Dan & Alyssa Reeve

February

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 20:33:00 +0000

If there was a month I could choose to skip each year... it would be this one. The shortest month of the 12 drags on for us every. single. year. Part of it is longing for the West Coast where we grew up and having so much opportunity to be outside... and part of it is the fact that our work is also our home. While that is part of the reason we love what we do so much... it's also hard to be confined to these four walls... since one of us always has to be here during after school hours. The winter is ESPECIALLY hard. We are so thankful for our Saturdays off and the chance to take Carter and Claire out to explore. A couple weeks ago we were desperately feeling the need to see some wide open space... so we headed about 30 minutes out of town to the banks of the Mississippi River. Dan has spent some time out at the Riverlands Bird Sanctuary with his students over the past year... and had talked a lot about how awesome it is. It was freezing cold... but just the medicine we needed!

While we were enjoying looking at bald eagles through the telescopes... this girl was requesting a check-up. Still just a LITTLE obsessed with the doctor kit she got for Christmas.

So much drama... all the time!

A favorite...

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 15:05:00 +0000

Dan and I were explaining to someone recently how we are so thankful for the life our kids have had. When we moved into Joe's Place 6 years ago Carter was just 7 months old... and we had no idea if this idea of a home would even work. We thought through a lot of things... but I guess I hadn't really processed what raising kids here would REALLY look like... or how it would change how they looked at the world. Six years later... and they have only known a life with MANY "big brothers." Their perspective of people is so different than mine was at their age... I love that!

These are two of my favorite pictures. Claire has always had a special love for Robert... or Bob Bob as she calls him (one of her first words). Today we are celebrating 19 years of Robert and his last official high school birthday. Excited for what is next for him... and praying in the years to come that his heart is always healthy! :)

Mr. and Mrs. Petke

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 22:03:00 +0000

Love this one! Michelle... you are beautiful!

We have had some crazy warm weather the last few winters. Not so on Dan and Michelle's wedding day! It. was. SO. cold. Thankfully the wedding party was staying at Union Station so we were able to do a lot of the portraits inside!

Lookin' good guys!

I loved all the red! These girls were rockstars that day!

This was one of the most beautiful wedding ceremonies I have been to! Dan and Michelle were so thoughtful in what they wanted communicated during their wedding day. Speaks so much about this amazing couple!

Husband and Wife!!!!

Did I mention that these girls were rockstars! They braved some amazingly cold weather! This was one of Michelle's top shots. We got to Kiener Plaza... and the waterfall was off! Michelle totally took it in stride... and it turned out AWESOME!

Hello St. Louis!

The red hats were groomsmen gifts. Dan found each of their favorite teams! Love it!

One of my favorites!

The snow is for you, Michelle! :)

This dude could dance... and was out on the dance floor almost the entire reception!

Let it snow!!! And it did... the next day! :)

Congrats to an INCREDIBLE couple! Hope Costa Rica was awesome!

~Dan and Alyssa

I'm ashamed to say...

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 20:43:00 +0000

that I completely forgot how to even log into blogger. Dan and I talk a lot about how much I've always loved to blog... and how I never do anymore. There's been multiple reasons for that... but I've decided to push those reasons aside this year. Photography has always been a huge part of my life... but has become even more so since starting my business in 2009. I don't ever go a day without taking a picture... usually many. So... here's to 2013. This is going to be my place... for personal, non profit and business.

My favorite picture on Christmas day that Dan snapped. These two are almost 4 years apart and are the dearest friends. I hope that never changes!

Carter explaining the Christmas gift he made for Claire.

Merry Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 20:52:00 +0000

I LOVE the haiku Dan wrote for our Christmas card this year. I've thought of it often over the last month. I told him it's now officially going to be a tradition for every card. I also love, love, love our portraits done by Allison Nichole Photography! This is also going to be a new tradition. I can't believe this is the first time we've had our pictures professionally done! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

©allisonnicholephotography

The Brown-Shepard Family

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 01:34:00 +0000

I'm working on getting my blog up to date moving from current sessions back over the past year... since ya know... I'm officially blogging again! :) As I'm going back through past sessions I've realized how many beautiful kiddos I got to work with in 2012. Graham is one of those babes and was right around 5 months old when we met up in mid December. I'll be honest... I was kind of dying on the inside the entire time I was with him. Oh my word! He seriously has the best hair and would hardly crack a single smile for me the ENTIRE time I was there! SO serious!

Get ready for some major cuteness!

Yes I see that camera there... and no I'm not going to smile!

I'm just going to pretend like you're not there.

Favorite!

Had to end with this one... my only smile! :) Love!!

Thanks for letting me spend part of a beautiful Sunday with you guys!

~Alyssa

E. & S.

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 14:48:00 +0000

My dear friend, Anna, talked to me this fall about doing portraits of the two kiddos she nannies for as a Christmas gift for their parents. How cool is that?!? So... I swung by their St. Louis home for a bit at the end of November to get some shots of these cuties. And can I just take a second to say how much I love photographing kids in their home. 1. They are so much more comfortable in their own space... and 2. I think it's so neat to document them at that age in their home with their things!

S. in her rocking chair in her nursery. Such a sweet space!!

She gave me so many sweet smiles!

E. took a little more convincing. :) I love serious looks anyway!

Had to get some shots of Anna!

E. LOVES his trains!

It's SOOO nice when it's just warm enough to sneak outside!

Was awesome getting to spend some time with you guys!

~Alyssa

GMP - 3 months

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 14:56:00 +0000

I love getting to document families as kids reach major milestones! It's amazing how much a baby can change in 3 months! Dan and I met up with the Phillips family in Paducah again in mid November for Grant's 3 month portraits and to get some family pictures.

Taking pictures can be so exhausting! :) Grant needed a little power nap before we

headed out to a local winery for their family portraits.

Favorite!

Sometimes you don't notice little things until you are editing... like this. I actually laughed out loud when I saw the boys! They were done! :)

After the family portraits we stopped inside the winery for a great bottle of wine. Thanks guys! As we were heading out to load up to head back to their house to get some more shots of Grant... we stopped to get a few more family pics with this beautiful light! Love this one!

I've learned you can always get happy shots of a baby on the changing table!

Mr. Serious!

The older two boys also have 3 month portraits sitting up in a chair. Grant did such a great job!

Loved ending the night with sushi with you guys! Wish we lived close enough to do dinner together every month!

~Dan and Alyssa

The Lindman Family

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 13:23:00 +0000

Dan and I know all too well what it's like not to live near ANY family! For like almost ten years! Thankfully they come to see us... and thankfully we've adopted some family out here! The Lindman's are one of those families... and they also know the sadness of living in a different state than their family. So... when they mentioned that Brian's entire family was going to be here in October and wanted some portraits done together... we were so excited!

I know what you're thinking... some of the cutest kids ever! :)

Love this one. The leaves we just starting to change!

Hope you all enjoyed St. Louis!!

~Dan and Alyssa

Dan and Michelle

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 19:22:00 +0000

I LOVE engagement sessions! The multiple locations, outfit changes... a couple in love...

These two love sports... Michelle is actually a P.E teacher. They're not above a little swinging competition! :)

Was hoping to end the session with some sunset shots... instead we had an overcast sky... which equaled incredible light the ENTIRE afternoon! Love this one!

Had to do some jersey shots!

We ended with a walk to the spot where Dan proposed. I love it when locations during sessions have special meaning!

Dancing in the spot where they got engaged!

Congrats, Dan and Michelle! Such a fun afternoon! Can't wait for December!

~Dan and Alyssa

GMP!

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 18:41:00 +0000

Introducing the very cute and cuddly Grant Michael!

Fun story about this picture! Katherine and I were in San Francisco for a girlfriends trip when her oldest was a baby. She bought this hat then from a sidewalk vendor. Love it! And um... I think we need to get another one of those trips on the calendar... soon! :)

You know these three are going to have some FUN growing up!

Katherine... if/when I have another babe... I hope I look like you less than a week after delivery!

One of my favorite pictures of all time!

Love you guys! Thanks for letting me rock your sweet babe today!

~Alyssa

The Ridling Family

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 17:35:00 +0000

It's no secret that we are in love with our community here in Maplewood, MO. Having Dan work a block from our house has been such a HUGE blessing (if only the ocean and all of our family were also only a block away :)). Another blessing is the folks Dan has had the opportunity to work with in the school district here. Amy is one of those teachers! We had so much fun meeting up with her family in Forest Park right around the 4th of July!

Warming up!

Noah has the best smile!

His relationship with his mom and dad was so sweet!

Love this one! His laugh is so cute!

Love those eyes!

In the space of about 30 seconds a plane flew over and a fire truck went by! He's for sure all boy!

Probably my favorite of the morning!

It was great spending the morning with you guys. Thanks for braving the heat with us!

~Dan and Alyssa

The Phillips Family

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 16:58:00 +0000

The Phillips were some of my very first clients when we started our business 3 1/2 years ago. Katherine is one of my "kindred heart" friends. Her husband is an incredible doctor (a Rheumatologist)... so I always knew the chance of them leaving St. Louis was a real possibility. But when they actually left for an awesome job in Kentucky... it was so, so sad! :( We finally made it out to visit them in their new home at the end of June and were able to squeeze in a maternity session for their little guy due in August! We did all of these pictures right out their back door!

Love these boys!

You are so beautiful, Katherine!

Thanks for a great weekend friends! Can't wait to meet your little guy!

Schlafly Saturday

noreply@blogger.com (Dan Reeve) — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 20:49:00 +0000

Enjoying the usual family weekend walk to Schlafly Bottleworks. Carter had just bumped the table in the first picture; I thought I was going to lose the Oatmeal Stout =)

Turning a corner...

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:48:00 +0000

This sweet little girl takes every last ounce of my energy. I was telling Dan that some days I feel like I can't get anything done... let alone blog. He suggested just posting these types of pictures... since that really is life right now. Thankfully she's beginning to be slightly less intense each day.

And these moments help to make up for all the exhaustion. I was so worried about them connecting since they are almost four years apart (and a boy and girl)... but they are the best of friends. I love it!

A New Year...

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:04:00 +0000

So... I'm not one to really make New Year's resolutions... but this year I decided that I really want to fit the blog back into our crazy schedules. I'm still trying to decide how I want to incorporate the business and Joe's Place sides of life into the blog... so for now I'm going to keep it all here. The simpler the better. I'm planning a series of posts to quickly recap 2011 soon... the biggest change being the addition of weddings to what we offer at 2R. I had the privilege of 2nd shooting 5 weddings for another St. Louis photographer this Fall, one on my own in November, and another with Dan in December. We also had the chance to work with some awesome families on Christmas card photos, a couple of sweet newborn sessions and an engagement session with an incredible couple. September, November and December were an INTENSITY that we've never known before... but we are so thankful for every moment of it and are really looking forward to what 2012 will hold. I wanted end the post with one of our attempted family Christmas card photos (we decided our tradition is always going to be self portraits) that didn't make the cut... but there's still something I love about it.

It's been a little while...

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 14:59:00 +0000

But we're still here. We LOVE our life here at Joe's Place... we really, really do... but sometimes it's nice to have a little break. Having three residents graduate at the same time for the 2nd time in two years was AMAZING... but also a little exhausting. Because of that, we decided we were going to stay here in St. Louis and relax for the summer instead of taking our normal big trip out West. The only problem is that there is no such thing as relaxing when we're here. The constant stream of people in and out of the house, combined with the extreme heat this summer and the fact that a lot of Dan's family had not met Claire yet... caused us to load up the back of our car (we decided to leave our trailer in storage because of gas mileage and speed) and take off the morning after Dan got back from a conference in Orlando. We knew we were going to end up in Seattle... but other than that we didn't know where our stops would be on the trip. We hoped to drive through Nebraska... but flooding there caused us to take the Kansas route. Oh Kansas... if I never see you again I'll be a happy gal. Here are some pictures from Western Kansas:

You would think we have lived in Missouri long enough to recognize signs of a tornado... but I guess not. We drove from beautiful clear skies into the most terrifying hour of my life. Right after Dan snapped these pictures we were blown practically off the highway. I've always experienced these storms from the safety of our basement. I've recognized the power of weather since we moved out here... but I don't think I've ever really understood how powerful until now. We were in the middle of nowhere... no buildings anywhere. It was raining so hard that we could hardly see the cars in front of us. We put on our hazard lights and drove about 10mph until we finally reached a rest stop. Thankfully we never ended up having to get out of the car and the kids were oblivious to the entire thing. We finally pulled out of the rest stop when the rain slowed a bit and drove out of the storm into this...

And this was what we saw when we looked back...

We are so thankful for the Lord's protection. It really was such an amazing reminder of how quickly life can change.

We ended up driving through some more weather in Colorado that night and made it to just outside Wyoming to rest for the night. Next post... our hour spent in the middle of a Wyoming highway...

Hungry

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 18:04:00 +0000

I have a love/hate relationship with our basement. It was our garage when we first moved in... but was turned into a rec. room (along with a bathroom, office and storage room) about 6 months later. The boys all spend a ton of time down there, we have a little area for Carter's toys, and our guest room is down there. That is all great... but because our house is the lowest spot in the neighborhood... we have had to deal with multiple floods where a lot of stuff was ruined. A neighbor actually told us recently that our street was the pond for a family farm before our neighborhood was built. Makes total sense! The flooding issue has been fixed... but our backyard is a muddy swamp for most months out of the year. Anyway... Dan went downstairs during Carter's rest time on Sunday to grab some meat out of our deep freeze and found Carter sitting on the couch watching a snake (that I'm assuming had snuck in from our backyard under the back door) move around his play area!!! He was so excited that he didn't think to come up and get us! Dan brought it up and we kept it in a vase for a few hours. Carter named in Hungry and was devastated when they had to release it. I was proud of myself that I only really screamed one time. :)

SO glad Dan was home that day to deal with it...

Carter making a drawing of Hungry for his journal...

WE DID IT!!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Tue, 31 May 2011 15:23:00 +0000

The amount of pictures in this post will hopefully make up for my lack of blogging the last few months. I have LOTS to catch up on... like a certain little girl turning one, prom and finding a SNAKE in our basement. Anyway... the reason for this post (and a very mobile one year old) is actually why I haven't had much time to blog lately. Three of our boys graduated from high school on Friday. I really don't think I can come close to putting into words how proud we are (I already have tears in my eyes)... so I'll let the pictures tell the story...

Not long after I took this picture it started to pour! So... our outdoor party got moved into our "not ready for an indoor party" house. Oh well... it all worked out. Dan and I still can't figure out how many people were crammed into the main floor for our house. It was pretty awesome!

Our 6 graduates! 2 pictures, 2 years apart. So proud of these guys!!!

We're not in California anymore...

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 14:37:00 +0000

Well... we actually haven't lived in California for almost 8 1/2 years. Even thought it's been that long... I don't think I'll ever really get used to the storms we have here. I had no idea when we moved to St. Louis that basements were used for more than just another living space.... they are actually necessary for safety. We've had a love/hate relationship with our basement here at Joe's Place... but that's a story for another day. Anyway... it stormed last night. It wasn't as bad as a storm that came through about a month ago... but the sirens did go off a couple times. We spent about an hour outside on the porch watching the storm roll in. I'll never get over how much the sky changes in such a short period of time!

I took this with my phone earlier in the day while we were on a walk... totally didn't realize until later that I got a plane in the shot!

You can see a few blowing leaves in this picture... but just about 10 minutes before I took this it almost looked like it was snowing leaves in front of our house because of the wind!

Ty wanted a few shots with his basketball with the changing sky in the background... even though he's in baseball season now. :)

He told me he wanted lightning strikes behind him in this one. We made sure we were inside before that happened! I did hear on the news this morning that there were some tornados near St. Louis... but thankfully we didn't see any!

Still here...

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 18:55:00 +0000

Still busy. Be back soon...

Senior Portraits

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 14:09:00 +0000

Earlier this month I took two of our three seniors out for a little photo session (our third senior decided to wait to have his pictures done). It's amazing to me that two years after our first group of three seniors graduated... we will have three more graduating at once. I overheard one of our boys explaining to someone this week that Joe's Place is the only reason he's even in school right now. It's not been an easy year... but he will be putting on his blue cap and gown in just a few months. We are so proud of him and our other two that have worked through so much to get where they are now. There was actually another story done on Joe's Place and the documentary that is set to premiere on Saturday. You can read it here. We really are so thankful for all the people that have bought tickets and donated so much to make this place possible. 6 graduates in 4 1/2 years... now that's something to celebrate!!

Joe's Place on NBC

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 15:07:00 +0000

Our local NBC station did a story about the upcoming Joe's Place Documentary last night. Just a reminder that you can get tickets by calling 314.644.4400 or you can donate online here: http://www.joesplacestl.org/donate.html. The film will premiere Saturday night at 7pm in the MRH Theatre. Hope to see you there!!

Joe's Place: The Documentary

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 14:28:00 +0000

Next Saturday night, April 2, is an evening that we have been waiting for with much anticipation. Two years ago we were approached with the idea of having a documentary filmed in our home at Joe's Place. Over the span of the 08-09 school year there was a video camera following the life and events of our group of then seniors in their final year of high school. We were excited about the idea... but also a little (ok... a lot) nervous. Life here is not perfect. It's actually far from it. It would mean the imperfections of our life and the boys would be recorded forever. It would also mean that there would be shots of our house in all its unorganized glory on a giant screen for everyone to see. But it would also mean that three boys who have been through more heartbreak in their short lives than most people experience in a lifetime would have their last year of high school documented showing their resolve and resiliency as they overcame an incredible amount of obstacles. So... Saturday night we will be attending The Premiere of Joe's Place: The Documentary at 7pm in the MRH High School Theatre!! The filmmaker, Matt, has spent an incredible amount of time on this project. Not only did he film and go through hours and hours of video... he flew out to Hollywood to meet with David Oyelowo (best known for his role in "The Last King of Scotland") who volunteered his time to narrate the film.

This Premiere will be the main fundraiser for Joe's Place this year!! The cost for the film is $10... or $35 for the film and the wine reception following. You can purchase tickets by calling the MRH Central office at 314.644.4400. If you live out of town and cannot attend... but would still like to contribute... you can visit the Joe's Place website here. It's hard to believe we have lived here for almost 4 1/2 years with 14 different boys. We are so thankful to be a part of this unique community, school district, and program.

And... just in case you haven't had a chance to see it yet... here's the trailer....

A little break from Spring...

noreply@blogger.com (Alyssa Reeve) — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 20:51:00 +0000

Earlier this week we were able to leave the house with shorts and t-shirts... this morning we woke up to more SNOW! I love winter... but I am so seriously ready for Spring! Our Spring Break was last week (it snowed then too) and Fred's Spring Break is this week. We were thankful we were in town and it worked out for him to be home for an extended period of time! Carter is the one who's really been soaking it up! Last night he even talked Fred into watching a little Dinosaur Train with him...