a beautiful ride. :)

parenting is just like the poster...a BEAUTIFUL ride...much like a good roller coaster ride that you tell all your friends to go on with you at six flags, it has wicked ups and downs...it's what makes it interesting, breath-taking...fun!

 

but do you remember life when your kids were small?

I do.

soooo like it was yesterday... :)

the smell of their little heads as you rocked them to sleep after bathtime...sigh.

I SWEAR johnson & johnson put SOMETHING addictive in their shiny yellow bottles . :)

never mind the bonus memory of the necessary "boppy" wrapped around your middle so your arms didn't fall asleep at two in the morning as your head does the weird roll back "I'm awake!" thing.

or the little feet dangling off the potty during potty training time singing twinkle, twinkle little star in their a.d.o.r.a.b.l.e. small voices...double sigh.

again, ignore the bonus memory of washing fourteen pairs of underwear previously in the day and the fact that the "treat m&m's" are a distant memory slowly digesting in your stomach. :)

these memories filled my head when these friends asked for a photo session with me,

needless to say I was genuinely excited. :)

yes, he is one of my husband's close friends...and he makes me laugh.  hard.  sarcasm is gift of his.

but he loves God tremendously, his passion is contagious and I LOVE to listen to him preach.

and his wife?  I admire her VERY much.

she creative, a great mommy, a sassy funny conversationlist & fashionista and yeah, she's kinda stunning. :)

but it's the fact that these two are on the young rollercoaster of parenting that had me excited.

yes, their little girls are STUNning!  just like their mommy. :)

they're funny, they're high energy, they have adorable curls, they have crazy gorgeous eyes,

they have funny unique personalities and they simply LOVE their parents.

and these parents LOVE them.

is parenting hard and challenging?

you bet it is.

but for these two, the privilege and joy SO outweighs whatever challenges come in the day to day.

definitely a beautiful ride.

and definitely a privilege to have gotten to join them for an afternoon...

it brought back so many of my own memories.

memories I simply wouldn't trade for the world. :)

 p.s. never take cake away from this sweet little girl.  that is unless you selfishly LOVE her giant alligator tears and "I love you" fingers...I know, I have issues...but she is just too stinking cute! :)

being real

I said it earlier this week...well actually, ms. leibovitz said it first:
"when I say I want to photograph you, I'm saying I want to know you."
and with this family, it's true.
my first ever clients almost four years ago...
she encouraged me like no one else in the very beginning and to her I will forever be grateful. :)
I've seen the littlest three since diapers...
and getting to watch all five of their personalities evolve has been nothing short of a privilege.
you have a leader, a see-er of the details, a thinker, a daredevil and a little princess...and I can't wait to see them continue to grow and figure out how to find their place in this beautiful family...seriously cool kids. :)

one of my favorite things to do in photographing kids is simply letting them be themselves...
yes, you need to draw them out and position yourself to find the best angle...
but watching them simply be themselves is one of my favorite things to get to experience at a family session.
the parents tend to apologize for the "craziness" and "drama"...but honestly, I think that is what makes the best pictures.
real smiles.
real laughs.
real tears.
the real dramatic you...makes for the best photographs.
and these people let me see the real them...over and over again.
and I love it.

yup, drama.
I love it. :)

[prelude]: maccallum's

love getting to see this family grow! :)

[prelude]: capri & channing

boom, boom, POW

gotta get that.
gotta get that.
gotta get that boom boom pow...them chickens jackin' my style...

yup, I can never listen to that song again without thinking about this little man and smiling.
most kids rock out to veggie tales or the latest greatest four man group on the disney channel.
not him.
nope.
rock. star. :)
nothing but a little black eyed peas to get him going. :)

I've written about this family before and the ways you can help...and the need is still there.
botox injections and new casts on his feet to help the stretch and grow are next up on the list that you can read about more on her blog that she keeps for him...

but this afternoon was genuinely fun for me...
his happy face lighting up at a little bep,
the girls sweet happy (albeit chilly) faces lit up with smiles playing outside for an afternoon.
and watching their parents simply love on them and be happy to be around them.
yup, this is afternoon to look back on a smile...and remember to take time and get a little "boom, boom, POW!" :)