Yesterday was the first day of Autumn, and today we went to the farm to get our pumpkins.  Can you tell we are ready?  One of my most favorite things about living in DC is that we get 4 well defined seasons.  A long Autumn with marvelous colors, a cold winter with some pretty snow, a blooming Spring, and a hot muggy summer.  Who could ask for anything more?!

Over dinner tonight, I told my husband how much I enjoy newborn photo shoots.  Love is never as palpable as it is when a baby is born.  The unconditional love for the child is so strong and real, and the parents’ bond is stronger than ever.  A family’s love just overflows when a baby is born.

And this new family of 3 is no different.  The love and joy in this home was special this morning.  Despite the sleepless nights, the hours rocking, and the endless feeding, these new parents are over the moon in love with their son.

So, welcome, little guy!  Your parents love you very much.

Meet Cary.

And meet Joey.

Together, they are up to something big.  Something new and fresh.  A movement for people to create more space in their lives.

Raise your hand if you need some more space in your life.

Me!

Stay tuned on how you, too, can join the SPACIOUS movement.

My favorite thing to do is capture life as it unfolds.  Pictures of my girls eating, playing, sleeping, and waking up.  This is life here, today, in our home.  And, I love that it’s in her precious crib that she will grow out of all too soon.

We started this morning’s photo session with some great family shots.  Everyone up early, dressed nicely, and smiling for the camera.  The boys even thanked me for taking their pictures.  How polite is that?

But as the morning went on, I learned this family had more than just some smiling faces, they had PERSONALITY.  Family nicknames, jokes, tomahawks, cowboy hats, and a lot of fun love for each other.  What a hoot!  Here’s a peek at your session’s images.  They look fantastic!

Watch out world! This little girl isn’t so little anymore, and she’s as confident as can be.  Afterall, she is a dragonfly this year.  That means she’s in Pre-K and rules the preschool!

P.S.  Yes, it stopped raining just for 5 minutes for us to take some outside pictures.  Then it returned to raining.

P.P.S.  I really wish we could share all this rain with Texas.

P.P.S.S.  When I asked Eloise to take a picture, she asked me “how should I pose?”  I said, “However you want.”  And I got a sassy hand on the hip!  Watch out world!

You’ve seen this little guy before.  About 3 months ago, I met him at the hospital and then again at home.  And in such a short time, he has GROWN.  What a handsome little guy!  It was a real pleasure to meet up with him and his parents again today at the National Arboretum, one of their favorite spots in town.  See you in 3 months, guys.  I’m looking forward to it already!

Meet the twins.

They go crazy when their mommy sings her made up Cheerio song.

They just turned 1!  They are SO BIG now.

Sitting and crawling and swinging and chewing and standing.

And before they know it, they’re also going to be BIG BROTHERS . . . to a sweet little girl.

And they’re going to have even more to smile about.

A very triply blessed family.  Congratulations, friends!

Friday is our family day because it’s one of my husband’s days off.  We like to get out and about with in the city or the country on Friday mornings.  Today we decided to visit the new Martin Luther King, Jr memorial, and it was stunning!  A wonderful tribute to an amazing man.  What an inspiring morning.

From there we walked to the Lincoln and the surrounding memorials.  It’s one of our favorite spots — it’s inspiring, it’s deep, it’s alive, it’s beautiful.  The girls enjoyed walking up and down the steps.  My husband enjoyed some quality time with his girls after a long week at work, and I loved people watching.  Here’s our little girl after climbing to the top of the Lincoln.  Look how proud she is!

A few weeks ago, my beautifully talented friend Emily of Willa J. Photography took our family’s pictures.  And, I treasure them!  Upon receiving my disc in the mail, I quickly popped it in the computer to look through them all.  Then I showed them all to my girls.  Then, I showed them all to my husband.  And we went through them again and again.

It would have been easy to stop there.  Life gets busy, earthquakes hit, hurricanes come stormin’.  It’s tough getting those images printed.  But I did it quickly because I knew that putting off the project would would make it more and more difficult to complete.  So, after a few days of letting the images soak in, I picked some favorites.  I made a book and printed a variety of photos in different sizes at mpix.com.  I love books because we can keep it on the bookshelf, the coffee table, and look through them from time to time.  The prints go right up on the wall for us to enjoy.  (Note: Your children love seeing photos of themselves!  Hang those bad boys up…it makes your kiddos proud.)

I dragged the girls to IKEA–I love their inexpensive frames and accessories and their sweet rolls at the check-out line.  Hello, bribe!  I wanted to hang the photos in my hallway where I already had a couple of others hanging.  I measured, but not too carefully, and started pounding the nails.

Here’s the outcome.  My family, taken by Emily of Willa J. Photography.

And here are some pictures of my new hallway.  I love it.

When you get your images, print them.  Hang them.  Enjoy them!  Don’t let them stay on a disc or online.  Get them in your hands, then up on your walls.

One more note, we did this photo session for our 6th wedding anniversary because it had been 6 years since we had our pictures taken together.  I’m so glad that we got some of just the 2 of us.  When your thinking of getting images of your children, don’t forget yourself too.  Your worth it, and your children will thank you!