A Very Special Blog Post...

I often think that all my life I've wanted to be a photographer, but that's not entirely true. Earlier on, before I knew that there was any other possibility I knew I wanted to be a mother. It must have come from playing with my dolls, and having a chance to pretend to care for one so small, so dependent...or maybe it came from watching my own mother dote on my baby brother. I pushed strollers around the neighborhood, insisted on bringing my dolls' car seats wherever we went, and tucked them in at night. I dreamed of having my own family one day, and tried to envision what my children might look like.

It's been seven and a half years now since I became a mother to my son, and five years ago today that I became a mother to a daughter. Yes, my baby turns five today. She pushes her dolls in a stroller through the neighborhood, makes sure they have bottles when we go to the playground, and kisses their boo-boos when they fall off the swing at the park. I watch her and I can't help but be so very proud of the little lady she's becoming...and the mom she'll someday be. One day, I'm certain her daughter will make her as happy as she makes me.

Even though both kids get "official" school portraits these days, I still get to shoot them to commemorate their birthdays. Yesterday afternoon, we took a walk through Schiller Park to grab a few shots of Emma being Emma... Here are a few of my favorites!

Happy Birthday Emma!