So I’ve been completely MIA both on here and on social and here’s my excuse! Our sweet pandemic baby, Rory Ellis, completed our family exactly 12 weeks ago. Between jumping into e-learning with a 1st and a 2nd grader while keeping the 2 year old from zoombombing their classes and growing a human…let’s just say energy was at an all time low.
I’m happy to shower you with the cuteness overload that’s been truly the best part of this crazy year!
Happy 12 weeks Rory!
These are some of my very favorite people. This little girl sports the name Drew and I have had picked out in case we had a girl (4 boys later I can safely say she will not have to share, lol!) and she and her parents have been behind my camera for several years now. I love the sense of spontaneity they bring to each session. Also, Jes is the bomb for outfits and can style her fam like a pro!
These beautiful people are some of my favorites. Forget “having a sense of fun”, these peeps have an expectation of it! The girls, though still young, are everything you’d hope to see in the next generation; they’re fearless, adventurous and not afraid to disagree and stick to their opinions. They also made me completely melt into mush when the youngest asked me to pick her up and the oldest took my hand to show me a shell in the stream. *heart eyes*
For this lovely senior I really wanted a timeless, classic look. One that she and her kids won’t someday find and laugh at. Kelsey is a chill and friendly chic so this kind of casual, hanging-out-in-nature shoot perfectly matches her vibe. Senior year being just past the awkward years, but not quite to full adulthood we didn’t want to get too glam, especially with an outdoorsy setting.
Good luck, Kelsey! You’re going to rock both this year and everything ahead!
The B&W below is one of my all time favorites. The way she’s looking straight into the lens reminds me of a movie starlet. There’s strength and determination and a confidence I wish I’d possessed at that age.
Head inside! I know, I know…how can I say that? But really. Fall this year has been as reluctant as my 5 year old eating his vegetables. Normally October is full of outdoor shoots and we sometimes get rained on and really dramatic cloudy skies or beautiful sun rays peeking from around technicolor foliage and I’m thrilled and my client families think I’m genius (well, sort of. Ok, not at all, but still). And everybody’s happy. Until there’s no technicolor anything…cue small panic.
Then Deanne asks if we could do her family photos at her home. Eureka! Of course!! Her home is decorated for fall. More importantly I found something amazing. When you have a family in their own space they’re more relaxed and more likely to move, speak and act naturally. Below are some of my favs and thank you for the reminder!
Fewer things make my heart go pitter patter like seeing an older brother take care of his spirited, independent sister. We were making sure to get a few of just Justin and Deanne and when we turned around big brother had helped his sister to the top of a huge boulder! Keeping up with them and out of the puddles was no joke, but they had me laughing and admiring their parents for raising such happy, adventurous kidlets!
After a week of rain and more in the forecast we weren’t sure this shoot was going to happen, but we decided to go for it and had this beautiful, glowy light that just lit up everyone’s faces. Take a look below, it couldn’t have been better!
We are a multi dog family. I know it’s crazy since we also have 3 boys, a cat and an aquarium full of finny friends, but we are. And just because we love the (usually happy) chaos so much, we added a third pup. Yes, a puppy. Meet Liv! She’s a 3 month old Brittany and like Brittling pups she rarely stops moving, exploring, chewing, jumping and being a full-steam-ahead sort of girl.
I’m not a pet photographer, but she could have me rethinking this, lol!
School has started and the first hint of fall is in the air. (Along with all things pumpkin!) This can only mean it’s time for Becker family apple picking. Now, like all moms I dream of some bucolic scene where we’re virtually skipping down rows of organic apple trees laden with heavy, delicious fruit. The reality looks more like equal parts logistical juggling and embarrassed drill sergeant. See proof below that even photographer moms don’t always get the perfect image. When they’re all picking noses and making faces sometimes I just roll with it and save them for blackmail later.
Our favorite spot is a no-frills and equally no-crowds orchard in Libertyville. Heinz Orchards is a low spray orchard, which makes my hippy mom heart happy, and is a simple operation. You give them cash and they give you a bag and send you into a giant field of beautiful trees. The kids run and play and not-so-slowly fill up their bags. After we get home I get to play domestic diva and turn them into pies, crumbles and rustic tartes. Wish I had a picture of that, but it was gone in less than an hour!
Kidding. Kind of. These guys are more interested in hunting imaginary tigers and playing with their pup than modeling for any magazine. Though legit, they are little heartthrobs-to-be. And how lucky can we be, catching just the first look of fall in the trees behind them?!?!
With them is Evelyn, their new pup, recently adopted through Animal House Shelter in Huntley. A friend of theirs had been fostering pups, would you believe she’s only 3 months old!?! Part Great Dane, she is as sweet as they come!
I'm going to get a little dark on you. When was the last time you held an actual photograph in your hands? Until a couple of years ago I was one with the digital age. I loved my cloud storage, prime storage, external hard drives, etc. Until my Gramps passed away. Don't get me wrong he lived a full and happy life, probably fuller than 90% of us can ever imagine. But in the aftermath when we were working to grieve and heal one of things we did was comb through boxes of old photographs to create a story board of his life. Not surprisingly we had boxes of albums of the family, but then fewer and fewer as we got closer to current. Finally, we were searching through iPhone storage, the Clouds, etc. trying to find images of him, or more preciously - him and us - and send them quickly to the 1-hour printing lab.
My memory is terrible. You'd think I'm trying to repress my life it's so terrible. But while we were searching through those old albums and boxes, I could remember. Each little print was a filed away memory that someone, probably my Granny, saved away so we could share in their joy decades later. And this is what I want for my kiddos. I want them to have little glimpses into our happy life and their childhood. I want them to have tangible pieces to hold and share that will never be lost due to failed hardware, expired subscriptions or obsolete technology.
Now each month as I finish editing all my favorites photos from the month prior, I print them. Not just the 1-hour photo lab, but I send them out and have them printed on quality, archival paper that I know will still be fresh and bright long after our (my) memories have faded. I’ve even gone one step further and started planning displays around my home with these prints. My littles love seeing themselves in portraits used as decor. Often they will point and say, “remember when we…”. I think it makes them feel important and reminds them of how loved they are. And in this way I leave a legacy for my kiddos and family.
A major life-pivot moment happened this month.
I. Quit. My. Job. Yay! I'm now the most estatic SAHM (that's stay at home mom for the uninitiated) in the world. I'll spare you the soul searching and angsty bits and just say I'm so excited to leave the high heels in my closet and adopt my new uniform of yoga wear and atheleisure footwear! My family is prepared and waiting on the upcoming flood of artwork and photos of my littles and I celebrating and documenting their childhood.
Everyone else on my social network...you've been warned!
He's here! Introducing our newest edition to Team Becker - Pierce Thomas (all the heart eyes!). He made his appearance in the wee hours of the morning and completed our family. I have never cried with the birth of my older two littles, but I cried holding Pierce for the first time. Call it hormones or whatever, but knowing he's my last made my heart swell and my eyes brim over.
The boys met their new brother the next day and happily grew into their new roles as big brothers. It's been giggles and baby-smile watch 2017 ever since!
When my dear friend and fellow photog, Corinne, asked if I could do this year's family portraits and her youngest's one year photos I was super excited. Here's why: her kids are like little models. For real check it out below. And happy first birthday, E!
For the second annual family vacay (twice makes it an annual thing, right?) the Beckers headed south to Hilton Head Island for a weeklong fest of visiting, eating and slowing life down to beach-speed. If there's one thing Beckers enjoy it's eating. We have a saying of "Eats like a Becker" that can be applied to all the guys in the family, baby elephants and hordes of locusts.
With no responsibilities aside from making sure the kidlets didn't float away in the ocean I spent my time working on my speciality - napping! Seriously, I'm almost 8 months pregnant with 2 small boys and a full time job, naps have been in short supply, but oh so needed! When awake I spent my time doing my other love; pointing my camera at those I love!
My recs for what to do in Hilton Head:
There's a time during the summer months just before sunset when the light gets all glowy and soft that I LOVE...like love love love for portraits. It looks like the gushy, warm feeling of falling in love and is my favorite for families. Check out my friends Katie and MJ with baby J. They are gorgeous and funny and I love the way baby J is looking at his mama. All the heart eye emojis!
It was a balmy 93 degrees and HUMID, but these guys were the best sports and even baby J hung in there for an hour so we could capture his cuteness and this young family's love for each other. I'm so glad they have these portraits to remember this time when J is small and so squish-able.
Eep! And just like that my first baby, the one I waited 4 long years for, graduated from preschool. This preschool is a special place where the kids are loved almost as much as at home and allowed hours of outside play and healthy, home cooked meals. It's a smaller school and the class size is perfect for them to really get a grasp on both social manners and academics. I know K will truly miss his teachers and his friends.
If you ever are looking for a daycare or preschool, I can't recommend First Steps enough, they are the most loving, wonderful ladies. We attended Miss Gabriela's wedding this summer and the kids were so excited for her they spent the evening dancing like fiends and partying with their friends.
Mother's Day is a super special holiday for me. Not because of a special relationship with my mom and she's definitely still among the living...but because there was a time when I wasn't sure I was ever going to get to celebrate with little people who called me 'mom'. Having come out on the other side of that sad and stressful time with not one or two, but three (!!!) littles following me around with a near constant chorus of 'mom mom mom mom mom...', this holiday is a time I celebrate them and take the time to be even more grateful for this opportunity to wield the best title in the world - Mom.
My guys doing what they do...
The first bite of lobster roll sends a warm shiver of joy down my spine and at last this craving is tamed! Each of my babies have turned my normally healthy, whole food loving self into an alien fixated on a food that isn't normally on my radar. This little one wants lobster...a lot!
Best lobster roll in Maine at Eventide Oyster Co.
So what's a girl with a serious lobster-monkey to do? Beg her wonderful husband to take her to Maine and eat as much and many of the critters as I can find! Seriously. Every. Single. Meal.
Turns out Maine is April is still pretty chilly. We step off the dinky little plane and I reach to zip my coat - only to discover that my 24 week belly is already too big. This means just one thing...time to go shopping! Double luck, we were just around the corner from the first LL Bean and while this isn't one of my usual clothing go-tos, they had plenty of warm, wool sweaters perfect for a rainy, Maine spring. For bonus points we scored a few new pieces for Drew who is notorious for being both excruciatingly picky and hating to shop!
Check out this moody gloom:
Portland Headlight in Cape Elizabeth - Maine's oldest lighthouse.
With this being only our second kid-free trip since we had Kit, I wish we had taken more selfies together. I think this is our only one of the whole weekend! With Baby #3 coming in a few short months, I'm so grateful for the much needed Ali/Drew time without any outside demands.
New LL Bean turtle neck sweater totally being rocked on the cliff walk in 40 degree weather with rain!
My favorite travel companion and meals from our first Babymoon!
The tang of the vinegar in the cups on our kitchen table brings flashbacks of my brother and I working feverishly at our worn farm table, each trying to create the best, most elaborate Easter egg. That old, childhood joy combines exponentially with the greater happiness of mommyhood and I’m laughing with my kidlets stripped to their underwear (seriously, that dye stains!) as they’re double, triple, quadruple-dipping the eggs until they resemble oblong rocks of varying shades of brown and grey that we lovingly call “dinosaur eggs”. Pinteresting found a technique of tie-dye eggs that I might try next year, but I’m guessing we’ll still make some T-rex eggs!
Side note: Why are kids not more frightened of a giant rabbit breaking into our house to hide our eggs and leave baskets of toys and treats? It never worried me as a kid either, but really….a giant rabbit in your house while you sleep?
The next morning brings the frenzied race around the house to find all the dinosaur eggs, followed by a massive sugar rush and subsequent crash. We got smart this year and had the bunny bring them movies so they could veg out while the sugar left their systems. #mommywin
Not to leave the big guy out, my aunt and I planned an Easter hunt for Uncle and Drew where they searched for microbrews. Lots of magic in their eyes too as they found the next tasty surprise.
Because of a beautiful burst of warm, spring weather and in a complete lack of planning I decided to attempt a family photo and broke all my usual rules and did it at midday, without naps, with crabby kids…yep, turned out as expected. Lesson learned: follow my own advice to my client families! Kit was climbing a tree (where did he learn that??), Blake was doing all he could just to keep his eyes open while Drew made faces to try to make them smile. Maybe not magazine-worthy, but it’s my crazy-fun family and it’s who we are this Easter!
Happy Easter and I hope everyone enjoyed family, rest and snapped a few photos to remember this one!
