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.
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.
Another glorious family photography session with Bread Boy, his brothers, and his parents! I meet a lot of kids, and usually they’re extremely energetic or extremely cooperative, but they’re rarely both (I say this with love). All four of these boys actually are both, and they’re truly some of my absolute favorite wild yet cooperative subjects. I don’t think I’ve ever explicitly posed them – they just pose for me. All of them – including the one year old. They were all just born knowing how to pose. All four brothers will pose themselves and smile directly into the camera for 2 minutes, and then scamper off into various directions to cause mayhem and mischief, and then suddenly all end up in a different spot, arms around each other, smiling delightfully into the camera again. It’s truly wild. They are hilarious and full of life and LOVING life. They just spent some time in France and when I asked them how their time was, they replied, “Je suis une pizza,” which just means “I am a pizza.” They then put on fake mustaches, sat on the couch, put their arms around each other, and smiled for the camera.