Recently I got up before the crack of dawn to head on out to a familiar field for some first-morning-light family portraits with the sweet Koltonski family. I was soooo excited to be back in this field with them, as this is where some of my favorite maternity portraits of Whitney were taken!

Although it was waaaaay early and they had to make a bit of a drive to get there, I’m so glad they did! The weather was good (although it was already starting to get warm by the time we wrapped up), the light was pretty, and sweet Lila was just a gem! This little girl just stole my heart, and it’s not hard to imagine why…. she’s just as sweet and friendly as her parents, and just as photogenic too!

It was tough narrowing down photos to include in the blog post, so enjoy the lots of them that follow…

Lila got to be the star of the show at the beginning of the shoot (well.. the whole time, really).. I’d bet it’s probably a similar situation at home too! I mean, just look at this sweet girl….

Lila was a great little model, and it was so fun to watch her go from watching mom & dad to inspecting her surroundings.. the lace was a big hit!

Aaaaaand so were mommy’s antics behind my shoulder!

A quick wardrobe change for our little star, and it was off to find some hay bales. She wasn’t too sure at first, but warmed up to it quickly knowing her mama’s hands were just outside the frame!

Seriously… that little smile?!?!?! Just kills me! Too cute.

We couldn’t let little Lila have allllll the fun, since we were there for family portraits after all. These two are seriously the sweetest parents and they both just totally light up from the inside out when they talk about or look at their little girl. Lila, you’re lucky to have these two!

So sweet!!

Whitney is such a natural when it comes to motherhood, and it was so fun to witness the bond between these two. I can tell there are lots and lots and lots of giggles in store as Lila grows up! I seriously LOVE this next series of photos… such a great example of the light-hearted and fun-filled interactions between a girl and her mama…

The shot in the middle of this series just melts my heart!

And to be clear, daddy’s definitely got a big place in Lila’s heart too. You can just tell the way Chris looks at Lila that there’s nothing in the world he wouldn’t do for her. It’s sweet to see this big, strong man be so gentle with her in his arms. It just never gets old to see that dynamic between daddies and their daughters.

This shot?!?!?! Love. Love. Love.

This was the one moment that I heard Lila fuss at all (if you could even really call it that)… and about 5 seconds of snuggles from Whitney and back-patting from Chris, and she was good to go again!

LOVE these next two… such pretty morning light!

And I’ll end on these two adorable shots of more playtime and snuggles…

 

Whitney, Chris & Lila… thank you from the bottom of my heart for letting me take photos of you all again! It’s such a blessing to get to continue to photograph families as they grow, and you three are just a dream to work with. Thank you for being so fun, so kind, and so darn photogenic! I truly enjoyed our morning, and I hope you enjoy your photos!!