Vince takes eating sour cream (dip) very seriously.
You've got a little somethin'...
...almost got it...
"Wook, Mom....dip!"
"swish your face, mom..."
*sweet face*
{Fort Wayne Photographer, Toddler Photos}
When I am photographing children, I'm never sure what to expect.
Some kids can be
shy,
grumpy,
hyper...
They might give the above and beyond effort
and says "cheeeeeese" for every photo -
distorting their lovely faces into an almost pained expression.
With Halle, it was no different - I wasn't sure what I was going to get during her session with her family.
Her mom had texted me her worries about the photos earlier that day - specifically about the smiling that looks unnatural.
I hadn't seen Halle for a while and was a little nervous that she wouldn't recognize me - maybe making her a little shy around me.
Much to my surprise, while we were walking around finding the next place to stop and shoot - she said to me, "how about you take
a picture of me over here...and what if I do this?" I loved it! She was all about it. Then we got to the smiling part and she started
giving the not-so-genuine smiles. I decided I was going to remedy this right away, especially since she was so eager and willing to
have the camera in her face.
So, we decided to do crazy faces first.
I loved it because not only did it make her laugh - and I got genuine smiles out of those laughs, but it made me laugh too.
I was so glad she could be so comfortable with me. I could have taken pictures of her all day. And this is some of the loveliness I
was able to capture in between the funny faces.
And I am so very happy she was able to be so comfortable with me.
That is one awesome kid!
{Fort Wayne Photographer, Photographing Children}
Don't let this face fool you
She is a happy girl!
And who doesn't love a happy baby?!
You might know,
my daughter recently had a birthday -
number 12.
You know that YOU are getting old
when...
there isn't much room left on your daughter's cake for candles...
the candles on said cake light said daughter's face up with no problem...
it takes many tries for her to blow all of these candles out...
and when it's all done...
the smoke from the candles resembles the smoke in the sky after the grand finale fireworks on the 4th of July.
Next year we will need a bigger cake. :)
I love that no two people are exactly the same.
Like snowflakes, right?
Babies are no exception to the rule.
Moms know that.
No matter what worked for one baby,
might not work for another baby.
When I do newborn photo sessions,
I never know what I can expect.
When I photographed Jakob,
it was as if he was trying to make my job easy.
At 3 weeks of age, he is very strong - holding his head up looking up at me for a moment.
He decided to have a little snack and then take a nap.
and nap he did.
And the love from his mom was undeniably abundant.
I loved this.
Sweet baby love.
Thank you, Jasmine and Kyle - for allowing me to photograph your bundle of love.
I decided to take the kids to Canal Days this year.
Don't get me wrong,
I'm not a huge fan of Canal Days.
I didn't grow up in New Haven,
but my dad and step-mom used to take us to little town festivals like Canal Days
when I was in elementary school.
It was fun then, but a lot has changed since then too.
It seems as though festivals like this bring out all the questionable people in the area.
I'm not sure why that is - but I decided to take the kids to Canal Days during Kid's Day this year - and ignore all the crazies.
I'm glad I did - and I knew I would be.
It's not everyday that I would be able to see my baby behind the wheel
and the other two were too big to ride this ride. *sigh*
Vince watched the kids go down the big slide.
I don't think he even wanted to try it.
He did want to do this, but wasn't big enough.
I watched as some poor kid covered his mouth the whole time, hoping he wouldn't throw up on all of us parents below.
He didn't. Someone did throw up in the ride next to that though.
And speaking of throwing up...
Max and Alyssa wanted to ride this ride
Watching them ride this ride made my day. Most days they do their own thing - not involving the other unless it is to yell at each other or pick on the other one. For five minutes they were smiling and laughing together as though they were good friends.
They didn't feel great after that one.
I did decide we should all go on the Ferris wheel together
and was a little bit apprehensive when the guy letting us on the ride said, "I'm sure it will be fine if you put him (Vinny) on your lap" after telling us we couldn't all ride together.
I'm sure it will be fine?! Sure?
It was fine.
From above...with me telling the kids..."hold still...don't look over the edge...hold STILL, you are going to shake the car" and I was the one that made everyone go on it. :)
Vinny got all kinds of driving experience.
And flying experience.
serious pilot
"WHO keeps yelling my name?!"
"Oh...it's just mom trying to get me to look..."
and just like that...
Canal Days is over.
It's my daughter's 12th birthday today.
If you know me at all,
you know I'm a big cry baby.
But I am proud of myself,
I've only cried once today -
for no reason
except that she is old
and isn't this
anymore
my sweet baby girl.
Best baby ever, by the way.
And if I regret anything in life,
it's not devoting enough time to her and Maxwell when they were this age
(but my husband says that I can't go back and change it - all I can do is make it right now) *photo taken by Kristie Lugiewicz, and many thanks to her for taking my absolute favorite photos of my children EVER
This child had to grow up with me - grow up as I grew up with her, because I was a "baby" when I had her.
So I am hoping to make it up to her.
Because she is awesome.
I could not ask for a better child.
She's fun.
And funny.
and sweet and kind.
And I love her to bits.
Happy Birthday, my baby girl! I wish you many, many more.
My awesome husband
granted my wishes again last week
and built a sandbox for my son.
I never knew the feeling of sand beneath my feet
in my kitchen
would make me happy.
But it does
because I get to watch things like this everyday
summer happiness
Sand in my house
also makes me feel like I am in Florida
and that
is never bad.
Now my son asks me if he can "go play in the dirt".
I love it!
*my husband rocks
Summer is here!
In kid's speak:
Summer = Play!
"Summer afternoon...
the two most beautiful words in the English language."
- Henry James
I enjoyed meeting these sweeties last weekend.
We went to Foster Park and played.
They had a great time on the swings
*
They climbed trees
"He that climbs the tall tree has won the right to the fruit" - Sir Walter Scott
they have no fear of heights
:)
They climbed more at the playground
*
and did I mention no fear of heights?
beautiful children
*
Mom and Dad love
sweet kisses
*
*
*
The kids say they are best friends. How sweet is that?
too sweet for words
*
Today is a bittersweet day for me.
It's the last day of school for my kids,
which I absolutely love.
I've been looking forward to this day
since the first day of school in August last year.
How time flies!
However, in the past month - I realized that today meant a lot of "lasts" for us.
I was told by one of my very best friends once that it is the "lasts" that get you. Many times you don't know when the "lasts" happen until they are already over. The last time I held my older two children in my arms (without their feet being on the ground) was years and years ago - but I didn't know when I did it that it would be the last time I was going to do it. You just don't know. It's the lasts that get you.
EACS district is going through some changes and instead of going to Highland Terrace next year for 4th grade, Max will have to go to Meadowbrook. I'm not particularly thrilled about this. I'm not alone, other parents are outraged as well, but it is the sign of our economic times. Max wasn't too happy about it either - earlier this week, while I was putting him to bed he got a little teary and said he didn't want things to end with Highland Terrace. If you know me at all, you know that I can't stand idly by and watch someone cry alone. I will cry with you - mostly because I can't help it. :)
A more gut-wrenching last today is that it is Alyssa's last day of elementary school. This fact kills me as I type it. I try to remember that many friends of mine have older children. Many friends of mine that have children that are graduating tonight. I should feel lucky. We are only half way through to graduation for her. But I know - like everyone says, "it will be here before you know it" ... "time flies"...and all of that. It's so true. I've seen it already. I already mourn my children's youth, especially on days like today.
This is the last day they are going to school together as elementary students. Sure, it will happen again when Alyssa is in 8th grade...and Max is in 6th. The thought of that makes me a bit nauseous though, so I refuse to think about that right now.
So, normally we take pictures on the first day of school, but not the last. This year, we did both.
I think the sky is crying for my sadness.
Please enjoy your children this summer, however old they are. They are growing up too quickly. Enjoy every moment, because that could be a "last" - not only with your children - but with all of your loved ones.
On a brighter note - at 2:30 today summer will have arrived at my house!
Happy Summer, everyone!
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