Dancing, air guitar, light saber fencing, tickling and a little swinging…all in another day’s work. I love it! I had a great time with B&S while they showed me their rooms, the games they play with their amazing mom (who was dancing and swash buckling right along with them), and their insanely fun backyard.

I’ve been working on a slideshow of this shoot, but since it’s taking a little longer than I hoped, I wanted to share a couple highlights.

I don’t know if it’s because I married a great one, but there is something special about big brothers and thier baby sisters.  I’m sure they don’t love each other every moment as much as they appear to in these, but when they do…

your toothless, barely eating solid foods infant is mysteriously covered in a messy brown substance, and when you finally discover what it is you are more relieved that it is not poop than you are upset that she just gummed down as much as she could of a chocolate covered protein bar.

Now, the first-time parent version of me would have been ill knowing that, one, she had just had sugar, and, two, that it wasn’t organic, and, three, wondering how she didn’t choke, if she still might choke, and what horrible consequences there might be to her physical and mental well-being.

There will be no calls to poison control or frantic searches on the internet this time. Baby appears to be fine. End of story.

I don’t think parenting gets any easier with more time and more kids, but I do think that it gets more enjoyable when you let yourself relax into the job.

Not chocolate, but a typical meal…

I don’t know if it’s because his mama is a yoga teacher, or if it’s just inherent, but G is a calm, quiet yet engaged little guy who seems to always be listening and taking the world in.

Even out on the swing, he was having fun, but still keeping an eye on his surroundings…

One of the things I love about photographing children is getting to experience their personalities and see how different each child is from the next. I confess that before I was a mom I may have had a tendency to group children into the “cute” or “naughty” bucket before I took the time see them as the little people that they are. Every time I photograph a child I get to appreciate his or her individuality and in turn I love my own kids’ quirks even more.

I am working on building my portfolio, so from now through the end of April, I am offering FREE PORTRAIT SESSIONS!! I’m looking for kids of all ages, genders and ethnicities, as well as pregnant moms. Prints are not included, but you will recieve a FREE digital slideshow to share with all your friends.

Please help me spread the word! Make sure your friends mention that you referred them so I’ll know who to thank!

In keeping with my last post and an attempt to get CM to settle down after a day of sugary treats, I thought that if I entrusted her with my camera she would take the responsibility and concentrate.

Her first attempt:

And then:

Not bad for four years old! And it would have been better if I had really trusted her enough to back away so that my hands were not providing a safety net for the camera.

Finally, here’s a rare and quite decent picture of me and T.

But now that I’ve taken a few days off, I will certainly be posting lots of new photos of my own very soon!

So, today is my birthday. And I’m not taking any pictures. Sometimes life has to just be lived and not recorded. I struggle with the idea of being present when so much of what I do is an attempt to capture or freeze a moment in time. I guess, as with everything, it’s a matter of balance. Savor where you are, who you’re with, what you’re tasting/doing/being. Make it a part of you, but don’t linger there too long or you’ll miss what’s next.

Happy Birthday to me. And Happy Day to you. Enjoy it.

Admittedly, when we lived farther north, temperatures like these would have felt like a heat wave. But, now that we’ve been down south for a while, it’s way too cold to venture out. So, we’re camping out under the dining room table.

Between that and PBS shows, I’m running out of ideas…what do you do when it’s too nasty to venture out?

Recently I spent some time with two of my favorite little boys.

At 2 1/2, E is not about to stop what he’s doing for me. Which is challenging for me, but just as it should be.

And little A…so gentle and sweet.

I love how the photos of the two together really show how big brother is in the lead. Thanks, boys, for letting me spend the afternoon with you!

Check out the Children’s Gallery page for a couple more pictures from this shoot.

Grandparents are wonderful. My girls are getting to know theirs (all four of them) in a more intimate way than I ever knew mine, and I’m happy for that. Their love and support strengthen us and remind us where we came from and what we have to live up to.

VC enjoying her first Super Bowl with daddy.

For my workshop buddies, this was at 1600 ISO  and 1/30, which explains the grain (which I like) and blur, but it’s the best I could do without waking the baby or annoying the husband.

I love the blue light of the tv on her…

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