Week 49 – All the sugar

I love watching their faces when they decorate cookies and gingerbread houses: the excitement, the concentration, not to mention the icing and sugar that ends up all over their faces even though they claim not to be eating anything as they work.
Every year their designs get more elaborate as does the amount of time their projects take. I remember when keeping them occupied at the table for more than 10 minutes was a challenge, whereas now I get to sit back and watch them work. Now if only I could get them as excited about cleaning up the sticky floors when the project is complete!
Don’t forget to take photos of your child’s creations when they bake or craft: it’s fun to look back to see how their creations change as the years pass.
Week 50 – Faces

On Christmas morning we open the boys stockings as soon as they wake up and then after breakfast (and more caffeine for mom and dad!), we open the rest of the gifts. I love watching the looks on their faces as they open their gifts but also as they watch their siblings open their presents as well.
Because of how quickly children move when they are opening gifts, it’s best to take photos in daylight. Ideally the window would be beside or in front of them so that your shutter speed can be fast enough to avoid blurry photos.
Week 51 – My Christmas Gift






If you were to ask my husband how many times he’s renovated the studio his answer would probably be “too many”. It seems like at least once a year there’s a major reorganization or overhaul of the space as I try to make the best use of the square footage I have available to me.
Every time I change the configuration of my space I learn new things about what does and doesn’t work for the different sessions that I photograph and then I head back to the drawing board to see what I can do differently to make my session workflow and session set-up as efficient and flexible as possible.
This was the biggest change we’ve made to the space since moving into our home 7 years ago. Not only did he move the barn board set and re-floor the entire space but he built a 2 wall white set at one of the studio. I can’t wait for my 2020 Sessions to get started!
Week 52 – A creative start



When I started looking back over the photos from the past year, I couldn’t get over how many changes I already see in the boys. We spent our Christmas break at home: playing outside, watching movies, cooking, playing games, and they enjoyed all their gifts. While we spent a lot of time together, more and more they are going in their own directions and pursuing their own interests. They are spending more time with friends and the activities they are interested in doing are much less likely to overlap than when they were younger.
My oldest son has been using my husband’s tools to build ramps for his tech decks. My middle son used his savings to buy an acoustic guitar to add to his collection (he already has an electric guitar). My middle son has been constructing elaborate Playmobil and Lego scenes that fill the floor of his room and our playroom.
I hope 2020 is another year of creativity, fun and adventures for our family.