Newborn Session Props

So yesterday I set out on a mission to find some cute things to use for newborn portraits. I was looking for baskets, plates, bowls, etc. I went to several different places, and I was able to find some very cute things. I'm thinking I want to go to some antique stores to find some more stuff. Anyway, I wanted to share a few pictures of some of the things I found.

This first picture is my absolute favorite find. I can just imagine a newborn swaddled up in a blanket, or in a little cocoon fast asleep on this. I can't wait to use it. This was a great steal from Ross (I love that store!).

Next, I found a really cute basket/bowl. I think this one will be really cute with a blanket in it and babies laying on the blanket wearing just their birthday suits or a diaper.

This last one is actually just a placemat, but a thick one. It's like a woven wicker material, and I imagine having babies in little cocoons or something like that laying curled up on this. 

So, I'm pretty excited to try these things out. What do you think of them? I also have a friend of a friend making me some baby blankets, baby caps, cocoons, etc. Anyway, I have a newborn session coming up very soon, hopefully the first week or two of April. I'll be sure to post photos of how these worked out once Kelsey's little baby boy gets here!

Pretty Trees

This is going to be a short blog, but I had to blog and share a picture with you. Probably my favorite tree of spring is the Weeping Cherry trees. They are so gorgeous. There aren't many blooming, but down in Lake Lure there are a few. Today my hubby took be to Lake Lure to go for a walk, and then we walked around Chimney Rock and stopped at this cute little coffee shop since we didn't get to yesterday on my birthday. Anyway, there was a beautiful weeping cherry tree between Lake Lure and Chimney Rock today. It was amazing, and also in someone's backyard. So what did I do? I made my hubby pull over in front of the persons house, and I took a few pictures of the tree from the truck. :) I know, I'm bad, but it was just too enticing not to take pictures of it. So here is a picture of the exquisite weeping cherry tree.

My Birthday

So today is my birthday, and I've had a really fabulous day. When I woke up, I found a love letter my husband had written me. He can be so sweet; he actually made me tear up when I read the letter. Then late this morning my parents showed up and surprised me (they live 4 hours away). We went walking out in the pasture in front of our house to the river with them. My mom took a few pictures of me and Eric. Here are a couple that she took of us. In some of them Eric is being very silly, just like he is. That's one of the reasons I love him so much. :)

Here is my husband and me....he's being pretty ridiculous. I love him. :)

Yeah, he's poking out his belly here. He likes to do that. Silly boy.

So after all this, my parents took us up town. We went to one of my favorite places to eat, Hot Dog World. We don't eat there very often, but I absolutely love their cheeseburgers. They are super greasy and massive, but they are great. Can't eat them very often b/c of how fatty they are, but I do love them every once in awhile. After lunch we went to Wal-Mart and my parents bought me some beautiful orange daisies and yellow tulips. Then we came back home and had a delicious Cappuccino Express Torte Cake and some coffee. All in all, I've had a wonderful birthday. Now my husband and I are cuddled up on the couch watching Faith Like Potatoes (a gift from my parents). Below you will see a pictures of my flowers, cake, and coffee. :)

                                                 

I thank God for my wonderful birthday. He has blessed me with 24 years of life and a wonderful family.

Running

So, I love running! I've been running on my treadmill b/c the weather hasn't been great, and the other day the weather was beautiful and I was going to go running on my road. My run was cut very short and sent back to the treadmill when I came face to face with a coyote. It was during the middle of the day and it was only 20-30 feet away from me, so I got back inside as fast as I could b/c I was worried it might have rabies or something. Sorry, no pics to share of the potentially rabid coyote.

Today though, I did get to run outside. Instead of my house, I went to Lake Lure, and it was soooo beautiful. The trees have started blooming with flowers and the bees and butterflies were flying around. It was so great to breath that warm air into my lungs. I didn't run at all this winter, but not I'm trying to get back into top running form so I can run in my first race on May 1st. I'm pretty excited about it. It's to raise awareness and help stop childhood obesity. Anyway, just wanted to share about running. I think fitness should be a top priority for people. It makes you feel so incredible, and it's incredible for you! :)

Oh yeah, I didn't have a good picture to go with this post, so here is one from last spring's dragon boat races where we came in 3rd place. :)

Kori, Jaidyn, and Kylaia

So, there are three kids in my life here in Bat Cave that I absolutely adore. They are siblings that go to our church. Their grandmother, Jeanne, is a dear friend to us, and she allows us to spend alot of time with her grandkids. We love our time with them, so it's really a blessing anytime we get to hang out with them or have them stay the night with us. This past Saturday after I finished photographing a birthday party, we met up with Jeanne and the kids for an hour or so at the park. It was warm and the kids were having a great time. Of course I snapped pictures of the kiddos because they are just too cute not too.

Here is a picture I took of Kori, the oldest. He loves skating, and he's actually getting pretty good at it. I did a panning shot of him to show the motion.

Now, here is a picture of sweet Jaidyn. He was out there on the ramps too with his skate board, but he would ride down on his stomach. This is a picture of him taking a break for a minute.

Now, here is Kylaia. She is the baby of the group, and she is so funny. She's a brave little girl too. She would go down the slide all by herself. So here's a picture of her when she was climbing the stairs to the slide.

                                       

So yeah, I absolutely love these kids. They are precious. I have more pictures that I took that day, and I'll be posting them on my facebook page. If you have a facebook, then you should definitely become a fan of my photography. Just look up Mandy Keel Photography or you can just go to this link here: Mandy Keel Photography. Thank you, and everyone enjoy this amazing weather!!!

Ryan's 1st Birthday Preview

So Saturday, I had the privilege of going to this little guy's 1st birthday party. Ryan is the son of a high school friend of Eric and me. We haven't seen the mother, Crystal, since we were in high school, so it was nice to see her and remember old times. Her little boy was absolutely precious. He has the brightest blue eyes. Crystal, you did a great job with the party. The decorations were perfect, the food was awesome, and the birthday cake was so cool. Thanks for letting us come and be a part of this special day.  I wanted to give a little preview of his birthday pictures. So here you go Crystal...

Warm Almost Spring Day

I've just had a fabulous day today. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous in the upper 60s and bright and sunny. I was able to go to Edneyville Elementary School w/ my hubby today to have lunch with sweet Kori. He's so funny, and all of his friends were so talkative. I actually was able to see many kids from our church in the lunch room. I got a couple of hugs and lots of smiles. It was so sweet. I'm looking forward to getting to go back and have lunch there again.

I was also able to ride to the top of Shumont today with a friend scouting out some photo-shoot locations for her family portraits. It's so beautiful up there (I even snapped a few photos of her kids), and we found some great places that we're going to go to once the trees grows some leaves and flowers.

I also was able to go for another run today. I haven't posted it up here, but I'm getting my body back in good running condition so I can do the PB&J 5K on May 1st to raise awareness for childhood obesity. I'm also hoping to get in good enough form to do the Grandfather Mountain Marathon this summer. It feels so good to be running again. My lungs and heart and just my whole body need this fresh air and exercise.

Now, to end this day we're cooking out with friends, and then Amy is taking me to Wal-Mart at midnight for my early birthday present to buy New Moon on DVD. So all in all, today has been near perfect! :D