Today has been HARD. This week has been hard. Parenting two kids is hard. Hats off to those of you who manage more than two at once! I made the brave or crazy decision to take a colicky 9 week old and a very emotionally fragile 2 year old shopping today. It went about as well as it sounds like it should – ie not very well at all! Standing at a cash register jiggling and trying to feed a screaming (and I mean ear-splitting, earth-shattering screaming, not just a token grizzle!) baby in a front carrier, while my toddler practiced his escape artist skills by getting out of the pram and making a run for the shop door to see the truck that went past outside. We left a trail of relieved shop assistants behind us as we headed out of their stores and left their ears to recover from the noise!
In the midst of this crazy week, our biggest highlights have been getting out to enjoy the beautiful winter sunshine in our new outdoor play area. Dirt, mud, sticks, and a double-decker fort – what more could a two year old want?
Sometimes parenting is like that. Brief moments of laughter, fun and complete happiness in between the chaos and craziness. People who tell you to “enjoy every moment” because it will be over so quickly clearly have forgotten the reality of parenting! But the good moments, the ones filled with unrestrained giggles or sleepy cuddles or first smiles, those really are priceless. I love that photographs help you to focus on the happy times and to freeze those memories forever.
These photographs are the story of my mud-loving toddler in a way that I want to remember him forever. The determination on his face; the precise way he holds his twigs as he digs in the dirt; the way the tip of his tongue pokes out when he is really concentrating; the care that he takes in climbing down the steep stairs, not quite confident enough yet to step down forwards; the mud crusting his fingers; and the complete goofball in him that sometimes pops out when he catches me watching.
(Thanks to my good friend Lianna for a couple of the images in this spread – I couldn’t resist including them!)
Play sessions are the perfect way to capture the things you love most about your child. Photo shoots don’t have to be about getting kids to sit still and smile at the camera. Children aren’t made to sit still – it’s the best way to freeze up their personality! Next time you want to update some photographs of your children, think about taking them to their favourite park or playground and letting them do their thing.
To find out more about booking a photographic experience with me, jump over here.