lindsay powell photography

Saturday's Mini's: Part 1 {libertyville illinois photographer}

The sun was out and it was actually pretty seasonably warm (40!) on Saturday for our Valentine mini's! Unfortunately the wind was a big obnoxious, especially in the early morning! We made the best of it, embraced the sun, and had a great time!

First up.. a gorgeous mama, almost to her due date (can you believe how amazing she looks?), a handsome hubby, and a couple of beautiful little girls. What a blessed family!

We often think of winter as the dead season, but I personally feel that the neutral landscape full of texture provides the perfect backdrop to highlight the subjects in the photographs. Neutral backdrops (in comparison to bright green grass, for example) often fit into our home color schemes as well!

 

Sexy, gorgeous, and beautiful! 

glow. | {Lake County, IL Maternity Portrait Photographer}

This glowing mama-to-be was such a pleasure to photograph.  She was so easy going and knew just where she wanted to shoot, the neighborhood of her parents' home and where she grew up.  It was the end of the fall color and a brisk day but we found some great spots!  Their personal traditional style is reflected well in these classic portraits.  Isn't she radiant? 

a christmas wish | {lake bluff, illinois portrait photographer}

This little babe is due in mid-December.  Let's all say a prayer for this mama that she goes early or on time to avoid getting out of the hospital on Christmas Eve!  They are ready!  What a glowing, gorgeous mama.. and she's got a pretty sweet, adoring husband by her side.   This baby is pretty blessed already.

beaming. | {chicago family photographer}

This little family of three is soon to become a family of four.  (You may remember their sneak peek, here). It was a sweet moment in time that needed to be documented.  I love that while it was a maternity session, we focused on the family that they are now, as their next session will be a family of -FOUR!-

 

 

My American Girl

Valerie turned six last week and rather than doing a big birthday bash, she opted for a special big-girls-only day downtown with Mom and Grandma.  Derrick stayed home with the little two so she could have some much needed special attention that day.  We took the train downtown, met Grandma for breakfast at Starbucks, and did some shopping.  We let her choose where we stopped (so, Disney store, obviously) and walked, and walked.. and walked.  She was pretty exhausted but is such a trooper!

The special part of the day for her was going to the American Girl store.  She had been planning this for weeks, looking through the catalog and deciding what she wanted.  I let her pick any doll she wanted and my mom bought her a couple of outfits.  It was really fun to see her get so excited and for once, be able to just say "yes" and not "no."  We generally do not buy our kids toys unless it's a holiday or birthday.  I'm not the type to just go through a toy isle and get them something, they have to earn it (we have a marble jar system) or wait.  So this was a really special day!

We picked our her doll and had lunch at the American Girl cafe.  It is a little pricy (I believe it was $22/pp for lunch) but it's an experience that you're paying for, much like the character meals or something at Disney.  They open the doors and all the serving staff is there to greet you.  The entire place is decorated tastefully, but to a girl's delight with hot pink everywhere.  They had a special chair and tea set for the doll (and even dolls to borrow if you didn't have one of your own).  The food was delish and it was a wonderful day!  Much thanks to my mom for meeting us and making it special for Val.

She did get some fun time with Daddy too.  We had to have our girls' day a few days before her birthday so the two of them had a date night to six flags on her actual birthday.  He sent me photos of her beaming on the carosel and then she showed up, completely passed out over his shoulder carrying a 3' tall stuffed elephant.  All in all, a pretty good birthday. :)  Will post some birthday portraits soon.