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Dearest Cecilia,

The past 4 months have flown by too fast. It is amazing the bond between you and I; a mother and her child. If two people met and then discussed their relationship after four months, they would acknowledge they had only scratched the surface, their understanding of each other would still be shaky, unsure and tentative.

We on the other hand, dear little daughter, we KNOW. You may be only four months into this world but you are certain of my love. You know that I will always come running. You know that I will smile at your gummy grins, even at 4am.  You know that I am the chaser of bad dreams, the comforter during the cold nights,  the protection from the scary unknowns.

I know, without a doubt, of your precious innnocence. I know you are pure, your love is open, frank, honest and loud. There are no pretences with you, no falsehoods, your moods are open and bare. When you are happy you squeal (loudly) with joy and when you are in need or unhappy you roar your displeasure and plead with your eyes at me to set your world right once more.

As we both age our relationship will change and evolve but for now I will pick you up, bury my face in your sweet chubby cheeks, kiss you till you coo (it doesn’ take long or many kisses) and be completely absorbed in this raw love between us.

This letter is part of a series that I write every month, to read another letter like this one, head over to Lauren Sanderson’s blog.

Dearest Cecilia,

The past 4 months have flown by too fast. It is amazing the bond between you and I; a mother and her child. If two people met and then discussed their relationship after four months, they would acknowledge they had only scratched the surface, their understanding of each other would still be shaky, unsure and tentative.

We on the other hand, dear little daughter, we KNOW. You may be only four months into this world but you are certain of my love. You know that I will always come running. You know that I will smile at your gummy grins, even at 4am.  You know that I am the chaser of bad dreams, the comforter during the cold nights,  the protection from the scary unknowns.

I know, without a doubt, of your precious innnocence. I know you are pure, your love is open, frank, honest and loud. There are no pretences with you, no falsehoods, your moods are open and bare. When you are happy you squeal (loudly) with joy and when you are in need or unhappy you roar your displeasure and plead with your eyes at me to set your world right once more.

As we both age our relationship will change and evolve but for now I will pick you up, bury my face in your sweet chubby cheeks, kiss you till you coo (it doesn’ take long or many kisses) and be completely absorbed in this raw love between us.

This letter is part of a series that I write every month, to read another letter like this one, head over to Lauren Sanderson’s blog.

One of my clients told me how she was not looking forward to picture day, they have a young family with busy little toddlers. To them, picture day is stressful and involves tears and is as popular as a root canal.

As a Mom of 4 small kids, I can completely empathize! Formally posed pictures and little kids do not always go hand in hand but there are some tips and tricks I can share with you to get those family photos you desire.

First, lower all expectations! Getting everyone looking at the camera and smiling may NOT happen. But I aim to get everyone looking at the camera. With adults and older children I ask them to at all times look at the camera and let me work on coaching a smile or even the attention of the littler ones.

Sometimes little ones just need to get up and run around a little bit, no problem! Allow them get those wiggles out and act silly with them and MAKE IT FUN! As a photographer, I always have my camera ready and I am just waiting for those little moments to happen. They may not be perfectly posed and smiling but they are authentic, real and they are 99% of the time my clients FAVORITE pictures.  I snapped this picture of these two sisters, it was so sweet and cute, it is one of my favorites.

 Second, make sure everyone arrives with full bellies. Hungry children and adults can cause everyone to get a little cranky. I also suggest brining a snack, something that is not messy, and then give me that snack to me to use as bribery. Let’s face it, kids are SMART! They can sense the desperation in their parent’s voices. They know you are begging them to be good, they sense you are not just going to walk away from this  and this can lead to some naughtiness. However, when I hold that elusive treat, they don’t know me. They don’t know how far to push me…it often can be very effective.

Try to schedule the session for a time that works for your little ones. If they normally nap in the morning, don’t schedule a session for that time. 

Bring a spare outfit just in case, bring something to wipe their faces with…little ones have a knack for getting dirty:) And dress for the weather. Cute outfits are nice but the focus is on your faces, and warm and dry little ones (and adults) make sessions so much easier.

And third, be prepare to act very, very silly!!  Nothing makes a 15 month old laugh harder then seeing Mommy doing jumping jacks behind the photographer’s head;) For older kids I may break out the very cool phone app with fart noises. Gross? You betcha! But it will make 12 year old boys give those genuine smiles that you see so rarely! Let me know what your kids love, what makes them laugh.

Working together, we can make well prepared sessions fun. I want you walking away realizing that if your kids were wiggly, or making face that is honestly does not faze me one bit. They are just being kids and sitting down and smiling is a little bit boring.

So, don’t stress, my kids are much worse then yours:) I literally have to chase them down with the camera. With Mom as a photographer, they are a little too used to a camera in their face. When I decided to do our Christmas card, not one of the pictures was ‘perfect’ but looking at the numerous tries was more fun then the final result. This shows truly who my kids are at this time and I managed to capture a memory.

One of my clients told me how she was not looking forward to picture day, they have a young family with busy little toddlers. To them, picture day is stressful and involves tears and is as popular as a root canal.

As a Mom of 4 small kids, I can completely empathize! Formally posed pictures and little kids do not always go hand in hand but there are some tips and tricks I can share with you to get those family photos you desire.

First, lower all expectations! Getting everyone looking at the camera and smiling may NOT happen. But I aim to get everyone looking at the camera. With adults and older children I ask them to at all times look at the camera and let me work on coaching a smile or even the attention of the littler ones.

Sometimes little ones just need to get up and run around a little bit, no problem! Allow them get those wiggles out and act silly with them and MAKE IT FUN! As a photographer, I always have my camera ready and I am just waiting for those little moments to happen. They may not be perfectly posed and smiling but they are authentic, real and they are 99% of the time my clients FAVORITE pictures.  I snapped this picture of these two sisters, it was so sweet and cute, it is one of my favorites.

 Second, make sure everyone arrives with full bellies. Hungry children and adults can cause everyone to get a little cranky. I also suggest brining a snack, something that is not messy, and then give me that snack to me to use as bribery. Let’s face it, kids are SMART! They can sense the desperation in their parent’s voices. They know you are begging them to be good, they sense you are not just going to walk away from this  and this can lead to some naughtiness. However, when I hold that elusive treat, they don’t know me. They don’t know how far to push me…it often can be very effective.

Try to schedule the session for a time that works for your little ones. If they normally nap in the morning, don’t schedule a session for that time. 

Bring a spare outfit just in case, bring something to wipe their faces with…little ones have a knack for getting dirty:) And dress for the weather. Cute outfits are nice but the focus is on your faces, and warm and dry little ones (and adults) make sessions so much easier.

And third, be prepare to act very, very silly!!  Nothing makes a 15 month old laugh harder then seeing Mommy doing jumping jacks behind the photographer’s head;) For older kids I may break out the very cool phone app with fart noises. Gross? You betcha! But it will make 12 year old boys give those genuine smiles that you see so rarely! Let me know what your kids love, what makes them laugh.

Working together, we can make well prepared sessions fun. I want you walking away realizing that if your kids were wiggly, or making face that is honestly does not faze me one bit. They are just being kids and sitting down and smiling is a little bit boring.

So, don’t stress, my kids are much worse then yours:) I literally have to chase them down with the camera. With Mom as a photographer, they are a little too used to a camera in their face. When I decided to do our Christmas card, not one of the pictures was ‘perfect’ but looking at the numerous tries was more fun then the final result. This shows truly who my kids are at this time and I managed to capture a memory.