A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of documenting a glimpse of a day-in-the-life of the Smith family.  Their daughter is not too much older than our son Atticus and it was so fun to see how interactive and mobile she is – a glimpse of what is to come so soon for us!

We started off with some fun time chasing bubbles outside with mom…

Then inside for a few casual portraits…

LOVE LOVE LOVE this series with baby girl trying on mommy’s shoes!!  So sweet!

A few solo portraits of baby girl…

More bubbles with daddy!!

Admiring her baby pearls, a beautiful gift.

Sometimes it’s candid moments like these where the true joy really shows through – these tend to be my favorite of an entire session.

A special moment with mother and daughter.  One of my favorites.

We were going to have some quiet reading time in the bedroom next, but baby girl had better plans.  Dance party on the dresser was on the top of her to-do list…

This last image in black & white is a re-make of an image she took as a baby with her own mother.  So fun to try to emulate a photo that is so precious to their family.

You may remember Tomeika & Aron from their fun engagement session about three years ago.  Or their wedding photography or cinema from two years ago.  I was so thrilled to hear the news that they are expecting … and better yet…. expecting TWINS!!   These two have been a blessing to have in our lives and I can’t wait to meet their baby girl and baby boy soon too.  They are going to be such awesome parents!! 

Alas, I have been so busy these past few months the liana’s bananas blog has yet again been pushed to the back-burner for some time.

So what have I been up to for the past 4 months?

Here’s a quick recap:

- Portrait Photographers Gathering in January
- IMAGING USA was in Atlanta in January too!!
- Atticus’ baby dedication at Buckhead Church in February
- Lots of Cinema work wrapped in Jan – March
- We have been busy working on LOTS of gorgeous wedding albums!
- Atticus’ first birthday in March!!
- Maternity and family portrait sessions
- Mike and I co-lead a Buckhead Church Starting Point group for 10 weeks
- Neighborhood garage sale and Spring Cleaning!!
- Lots of administrative behind-the-scenes stuff going on with all of our businesses!
- A handful of letterpress projects

And last but not least, the main reason why I’ve been so quiet on the blog since January is…

That’s right, I’m pregnant (again)! We are excited to be welcoming another into the Hall homestead in October 2013. Atticus will be 18 months old then, and while we know this will be interesting having two so close in age, we wouldn’t have it any other way!

Special thanks to my sister-in-law, Beth, for bringing this hilarious graphic to my attention. Thought it was fitting for this post!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

We had a lot of fun the past two days putting together a short little film featuring Baby Boy Atticus as Santa Baby.  He has been working on his dancing and singing a lot lately so if you are not sick of his little mug by the end, check out the outtakes for some serious dance moves, a bit of song and drama-club practice

SANTA BABY from Après un Rêve on Vimeo.

PS – We found out after the production of this film that Auntie-Beth did in fact teach Atticus how to “howl” (which is what he is practicing at the very very end!). Bwahahahahahaha.

Hope everyone is enjoying this holiday season!

We have been keeping busy the past few months with a trip to Spain in late October/early November, LOTS of post-production for photo & video these past two months, letterpress & leather work, and a few fun holiday events and portrait sessions.  Life has become an even crazier since Atticus became mobile in October – non-stop around here.  He turned 9-months old yesterday.  I’m still trying to figure out how to be a full-time stay-at-home wife & mom AND run a number of small businesses.  It’s insane, and very much worth it.  I’m looking forward to slowing down a bit in 2013 so I can catch up and reflect on 2012.  I can’t believe how quickly this year flew by!

Hope you are cuddled up fireside, watching all the Christmas classic movies, enjoying lots of great food, rest & relaxation and good times with loved ones.  Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas!!

Last weekend we had the pleasure of documenting Laura & Brian’s timeless, beautiful wedding.  Doesn’t Laura look absolutely stunning here!?  

The groom seeing his beautiful bride for the first time…

…as she walks down the aisle.

A candid moment outside the church before heading to the reception

We look forward to sharing much more soon… 

Brooke and Brian were married at the beautiful Wolf Mountain Vineyard & Winery this past weekend.  Such a gorgeous day & gorgeous couple!! 

I’m so excited to share these portraits of beautiful newborn baby Ada! Her mom and dad are in our small group and they decided to wait until the birth to find out if the latest addition to their family is a boy or girl. Major kudos to them for having that kind of patience to be surprised! Her brother has gradually gone from confusion and being slightly envious of new baby sister to adoring big brother, ready to hold her and shower her with kisses anytime. Mom, brother, Ada, and grandma came by a few weeks ago for a quick portrait session….

We started with a few portraits out back on one of their heirloom blankets, in a beautiful dainty dress also passed down through the family…

Ava getting some attention and kisses from big brother…

Sleeping Beauty!

Can’t forget a classic B&W of big brother looking on…

And one of baby brother with grandma, showing off his first leather wallet that Mike made for him…

And we also had to capture a quick portrait of three generations of beautiful women in this family!

We went outside again for a few less-candid baby portraits. The weather was perfect for a newborn baby photoshoot – like a thick blanket of heat, but not too scorching. Ada slept right through this part, like the perfect newborn baby model should!

Sweet-dreaming!

Then we headed inside for a few more portraits.

I think Ada has the princess-wave-to-photographers thing down already!

Love this one!

It’s rare you can get a newborn to open their eyes and a toddler to cooperate and look at the camera for a family portrait, so this set of portraits is a special one indeed!

Next, big brother asked mom if he could hold baby sister… how precious is this!?

Love these two candid ones of them too…

And finally, probably my favorite portrait from the entire photoshoot… one that I think every mom should have with their newborn!

Congratulations on your beautiful baby Ada! Love you guys!!

This weekend, Jennifer & Scott celebrated their one year wedding anniversary.   Jenni is one of my dear friends from high school and it was so amazing being there to document her & Scott’s big day.  While they met and live out in California, both of their families are from Ohio…so it was perfect that they were able to get married in Ohio with Gervasi Vineyard as their backdrop.  I have been meaning to post their wedding cinema for quite some time and am just now getting back to blogging… so without further ado… here is a glimpse of their beautiful, magical, and FUN day!!

Jennifer & Scott’s Vineyard Wedding {cinema} from Après un Rêve on Vimeo.

Last week I had the pleasure of capturing some engagement portraits of Trevor and Nina here in Atlanta.  They are such a fun couple and I couldn’t have picked a better pair to kick off our Spring/Summer wedding season with this weekend.

Here are a few of our favorites:

Love the metal industrial door behind them in this shot.

A portrait with a view! (Of the Atlanta Skyline)

We can’t wait to document your beautiful day tomorrow!!