On September 6, 2018, Keaton Grace was welcomed into the world after her super hero mom, Kara, went through 40 hours of labor. Sweet baby girl was breech and thankfully with medical advancements, she entered the world perfectly with only a brief time in the NICU. Kara is seriously a CHAMP. I was so impressed as this wonderful couple decided to rock their first newborn session in the open fields of Walker Ranch Park!! And with their beautiful Golden Retriever, Rexi, too! We found several different spots for swaddled poses, family portraits, and a walking path where Rex and Keaton (sisters) posed perfectly together. And would you know it, Keaton slept the entire 1.5 hours!! It’s all we needed to capture over 60 images!!!!

The sun played peek-a-boo through the clouds, the blue sky was gorgeous, the deer were out and grazing and the birds were enjoying the break from the rain. I love the sounds of peaceful days like today. I love taking a deep breath and soaking in the new’ness’ of life, the sounds of nature, the beauty to behold and the occasional “ooh”s and “awe”s from perfect strangers. I’m pretty sure I saw Rexi going through the same feelings as me, haha. She was such a good dog, 5 years old and trained well. I had the perfect family right in front of me, so I made it a point to enjoy every second… and that’s exactly what I did. How could I not?!

My favorite moment in the session was getting out the quilt and photographing this sweet angel amongst scripture, “Now I lay me down to sleep…”. It was a beautiful moment as Keaton (surprise) slept and was the poster child for this bedtime prayer that has been used since the 18th century. Genius idea to bring and use this fun, colorful quilt with so much peace and a beautiful message. I’m so thankful for the fun I had and the family I got to meet. And can I get a huge THANK YOU from everyone for this Air Force family and their service?! #MILITARYSTRONG !

~Hannah Charis