When Kristen first contacted me last spring about taking photos of her daughter Iris, she was thinking of a session among the flowering irises. Clearly, we missed that window... by a lot. (Coordinating schedules is tough!) Fortunately, the stars aligned at the end of the summer, so we set a date and met early one morning to commemorate a big year for a little girl :)

I'm usually pretty good about getting the little ones to smile, but Iris was as unsure of me as could be... at least in the beginning. She completely ignored my funny faces and games of peek-a-boo, and would just stare at me with these big, gorgeous, questioning eyes, so I went with it...

(Remember what I said here about not forcing smiles? I was totally serious!)

After a bit, I became less of a stranger and mom and dad came to the rescue... I LOVE the giggle in the picture on the right!

One is such a great age... it's that perfect balance of clingy, lovey baby and adventurous, spirited toddler.

This next shot is going up on their walls as a big canvas... and will look a. maz. ing. Some people get nervous about the idea of large prints, but they're such a beautiful add in a room!

Kristen & Tu, thank you so much for letting me photograph your beautiful daughter... happy first birthday, Iris!

xox,

annemie