You can tell how much she enjoys life (and she especially enjoys her parents) by her sweet expressions below.

(And the hands on the belly?? PRECIOUS!!)

I love having a bird’s eye view on how this sweet girl interacts with world…

I cannot get over the beauty of her smile!!!

Caitlin and Barrett,

thank you for hiring me to capture your beautiful daughter at this huge milestone of exploration, joy, and delight. It was such a blessing to capture your daughter’s unique personality.

~ Christen

I love this little ‘nook’ we found on a snowy day… but I love the personality of this family even more!!

 Remington’s expression is AMAZING.  I also love the way that Bob is enjoying his son in this picture. PRECIOUS.

All BOY and oh-so-sweet.

She is so. much. fun.

Sometimes you just need to see the world from a different perspective… this family does that well.

Another one of those shots that made me smile — and completely unplanned… although I’m starting to think that these kiddos live life so freely and beautifully that moments like this happen on an almost predictable basis.

They really wanted a photograph outside – sans coats – so we did a 2 minute sprint outside. LOVE this family!

This is perfectly imperfect and speaks of their beauty as a family of five.

You five are BEAUTIFUL.

Lindsey and Bob – You two are amazing humans… and wonderful parents.

It has been a blessing to know you over the past 5 years. I am so excited to see what the future holds for you five as you wait on God and step out in faith. You all are so much fun and create such an authentic place for community. It was a joy to capture who you are as a family —- with all the unpredictable expressions and unplanned moments of sweetness between you and your children. Thank you for spending a few minutes with me on a snowy afternoon. Oh, and Remington – you are adorable.

Love,

Christen

I love baked goods.It may be my downfall. I think this is genetic. Tony and I love fresh baked cookies and anything with a hint of chocolate whether that’s the delicious chocolate chip banana bread pictured below or the mint chocolate cake balls. When Elsie of E & M Bulk Foods asked me to capture some of her food products for their family’s new business endeavor called E & M Bulk Foods, I was ecstatic. I believe in this family’s ability to provide delicious and affordable baked goods for the West Michigan community because I have personally tasted and enjoyed these delicious treats and I want others to have the opportunity to enjoy them also. I have started working out just so I can enjoy these treats guilt-free. Their fresh loaves of bread have created a bread-eating monster out of my son Samuel. He can distinguish their bread from anything we could ever buy in the grocery store. I’m not even kidding. He will whine for their bread when he sees it on the counter and dismiss store bought bread with his hand. This kid has good taste.

Head on over to this family’s website (although currently under construction) to contact them for your upcoming Valentine’s Gift needs for yourself, family, friends, and/or co-workers!

You will not be disappointed. 

Elsie and Matt, Thank you for entrusting these delicious treats, made with a lot of love, into my care for capturing their crumbly, gooey goodness. Blessings to you as you move forward in your business!

Love, Christen

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If you have seen my cake attempts, you’d know that they are a bit weak… So I decided that I wanted to have professionals take care of decorating a cake for Sam’s birthday. Second Floor Bakery is hands down my FAVORITE BAKERY in the Holland/Zeeland area. Without wanting to restrict their creativity at all, I simply told them that I wanted a cake that was a ‘barnyard animal’ theme with a few cute animals on it.

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Can you imagine my excitement when I stopped by to pick it up at Second Floor Bakery and saw this adorable two-tiered barnyard cake?!?! 

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I had 5×5 prints made from my favorite printing company to hang up pictures from Samuel’s 1st year of life… many that you see here were taken by the fabulous Shannon Leith and the one on the far right was taken by Christy.

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Check out this ADORABLE SMASH CAKE made by Second Floor Bakery!  Sam started saying “Dog, dog!” when he saw it.

It took him a while to figure out he was supposed to eat it – but once he hit the chocolate cake underneath the delicious icing, he moved quite quickly.

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Sam was trying to figure out what all the commotion was about.

He was ecstatic to have all of his grandparents around!

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I looked up vintage milk glass jars online and they were SOOOO expensive and there was no way I could justify putting that kind of money into my son’s birthday party. So, I splurged on some Starbucks Frappucino’s, enjoyed drinking them and sharing them with friends, pealed and scraped the labels off, washed them and VOILA…. “Vintage glass milk jars” for a lot less and they looked adorable with the red-striped paper straws I found at Meijer. I found the plates and napkins, small bales of hay, and various wooden animals at Hobby Lobby. And I bought just a little bit of burlap and checkered fabric at Hobby Lobby as well.

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Like I said, I LOVE themes… so when I saw Pinterest give me the idea to make “cow pies” out of no-bake cookies and oreos being called ‘tractor wheels,’ I couldn’t resist adding these to the theme.

I already had a few vintage crates – so the yellow one worked perfectly to hold the glass milk jars.

Thank you to my friend Lisa at My Little Buffalo Designs for capturing a few candid shots while we enjoyed watching him eating his cake and be present with him during the rest of the festivities.

Sam LOVES books.

We suggested that if people wanted to bring a gift, they could bring a used book… it was really neat to receive some family favorites that have been in the family or simply loved by the family for years. 

Sam, we are so honored to be your parents. You bring the joy, the dance moves, and so many sweet hugs and kisses to our lives.

Love, Mama and Baba

]]> http://www.christenbphotography.com/?feed=rss2&p=4176 0 http://www.christenbphotography.com/?p=4133&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=novak-family-west-michigan-family-and-lifestyle-photographer http://www.christenbphotography.com/?p=4133#comments Mon, 28 Jan 2013 15:45:30 +0000 admin http://www.christenbphotography.com/?p=4133 Meet Joey: Passionate. Creative. Confident. Visionary. Committed. Loving. Eager to learn.

Meet Katie: Patient. Teacher. Encouraging. Compassionate Listener. Steadfast. Fun-loving.

Together: They are a passionate, creative, visionary, fun-loving couple who is committed to compassionately loving, teaching, and encouraging the people around them.

Meet Eli: Enthusiastic. Curious. Talkative. Observant. Caring.

Meet Calvin. Smiley. Energetic. Determined. Joyful. Flexible. Content.

Together as a family: They are a curious, enthusiastic, caring family of four determined to discover the world around them and bring joy to others through creativity and knowledge.

My time with them was filled to overflowing with these sweet moments between them that you cannot ‘stage’ or ‘plan’ but instead, you create space for a family to simply be together… and then watch the beauty and unique-ness of who they are unfold.

Calvin, your four bottom teeth are too much cuteness for one photograph to handle.

Eli, you are so. much. fun.

One purpose of being a dad is helping your child feel SO BIG and ready for the world. It looks like Joey does that well.

Hold on to this portrait, because I think you will see this same facial expression when Eli falls in love with his future wife.

I could’ve spent a whole weekend with these cuties.

PURE JOY.

Katie is an unbelievable mom.  She has a calming but firm way of loving her boys and providing a structure in which they can create, explore, and enjoy the world around them.

It looks like Joey thinks she’s pretty great too.

You can almost hear the squeals and laughs in this image.

Perfection.

Brothers and Buds.

FAVORITE!!!!Finding your ‘us-ness’ in the middle of parenthood can be a challenge, but you two seem to be pros at loving each other in the midst of the craziness!

The definition of ADORABLE.

You four are seriously perfect.

Katie and Joey, Eli and Calvin -

Thank you for hiring me to capture this beautiful season in your family’s life and be a part of the Christmas surprise for your parents. What a gift you gave all of them in having these pictures done. It was a gift for me as well to step into your family life and get a close perspective of who you are together. You all are beautiful on the inside and out and a TON of fun!!!

Love,

Christen

Smushy. Sleepy. Lover of books. Adorable. Content. Deep Thinker. Ready for the World.

Meet Andrew: Witty. Talented. Musician. A good friend. Passionate. Steady. Caring. Leader.

Meet Julie: Beautiful. Loving. Servant. A good listener. Committed. Competent. Supportive.

Together, they are welcoming Baby Aiden into a music-filled, warm and caring family that will provide more love and witty fun then he will know what to do with. It will be so exciting to see Aiden’s little personality develop in a home that is full of nurturing, steady support to pursue whatever he becomes passionate about. Right now, he is passionate about eating, sleeping, and filling his diaper — Oh, and gazing at his two wonderful parents.

Check out this smooshy cuteness!!

There were lots of snuggles and kisses being shared during this session! LOVE these!

A quick diaper change for good measure and even then, he is ADORABLE.

The tenderness of these next four images is overwhelming…

This would be beautiful as a wall print or canvas somewhere…  :)

Why hello handsome!

I think you two probably gazed at him like this the rest of the afternoon… in between naps for yourself, of course!

I love capturing a new family in the space that was prepared with a lot of thoughtfulness, expectancy, prayers, and maybe a few tears.

Julie, you are one GORGEOUS mama!!! (One of my FAVORITES!)

Taking after his dad…

I am pretty sure that the line “sleep like a baby” was talking about THIS kind of sleep and not the sleep training that occurs around 4-8  months.

What a miraculous gift.

Preparing for his future.

Love this ‘pensive’ schoolboy pose. He totally worked the camera the entire session!

Photo Credit: Shannon Leith

Happy New Year!!!!

How are you spending the last day of 2012?