Spring cleaning and sleeping through the night – these are my favorite things this month!!

1- Wardrobe Capsule – If you came to my house, you wouldn’t know that I’m a minimalist wanna-be. Mainly because I’m just that – a wanna-be. I’m too frugal to throw things away, and too sentimental to donate certain items, so it all stays. And piles up. Especially in my closet. And yet I feel like I have ‘nothing to wear.’ Getting dressed was proving to be a chore, and who has time to try on multiple outfits before leaving the house? Not this mama. Baby girl is still eating every three hours during the day!! Something needed to change – quickly!

When I stumbled across this blog that said to take EVERYTHING out of your closet and only put back what you absolutely love to wear, I was on board! There weren’t many things I loved, so a few ‘maybes’ made it back into the closet, but getting dressed has been so much easier!! Plus, I have a clearer vision of what I like to wear, so I hope it will help me to find items that I *really* like (instead of those $6 t-shirts from Target that I always stocked up on but never really liked how they fit).

2- Oatmeal Raisin Cookies – I could eat my weight in these. These and Cheddar + Sour Cream Ruffles. Is ‘postpartum cravings’ a thing? (Ha! Turns out it is – thanks, Google!) Someone please stop me from buying/eating junk food!!

3- Jack White – Can you imagine seeing one of your favorite musicians perform a somewhat impromptu acoustic concert for only three dollars? This guy provided just that for his fans in Anchorage, Boise, Jackson, Rapid City, and Fargo recently. I didn’t go, but I’m thankful I have cool clients and friends on Facebook who I can live vicariously through. :-)

4- Three Months – Elodie’s three-month photos were a bit of a challenge since she *loves* to chew on her fists and fingers and also a handful of tutu. But it’s okay, she’s forgiven since she’s… sleeping through the night!!!!! I almost don’t want to say it out loud because I don’t want to jinx it. But I also want to shout it from on top of a mountain!! Finally, I feel more like a human and less like a zombie – what a perfect early first mother’s day present to me! :-)

Happy Spring to you all!

Layne + Alexis live in North Dakota, but they met in Rapid City, so it was only fitting that they came back for their engagement photos!! Pactola Lake was one of their favorite stops while driving through the hills, so I met them there to preserve those special memories… because I’m sure every time they stopped their outfits coordinated this well, and they snuggled together just like this… ;-) Just teasing! But I do love meeting up with couples and photographing them at locations that are special or important to them. Hopefully they’ll tell their kids and grandkids about these photos and tell them the story of how they met and fell in love during those drives through the Black Hills. :-)

March was a big month for us!! Our baby girl got to meet so many new people and she also received her first sacrament!

1. Elodie is smiling and cooing more every day and it is *so much fun* to watch!! Her two-month photo session was a success. :-)

2. My BFF and her little boy came to visit this month! In this photo, he was 7.5 months and she was 7.5 weeks. We’ve come to realize that all of Elodie’s pants are going to be capris.

3. Meeting the cousins! The boys loved holding Elodie, and Isaac couldn’t stop saying how cute she was.

4. Baptism! Can you believe she slept through the whole ceremony? We’re pretty smitten.

I just *love* hearing how couples meet – it’s one of those life stories that will be told to kids and grandkids and inquisitive photographers such as myself. :-) For Jaden + Megan, it was being paired up to walk down the aisle together as bridesmaid + groomsman at a friend’s wedding. They met a couple months before the wedding, and were dating by the time their friends said ‘I do.’ AND NOW IT’S THEIR TURN!!!