.:melisabeth and skyler are having a baby!!!:.

Melisabeth and Skyler are SO perfect together. Seriously.

We met Melisabeth and Skyler the week of their wedding last summer and instantly bemoaned the fact that our paths hadn't crossed sooner in life (especially because by the time their wedding took place, they had already skipped the state). But, lucky for us (and, well, I guess for them), the two are expecting!!! So we e-mailed back and forth and found a time that we could all meet up to get photos of Melisabeth and Skyler and that adorable baby belly. = ) No one knows the first name yet (including us, though we were hoping to coax it out of them and swear secrecy, alas, to no avail!) of their little baby boy. So we headed out east of Columbia for some early morning shots (Melisabeth and Skyler were such troopers to drive in from K.C. for our 7 a.m. shoot!). We had just found the contact info for a farm we've been eying for awhile--an abandoned house along with its falling down outbuildings. Sound perfect? It was. (Other than the electric fence separating half the property which neither Skyler nor Brian were brave enough to test to see if it was actually live.) The owner gave us permission to shoot there under the stipulation that we just needed to not fall in the well out back of the property cause he wouldn't come get us if it happened. So with his instructions in mind, we enjoyed the beauty of the early morning and the joy of the company of such an amazing couple as Melisabeth and Skyler. (If you haven't been following the blog long enough, you can check out their story here.)



I was so excited to see Melisabeth and Skyler. Melisabeth was positively glowing and even more beautiful than when we saw her last year on her wedding day!


Melisabeth brought balloons!


I *adore* that dress she wore. I think colors and patterns are just marvelous.


Skyler was pretty darn happy. = D


Reading to baby. (And Brian difusing the harsh morning light with our makeshift reflector a la gigantic plastic bag that originally housed the balloons).


Interesting side note that I learned in my social work classes in school. Did you know Sesame Street was created to catch up minority kids with the predominantly white kids who were attending preschool and learning all kinds of stuff? Interestingly, though, the show didn't just attract minority children, it attracted kids like Melisabeth and I who were white. Maybe that's part of why I so desperately want to have skin color and culture that isn't so... well... white.




I see this photo and hear Melisabeth saying "Awww... baby!" It sound better in my head than it looks written. Trust me.


Skyler was very proud of the fact that he drew this very heart.


We all sang "Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful... beautiful, COLE" when Melisabeth wrote this on the chalkboard. Well.. maybe it was just me. Yup. Wait, now that I think about it, it was just me. Whoops. Mr. Holland's Opus shout out!




I just smile when I look at this one. They are going to be amazing parents.


So often I give couples direction. "Look at him." "Kiss her cheek." "Both look at me." Apparently I hadn't been directing Melisabeth to kiss Skyler's cheek so she decided it was time. This is why I love them!




So this photo is kind of my fault. Maybe. I told Melisabeth about the only commercial I'd seen in like... maybe... 3 years. And it was about bubbles. Colored bubbles to be exact. So she got some. And... well... they definitely were colored. And popped. With color. Needless to say when you are wearing nice clothes, they don't seem to be very welcome guests.


Brian blowing said *very orange* bubbles which claimed to be washable.


And 10 frames or so later...


Brian appeared as if he was bleeding toxicly orange blood from his fingers.


Goodbye little last bubble! You were not as welcome as we would have liked, but it was an adventure while it lasted...


Brian improvised with his new neon orange toxicity otherwise known as Crayola Washable bubble solution.


There were a few other fantastic photos in this set that shall remain a secret unti the little one and his super top secret name is revealed. = ) Guess you'll just have to wait like us!


I can hear the baby voice that parents use in my head. "Where's the baby?" "HERE's the baby!" So cute!


This was inside the abandoned house. Simultaneously so cool but so sad! We had to get a little creative to find sturdy enough ground to trust to get Melisabeth to this awesome room with the old wall paper still intact.


Skyler shows off his own belly.




Because you know you gotta...


Making a baby boy. (Get it? Hehehe...) Kids, this is how babies are made. Don't try this at home.




It's done!


We absolutely cannot wait to meet this little guy! We are so stoked!


Babies and fuzzy blankets,

Mallory and Brian




And now for something completely different from the minds of Brian and Skyler. (Click on it to play.)

.:spring:.

A quote Brian has been using these past few months has really struck a chord in me lately:

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." -Albert Einstein

I'm so excited that spring is finally here--rain, laughter, joy, new friends, grand new adventures, and, of course, CHANGE!

Speaking of change, we've made some changes here in the Avia household. We've been working on getting healthier (almost 15 and counting!) and adhering to a real schedule to get our life in order. And finally, just FINALLY I squeeze in the time and creative energy to get a new logo designed. I've been dying to change it for awhile and, well, now we have! A new spring. A new season. A new day!

Happy April, everyone! May it be full of joy and life, my friends!


This particular spring day a few weeks back, Brian and I were taking a break from photography. We walked around a nearby park and ended up sitting down, as we often do, to talk about life, our hopes and our dreams. In the middle of our conversation out of the corner of my eye, I began to notice a gorgeous tree blooming with a rich golden sunlight streaming through the other trees, acting as a beautiful spotlight. We hadn't brought our cameras on this trip so I took a few shots with my iPhone (this being one of them). I was a little bummed, as the photo didn't do the tree justice, so Brian, being the wonderful, kind, amazing husband that he is, agreed to pause our conversation and run back to the house with me and grab some camera gear. Sadly, by the time we returned a few minutes later, the golden spotlight was gone, but we continued our journey around the park, enjoying creation for what it was: absolutely marvelous, miraculous artwork. = )

Brian being oh-so-sweet and waiting on me while I worked on some close-ups (he was not feeling so great that day, which made it doubly amazing that he was so patient!).

This was the photo he was waiting on. The blooms from the first tree. I'm not usually a magenta fan, but with bare branches and a vibrant blue sky, how could you go wrong?








What in this photo doesn't belong (and subsequently makes it different from the previous photo)?



I *LOVE* seeing these everywhere!

The beauty of this next set was almost overwhelming when we encountered it. I couldn't delete many!




This one encapsulates my life. Seriously.






*sigh* I love spring!

Can you see him? He's hiding. = )


Yay spring!

Mallory (& Brian--who seems to be yawning, not growling, in this photo)

.:LOTS of snow and LOTS of pasta:.

If you're in Columbia, you probably know of a place called Bambino's. You may remember it as a place with great pasta, great schooners, or even as a little rundown. Well, have no fear, my friends, Bambino's has moved! Bambino's has a new website, new management, new ownership, and a whole new look.

As such, Brian and I were privileged enough to help with this new transition by taking photos of some of their dishes. Before Christmas we snapped a few shots of some of their favorite pastas. When they made the new menus they put a few of the photos in with the listed items. What they found was that they sold more of one of the items in the first day than they had sold in the past two years combined. What did that tell them? Photos, GOOD photos, sell your product!

Needless to say, we were called in again. But this time to take photos of all of the menu items (including some great looking desserts!) and their hot new location. The only problem is that the shoot was scheduled for the day the blizzard was supposed to begin! Luckily, we live less than a mile from the new Bambino's and told them that if they could still make it there and make the dishes that we would be there. Jeff Weaver, the new owner, picked up Jason Frazier (the lone cook who did an AWESOME job) and several hours early so that they could prep all of the food. Another of Jeff's friends picked us up in his 4-wheel drive vehicle and the shoot was on!

Three hours later we all piled back into the vehicle and went home with bags full of pasta from the day. Jealous? Check out their website to see their menu and a few of our photos from the last shoot: http://www.bambinositaliancafe.com

Here are a few of our favorites:












(And, yes, I did manage to eat part of this chocolate cake slice afterwards. I know, totally tough to be a photographer sometimes, yeah?)


And some of the new space:





Bambino's To Go!


Yes, those are THOUSANDS of corks up on the wall.


Gotta have the classic Bambino's Schooner.


MUCH nicer than the old place. Go check it out!



Peace and love and all that stuff. Stay warm, folks!

-Mallory (& Brian)