After a long day of flights (and flight delays!) yesterday, I am finally back in the office today. I’m sorting through emails, orders, and the backlog of to-dos as I write this so if you’ve sent me a message or are waiting on something from me, please be patient. All messages will be returned today and orders will be packaged up and sent out over the next couple of days.  I hope everyone had a wonderful week!

And because a picture says a thousand words…

The gorgeous Piton mountains of St. Lucia. We had a wonderful (kid-free!) vacation full of beautiful beaches, amazing views, and incredible natural wonders. I couldn’t have asked for more.

From my family to yours…

Just a reminder to all of those interested in scheduling sessions…  with April showers comes the start of my busy season. What little remains of March is mostly booked up except for a few weekday openings. April weekends are almost completely booked up, although I do still have good availbility for weekday sessions and particularly newborns due in April. May and June are now starting to book as well.

All of this is simply to say that if you are looking to do a session in the near future, and particularly if you are trying to hit a specific milestone, please contact me as soon as possible for availability and to secure your date.

And on a more fun note, a quick picture from my recent camping expedition with my husband and sons:

Camping overnight with an almost-3-year-old and a 4-year-old is, well, interesting. But we survived. Bug bites and all

Four years ago Kevin and I walked into the hospital at 6:00 on a Tuesday morning in late November to get my water broken. We were nervous. Excited. Not sure what to expect. I was already pretty far progressed so my doctor thought my labor would come on pretty fast. My baby had other ideas. I can’t complain though. It was a pretty easy 11 hours of labor. And then with one final push the doctor pulled my baby out into the world, held my baby up and announced, “It’s a boy!”

I’m not going to lie to you. My baby was a red squalling ball of icky gooey-ness. But it was still love at first sight. And when we were released from the hospital Thanksgiving morning, I was indeed very thankful.

We’ve been through a lot together, he and I. Colic. Chronic ear infections. Tubes. Sleepless nights. The trials and tribulations of breastfeeding. And I wouldn’t change a moment of it. He can drive me crazy one moment and then melt my heart the next. He’s my whiner. And my cuddler. My people pleaser. And my daredevil. His smile can light up a room and his giggles are contagious.

I can hardly believe that he’s four already. I look at this image and I feel like I can already see the man that he’ll someday become. And I’m not ready for that yet. So please my sweet boy, just stay little for a little while longer. For mommy. Okay, buddy?

I love you Dylan.

Are you ready? Because this “secret” is hardly a secret to anyone who has had a child/family photo session. Or to any photographer.

The secret is that they almost never go as quickly or as smoothly as you hope they will. Almost every session there’s a snag. Maybe the kids are fussy or tired. Maybe they’re being silly. Maybe they’re just a little rambunctious and excited. No matter what the reason, the end result is that they’re typically not doing what you want them to – sitting still and smiling at the camera!

As the session progresses, and despite my reassurances, I can see Mom and Dad getting a little frazzled. A little frustrated. And inevitably someone says, “You must have the patience of a saint.”

So I’ll let you in on another secret:

I do.

With other people’s kids.  You see, I can completely empathize with Mom and Dad. Because I have two uncooperative children of my own. And I assure you, when you think that your children must be the most difficult kids I’ve ever photographed, I can honestly tell you that they’re not.  Because mine already have that title sewn up and in the bag.

Every year I’m painfully reminded of just how hard it is to be the parent and try to bribe, cajole, trick and threaten your child into compliance when I attempt our own holiday photos. And every year I end up frazzled, frustrated, exhausted, dejected, discouraged and ready to sell my children to the first band of traveling gypsies that happen to cross our path.

I’m kidding about that last part of course.

I wouldn’t do that to the gypsies.

We’re making attempt number three at our family photo session tomorrow if the weather cooperates. Yes, I said THREE attempts to get holiday pictures of our family. To explain why three sessions are necessary, I’ll simply offer up to you Exhibit A from Attempt #2 :

Yup, that would make my husband and I the only ones looking at the camera. Dylan is apparently quite taken with the grass. And Logan is fussing and mashing his head into my face. Fun times.

But you know what? It’s my family. And it’s pretty true to life. And it makes me smile. So maybe it’s not a complete failure…

My guys, ready for the big night last night! Dylan was sooooo excited to finally wear his dragon costume after days of asking me if it was time yet. Logan on the other hand quickly acquired the title of The Cranky Cowboy.

I’m greatly looking forward to taking one little dragon and one little cowboy out trick-or-treating tonight. I hope everyone out there has a FUN, SAFE and very SPOOKY Halloween as well!

(And yes, sadly, these are the only Halloween-ish photos I have to share at the moment. We’re carving our big pumpkin this afternoon and I’ll photograph the boys in their costumes before we head out tonight.  In the meantime, these were the PERFECT little Halloween art project for the boys. They loved it and there was virtually NO MESS! Gotta love that. We had three of these little pie pumpkins and no real plans for them – until I got this idea from Logan’s preschool. I immediately ran to Michael’s and picked up buckets of cute foam stickers. The Halloween stickers were pretty much sold out already, so ours mostly have a fall theme.)

just because I love my boys – all three of them.

My son and his pink beetle powerwheel. ‘Nuff said!

My sweet, stubborn, wild and wonderful boy is two today and growing up much too quickly.  I can see the babyness fading from his features right before my eyes and it makes me so sad.

He is my “mini-mack.” He approaches life with all of the enthusiasm and subtlety of a mack truck. Fear? Not this boy (unless you happen to be a bug, lizard, frog or itty bitty turtle).

He approaches everything with a fierceness that’s hard to describe. A hug from Logan can take your breath away. While Dylan will happily cuddle for hours, Logan is more of the hit-and-run type. Not content to sit on my lap for any length of time, he wants to get his hug or kiss and then get on with it.

His laugh is loud and joyful. And his temper is Irish all the way. He has no patience for TV, but loves books and will pester you to read to him for hours. His vocabularly is growing by leaps and bounds and even developing into full sentences, but he gets sooo frustrated if you don’t understand what he’s saying.

He loves animals. Especially ducks, alligators and owls. And he loooves his chenille baby blanket. He commands you to say prayers with him before he’ll go to sleep at night. And he wants to do everything big brother does (much to big brother’s consternation.)

He demands that you put down his window the minute you get in the car (ironically by yelling, “up! up!”)

He’s my good eater, but demands “chocolate” (milk) and “ap-pel joo” from the moment he wakes up until the moment he goes to bed. He calls all dogs “Nola.” He can smell candy a mile away.

He loves to sing at the top of his lungs.

He refuses to hold my hand when we’re walking.

He hates getting his picture taken.

Happy second birthday my wild thing! I love you.