Happy Birthday!  My son is now 8 years old and very excited about his new status.  He even says he FEELS older and truly believes his leg hair has grown in more overnight!

I can’t believe it- it flies by way too fast!

BUSINESS UPDATE:

I will be out of town through June 30.  Emails and calls will be returned beginning the first week of July.

Have a great week!

I am still working through showing you all my then and now sessions. I’m still enjoying these- I hope my readers are as well!

Here’s a little guy I met as a newborn then:

And now:

What is your child’s favorite book? Come play with Elmo

Where do you like to shop for women’s clothing (you know, the kind that neither screams teenager or “Mom”)? Cache and White House/Black Market

If I won $10,000, I would… pay some bills and take the family on a vacation!

Photographs are important to me because… they are special memories that last a lifetime.

Do you have any special plans for this summer? I hope to travel to the caribbean provided the two teenagers in our house don’t end up in summer school! (I hope they didn’t! We did these sessions late February so hopefully they got their grades together!)

The best escape from parenting is… SPA!!!

My favorite healthy snack to feed the kids is… grapes and dried cranberries

My favorite local park is… Allen Pond in Bowie.

I had the privilege of meeting up with a family I met 18 months ago when their daughter was just a newborn. It sure doesn’t seem like that long ago to me- and I suspect they can’t believe a year and a half have gone by already either!

We opted to do a session in downtown Annapolis. We didn’t quite make it to city dock, but enjoyed a nice stroll around the neighborhood…

we stopped by Maryland Avenue and did a little window shopping…

and of course, we fit in a little family time… though she also had her very own independent ideas about what that meant!

But of course, you can’t go too far if mom and dad get too close to each other. Isn’t that rule written somewhere? I swear toddlers just must get in the mix if they think mom and dad are getting a stolen moment together!

totally adorable

Congratulations on a great season!  My son’s team made it to the final Championship game in their division on Saturday.  They put up a good fight and lost with honor with a score of 5-9.  I hope they are all proud of themselves- they had a fantastic season and got along and supported one another so very well!

Here they are at their second to last playoff game, last Monday night in that horrible heat!

Here they are as they won the game!

And my guy as catcher…

Here’s a little guy who appeared in the Big Book of Babies. I believe he was around 6 weeks old at the time of his session. I recall that we did have to wait awhile as he broke out with a bad case of baby acne and we decided to wait until it subsided before doing his newborn photographs.

Here he is then:

And here he is now:

Now tell me, how much do you want to bet these lips get lots of kisses from Mom and Dad?

Here are mom’s answers to my Q&A:

What is your child’s favorite book? Please, Puppy, Please- by Spike and Tonya Lee

Where do you like to shop for women’s clothing (you know, the kind that neither screams teenager or “Mom”)? Arden B, White House/Black Market and Ann Taylor Loft.

If I won $10,000, I would… give some to my family and put the rest in the bank.

Photographs are important to me because… they memorialize important times and events in one’s life. You can never get that time back, but you can remember through pictures.
Do you have any special plans for this summer? The beach and Sesame Place

The best escape from parenting is… Reality TV, a long bath, and a glass of wine

My favorite healthy snack to feed the kids is… organic apple slices and milk

My favorite local park is… Watkins Park in Upper Malboro (connie’s note: I concur- this park is fantastic! If you haven’t been- check it out. It has a carousel, a train and Old Maryland Farm with live animals)

I met another family last week for an evening session. Evenings are my favorite time to shoot particularly during the summer months. The air is (usually) a bit cooler and the light can be so golden and delicious. Of course, on this evening, we had the clouds rolling in. In fact, it started to POUR as I drove out of the development when our session was finished! But luckily, mother nature respected us and the need for our session enough to let us finish up first!

I have to laugh as I am about to post this. I realize this is the 3rd session post in a row that features boys. I swear that do photograph girls too. But I guess it’s true- I am a testosterone magnet. I’m surrounded by Y chromosomes all day long and apparently attract other families of boys. I love it! I’m right in my element with the potty humor, body noises and general LOUDness!

Hanging out riverside…

Trying to listen to mom and not get those linen pants wet. Oh but they did get wet!

I love, love their little barefoot toes in this shot!

I think it’s officially here!

Mom and I tried to coordinate a session with her three boys last fall, but the stars just didn’t align. So, I was very happy that we finally got to meet this year!

Here are just a handful from their session…

I adore this shot! Obviously these boys adore each other and little brother was living up to his toddlerness- not wanting to sit still- in the background:

It took a bit to get this guy to not give me the cheese. Believe me, I got a lot of cheese shots as well, but I am always happy when I can trick them into giving me a more natural reaction!

So sweet…

A little bubble fun!

The four year old- I just adore that age!

Nothing like some popsicles for the perfect end to the day!

Once again, resuming my then and nows. Though I have tried to do them on Fridays, I figure that since I skipped last week, I can overachieve this week! Does it work that way?

Let’s revisit muscle man. He’s been on the blog a few times and is best known for his enthusiastic muscle pose. Here’s the link showing him on the back cover of the Big Book of Babies.

Well, his mom and dad brought him back for my then and now mini sessions and I am so glad that they did! He stole my heart all over again.

Here is he then:

And here he is now, when we asked him to show us his muscles:

I think maybe he forgot how. But he still looked sweet doing it!

And a few more favorites of Baltimore’s littlest body builder:

Don’t these eyes just melt you?

Of course mom played along with the question and answers!

What is your favorite weekend activity to do with the family? Alternatively, where do you like to take the kids to burn (their) energy? Of course, the playground (the one with the “big slide”!)

The most requested toy in our house right now is… my husband for TACKLES

One thing I hope to never forget… the muscle man pose you captured perfectly (awww… thanks! It should help since it’s now in print!)

If there were 25 hours in the day, I would spend the extra hour… with the spring/summer upon us, gardening with my son (and a few hours on my own!)

Which do you prefer, black and white or color (photographs of course!)? both!

The most important thing a parent can do for a child is…let them have fun and independence.

How do you pass the time on long trips? movies

What I am looking forward to most in 2008 is… Meeting L’s baby brother or sister

Do you have a local business or charity you’d like to share? My father is the CEO of the nonprofit organization called The Board of Childcare.

Taken from their website: The Board of Child Care’s mission as an outreach ministry of The United Methodist Church is to serve children and families who require physical, emotional, behavioral, and social support. Through residential and community-based services, the agency will endeavor to provide a safe, healthy, and caring environment that seeks to preserve children and families by fostering self-esteem, respect for community, sense of purpose, and life skills needed to achieve their highest potential.