We barely got done with the outdoor photos before the rain! They were troopers to the end. I had so much fun with these kids, singing, acting silly, and playing. Their backyard is so pretty, and I know my own kids would love that tire swing!


She has such a good singing posture, and she loves to sing. What are her favorite songs? "If your happy and you know it," "The Barney Song," and "Row, Row, Row your Boat."



She was singing and doing the hand motions for one of the songs. I just loved all her facial expressions. So lively, so animated, so incredibly adorable!


But her brother had the very best silly poses and faces!

Session from the previous post

Such sweet sweet kids, and we did have fun looking for bunny rabbits, watching my camera blink, and eating giant lollipops!

Sweet Baby Toes!

Bare feet in grass, I do not think there could be anything cuter!


Okay, this little girl is!





I think she's thinking "Hmmm, I wonder how Mom will react if I pull on this bow?"

"Ah! I like that reaction!"


This little girl and her parents braved a Prom Night at Hampton Cove! They were troopers though and we ended up with some amazing captures.

A recent Easter session

I had so much fun with this happy little girl. We giggled, we played, we twirled, we looked at ladybugs, and we even played with some Easter eggs. She showed me how she can do a perfect catcher's squat, and we even looked at yard animals.



I'm looking forward to another session with her in late June. I know I will have more silly faces, sweet smiles, and hopefully I will be able to get a great family photo at the same time!

Sweet little "almost 2" year old!

I had the pleasure of photographing this little girl recently, and while she was a little apprehensive at first, she warmed right up and gave me this sweet shy smile.

I snuck in a session of Katie over Easter

I am here to say, for the record, that she is officially my hardest "client" to date. I am truly about to call in for the reinforcements and have others do her portraits.

Happy Easter!

I had the pleasure of photographing these two cuties this past weekend. Both were not quite sure what to make of me with my camera and lights and backdrop, but they warmed up quickly. We had fun playing with the Easter Eggs, dancing around, and playing with Thomas trains.

This little girl just turned 1 not too long ago. Isn't she darling?



But this image, is one of my favorites. Yes, I know you can't see their faces, but this one I can read her thoughts. Can't you?


"Why does he have all of those eggs? I need more." Then, "How can I get them away from him?"

Aren't siblings great?! Honestly, he did share them with her very well and this was taken during a quick gather up to restock the eggs around them. We were playing a little bit by this point.

My how fast they grow!

Is is not amazing how quickly these little babies grow? How much they develop in one year? From the little tiny newborn to a walking and talking (well jabbering) little person.

I met 2 of the coolest kids this week!

Is it still okay to say "coolest" or am I showing how old I am?

I did manage to make it over 30 years without seeing a single hockey game, but last year we took our kids to see Huntsville Havoc. I loved it. You can imagine how excited I was to get to photograph this young man who loves the sport. Seeing him skate on his driveway, doing things that I could never do, was amazing. I hope that he will go as far as I think he will.




Despite what it shows here, I did get some of him looking at the camera. I loved these though. This last one though, well, it really spoke to me. I love the profile shots of kids.

He has a little sister that he obviously adores. After meeting her I quickly understood why, she is so cute. Her personality just shines through even on a cloudy (but warm) day. She had just watched one of my favorite movies of all time, Annie. One time and she was singing Tomorrow for us. This little one sang, swung in her swing, rode her tricycle, had a pillow fight, cooked, dressed up like Cinderella, and fed her baby dolls while I was there. Was that a playdate or a photosession? I don't know, but I had a wonderful time with her.



I do believe that lollipop was larger than her face! I wonder if she ever finished it all?

The Girls

I love this of the two girls in color.




But this one just needed to be in selective color! The largest lollipop those eyes have probably seen. I just love how big those eyes are, like she can't believe it's hers.



I just love her eyes, so pretty! She is just so sweet, and that little smile that says to me "I'm not going to smile for you, no I'm not...okay maybe just a little."

These sisters are what parents dream of when they dream of having 2 girls, I know I do. Tea parties together, secret whisperings, and lots of love for each other. That is what I saw through my lens.

Starting back up!

This is just the first of many I have from this session, and these kids were the best with which to start back after a break! So well behaved, so polite, and truly fun to be around. They have high ambitions, outgoing personalities, and the best hugs!

Have you seen it?

Have you been to http://www.carlabphotography.com lately?

I updated the site...FINALLY! There are some sessions not in there right now that I intend to put on the site, but someone got a little "archive" happy and I am looking for those archived images.

I have some tiny things to change, but it's viewable by everyone now. It's about time I updated as well since there have been so many wonderful sessions this past year!

In just about 2 weeks....

My new site will be launched, just in time for me to come off of the Adoption Leave. I'm getting opinions, critiques, and praises on it now. I'm tweaking things left and right, and I hope you love it as much as I do!

This one WILL have my phone number on it! Promise. Until then though, my number is 256.426.9661

What are you Thankful for?

I've been thinking about this for the past week. What am I thankful for? I keep thinking about my children, and the health that we enjoy. God has truly blessed us until our cup overflows.

These two babies were wonderful, and I ended up with many shots that I love. They were supposed to have their session earlier this month, but I caught a cold and I did not want to give it to them! I loved spending time with them for their session, and the parents were so with it for having two newborns in the home. Their big brother is so very proud, and took me immediately in to see them. He pointed out which baby was which, and I could see just how proud he was of his new brothers. I think he's going to be a great big brother!



I hope that all of you reading this blog, and all my clients have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and I truly hope your blessings are overflowing.

This young lady makes it easy!

I've been so busy and she has been super patient waiting on her sneak peek! This young lady is wonderful to work with, she makes it so easy. It also means that I have a hard time narrowing down the proofs, they are all so good!


Christmas season is fully upon us, and if you have not gotten me your card order, we are in danger of not getting them back in time for you to mail out! Especially as it looks like I will be in China for 2 weeks very soon.

Enjoying fall!

These two boys met me up on Monte Sano with their parents, and we loved the weather and the fall color, and playing. They have such great fun personalities, and so cooperative.


We even discovered a woodpecker in one of the trees! They climbed trees, climbed play structures, and threw leaves.



Such handsome, polite, fun boys who will grow to be fine young men! I had trouble picking just a few to show off here. I have many great shots from this session (including some where we got to playing and acting silly).

Tis the season!

Santa Hats have been making a regular appearance in my sessions lately. Christmas Red has been showing up quite a bit lately. Ornaments? Holiday Card designs? It's all there as well.

It can only mean one thing! Christmas is almost here!

This adorable little girl with her loving big brother is in for a treat. Her first Christmas. She has a wonderful family, full of loving grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins. It is always a pleasure to do a session for a family who so obviously loves one another.

Wonderful family session this fall

Such beautiful children, don't you agree?

Aren't these two girls beautiful?

I fell in love with their dresses, with their smiles, with their laughter, and their love for each other.



I remember talking to their Mom during our paperchase for adopting Katie, and due to what we talked about I started considering other aspects of China adoption. Mainly Special Needs, and how really what I consider special needs and what is considered special needs in China adoption are totally different things. Thus, that conversation helped to lead us to Katie.



To say I have a soft spot for this family is an understatement. Okay, so I have a soft spot for any family that has ever adopted or is adopting.