Vivi // At Five Years

VIVI IS BACK! Long-term CSP readers/stalkers will recognize the vivacious Miss Vivi who is seriously near and dear to our hearts. We photographed her for her second, third, and fourth birthdays (click all of those links to see Vivi [and our editing] grow up before your eyes). Now she has just turned FIVE which somehow which makes me feel old. So what’s new? Here are some Vivi updates:

This was the first year she actively recognized us and gave us a hug and it made me melt. She blew kisses at several kids her age while casually walking past them, totally unprovoked. Vivi currently enjoys exploring trains, trying out every pogo-stick-sand-dinosaur they have at Pullen Park, and watching ducks. She very much loves carousels and bridges. New this year is her ability to find statues, hit them, and discover that “Wow, they are solid!” Her favorite thing about trains is the “wooo woooooooo” whistle that she enjoys emulating, but has mild concerns that the whistle might be too loud. She likes going down slides repeatedly but only if someone is at the bottom. Constantly making her mother nervous, she is inexplicably drawn to large, potentially unsafe surfaces and structures on which to climb. She likes to hold hands. She really likes talking, but is 100% positive 100% of the time. Examples below.

Vivi [before going on train ride]: This is going to be TERRIFIC!
Me [during train ride]: Is this terrific?
Vivi: It IS! It is TERRIFIC!

Vivi [walking over by the lake to look at some ducks]: Wow, look at the view!

And my favorite (perhaps channeling her inner Carolyn Scott). Vivi [while riding a carousel for the first time exclaims with a delightful surprise]: I’m not getting hurt right now!

I’m pretty sure I need a shirt that says, “I’m not getting hurt right now!” I would wear it to bed, maybe, which is one of the few times I’m not actively getting injured. Vivi is my spirit animal.

At Home with Jacques, Lindsey+Co.

Jacques and Lindsey are back! And you definitely know these guys if you’ve been following us for any period of time. We did a family session with them, their kiddo Elizabeth, and Elizabeth’s extended family back in 2014, and then we did a now well-known headshot/promo session with Jacques back in 2015 for his comic book business Not So Super Comics. And now they’re back! They have a new kiddo named Eleanor, and Elizabeth has become a fantastic big sister. This afternoon was all about having the kids spend time with their extended family of grandparents, aunts, and uncles all in once space and having quality family time together. They had fun playing with bubbles, musical instruments, and walking down to the lake. The kids also had a great time showing us their extraordinary homeschool setup brought to you by their awesome teacher-mom Lindsey! It is incredible, and the kids were learning about circuits. Yep, circuits. I don’t even know anything about circuits and I’m 32. It was also about distracting their dad as he tries to work on his upcoming Kickstarter campaign.

That’s righhht, Not So Super Comics fans! A new Kickstarter is coming very, very soon as Not So Super Comics morphs into Not So Super Publishing. Yesss, publishing! Jacques is writing two picture books for little and big kids and adult kids alike called “Gumgah & The Grumpledonk” and another called “The Booger Queen” that are sure to delight. As a previous Kickstarter supporter of Jacques and owner of all his comics, we can say that his writing is fantastic, fun, and thoughtful, and we are so excited to read what he’s come up with! He vows to be a publisher “of fun and inclusive comics, picture books, and art that all kinds of people can enjoy,” and we are so glad to be a part of his project!

We did a few short promo photos for him prior to the family session in order for him to create a Kickstarter video, and we tried to channel all the Reading Rainbow vibes that we could short of inserting animated butterflies (kinda hoping Jacques does that somehow in the final product but no pressure Jacques, I know you probably are busy with, you know, writing).

So go follow Jacques! He is available in all these places. Follow him so you can hear about his Kickstarter news!

Facebook // Not So Super Comics
Facebook // Not So Super Publishing
Twitter // Not So Super Publishing
Instagram // Not So Super Publishing

And now I’ll let you guys see his adorable family. We are so happy to have had the chance to work with all of you again, and are anxiously awaiting the new books!

Newborn Session: Baby Finn.

We are always so happy to keep in touch with our awesome couples, and Brooke and David are no exception. And let’s be honest, their cat Spencer is pretty great too. We photographed their wedding back in May 2014 and have been keeping in touch with them and Spencer ever since, happily watching on from a respectful but also kind of creepy distance as Brooke writes tasty, tasty recipes on her foodie blog, Never Any Thyme (named after everyone’s favorite Jessie Spano “I’m So Excited” freakout), and giving her positive but insistent encouragement to bring back her bangs. Brooke is also crafty as hell, and knits stuff that is adorable and completely unattainable with my skill level. I admire her greatly. David isn’t on Instagram so I can’t stalk him as much and Spencer unfortunately doesn’t have his own account yet (hint) but I have high hopes for their adorable little offspring named Finn to have his own hashtag. Look at him! He is adorable and squishy and we are so, so happy for Brooke and David! This kid is a champ. I think he maybe cried for .2 seconds during the shoot, and the rest of the time he drank his entire weight in milk and fell asleep and let us do whatever we wanted. Brooke craved a lot of pineapple during her pregnancy, so we wrapped him in a pineapple swaddle, took some pictures, and called it a day. We also surrounded him with oranges? Because… we didn’t have any pineapple… ? And also… citrus is all the same, right? Wait, I just Googled it, and pineapple isn’t even a citrus. Uggggggh.