And here she is now!… a big, independent, beautiful one-year-old!

As you will see by the photos… her mama adores PINK! She even had a Pinterest board dedicated to her pink first birthday photo ideas. So glad that she has a little girl to share her love of all things pink with.

Oh Ava Jane, I’m so glad I got to see you again. You are the sweetest thing ever! And such a lucky girl to have such awesome parents who are so head-over-heels in love with you!

Little Cash was in one year ago for his newborn photoshoot, and let’s just say it did not go well. He really didn’t love having his photos taken and kinda, sorta screamed pretty much the whole time. So I think his mama and I were both a bit nervous when it was time for his one-year session. Good news! He didn’t hold a grudge against us for the newborn shoot and this time we all had a blast together. He was a one-year-old boy of course, so he was more than busy, but all-in-all the experience was fabulous. So glad we are friends now Cash!

“C” is for Cookie…. and Cash. Happy first birthday buddy.

Doesn’t he have the best blue eyes ever???

Then the baby turned ONE… and she was done with all that sitting in one place nonsense. She was still beautiful and sweet, but now she was BUSY! We had our work cut out for us on this shoot, but with her adorable outfits and matching personality we ended up with some really cute stuff!

We came back up to the studio to snap a few pics for Brianne’s one year photos too…

Four kids and they’ve still got it…

And a few of the little man alone for his six month photos…

I sure do… I got it at POUT!

And then my mommy and I took it up to Ria’s and modeled it so we could show it off to all of you. I was pretty excited about it all.

How do you think I look? Pretty cute right?

Yah… I know.

And don’t worry if blue is not your color… it comes in pink too! And they both look simply adorable in photos.

Have a great Memorial Day Weekend everyone… thanks for letting me take over the blog today to show off my ruffles.

  Love, Lucy

He was a typical busy little boy so we had fun trying to keep up with him by singing songs, playing catch and bribing with treats!

And I love the simplicity of a baby in a white onsie…

This little guy looked so much older than six months to me. I think he’s going to look like a full-blown toddler when he’s one! His mama and I had a good laugh when we put these brown pants on him… we teased that we thought he looked like a traveling salesman! (But a very cute one!)

She didn’t really want to lay still and snuggle with her brother for this shot… but I still love it anyway.

Here she is in her authentic Ethiopian dress and head wrap. It is clear that I have fallen in love with this little girl. I think it would only be fair if they shared her with me!

These adorable ties are from The Belle and the Beau. Love the coordinating fabrics!

A shot of this gorgeous mama and her boys… I think every mom should have a photo of herself and her babes!

I was bidding on this fun little pedal car at the Hockey Social last fall and Margo outbid me so I made her promise that she would bring it up for Will’s photoshoot. So darn cute!

We also did Kate’s one-year photos. What a doll!

She was the happiest baby I have ever seen… smiling at everyone she saw. Especially her big brother! What a sweetie… congratulations Tunheim family!

They were two indentical boys and one fraternal… and the little blonde guy was definetely the ham of the group! He stole the show!

And here are just a few of baby Annie… such a sweet little peanut!

K and C were in for their newborn photos, and Casie at tiny sprout got to photograph them at three months. Then they were back up to see me for their six-month photos!

Happy Monday all!

And here is a perfect shot for this snowy-wintery day… what a cute little snow-girl!

Mom and dad got in on the picture-taking fun too!

Do you recognize the little girl? She’s definitely been on the blog before… and on business cards… and on display in the studio… and in magazine ads….

All grown up!

Check out her adorable pink flats…Love!

My favorite of the night… I love the way both of their pink tongues are sticking out!

I love this shot because Maren set it up all by herself and was so proud!

Adorable headband courtesy of Etsy… I’m obsessed!

Happy Tuesday!

How can you NOT be happy looking at that little cherub face? I think it has a permanent smile…

And big sister Ella is still as beautiful as ever.

Yep, “happy” pretty much sums it up.

*****

The October photographerMAMA workshop is now full. This will be the last workshop for 2010, but if you would like to be on the list to receive an e-mail when the next workshops are scheduled, just let us know!

She was being so good that we decided to drag her out to a field of daisies for a few more shots… these are my favorite!

Where are you going?

Her momma got this cute outfit at Oh Baby! in Minneapolis. I loved all the bright colors.

And I loved these shots we got of her with her favorite baby doll that she brought in…

These were the winning submissions; Kailey, Saathvik, and Avery. You can read a little bio about each of these darling kiddos in the magazine!

All of the styling and clothing was provided by Kris at Pout Baby Boutique…

It was a fun-filled baby-photographin’ day!

Happy Monday all!

~Ria

Well, check her out now!She is growing up fast… already such a big girl full of smiles and personality!

I love this little handmade onsie she had…

Happy Monday all!

~Ria

This next one makes me giggle…

Happy Birthday Ella!

These two were full of energy and spunk!

Have a great weekend everyone!

- Casie & Lindsey

Love love love his mini-boden sweater…

And sweet little Rosie with her pigtails and cute outfit just made me want to take her on a picnic!

This is Jack. He is one of the coolest kids you will ever meet.

Jack is also living with SMA [Spinal Muscular Atrophy]. Now this doesn’t happen very often, but I have given Jack control of the blog today to tell you about something very exciting happening this weekend.

“Hi Everyone!  It’s time to get ready for the ‘Jack Attack on SMA Round 6′.    This year the walk will take place on Saturday, June 12th at Lindenwood Park in Fargo.  Registration starts at 9:00am and the walk begins at 10:00am.  If you would like to donate to me and help my friends and me fight SMA my webpage is now ready.  Just click HERE.  Please feel free to email my page on to your friends and family too. Or if you want to come and walk with me you can now register online and then make your own personal fundraising webpage too!  Even if you can’t make the walk you can still make you own fundraising webpage to send to friends and family.  All the money you raise will go directly towards the Jack Attack and finding a treatment or cure for SMA.  And that would definitley mean a lot to me.  Thanks for helping me out and hope to see you at the walk. TOGETHER WE WILL KNOCKOUT SMA!
Thanks So Much!”
Jack

What a kid that Jack is… thanks for sharing that info with us!

~Ria

Mom got a big wall portrait of this one because it so perfectly captures each of them.

The individual photos went much better… take a peek!

Big contest to be announced on the blog tomorrow so make sure to check back!

~Ria

She had the best facial expressions… and the best outfits! How am I lucky enough to get to photograph Fargo’s most hip and stylish babies?

And seriously? Sioux babylegs….

It was so lovely to meet you Aurey… thanks for visiting me!

~Ria

This baby was also not lacking in the “style” department. So many cute things to choose from!

Did you notice her little painted toenails?

So glad to finally get to meet you baby Mia!

Just look at those little pigtails… they just make me happy!

Happy Birthday Emma!

I think their mama should win some kind of saint award for traveling internationally with two young children… all alone. Seriously, I don’t think I could do it. Carseats, strollers, bags, tired kids. Ugh. She joked at our session that when she got back to Turkey she was going to hand the kids to her husband and say “see ya honey, I’m going to Istanbul for a couple days.” I couldn’t help giggling thinking… now there is something you don’t hear everyday. Maybe I’m heading to the Albertville, or the Mall of America. But Istanbul? Not so much.

Thanks for coming back to visit me Ellerich and Kiera. I’m excited for your move to the states this summer… now your trip to Fargo won’t be quite so long!

~Ria

His mama brought in the most yummy looking cake… and Calvin enjoyed every second of it!

In case you are wondering, she got his adorable birthday hat from Chasing Fireflies.

~Ria

Loved their coordinating Ruffle Butts from Pout!

Funny story about this session… I offered these two little sweet peas some Gerber Puffs so that they would sit still for a couple seconds, and mom cautiously mentioned that they had never had anything like those before. Their auntie was with for their session and I have photographed her little guy before and she responded… “That’s okay, the first time Cole had fruit snacks was at his session with Ria!” Note to self… ask parents before stuffing babies’ mouths with treats! BTW.. they totally loved the puffs!

I think this one is my FAV…

~Ria

Here are some other images from little Maddie’s one-year session…

I photographed her as a newborn, and again at 6 months, so it was super fun to get to see her again and see how big she has gotten!

It is so unbelievably wonderful to be able to head outside for some shots after a long winter indoors…

Enjoy the weather out there today everyone!

~Ria

I think every picture I took of him that day turned out! I swear I just want to make a canvas of him for myself. It was so hard choosing which pics to upload to the blog. I wish I could’ve put them all on here, but I managed to choose just a few for you all to see!

~ Linds

~Lindsey

 I AM thankful that I still have the opportunity to keep up with these little people that filled my days just a few short years ago. And guess what… “Big D” had somebody new to introduce me to;  his adorably squishy, rolly-polly, and super squeezable baby sister!

 Oh dear. I don’t know if I can handle the cuteness.

Photos of the two of them together were a little bit of a challenge… but that is sorta what you get with kids this age. I like the ‘real life’ looking images better anyway!

Thanks for coming back every year to see me “D”, but don’t grow anymore okay?

My heart just melts looking at these images… How much do you LOVE that little curl hanging on her forehead?

The amount of PINK in this house just doubled!

And I love this last image so much it has already been blown up for the studio! Thanks “H” family for sharing your new little peanut with me… she is a total doll and I am in love with her!

Her mom got her cute ribbon tie dress from Etsy! How much do you LOVE this pic of “A” sucking on her toes?

***************************************************************************************************************

Make sure you come back tomorrow… there will be a fun GIVEAWAY on the blog!

I heard that this little darlin’s parents had some difficulty when it came time to decide which images to order. I felt the same way when I was trying to decide what photos to blog. So… I went with the idea that “more is more” for this post. [Typically I'm a very "less is more" type person.] Too cute!

I am so lovin’ the little tummy and green shoes in the photo on the right below… I can hardly stand it!

Also on my mind today is my cousin’s little guy, Keagan. He has been down at Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis for over a week. Last week he had a large tumor removed from his lung that has shown some active cancer cells and will soon be undergoing a bone marrow biopsy and bone scan. So just wanted to send my thoughts and prayers to Keagan and his family. Hope you are feeling better very soon!

And sweet one year old “B”… she had the most adorable combination of brown hair and blue eyes. I just love it!

The front and back of one of my favorite Christmas cards this year…

And baby “C” is getting so big. Seriously one of the most adorable little boys you will ever meet.

I did a session with “J’s” little sister this summer, but he was turning four in November and it was his turn for a session. Doncha just love the color of his eyes?

And sweet baby “S”… she came in for her 6 month photos, but wasn’t feeling good so we rescheduled. Mom took her to the doctor and she had a double ear infection… Ouch! When she came back she was feeling a little better, but still wasn’t too fond of me and the whole picture thing. I think we scarred her the first time by trying to take her photo while she was feeling so miserable! Poor little girl…

And these two had quite a tough fall battling bouts of H1N1, pneumonia, fevers and colds. Luckily they were finally feeling better so we could squeeze a session in before the REALLY cold weather set in!

Phew…. that was a lot of photos!

Just one more… a quick sneak peek of our trip. I LOVE the light in this image… and I also love that my girls who fight constantly at home got along [mostly] on this trip!

Well guess what… she is already a very busy one year old! I have recently had a string of return clients which I love, but wow… those babies sure do grow up fast. Little “O” is still cute as a button, but now much much faster. She didn’t really have much time for the camera so I had to be quick. Thanks for coming back to see me “O”!

Unless I’m outside.While we were shooting inside the studio, we could not get little “C” to sit on a chair, or wear her cute birthday hat. But as soon as we took her outside… tah-dah!

(She’s a smart cookie… her parents said she would probably keep the hat on outside because she knows when she goes out she has to have a hat on!) Here are some more of this adorable family’s session.

And two of my favorites? Bunny on the ground = D.O.N.E

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

On the homefront… the good news is that child #1 appears to be on the mend and headed back to school today. The bad news is that child #2 woke up in the middle of the night with a fever. So, I’m heading home for the rest of the day to hang out with her. Michelle will be holding down the fort at the studio. I don’t know what I’d do without her… she has been a lifesaver!

They are usually full of expressions, don’t have stranger anxiety quite yet, arn’t walking so they typically stay in one place for at least a little bit…. mmmm.. so cute.. just love ‘em.

I had just spotted this hat in the mini-boden catalog and contemplated buying it since I have so few “boy” hats, and hundreds of hats for girls. I was so excited when “A’s” momma took it out of his bag…. and he looked just adorable in it, don’t you think?

Uh Oh… time to be done.

You see, when he was just ONE week old, his daddy had to leave him to go to Iraq. He missed his daddy very much, and even got to travel to Italy to visit him when he was six months old. But, of course for a little boy [and a new daddy too] one visit during your entire first year of life is no where near enough. But now, his daddy is home and little “C” couldn’t be happier. Can you tell?

Thank you Kenny for serving our country.  Although we are all glad you arrived home safely, I don’t think anyone is happier about it than your son!

******************************************************************************************************************

Just a few scheduling notes for all of my readers…

We are now scheduling sessions for January – May 2010. Send us an e-mail or call the studio at 701-478-9659, and Michelle will get you all set up.

I have also scheduled my PhotographerMAMA workshops for January February and March. The dates are as follows…

Jan. 8-9, Jan 20-21 (this is a weekday workshop and will be held during the day),Feb 5-6, and Mar 5-6. Registration opens on Monday October 5th. You will need to call the studio and pay the registration fee in full to reserve your spot! All the details are under the workshop section at the top of the blog.

Have a great weekend!

It was actually “E’s” first day of school on this day too… good thing she still had enough spunk left over for our session!

Check out “E’s” rockin’ shoes in the photo below….

I LOVED her little red shoes…

Not sure why… but I just really love this shot!

Another one that I LOVE… he did NOT want her sitting next to him!

There she goes…. taken just a second before she rolled back over … again!

“Sophie” the Giraffe is by far one of the most popular baby toys here at rialee photography… and in case you are wondering they are available at Pout!

Little “R” was the girl of 1,000 facial expressions during her session. Let me tell you… this girl has PERSONALITY!

When she spotted the huge letter R on the shelf in my office she literally gasped and said “Oh mama, LOOK!” So of course, I had to climb up on my desk and get it down so she could have a photo with it…

They had a super cool mama who sent me the sweetest e-mail after she received her gallery. I asked her if I could share it here on the blog, because her words do an excellent job expressing  why I do what I do…

Ria-

I just had a chance to go through my gallery, and I am literally speechless. I’m sure you’ve heard a thousand parents thank you for doing a wonderful job photographing their children — so I’m going to be 1,001.
You can’t imagine the gift you’ve given my husband and I of capturing our children the way we see them. You were able to bring out their personalities, and I’m so grateful that I’ll always have these photographs to remember them at this age.
I literally had tears in my eyes looking through the photos. I’ve looked at your blog and your website countless times at the great photos, but never imagined how beautiful my children would look popping up on my computer screen!
You have an incredible talent. Thank you for the photos.

Thank YOU Jessi, and ALL my clients for allowing me the opportunity to capture your children for you.

The baby of the family…

Big sis is such a good helper with little “C” who has cerebral palsy…What a little ham he was!

Older brother “J” had just celebrated his 4th birthday!

And gorgeous “H”… sure has model quality!

She was actually the first newborn I ever photographed at the loft… and now she is one! She came in for her photoshoot on the DAY of her first birthday and we had such a great time. She is totally MY kind of girl… she LOVED her cupcakes! We could barely get them away from her to finish our session! Happy Birthday “O”!

She was just learning to walk and was SO excited!

I loved these candid shots of “O” getting changed outside…

Baby “S”… 10 months old. Loved huge handfuls of snacks and sitting nakie on the floor! I need to say thanks to her mom for the diet coke too!~~She is a faithful blog reader and diet coke drinker and brought me bottled diet coke so I won’t waste it!

Baby “H”… 6 months old. Not quite sitting yet so we did lots of tummy shots which are very adorable at this age… I did her newborn photos and couldn’t believe how much she had grown!

Love the expression on this one…

Another baby “S”… 10 months old and so very cute and happy~~simply adorable!

La-HUV those lips…

***BTW, did anyone go to the open house at the new Fargo Library this weekend? It looks like such a cool place… and of course the photographer in me thinks it would be a killer place for a session!***

And baby “T”…

Baby “C’s” grandma made her this adorable hot pink sweater… what a lucky little girl!

Six-month-old sessions always include lots of images of the baby with toys in their mouth… this is one of my all-time favorites though!

She got a little tired toward the end and needed a little snuggle from mom…

And I love this last one because “C’s” mom told me that this is what she does with her bunny [also made by Grandma!] when she is going to sleep…

Also….. the schedule through August is now booked. I will try to continue to take newborn appointments throughout the summer if I can squeeze it in. We will begin scheduling sessions for September-November starting June 1, 2009. If you know you want an appointment in September, I HIGHLY recommend that you call within that first week of June to make sure you get a spot. Thanks again to everyone for your continued interest rialee photography!

I love her facial expressions in the next two…

A behind-the-scenes shot of “H” with her fabulously beautiful mama..

“H” is the little sister to two of the coolest cats in town… hey “Q” & “P”!

Love their outfits! They were sent over from their uncle and auntie in Norway.

I do have one person from the March 27, 28th workshop that needs to sell their spot, so if you would like it please email us at info@rialeephotography.com.

These were taken while we were just fooling around waiting for baby “L” to finish his snack… but I really love how they turned out!

   ~~love the pure innocence of this one… “so big!”

For their sock monkey room….

The boys….

They start texting so early these days…

Just a few notes ….

The studio will be closed starting Tuesday December 23rd, and will re-open on Monday January 5th. I will be checking in periodically to finish up some end of the year stuff, and shoot for the next issue of OTMOM’s, but I will most likely not be returning calls and e-mails until the 5th. (If I have time I’m hoping to put together a little slideshow of my favorite images from the year so keep checking back!) I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Thank you for making 2008 such an amazing year for rialee photography!

Look at her incredible eyes!

I photographed this little guy as a newborn at my house and this time he got to come up to the loft!

He had the cutest little Christmas jammies!

His favorite “silkie”!

…sigh…. arn’t they just the most adorable children?

******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

On another note… there are a few things I need to mention!

First of all… this SATURDAY Pout Baby Boutique is having a big Christmas sale with holiday goodies and 15% off all day! So make sure to go check it out!

Second… today is the deadline for Christmas card approvals… so I will not be taking anymore design requests this year. (Unless of course you have not received your galleries yet… we will do everything we can to get you your cards before Christmas!) The ordering deadline for all other prints to be guaranteed Christmas delivery is on Wednesday the 17th!

And finally… I need to send a big huge thank-you to Alyssa Flaten from Mosaic Photography who so graciously borrowed me her camera so I could do a last-minute newborn session this week. My camera decided to go on the fritz during my last holiday session of the year so I had to send it in to the camera doctor this week! Yikes… lets hope it is fixed quickly and makes a safe return!

I love the snowflakes that show up on the top of this one…

This little girl wins the prize for being able to hold the most toys in her hands at once! Everytime we tried to take a few out of her hands she threw a fit… oh well!

This little guy’s mama is going to be surprised with his photos for Christmas courtesy of Grandma! When he was in Fargo for a visit she snuck him up to the studio!

The last time I saw “B” he was a tiny little peanut.. Now he’s a big one-year-old and so handsome!

This little guy had the sweetest personality. So content and easy-going. I hear his daddy is a talented photographer, so I am honored that they chose me to capture some of his first “professional” photos!

Love that look….

These three brothers were truly “all-boy” and their agenda the morning of our shoot didn’t exactly include taking photos. So we had to pull out all the tricks and bribes that we parents and photographers use to convice them that photo sessions are fun!

I loved the out-takes from this session!

 When I told “N” how amazing his eyes were he replied “I know, my mommy tells me she wants my eyes all the time.”

Love these shirts from Chasing Fireflies!

Look for him in the next issue of AW!

And these two… you’d never know they were twins since they look so different! Just a little fyi… one of them is going to be the next Bill Gates. I’ve never seen a six-year-old get so excited about Windows Vista in all my life. He even helped me download the photos from their session!

And my favorite…

Little Lucy is getting to be quite the model… she was in that same week for her own photo shoot and LOVES the camera.

well not really… (can you imagine being asked to do that shoot?)

But these fabulous parents do have brand new boy girl twins! Because of some time in the NICU they were almost a month old on the day of our shoot, but since they were just 3 and 4 pounds when they were born they were still teeny tiny…and so sweet and delicious.

Oh I remember those days of double feedings…

Little “E” already smiling…or is she dreaming?

And this little peanut butter just turned one…I know she thought I was a little bit crazy when I sat her in a chair in a bunch of weeds!

I love love love the light in this one!

And one of the last captures of the day…and I think maybe my favorite!

Get a load of this beautiful little guy’s eyelashes… the LONGEST I’ve EVER seen!

Can I take your five-day-old baby outside today for a few shots?

Trust me.

How about if we lay him in the grass?

Trust me.

And is it okay if we lay him on the concrete?

Just trust me.

You guys were so great… and we got these incredible images because of it!

Now before you start going all …”she is so creative…blah blah blah” I stole this idea DIRECTLY from one of my favorite children and family photogs, the uber-talented Tara Whitney.

Thanks for such a fun session… can’t wait to work with baby “C” again.

Two-year-old “L” really got attached to this wooden duck during the shoot, so it shows up in MOST of his pictures. Here he is feeding ducky a fruit snack!

And little “G”…I really hope I get to work with her again in the future! At just three-months-old, she is already skilled at giving me the “LOOK” that I am always after.

I told you I have had a lot of one-year-olds lately… and they were all girls! This adorable little girl had the cutest little earrings and had so much fun with her photo shoot, until we took her outside and made her sit in the grass…then she was not so happy with us!