My baby girl turned 5!! It really is crazy how fast the time goes by. I was so glad that we made the effort on this night to capture her 5 year portraits on the coast. These images are something I've been wanting to do for a long time, and now that we live by the beach it makes them even more special. It was about to rain, and the light wasn't "perfect", but you never regret it. And little did we know, that very next day she'd be losing her very FIRST.TOOTH!! So all in all, a totally magical night for the both of us!

For her outfit, I had my eye on this dress for what seemed like forever so when it finally came back in stock I grabbed it! And, when you're trying to achieve mermaid-inspired portraits on the beach you have to have a cool braid, right? So I had my very talented friend and colleague, Lauren of Braid Bar STA, whip up a braid for my little mermaid that was totally worthy of Ariel's attention. 

There were so many that we captured on this pastel evening here at the beach, but these are just a few of the portraits I feel totally capture Elle's personality.

This portrait above is so Elle. Always smiling and happy. My grandfather, who just passed last fall, nicknamed her "Happy Baby" from the start. Love her so.

I love the little toddler legs and knobbed knees. So fleeting!

Minimal coastal style to me is ethereal, so I tried to give these images a minimal vibe.

We had this starfish wand leftover from her mermaid birthday party so we had to incorporate it! She loves pink and purple, total girl, so anything wand/princess she's IN!

Her freckeles. <3

I had this conch shell laying around the house, and the kids always get a kick out of trying to listen for the ocean.

Something about a child running away from the camera during my beach sessions always pulls a string with my Mama heart.