Piper Newborn Session! Zionsville, Indiana
“Be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud.” – Maya Angelou
Last fall I decided to sign up for the Motherhood together biweekly hangout meeting at my church [Common Ground Christian Church], and one of the guest speakers was a couple talking about marriage. We chatted about all sorts of things, but then one thing was about going on dates with your spouse post-baby. Ronald and I had hired someone to come watch Z a few times, and some lovely childless friends had also stayed with him a few times, but nothing regular. So we’re talking about this during the small group table discussion time, and Emily was talking about how it’s hard, and expensive and how they don’t have grandmas/grandpas in town, and I was like, “WAIT!!! Us either! Let’s swap!” [the speaker had given us the idea, but then I was like, “with who?”]
Our boys are literally days apart in age, and so starting last fall, every month, we find days to swap sitting so we can go on dates with our husbands. And it’s beautiful. It’s something I look forward to. Sure, we might have gone couch shopping on one date-excursion, and Emily and Cole went to a hardware store to look at cabinet pulls on one of theirs. But one night a month we can get away together and do whatever. Glorious.
So yes, this is my friend! And now this sweet family is a family of 4!
Ollie, for no nap, and being 2 years old, you were a rockstar. Piper, everyone is so excited that you are here. Welcome to the world little one! Gram, you were so super helpful! Thanks for snagging Ollie for tv time, and helping with high fives when he was getting tired of photos.
Cole and Emily, I’m so blessed by your friendship. Thank you for inviting me into your home and creating these first memories of your family of 4.
Love you guys!
~Maike
*That afghan under the basket, made by Emily’s momma… Pipers grandma… out of Cole’s momma’s [Pipers other grandma] alpaca’s wool. How amazing, right? So much talent.
“To escape and sit quietly on the beach – that’s my idea of paradise.” – Emilia Wickstead
Heyyo!!! So when I was hmm, “being interviewed” ;) for the official photography job at their wedding, Jake and Mauna asked me if I’d be up for a trip to Grand Mere State Park for their engagement session. And guys, Lake Michigan is one of my favorite places to go, so OF COURSE I was like, “YES PLEASE!” Got it on the books, and decided to make a family weekend of it by renting a little airbnb and taking Z to the beach a few times, and hiking, and hanging out.
So yay Jake and Mauna for wanting your engagement session at Grand Mere!
The week before we were solidifying times to meet, and they reminded me that there was a good 20-30 minute hike to get to the beach [which is good, because I definitely had forgotten that part]. But it was SO worth it.
In case anyone is wondering, yes, solid YES I will drive back up to Lake Michigan to take your engagement photos, or family photos, or well, whatever else you come up with to photograph at this gorgeous place.
And Mauna and Jake! This was the first time we hung out in real life [we FaceTimed for our first meeting], and they are both so lovely to be with. It is so clear that Jake makes Mauna laugh ALL THE TIME, and that they just simply adore each other and make a super rad team.
I’m also grateful that Jake has a good sense of direction, since at some point we got lost from each other. Guys, it was a little scary; I like being outdoors, but I am NOT the girl that’s going to survive 2 weeks, lost in the woods… but luckily they found me, and we all made it back to the cars before night fall. Ha!
Mauna and Jake, I’m so excited to photograph you next year for your wedding! This engaged year is going to go by so fast, but also probably feel so slow. I loved hanging out with you on Lake Michigan!
Cheers!
~Maike
“Whenever a toddler sees a pile of blocks, he wants to tear it down.” – J. J. Abrams
MAYBE you saw the above sneak peek on facebook, and my little quip about how I flew to London to photograph this little dudes’ first birthday. I was only sort of telling the truth.
The full truth, is back a couple years ago we traveled to Germany and saw my family and did the tourist bit, etc, and Ronald was all, “Next time we leave the country, I want to go somewhere where I can understand the language.” Then, on our way back to the US, we were chatting and dreaming, and he was like, “England”. Then mentioned something about how so many of his books are based in London, and he just wants to go drink beer, in a pub, in London.
Shortly after that, our friends Amelie and Michael moved to London… and since R turned 40 this past February there seemed like no better opportunity to fly over there, stay with our awesome friends [who also had great advice for what to do/see/etc], and DO London! And pretty randomly, we ended up being there over Alexanders 1st birthday! So obviously we had to do a portrait session while I was there.
This little guy is cute, sweet, and full of adorable laughs. He was a trooper when we went out to Greenwich for the day, and stayed out late for dinner. He was also delightful to play with after our London shenanigans at the end of the day.
HOWEVER, lets talk a minute about the cake, and how absolutely UNINTERESTED he was in the cake. I’m not an expert at cake smashes, but I’ve taken a few in my day, and this kiddo, could seriously not have cared less about the cake. Ha! We put it down, I took my position to get the first shot of him diving into it, then we put him down a few feet away, AND HE CRAWLED RIGHT PAST IT!….. TWICE! Ha! Eventually we encouraged a little play, but he mostly wanted to throw the 1 year old candle stick, and when he got icing on his hand, he rubbed it off on his pants. And then, we showed him the inside of the cake [it was a beautiful rainbow cake], he crawled through it a bit, and pretty much got everyone else smudged with icing.
Kids man.
But, while he wasn’t super into the cake, we did get amazing photos and a perfect story to tell him in the future, when I imagine he will be much more interested in cake.
So here ya go! Alexanders first birthday photoshoot in London, England!
Amelie and Michael, you guys are lovely humans. I’m so glad we’re friends and that you let us crash your pad for the week. You guys were great hosts!
Everyone interested in a cake smash, just a heads up, this could happen to you, and it will make a great story.
Cheers!
~Maike
*It’s always nice to get that one photo of them crawling to the next destination, because let’s be real, so much of their day is getting from one interesting thing to the next via the crawl.
*the birthday balloons are also another story. And it shows just how different, even at 1 year old, kiddos are! Z was super into the balloons, pulled them down, tried to eat them, stared up at them a lot. Alexander was into them, but also a little fearful of them. Ha! By day 7, he’d decided they were all right and he wanted to play with them more.
“Does love make the world go around? Well yes. But whiskey makes it go around twice as fast.” – 
Spring means slightly itchy eyes, a runny nose for both me and Z, and pockets full of tissues that need to be double checked before laundry day. BUT, it also means beautiful weather, sun shine, and pretty blooms on the trees! I’m here for all the latter in this list.
And Casey and Rob’s engagement session was also here for all the spring-ness in Indy! Our session was miraculously scheduled for the one day of sunshine in a stream of like, 500 days of clouds and rain. So even though it was a tad cold for Indianapolis [and almost MAY!] it was so super delightful.
Since they got engaged at 1205 Distillery in Fletcher Place, we decided that’d be a rad place to meet up. They ended up going a few days in advance, chatting with the owners, and sweet talked them into letting us shoot inside a bit after they closed [yay for rad small business owners! You guys are so cool. Also, if you haven’t been, the space is so cozy delightful, and right next to Repeal [my first time at 1205, but I HAVE been to Repeal and totally loved it]. And, ya know… starting a session off with a little alcohol is a great way to ease any nerves [but not too much guys, cause droopy eyes are not totally flattering].
So yay for this spring engagement session!
Casey and Rob, you two are so lovely. I’m super stoked for your Speak Easy wedding in 2020!
Cheers!
~Maike
*sometimes during engagement sessions, I have you do somewhat weird things… like skipping… BUT, how gloriously in sync are these two!!!
*You guys, UNDER the hang out area, are all the alcohol barrels. It’s like this tiny room maybe 4 feet tall. BUT I’M DIGGING the image above. All the heart eyes!
Bonni (and Family) Maternity Session! Indianapolis, Indiana
“Sisters are different flowers from the same garden.”
Bonni was among the first people I EVER convinced to step in front of my camera, back in college. We dreamed up weird photo-shoots together [‘cause although she’s a doctor now, and was a nerd science girl back then, she also was into theater, which made her one of my FAVORITE friends to dream up art stuff with].
AND NOW, I got to photograph her again for maternity/family portraits! [Maybe I’ll dig up an old college studio session and share it on instagram stories].
And really, any excuse to get together is great because she’s a close friend who is super lovely to be with. BUT, having a new baby to celebrate is a SUPER great reason to wander around Indy together taking photos.
So here they are! The family of 3+! I think the last time they were on my blog was when Jill and I went to Hawaii to hang out with them [but actually, Alayna had a photo on Beth and Sam’s wedding blog post last fall too].
Bonni, Jake, Alayna, I’m so excited for your new little one to be here soon! I’m grateful every time you invite me to photograph you. You are always so wonderful to be around and spend time with. I love that we’re friends.
Cheers!
~Maike
*Those of you that know Bonni, it will come as no suprise to you that we found a toad, and Alayna chased it down and this momma/daughter duo picked it up and wondered about it together. I love them.
*Also, the dress Bonni is wearing came from Free People, and is a non-maternity dress, AND SO PRETTY! So ya, definitely check them out if you’re searching for a flowey maternity dress!
2 Year Old Griffin! Child Session, Indianapolis, IN
“Today you are You, that is truer than true.
There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” – Dr. Seuss
So Zander and I have accumulated a few mom/kid friends here and there, BUT, the majority of our tried and true friends are from Mommy and Baby Yoga [if you’re pregnant/just had a kiddo, TRY IT OUT! Mimi is the instructor at IU and is great, and it was so good for Z and I to connect with each other, and you can do it pretty much until they start crawling everywhere].
Griffin and his mommy Amy are one of the friends we made in yoga class. It’s fun to watch the boys growing up, but also, it’s great for me to have mommy friends [especially ones I can go out with sans kiddo and discuss all the things (especially when they’ve done more research on the next kid things than I have, ha!)]
So yay for Griffin! He’s turning two soon, and Amy and Jeremy brought him into the studio thinking they wouldn’t probably be in many photos, BUT Griffin is a little bit of a momma’s boy, and we ended up including everybody in the shoot [so, any future clients, maybe be prepared, you might need to jump into a few shots, even if you don’t plan on it] [also, I don’t regret adding Amy/Jeremy into the shoot, I LOVE those images!]
Tricks we used: tossing goldfish crackers at the toddler as a game, singing songs, spinning, and chasing.
So maybe also come ready for a workout.
Griffin, you are ADORABLE, and I’m so glad you came on your adventure to see me in the studio! I loved having you there and am so excited to celebrate your two-ness! Amy and Jeremy, your kiddo is cute and I’m super glad we’re friends.
Cheers!
~Maike
2 Year Old Max! Child Session, Indianapolis, IN
“A person’s a person, no matter how small.” – Dr. Seuss
So you’re about to see a bit of a trend, as some of Z’s friends turn two and their parents hire me to capture their two-ness. [This is 100% an awesome part of parenting as a photographer; you learn through photographing your own kid, and then when his slightly younger kid friends are ready for their portraits, you have ALL THE TRICKS!]
But also, mad props to Stacey for the fun things she brought to incorporate in to Max’s session! The balloons were SO much fun for Max to play with [I posted on my instagram stories a time-lapse video of us putting the balloons in place, and then him moving them pretty much over and over, ha!] Also, that little chair he’s standing in front of? It has sentimental ties with Max’s grandpa. And when she brought out his truck and his favorite books, he looked at me with such HAPPINESS! So cute.
So yes! MAX! Z and I have so much fun hanging out with you and your awesome mommy. So glad we’re friends!
Cheers!
~Maike
PS: In case you’re also getting ready to have your two year old photographed, here are a list of tips I recommend:
-bring up to two outfits, but also be prepared if we only shoot one. We’re on a time limit with two year olds so we start with our favorites and see if they play along for more outfits.
-bring a snack [we might have thrown snacks at the kids to make them laugh; it works like a charm]
-but don’t bring crackers; too messy [spoken from experience]. Apples are good, goldfish are good, I have these little yogurt ball things I gave to Z, they’re awesome [things that wont leave them messy].
-bring a favorite toy or book [it’s fun to incorporate them anyway, and it’s also fun when you pull it out of a bag, they’re often like, “Hey! That’s my favorite truck! What is it doing here?!?”
-you might want to be ready to be in photos. Sometimes kids are shy, and take some mom snuggles, or dance party with dad, and I don’t charge extra to include you and/or grandparents that come with [but before you go crazy and invite everyone going to the family reunion, there are some limits to this :)].
