as a late-30s adult woman who clearly never recovered from never having a Power Wheel herself. But at least I can photograph them now, and so I’ll take every opportunity. I also photographed Spencer looking absolutely precious in her little winter outdoor clothes and eating her first s’more in the backyard. It was a ton of fun to photograph our wonderful neighbors Sam and Casey and their amazing kids, plus bring back leftover S’mores for Geoff. :)

Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer
Family Photographer - Sam+Casey+Desmond+Spencer

Alys and Brian met on MySpace and I love them for it. Remember MySpace, you guys!? Those were the golden days of social media and are dearly missed by yours truly. They were both living in different parts of NC, met on MySpace, and were married thirty-three days later. That was a little over 12 years ago. I find this story very endearing and sweet and it just proves even further than those who met on MySpace were destined to be together. Alys and Brian just had their first daughter about 17 months ago and her name is Diana. She is a GOOD kid. This was my first time photographing a napping/bedtime routine (which I loved doing!) and I was astonished at how Diana put up zero percent fight, agreeably climbed up the stairs, put on her pajamas without a fuss whatsoever, read two books, said “yes” when asked if she wanted to go to sleep, then kissed both her parents on the cheek and laid down without a fight. What! Alys and Brian then went to cuddle with Zeta (who is, in her opinion, actually the original daughter even though she’s technically a dog), and Diana remained peacefully asleep. I couldn’t even believe it. She’s a little gem. When she’s awake, Diana enjoys playing piano, throwing oranges off the kitchen counter and playing outside. She also enjoys wearing an extremely oversized sweater that makes her resemble some sort of Alaskan fisherman and is very adorable. Her parents love her and it’s not hard to see why.