15 years later.... | Alton, Illinois Family Photographer

What happens when you take this cute couple:



And add on 15 years of love? You get this, of course:











That's FIVE amazing, funny, lovable children and ONE happy marriage. It's a beautiful thing. :)





I loved seeing them all interact with each other. They have a lot of fun together.







That kiss we had to work for. 11 year olds are WAY too cool for kisses from Mom. ;)

Not too cool for THIS though:



And on that note, I'm getting ready for my second session of the day. Sneaks coming tomorrow! LOVE being busy again. :)

Lots of love!
Chantel

Relish the Moments | Alton, Wood River, Edwardsville, Jerseyville Children's Photographer

Casey of Relish Designs and I got together again this morning for a second modeling shoot. You can see the first one here. I'm always delighted to showcase her work and my children continue to put up with us forcing them into adorable clothing and running them around in gorgeous park settings while in no way allowing them to play on the playground equipment! Poor Nolan and Noah joined us this time and both got completely ripped off as far as playtime goes. Just as we finished, one of my twins fell and gashed the back of his head open. Head wounds bleed. A lot. He's okay but that was the end of our fun. No pictures of the carnage though. LOL

As usual we paired my Hannah and Casey's daughter Reece. I love the way their completely different colorings set off against each other (and Casey did an AMAZING job pairing their clothing for this shoot!)Reece is as fair and delicate as they come with her wide blue eyes and pale golden ringlets. Set against my daughter's flashy copper hair and cat-like topaz eyes they make quite the stunning pair. Or at least, we think so... though we might be slightly biased. ;)



The girls have really become best friends. A relationship I encourage both because I love Reece's Mama so much and because Reece is the sweetest, most well behaved child I've ever met. She was born grown, as Casey likes to say.



Isn't that yummy? The light was NOT perfect today but when I snapped that image something magical happened! Another of her beautiful sapphire eyes



The bestie, looking annoyed with Mom and stunning even with crazy, wind whipped hair



She was not amused with me today... ;) That dress is a new design of Casey's that she made specifically for Hannah (I get paid for these modeling sessions in clothing!!!). It's called, of course, the "Hannah"!

This is Nolan:



He is Reece's little brother and man is he a sweetheart. I nearly grounded my children for being mean to him last night. Don't be mean to my little Nolan. *growl*





Notice the bow tie? Casey MAKES those. And she makes regular ties, too. Noah doesn't want to give it back:





I swear we keep modeling sessions fun and enjoyable for all involved. No children were bored in the making of this blog post...



Love the designs you see here? In addition to sewing both dresses and making the ties, Casey put together the entire cast of outfits you see. Everything from the hats to the shoes to the coordination across the outfits was created by Casey (you should see her beautifully decorated HOUSE!) Check her out on Etsy Facebook or at her Blog. And tell her Breathtaking sent you! I promise you will NOT be disappointed in your purchases!

Levi | Alton, Illinois Baby Photographer

Sweet, darling baby Levi. I lurve his little self. I've known his Daddy since we were in, what, middle school? Levi is the spitting image of his father and it cracks me up every time he grins at me. I could snuggle him all day and today I got the chance. Well, he had to take frequent Milk breaks but what 3 month old doesn't? And, as usual, my last shot was my absolute fave.....

Is this not perfect? I adore the name on the wall concept.



She's a beautiful Mama. :)

Okay, Mr. Serious, let's get this party started!



How about a smile? Pretty please?



That's more like it!





Dude, I promise the bear is NOT going to eat you!



Not convinced?



Ok then, we can be done for the day. But I'll be back. Oh yes my little friend. I'll be back.

Love,
Chantel

Relish Designs+Breathtaking Photography=Awesome | Alton, Illinois Children's Photographer

Here's an example of what happens when beautiful design meets good photography on a gorgeous model:



This is the same darling creature from the snow sessions. Her Mama, Casey, and I went to high school together. As fate would have it, I landed just a block or so away from her when we moved back. And as fate would also have it, she and I have a ton in common and have been spending plenty of time hanging out. In fact, I'm not sure we've gone longer than 48 hours without getting together since we moved!

And as you can see above, she's an extremely talented seamstress! I'm always awed by crafty people. She had an "idea" for a dress the other day. Just a concept, mind you. And a few days later I went over there and this had been born:



And it does this:



Yes, my daughter is begging for one just like it, too. And I may or may not have commissioned a similar style for myself for this summer. ;) It's so soft and comfy looking, I couldn't help myself.

Meet Casey of Relish Designs! She's talented, very sweet, and super easy to work with. Her Facebook page is here, so click and fan her and just wait... we're cooking up fun stuff to come....

More Snow! And my own beautiful children | Alton Portrait Photographer

I warned my children before we moved back to Alton from Texas. They were just SURE it would snow and they would get to play in it. I told them not to count on it. That it may not snow again and they might have to wait until next winter. But Mother Nature didn't let them down! We woke more than once to beautiful, fat, wet flakes of snow coming down hard and fast. Funny thing is, with us being from the South and not really needing much in the way of snow gear, they didn't last long out there! ;) So instead we decided to drive around town and enjoy watching the snow fall. We'd just moved and everything was new and exciting so I drove them up to the Christian Hill historic district to see Riverview Park and oh my.... Thank goodness I brought along my camera!!! Check it-









Gabe and Hannah were the only ones to volunteer to get out of the warm car, ditch the hot chocolate, and stand in the freezing wind for a few snaps. Not to be outdone though, it snowed AGAIN and Noah, who recently turned six (when!? how!? he was just born!!!) bravely went outside in our vine covered, snowy backyard so I could record the occasion.

I love this child...







Isn't this just what childhood is all about right here? Happy Sigh.



Happy to be going back to work soon! Can't wait to meet my new clients and their breathtaking families. :)

Chantel

It Snows in Illinois! | Alton Children's Photographer

Even in March! And yes, this is not really big news to me. I grew up in Alton so I'm familiar with how March likes to roar in like a Lion around here. She went out like the tamest of lambs, too, as it's now a balmy and very green 65-70 most days. And I'm ready to start shooting again! I've now opened the May calendar to sessions, so hit me up and let's get something on the books.

In the mean time, enjoy my eldest daughter and her new friend Reece (the daughter of a high school chum that lives around the corner from our new house- both generations have hit it off rather well since moving back!) on a cold, snowy, wet, muddy day this past month. :)

Enjoying the Warmer Weather,
Chantel