Around Our Clocks - 1pm | Northern Virginia Family Photographer

I fudged a little this month. This image was taken mid-afternoon, so not quite 1pm, but I'm going with it. :-) It's been a busy month and the more mobile my youngest gets, the harder I find it to bring out my camera. I don't remember where he was when I took this picture, but I couldn't pass up the quiet moment my husband and oldest son were having and sharing with our dog. This is often the scene in our house. Well, the messy part, at least. The quiet part, not so much. And sometimes it comes with a side of screen time.

This post is part of a collaborative documentary photography blog circle called Around Our Clocks. We're documenting a day in our life over the course of one year.  This month was 1pm.  Continue the circle by visiting Megan Nesom to see her August image.

Around Our Clocks: 5PM | Northern Virginia Family Photographer

One thing certain about parenthood, and life in general, I guess, is that the only thing that stays constant is change. It's bittersweet, especially with kids. Watching them grow is so amazing and rewarding. It's like it happens in slow motion and fast forward at the same time.

And just when you think you have a piece of the puzzle figured out, they've moved on to the next stage.  I've found this especially true with little routines and habits. My son will fall into a pattern, doing the same thing for days or weeks, until one day he doesn't anymore. 

One of my favorite routines lately is him riding his scooter in our driveway as soon as we get home from school.  He'll hop out of the car and onto his scooter, making a few trips up and down the driveway before we go inside to make dinner. He's usually good about putting his helmet on and almost always asks me to watch him.  I usually put his brother down in his car seat to watch. Sometimes he'll stop riding to get the mail out of the box (which he still needs help to do) out to give his brother a hug. He's not so good about putting the scooter away and instead leaves it right in the way to be run over the next morning.  Thankfully, we've avoided this so far.  I know this little ritual will evolve or be replaced soon enough. 

Sometimes, I don't even notice the change immediately and it'll hit me months later when I see pictures like these and think, "Oh, remember when..."  And then I'm thankful for having preserved it and a piece of his story. 

This post is part of the Around Our Clocks documentary blog circle. This month we documented the 5pm hour. Continue the circle by visiting  Sincerus Photography, Fine Art Documentary Photographers, KC 

Want to learn how to document your own family's day-to-day?  Check out 4 Steps to Stop Time and Savor the Moment with Your Family.  It's a simple and fun plan for documenting your family's life with beautiful photographs.

Around Our Clocks: 10am | Northern Virginia Family Photographer

Cold weather is not my favorite, even though it's relatively mild in Northern Virginia compared to many places. But one benefit of winter and being indoors is ample snuggle time. After Christmas, we took advantage of a week at home with both boys to spend lots of time in our pjs. There was tv, but also some crafts (if you count handing a 3-year-old scissors and glitter glue :-) ), fun times with new Legos, and lots of reading from our new Shel Silverstein books. I was a bit wary of Shel SIlverstein for a 3-year-old at first, but he really loves these poems.  They provoke a lot of questions and introduce unfamiliar concepts.  Plus, there so much silliness, and what kid doesn't love that? :-)

These pictures are typical of 10am around our house in the winter. Pajamas and a Daddy-son-cuddle pile on the couch while watching a show.  School and work have returned, but I have lots of pictures to remind me how awesome down time can be. 

2017 is under way and I'm so excited for what this year will bring. We have plans to spend time away with family this year and I can't wait for everyone to meet our youngest son. I have also lots of plans for my business. One that I'm most excited about is incorporating video into my family sessions.  Video adds an element to photography that I didn't even know was missing. Seeing the motion and hearing the sounds, especially of little ones who change so quickly, is wonderfully captured with video and I can't wait to offer that to my clients!

Wishing you the best in the New Year! This post is a continuing post of our monthly Around Our Clocks documentary blog circle. Follow the circle to see what 10am looked like for Meghan Nesom.