I hope you are enjoying your summer with your kiddos! We have had a fun and nutty summer! Like a lot of you crazy busy parents, we had a baseball tournament this past weekend. Fortunately for me, it was at the beach...photo opp!!  I was determined we were not leaving the beach without taking an updated portrait of Joseph because he just turned 9 at the end of June. The deal was that if he gave me twenty minutes and decent expressions then I would boogie board with him (I DO NOT like swimming in the ocean with the jellyfish, sharks, and who knows what else). He obliged...reluctantly. I grabbed my gear, threw his freshly ironed clothes on him and thanked the good Lord above that these portraits are not scratch and sniff because...well...he is a boy...on a mini vacation from both life and showering....during a baseball tournament. Blech! I put the camera up, looked through the lens, and I immediately thought to myself "Wow! He looks so grown up here" but brushed it off because he's my baby and that is not ever happening to MY little guy. However, after downloading the memory card and looking at the images it hit me like a freight train that he is morphing into a young man right before my eyes. He is still my little boy but in some of these images I can already see glimpses of the man that he will become.

Then another emotional load of bricks hit me! We are already half way through his time with us because WE ONLY GET 18 SUMMERS WITH OUR BABIES!  18. SUMMERS. Whoa Nelly! In that moment of shock and denial I realized how thankful I am to have portraits of him multiple times throughout each year of his life...even in these awkward years. Most parents make the comment that they don't want to take portraits during the "tween" years, they want to wait until they have teeth straighten after braces. I am here to tell you, you will regret missing these last images capturing some of the baby in their face as it transitions to young adulthood. These aren't just "portraits" they are moments in time that we can revisit anytime we want. Now, more than ever, I see the true value in them and am so happy to have made the investment. Unlike the newest iPhone or daily Starbucks coffee, they become absolutely priceless in value.  

Make it a priority even if you have to slap on a bathing suit and go swim with the sharks. The trade off is SO worth it! 

Love + Hugs,

Jeannie