Whew! 
Finally back home and officially finished traveling for the year! I think I will end this year on a blog post with just cell phone photos from my travels! Incredibly grateful but holy moly, I am SO happy to be home for a while! 

Tonights post is a little closer to my heart. This is a Mommy and Son duo that I have had the privilege of hanging out with for the last couple of years. My very first 'regulars'. After working at Bob Evan's for almost a decade, I thought for sure I would never have that feeling again! Ya know the one I'm talking about. That feeling where you know you are doing it right when you are requested again and again by name. That feeling that someone that views you as a person will be hanging out in your section for a just a little bit! 

Danielle and I did know each other prior. Though we never had a chance to hang out regularly, we randomly ended up in Australia at the same time! That was pretty cool to say the least! She reached out to me a couple of years later, Theo was around 18 months. She booked my first session that was longer than an hour. I was so nervous I had no idea if I would know what to do for two and a half hours, let alone if I was skilled enough to pull this off!

So our first meet up consisted of lots of talking and 'awe-ing' over her precious boy.

It was a shoot I will never forget. We had a blast and never ran out things to capture! Everyone knows candid shots are my favorite, and this was the absolute BEST way to do that! 

A few months later, Danielle invited me to Theo's 2nd birthday party. I was just starting to learn how to use indoor flash... that will also have to be another blog! Haha, but it was one of the cutest set ups! Theo had such a great time!

Something you need to know about this girl... she is as creative as they come. She is hard working and goes above and beyond for her boy. In addition to having her full time job, she also makes incredible scarves, scrubs and candles! (Seriously, I bought almost all of her inventory for gifts for all of the ladies in my life last year!)  She makes it easy to photograph, but her work shines just as much as she does! 

Head over to Etsy and you will find all of her awesome products. Just search TreasuresBySunshine!

Needless to say, when Danielle reached out to tell me she had bought a house and would love to have another shoot,  I was beside myself! I couldn't wait to have a reason to make time so I could hang out with these two! Theo talks up a storm now and all he wants to do is help and love.. mostly. Haha!
In addition to Danielle using her creativity to make others happy, she goes all out for our shoots. His birthday had an awesome back drop for all of the kids to have fun and play in front of. I should not have expected any different on this day!
When I showed up, she was filling out an order for a neighbor boy selling cookies (because she is awesome), and in between her order and complimenting the little guy on his new hair cut, she looks at me and says "You're going to love the set up out back!" 
I got so excited I jumped and did a little dance!! I was excited for her and Theo, but also because I knew it had to be spectacular. As Theo showed me the very short tour of the house (that led straight out to the backyard) I gasped at how great it was! She wasn't kidding! I LOVED IT!! She had set up this awesome Tipi, with all of Theo's favorites spread around. We played outside for a little bit, Theo decided it was time to dig, play baseball, then he tried to tell me to be quiet, so the monsters didn't hear us! His facial expressions are getting so great the older he gets!

"Mommy! Come Play!" He is always yelling. He is pretty independent, but he also is so close with Danielle, you can't help but smile when you see them together! 
We stayed out back for just a little bit before he had to show me the pumpkins out front! We were able to snag some New Home photos!

 My favorite part of every time I get to hang out with these guys is the love that radiates. You know when you meet someone and you instantly know they deserve the world? 
Yeah. It's like that in this home. Theo will grow up with so much love and respect in his heart, not only for women, but for every human that walks the planet. She is raising a leader and a caretaker. He will work hard, and make her proud. They are best friends, Mother and Son. He is without a doubt, a momma's boy and he will never stop yelling, "Mommy! Come Play!"