Love this face

Childhood and the end of summer.  They seem to grow up over the summer don't they?  I can see the story of many little girls in this capture of Ella, including that of my three sister's and mine.  A summer of mud pies, fireflies, bike riding, running back and forth between friends' houses barefooted, collecting new pets, new bruises and bumps, new freckles and a little more independence.

Growing up

Thinking a lot this week about what it means to be a parent.  Mom and Dad comes easily but parent as in "to parent" is quite the job, isn't it?  

Moving through a phase recently that is teaching me about myself as a mom, my boys, the world inside our home and outside and how to make them work together.  They start out little like this little hand, but even when they grow taller than you as one of mine has done, they need you even more.  This transition into young adulthood is probably the most challenging thing I have faced as a parent. 

Making Choices:  choosing to listen,  choosing to connect, choosing to make a stand, choosing not to conform, choosing us, choosing them.  Choosing time.  Choosing to play, think, wait, talk, hug. 

So much more concerned with what is seen through their eyes than what everyone else sees or believes.  What they feel now and remember could never become less important than what other folks think. 

I will be concerned with real life. Real life. These will be the years he remembers the most.

Fourteen. Really?

This is my typical teenager response when I get my camera out and in Drew's face.

So happy this past week when he gifted me with some genuine smiles and smirks. LOVE this kid young man.

After Basketball

Pics of all of my guys in the same day - right in the door after Drew's basketball game last weekend. I gotta grab them while I can. Roman ended up with a special treat for hopping on the table and giving me this great smile. He gave me 5 seconds of his time and and I couldn't have asked for more than this face. The way to this child's heart is through his stomach - no doubt.

McCoy checking out the snow.

Drew's game face and Mac and Da Da.

My lovely. So big.

Evans Family

I love the feel of this family. Getting ready to leave their old house and move on to a new one, we had time to spend an afternoon preserving some memories. Three beautiful children and lots of love.

Macker Bean

or.......Beanie, or Mackerdoo, or Beanie Baby, Baby Mack, and so on. You know when we love them this much, they have a ton of nicknames.

This is McCoy last month when he was 9 months old.

I think my sisters will agree that this one on the bottom right looks a lot like me when I was a baby.

Cam

10 weeks early, Cameron had kept his mom and dad waiting to bring him home, which they finally did. We rescheduled a few times due to the continually changing of his dismissal date from NICU, but we finally got to meet up recently.

Tiny little boy. It never matters how small they are. Their physical size never seems to affect their personality and willfullness.

I'm sending your CDs out to you today Michelle. Enjoy!

I'll be posting more this week trying to catch up. I've met a couple of beautiful seniors and lots of babies and their families. I have 7 more sessions within the next two weeks, which for me is a lot. Two more newborns, two families, a three year old, a one year old, and a 6 month old baby girl. Deep breathe - as my mother in law would say.

Recently

A few of the sessions from the June & July ; not much time for blogging, so I'll try to share here and there in groups when I get the chance.

Some beautiful families enjoying the summer and each other.


Ella

Kaden & Audrey

Sage & Truman

The White Family

Claire with Mommy & Daddy

Big and Little

My oldest Drew with my youngest McCoy. It took about 8 months to get a real image of the two of them together. Lots of reasons like "the cobber's children have no shoes", not a lot of light in a photographer's house (that just isn't right), a 13 year olds unwillingness to cooperate.

Mostly the first and the last.

These two are my look-a-likes. Roman is his dad's clone, while Drew and McCoy have a lot of my family in them. One with super straight hair, one with super wavy - but both with those big watery eyes that kindly smile at you when you need it. They are mostly calm, patient, independent personalities, but like Roman, need lots of hugs and connecting.

There is no name calling, condescending, teasing, or hurting allowed in this house. I've nipped it in the bud from day one when anything would ever start. When these three boys are three men, I want them to know that besides their parents, there are always two others that will have their backs. They are close and I want them to stay that way.

This looks like a good start to me for these two.

LOVE

LOVE-LOVE-LOVE-LOVE-LOVE-LOVE-LOVE-LOVE-LOVE-LOVE-LOVE-LOVE.............and so on.

My (Our) McCoy is 6 months old. Oh and how he has changed just over the last two months. The shape of his face, his beautiful wavy hair all thicker up on top like a baby pompadour starting to come in. Those eyes - huge and curled at the ends just like his smile. He always has a smile. A coy smile usually, when he looks away and then right back at you. Melts your heart.

He can be almost completely asleep and then sees one of us and will give a great smile. It's like he can't help it. He loves us and knows how much we love him and we make each other happy. It's contagious.

He has been a super easy, happy baby, and still is pretty much but is more demanding of our attention now. He wants love and to play and hugs and kisses and if you leave, you will hear his disappointment loud and clear.

He has two bottom teeth already with more coming in, weighs almost 20 lbs., burps loudly, slaps his legs on the floor when he is excited or mad, is a really good hair puller, almost always calms down when we sing "the itsy bitsy spider" (I think this is mainly because I was so exhausted and overwhelmed with life and moving when he was born that I was too tired to think of anything else and didn't change it up much) loves pureed carrots, knows when it is dinnertime, has only peed on us twice, is super impressed and curious about his big brothers, has a smaller version of the same birthmark on his tush as does Roman, talks himself to sleep, and is super delicious right out of the bathtub, and so on.

I find it so fascinating that we all have the same feelings of our children and what we would do for them and what they mean to us. We all feel this strongly about our own; it's really important to me to tell my boys that they are special. Everyday. "You are special. You, I love."
They are so special. All of them. Each of them to each of us. I get to spend time with so many families and I often think about that while I am there. These are their special children. This child is to them as my children are to me. I love to be able to give images of real interraction and those little moments that show this.

I have a lot more of him to share, but can't get my own personal editing accomplished. This one here though really tugs on me. When I look at this one I get a feeling of who he might become.
It makes me think of him as an old soul, or back to another time. I guess that's one of the reasons we love black and white so much. It takes it down to the basics of emotion, simplicity of tones and shadows, composition, etc. to tell the story. I feel that there is a story behind that image of my boy. I think of his life ahead when we will one day look back. When I look at it now, I wonder. When I will look at it then, I will know. I will know him.

I so love my baby Mack.

McCoy