I always recommend photographing newborns in their first two weeks of life, but each time I get a little one who is closer to a week old, I realize just how much more ideal that age is. Even days later, newborns are so much more alert.

This little guy had a sip of milk then fell into a deep sleep. I see a LOT of newborns, and I have never seen one fall asleep so fast and so hard. Of course, this was right after he relieved himself all over Dad- but Dad was a great sport and even said it was “cool”! So once he was asleep, we reattempted to get some shots with Dad. I think both Mom and Dad will be pleased!

And from before he fell asleep… Love the open eye newborn shots as well!

Isn’t he just so sweet?

Anyone with little boys can completely appreciate, I am sure, this brand of brotherly love. Sometimes these outtakes end up on the cutting room floor, but not when the victim recipient of love has such fun expressions- as opposed to looks of horror or pain. I am going to make a guess that she can probably dish it out as well as she can take it! I just love these- pure joy!

I got quite a few really nice, sweet shots of brother and sister together, but I’m saving those for mom and dad in their gallery.

Here are a few of the kids’ individual shots. Big sister wasn’t so amused that we went to the “park” and yet there was not a swing or slide in sight! But they did a fantastic job for me!

It was wonderful to finally meet you!

A little bit shy, I recall her not knowing quite what to make of me at our session.  We got a few shots of her in her christening gown as well as some more candid shots in her room.  I absolutely loved her bright orange walls in her bedroom (my favorite color!).  And I completely adored her hair.  So I wasn’t surprised when the publisher chose two of her images for publication.

Here they are as seen in The Big Book of Babies

And here she is now- about to become a big sister!

Mom shared her answers to our questions as well…

What is your child’s favorite book?  She doesn’t really have a favorite!  She likes Winnie the Pooh, Stone Soup, 3 Little Pigs and The Gingerbread Man.

Where do you like to shop for women’s clothing (you know, the kind that neither screams teenager or “Mom”)?  For work, Ann Taylor and Talbots are favorites.  For casual, I love Eddie Bauer, Land’s End and LL Bean.

If I won $10,000, I would…  wish away with my husband to Ireland, New Zealand, or just charter a sailboat with the kids for a month!

Photographs are important to me because… they document the snapshots of our everchanging lives, allow us to see where we have been and the journey to where we are… and to not forget everything along the way!

Do you have any special plans for this summer?  We are  having our third baby! Summer will be spent getting to know her.

The best escape from parenting is… I take refuge in my weekly exercise class and chorus rehearsal.  I also love going to the salon for haircuts and the rare pedicure!

My favorite healthy snack to feed the kids is… fresh fruit, cheese sticks, or yogurt popsicles.

My favorite local park is… a small local neighborhood/county park that we ride our bikes to.  We call it the “seedpod” park, because there are lots of gum trees and we throw the seedpods into the stream.

Do you have a local business or charity you’d like to share?  A local charity we support through our church is the Laurel Advocacy Referral Service (LARS)- lots of programs to help the homeless and hungry, right in our town.

It was wonderful seeing you all again!  Best of luck with labor and delivery and welcoming the newest addition to your family!

Recently, I met two gorgeous kiddos. They ventured out in the fog that morning and we played near the cherry blossom trees. I am so happy to see spring! It’s just wonderful to be outdoors for photo sessions once again.

Recently, I also had the privilege of revisiting a family who I met when their first was born. They called me back to photograph their second daughter. It was wonderful seeing them again!

And the big sister, with the most amazing eyes and eyelashes.

I hope you are all enjoying this beautiful weather!

Another of my “regulars” was chosen for inclusion in the Big Book of Babies. I’ve been photographing him since he was an infant as well (and am looking forward to our full family session in May!) He still has those big chocolate brown eyes that draw you right in. It’s always great to see him and mom!

I still LOVE this shot- those thighs, that look and the way the light was hitting him. Here he was “then”:

And here he is “now”:

See you next month!

Some Q&A with mom:

What is your favorite children’s boutique? It’s actually a catalog… MiniBoden

The biggest mess my child ever made was… getting into a LARGE tub of Vaseline and smashing it into his hair by the handfuls! When he realized he’d been caught, he frantically started putting more in his hair as if he didn’t want the fun to end. Many shampoos later, the evidence was finally removed!

Photographs are important to me because… they remind you of the little details you think you’ll never forget, but sometimes do… those funny things the say at certain stages or little quirks that make them so unique.

One thing I hope to always remember is… how excited the boys are every day when Daddy gets home from work. The squeals of delight and the excitement in their eyes are priceless!

What is your favorite kid-friendly restaurant? Chevy’s. Good choice for kids and fun, loud atmosphere. (I am sensing a theme here!) Plus, I love margaritas! (me too!)

What is your favorite family tradition? My boys wake up on Saturday mornings and can’t wait to make “family breakfast”. It’s great because there’s no rush to get out the door and we are all relaxed and happy to be together.

Do you have a local business or charity you’d like to share? My oldest son is finishing up his second year at the South County Pre-K Coop in Davidsonville. It is an absolutely wonderful preschool environment where the children learn through active play. The coop environment allows for lots of parent participation in the classroom and in decisions that affect the school. A great first school experience!

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On a separate admin note, that subscribe link to the left- see it over there? Well, I didn’t realize until recently, but it was not working properly. If you tried signing up for an email subscription, you will need to do it again as you’ve probably figured out by now that you aren’t getting them!

It’s all fixed so go ahead, sign up. Everytime I post to the blog, you’ll get it in your inbox the following morning! Pretty nifty!!

If you are wanting a session, please be aware that the schedule is filling up quickly.

The next four weeks are completely booked.

I can accommodate just two more sessions for the month of May.

Where does the time go?

I mentioned to a few of my new moms that my younger sister was expecting a baby in March. Well, she arrived on March 20 and is just beautiful! She did initially have a few problems which landed her in the NICU for a stay at Rainbow’s Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, but fortunately she was given a clean bill of health and is home with mom, dad and big sister now!

Here she is!

long eyelashes…

my sister wanted me to capture her flat tushie- which I am sure is filling out by now!

I have had the privilege of photographing this little girl since she was just 6 months old. Not only did I see her then, but I saw her again on her first birthday, her second birthday and incidentally, the mini sessions were timed perfectly to coincide with her 3rd birthday. Not only is she a sweetheart, but I love watching her parents with her. They really adore her and everything she does.

These images were taken around her first birthday. She’s a spring baby so finally the front door could be open with the storm door on. She loves it outside so she crawled right over and was smashing her face against the window. Dad was cracking up so I went outside and grabbed a little series of shots just for fun. Of course, we all agree that I got a lot “better” ones at that session, but the publishers chose to include these in the Big Book of Babies and I admit, they bring a smile to my face every time I look at them. How could they not?

And here she is now:

and just because you have to see how blue her eyes are- they have been this way ever since have known her (I think I could pick her out of a crowd if you just showed me a sea of eyeballs… now there’s a strange thought!)

Mom played along with my questions and answers as well…

What is your child’s favorite book? She loves books and has many favorites. Some include: “The Very Busy Spider”, “The Little Mouse, the Red Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear”, “Goodnight Moon”, “Lilly’s Chocolate Heart”, “Olivia”, and “Catch the Ball”.

Where do you like to shop for women’s clothing (You know, the kind that neither screams teenager or “Mom”)? It seems like it has been awhile since I shopped for myself but I love Ann Taylor Loft (editor’s note: my personal favorite too!!), Banana Republic and anything Ralph Lauren or Tommy Hilfiger.

If I won $10,000 (and didn’t have to give half of it to the IRS), I would… put it in the bank. I know that sounds a little boring but our goal is to one day build a vacation home on our lake front property in the Finger Lakes.

The best escape for a break from parenting is… going to work each morning while (she) stays home with her daddy. It may not be the best escap, but it’s the only one I get. My “happy hour” is when she is taking a nap from 3:00-4:30.

My favorite healthy snacks for kids are… any that contain protein and fat (like cheese, peanut butter, nuts…)

Do you have any special plans for this summer? A few long weekends in the Finger Lakes and our usual trip to Topsail Island in September. (Sounds wonderful! It’s well-deserved and I hope you enjoy it!)

I always talk about how lucky I am to get to see families time and again and this is no exception. This family was stationed at the Naval Academy and have since moved on to San Diego. However, they came back and called me up to do their daughter’s one year pictures. Mom is just the most laid back person you could imagine. After traveling all day, and I mean ALL DAY, the day prior and being stuck in Chicago’s O’Hare Airport for 6+ hours with an almost 1yo, she still gave the green light to go ahead with our session.

The session took place at her godmother’s house on Porter road- what an amazing space- she has her own nursery here in Annapolis! A little out of sorts from the long travel day, it took a bit of work to get her to be her normal bubbly self. But I think her family will enjoy the pouts, the smiles, and everything in between!

Here she is as a newborn.  I think she still looks a lot like she did then, but bigger and even prettier!

In the coming months, I am going to be featuring one child every Friday from the Big Book of Babies. I met up with several of them again to see how they have grown and changed. It was such fun to see them all again (as toddlers and preschoolers!)

To make it more interesting, I asked each parent to answer some questions for me which I hope will be of interest to those reading the blog and perhaps even give local Annapolis people some ideas of places to go, things to do and opportunites that await. The question and answers will be featured along with the children each week.

For this week, I am presenting one of the three sets of twins who were in the book. I have photographed the boys on 3 separate occasions now and they were such fun at the age of 3! I enjoyed their personalities and I would say they were the easiest they had ever been to photograph this time.

Here the boys are as featured in the book.

And here are the boys now!

I asked mom:

The biggest mess my child ever made was… When the twins were about 18 months old, I suddenly couldn’t find either of them. I eventually found them in our main powder room. Yes, they had toilet papered the entire room- both of them. I can’t say that I ever got mad; I was so amused that I immediately got out my camera to record the event.

What is your favorite children’s boutique? Mail order from Hanna Anderson

What is your favorite family tradition? The children would say that their favorite tradition is pancakes every Saturday morning! I like that too, but my favorite tradition is when the whole family trims the Christmas tree each December.

What is your favorite child-friendly restaurant? Chevy’s restaurant. It is quick and LOUD- always a good thing when you have three children!

One thing I hope to always remember… is the way my young children look so angelic while sleeping (editor’s note- me too! They are deceptive little sleepers, aren’t they?!)

Where do you go when you want to be pampered? A spa! Either out of town on a girl’s retreat weekend or at home.

Photographs are important to me because… Children grow so quickly. You think that you’ll never forget how they looked as a baby, or a two year old, or as a four year old… but as they grow up, there are so many things that I could forget unless I have it recorded.