Tonight, our children are zonked out in their beds and we are feeling sore muscles from bouncing so much!  This afternoon we had Emma’s 5th birthday celebration at Pump It Up! in Glen Burnie.  Ever since Emma’s cousin, Mackinzie, had her birthday at a similar place, she’s been begging for one.   She’s especially been wanting to sit in the blow-up throne you see her on the photo above.  It was all she wanted.

Now normally I wouldn’t splurge for such an extravagant birthday, but a few things came to factor in this decision:

1.  It’s her 5th birthday!  That’s a BIG deal!

2.  Our house is getting too small to accommodate both our families, her little friends, and their parents & siblings.

3.  I am going to be in Ethiopia in her actual birthday, so I felt guilty!

4.  I didn’t have to set up or clean up!

So, there you have it.  We had 15 of her little friends, all of our cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, great grandparents, friends, etc. down for her party & I didn’t have to pick up a thing afterward!  Ahhhh!

And to my big birthday girl:  I love you!  You were such a great girl today.  You played so well with all your friends & your sister.  You shared your throne so well with everyone, and we are so proud to have you as our daughter!

Well, I’ve been a busy little bee lately.  And very happy about it, too!  A smile always comes to my face when I get an e-mail from Kelly about taking Clara’s next set of photos.  I just love love love seeing her grow & change each time I visit…and she’s not even mine!  This is why I love my job:  I get to meet new people, invest in their lives, capture meaningful moments for them, & in the end, come out with friends!

You might remember Clara from her Halloween/6-month photos.  Well, she’s gotten even bigger & cuter!  It’s almost Christmas & Clara is as well dressed as ever, plus she is crawling, babbling, saying “uh-oh”, and she smiles at me! (a little)  Besides Clara’s uber cute & stylish outfits, what I really enjoyed this visit was a book she had.  It’s “T’was the Night Before Christmas” and upon turning each page Clara is read the story by her grandpa on a recording!  How cool is that?  So whenever she wants to hear his voice she just opens this book & he’s there, reading to her!  I want one for my girls when I’m away this coming March in Ethiopia.

Thank you again, Kelly, for inviting me in to your home.  And it was good to see you again “Grammy” and wonderful to meet Clara’s daddy too.  The smiles she gave when you came ’round were priceless!  Enjoy Clara’s first Christmas…

If you are a faithful blog follower (or stalker, for those of you who follow & don’t comment), you may remember Clara’s newborn & 3-month shots.  Well, here are her 6-month photos!  Can you believe how quickly she’s grown?  I can’t & she’s not even my little girl!

Clara’s mom got this super sweet Candy Corn outfit from Etsy & it fits Clara perfectly…from the little ruffle on her butt all the way down to her candy corn tights & headband!  (If you have never looked at Etsy before I urge you to do so, but with great caution – it’s addicting!)

She was an absolute gem & gave us many smiles.  I think Clara’s favorite outfit was her cloth diaper.  As soon as she got down to that she just sang & talked & growled to her heart’s content!

Thank you again Clara, Kelly & Grammy (and Zelda the cat) for letting me into your home to photograph such a sweet, darling little girl.  I always look forward to it!

Clara’s Halloween costume!

Stay with me on this one….

My husband’s cousin’s husband (or my “cousin” as I find easier to say) sent me an e-mail a bit ago asking me if I’d be willing to photograph his church’s worship band.  See, they are having a big worship event at their church in a few months that they want to invite local youth groups to & wanted to get some promotional materials out to advertise it.  Of course!  Yeah!  Like did you even have to ask???  I said yes and headed up to Faith Baptist Church on Thursday to photograph this diverse group of talented musicians.

It was probably my quickest photo session ever, but I am pleased with what we got.  Think album cover….

They got some good air!

Running…those lead singers always have to be first

This may have been a bit awkward for all involved

One with my “Lindsey” PS Action effect

My fave

The GQ model squat

Let me know if you’d be interested in attending Faith’s youth worship service.  Or you can contact my “cousin” Tim Byer directly.  I’m sure it’s gonna rock!