Brantley is 11 months!! l Johnson Family l Princeton, MN

So once again, I am behind with my personal blog posts, go figure! I guess that was happens when we have such a crazy busy life!! Brantley just had his 1st Birthday yesterday, but on May 26, 2013 he was 11 months old. At 11 months, we now have a full-time walker; he started walking at about 10.5 months! He randomly started standing alone for more than 5 seconds one day, then the next he took 2 steps alone, the next day 4 steps, & from there he just doesn't stop! He also learned how to walk with shoes on just 4 days after he took his first steps, so that has made life easier as well!

Brantley continues to use the words & signs he knows to communicate all of the time! He also points to things he wants or is interested in, which is a lot of fun to decipher sometimes! He crawls up our entire set of 2.5 staircases very quickly & gets into anything & everything, so you can't turn your back for even a second! Brantley has the most amazing personality, I just love him to death! He gives me a hug & kiss by himself just about every time I pick him up & although he loves hanging out with daddy, mommy is still the go-to person when he is tired & wants to cuddle, which simply melts my heart every time!!

Brantley still has just 2 teeth & has the same measurements as 10 months, he weighs 22 lbs & is 28 inches long. He eats all solid foods, but is an extremely picky eater! He loves most fruits, but I have yet to find a vegetable he will actually swallow. He doesn't like meats & won't eat noodles or eggs anymore. Hopefully he will continue to explore different foods & will eventually find some things to be pretty tasty! Stay tuned for the 12 month update, as well as, 1st Birthday pictures & the party pictures, which will all be added very soon!!

The S Family!! l Spring Mini Sessions l Winona, MN

It was a pleasure to photograph these boys for their mom, who is also a long time friend & co-worker of my aunt. Big brother, Tristin, was an easy capture, while his little brother, Kayden, made me work throughout the entire session! He wanted absolutely nothing to do with getting his picture taken, but by the end of the session he warmed up and I got a few adorable smiles out of him!! I have to thank Tristin too because he was a huge help getting Kayden to play around & smile!!

The V Family!! l Spring Mini Sessions l Winona, MN

This adorable little family was so great to work with & all of the kids are extremely photogenic as you can tell from their pictures!! The kids were all so sweet & loved getting their pictures taken, which made my job so easy! Their mom was so helpful & had great ideas throughout the session too! I hope you have as much fun viewing their pictures as we did while taking them!!

2-year old Elle!! l Spring Mini Sessions l Winona, MN

Elle turned 2 the day before this mini session. She is such a doll & had a lot of fun playing around with her mommy! Although she wanted absolutely nothing to do with posing or props, we had a great lifestyle session that really showcased her true personality & that adorably sweet smile of hers!!

10-month old Landon!! l Spring Mini Sessions l Winona, MN

Landon was 10 months old at his mini session & he sure does have the cutest little pouty lips & chubby cheeks!! For a little guy he did such a great job & we were able to capture some great moments of him & his adorable family! He even got some extra special shots with his auntie too!! Landon was also the winner of the mini session Facebook contest that took place last month!!

The L Family!! l Spring Mini Sessions l Winona, MN

This double mini session was filled with sitting on trains, splashing in puddles, a few tears, & a lot of smiles!! Reid & Reilly were so much fun to work with! Reilly is a typical boy who was in love with this photo location & all of the fun things it had to offer, which you can see by his pictures above! Reid just had his 1st Birthday shortly after this session, so it was a privilege that I was able to document his 1st Birthday photos for this family. It was also great to catch up with their mom Anna too, as I used to work with her many years ago in college!

Sammie's College Graduation!!

My sister-in-law, Sammie, graduated from Saint Benedict's this Spring. I am so happy I was able to capture some special moments for her with her roommates & friends. She was also a trooper & let me practice some posing techniques using different angles for a class I was taking at the time. You would never be able to tell from these pictures, but it was about 45 degrees out & windy!! These girls rocked it anyways & had a lot of fun celebrating their special graduation day together & I am glad I was there to document it for them!!

The Schultz Family!!

For those of you who don't know, I have a twin sister! This is her beautiful little family from earlier this spring; Ella is now 6.5 years old & Maya is 3.5 years old! They are such different little girls with such different personalities (just like their mommy & I), but I love them both for so many reasons. It was a lot of fun capturing all of their sweetness on camera & they had a lot of fun while doing it! I hope you enjoy!!

The A Family!!

These kids were troopers on this hot & humid day and they only ended up with a total of 4 ticks after the session! Even though little Alyssa wanted nothing to do with getting her 1-year pictures taken, her siblings did a phenomenal job of playing with her & working through it! Despite her efforts of refusing to "pose" for the camera, I got many great photos of her cute face anyways!! Michael & Alyssa were so photogenic in front of the camera & were willing to smile & pose whenever I asked, which was great!!

Spring Mini Sessions!!

I recently had the pleasure of photographing 5 wonderful families at my last round of Spring Mini Sessions in the Winona area last weekend. Here is a photo representing each family that participated. I am currently hosting a contest on my Facebook page where one of these lucky families will win a $50 credit for a future photo session with me! Visit my page to view the full photos & vote for your favorite(s) by liking the picture. You can also share & tag the post to help promote your favorite family win if desired!! The photo with the most likes at the end of the day on Friday June 7th, will be the lucky winner! Visit www.facebook.com/MandiJohnsonPhoto to view the details & vote!!