Brittani Louise Oliver

Last month I had the pleasure of photographing the Graham family as they were expecting their first child! She has made her big debut and Corey and I ventured to Houston to meet her!

She was by far the tiniest little thing I’ve ever seen and this was definitely one of my favorite newborn sessions. We did have a few potty accidents here and there but that is to be expected. She was in her birthday suit for almost the entire session and was so wonderful!

Riley’s Aunt knit on the hats that she is wearing and the pink hat with the bird was a great find on Etsy! I absolutely love that website! I kept telling Michelle how I’d really like to order hats from her sister! I am a persistent person!

We have really loved getting to know you both! Thank you for welcoming us into your home!

Enjoy your sneak peek!

I was so excited to finally use this little cocoon.

We tried something new! Thanks for trusting me!

Here is my Etsy find! She is absolutely precious!

Gorgeous family!

This is the precious hat that her Aunt made!

This is one of my absolute favorites from our session!

3 years ago today I married my best friend! These have definitely been the best 3 years of my life and I love to reflect on each year of marriage as we begin again. I smile when I think about spending the rest of my life with Corey!

Our anniversary “tradition” is to take a trip each summer around our anniversary to get away and relax. Corey’s Dad writes his Mom a poem each year on their anniversary. Our best friends write each other a letter in a journal each year on their anniversary. I wish I would have started that! What are your anniversary traditions?

I am working like a dog to get all of the sessions edited and orders filled before we leave. We will be on the beach in the Bahamas as of Friday. We will not return until the evening of August 5th. If you need anything please contact me before July 31st because I will be unable to answer any emails or phone calls until we return.

Here was part of my anniversary gift! A new luggage set - You’re thinking “How boring?!” I begged for this luggage and have been begging since we got married so it was a nice surprise that Corey said we could get it. We definitely will put it to good use!

AND here is the funniest anniversary card I’ve ever seen! Love it!

I will be out of the office all day today because I will be spending time with these guys! I’m so excited to see everyone - it’s been too long!

If you email or call, I will respond by Friday, July 24th. Enjoy the heat!

Corey and I took our first “vacation” this summer to Atlanta, GA and Chattanooga, TN.  Corey works in Atlanta during the week and his cousin talked him into participating in a triathlon in Chattanooga (because he doesn’t do enough)! 

I flew into Atlanta and we loaded up the minivan and headed to Chattanooga.  It was such a neat town with a lot of character!  There was quite a bit for kids to do and plenty of places to stop for ice cream!  We got to spend our time in Chattanooga with Corey’s cousin and his family.  We also did a family session with them while we were in town!  (see below!!)  We enjoyed a lot of yummy food and explored the town when the guys weren’t racing.  My favorite discovery was Mellow Mushroom - a pizza place.  If you know me, you know I have to try pizza everywhere I go!

The girls and I watched the boys race…in the rain!  We were real troopers and hid under a tree to try to stay dry!  Corey and I also discovered a quaint little book shop and a few shots of him in the collage below were taken there.  He was reading up on dog breeds (more on that later this week!!).

After we left Chattanooga, Corey took me to antique a bit and then we headed back to Atlanta.  I spent an entire day in the W relaxing and hiding from the outside world.  I highly recommend this every once in awhile.  Later that evening, he took me on a tour of Piedmont Park.  He spends quite a bit of time there exercising and it was a gorgeous park to explore.  He showed me his favorite tree and I even got to climb it!  We also hung out at the dog park for a while to “shop” and spotted a Siberian Husky puppy.  *tear*  We also had dinner with a few of his co-workers and ate the largest and most interesting hamburgers I’ve ever seen.  On our way back to the hotel, Corey bought me a $7 milkshake (that’s a lot!) and we enjoyed it while we caught the tail end of the Bachelorette in our hotel.

I love traveling with my love and I also love getting to see what he does all week and where he spends his time.

When the Lucenay’s asked us to do a family session while we were in Chattanooga, we were so excited!  I love to explore new places and I love how it challenges me as an artist to come up with new ideas.  This small town had so much character it was hard to narrow it down to just a few places.  In trying to define my style, I have learned that I love texture, bright colors and raw emotion.  I love urban settings and I love to capture the true personalities of my clients.  I’d love to do more session in the future in Chattanooga because that small town has a lot to offer.

This family couldn’t be more precious - we might be a little biased because they are OUR family!  There is so much love and these two little girls have the best personalities.  They are so colorful and happy!  Enjoy your sneak peek!

Today the love of my life turns 29! I have had the most incredible 5 years with this man and I love him more and more everyday! I am a sucker for birthdays and love to celebrate!   Corey on the other hand, really doesn’t care too much about his birthday or gifts.  He’d rather me save the money and not spend anything at all.  He should know better by now…

[My Top 10 Favorite Things about Corey]

1.  His passion to stay in shape, take care of his body and motivate others to do the same.  He loves to get others involved in improving their health in some way.

2.  He never complains….EVER!  Seriously, if I spent two days a week in an airport, I’d probably complain A LOT.   I rarely hear this man complain about anything and it reminds me of how content he is.

3.  His love for me and desire to give me the world.  He works SO hard every week to provide for me.  He always plans the most grand surprises and  he always finds a way to keep me on my toes.

4.  He is such a wonderful “assistant”, CEO and janitor to Brittani Louise Photography.  His passion is my passion and he goes where I go.  This was never something that I established or asked of him but he genuinely desires to help me in any way and to see me grow as an artist.

5.  He loves to watch trash TV with me.  He’ll sit down and watch The Bachelorette, Big Brother, or Kendra.  You name it - he’s there!

6.  He’s a great cuddler and loves to cuddle every night before bed.

7.  He always goes along with my crazy ideas.  If I ask him to make a huge flowerbed in the backyard, it’s done.  If I want him to plant 5 trees, he does it.  Again, never complaining.

8.  He’s my best friend. Simple but true.

9.  He has a heart of gold and would give someone the shirt off of his back.  He is so giving of his resources and time.  He’s always finding ways to love others.

10.  His strives to be a better person.  To be a better husband.  To grow in his relationship with the Lord.

Corey I love you to the sky!  I hope that your day is super duper special and I can’t wait for you to get home so that we can try Coldstone’s ice cream cupcakes!!

This is one of my favorite photos that was taken on Blitz’s last day!  My two favorite guys!

I have finally accepted the fact that I am just not very great with keeping up with our blog.  Unfortunately, over the past few weeks we’ve had a really good excuse.  We had to say goodbye to not only our dog, Blitz.

He was a member of our family.  We loved him as if he were our child.  It was by far, the most difficult decision we’ve ever made.  We have had so many tell us that we made the right decision, that he would be grateful, we were selfless, or that they too have been in this situation.  Unfortunately, none of these things have given me much comfort.  I am not sure anyone can understand the magnitude to which we loved this animal.  The hole in our hearts is so large.  I’m sure that this is just a stage of my grieving. I feel as if a part of me is missing. I look for him in our home and I smell him every time I come inside. I lay in bed at night waiting for him to come to the side of the bed to be pet. Life just isn’t the same without him.

I wanted to share a few of our favorite photos and I hope to put together a special project to share soon.

Blitz was a great cuddler, spooner, eater, listener, and conversationalist.  He always let us dress him up in silly costumes.  He loved to chase cats - even until his last few days.  He loved Corey more than anyone else and Corey loved to remind me of that!  He hated having his photo taken - typical photographer’s child.  He loved family time.

I picked up his urn today from the vet and although it is a bit creepy, I am comforted to know that he is home again.

I took a few photos several months ago and we have more recent ones to share soon.

One of my favorite photos.

He loved to talk and we loved to listen.

If you made it this far, congrats! I will share our most recent session soon.

We also let go of my childhood pet, Sugarbear, about 6 weeks before Blitz. I had her from elementary school all the way through college and marriage. I look forward to sharing some of my favorite photos of her!

If you are a teacher then you understand that the people you work with become a very special part of your heart. You spend all day helping one another out, swapping stories and supplies, and enjoying the little adult conversation you get to have with them. I can’t let you in on all of our little secrets but I will tell you that I definitely cherish those moments.

I have worked closely with Aliceson for 3 years and have had the priviledge to work across the hall from her for the past 2 years. It has been so fun to watch each stage of her pregnancy - checking on her daily and hearing about her latest adventures. It has been an even greater blessing to finally meet their newest addition - Caleb! I was honored to capture these small moments for their family at such a precious time.  He was a ripe 9 days old. It is never to early to photograph a newborn - in fact, the earlier the better! Aliceson always said how active he was in the womb and this is no lie. He was quite the little mover and shaker for our session but we wouldn’t of had it any other way!  Enjoy your sneak peek and thank you!

The happy family!

We couldn’t NOT take a picture in his little Aggie outfit.

I love the little details.

He has the best expressions!

This photo reminds me of the song “Daddy’s Hands” - cheesy song, I know, but I just love it!

My absolute favorite.