Meat and Sophie's Winter Gold Glam Birthday Party in Youngstown, Ohio

Yesterday, I thought about how Meat and Sophie were turning six and the idea crossed into my mind that maybe shouldn't have been there. I thought that since they were getting older, maybe Meat is finally mature enough to not eat the remote if we left it on the coffee table while we were gone. Wrong. So wrong. It wasn't the remote, but while Lou and I were grocery shopping, Meat decided to teach us a lesson. We accidentally left a box of tissues on the end table. Ughhhh. The box and all of the tissues were destroyed all over the floor. That's when I decided that tearing up a box of tissues was Meat's birthday present this year. I'm sure he had fun *insert a million eye rolling emojis here*...

Chris's Fall Senior Session at Mosquito Lake in Mecca, Ohio

My family and I have always been close. My Grandma Urchek had seven kids, so you can only imagine how many first and second cousins I have. The thing is, no matter where we are in our lives or physically how far apart we are, we're still supportive of each other and keep in touch. In one way or another we all witness each other growing in our lives. I've seen a lot of my cousins grow up, including Chris. Having the opportunity to take his senior photos was so exciting for me because I knew it was going to be a lot of fun and I truly love quality time with my family....

Lauren and Mike's Fall Family Session at Mill Creek Metroparks Farm in Canfield, Ohio

It's no surprise that I love watching families grow. It's especially heartfelt for me when a family continually asks me to follow along in their journey and create these bookmarks in their story. Last year, I had the opportunity to get to know Lauren and Mike's family better. They were expecting their first (human) child and we had a beautiful and personal maternity session in the spring. You can check out that session here...

John's Senior Photos at Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio

It may be chilly out now with the holidays around the corner, but I'm currently reminiscing over warm, summer sessions :] A portrait session I was excited this summer is this senior session with one of my past bride's brothers. Any time I get to see one of my past brides and their sweet mamas, I get so happy. But getting to know John a little bit better was definitely fun, too! Him, his sister and I spent the evening exploring the campus of Youngstown State University, my old stomping ground....