Behind the Scenes | Northern VA Baby Photographer

I admit, seeing photos of myself is not something I'm entirely used to. Since I'm the officially-unofficial-picture-taker of the family, when it does happen there is a lot of planning involved. I break out my tripod and plan everything out to make sure I get the image I'm looking for (type A, party of me!). So when I see images of myself that are taken by someone else it's a real treat and such a surprise. It's not often that I get to see myself the way other people see me.

So when I found out that baby Nate's grandmother sneakily caught me in action during his newborn session I was elated. During the session, I was so focused on the handsome little guy that I had no idea she was even doing it until she had snapped at least a dozen photos. Baby Nate's grandmother is the sweetest person and so kind to share her shots with me. It's so incredible and interesting to see what it's all like from a client's view and I love every single photo she took. And how sweet is little Nate?! He was a dream to photograph and I love how peaceful he is snoozing away while he's so warm and comfy.

I love behind the scenes photos of every kind (anyone else love photos of ballet rehearsals?), it's not often that you get a glimpse of what goes on to achieve a final product. So here I am sharing them with you. This is me and handsome little Nate, enjoy!

Dear Jackson | October 2014

Dear Jackson,

You are WALKING.

You took your time with it, but man you are fun. And so so proud of yourself. When you make your way back and forth across a room for the first time, or manage to bypass a minefield of toys littered across the floor, your face breaks out into the biggest smile I have ever seen. You know you've done something pretty darn cool. And you have the funniest waddle gait. And when you run? Imagine Looney Tunes. Your feet move as fast as they can, but you still seem to stay in one place. I imagine that will change quickly.

Walking has already opened up a whole new world for us. For you as you explore; For me and your dad as we try to keep up and make sure you don't run into too many things on any given day. You like to hold my hand (and your dad's hand too) when you walk from room to room. I'm not sure if you feel more secure that way or if you just want to show us everything you're checking out, but I'll take it. I know you'll shake me off eventually so I'll keep holding on for as long as you'd like.

You might notice from this month's photo, you still haven't gotten a haircut. I've made comments about doing it soon, but everyone keeps telling me not to touch it. I love your crazy hair, but, dude, it is kind of crazy. Long and straight on top, curly all around the back and sides. Your bedhead is an amazing thing. But your curls are perfection and you look so darn adorable first thing in the morning. Any pending haircutting plans have once again been put on hold.

Some stats:

Current Words: Mommy, Daddy, Puppy (squirrels are classified as puppies now), More, Ball, Bye-Bye (with a wave), Hi, 'Nana (aka banana, which may just mean all food in general... and perhaps milk too), Deeda (your teacher's name), Baby

Favorite toys: Balls of any shape and size. Chalk, the entire back deck and front porch are currently covered in your artwork.

Favorite activity: pulling out every single book and having us read them to you one after the other. Over and over again, you climb into our laps and point to the pictures of things you recognize - usually a ball or a puppy - and then move onto the next.

Weight: About 25 pounds, which feels like much more when you insist on being carried around. I'm not complaining though, I really do love it.

Love you bunches,
Mom