North Avenue Beach Chicago Family Session

If you've ever been to North Avenue Beach in Chicago during the summer, you know it's always insane. So many people, very little personal space, and zero quiet. At 7AM, however, it's actually surprisingly peaceful and the light is pretty darn perfect.

We weren't sure how we all would function that early, especially little almost-2-year-old Henry, but you'd never know from looking at these photos that he decided to sleep in that morning and had to be woken up to leave for the shoot (and if you have kids or have been around them you know this is usually NOT how you want to start their day off). Not only was Henry super well behaved (and so darn cute) but their dog Max was the star of the day. He never barked once or tried to run off, and often was ready in position without us even having to ask. 

Also, can we please talk about how Henry is already trying to be just like his active parents and was running on the path with his mom at the end of the session? He will be winning his first 5K in no time! 

Adrianne + Ethan

Remember back to your first day at a new job and how incredibly nervous you were? What if you hated it? What if they figured out you were a total fraud and couldn't do what they hired you to? What if you didn't click with any of your new coworkers? Luckily for Amanda, none of those things was the case when she started her day job more than seven years ago and one of the first people she met on her very first day was an incredibly beautiful, friendly and hilarious girl named Adrianne. They quickly found out that they had the exact same weird sense of humor and became fast friends. Like, the kind of friends who actually like to hang out and talk all the time outside of work. 

Watching Adrianne become a mom to an insanely smart — he's three and knows what a rhombus is and can name more states than most adults — adorable, kind little human has been one of the most incredible things. He has grown from a tiny string bean to a boy full of energy in a flash. Adrianne handles the ups and downs of parenthood with such grace and it is truly a joy to watch her raise such a special kiddo. 

Before this session Adrianne had never had any professional photos captured with just the two of them. Yes, he's three — did we mention that being a parent and trying to coordinate this kind of stuff can be, well, challenging? We couldn't wait to jump at the opportunity to freeze moments while he's still small-ish and willing to hang out with his "auntie Panda" and some strange guy with a camera (sorry Jeff). We had a blast letting Ethan be a three-year-old boy who loves to run, play and explore. If nothing else these pictures show the love that these two share as well as the same adorable smile.

So thank you Adrianne for being such an incredible person and friend and thank you Ethan for sharing your morning with us and for being you. Before we all know it you'll be headed off to Harvard.