A little R&R and a little baby boy...

I remember spring break being really exciting when I was in school. I don't think I would have believed you had you told me how exciting it would be NOW. Spring break in 2011 means that my (teacher) husband is off for a whole week, which if you have children you realize is amazing. Two parents against one baby... nice.

I'm off for the next week, so any phone calls or e-mails will be returned starting on Monday, April 25. I may pop and blog a little... there's just no telling what this week will hold. : )

In the meantime, I'll leave you with a quick peek at this sweet little bundle of goodness. Can't wait to share the rest of his session after my break!

On Monsters and Superheros

So I've been doing a little thinking these days. And that is really dangerous, because I haven't been doing much sleeping these days, and thinking without sleeping can go very, very wrong. As can blogging. Which is where tonight's disaster begins...

No seriously I am kind of on the tired side, but I don't think this will be a disaster. These past two weeks I've been swamped and working late every night to finish a giant project and wrap up editing a wedding, but for now, I just want to show you this picture.



And I want to show you these pictures.



And I want to tell you that I don't feel guilty about posting more pictures of my boys. And that I want to kiss Brody's little belly in that first one.

For a little while there, I was feeling bad. See, the thing is, I'm a photographer and I work at nighttime. Much like a superhero, you might be thinking, and you would be correct. But right now I feel like the superhero whose powers are weakened and whose spandex is too tight. The problem is that a year ago, I could easily work from 8pm till 2am, and now most nights I find myself falling asleep at the computer at 10:30. And the other problem is that even if I could stay up past 10:30, I don't have too many sessions to edit these days. And the third problem is that I used to look cute in spandex.

But then I remember why. It's because I am a full-time mom by day, and the Monster I spend time chasing doesn't really care what my spandex looks like- he still thinks I'm really awesome. And it's because I only have a few years to be a daytime superhero and I have lots of years to be a nighttime superhero. And it's because I just (yep, still saying "just") had a baby and spandex doesn't lie.

Now of course some of you reading are friends and family that love to see pictures of my Little Monster. And some of you are clients and peers who enjoy it from time to time. And maybe some of you hate it, in which case I would advise that you find a different blog to bookmark, cause this Monster is pretty popular here. : )

The point here is (remember, I'm tired and rambly) that THIS IS STILL MY WORK. I'm not turning into a mommy blog, and I'm still gearing up for a summer full of clients. But I was reminded by another photographer today that the pictures I take of my own family and friends are not any less important than those I take for others. They are not any less an example of my photography. They are not any less an exercise in creativity or a source of inspiration in this season of my business. In fact, they help me to get even closer to being the photographer I want to be. They teach me to be more intentional in each and every session. They remind me why I started photography in the first place.

So forgive me if you see a lot of Monster pictures these days, (and feel free to send him a little thank-you note after you realize your next portrait session with me is your best one ever). And forgive me if my blog posts aren't as frequent as they were last year. And forgive me if you see me in spandex because, really, it's just not time.

Teensy

I made a teensy new little friend last week. I love him and his teensy little ears and nose and toes and mouth.







This guy is super-excited about his new playmate. Actually, he hasn't the faintest idea what is going on, but fingers are tasty.



Night night.

Catching up with Little Monster

Hi there! Remember me?!



Wait, whaa...? Hello...? You don't remember? But... it's me... this is awkward



It's because my mommy stopped sharing pictures of me, isn't it... you've forgotten me... : ( WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA



Oh I get it, you REMEMBER me, you just couldn't believe how big I've gotten. Ok, tears over.



Well I begged and begged Mommy to post my pictures on the blog, and she finally caved! I think it helps that I made a cute face.



Then I begged and begged for a pony (cute faces employed again, of course), but I still haven't gotten one. WHAT. THE. HECK.



So anyway, I'm almost seven months old now, and though Mommy keeps promising to finish editing my official 6-month photo shoot, I wouldn't hold your breath. All these pictures are from around the same time in January, so it gives you a pretty good idea of how big I am.

I was pretty excited to be featured today, so I spent some time in front of the mirror getting ready. I make the awesomest faces.





I kept trying to pull the mirror over on top of my head so we had to stop. Lame. Oh but did I tell you about the snow last week? It was my first snow outing. I guess there's not too much to say about that. I can't really play yet, but I can sit and be cold. And fat.





My parents tried to do a family self-portrait, but they did a terrible job. (Don't tell Mommy I said that- she's a photographer.)



Well, it's going to be way past my bedtime by the time Mommy posts this, so I'll have to sneak onto her computer tomorrow to see all your comments. My mommy told me she tends to get the most comments when she posts pictures of me. I can't imagine why.



I'm going to ask my mommy (with my cute begging face of course) if I can be the guest blogger more often.

Night night,
Little Monster

Snow angel

If you're wondering who that perfect little nose belongs to, his name is Mason. Melissa and Justin are good friends of mine and I was so honored to meet and photograph their precious little boy at seven days old. He was an absolute angel throughout the whole shoot. Get ready to be waaayy jealous of how beautiful this family is.









Um, can we get a clean up on Aisle 5? Every time I look at this baby I turn into a big melty puddle on the floor. We're going to need a mop by the end of this post. Oh, this boy is just beautiful.





We did Mason's session in early December, and about halfway through it started snowing. It felt like magic to me. I've developed a mild obsession with B&W images lately, and the soft, snowy light coming through the nursery curtains did not help me to control it.



















See? I told you, they are seriously gorgeous. I may or may not have gone overboard with choosing my favorites. But look at that smile- JUST like his daddy!







This image gives away how behind I am on my blogging, but I love it and wanted to share anyway.



Like most newborn sessions, this was done in their home, but I was so excited to meet Mason and see my friends that I didn't really think about the travel too much. I love to travel for sessions, so sometimes I forget to be reasonable. It was one of those things like, "Yeah, Virginia and Maryland are right next to each other. Cool, no problem." Note to future self: Christiansburg, VA is not a daytrip.

Was this little snugglebug worth an 11-hour roundtrip drive on a Saturday just for his photo session? Absolutely. In the future, will I plan an overnight break for such occasions? You bet. Cause by the end I felt kinda like this:



Can't wait till my next visit when I can bring my little boy along to meet his new pal. : ) Happy weekend!

Blog maintenance

Sorry to any of you that subscribe to my blog in RSS... I may have just filled up your feed. I started doing some blog maintenance and updating tags on some of my older posts and RSS seems to see some of them as new.

Anyway, it's been a busy week. Since I haven't gotten any real posts together, here's a shot my friend Mary took of my little dude at Dylan's soccer tournament last week.



Happy Tuesday!

Why I like kids more than trees

Trees are easy to photograph.* You can count on them to keep the same pose for extended periods of time. They don't move while you change your memory card, adjust your focus, or reposition for better lighting.

Trees are also boring.

Kids are the opposite of trees and the opposite of boring. This is why I am a children's photographer and not a nature photographer. This is why I love John Dickson and Henry.



If you've followed my blog for a while, you'll remember my friends Adam and Amanda from their session this spring. Their littlest boy, Henry, was due two weeks after but born the day before mine (still not bitter). Since I was in the hospital with my newborn this summer, I couldn't photograph theirs, so I was SUPER excited to add their family to my fall schedule in Greenville, SC. We mainly focused on Henry for this session, but of course got John Dickson and family pictures as well. And I have to tell you that Henry has the greatest godparents ever- this photo session was a gift from them! Besides the fact that I was excited to be a part of it, I think that is such a sweet, sweet gift to give to the parents of a new baby. High-five to Betsy and Brandon!

Despite everything everyone tells me about the Terrible Twos, John Dickson makes me want a two-year-old. I often think Brody will be a lot like him- absolutely crazy and absolutely awesome.









And then I look at Henry, and he makes me want- well, a Henry. A sweet, laid-back, roly-poly Henry. Brody could take some notes from him. (Except maybe not the part about not sleeping at night.)









This is the "mom, why am I naked in a park?" face









I love all these facial expressions- I couldn't choose just one from this series











These kids rock my socks off and make me sad that they live 547 miles away.

*I guess I should clarify that I don't think nature photography is "easy"- it is quite beautiful and complex. I'm just really not very good at it, and certainly can't photograph a tree the way Ansel Adams could. But you know what I mean. I heart kiddos in front of my camera. I like things with eyeballs.