Melanie Lynn, I'll never forget the day she was born. I have one brother and he has one daughter. She was the first grandbaby for both sets of grandparents and is still the only girl. Let's just say, she's very loved!

This little girl is spunky but with a little sweet side. She always says she won't smile for her pictures and she does NOT like being photographed. But she is so beautiful and yes, I caught some great smiles. 

For Mel's birthday we went to the Grand Harbor Resort in Dubuque, Iowa. It was a blast! Since the whole point of going there is the indoor waterpark, I didn't get any pictures of the birthday fun...(not risking my camera at a waterpark!) but believe me, there were tons of smiles. I would highly recommend taking your kids there for a night if you're looking for something fun to do during the cold months. 

Anyway, back to the actual photo shoot. I took some pictures of Melanie in her room because what little kid doesn't want to show off their room?!

After jumping on the bed for awhile, mom (Steph) had a great idea! She let Melanie try on her wedding dress...SO CUTE! Note to all of my brides...if you ever have a little girl, take this shot! It's such an amazing keepsake and think about how cute it'll be to show at her wedding some day... :) 

While Melanie loves princesses and gowns, she also loves to play hard and getting dirty in the great outdoors. We were lucky to have a warm day and explored the woods near their house in Bettendorf. There's a little creek and even though the trees are still bare, I really love the look of these! Any time of the year will make good pictures, I promise!  

I've taken Melanie's pictures since she was born and I love that I can look back and see how much she's grown. I'm already teary eyed thinking about next year when she's FIVE. I can't even...