the romney family

































please let me be blessed with children this adorable.

the 5yr old giggled every time I looked at him and the two year old had 4 outfits changes without a breakdown....and can we just talk about this squishy newborn? she was OUT. we tried waking her up but she was just too sleepy from all the eating and sleeping she does. exhausted.

beautiful children and beautiful home (don't you just love that door?). thank you for letting me invade!

miss O



























it has been said that I have some pretty great friends. what they say is true. I would say I have the tres leches of friends. the ripe mango of friends. the kauai of friends. I have the BEST friends.

I have what I call "3am" friends. you know, the ones you can call at 3am when you REALLY need them. I believe each of us only have a handful of these types of people in our lives. matt and heather are 3am friends. being a 3am friend doesn't come without sacrifice (like phone calls in the middle of the night), but there are perks as well! like my complete devotion and loyalty, as well as the occasional photo shoot.

spending a week in the wind rushing state of oklahoma to be with my newest baby girl and her family was amazing. our week together was planned in 3hrs increments...which usually consisted of eating, playing, sleeping, pooping, eating, playing, sleeping, pooping. for a non scheduled girl like me this household was a machine! I think I can still smell the formula and that sweet little body after bath time. seriously, does anything smell better than post bath baby?

I watched in awe as I saw first hand the transformation of these two into parents. they are naturals! the love, and adoring and cooing and instincts were all there. all and more. I loved matt and heather before but after seeing them as parents I think I love them a little more. such selflessness. such sacrifice. but just like being a 3am friend has it's perks so does being a parent. olive is flawless! happy is an understatement. for sure one of the easiest babies I have ever been around. and can we talk about her plus my camera? um, is it normal for a 7 week old to stare into my lens with big wondering eyes?! NO! but olive, being flawless as she is, stared into my lens the entire week. not kidding. we even tried to get her to look away but her eyes were transfixed. somewhere deep inside I want to believe she will take after her auntie and become my apprentice.....or maybe she is the smartest 7week old in the history of time. whatever the genius, taking photos of her was a complete and total dream.

olive, stop being 17yrs old! never get bigger! make those cooing noises as you fall asleep forever! always look right into your auntie rachel's lens! never stop the kung fu panda moves right before you fall asleep! move closer to me! smoosh smoosh smoosh smoosh!!!!!!!!!!

all my love to my favorite new family.

johnny
























this family is great. we once did polynesian dances at a party together.

I have no doubt they will be wonderful parents to this little dude. not only does mama come from a fairly huge family, where she helped to raise many small kidlins, but they are both natural and instinctual and obviously in love.

congratulations on getting to this chapter in your life. so many surprises around the corner.

give the wee one a squeeze for me. xo.

just a taste...

..of miss O.

words can't describe the obsession I have with this little nugg.

missing her too much. NEVER grow up!!!! NEVER!

your aunt rach loves you!

(get ready for her "blowout" post with 1 million pictures).

harper grey























this baby was so tiny and new when I photographed her, that her umbilical cord was still in. for some reason this really hit me. new, new life.

she was completely perfect. perfect skin, perfect demeanor, perfect little lips and hands and feet...and I do have to say perfect style. this should come as no surprise given that both her parents are amazing designers and artists (her mom is the president of clever creative and her dad is the president of gabor + allen, a design, build and landscape company).

jonathan adler ceramics and other sentimental and beautiful art adorned the nursery and the rest of the house. I'm already excited at the prospect of photographing her when she is sitting because they had so many amazing chairs. I especially loved the simple "grey" onesie she wore. classic and simple. LOVE.

thank you for letting me inside your inspiring home to photograph your precious little bundle. I ate up every minute.

xo.

penny+mom+dad+kitty


























a little bit of christmas baby, a little bit of newborn.. a little bit of family and a little bit of cat on beautiful yellow chairs.. a little bit of sucking on dad's nose (cute/gross), a little bit (more like TONS) of drool and little bit of hair pulling.. a little bit of snuggling and a lot of being in love.

I had the best day in san diego with you guys. our 1 hour turned into 5 and I was kind of glad. it gave me 4 more hours of getting to know you and your adorable scrumptious baby girl. make lots more just like her. xo.

norah

there are people in my life that helped me survive. sarah jane is one of those people. she was my "other" for the time I spent in the city. when I look at these photos of her newly formed family I can't help remembering all the late night conversations had where we shared the wonder at ever finding husbands or having children....would it ever happen? how? HOW? seeing her happiness is like an open ending to so many years of questions. I know her happiness will only grow.

I need more photos of this baby. her lips are seriously the cutest around.

love you bowen family.




it all started in harlem..

...with dating, falling, marrying, baby making and now parenting. one of my first memories with nikki was sitting in the "full moon" talking about life one 4th of july weekend (the same weekend matt and heath started canoodling). I knew she was smart, ambitious, genuine and somebody you could trust. cameron was the one who made witty films, had witty side remarks and was the man we compared all other men too, knowing he was the perfect example of a "good guy" (seriously one if the nicest people I have ever known). this is one couple I loved before they were a couple but after moving from NY I find myself feeling closer and closer to them as they include me in their life. I loved being there on their wedding day. I loved being there to hold and kiss their first born. I feel blessed to have them as friends.

I am excited for many more moments with your family. missing little john already.

xxoo-
rach




















in the future

I will post more of...

the kelly family

madeline & mom

nellie & kent

grandma at the cabin

lisa & dave

I am off to girls camp till saturday. I feel like a horrible bad person for neglecting my blog and so many deserving people from seeing their photos. Believe me when I say it will be a welcome change to catch up on work when I am back saturday. Who knew I could miss photoshop?

until then...

dessert time

photo shoot of my nieces and nephews during my last trip to utah. for some reason when I look at these images as a whole I feel like crying....and not in a "these are so hideous I can't stand looking at them" sort of way, but in a, "really? you're that big...that old..that smart?". It's almost more than I can stand. these kids are just so delicious, they give me a permanent stomach ache.

























maybe this will change your mind

..or my mind...or somebody's mind...

I'm not usually one to post photos of myself, but as I was editing through my nephews birth I came across these and haven't been able to deny the "worlds happiest aunt" look pasted across my slap happy face.

perfect baby and me.

perfect baby, sister in law (mother of perfect baby) and me.

perfect baby, older brother (dad of perfect baby) and me.

perfect baby and me crying because I had to leave 10mins after he was born to catch a flight.

me + having to leave newborn baby nephew minutes after being born= not cool.


I will post more from the birth in the next day or so.




Aven

Baby fever.

It seems everyone I know has recently had one or will in the next year. This is good news for me because I love myself some babies!!

Aven was 12 days old when I took these...now he must be 14 days old. Stop Growing!!! Stay little forever!!! He is the cutest little crumpliest smooshiest thing you've ever seen. Too cute to stop kissing. Too cute to stop staring. Too cute to stop taking pictures. He was so easy to photograph. A little feeding here, and little diaper change there and he was good to go.

Despite what some of the pictures show, he did not want to close his eyes. Most times you can't beg a newborn to open their eyes and Aven wouldn't do the opposite! He made a lot of eye contact which is also rare. This little guy didn't want to miss any of the action....a little bit like his dad, if you ask me. He also has as many shoes as his dad, which believe me is LOTS. Coolest kid on the block already.

Lindsey is a pro. She can quote any baby fact by heart and throws him around like she's had 20. I know who to call when the time comes for me to ask questions.

I loved being there. Thanks for letting me invade your home. Tell him to stop growing till I can see him again!


















Crew Odom

Friends in life come and go. People move, get married, have children and it seems fewer and far between that old friendships remain intact. Nick and I have been lucky to have stayed friends through all those changes. Nick married Whitney a few years ago and I might like Whitney more than I like Nick now....I definitely like her more. She is laid back, funny and beautiful..because of those things and a few good things that nick might have contributed, they just gave birth to their first practically perfect baby, Nicholas Crew.

Crew looks like a miniature Nick. Their faces look exactly the same. Whit and I agree that this fact is very unfair considering she formed Crew inside her belly for 9months. Maybe you can dress him in girls clothes every once in awhile to make up for this fact..no?

FYI: Whitney is an amazing hairstylist. She has an amazing fully functioning hair salon in their home and is way to busy for her own good. Email her if you are ready to have the best hair of your life. whitneymwaite@msn.com

I love you guys. I can't wait for you to have the rest of your 8 children!!












Sienna's Birth-Sept 14, 2007

I missed the actual birth by 5 minutes!!!!!! There aren't enough exclamation points to express my frustration with that. Wrong freeway exit, wrong hospital building and running on foot. Man.

I'll tell you what wasn't wrong...that baby. She is perfect. Jackie ended up having her natural which should give her bragging rights for the next 5 years or so...maybe a lifetime of bragging if you ask me.

I loved being able to see mom, dad and aunt ooh and ahh over her and unlike most births I had more than my fair share of holding time. Thank you so much for letting me be there to capture all the "after" moments...those are the ones people really want to see anyway. Love you guys.