I have been taking family photos most evenings these days, but I keep forgetting to show them to you all.

I can honestly say that these backyard sessions have become my favorite. Here is a set from about three weeks ago. Can you even believe the friendship between these two siblings? It’s adorable.

We threw a socially distanced birthday party yesterday with a few of Ezra’s closest friends at the park. One of my favorite events was the potato sack race, but the egg toss was a close second!

I can’t believe my kid is almost six. Where did the time go? How did he get so big? Look at that hair!

This was our first week of kindergarten at home. It went pretty well, all things considered, but I will be surprised if I can continue blogging on a regular business through all of this. Please be patient, and I’ll try to stop in and show you what I’m up to when I have windows of time available.

We are super fortunate to have been assigned to the most amazing teacher for kindergarten, and because of her talent and leadership, we had a really good first week. Ezra learned a lot about the use of the iPad and technology and he had fun drawing pictures, practicing his letters, completing scavenger hunts and singing songs.

Next week is even more busy for us as we have a birthday to attend to and a block party to throw (not to mention school, work and the usual day to day insanity). But hopefully it all goes off without a hitch!

So… here we are. Starting Kindergarten in a pandemic.

It’s such a weird time as I love, love, love back to school each fall. I adore the fresh school supplies and calendars, picking out new backpacks and jeans — it really feels just like New Year’s to me. Fall is so magical and the light is stunning, and it just makes me happy.

But this year… there’s just not as much to celebrate. Ezra’s school is starting the year distance learning with the hope that they’ll move into the building within a few months. We shall see. Tonight we get to meet his teacher via the internet, and I know he’s excited about that (probably not as excited as I am though, let’s be real).

Anyway, since I think this year is funky in all sorts of ways, I’m offering First Day of School portraits this Saturday in front of my house for $20. I’ll take your kid’s photo and I’ll get it to you before the actual first day so you can share it with the internet as you like. If you’re interested, there are a handful of spots left, and you can sign up here. I promise to be more chipper when you see me!

Otherwise, we’re just tooling along over here trying to make life work with no childcare, school at home and crazy busy work schedules. If I fall behind on blogging this fall, you’ll understand why, I hope! Best of luck everyone, and please wear a mask, wash your hands and stay healthy!

Y’all have outdone yourselves with the back yard setups this year. I’ve seen amazing swings, saunas, zip lines, hot tubs, above ground pools, fire pits, climbing walls and bounce houses. And honestly, I think the kids are having pretty great summers, despite all the covid nonsense!

Here are some photos from one such session — oh how I adore these kids.

I had a super fun shoot last weekend with this family, whom I’ve been photographing since the eldest was just a baby. Oh how fun it is to watch families grow and change! Also, the smallest of the bunch could pack away the most doughnuts fo anyone! Hilarious!

I took the kid on a photo walk this weekend at one of my favorite local spots, and we found nests and feathers and cranes and fish and … the poor guy dropped his (our old) iPhone he was using for the camera on the boardwalk RIGHT between the slats.

I mean, you could attempt that 20 times and never do it again.

We spent more than an hour trying to dig it back out with sticks and grass and we tried loosening the boards and … we just couldn’t do it. It was 94 degrees and muggy and we were beyond exhausted.

But then, a park ranger happened upon us, and he had a drill! And he removed the boards and we saved the phone. And then we celebrated with ice cream. And all Ezra could say the whole ride home was, “Man! That was an adventure! I did not expect any of that to happen!”

Me neither kid. Me neither.

I’ve mentioned that I’m pretty busy these days, but I haven’t been showing off a lot of the work because, well, blogging takes time that I could be processing and delivering photos! But I know you all like seeing the work that I’ve been doing, so here are a few of my favorite shots from a session from last week.

There is a certain energy that young families — those with kids 3 and under — have that you (thankfully) lose as the kids grow up… but it’s so fun for me to photograph. I think this family was a prime example.