I have photographed the Schimenti family many times over the years, it’s fun photographing a family every year and seeing the kids grow up! I’m not just saying this because I’m a photographer (well I am a bit and probably also partly saying this as a mother) but make a point to do family photos every single year. It’s so valuable and worth the effort that might seem like a lot at the time. We had a good time doing a pretty quick session at Glen Park before the sun set on a chilly November day. Sometimes you only have so much time, between fading light, freezing people, and energized kids. Glen Park is a great location for a shorter session as there are so many different looking spots to shoot and they are all so close to each other.
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Guarino Family Holiday Mini Session
I did two holiday mini days this year at the Ivy Arch Bridge in Delaware Park and it was fun seeing how different the sessions looked between color schemes and lighting. Love the rich colors of this session with the adorable and stylish Guarino family. We did family photos in a couple locations and a few different groupings (mom and sons, dad and sons, boys alone) plus just had some fun running around and playing with leaves and twigs.
Petty Family Holiday Mini Session
Had a great time hanging out with families all day at the Ivy Arch Bridge in Delaware Park this year for holiday minis! The Petty family were an adorable bunch. A little of encouragement and warm up were needed for the littlest member, Simon, but not much! Mom of the family Becky gushes, “He’s got the best freakin’ smile in the world.”
McDonald Family Holiday Mini Session
This was my first year offering holiday mini sessions and with all that’s been going on this year, I debated offering them. I dream of doing festive stylized minis but this didn’t seem the right year for it. I decided the Ivy Arch Bridge at Delaware Park would offer a magical setting without the concerns of sharing props and close spaces.
The McDonald family have been, “working full time, trying to support remote/hybrid school learning,” as mom of the family Sheryl explains, “we try to make the most of each moment.” We had a lot fun being out side and playing around the bridge and pine trees. The toddler of the family, River, took a bit of warming up to the idea of a portrait session but after some tickles and goofing around she was all smiles.
mom life : Halloween books for toddlers
Halloween is my favorite holiday. No surprise there for people who know me. I felt inspired to put together a Halloween book list for toddlers. For each holiday, I take time to think about and plan how to make it special and fun for my 2-year-old daughter Odette. I aim to not do anything too time consuming as I don’t really have a lot of free time on my hands, but I aim to do strategic things that have the most impact. I put up decorations, I plan some activities leading up to the holiday and on the holiday, and for Halloween this year, I made a little spot on her bookshelf of all her Halloween books and got some new ones for it too. I plan to do this for every holiday from here on out! It was nice having the books right there to read each night and it got her excited for the holiday.
In an effort to blog more and share some personal content… here is my list of Halloween books for toddlers!