Smash Cake Session | Family Photographer | Hillsboro Walking Trail | Helena, AL

Living near Birmingham, Alabama, has its advantages. There are so many parks and beautiful places for kids to play and for families to be together. It feels like I discover a new playground or trail on a monthly basis. One of my favorites is in Helena, AL, where there is a gorgeous neighborhood with a public walking trail. It has been a haven for early evening runs by myself or with friends, boasting very minimal hills and the perfect amount of shade. I love introducing places like this to my clients.

My first session with this beautiful family was back in May in an open field just next to the trail. We all know how hectic getting ready for a family photo shoot can feel with littles, and finding a new place can add to the stress of the day. Since we were both familiar with the location, we figured, let's do it again...but actually be ON the trail this time. I'm so glad we did. The canopy of trees with slivers of light coming in is so beautiful. I can see why this location is a favorite among other photographers as well. 

Not only were we updating family photos, but sweet little girl just celebrated her first birthday! After the family session, mom brought out the smash cake. Oh my goodness! Precious captures from her enjoying the cake and letting big brother join in are just too adorable. 

Here are some of my favorites from my time with them...

Isn't Mom beautiful with her little baby bump? She's expecting another girl in February and we've already set a potential date for her newborn session.  I cannot wait!

Bring on the cake...

Here comes brother. He was SO patient as he waited his turn to get in on this cake.

Time for clean up. Thank goodness for hand wipes!

Full of cake and smiles. Wouldn't you be, too? What a delight!

Being a family photographer is a privilege I don't take for granted. It's a joy to take a moment, an hour, an afternoon with a family and turn it into memories that are now preserved in precious images like these. If you are in the Birmingham area and are looking for a family and lifestyle photographer, I would love to connect with you to see if we are a good fit. You can contact me directly to find out what to expect from a session with Michelle Repolles Photography. 

Now, who wants some cake?

Sweet Summertime | Lifestyle Photography | Birmingham Photographer

Am I the only one in shock that we are in the middle of Labor Day weekend? How did it get here so quickly? I swear it was last week that our beloved Y pool was opening for the summer and in just one more day, it will be closing. Say it ain't so.

We had a fun summer trying new things. We signed Dawson up for T-ball for the first time. It was a lot of fun watching him. I'm so glad it was super laid back, too. Every kid got to bat every inning and the games only lasted 45 minutes to an hour. In the Alabama summer heat, it's all anyone can stand. He did great and improved with every game. His favorite parts? Batting and the post game snacks, of course. We still need to work on the concept of actually stepping on the bag when running the bases, and not throwing the bat after he gets a hit. But, we're working on it. The coaches were so patient with him and I am one thankful mama for a good experience with his first time at it.

Daddy was even able to make it to all of the games. His work uniform ironically coordinated with the T-ball uniforms, so he just looked like part of the team. I'm dying over this photo of them. Their smiles (especially my husband's) gets me every time. So handsome!

Talking game strategy of course. (Or what he hopes next week's snack will be.)

Thanks to my parents, we were able to make a trip to the beach, too. Anselmo LOVES the beach. His goal is to see just how much sand he can dig on any given day. This worked out perfectly for me because I would much rather be under a tent feeling the warm breeze, admiring the ocean, and catching up with my mom and sister while the boys get sand everywhere.

My sister and her kiddos. Loved getting time with them.

All of the guys. Can you pick out the Brazilians?

Shortly after we got back from the beach, we celebrated "Water Day" with the kids and moms in our church. The kids had a blast! The moms kept a pretty safe distance from the chaos.

Popsicles for everyone! (Remember this guy from my summer photo session?)

There's Dawson scrambling for ammunition.

And these two...what a motley crew. We have to keep a close eye on them. They're sneaky.

The summer rolled on with more firsts. Caiden swam on his own for the first time with absolutely no prompting! It took us by surprise, but once he figured out he could float, it was all over. Now he can't stop doing cannon balls in the deep end!

I was asked to do team photos for the first time, too.  The scheduled date didn't work out for Dawson's team, so they asked me to step in do it. From what everyone said, it was so much more convenient and (I believe) the pictures were a lot better quality than typical team pics. I loved making little package options with magnets, team photos and even the memory mates. I think it was a success and am hopeful for more opportunities in the future. (Interested in team pics for your kid's youth league? You can contact me here.)

I present to you the Pelham Y Tigers. Are they not the cutest??? These are some great kids and coaches!

I'm particularly fond of #9.

The coach asked if we could try and get a "cool" shot. I think we hit that one out of the park. (Ha!) I normally don't edit my photos like this, but it was begging for a vintage feel. Anyone else think of The Sand Lot when you see this?  "You're killin' me, Smalls!"

Sweet friend of the boys there to cheer on her brother.

Dawson running the bases and getting cues from his coach.

This one? He and his friend kept themselves busy running up bleachers or finding new patches of dirt to play in during the games.

Speaking of this guy...he celebrated his 4th birthday in July. We decided to keep it simple with ice cream cones at the golden arches. The kids played hard on the playground outside while the adults talked inside...in the air conditioning. Win!

Head drenched from playing hard didn't phase him. He was just too excited to be with his friends. Those curls!

The next day was his actual birthday and we celebrated with a pancake breakfast. Then he opened a few presents from us and played with the presents he got the night before. Hello, bed head! This boy brings so much laughter to our lives. He is all or nothing. He gives with no strings attached and reminds us all to live life with a big heart. He keeps asking how many days until he's 13. Too may for you to count, sweet Buddy, but too few for this mama. Time slow down.

We kept the celebration going as we headed over to Atlanta the next weekend for the boys' first Braves game. We had THE best time. We were spoiled by family, and I even felt quite nostalgic as I watched the 1991 Alumni Team parade across the field. (Um, 25 years since they won the pennant that started their string of championships. Nope, that did not make me feel old. Um, not one bit.) 

Then there was our boys' first memorable experience with the Olympics. Oh, my goodness! We were enthralled. It made us long for Brazil and be so proud of the country we used to call home. What about that gold medal soccer match? Hello?! Our hearts were about to explode. Ahhh! I miss "all the feels" already.

Another first: all of the cousins together! My twin sister and her family just moved to the States! I'm so excited to be living in the same time zone with her for the first time in 17 years! 

A summer of so many firsts! Super thankful as I look back over the photos and realize what a sweet summer it was. It really seemed to happen SO fast, but I'm glad we have these images to keep those memories fresh in our minds. Looking forward to the fall, beautiful colors, and more opportunities to photograph families other than just my own. 

Rodriguez Family Session | Hillsboro Walking Trail | Helena, AL

I was so excited when Amanda asked me to do portraits for her family. It just so happened both sides of the family were in town for our mini session on the Hillsboro walking trail. I loved the challenge of getting as many shots in as I could in our time frame. Dad, who is Argentinian,  was on a strict schedule because of the Copa America games. The only other county I know that is as fanatical about their soccer as Brazil is Argentina. (They are also happen to be chief rivals.) They were playing right after the session and Dad did not want to miss. Don't ever try to come between an Argentinian and his soccer. Ha!

If you don't know this about me, I lived in Brazil for almost 12 years and became "fluent" in Portuguese. (It's still hard to accept that because my Portuguese is not perfect and my strong southern accent butchers a lot of words.) My husband is Brazilian and we speak a lot of Portuguese at home. Spanish and Portuguese are so similar that I managed to speak a few words that Amanda's in-laws could understand. I LOVED it! I loved hearing them speak Spanish to each other. Amanda just lets it roll off her tongue likes it's her first language. 

I'm so thankful that photographs always cross over cultural borders. You don't need to speak Spanish (or any other language) to understand love portrayed in a photograph. Here are some of my favorites from the session.

These boys did such a good job! Big brother was a huge help with the little one. I brought parting gifts for them for having such great attitudes and then captured a few minutes of them enjoying their gifts. I mean, who doesn't love bubbles?

Thank you, Amanda, for entrusting me with such sweet moments with your family!

House Peace | Help With Our Blind Spots | Alabaster Lifestyle Photographer

We’ve all got blind spots, right? Things we've lived with our whole life that we never knew were issues until someone pointed them out? Well, I consider myself a pretty organized individual. Clutter drives me crazy. But, I’ve got 2 young boys and I feel like clutter follows me everywhere I go.

My friend, Tara Bremer, is pretty much an expert at finding blind spots. Think your cabinets and shelves are organized? She came into my home and showed me a better way, a much more peaceful way. Her goal is to bring peace to your home. Let me tell you, she does just that.

She first came over to do an evaluation. In just the 30 minutes she was at my house, she pretty much revolutionized my countertops. I had big containers of oil sitting out because I use them everyday. One simple change of moving the shelves up a notch and boom, all of the big containers fit! So simple, but so effective. Now I have so much more space near my stove and much less clutter.

We put it on our calendar for her to return to reorganize more kitchen drawers and cabinets. I have those dreaded junk drawers. You know the ones that are a catch-all for anything that doesn’t have a home? The ones you hope no one mistakes you’re your silver wear drawer. Yeah, that one. Here is one of 3 that I have in my kitchen.

Tara took every item out of those drawers so she could see what she was working with. What do I normally do? I try to organize with everything still in the drawer, while taking a few things out at a time to make room. We could draw so many analogies from just reorganizing drawers. Seriously, how many times do I try to rid myself of junk in my life by rearranging instead of doing a full on evaluation of all of it, then only keeping what will bring peace? It’s funny for how what’s true for those junk drawers is true for our lives. Just get it all out there. Let the light shine on all of it and evaluate where everything should go. Chunk this. Keep this.

Here is the result of some of her magic with my (no-longer) junk drawers, but fully functioning storage for items I use on a daily basis. Kids goggles? Put them in your pool bag. Those random candles and cupcake liners? They are all in their own little party box now that I retrieve only certain times of the year. Brilliant. It seems obvious, but we just get so caught up in our own messes it becomes our normal. That’s why it’s so great to get help with our blind spots.

Let’s move on to my pantry, aka. bottom cabinets. They were a mess. I had so many bags of chips, specialty flours and sugars. Bags don’t stack, they just get jumbled all together. Tara to the rescue. Why not pour those flours into mason jars? That cup of oil that you’ve got in the huge bottle? Let’s put that in it’s own little jar. Genius. Why not put those onions in a plastic container? Again, take EVERYTHING out and evaluate what needs to stay, what needs to go. She even got out my vaccum! And, look how I can now see all the food items in my cabinets! She brought 3-Tier-Spice Organizers with her. Voila! We used them for canned goods. I am no longer shuffling to find what I need.  I also know what I have. So, instead of buying another jar of peanut butter, I can see the 5 jars I have yet to open!

As a lifestyle photographer, I loved the opportunity of capturing Tara in her element. Tara loves what she does. She doesn’t have an emotional attachment to those things you keep holding onto, so she can gracefully help you say goodbye and keep what really matters.

Can you see how happy she is just removing labels from the Sterilite containers? (SO thankful she introduced me to these!) She thrives on bringing peace to your home by helping you find the blind spots you’ve never noticed, or areas you just don’t know how to make work in small spaces.  It doesn’t matter how small or large the area, she can make it work.

Her influence doesn’t stop when she leaves. I am benefitting from it everyday and my kids have even gotten in on organizing their own drawers. Win!

Thank you, Tara Bremer (House Peace) for showing me my blind spots and bringing some much needed peace to my little home.