It was a hot, humid, and muggy May morning…a rare day of warmth and a rare day at home without any immediate plans for the day.    Last month, for Cole’s birthday, I bought him his 5 year old photo shoot outfit. Cole absolutely loves to dress up and look fancy. He wanted to add a tie to this ensemble.  It didn’t take much persuading to ask him to dress “a little fancy” and go outside to take some photos. We didn’t venture more than a block from our home. This is our first year in this house and I love discovering new spots to take photos. At our old house, I had those spots down! The go to back drops were easy to spot and can be seen in years of photos of my children.  Having moved into our house at the end of November and having the longest, coldest winter in the history of winters, we haven’t been out to find our new “perfect” spots.   We spent about a half hour exploring and taking photos and then, believe it or not, we were sweating and too hot to continue.

I took more photos than I planned with his sunglasses on. The overcast day brought with it a glare that made it difficult for Cole to keep both eyes open.  I am sure we will have years of photos in and around the new house, eventually discovering what those “perfect” spots are.  As Cole just said today while we were out running errands and I said we were finished, “ Yes! Home is the best.”

 and…done…such a sad, tired, hot smile I got there at the end. He was a trooper!