Steve Hanewinkel of Festus took a photo of his granddaughter, Baylee, then 5, relaxing with her best friend, Sammie. Baylee, now 9, is a student at Festus Elementary School.
Bob Speck of Hillsboro doesn’t think portrait photography is his forte, but he struck it lucky with this snapshot of grandson Ethan Speck taking a bath. “I don’t have much luck in catching expressions when taking photos,” he says. “But I thought this was priceless. Such an expression of innocence.”
Timothy Shelley of Pevely took a photo of his granddaughter, Baylee Catherine Portell, 4, at the sprinkler.
Bertie Freeman of De Soto took this photo of her grandchildren, Eli and Rory Mosely and Nole Freeman. Bertie says, “This photo captures the personality of the grandkids.
Stella Brinley of De Soto took a picture of her grandson, Dylan Steinmetz, who was in a great mood one night, so she snapped this photo of his big smile.
Judie Terry of De Soto has a built-in photo studio chair in her front yard. “I have this tree that has a ‘seat,’ in it,” she says. “Seems like yesterday they could all sit in the seat together, but now I have to spread them all out. They grow up so fast!” From left are Aidan Roland, 5, Halle Roland, 11, Evie Roland, 9, and Julia Terry, 10.
Larry V. Pigg of Valle Lake submitted a photo of his grandson, Andrew M. Brosseau of St. Peters, 2 1/2 months, holding his favorite toy.
Ginny Jackson of Arnold took a photo of her granddaughter, Ashley Thompson, 4, playing with her Barbies in the water table.
Dee Politte of Festus took a photo of her granddaughter, Lillia Lou Politte, who was having a lot of fun with a cowboy hat. They were crackin’ up.
Dolores Newton of Herculaneum took a photo of her grandson, Rick Carranza, then 18 months, after Halloween 2011.
Diana Kennedy of Hillsboro took this photo in summer 2011 of her grandchildren, Hannah Kennedy, now 17, Riley Kennedy, now 5, and Colin Kennedy, now 9, on the Branson Bell.
Ruth Davis of De Soto took a photo of her granddaughter, Gabrielle Davis, at Easter time, while Gabrielle’s front teeth were growing in.
Debra Weber of De Soto used a telephoto lens to get this photo of her granddaughter, Symone Plake, in Florence, Italy. “My oldest daughter, Heather, my first-born granddaughter, Symone, and I went there for Symone’s high school graduation,” Weber says. “She was involved in reading and I snapped this photo from a distance.”
Marlene Bair of Crystal City took a photo of her granddaughter, Lauren Bair, 6, last summer at the sea lion show at the St. Louis Zoo. Grandma says she enjoys taking her grandchildren to the zoo throughout the year. On this day, Lauren was picked to help with the sea lion show.
Bob Sharp of Imperial took a photo of his granddaughter, Micah DeClue, before her first day of school.
Stella Wolf of Arnold took a photo of her grandson, Landen Robbins, 3, on his very first airplane trip from Imperial to Langhorne, Penn. His parents surprised him and Stella with a trip to Sesame Place to celebrate their birthdays. Landen spent the whole plane trip in the cockpit with the captain and pilot, learning a lot about the controls and even pressing a couple buttons.
Rena Miller of De Soto took this photo of her grandson, Dalton Eudaley, 6, being sprayed by his cousin, Owen Miller, in her backyard last summer.
Pam Taylor of Arnold took a photo of her grandchildren, Hannah Taylor, 9, and Matthew Taylor, 7, posing with special hats. Matthew is wearing his grandfather’s hat, while Hannah is wearing a hat that belonged to her great-grandmother. Pam says, “My mom passed away in 2005. I bought the red hat for her, after Dad died, hoping she would make some new friends in the Red Hat Society. Then, Mom died four months later. I know Mom would be so pleased to see her great-granddaughter wearing her hat. I
Kathy Flores of Arnold took a photo of her grandsons, Jacob and Andrew Nonnenkamp, 3 1/2. She says, “I always tell my grandsons that twins are special and I love this photo because it captured the love, closeness and special bond they share.”
Ruth Ash of Festus posed her granddaughter, Camryn Compton, wearing fancy pearls.
Mary Siebert of Festus took this photo of her grandsons, Nate and Connor Siebert, at the Butterfly House to celebrate Grandpa Bill Siebert’s 70th birthday.
Nancy Adkins of Imperial took a photo of her grandson, Jordan Adkins, 3, dressed up like a firefighter.
Elaine McKinney of Crystal City took a photo of her grandson, Zachary McKinney, 1 1/2, playing with his father’s old toy.
Carolyn Mosley of Hillsboro aimed her lens through the balloon streamers for this snapshot of granddaughter Josie, 4, on the little girl’s fourth birthday in March.
Barbara Haffer of De Soto took this photo of her grandson, Braden Miller of Oakville, under the Christmas tree.
Kelly and Steve Queener of Barnhart feared the worst when their daughter, Dana, was in a near head-on car collision in 2010. “All medical persons involved could not believe she survived the accident,” Kelly says. That made them appreciate even more the miracle of Molly Grace Holmes, shown here in a March photo taken by Kelly. “Molly is our first grandchild, and every photo is special to us. We are lucky to have our daughter and now her daughter. Life is good.”
Cheryl Sue Bast of Arnold took this photo of her granddaughter, Jolie Sue Bast, 4 months, at the baby’s great-grandmother Jo’s house.
Gwen Peters of Imperial took a photo of her granddaughter, Amanda Peters, 5. “She loves fruit for snacks,” Peters says. “But particularly strawberries and whipped cream.”
Pam Taylor of Arnold snapped this photo of her grandsons, Isaac, left, and Christian, during a visit to Taylor’s home on Thanksgiving 2011.
The boys are the sons of Aaron and Rhiannon Taylor, Taylor’s son and daughter-in-law.
“Eight years ago, Aaron and Rhiannon were living in Senegal, Africa, doing missionary work,” Taylor says. “During that time, they wanted to start a family, but unfortunately Rhiannon suffered a miscarriage.
Little Allen Hooker was in a bad mood, so his grandparents, Jim and Charlotte Hooker of Festus, got out the photo albums to lighten things up. “When we got to the pictures of his brother, Allen’s mood suddenly changed,” Charlotte says. “He clapped his hands together and got this huge smile on his face. Needless to say, we looked at that album a lot.”
Pam Dutton of Festus took a photo of her grandchildren last Thanksgiving Day at the home of their great-grandmother Wanda Willm. From left, Andrew Dutton, Alayna Dutton, Reagan Huber, Addison Hartenburger and Scott Hartenburger.
Linda Branner of Pevely says her grandson, Benjamin Carter Dix, 14 months in this May photo, is “the happiest boy I know. He loves everyone, and always has a smile.”
Linda Branner of Pevely took a photo of her granddaughter, Gracie Belle Dix, 5, in May. “She is the most beautiful redhead I know,” she says.
Susan M Huckfeldt of Imperial took a photo of her grandson, Kylar Huckfeldt, who was wearing his grandpa’s hat “He said, ‘I can look like Paw Paw!’” she says.
Linda Barker of Pevely took a photo of her granddaughter, Savannah Barker, at a park near Barker’s house just before the little one’s second birthday. “I want her to remember always getting to go and have fun at the park whenever she came over to see her grandma and grandpa.”
Judy Lucas of De Soto has only one granddaughter – Gabriella Lucas, who was 7 when her grandmother snapped this picture last summer. “It was fun to dress her up in my favorite vintage swimsuit,” Lucas says.
Gloria Kramper of Arnold snapped her granddaughter, Emily Kramper, then 2, hiding out in a dog carrier in 2010.
Vicki Dill of Festus sent in this picture she took of her grandson, Chase Michael Underwood, 1, of Florissant riding his tricycle.
Linda Donnelli of Arnold helped her grandchildren, McKenzie Donnelli, 4, and Tyler Donnelli, 2, send a message to their father, John Donnelli Jr., who was serving with the U.S. military in Iraq. “I knew what it would mean to him,” Grandma says. “It was the first time he had been away from them.”
Eunice Atwell of Hillsboro captured this beautiful moment last year between her grandchildren, Steven Atwell, 4, and Alexandra, 18 months.