Near the end of my pregnancy, I started researching photographers in our area who could do a professional photo shoot with James as a babe. I remembered that my friend used Kristi Zontini for her wedding and her photographs were gorgeous. Kristi’s studio, Bella Babies, now focuses mainly on babies and families.
We ended up purchasing four photo sessions (to use in a year), and have done two so far. A family shoot is scheduled for November, and then we’ll do the last one when James is a year old. Here are some of the shots Krisit’s done so far. Keep in mind that these are my photos of her photos, so the originals are far superior.
2 Weeks Old
I love the baby sleeping in a basket because it looks so natural with the woven basket and drapey cloth. Our little guy had so much hair, and it was so dark then. I thought it was a great idea that they used a warm hairdryer to blow some warm air on James so he didn’t get cold during the photo shoot.
I think it was Kristi’s idea to put James on his monogrammed diaper bag! I love how it turned out. We pulled out his pacifier just before this picture was taken. Someday, he’s probably going to kill me for posting these pics of him in the buff!
Here’s a triplicate custom framed series that shows off James’ tiny newborn hands and feet. We brought the blanket from home.
5 Months Old
The second photo shoot was so fun because James was awake and his happy personality is coming through. He loved Kristi and her wonderful assistant, Jordan, and couldn’t stop smiling. Kristi remarked that he was really easy to photograph. . . I bet she says that to all the parents! :)
James is sitting on a black leather couch is this picture, but it just looks like a black background. I love how playful he looks with his little hand in his mouth. He was having so much fun. This one might be my favorite.
This picture cracks me up because he looks like a little man! What IS that expression?! His long hair is tucked behind his ears.
I jumped into this photo, and I’m so glad I did because we hardly have any good pictures of us together. Of course, my skin is nowhere near as flawless as it looks in this photo, but that’s the beauty of airbrushing! (Jimmy was working, so he wasn’t there, unfortunately).
James will be wearing clothes in the next photo shoot, but I’m not sure what yet.
And here is James on his very first Halloween! . . . . It was really hard to get him to sit still for a photo, but I think we managed.
In other news, one of my favorite people in the whole world, my grandma, is coming to visit for a week and she’ll be here tomorrow! I’m so excited to have her staying with us, it will be such a treat!! When I was little, until about age 5, I spent a lot of time with her while my parents worked. To this day, she brags about what a good baby I was and says that James takes after me in that regard! :)
My grandma is a wonderful, very wise woman. She takes care of “elderly” people in her neighborhood, shopping for them, helping them with their doctor visits, and just helping with day-to-day living- and all simply out of the kindness of her heart. She’s a world traveler, cooks delicious meals, sews, and bargain shops. She even taught herself how to use the Internet last year by taking a class and she reads my blog everyday. Isn’t that awesome?!
As a kid, I remember going to the pumpkin patch this time of year with my family and picking out the perfect pumpkin and coming home and carving it with my Dad. He would carefully cut the top off in a perfect circle and my brothers and I would dig out the guts and seeds. Gooey goodness. My Dad is an artist and so good at carving very creative faces into pumpkins. I'm not so good. I still think carving is a fun thing for the kiddos, but these days, I'm really intrigued by the painted and embellished pumpkins. 
