173 - Drivers Beware!

I have many Seattle adventures in store for you. In addition to the Maltby Cafe and a playground date with Amelie, I also got to take my little brother Jacob on a looooong drive down to Renton, WA so he could take his driver's license test. And yes, he passed -- he's calling my mom to inform her of the "great" news. ;)

159 - Caption Contest

Newborns amaze me. If you're around me when I'm around a newborn, chances are I'll be doing the following three things:

1. Holding the baby (for hours, if you let me)
2. Staring at the child with my mouth half open, smiling, my eyes happily lit up
3. Saying something along the lines of, "I just can't believe it! He's such a real little person!"

I've done more than my fair share of babysitting in life (I started at age 10), yet I just don't think I'll ever get over the awe of a newborn. It really is incredible to me to witness those new little people. From their tiny little fingers and toes, to the first time you see them open their eyes, to the way they identify Mom so easily, to how they find a way communicate when they need something... it's simply breathtaking to watch the smallest people you know live their lives.

One thing I especially love are the variety of faces these little people can make. Jack made my day with some of his expressions, and I thought I'd share a few outtakes with you. (And tell me if you can't already imagine him as the "grumpy" old grampa everyone loves!)

However, I'm gonna shake things up a bit: YOU get to write the captions! Over the next week, leave your caption(s) for the photos in the comments section (at the end of this post), then I'll update this post with the ones I find most entertaining. I know, not the most amazing prize, but hey, nobody can argue about the cuteness of the subject. =)

UPDATE: The caption winners are listed below! 

"Did I look like I wanted to be woken up? No, I didn't."  (from Jacob)

"Mmm, let me give that one some thought..." (from Barb)

"Ommmm, Ommmm... I'm practicing yoga... Ommmm, Omm...zzz zzz zzz..." (from Jacob)

"How many times do I have to tell you? I'm a Michigan State fan, not a U of Michigan fan! Please don't insult me again!" (from... myself... because it's so true in this family!)

158 - Roscoe

Even though Jack is Kristin and Dave's first son.... he already has a big brother. Meet Roscoe:

While Roscoe wasn't around for too many of the photos, we did catch him a little at the beginning. He's a pretty darn protective big brother, after all, and had to make sure everything was okay with Jack. Cute family, huh?

157 - Love's Hands

Little Jack does a fantastic job of being just plain adorable all by himself. However, I think when you witness the total love and adoration that Kristin and Dave have for him, and the incredible tenderness with which they care for him, what you see crosses the line from adorable into absolutely precious. There's just nothing like being in the hands of Mom & Dad...

156 - Little Jack

Oooooh! I'm so excited to share these photos with you! 

I know I'm super behind on posting things -- I tried to take photos to Seattle with me to edit, and let's just say, I had some issues. So, no work got done in the month of August. However! I'm back now, and I'm so delighted (truly) to share these images of sweet baby Jack. 

Jack is the son (and firstborn) of my dear friend, Kristin. In her previous (maiden) life, Kristin was known as Ms. Cain and taught down the hall from me during our Teach For America years. She taught 3rd, I taught 2nd, and we shared many laughs, tears, frustrations, and joys during those first years of teaching. I'm not sure I would have survived without her! 

Needless to say, she and her husband, Dave, got married a couple years ago, and have now welcomed little Jack into the family. We'd talked about doing newborn photos in mid July, but Jack was pretty anxious to get started on life, and made his entrance about 3 weeks early. While we didn't get newborn newborn photos, he was still pretty tiny 3 weeks in (as you can see), and so adorable, incredible, and beyond wonderful. Am I gushing yet? =)

Kristin: I love you, I think! Thanks for letting me hang out with you and your boys. Congrats again, you two!

153 - Change & Giggles

Changes, changes, everywhere! It's a tough thing, change. But I'm trying out a new look here.

While I LOVE the design of my old blog template (the design at the top just made me happy looking at it), it wasn't one I was able to adjust to be wide enough for the photo width I'd like. So, I'm not crazy about any designs I've found yet... but I'm just going to be playing around with it and see if I can find something I like. 

In the meantime, I decided to keep us grounded with a little more of Miss Molly and her awesome parents, Megan & Justin. We can't have too much change going on all at once, and plus, this little girl and her smiles are sure to brighten your day. Can you hear the giggles yet? 

152 - Buddha Belly

When I first arrived at Megan & Justin's to take photos, Josiah was still down for his nap. We spent some time hanging around with Megan, Justin, and Molly... but pretty soon we decided we needed some Josiah action, too. 

Megan went and woke him up, and then a change of clothes was in order. I thought this sequence was particularly cute -- especially Josiah's buddha belly shot. Are you always this happy when you wake up? ;)

151 - Molly Grace

Little miss Molly Grace turned one just a few days ago, so I thought I'd better feature one of this wonderfully adorable little girl!

150 - I'm Back! Really! I am!

Wow... did I really just disappear for about a month and a half? Well, yes, yes I did!

I spent the month of August with my family in Seattle, and have been getting back into the swing of things in Philly over the last week. I have no excuses for being gone, other than that while my absence from here was unplanned, the time away itself was my "sabbatical" of sorts and a much, much needed time of rest. And yes, you'll be getting some Seattle photos, for sure. =)

I'm not even going to try backdating things anymore... I'm just going to post as I go and try to get back in the swing of things.


To start off, I've got a quick one of Megan, Justin, Josiah, and Molly!

This is actually one of my favorite shots of their family. Because Molly and Josiah are so close in age (about 6 months), and still both in the baby category, there's always a lot going on when. Megan and Justin do an incredible job of taking care of both of them and paying attention to both in a way I just don't think I could do! They balance and share the care of the Josiah and Molly perfectly, and I think this photo very much illustrates the crazy, wonderful, fun, fantastic love and joy they bring to their family each day.

149 - Mx2 + Jx2

Remember how I was talking about all the great newborns and families I've gotten to visit? Well, now that you've gotten a bit of a super cute newborn fix (i.e. Roman), let's go slightly older, but while still staying in the super cute baby category.

Meet Megan and Justin... and Molly and Josiah! Or, Mx2 + Jx2. =)

Megan is a sister to my dear friend, Robin, and over the past few years, I've gotten to know Megan & Justin during visits to their family's awesome property in southern New Jersey for girls' weekends, mini-retreats, weddings, and just need-to-get-away-from-the-city goodness. Their whole family is beyond hospitable, and also super talented in all things crafty and artistic. (Their parents met while working at a living history museum... I mean, how cool is that?!)

Megan and Justin have an incredible story that you can read on Megan's blog, Psalms Illustrated. After a number of very hard years trying to get their family started, they began the process of becoming foster parents (although I believe they'd already planned on doing that at some point anyway). In the midst of that, Megan became (and stayed) pregnant, and pretty soon they were blessed with their foster son, Josiah, and (6 months later) their biological daughter, Molly.  

Although Josiah is now over 16 months old, and they've had him since he left the hospital (I think 3 days old?), they may not be able to adopt him. They are the only family he's ever known, and they love him immensely, yet because of the system, may not be able to keep him. Megan's been documenting the journey with an open rawness, honesty, and humility that astounds me. Seriously, just go read her story! I'm pretty sure you won't have a dry eye at the end. I hope someday my ability to love matches her and Justin's, because any child who spends any amount of time in their home will be immensely blessed.

This has been a pretty long introduction, but I wanted to give a little backstory as to how this shoot came about. I hope and pray Josiah will find his "forever home" with Megan, Justin, and Molly, and that these photos will be ones they can cherish for a long time to come. 

Megan and Justin, thanks for letting me come hang out with you and your little ones. I had a great time!

148 - Moments with Roman

Ok, I just can't get enough of this kid. Here's the last post with little Roman, starting off with some of his infamous sleepy time... and then a wide awake shot! I love the look on his face!

Next, some loving by beautiful mom, Shin. And in case you're wondering, Shin & Matt (aka Mom & Dad) really are the fun, wonderful, happy people they look like in all these photos. Seriously, this is a great family to grow up in. Not to mention big sister, Reina, is pretty much the coolest little 3-year-old girl ever.

I absolutely love little baby fingers and hands... it's unbelievable how tiny they are!

And finally, to end, the angelic Roman! Heh, admission from the photographer: this shot was overexposed, but I loved the look/composition of it. It was one right at the end of our time, and I adjusted my settings right after it... but this was the one I liked. So, I played around a little with the editing on it... what are your thoughts? (Besides that he's adorable.)

146 - Sleepy Baby

I'm back with more of baby Roman. I couldn't leave you with just that short teaser, could I? ;-)

Besides being ridiculously cute, Roman is a champion sleeper. He definitely got an A+ on keeping those eyes closed. Matt and Shin were trying so hard to get him to wake up -- but he wasn't having any of it. Their efforts finally paid off at the end, but I have to admit, I think he's pretty darn adorable even when he's sleeping, too!

Like I said, Roman knows how sleeping's done. But here's a peek at this little guy awake. This is probably my favorite photo of him... I just love that look! It reminds me of how -- incredibly -- this really is a whole new little person, even when he's just 10 days old. Such a blessing, huh?

145 - Baby Roman

Right now I seem to be in a place in life where all of my friends are having babies. At one point, I tried to count the number of friends who have had/will have babies between March-September. Want to guess how many? I stopped counting at 18.

While Josh and I are not planning on having kids anytime soon (when we got married, I told him we were on the 5 year plan... 2 years later, we're still on the 5 year plan - 5 years from now, that is), I absolutely love loving on all my friends' babies. Because yes, I love kids... but, let's be honest, at this point, I love giving them back, too. =)

Anyway, I've got a few family and newborn sessions for you in these next few weeks, and I'm so excited to share them.

To start things off, we're going to visit little baby Roman. I know, right? Roman! You haven't even seen him yet and you know he's awesome. His parents, Matt & Shin, are absolutely wonderful, and SO MUCH FUN. Totally willing to go with anything. And they also make really adorable kids. So, without further ado, meet 10-day-old Roman!

141 - Beach Day!

Since my little brother Jacob's visiting from Seattle, we couldn't let the time pass us by without a trip to the Jersey shore. While Seattle has incredible coasts, they don't quite have beaches in the same way the East Coast does. So, bright sun, hot sand, and cool waves were a must.

Josh wasn't able to come along with us because he's busy running a summer camp for middle school kids in our neighborhood, but we managed to stay out of too much trouble. I didn't take my "real" camera along, but I did pack Josh's old point-and-shoot in, and even though it seems to be on its way out (I think it's about 8 years old), I did get some fun shots. (When I wasn't busy swimming in the ocean, that is.)

There was actually a sand sculpting contest the day we were there... there were some pretty incredible ones! I totally love the big monster fish. He's my favorite.

And last but not least, what beach day would be complete without a squinty-faced ocean photo? Ok, well, at least squinty-faced on my part, because apparently Jacob is much better at looking normal and didn't inherit that gene... 

Happy beach day! Go get some fun in the sun while you can... or come to Philly and share some with us. =)