My daughter Emma is probably one of my biggest fans.  She is always asking me about what I do with my clients, where I take them, and looking over my shoulder as I cull through & edit their images.  It’s just her personality.  She is always interested in what interests others.

When she turned 5, I was away in Ethiopia so I didn’t have the chance to take her out for her 5-year photos like I do every year.  Things got busy when I returned and it just slipped my mind.  So, tonight I had the opportunity to spend some Mommy-Emma time with her in Downtown Annapolis & just play “model.”  I treated her just like one of my clients, let her choose where she wanted to have her picture taken, asked her opinion on what she thought looked good, and so on.  She loved it!  My girl is getting so big!  I can’t believe she is already five & will be in kindergarten in the fall.

I love you Emma Rose!  Thanks for being Mommy’s first (& best) model!

Jenn & Wes are my husband’s cousins, so instead of calling them my cousin’s-in-law, I just refer to them as my cousins – it’s just easier that way.  AND….they are probably about as close as cousins anyway.  Jenn contacted me & told me she and her brother Wes wanted to surprise their parents with a Mother’s Day/Father’s Day gift of some new photos of the two of them.  They hadn’t had family pictures since their last vacation & decided it was time.  And it was especially important since both of these kids now live states away from their parents – the memories are so much more precious.

I’d have to say it was a challenging day.  The heat, the busy downtown area, and the fact that I didn’t want it to look like Wes & Jenn were a couple.  Um, no, they are brother & sister, not a couple…ewww, gross!  They were so patient with me moving them and changing my mind over and over again.  I think we got some pretty good shots & from what I’ve heard, their parents are thrilled!  Here’s Wes & Jenn….

Just had to share this last one of Jenn & her boyfriend!  Thanks for tagging along, Grant!

This has to be a quick post because….drum roll…Josh & I get a date tonight!  AHHHH!  So exciting!  And I have to get the girls ready and out the door in 30 minutes.

Anyways…this photo is from our lunch trip to McDonald’s in Arnold today.  They apparently give out kiddie cones for free which I think is pretty nice of them.  I’m glad they had them too because it was what I used as leverage to get Brooke to stop talking & eat!  As you can see, my girls LOVE ice cream!  (I think they get that from me)  Thanks McDonald’s!

(PS – we are going to see AVATAR in a 3D XD theater at Arundel Mills – Josh says its the BEST one to see it in, besides IMAX.  I’ll let you know what we think)

Images I looked at:  Honestly, I’ve only looked at my own!  I’m editing about 200+ little kids head shots for a special surprise project that I can’t talk about & I’m awful at keeping secrets & I really just need to blab to someone, but I can’t!  So, hopefully once the project is unveiled, I can share with y’all!  (shhh…but maybe if you ask me personally I can tell you, or not)  Anyway, looking at my own images (sounds conceited,right?) makes me realize that I love shooting children & I think I have almost cemented in my mind that a “Portrait” photographer is what I want to be right now.  Weddings are great, & lovely, & wonderful…but maybe just not for me currently.  Doesn’t mean I won’t shoot them, but I am not going to label myself as that.  I can’t be an everything photographer.  I want to be a one thing photographer, and be really good at it.  There, I said it, so now it’s final!

See y’all later!