Boy, oh Boy...oh boy...oh boy!

What a fun session this was, and what a dedicated mother!  Yes, dedicated because she has four fun, rambuctious boys but also dedicated because we had to WORK to get this session planned.  It actually was planned for LAST year, and I'll bet we had to reschedule 5 times because of weather...once we even went on location only for it to start raining as soon as we stepped out of the car.  So, when we had a pretty day at last, we all celebrated!  Having two boys of my own comes in handy with sessions like this because I had some tricks up my sleeve to help make them giggle...I mean, who would think that the word 'Underwear' could invoke such sincere belly laughs!  I struggled picking which portraits to upload to the blog because we got such a variation of expressions and settings.  I settled on these because they all were taken in the setting that I think ALL the boys felt most comfortable: an open field with lots of wide open area to run!  The first portrait is of the baby...one tough cookie for being the youngest in this crowd, but his expression here is so innocent and sincere...doesn't it look like he is looking right through the camera?!  Then the second portrait screams boy, boy, boy, and well, boy!  They were tired by this point but as soon as I let them run loose, the smiles started flowing.  There is a special relationship that develops between brothers and this portrait really captures that...afterall, it takes work to continue to hold hands when you are given the 1-2-3 go!  Lastly, this could be my favorite portrait.  I love, love, love when a portrait shows sincere emotion...when you can look at it and almost hear the sounds that were going on.  This was taken right before the dad swung his son around and around in circles.  Looking at this portrait you can almost hear the dad saying, "You ready?  Now, 1-2-3!"  And the anticipation on the son's face is priceless!  There just really isn't much that can top your dad's one-on-one attention if even for a few moments!  It reminds me as a parent of three children how important it is to take the time to spend one on one time with each child...it doesn't require much, just a momentary squeeze, or a playful tickle or an impromptu swing.  If it is likely to invoke an expression of such innocent joy and anticipation in my child's face, it will be worth the extra effort.   And next time thanks to this portrait, I'll pause a second longer to really appreciate that glimpse of raw emotion in my little one's eyes!