Aleigh and Joe are the bee’s knees and now they have this little ham of an old man son who already enjoys sitting on a good stoop and listening to his radio like it’s 1935. He would ask for his little radio (a Yoto player), then sit on the edge of his Nugget cushion with his hands folded, deep in thought and contemplation. Then he’d yell for someone to play Do You Know the Muffin Man again the second it ended. All we need is a cigar and maybe a newsboy hat. I imagine that he’s probably a reincarnated New Yorker. When he’s not doing that, he’s laughing wildly while playing peek-a-boo, putting 500 Cheez-Its into his mouth at once, and deliberately pouring out bottles of bubble solution onto the sidewalk. Half toddler, half 85 year old man. It was so good to photograph these guys in their beautiful home.

IT’S CHICKEN TIME. I was very excited to spend some quality time with this long-time CSP family and their newfound chickens! The chickens, it turns out, were very excited to have their photos taken and were not shy chickens at all. They had a great time pecking around and posing for photos. Zero camera-shyness. And I had a great time, as usual, bouncing around with the humans as well, hanging out in tents and with chickens and on climbing equipment (and under it). Earlier this year, the eldest child participated in the Feather Classic where you show off your chicken to be judged and it was quite amazing. I’m hoping that the family skyrockets to Feather Classic fame, like a televised version of the National Dog Show, but for chickens. The kids are pros at handling chickens and caring for chickens, as well as collecting eggs (also pros at giving the chickens great names such as Puppy and Banana). And while not chickens, you might even recognize a few familiar paper-mache heads around the shoot… ;)

I love reconnecting with folks whose weddings we photographed back in the day, so I was very much looking forward to seeing Amanda and Jen again! But little did I know that I would pull up behind their house and hear a very emphatic “CAROLYN SCOTT!!!” from a small voice, which continued over and over again. Their incredibly gregarious daughter was so excited to meet me (the feeling was mutual) and she ran around saying things like, “Carolyn Scott, this is my house!” and “Carolyn Scott, these are my toys!” and “Carolyn Scott, let’s go to the playground!” I was addressed by my full name the whole time, which was delightful. At one point she also picked up a stick to use as a cane, put her hand on her back and said, “Look, I’m an old lady.” She’s great. Their son is also great – he enjoys the pastimes of walking and repeatedly falling, and also enjoys rolling down grassy hills. But my favorite thing about him is that he will not wait for the pizza to be cooked because why wait when you can just eat it right now? He would be a huge fan of the cold pizza Lunchable box. These guys made up such a beautiful, lively little family. It was so fun to see Amanda and Jen again, but really wonderful to see these confident and hilarious humans they’re raising.