chelsey paul

Faces

I had a blast photographing these two today...the rest of their sneak peek is coming up but I couldn't not resist the many faces of Jack! 

and his gorgeous little sister Rory!

  

 

VOTE for BEAUTY

In February I had the pleasure of photographing Miss Mollie! Now, Mollie is in the running to become the face of full figured fashion week in New York! Very exciting! Help Mollie out by voting today!!   
 
 
 

Pure Awesomeness

Howling out to my homeboy Bwerth who has launched his website today! 
 

 

Brandon is a VERY talented photographer and has been the key element to many of my successful Ad Campaigns! He is always a pleasure to work with and the end results are always absolutely stunning and always have exceed my expectations! Check, check, check him out!

Have I mentioned that he's absolutely a blast to work with?
 

Pretty Lily!

Photographing Lily today was a blessing in so many ways. I first met her a couple days after Riah was born, she and her parents were a crucial part of me surviving the NICU where she and Riah spent their first weeks. They quickly became life long friends of ours and I am so grateful to have them in our lives. Lily did an amazing job today! She was a natural, moving into new positions and grooving to Lady Gaga!  I cannot wait to share the rest with them but for now, here's a sneak peek!    
 
 
 
 
 

 

Upgrading the Nursery

I love when parents post pictures of their children's rooms. Some of you are so creative! It's taken me awhile to get Thad's room to where it is now. Mostly patience because I don't have a lot of money. It paid off, because most of his room is bits and pieces of old, new and reused materials and pieces! I wanted something modern, clean and vintage for his room. Here it is:

The colors came together as I collected pieces. I have painted frames, collected old flash cards from an antique store and picked up a few things from Ikea. The art work is from Monkey Chow, it took me awhile to find something that really fit and I love them! 

my daughter

Is four. Extremely intelligent and possess a brilliant imagination. She exclaims phrases like "I cannot poop, I need to eat more vegetables!" She is witty.  Her words are precise and well thought out. She's soft and endearing, gentle and kind. She possess a beauty years beyond her age and a soul that that warms those around her. Her hair is soft and big like her heart. She calls me "Momma" instead of Mom or Mommy and it makes me feel so blessed. My heart aches for her when she is gone and when we snuggle late at night and she presses her nose against mine and whispers "I love you," I am blessed. 
 

life.

Busy Boy. 

Dramatic Girl. 

Graduation. 

New Business. 

Divorce. 

No money. 

Great friends. 

Awesome Family. 

Time

Isn't it funny or rather, odd, to sit back and think, "I guess I am getting older." 

I know, twenty-five doesn't seem like an age to being worrying about aging. But it's not so much the aging I fear it's all the things that affect the people around you as you get older. To me the strangest thing is thinking that my parents are getting older, when you're little you never really think that will be your parents or that the responsibility of their care will one day be yours. You know, sub-consciously that the time will come, but it's hard to really grasp it. I cannot think about it, and frankly I don't think my parents want to either, which for the time being is fine with me. 

But there are days like today when I am snuggled in close to Riah and our noses touch and she whispers "will I always be your baby mom?" "Yes," I answer, "always." To me the hardest thing to grasp is that there will come a day that I will no longer be here for she and Thaddaeus, and I pray that I am silver and wrinkled like a prune and have enjoyed all the things that life has given me. So today I began writing down the things that matter most to me right now, what I need to focus on and what I could use less of so that I can make sure that twenty years from now I do not regret a loss of time, that I will make my time well spent, with those that mean the most. Since both of my children were in the womb I have written to them in journals, sometimes weekly, sometimes monthly but my new goal is to make it my Wednesday night thing, no matter what. Time, it's one of the things I have a love/hate relationship with.

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RIAH

I am the proud mother of a beautiful four year old today! We just arrived back in Minneapolis, so pictures to follow tomorrow! 

Amazing Day!

HOORAY! 

This is huge, actually bigger than huge, gigantic! My children, Thaddaeus and Riah, have decided that having their picture taken is fun! I was so apprehensive this morning durning breakfast, wondering if I should let them know that we are headed to my studio or if I should just show up and surprise them? I opted to hype it up with things like "Hey do you want to see where mommy works? Guess what we're doing for Christmas presents?! (sorry for spoiler family members !)" I didn't get them ready at home, I knew that after all the winter gear came off at the studio that I'd have to redo hair anyway. So we loaded our duffle bag and headed to the studio. It was amazing, beyond amazing, my children have never acted this way for me before. They took direction as a team and actually listened when I said, "could you move your chin down a little bit for mommy?" At one point they actually fought over whose turn it was! Thad was madly signing "take turns," while Riah was screaming, "YOU JUST HAD A TURN!" Let me just say I was relieved, it could have gone like every other photoshoot I have with them, where one of us or all of us end up crying. When I am photographing other families it's different with my own children I don't have any other persuasive helpful people there but me! It was awesome and Riah even had a 'princess session' at the end with some of the costume clothes at the studio. Tomorrow she gets to join me as I direct, do hair and help my friend Brandon do a fruity fashion shoot! Should be a blast! Here are few from today!