HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOVE!!!

Look at this face...



Is he not the cutest little boy you've ever seen???

I think so... and today that cute little boy turns another year older and although he looks similar to that cute little boy face, he is much older today. Let's just say a good 20+ years older!

I'm so excited for today, as I look forward for this day every year, because we get to celebrate the day the love of my life decided to come into this world! A good 9lbs. into this world I should add... that little detail would not even phase me years before this year, but seeing how we are going to be having a little boy of our own come a few months... that little detail is quite a big detail (to me anyways). Haha!

Why did you have to be so big??? Why? Why? Why?????

Just kidding!

I still love you and I'm so grateful to be able to share a piece of this life with you... You are the most amazing person I have ever met and I honestly love you more and more each and every year that passes!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOVE!!!! I hope today is filled with lots and lots of love... because you deserve it!

XOXOXO!!!

Max :: 6 months

1/2 of a year... 6 months... 2 sets of 3 months...

Ok I really can't do math, so I'm just going to stop there... Ha! It all equals the same thing. But to a baby, there is so much that happens in those months.

Last time I saw Max was 3 months ago, when he was 3 months old. He was so stinkin' sweet and cute, and although he was just a tad fussy, he had his reasons. However, this time around he was even MORE sweet and cute, and no fuss in him whatsoever! He has gotten so smiley, and literally smiles on command, or whenever they sing to him, which is so sweet! He seriously LOVES when he gets sung to... I was amazed by all the things they were doing to get him to smile, then once those words came out of their mouth in a song like tune... it was MAGIC! Adorable!!!!

I can't wait to see him 3 months from now, even cuter and sweeter than ever!

Here are a few of my favorites from our session...

ADORABLE!!!



All smiles...



I love this face he's making... Ha!



Awww...



Haha...



Look at those gorgeous blue eyes...





LOVE IT!!!

Baby Cooper :: Newborn

Isn't it funny when you see a little newborn baby, and they have such a sweet face, adorable little fingers and toes, an innocent persona, features that resemble both mom and dad, yet there is one strong feature that neither parents have?

Say for example, a full head of red, spiky hair?

VERY cute, yet a bit strange! Ha!

Well that is exactly what Baby Cooper was born with. He was born teeny, tiny with a full head of red, spiky hair. How cute is that? He definitely looks like his mom and dad, but neither one of them has a full head of red hair, nor were they born with a full head of red hair. Haha!

I was so excited to meet this little guy, well because who wouldn't want to meet a little newborn, right? But not only was he blessed with lots of hair, but he also has such fun facial expressions. It's fun to see little newborns pucker their lips, suck on their hands, but this little guy was working the camera like he came out of the womb to do so. I had taken so many photos because his face kept changing over and over. He even gave some smiles, which was SUPER cute! I wonder if he will be very expressive when he gets older? Hmm... I guess we will have to see!

Congratulations you guys... we are so excited to watch this little guy grow up!

Here are a few of my favorites from our session...

Adorable!!!



Look at that little face...



Haha... such a happy baby!



Hey now... Haha!



Aww...



PRECIOUS!!!



Love it!!!



Daddy plays guitar... wonder if he'll be doing that as well?



Sooo cute...

Happy Easter Weekend!!!

What a great Easter weekend it was... amazing weather, amazing company, amazing celebrations, amazing all around!!!

Cannot complain one bit!

I even got a surprise guest appear at our doorstep. Friday, as Todd and I were leaving church, I got a surprise text from one of my closest and dearest friends, Abbey. She said she was heading my way... and I was first in awe and second extremely excited because I have not seen her in months! We rushed home and soon enough she was knocking at our door. I can't tell you how happy I was to see her. What a great way to start the weekend!



The weather was perfect and we were able to hang out a bit before she had to head back to the home front of Ohio, before she leaves for the big ol' country of Russia. I think this girl has way more stamps in her passport than any other person I know.

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend, one that was full of love, life, and sunshine!

Happy Monday!

Baby Colin :: Newborn

Our Final Contest is finally done... What a running that was and a LOT of fun, I should add!

The winner was the lovely Nathan & Alexa...



Congratulations you guys and to all three contest winners! I'm excited for next years already!

Speaking of excited... it doesn't take much to get me that way... but I was so excited to have been having the opportunity to take some photographs of some newborn baby BOYS lately, especially since we will be having one coming in somewhere around 4 months or so... CRAZY!!!

One of those sweet little boys was baby Colin. What a small and precious little guy he is! I could not tell you how adorable this little guy is. He has such a sweet face and soft skin! Adorable!

Congratulations you guys... I'm so excited to watch him get bigger and bigger!!!

Here are a few of my favorites...

LOVE this... precious!



Umm... can we just say "ADORABLE!!!"



He was pretty comfy here... can't you tell??? Haha!



Haha...



I think he really enjoyed sucking on his arm...





His daddy plays the guitar, but I think he might be a singer...

Angelo & Ann :: Engagements

I'm so glad that it's a brand new week!

I'm not so glad that it's a brand new week with SNOW, but I will take the brand new week, especially with Todd being here safe and sound. What a HUGE relief it was to pick him up at the airport and see his nice tan face... Yes, TAN face he has now, along with him losing about 10 lbs. I'm a bit jealous!!!

We stayed up so late chatting about his trip and what an amazing experience it was for him. He is already talking about going back next year. I just hope I'll be ready to go then, but we'll see... it might be two years before I get the chance to do that one. I'll share some of his photos later this week as he gets settled back in, he can help me explain some of the photos with you all.

In the meantime, I have been having some of the funnest photo shoots. One of those fun shoots was with a super sweet couple: Angelo & Ann. What a perfect couple they are! Both are so full of love, life, excitement, spontaneism (if that's a word), and just all around beautiful people! We were both so happy to hear the news of their engagement, and their story was definitely one I have never heard of before! But I loved it, especially the way Angelo told it!

We are so happy for you guys and cannot wait to be a part of your special day here in a few weeks!!! We are praying for no snow!!!!!

Here a few of my favorites from our session...

What an adorable couple...



One of my favorites... so sweet!



He loves her...



LOVE this...



Umm... can we say how perfect they are together??!!



Sooo sweet!!!



Love it!



Woooo wooo...





Sooo in LOVE!!!

Today is a Good Day!!!

It has been such a LONG week... I actually didn't know when today would get here. The days were going by so slow it seemed... it was like the clocks went into slow motion and the days stretched to their max. I even think there is possibility that there was a few extra hours placed in some of those days.

But the good thing is... today is here and today is a good day!

I have been looking forward for today for SOOOOO long... well maybe only about 8 days, but the anticipation just might kill me if the excitement doesn't.

Todd should be arriving home late this evening, but the thought of him coming home has butterflies in my tummy! It's like our wedding day all over again.

Granted we have been apart before, this time was way different. One being he was out of the country, two being I had no idea when or if I would be able to hear from him, three being the obvious one, I'm pregnant and the thought of something happening and me being a single mom quite possibly scares me to death. I'm sure the list could go on, but the fact is... I made it through the week and I did hear from him just a few times for a few minutes, but long enough to know he's safe and he was having an incredible experience.

I can't wait to hear all about it and be able to share his experience with all of you!

In honor of that excitement, guess what I will have for you all next week???

You guessed it... lots of fun shoots that I did this past week!

Angelo & Ann



Baby Colin



Max



Baby Cooper

Excuse My Absence...

It's so hard to sit inside when it's so nice out...

Please excuse my absence as Maddox and I are enjoying this nice weather. I've been busy with some great shoots lately and can't wait to post them, but the sun outdoors is calling my name.

Safe and Sound...

A couple months back, I told a story of wanting to go somewhere and be "useful". I wanted to go to a place to not only help as much as I could, but also to bring a new visual perspective on life... little did I know that even though I really wanted that to happen, there were 'other' plans for me.

In those last couple months, Todd and I had decided were going to team up with an organization called Raincatchers. Raincatchers is based out of Haiti and their main goal is to build gutter systems for the locals to provide them with clean drinking water. I thought that would be such an amazing experience, especially with all of the stuff that has been going on there.

But as the time grew closer to go, the country of Haiti was holding some elections and they were having some problems with rioting, it was just not safe for us to go then, so our trip had to be postponed. I was so bummed! I had hope because they were going to be postponing to a time I could go, luckily it wasn't going to be in the middle of summer, in the midst of all the weddings we were going to be involved with.

Well a little other "surprise" came and basically, my chances to go were deleted. But even though I was unable to follow through with the trip, my other half, Todd, was still on board to go and make a difference... and the team he is with have not wasted any time in doing so.

I have not heard from him personally, since he did not know the conditions of communication, but I have heard an update from someone who is in connection with the current team over there now, and I do know they made it safe and sound, and a pretty cool story I wanted to share. It turns out that once they flew in to Port au Prince, they were delayed at customs, which I am told is pretty rare. As they finally made it out of customs and were making their way up the mountain to the clinic they were going to staying at, they came across a bus accident that JUST happened, and were able to help them out. That is pretty amazing... being delayed and the accident, doesn't seem like a coincidence... seems pretty "intentional" to me.



After hearing that, it gave me such a calmness knowing that as much as it really stinks not having my love and friend here, I know he is being used for the greater good! And believe me, it was REALLY, REALLY hard for me to say goodbye for JUST a week! I know it's for the best and he is going to be doing some amazing things this week!!!

Happy Monday!

Last, but Not Least...

If you know me and you read this blog much, you will know that my most favorite photos are usually ones that happen naturally, and the ones that really make me smile are the ones that happen right after a couple is announced as "HUSBAND AND WIFE"!

I LOVE those moments when a couple takes their walk down the aisle, hand in hand, with all their loved ones standing and applauding with so much joy! It brings a smile to my face just thinking about it!!!

That is why the LAST contest consists of my most favorite Wedding Recessional Moments from 2010.

Here are the finalists (in no particular order)...

#1 Mike & Karen



#2 AJ & Abby



#3 Simone & Jessica



#4 Nathan & Alexa



#5 Andrew & Meaghan



I LOVE them all, but now it's your turn to share your LOVE and pick your FAVORITE moment that made you smile as well.

The winner will receive a 6 x 6 gallery wrapped canvas and the FRONT spot to the splash page of our website.

Voting takes place via Facebook, so travel on over to our Veldman Photo Page, "Like" us, and then head to the photo gallery "2010 Wedding Recessional Moments Photo Contest Finalists", "Like" your favorite one (ONLY "likes" will count as votes), and go ahead and share it with all your friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, etc... Remember you must "like" our Veldman Photo Page first or else you will have trouble voting.

Enjoy picking your favorite... Voting will end Wednesday, April 20 at 12PM EST, so get going!

Happy Wednesday!!!

Baby Liam :: Newborn

HE'S HERE!!!

Earlier this year, we had the opportunity to photograph a maternity session for Patrick & Rachael, and just a couple weeks back, the little guy made his way to be with them. How exciting!!!

I always love being a part of such sweet moments like these, to follow up with them, and to be able to document those really do last a lifetime! I had such a fun time taking these because shortly before their maternity session was when Todd and I found out we would be having a little bundle of joy this year as well, so we chatted about that and how scary it was for me. Ha! I knew I wanted kids ONE day, I just wasn't expecting it to happen the way it did, a bit out of "schedule", you could say! But even though it wasn't our plan, it was meant to happen and I'm so excited for our little guy, just like Patrick and Rachael were excited for theirs!

Baby Liam is so adorable! He was such a good baby too... he really gave us some cute faces, and when they are that age, all those cute faces are so stinkin' sweet and give you HUGE smiles! Love it!!!

Congratulations you two... he is adorable and such a sweet little guy!

Here are a few of my favorites, although he was so cute it was hard to choose!

Look at that little face... ADORABLE!





So Sweet!!!



I think he likes sticking his tongue out... Ha!



But he's so sweet...



Aww...



Precious!!!



Oh my... so cute!



He's spent!!!