The Counts Family

/ Courtney Michelle Photography/

I went back to Wisconsin recently for a nice, long getaway. While I was there, I filled my days up with photographing clients, family and some of my very best friends. (Prepare to be bombarded with upcoming blog posts with all of the peeks I've got for you!) While I worked a lot this trip, (which isn't really work because I love it so much!) I did have some down time also! Many lunch, coffee, margarita & dinner dates, exploring my old city, a birthday party and just a lot of visiting. Oh, and don't forget the dog & niece snuggling! After 5 days in Madison, Sun Prairie & my sister's farm, I headed to my parents' house and snuggled with my dog for 3 days straight! It was such a wonderful trip home.

This family right here is one of my favorite little families in my world. Bridget is one of my very best friends and I've photographed her wedding day, when her and Chad welcomed their fur baby Dusty into their lives and now their baby Cece, who isn't really a baby anymore! 

We took some photos in downtown Sun Prairie and at their home. I had such a great time catching up with these wonderful people and I love love love their little family. Cece is so lucky to have these guys as her parents!

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Happy 9 months, Miss Cecelia! I really miss living down the street from you guys and walking the dogs together!  

Warning: A Whole Lotta' Adorableness Below!

/ Courtney Michelle Photography/

A few weekends ago I photographed a 5k for PAWS at Montrose Harbor. Check out some of my favorites of the 1,000+ dogs that were there! If you know me, you won't be shocked to hear that I wanted to take them allllllll home with me! I resisted, though, and figured the owners of all of these dogs would not be thrilled with my idea. Nor would my landlords... Anyway, let the tails do the talking from now on and see these cuties below!

A Day for Moms

/ Courtney Michelle Photography/

Happy Mother's Day! I'm thankful for my own mom, first of all, for letting me be whatever I wanted to be and for always being there for me. While getting this post together, I realized that I don't have any recent photos of the two of us so here she is below with her beloved grand babies. Love you Mom!

My own two sisters are also moms now and I watch them in awe as they go down the path of motherhood. My nieces are being molded by two of the strongest women I know and I see so much of my sisters in all of them. Girl power in this family, all the way! Happy Mother's Day Lindsey & Hilary!

Here are some of my favorite client mom and mom-to-be moments from over the years. I truly adore snuggle moments and the times you think I'm not clicking the shutter. Nothing makes my heart sing louder than moments between moms and their children and I love that I get to document such amazing women in my world. 

I hope this post will help some moms avoid saying no to being in photos with their children. So often I hear moms say they only want their children photographed and I die a little inside each time I hear it. You're beautiful exactly as you are and you deserve to be in photos with your children! Your children will appreciate it SO much when they're older and they won't even notice how sleepy you think you look. They'll just be looking at you laughing/snuggling/smiling with them and seeing just how much you love them!

Although I'm not a mom to tiny humans, I am a mom to a four-legged geriatric pooch whom I love and adore as if she were a human child. 

Emmie Lou - age 10

Emmie Lou - age 10

Here's to all the moms (in every sense) in the world, including my fellow dog moms!