I grew up in a tiny little town up in the panhandle of Texas.  One of those towns where everybody knows everybody.  Now that I’ve moved to a bigger city, my kids don’t quite get to experience what I did growing up, and while growing up in such a tiny place had some downfalls, there was lots of good.  I love meeting new clients, getting to know new families, watching them interact, hearing their stories, but there is just something so special about capturing families I grew up with.  I have known Ryan for as long as I can remember.  His older sister, Andrea, was one of my best friends growing up.  She now lives in Frisco, and I have had the privilege of capturing her family the last two year, so when her younger brother, Ryan and his wife Lindsey reached out to me to capture their almost one year old, I was thrilled.  In such a big area, again there are times I miss the “small town life”, but getting to capture people I know from my childhood brings a little of that “hometown” feeling to life.

We met at Arbor Hills Nature Preserve in Plano, along with about 50 other photographers, their clients, and lots of people who were just enjoying a beautiful evening.  Here in DFW, we have had rainy and cold wintery weather, so the second the sun is out and it feels like fall, everybody and their dog (or multiple dogs) are outside enjoying the weather.  Luckily we found a spot tucked away from everybody so we could focus on sweet Ethan’s 1 year pictures and capturing their family of 3.

The plan was to start out with Ethan’s pictures by himself, move on to family, and end with the smash cake, but Ethan let us know that he just needed mommy and daddy in order to get those smiles.  Once we gave him his cake, he decided that’s really all he needed, and I was able to really capture his sweet little personality.

Thank you, Ryan and Lindsey for letting me capture your sweet family.  You have such a beautiful family!