See more of Gail’s work at www.gailwernerphoto.com. Become a fan of Gail’s work on Facebook. Follow Gail on Twitter.

See more of Gail’s work at www.gailwernerphoto.com. Become a fan of Gail’s work on Facebook. Follow Gail on Twitter.

In addition to being blessed with a baby girl, these two are parents to the adorable 1 1/2 year old, Bradford, who made a few appearances during his sister’s session. Hope you enjoy this peek into their sweet family life!

A little man who loves his daddy—and his daddy’s baseball cap All that pink! Oh Kerry, this shoot made me wishful for a baby girl! FAVORITE!!!That face! We had to let Bradford take center stage for a few shots … Daddy-daughter time. Definitely a melt-worthy moment!

See more of Gail’s work at www.gailwernerphoto.com. Become a fan of Gail’s work on Facebook. Follow Gail on Twitter.

Kerry and William, this new beautiful (teeny tiny ) girl of yours is SUCH a blessing! It was a pleasure to get to spend an afternoon with your family — can’t wait to share the rest of these photos!

See more of Gail’s work at www.gailwernerphoto.com. Become a fan of Gail’s work on Facebook. Follow Gail on Twitter.

Last spring, Chanel told me she and Kyle bought a house they were fixing up. In the months that followed, she’d update me here and there on projects (“We knocked the ceiling out” or “The floors got redone this weekend“). I knew the two of them put a lot of love, sweat and work into the project but had no idea just HOW much until Nick and I visited in December for a home tour. My jaw fell to the floor when I saw just how AMAZING the place looked. And, realizing the shoestring budget these two transformed their place on, I was all the more stunned (as was Nick, who mentioned in the car on the way home, “Yeah, no way did I have a place that looked that nice at 23!“)

A few weekends ago, I told Chanel I had the itch to shoot again, had some new equipment to test out and, “Oh yeah, can I come take pictures of your gorgeous new place?” She happily obliged and here’s the result of our afternoon together. Chanel, I adore you! So happy for you guys as you settle in to your HIP new place!

In a few sentences, explain to me your house (age, style, etc.) and a few of the biggest changes you made to it?

Chanel: Our house was built in 1895 and is located inside the Pendleton Historical District. It was originally a two-room home that was expanded in the ’20s. A few of the major projects right away were returning the walls and ceilings to original height and style, while also refinishing the hard wood floods throughout. Then we completely overhauled the kitchen [Kyle's dad is a contractor so he and his dad did a lot of the work together].

Chanel and Kyle’s dogs, Lexus (in above photo) and Audi (below). Two sweet pooches for two sweet people (Kyle is an artist and makes cute dog portraits for people, including our beloved Daisy and my friend Betsy’s pugs. If you’re interested in your own custom pooch portrait, let me know and I’ll connect you with Kyle!) What are 2 or 3 of your new “favorite” things about the house now that you guys have wrapped up work on it?

Definitely the kitchen and the built-in in the living room. We love our new kitchen layout and design [Chanel's mom designs kitchens and did a great job helping design theirs]. And the built-in in the living room was a great re-purposing job that we filled with personal items. [ISN'T IT TRéS CHIC?]

How did work on the house bring you closer to Kyle?

We worked as a team, while learning new skills with the help of Kyle’s dad. For example, I learned how to replace the glass in the french doors and put down the flooring in the kitchen. It was nice to work on a common goal since we usually have different professional goals. [Chanel's studying to become a speech pathologist and is a craft genius (she MADE that paper wreath below); Kyle is a newspaper designer -- and has mad design skills ]I always love when I step in a home and see genuine personal accents everywhere. I loved seeing some of Kyle’s artwork hanging in their bedroom. How cozy is this space?

What do you think your budget was for the remodel projects? What kinds of steps would you recommend for others doing home stuff to save money?

Conservatively, we spent around $3,000 on the remodel and furnishings [OMG THAT'S ALL?!! was my response when she told me that!]. We would recommend doing as much work yourself as possible. Without our free labor that number would have been exponentially higher. Craigslist and Goodwill are your friends, half of the things in our house came from there [I am SO impressed with how good these two are at this! I swear Chanel has the "Craigslist" touch! ha]. You just have to search for what you want and strike quickly. And anyone remodeling should check out one of the Habitat for Humanity Re-Stores like the one in Indy.

You two are so adorable….I can’t wait to photograph your wedding some day! One of those AWESOME Craigslist (or maybe it was ebay) finds. Chanel loves owls — and I loved spotting them throughout the house. (and their kitchen table above is an antique drafting table they refinished — a hand-me down from Kyle’s grandpa, an architect …so much personality in all the hand-me downs. Love it!) Okay, here is where the “I’m impressed” meter went up a notch. Chanel had this idea to turn old tea cups into kitchen lights. AND KYLE MADE THEM FOR HER. On that note, I asked, “You are definitely marrying this man, yes?” (and Kyle shared he only broke one teacup in the process…which, of course, were all bought at Goodwill! They’re so smart!) Chanel and Kyle, THANK YOU for letting me come by and get creatively inspired again — both in taking your pictures and just poking around in that awesomely creative space you call home. Go get yourselves a home blog already and when you guys are on HGTV, I can say I knew you when

***If you know of anyone who’s rehabbed a home like this (or is just super proud of their place), please share! I’d love to do more creative, out-of-the-box work in 2012 and at-home sessions are on that list!***

See more of Gail’s work at www.gailwernerphoto.com. Become a fan of Gail’s work on Facebook. Follow Gail on Twitter.

Tracy, I love you to the moon and back — you and Kevin and that little half-pint Mallory of yours Mwwahhhhhh!

Her daddy can really get her going with the giggle fest There is something about this image that every time I see it, I fall back in love with it. Tracy lets me take her anywhere I want for photographs. Which is awesome and kind of like the grown-up version of being the teacher when you’d play “school” as kids. (Okay guys, now you go sit over here…… haha) What a cute trio! Does this ever get old? ‘Cause I know I never tire of photographing it! It still boggles my mind that Tracy has a 14-month old whose hair she can FRENCH BRAID. Yep, that’s right. She’s not even 2 yet and already Mallory could be a baby shampoo model.When Tracy and I used to talk about getting married and having kids and what those kids would look like (’cause…DUH..you TOTALLY have these kind of conversations in between games of M.A.S.H.!) she always told me she wanted a little dark-haired, blue-eyed baby girl. T, I’m so glad you got your wish. It’s beautiful to see you two together like this. Mama’s quite the bargain shopper …. this adorable trench? $12 at the Baby Gap. TOTAL SCORE And finally…rest assured, no babies were harmed in the making of this image. Matter of fact, Mallory and her dad LOVE to play “toss” (much to Tracy’s chagrin). Ahhhhhh….daddy’s girl!!!

See more of Gail’s work at www.gailwernerphoto.com. Become a fan of Gail’s work on Facebook. Follow Gail on Twitter.

VIEW THEIR SLIDESHOW

I LOVE this photo! The colors, the love, the smiles — so blessed to capture moments like these for my clients!Calvin is at that age where he’s learning SO much, SO fast (no surprise with parents as smart as his). Here he is showing us where his head and eyes are. I think he’s pretty proud of himself Alex has a love of Russian literature. So Laura thought it’d be funny to capture a shot of their little man “reading” one of his dad’s books. Swap out Raskolnikov for a picture of Elmo and of COURSE Calvin is going to be in to it – haha! (I told Laura I expect these photos to resurface when Calvin graduates from high school ) Part of what I love of this age is just capturing a toddler on the go. As parents can attest, their own cameras can NEVER catch up with them! How sweet is this moment? The pleasures of parenthood in two frames. Laura and Alex, THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART for letting me capture this moment in your lives as parents. You KNOW I just think the world of little Calvin and I hope this isn’t the last time I take his photographs. He is certainly a blessing in your lives!

See more of Gail’s work at www.gailwernerphoto.com. Become a fan of Gail’s work on Facebook. Follow Gail on Twitter.

See more of Gail’s work at www.gailwernerphoto.com. Become a fan of Gail’s work on Facebook. Follow Gail on Twitter.

VIEW THEIR SLIDESHOW

Having just turned the Big 3, Evan is ALL about firetrucks. Holly thought it’d be fun if we began the day at a firehouse in Indianapolis. And I have to say, it was a BRILLIANT idea! We started the session off with Evan on cloud nine! Hello you colorful garage door in a random alley. Yes, we WILL make you a backdrop for this family’s cuteness! Yeah, I know….three pairs of perfect feet. LOVE details in portrait sessions like this.

Evan also has a bit of a sweet tooth. So we thought we’d head over to Broadripple’s Flying Cupcake Bakery for a pick-me-up and another of his favorite things. But it was late enough in the day they were closed! That’s where Holly came to the rescue with cupcakes she brought (“Just in case”….) She really is an AMAZING mother.Evan, you missed some….right…..there.Evan has already decided to be a good big brother and help with giving the baby his name. Sooo….for now, the family has taken to calling their next little one “Spider.” TOTALLY a name a three-year-old would give his sibling And one more thing Holly surprised me with as part of Evan’s faves—MUSTACHES! (As she explained, “He’s really into mustaches right now for some reason, so we thought we’d have some fun with it.”) DID WE EVER! Wouldn’t you LOVE to have some shots like this with your parents? Every child should grow up with people who have this much fun while loving ‘em to pieces.  LOVE the way Evan is looking at Nate here….he idolizes his dad SO much! (I also love Nate’s face here—sometimes, he’s more of a kid than his son—right, Nate? )  Do you remember what it’s like when a three-foot ledge is an obstacle? Yeah, I don’t either. Maybe that’s why I found these quick snaps so endearing. Thank you again Nate, Holly and Evan—it was another year of fun spent with you three! Can’t wait to meet “Spider” next year!!!!!

See more of Gail’s work at www.gailwernerphoto.com. Become a fan of Gail’s work on Facebook. Follow Gail on Twitter.

See more of Gail’s work at www.gailwernerphoto.com. Become a fan of Gail’s work on Facebook. Follow Gail on Twitter.