Knoxville Mom's 4 tips to stay Healthy and Happy

Knoxville School Closures

If you're a busy mom like me, the Knoxville school closures announcement throws you into a bit of a frenzy! I am so glad the little ones who are ill will be able to get some R&R and the schools can sanitize. It also means little germs are running rampant in Knoxville ( I'm a teensy bit of a germaphobe). Seriously, as a busy mommy with two kids, that runs a business from home, I don't have time for my little's to bring home the flu from school. Plus, I work with pregnant mommies, and teensy newborn babies, which I absolutely don't want to expose to anything.  We have a few things we do to help prevent illness and save my sanity. 

 Seriously, as a busy mommy with two kids, that runs a business from home, I don't have time for my little's to bring home the flu from school. Plus, I work with pregnant mommies, and teensy newborn babies, which I absolutely don't want to expose to anything. We have a few things we do to help prevent illness and save my sanity. 

Stay Healthy Knoxville

1. Hand Washing

I know, this one should be a no-brainer, but if you have kids, you know the struggle! I'm constantly on my kids to wash their hands as soon as they get home from school, and regularly throughout the afternoon. 

2. Vitamin C

We started taking vitamin C every day about a year ago ( before that I was bad about remembering!). The kids get chewables and take 500-1000MG a day. In the last year, the sweet kiddos have hardly been sick! A great improvement from the previous year where it was almost once a month. 

3. Elderberry Syrup

I just found elderberry syrup this year, and let me tell you, I'm so glad I did! You can buy it in the store, or make your own ( my top choice because I know exactly what goes into it, and can use local honey for the allergy benefits!). It tastes great, and the kiddos just have to take a teaspoon a  day for prevention, or a teaspoon every 3-4 hours for treatment of cold or flu. I use this recipe https://wellnessmama.com/1888/elderberry-syrup/

4. Stay Away from Germ Factories ( AKA children's Play Places)

Seriously, in cold and flu season, we stay far, far away from Chuck E Cheese, Jump Jam, etc. With Knoxville schools being out, I've even seen some of these places advertising to bring the kids over. I totally understand needing to get well children out of the house, but all it takes is one sick child to go and ruin it for everyone. Personally, I keep the kiddos entertained with crafts and such instead. They're just as happy, and we can keep exposure down to a minimum. 

I hope these help you busy moms keep the littles well!

Cake Smash | Knoxville, TN Photographer | The Loy's

Knoxville Child Photography

Meet the lovely Loy children that I had the pleasure of photographing! These two little ones sure did give me a run for my money, but the end result is so worth it. The weather was perfect and the Knoxville garden backdrop was beautiful. 

First Birthday Pictures

This sweet girl is turning one! We took some beautiful portraits of her to document her at this age. Her gorgeous red hair looked so adorable in the perfect lighting we had. I can't get over how cute her Knoxville child pictures are! Babies this beautiful start my baby fever! 

Of course, we also had to sneek in a sweet mommy-daughter picture <3

Knoxville Cake Smash

Next, we had some cake smash fun! Little miss was happy to dig right into her sweet icing and make a mess. I think we might have had just as much fun watching her. The faces she made were priceless!

Toddler Pictures

Sweet girl's brother took a bit longer to warm up, so his pictures waited until the end. Once he was ready, he was one of the most smiley, happy boys out there! He ran and played while I chased after to catch a few great pictures. We had a blast playing on my airplane prop!

Maternity Photos | Knoxville Photographer | The Bowers

Knoxville Maternity Pictures

Meet Lyndsey and Jesse Bower. You would be hard-pressed to find a sweeter couple than these two! Jesse contacted me a few months before after searching for a Knoxville photographer to set up the maternity pictures for their anniversary. Major awesome points to him!!! Seriously, any man who willingly sets up portraits is A-OK in my book. We had a great time at the Knoxville Botanical Gardens, and took some beautiful maternity portraits!

Mom-to-be Pictures

In most Knoxvile maternity sessions, I like to get a great variety of images, including some of the mom-to-be alone. It's such a special time, and I love being able to make these lovely women feel as beautiful as they look while they're expecting. 

We stumbled upon a lovely brick staircase at the gardens, it was the perfect spot to show off this beautiful mom!

This ivy wall makes for a PERFECT backdrop for Knoxville Photographers for all types of sessions.

These stone buildings are beautiful! Knoxville maternity sessions have so many options for great backdrops!!  I love incorporating them into my sessions. 

Couple Maternity Pictures

Pregnancy pictures aren't just about the Mom, we also have a Daddy-to-be! I love to include them in as many shots as possible! Dads in maternity pictures make for some of the sweetest images. These are about your new family, and the start of a beautiful new life, it's time to celebrate! 

I love the framing of this stone wall, it's perfect to highlight the beautiful couple!

The beautiful Mom requested this pose, and I love how it turned out. It's so casual, but gorgeous! 

Dominic's Portraits | Knoxville Child Photographer

Knoxville Photographer

Meet Dominic! An absolutely spunky, fun-loving nine year old, who requested to have his picture taken in Knoxville with some awesome graffiti! Mr. Dominic wants to be a model, and boy is he good at it! Being a Knoxville child photographer, I've photographed hundreds of children, and he might have just been the easiest young man to work with!

This cool guy and me had a blast during his downtown Knoxville, Market Square, session.  He had so many great ideas, and knew just how to pose before I could even get the words out. I couldn't believe he was only nine!

Here's some favorites!

Kendred and Ingrid | Intimate Knoxville Wedding

Intimate weddings are some of my favorites, and I had the pleasure of photographing an adorable couple's just last weekend! Kendred and Ingrid were simply amazing and so photogenic!

This couple chose a beautiful location, at the perfect time of day for gorgeous, golden portraits. I couldn't have planned it better myself! They were even so thoughtful as to consult with me on when the lighting would be the absolute best (talk about a dream couple to work with!!). We had a grand time finding the perfect spots for them to pose in after their elegant, simple Knoxville ceremony. 

The love between these two shows all over their faces in their portraits. They hardly even had to be posed; they were so awesome together!! I can't wait to share some of my favorites with you all!

It's been fabulous to be back home and photographing in Knoxville and the Smoky Mountains. It looks like it's straight out of a fairytale! I am loving all the wildflowers, and the beautiful trees. Being invited to photograph this stunning couple's ceremony in a perfect location was amazing and I am incredibly glad I had the opportunity to be there. 

Welcome!

Thanks for heading over and checking out my blog!

I am in the process of moving to and offering portraits in gorgeous Knoxville, TN and surrounding areas!!!

For the last 5 years my husband has served in the army, so my family has moved around from Alabama, to Oklahoma, then to El Paso, Texas where we've spent the last 3.5 years. We are originally from Knoxville and couldn't be more excited to  move home to our beautiful mountains!

After over 3 years living in the desert, I am so excited to see beautiful, green scenery again and have the privileged of photographing in it! While the desert can be stunning, I have dreamed of taking portraits with real trees ( what they call trees here would only be considered bushed there), grass (with no sand in sight!!!) and lakes. I can't wait to get started!

While you're here, enjoy a bit of our desert beauty =)