mandy carroll

After a few weeks of being somewhat stuck in the house with three kids to entertain and/or feed constantly, I have to admit that it was pretty nice to get out sans kids for my first post-baby shoot this past weekend.  And knowing that these two were both at the smiley, sweet and still 7-12 months stage, I was super excited!  And they did not disappoint:)  I photographed both of these girls as newborns- and it was so fun to see them so grown up!  Aren’t they adorable?

~~~

I just love this shot- so sweet!

~~~

This sweet girl came back to visit all the way from the west coast and was still adjusting to a time change, but she did such a great job!  Just look at this smile!

~~~

And this little lady was a super star- such a sweet smile!

Enjoy!

Of all the ideas I had for shots to take with my new little baby, this shot was at the top of my list.  And I was so excited and surprised that it worked out, since little Wes has not been too happy or cooperative with most of my ideas:)  But this is one of my all-time favorite shots, inspired by the amazing Brittany and Carrie.  I am sure you photographers out there have seen this shot recreated a million times, but I love it and have always wanted to try it, so here it is again.

Interesting story about the stick in this shot.  I had been searching for a good, sturdy but attractive branch to use for this shot for quite a while.  Not an easy task, let me tell you!  Most were too rough, too dark, too dirty, too weak, too fat, too thin…   The week before little Wes was born, I was really stressing about the fact that I had not found a suitable stick yet.  But after a night of strong thunderstorms, I awoke the next morning to find this tree branch crashed on top of my kids swing set.  It was a gift from heaven!   I am especially grateful that it fell down during the night and not while my kids were out swinging, because it was pretty big!  Now I am just trying to find a place to put it among all my other random props.

Enjoy!  More to come soon…

…

Still trying to catch up- but as little Wes is outgrowing the sleepy stage, I may soon stop taking photos long enough to actually edit some of the hundreds I have taken over the past two weeks:)  Here are just a few of my faves taken at 5 days old.  Enjoy!

the newest member of the Carroll family, baby Wesley!  After what seemed like a long nine months, my little guy finally arrived on May 31st at 5am.  He was 7lbs 15oz, 20.5 inches long.  Baby and I are both doing great!  I am loving having a new little baby in the house- I forgot just how much fun these little people are:)

As you can imagine, this little guy has been and will continue to be photographed on a daily basis, so I thought I better start sharing here on the blog before I get too far behind:)  These were taken at 3 and 4 days old.  This is just the beginning- there will be many more to come!  Enjoy and thank you all for your well wishes these past few weeks- it means a lot!

Just a quick update for those that are wondering- I am still here and anxiously waiting for my little guy to arrive:)  For me it always seems that the last week of my pregnancy goes by the slowest- I find myself constantly wondering “will today/tonight/tomorrow be the day?” only to get to the end of the day or morning somewhat disappointed that nothing eventful has happened.  And I am constantly analyzing every little poke, pain, or contraction that I have(and there are many) wondering if it is a sign of labor.  I will be honest- I turn into a bit of a crazy person by the end of my pregnancy!  But it is a good kind of crazy- the kind that is only because I am so excited to have this new little guy in our home (and almost as excited to be able to sleep on my stomach again:) )

Since I rarely post photos of my own kids on this blog (actually, I rarely take photos of my own kids anymore, something I need to be better at!) I thought I would post these few gems I got recently.  These were taken the day before mothers day- I had gotten a new camera and lens(which I must add, I am in LOVE with!) and wanted to test drive them before taking them on a shoot.  But I just fell in love with these!  I might be a little biased, but I really believe I have two of the cutest, sweetest kids in the world:)  This photo reminds me of why I decided to have another one.  I think I should frame it and keep it as a constant reminder of why being a mom is the greatest joy in the world.

Quick scheduling update:  I will be doing limited sessions toward the end of June, so if you want a June date, be sure to contact me ASAP as these slots will go fast.  Otherwise, I should be back up and running normally come July.

I will be sure to post an update when #3 gets here- and just be warned: there will be LOTS and LOTS of photos!  I have gone a bit prop crazy these last few weeks:)

Enjoy!