Relaxed family portraits at Lighthouse Beach - Cape Cod Family Photographer

I first met Jenny and her family on the beach two years ago. Getting to see them again for new portraits was super special! I love watching kids grow up in front of my camera. George and Kathryn are already getting so big, and watching them together was really magical. They were amazing - happy to be hugging and playing in the sand. The entire night at Lighthouse Beach was absolutely joyful! 

We lucked out with a truly gorgeous evening at Lighthouse Beach in Chatham. I always love visiting Lighthouse Beach, because it’s never too busy at sunset. It’s also got a very wide stretch of sand, gorgeous and tall sand dunes, and the tall lighthouse as a beacon in the background. Because Lighthouse Beach is protected by a narrow strip of land known as North Beach Island, the water here is calmer and quieter. However, this beach also has frequent shark sightings (far out to sea, though, and never a concern during our sessions, but it’s always fun for kids to try and spot a shark during their session!). It can bring out some great laughs and smiles! 

I loved working with George and Kathryn again, seriously. They’re so sweet! Kathryn has the most beautiful, vibrant smile that truly lights up her whole face. I was able to capture so many joyful portraits of this sweet girl!George has grown so tall and loved telling me all about the different sports he plays. He’s a helpful big brother and he was so amazing during sibling portraits. It was definitely a special night with a wonderful family here on the Cape. 

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Older Awake Newborn Photos With Lots of Smiles

I recently welcomed baby Kiran to my Saratoga Springs studio for his newborn portraits. This little guy was a month old when he and his parents came by, and we were able to enjoy lots of eye contact and adorable expressions during his session because he was a little bit bigger and more awake! I absolutely loved working with Kiran and his family to create their heirloom portraits celebrating his arrival to the world! 

For Kiran’s session, we incorporated lots of neutrals with white. I’m obsessed with their family portraits with everyone in white. They’re stunning! We included a few pops of soft sky blue and sage green, which coordinates nicely with his nursery and their decor at home. I always encourage families to think about where they want to display images when deciding on a theme or color palette. I know Kiran’s portraits are going to look perfect displayed at home! 

My favorite part of working with Kiran and his parents might be that we were able to create a special gallery wall in their home to feature their favorite portraits. I love knowing that they’re going to enjoy these images on their wall every single day as their little boy grows. That’s why I do what I do: I want you to remember these moments and be able to relieve them as time slips away. 

Kiran, thank you for being such a sweet boy for me in the studio! Your session brought me so many new favorite portraits and I hope you’ll always see how loved you truly are in these moments. 

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A dreamy cake smash at the beach with Cape Cod Baby Photographer Nicole Starr Photography

Back when my son was a baby, I did a cake smash on the beach for him the summer after he turned one. That turned out to be my first ever cake smash at the beach, and since then I’ve done many first birthday celebrations at the beach while visiting Cape Cod every summer. Our daughter celebrated her first birthday in June, which was perfect timing for a cake smash later in the summer during one of our trips to the Cape! I absolutely love creating this special memory with my babies. 

We went to my favorite beach right at sunset, and we set up right in the surf where the water was coming up in gentle waves onto the sand. I love the effect it had in the portraits – completely dreamy! Adelaide looked so precious in her pink dress and enjoyed her cake. She actually dug right into her cake, and her expression when she is leaning into it with both hands and her tongue out just cracks me up! Her big brother helped towards the end and I can’t express how it made my heart swell to see my two babies playing together in the surf and the sand. 

This was definitely the messiest cake smash I’ve ever done between the frosting and the wet sand, but it was so worth it! Happy birthday to my sweet baby girl!

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Extended family photo session while on vacation on Cape Cod

Ashley and her family are just the sweetest! They made their first visit to the Cape in 2022, from Western New York and they loved it so much, they decided to come back this summer! When they booked their trip, Ashley reached out about planning a Salt Air session on the beach in Dennis, MA. I’m so happy that we were able to make their session work - and include the grandparents, too. 

I absolutely loved working with this family. They were so much fun and we couldn't stop laughing. And they looked incredible! Ashley decided to use nature as inspiration for their outfits, pulling lots of tans, greens, and blues for their clothing choices. Ashley had the most beautiful pink dress to bring the palette together, too. Honestly, I love how everything looked on the beach. We even had a slightly darker sky that day, which looked amazing against their outfits. 

I have lots of games and prompts that I like to use during our family portrait sessions, and we really are able to get the best expressions and natural smiles out of everyone this way. Ashley’s family made it a lot of fun - and they were such good sports. The prompts and game make for a memorable time together that is so much more enjoyable than just “saying cheese”. I love how we get such natural smiles and giggles, especially from the kids. 

I’m so happy that this sweet family made this portrait session possible. I hope that they treasure these portraits for years to come and the memories made here last a lifetime! 

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Capturing three siblings' personalities with family portraits at the beach

This summer has been a dream come true. I’ve been able to make lots of memories with my own family and I had the joy of capturing several Cape Cod family portrait sessions during our time in Massachusetts this summer. Nicole’s family session on Corporation Beach on Cape Cod was one of those sessions. I’ve been doing portraits for Nicole’s family since her oldest son turned one, so it was incredibly special to get together on the Cape for a Salt Air session this summer! 

One thing I love about capturing this family is that Cameron, Teagen, and Liam are always a lot of fun. Each of their personalities always comes out while we play and work, so it’s a great time capturing them all. This year, Cameron and Liam got to wear matching Vineyard Vines shirts - and they both looked absolutely perfect! You could just tell that Liam was beyond excited to be matching his big brother. All three of them were great for me - laughing, hugging, and just having a great time on the beach together. It made my job super easy and I’m thrilled with the natural and joy-filled moments their Salt Air session was made of.  

Nicole planned another set of perfect outfits - with white as the base color. She mixed in some navy blues and the light blues that came on the boys’ hoodies. Teagan’s dress looked so similar to Nicole's, which was also super special. I loved seeing how she looked at her mama throughout the session. Their outfits truly looked amazing on the beach and I love how it helped them pop against the sand and water around them.

Thank you for trusting me to capture another set of portraits - and another set of memories. I’m so thankful to know you all and I can’t wait to see you again soon! 

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A horse racing themed cake smash in Saratoga Springs

Happy birthday, Ivy! This darling little girl was born last year during the famous annual Whitney Race and upon her arrival, Heather immediately knew what her first birthday portrait theme would be: horse racing! I always love a chance to break out this uniquely Saratoga Springs backdrop and setup, and to do so in honor of a Whitney Race baby was even more special to me. Ivy’s mom not only used the theme for her portraits, but planned the entire birthday party around this theme too! SO fun. 

Before our cake smash, I met Ivy, Heather, and Lee in a wildflower field that they’ve grown to love over the last year. It’s a field the family frequents to gather their fresh fruit and veggies, so it holds a lot of meaning to the three of them. Ivy had the cutest little blue and white dress for our portraits in the field. She looked absolutely adorable, and everything just had this soft flowing vibe to it. 

After our time in the field, we headed back to the studio for Ivy’s first birthday portraits. Heather loved my vintage high chair and big ONE letters made of metal, so we made sure to incorporate them in our studio time. Heather chose the sweetest blue linen dress for Ivy to wear during her smash. She actually pulled some of the pastel orange and peach out of the backdrop for her cake, too. Such great attention to detail! It really helped everything for the smash come together. 

Ivy was gentle with her cake but had a blast. I loved seeing her little smile come out as she touched the icing and even got to play in our bath after the smash. She was utterly adorable and I had a great time with her and her parents marking this major milestone! Happy first birthday, Ivy! 

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A horse racing themed cake smash in Saratoga Springs NY with New York cake smash photographer Nicole Starr Photography

Laughter-filled family portraits at the beach, Cape Cod family photographer

Working with families year after year is such a beautiful gift. I’ve worked with the Rovaldi family since their first son’s newborn session - and now they’ve got three beautiful grown kids. They’re some of my favorite long-time clients from Boston and every time I get to see them, it’s like catching up with old friends. This year, we met for new family portraits on the beach on Cape Cod at Corporation Beach! While we’ve been working together for years, this was their first time doing portraits on the beach. I think they turned out beautifully and I hope that Christina and Matt feel the same way! 

The day of our session, we met around low tide near sunset. It was absolutely perfect! We had the dreamiest light to start their session - with all of them near the dunes and seagrass. As we got towards the end of the session, we moved to the water and it was so fun to watch the kids get mom and dad at the very end. I love the beach for family portraits, I think it just naturally brings out so much joy for everyone! 

Christina and Matt chose a beautiful blue and white palette for their outfits that looked amazing against Corporation Beach. I just love how Lucas, James, and Vivienne looked sitting together on the sand. So cute!!! I also suggested that they bring along baby powder for when our session was over. When you dust it on everyone’s legs, the sand slides right off - which makes leaving the beach a breeze! 

Thank you for trusting me for another year, Christina and Matt. I’m so happy I got to see you all on the Cape and can’t wait until next year! 

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Newborn portraits for Julian’s Baby Sister

Welcome to the world, Baby Lucy! I photographed Lindsay’s maternity portraits earlier this year and now her little girl has arrived! She and the family came to my Saratoga Springs studio for newborn portraits and I was so happy to get to meet Lucy! She’s absolutely precious. 

During Lucy’s newborn session, I had some flashbacks to capturing her big brother’s newborn portraits 2 years ago. It was fun to have them all back in the studio for new portraits. During his mom’s maternity session, Julian was a bit hesitant about being on camera. We managed to get some smiles. But, the studio is stocked with lots of toys and snacks (turns out he loves Goldfish!), so we had a good time for his sister’s newborn session. He was amazing - and even came to check on his baby sister while she was swaddled up for her portraits. It was adorable! 

I absolutely love the color palette that Lindsay chose for Lucy’s portraits. We focused on beautiful neutrals and introduced some soft pinks to round out the color palette. Her mom wore a beautiful pink gown from the studio and I loved how the texture photographed. Lucy wore some sweet floral headbands, too. She looked so perfect throughout the whole session!! 

Thank you to this sweet family for allowing me to capture another newborn session. I’m so happy to meet Lucy and thrilled we got to work together to document your growing family again! 

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Lifestyle newborn portraits for baby #3

Three years ago, I photographed this beautiful family in their home when their middle daughter, Sloane, arrived. It was so special to return back to their home to capture the arrival of their newest little girl, Baby Blake! I could hardly believe how big Sloane and big brother Jack were, too. Time truly does fly by! 

This family’s home has such a neutral and boho inspired vibe. I absolutely love photography in this space. It’s got the best light and the space truly makes my job easy! One of the things mom wanted to do while I was there was recreate some portraits from Sloane’s session with Baby Blake. I’m always a huge fan of families doing this - it creates such a unique connection between portrait sessions. But, I don’t think that she nor I were quite ready for how emotional it would make us, seeing both of her big siblings loving on Baby Blake! 

While we spent most of their lifestyle newborn session in their living room, we also spent a little time in Blake’s nursery. I adored their beautiful Moses basket - it’s a favorite for me in the studio, so I was pleased to see theirs in the nursery! We also captured some sweet photos of Blake and her big siblings in her crib. One of my tricks for creating a new “sheet” in the crib is to add your favorite swaddle blanket, tuck it around the edges, and I’ll clone in the rest later on. This is such a great trick to be able to keep your little one swaddled and show off your favorite blankets during this time! 

To the sweet T family, thank you for asking me to capture these beautiful moments for your growing family. I loved meeting Baby Blake and seeing all of your sweet babies. I hope that you’ll treasure these portraits forever - I know that they’ll hold a special spot in my heart.

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Sand Dunes and Coastlines: Family portraits at sunset on Cape Cod

If you’ve been following my blog this past year, you may recognize this family! Katie is my dear friend (and former roommate!) who lives out in the Boston area, and I have loved documenting all of their milestones for them as they celebrate their first year with their sweet baby boy. This summer, we photographed their first ever family portraits at the beach in Dennis, Cape Cod! Not only was it special to capture Katie, Jeff, and Lucas again - but it was also so meaningful to have them somewhere that means so much to me, too. 

As always, Katie, Jeff, and Lucas were amazing during our session. Katie looked absolutely perfect in a blue summer dress and it looked amazing with Jeff’s simple white button down and blue shorts. Lucas looked adorable in a little plaid outfit. I LOVED all of the blues and whites. It was the perfect choice against the sunset and dunes. 

Corporation Beach is one of my favorite spots for family photos on Cape Cod. We had the perfect sunset the evening of their session, too. I always love how the sun goes behind the dunes at this beach. It’s the most amazing location at low tide! So dreamy for beach family portraits. 

Katie and Jeff, thank you for trusting me with your memories again. I feel so lucky to be watching Lucas grow alongside you and to have a front row seat to your journey into parenthood. 

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Six Month Milestone Portraits for Gabriella with Saratoga Springs Baby Photographer

Gabriella is already six months old! I can’t believe this sweet girl is already halfway through her first year. I feel like it was just yesterday that she was here for her newborn portraits. Gaby was so sweet in the studio for her new milestone portraits and I loved the chance to see her and her sister Giuliana again! 

Gaby is a tiny little peanut and was still able to fit into our newborn size outfits! Her big sister was the same at this age, and it’s adorable to see a baby so small and so strong sitting up on her own. There’s something so sweet and yet so powerful about these girls!  

For Gaby’s portraits, we incorporated some of the same elements that big sister Giuliana had in her portraits, too. I love being able to do that with siblings. It’s a wonderful way to create connections between portraits that will be displayed together. For Gaby’s portraits, we used the same Caden Lane personalized blanket from her newborn portraits. We also did another portrait of the sisters with the baby stroller, echoing a similar one that we created during the newborn session six months prior. It was a sweet moment to see again! We also included some of their mom’s bracelets in a few portraits, too. It is so special knowing that we’re creating a new set of heirlooms for Giuliana and her sister! 

It feels like I’m going to blink and Gaby will be back here for her cake smash session. I hope time slows down a little before then! 

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Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Cake Smash with White and Gold Backdrop

Sofia is one! We celebrated this sweet girl’s first birthday with a gorgeous cake smash in my Saratoga Springs studio this year. I’ve done Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star setups before but they’re always fun to create and I love to find new ways to make them unique to each baby in the studio. For Sofia’s session, we focused on a light and airy feeling in her setup. I’m a huge sucker for any setup with gold stars, and that was a great place to start for her backdrop! The end results are so timeless and just perfect for this little birthday star! 

Before we dove into her cake though, Sofia and her family met with me in Congress Park – one of my favorite Saratoga Springs parks. We managed to find the last flowering bush in the park. It wound up being the perfect spot for their new family portraits! Sofia and her big sister Ella were fantastic for me. We had a blast! Mom and dad played along with the girls, and everyone looked absolutely amazing. It was the best way to kick off their session. 

When the portraits were done, we headed to the studio and Sofia got to get into her cake. She looked adorable with a simple headband and ivory outfit for the smash. This little girl loved when she got to play with the wooden spoon and cake. It was adorable! Our session ended with her little bubble bath – a favorite among the babies in the studio. She was so cute and happy the entire time for us. It was truly a dream cake smash session!

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Light and Airy Motherhood Session in our Saratoga Springs Portrait Studio

Katie and Lucas recently came to the studio for a 6 month milestone portrait for Lucas. Katie is one of my dearest friends. We’ve known each other for years. I love watching her on this motherhood journey and seeing how much joy her sweet boy brings to her life. She truly lights up when she is with him, and her face is absolutely radiant when he smiles at her. And just look at the way he looks at her! I was thrilled when they mentioned visiting - and squeezing in some portraits, too! 

She and Lucas came to visit for a few days and we enjoyed some studio time to celebrate the halfway point of this crazy and wild journey of the first year of parenthood. It was so exciting to see everything Lucas can do now - one of the reasons I LOVE milestone sessions! He absolutely loves tummy time and was even sitting up on his own. 

All dresses and outfits that Katie and Lucas used are from the studio’s Baby Wardrobe and Mama Wardrobe. The light grey overalls and white dress looked perfect together - creating truly light and airy portraits that are so classic. I hope that Katie and Lucas will treasure these portraits for many years to come. 

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Lifestyle Newborn Session with Toddler in Saratoga Springs

Krystie and Andrew recently welcomed baby Bennett Cyril to the world! I’ve been honored to document this family’s milestones ever since they welcomed their first baby (Easton) into their family, and this time they chose to do a lifestyle newborn session in the comfort of their home to capture these special moments as they welcome their second boy boy home. I loved getting to see them again - and spend time in their beautiful Saratoga Springs home. 

Krystie and Andrew’s home is absolutely gorgeous. It’s got a wonderful light-filled nursery and master bedroom, so figuring out where to capture Bennett’s newborn portraits was a no brainer! Easton was a great sport and snuggled with Bennett in his beautiful wooden crib for me. He was honestly a great big brother our entire session. Lifestyle newborn sessions are wonderful for big siblings, especially toddlers. They can take a break, hang out in their favorite spaces, show me their toys, and even enjoy a snack. It definitely helps them feel more relaxed and excited to be part of the portraits. 

After spending time in Bennett’s nursery, we captured a few portraits of the whole family on Krystie and Andrew’s bed. I loved watching Easton snuggle with his brother! He was so sweet. We finished up the session in their living room. They had the most beautiful built-in shelves and window light - so it turned out to be a perfect spot for their newest family portraits. 

Congratulations to this sweet family! I’m so happy for you all and I loved getting to meet Baby Bennett! I’m so excited to watch him grow and to see Easton settle into his role as big brother. It’s going to be a wonderful adventure.

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Saratoga Springs Maternity Portrait Session at Sunset

Lindsay, Steve, and their son Julian are welcoming a baby girl to the family! We planned a beautiful spring maternity session at sunset in Saratoga Springs at one of my new favorite locations to document this growing family. Lindsay is absolutely glowing, so it was fun to plan portraits to celebrate her and the baby girl she’s carrying! 

When Julian was born two years ago, we did maternity and newborn portraits for him, so it was wonderful to see this beautiful family again. I love getting to be a part of all of the changes my NSP families experience - and I love that I help preserve those special moments for years to come. 

For Lindsay’s maternity portraits, we actually started in my Saratoga Springs studio. These portraits are always so simple and elegant. She chose one of my favorite white dresses from our Mama Wardrobe - with beautiful lace sleeves and textures. When we were done there, we headed to the new location I found in Saratoga Springs. It’s got a tree lined path and at golden hour, the light hits it just right to create some truly dreamy portraits! Lindsay wore one of my pink maternity gowns to the outdoor location and it was the perfect nod to their little girl. 

Julian wasn’t so keen on joining us for family portraits, but we still captured some great ones with this soon-to-be big brother. I have a million tricks and games up my sleeve, and we always manage to capture some great smiles from even the trickiest little ones. If you’ve been putting off portraits because you’re worried about your little one not cooperating, don’t be worried! I’ve been doing this for over 11 years, and I was an elementary teacher for years before that. I’ve seen everything. Literally. I fully expect kids to act like kids, and toddlers have independent little minds and they like to call the shots. We work with that, we have fun, and we capture them as they are while still getting their vibrant personalities to shine through. As you can see, it all pays off in the end! 

Congratulations again to Lindsay, Steve, and Julian! I can’t wait to meet your sweet little girl so soon! 

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A Neutral Beige & White Balloon Garland Cake Smash

Happy first birthday, Westin! To celebrate this sweet boy’s first birthday, we planned a neutral beige and white cake smash in my Saratoga Springs studio. This session was a blast - and so gorgeous, too. I loved bringing Mom’s vision to life to celebrate her little boy!

Before we got into the cake smash, I captured updated mommy and me portraits of Westin and his mom, Chanel. Chanel wore a beautiful gray dress and Westin had a cream hand-knit outfit. He looked absolutely precious! I loved the texture on his sweater - little details like that always look perfect on camera and bring some depth to your portraits. 

Afterwards, it was time for Westin’s cake smash! Mom wanted a boho feel for the setup with all neutral colors and a classic balloon garland. I loved designing this set with beige, white, and cream balloons. I also pulled out some of my classic white lit ONE lights and with his cream colored cake, we were ready to go! Westin wore the cutest little crown with a cream outfit and he looked absolutely adorable while he figured out what to do with his cake. During the session, he also took his FIRST steps! I was able to capture that special moment on film for his family and I am so grateful I could. 

I hope this sweet little boy has the best birthday! I loved having him in the studio for this adorable boho inspired cake smash. 

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Our Annual 4th of July Flag Portraits | Saratoga Springs Child Photographer

I first began doing this annual portrait series in 2018 when my son was just a few months old. Every summer since, we have pulled out this American flag-inspired backdrop for some simple summertime portraits with that red-white-and-blue Americana feel.

Last summer little Adelaide was barely two weeks old when we did her portraits, and now this summer she is full of so much personality! I love that we have continued this little tradition, and it is so much fun to see how Grayson and Adelaide have grown.

This cute gingham dress that she is wearing is actually THE EXACT SAME DRESS (and size!) that she wore last July in these photos. She was swimming in it last summer with her tiny newborn frame, and it fits more like a top now, but I was so glad to be able to pull it on over her head for a couple more portraits.

I love that we captured Adelaide standing like this. She is right on the verge of taking her first steps, and we know it’ll happen any day now!

And Grayson’s sweet personality! Looking back through the past six summers of July 4th portraits is melting this mama’s heart at just how quickly they change.

Spring family portraits with Saratoga Springs Photographer

Katie and Zach are the sweetest parents. I’ve loved getting to know them over the last few years as their boys Carter and Bennett have grown up. I’ve had the joy of photographing these brothers for their milestones in my studio over the last two years and each session is better than the last. There’s some real magic that happens when a family trusts you as much as Katie and Zach trust me. 

All of my cake smash sessions include time for updating family portraits. We were all so excited about the blossoms on the stress in my favorite spot in Saratoga Springs. It’s such a short-lived season here in Saratoga, and it’s my absolute favorite time of year to photograph families.These pink blossoms just lend themselves so well to soft pastel colors in the spring! 

Katie and Zach dressed the boys in super cute blue, green and pink colors. They worked perfectly in the park! You can never go wrong with blue and white, and chambray is one of my favorite fabrics for spring and summer. You always want to aim for a mix of patterns and solids, but keep in mind not to have too many people in patterns or the outfits will be visually competing for your eye, and you won’t be able to focus on the happy subjects. Katie and Zach did a wonderful job of balancing out the patterns and solid colors for their portraits. I’m just in love with the final images! 

Katie and Zach, thank you for trusting me to capture your sweet boys again! I absolutely adore working with all of you. 

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Baby Starr: Adelaide's First Birthday Cake Smash with Giant Floral ONE Letters

Our sweet girl is officially ONE, and it’s hard to believe that we’ve had her in our lives for a whole year now. Time truly did fly by at warp speed, and I feel like we just brought her home from the hospital and our son was cuddling her on the couch and saying in his tiny little voice, “Hi, Adelaide. Hi, honey. I love you!”

For Adelaide’s first birthday portraits, I wanted to do a classic floral cake smash with a twist. I purchased these 3-foot tall 3D metal letters and filled them with greenery, blush, and peach florals, with a few pops of anemones. I absolutely love how it turned out (and I can’t wait to use these letters in so many more cake smashes — check out another one here with BALLOONS inside the letters!).

This backdrop was truly a labor of love. The letters were handmade by an artisan in the Ukraine, and shipping took a few extra weeks to arrive. I needed a truly ridiculous amount of garlands to fill them with, and then I had so much fun adjusting the peach and white peonies, pink hydrangeas, white roses, and anemones to get them **just right** in the final setup.

It was all worth it, and our girl LOVED her cake smash!

Big brother Grayson wanted to help me in the studio. He has always loved being a part of sessions, and this one was no exception because it involved his baby sister and CAKE. He brings out the biggest smiles in her, and some of my very favorite portraits from this session are the ones where she is grinning and laughing at her big brother just over my shoulder.

I was sooooo happy when she leaned into her cake to take a big bite out of it! And I just adore those itty bitty fingers holding on to the frosting on the side of the cake.

Just look at how Grayson is making Adelaide smile in the one below! I love the bond that these two are developing.

Of course, baby girl absolutely loved her bathtub splash at the end. She didn’t want to get out of the tub when it was over! We had so much fun doing this session, and I can’t wait to frame a few portraits and add them to an album for our ONE YEAR OLD daughter!

A Celebration of Adelaide's First Year: My Favorite Baby Portraits

Our sweet baby girl turns ONE this week, and I can’t even believe that a whole 365 days have gone by since her arrival. Adelaide is an absolute ray of sunshine that brings so much joy to our lives, and we love this girl to pieces!

Of course I’ve gotten all sentimental going back through her portraits from the past year, marveling at how quickly she has grown, and ooooohhhh-ing and aaaaahhhh-ing over her perfect, tiny little features.

As a second time parent, this first year with our daughter feels a lot different than the first year with our son felt. We know a lot more about parenting, so we are wayyyyyy more relaxed about a lot of the baby stuff. We’re constantly juggling work-life-kids in a truly impossible balance, but we’re being very intentional about slowing down and really savoring these moments because they are sooooo sweet and we’re fully aware of just how fast they go by.

Today, I’m sharing some of my favorite portraits from her first year. I may not have used by big camera as much around the house for our day-to-day lives as I did during my son’s first year, so all of our lifestyle photos are on my phone and are getting turned into a photo album soon, but these are some of my faves from her arrival, sessions that I trusted other photographers to capture, and my studio!

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Our sweet little Adelaide was born 6 days ahead of her due date thanks to a scheduled induction. We had a smooth, easy delivery, and I’ll never forget how empowering I felt in that room with the all-female team supporting me (& Jeff) — our midwife, a pregnant nurse, and one other nurse who also happened to be there for Grayson’s arrival, too. It was an incredible moment of being surrounded by these amazing, encouraging women, and such a special way to welcome our girl to the world.

Then began all of her mini newborn sessions back home in our studio! I found it incredibly challenging to summon the energy to do her newborn portraits while recovering, taking care of her, and making sure to give enough love and attention to our son, the new big brother! Thankfully, I knew ahead of time that I wanted to prioritize the family portraits this time around, and in order to do that, I would need to hire a photographer for a full session. We went to a dream photographer on my bucket list, Saren Cassotto Photography in Connecticut. She captured the sweetest family portraits for us, and some of my favorites of Adelaide solo, too!

By Saren Cassotto Photography

By Saren Cassotto Photography

By Saren Cassotto Photography

I did finally make it into my studio with our girl, and I prioritized simple and timeless portraits with soft textures, and baby’s breath as a special nod to both my & my mother’s wedding day.

This girl’s bright blue eyes melt my heart!

Oh my goodness, I just loved this simple Christmas setup, and the rattan baby doll stroller was the perfect prop for this joyful Christmas portrait!

I started a tradition of gingerbread house portraits when Grayson was a baby, and it continued for a few years. Now it’s Adelaide’s turn! Hers will hang on the wall besides Grayson’s first year gingerbread house portrait every holiday season.

There is something so timeless about a simple, all-white setup, white outfits, and zero distractions. I love this look for documenting her first year!

I wanted to capture some cuddly mommy-and-me portraits before she turned one. Allie T. Photography captured this bond perfectly, and I love these so much!

By Allie T. Photography

We did monthly milestone portraits on this floral blanket, just like I did for Graysons first year. I can’t believe we’re all done with these milestones!

Happy birthday to our little ray of sunshine, and the happiest, smiliest baby that we are so lucky to call our own. We love you, sweet Adelaide!