I don’t remember how many years Alyssa has been teaching pre-K… but it is quite a few. 7? I remember after Leo had been in her class for a couple months that one day I told my mom on the phone that Leo’s teacher “has the same energy and enthusiasm you’d expect from someone just starting out.” I don’t know how she manages to be so patient and attentive with all the kids she teaches, but she does. I’ve had my challenging moments with my kids where I’ve tried to channel my inner Miss Alyssa and think how she would handle the situation.

So, in about seven weeks, Alyssa and her husband Chris will be starting their own family, and so we met this weekend for some maternity portraits.

I think this one is my favorite.

Chris and Alyssa shared a laugh about how Chris carried their brand new heavy jogging stroller upstairs… then there was some reorganization and it had to go back down… and then back up… or something along those lines…  We had expected a rainy day and had planned to shoot indoors, but since we were surprised with this beautiful snow, the parents-to-be braved the cold for a couple minutes. Way to go!

Alyssa and Chris, can’t wait to meet your little boy or girl!

You can read all about Zak’s endeavors here.

Morna wasn’t interested in the dance either. A few other people from various schools were talking in the lobby, and one of them had a guitar. It’s a lot easier to play a guitar quietly than a piano, so this guy was able to keep playing. Morna and I both found ourselves among this group and started talking. And we’ve been friends ever since. She’s been there for me so many times, and is one of those people you can tell anything to, without fear of being judged. She’s a rock.

Last week when I went to visit my family and hometown of Doylestown in Bucks County, PA, I was delighted to have the opportunity to photograph Morna’s three girls.

Mollie is almost 6.

Ana is almost 4.

And Gia is 2.

After thinking about different locations, we decided to stay close to home. Very close. All of these were taken at my parents’ house, where we were staying.

It’s a beautiful spot. Stone walls, old buildings, lots of room to run around. But there was one slight catch. My boys were there, too. They saw that there were cute girls about, and they did not want to miss out.

Poor guys! The girls were also anxious to get in some Leo entertainment and were asking to “go inside,” which I’m sure was their way of saying “let us at those cute blond boys!” So we had a quick snack break, and then let everyone loose.

What are they looking at? Leo, of course, acting like a goofball. I think he was hitting himself in the head and falling down or something.

And you probably figured this out already, you clever blog reader, but the beautiful blond adult above is Morna. And here she is again with Mollie.

It’s all boys in my house, except for me. In Morna’s family, Greg has that role, the only male in a house full of girls. Greg had to work while the girls came for their morning photo shoot, so we met quickly that evening at the Star Garden in Doylestown for a family picture.

What? A picture with no kids? Absolutely. But just one, before the kids run into the street…

Probably Mollie’s favorite.

Thank you my friends! I wish we could do this all the time.

And yes – they wore their wedding attire! A big round of applause to being up for this, and for being able to fit into these snazzy garments, too.

Big thanks goes to Charissa Daman of Cranberry Photography who came along to assist me with lighting. And she captured some beautiful images too like this one:

Stephen requested a photo next to a big tree. Not hard to find at Mellon Park in Shadyside.

I’m quite fond of a few images from the end of our session at location number two, but I would still have to pick this next one as my favorite. So. It was hot. Really hot. Like, so hot, you might want to jump into this here fountain. Certainly you would joke about doing it and think about how refreshing it would feel.

What is she doing up there?!

Yep, she did it! Once Susan got the idea in her head, there was no stopping her. In she went. How did it feel? Refreshing at first. And then the sun disappeared and she was quite ready to get out. The dip in the fountain was an unexpected turn, but we weren’t done yet. An outfit change and we headed downtown. Stephen works downtown, and had scouted out a few places. I have to commend Stephen for this! He chose some terrific locations and has a great eye for texture and color.

Another very lucky break was that there was a perfectly timed heavy rain while we drove from Mellon Park to downtown. Thank you rain for providing that sleek look on the ground. I do love my 16-35mm lens.

Steamy!

Sneaking a kiss on Sixth Avenue. Susan and Stephen, I can truly say that you two were up for anything, and were so fun to photograph. I love downtown and I love shooting at night, so this was a dream shoot for me. Thank you!