picture taking

In case you haven’t noticed, I LOVE taking pictures of my child. I don’t know what it is exactly. Part of it is that I want to share the beauty and wonderment of my child with all of you, but the other part is that she changes so quickly, I don’t want to forget a thing. I want to have on record all of her quirky little stages…faces that she makes…it’s all priceless.

Since the photo shoot with Shawna Herring that my family got me for a birthday gift, I’ve even taken more of an interest in taking pictures. I loved the way Shawna captured moments without us even noticing. So, I have decided I want to be Shawna. Okay, okay…I’ll never be Shawna, but I can try. And really, I don’t mind that I’ll never be a professional photographer, just as long as I can capture in pictures what I am able to see every day.

These first few pictures are some cute shots of Brittain and her daddy. Because Dan’s work schedule changes day to day, Brittain never knows when he’s going to come in the door. I LOVE the looks she has when she hears the lock open on the door and then someone walks in. I always wonder if she’s hoping it’s going to be a certain person. You gotta love these:

These next shots were taken after the photo shoot we had with Shawna Herring. We were incredibly exhausted from the day, but after Brittain had her nap, she was raring to go again. Aunt CC and I spent some alone time with her on my bed, just relaxing…and doing plenty of laughing. Brittain just can’t get enough of her Aunt CC. Each time she’s around her, my heart is filled with happiness as I watch the look in both of their eyes:

I should point out with this next picture that Cecilia is NOT serious with this hat on. Earlier in the day my mom had brought over some old hats, thinking that they would be fun for Brittain to try on (and also a good photo opportunity). Unfortunately, we were never able to utilize these props, but we made sure to do it after the fact:

When I get home in the afternoons from work, it’s not always easy thinking of things to keep Brittain entertained. We play, read, take wagon rides, practice standing up, practice walking, eat…but sometimes I get to a point where I feel like both of us are bored. Since Brittain was born, whenever we feel like this, we always do the same thing – we gravitate to Mommy and Daddy’s king-sized bed. I don’t know what it is about this bed, but Brittain LOVES it. We can watch Baby Einstein DVD’s, we can roll around and laugh, we can look out the windows…it doesn’t matter what we do, we have fun! It’s not uncommon for us to spend an hour or more rolling around and laughing in the afternoons (I can’t believe Dan EVER wonders how we spend our time :-)). As Brittain and I played the other day, I figured there was no better moment than this to catch some great shots. I adore these pictures, and it may just be because when I look at them, I think back to that day and all the other fun days that we spend together. Regardless of the reason, I just love them:

Couldn’t resist the self-portrait:

Yes, this is the rubber band from my hair. For some reason she was enthralled with it. But don’t worry, I never let her (or the rubber band) out of my sight:

And lastly, a couple of pics of Brittain in a swing at the church. Before I head off to handbells and choir on Wednesdays, we try to spend a few minutes on the playground: