Umstead Park | Staci & Jimmy's Engagement Session | A Raleigh, NC Wedding Photographer

Somehow in the busyness of wedding season last spring I neglected to share Staci and Jimmy's engagement session! We took these pictures at Umstead park almost exactly a year ago and, ironically enough, Staci and Jimmy are about to get married this weekend one year later on May 19! Staci and Jimmy are SO sweet and so much fun, as you can see in their pictures! We actually took these pictures right before a big thunderstorm and thankfully we were able to get some great shots before the storm came.

I'm so excited for their wedding at Lake O'Woods this weekend! In the meantime, here's a few of my favorites from their session:

The Bradford | Zack & Jenny's Wedding | A Raleigh, NC Wedding Photographer

Zack and Jenny had the MOST gorgeous wedding! The weather was perfect, their vendors were amazing, and their family and friends were clearly so happy for them. Zack and Jenny are the sweetest couple; they are both nurses and they love hiking, rock climbing, and all things outdoors. I had a wonderful time getting to know them at their engagement session and their wedding!

The Vendors Who Made this Day Possible:

Venue: The Bradford
Photography: DiPrima Photography
Catering: Rocky Top Catering
DJ: All Events DJs of NC
Florist: Bushel and Peck
Groomsmen Attire: Men's Wearhouse
Bridesmaid Attire: David's Bridal
Rentals: CE Rental
Invitations: Emily Taylor
Cake: Yellow Dog Bread Company
Second Shooter: Sammi Evans Photography

6 Months With Dom

Dom is six month old! He weighs 15lbs 3oz and is 26.5 inches long. Basically, he's long and skinny...no surprise there! ;)

Dom now wears 6-9 month clothes and he still wakes up two times (or the past week...several times...yikes!) a night. He's been waking up a lot more lately, I'm wondering if it's from teething. We put a pause on solids for a little while because he wasn't interested but he's just started showing more interest in the last week and so I'm trying to feed him one to two meals a day. 

Dom loves:

• Music- he's gotten really into music this month. Specifically "Old McDonald" for calming him down and "The Stable Song" for going to sleep (what can I say, he has refined tastes?!)
• Teething banana- he LOVES this
• Real bananas ;)
• Grabbing and chewing everything, especially his socks and toes!
• Going on walks in his stroller
• His activity center and doorway jumper (for about 15 minutes...then he gets tired)
• Smiling- seriously, he pretty much smiles every time you look at him (unless he's hungry or tired!)
• Making a pouty face- when he's not happy and smiling, he's often doing a super dramatic pouty face

Dom doesn't love:

• Getting stuck on his tummy- Dom can roll front to back and back to front, but he seems to often forget that he can actually roll from his tummy onto his back. So he gets stuck and frustrated and cries until I flip him over. :)
• Peas- so far, he just makes a grossed out face every time I try to feed them him!
• Naps- yep, still not a good napper. ;) Most of his naps are STILL 45 minutes!

Firsts this month:

• Sitting up unassisted (only last very briefly then he falls back over)
• Holding a bottle on his own (with some help!)
• Noticing food- he's noticing when we eat now and always seems like he wants some of whatever we're having!

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Fine Art Prints Shop

I have exciting news, I've opened a shop! I will be selling fine art prints from my trips to England. You can view all the current prints I have available here.

I first fell in love with England when I studied abroad in London during my senior year of college. Since then, Alex and I have been able to travel there together twice. We were captivated by the stunning green countryside, the picturesque cottages, the quaint villages, and the prestigious historic structures. I am so excited to make a small part of England and a few of my very favorite images available to you!

These prints would make a beautiful addition to your home or would make a great gift for a friend (especially one who loves England or Europe!). A little more information about the prints themselves: All prints are printed on semi-glossy photo paper. The paper is a premium-quality, resin-coated inkjet photo paper and the resin coating on this paper doesn’t show fingerprints, while eliminating any glare that you might get from the full glossy paper. Enlargements and canvases are also available by request.

I'm also running a giveaway on my Instagram so be sure to check that out!

You can see how I've styled them in my home here:

I used these inexpensive Ikea frames with 12x12 prints to create this gallery wall. I have 12x12 prints available in my shop so you can create these same wall if you want! 

Here are the prints currently available in the shop:

Gold Hill

Bodleian Library

Emmanuel College

Bibury

Lavenham Cottage

Big Ben

5 Months with Dom

This month has been such a fun one with Dom! I feel like he's changed a lot this month and become much more interactive. He is super cheerful and usually content and Alex and I are SO thankful for such a sweet, fun baby!

He still wears 3-6 month clothes and still wakes up 2 times a night. :-/ I was hoping he'd be sleeping through the night by now but I can't really complain because other than waking to eat, he's become a great sleeper during the night. We also seemed to get through the four month sleep regression I've heard about very easily, I think that is thanks to the sleep training we did at 3.5 months (or maybe we just got lucky!).

Dom loves:

• Talking- Dom is making LOTS of new and loves being social!
• Being on his tummy- this is a very new development!
• Toys- he's still not super into toys but he's definitely appreciating them more and he especially loves his activity center
• Peekaboo- he currently finds peekaboo hilarious!
• Bananas- he just had his first taste of solids recently and so far he LOVES bananas
• Sucking on his hand
• Rolling- ever since he figured out how to roll, he's pretty much obsessed with rolling and spends most of his wake time practicing his new skill!
• Grabbing my hair...unfortunately!

Dom doesn't love

• Being left alone- He's definitely very social and always wants to be in on the action!
• Loud noises
• Naps- he's still not a good napper and usually doesn't sleep more than 45 minutes. He also FIGHTS hard when I bring him to his room and turn the sound machine on because he knows that means a nap is coming!

Firsts this month:

• Rolling- Dom is rolling over...woo hoo!!! We went through a difficult few weeks where he'd roll from his back to his front and get stuck and then wake me up. Thankfully now he can also roll from his tummy to his back, but it does still take him a lot of effort and he gets frustrated at times!
• Solid food- Dom has had his first taste of solid food! We've just been experimenting a little and so far he has tried rice cereal,  bananas, and sweet potato. He's done really well with the spoon and has swallowed everything well so far. Currently bananas are his favorite!
• High chair- I just started putting him in his high chair for very short periods of time recently. He seems a little freaked out by it.
• Dom played in his activity center for the first time
• Dom slept his first eight hour stretch this month...unfortunately it only happened once ;)

Other iPhone pictures from this month (thanks to Erin DiPrima & Alex for several of these!):