Photographing My Kids // End of Summer

We soaked summer up like a sponge to our sticky skin,

feeling and breathing in it’s humid air.

The days tinted with colors like creamsicle orange and lemonade pink.

And now that it’s done we welcome the crisp October,

breathing it in with the chill of its wind.

It’s been quite a while since I’ve shown photos of my own little family on this blog, so I thought I’d throw a few up for the day. These were taken a couple of weeks into August, right after Noah turned one. I was hanging out at a friends house while we were letting our kids run and play in her back yard. As I chased little feet and pushed tiny ones on swings, I peeled my eyes away from the littles for a minute and glanced toward the back of the yard to find incredible summer light flickering through the trees. I quickly talked myself into running to the car to grab my camera and took only a few moments to take these photos.

At times throughout the year, I find it very difficult to want to grab my good camera to photograph my own family. Sometimes I catch myself holding out for clean faces and perfect hair or outfits that match, waiting on the perfect light. But when I look at these photos, the kind that I took on a whim, I can’t help but smile at how imperfectly perfect they are. They capture my kids right now, and I love them.

Because I took these photos, I will remember that this was the time that Maya began to actually look at the camera when I asked her. It’s taken a looong time. I will remember that she can be such a tomboy with bruises, scrapes and cuts along her little legs. I will remember that she shot up like a weed in only the course of a few months. I will remember that she loves to gather, collect, even hoard as she holds little things in her hands. And I will remember the last of the baby-ness that still shows in her cheeks and her tiny hands, which will undoubtedly disappear in these following months.

And I will remember Noah, just after he turned one. I will remember that at 12 months, he only had four teeth, with two more on the way. I will remember how much he loves to wear his shoes, his little black hand-me-down chucks being his favorite. I will remember how he loves to look at the camera and smile every time it is turned on him. I will remember what he looked like with his little baby walk and how much he loves to run already. I will remember his birthmarks, a part of him, that will surely fade in time. I will remember his wispy blonde hair before it fills in as he grows.

It’s a lesson to me to stop, soak up my kids, and take a little extra time to capture them. We are blessed to be in an age where we have amazing technology at our fingertips. Whether it be our iPhones or our good cameras, it’s important to stop and really relish in our kids here and now and just take their photo without waiting on the perfect moment.

These are my most favorite images of the summer because I took the 3 minutes to stop, grab my camera and snap.

And this one? Oh gees, am I in trouble or what? I’m pretty sure she was just dancing around a bit and I happened to capture this pose, but good golly, it terrifies me for her teenage years!

So pick up your camera, you’ll be so glad you did!!!