Finnegan & Penelope

I got a card in the mail today. The front of it said, “If you ever need to talk, you can call me.” On the inside, it read, “There’ll be screaming in the background, I’ll have to hide in the closet to hear you … it’ll be awesome.” I laughed out loud in my car — ahem … awesome swagger wagon (i.e., minivan). My dear friend Erin moved to Maryland last month for the next two years. Maryland … as in completely across the country. Erin and I became friends first at a random Gymboree class, then through church, then through MOPS and photography (where she gave me the AWESOME opportunity to witness the c-section birth of her daughter!). We’ve had many a conversation about organizing our homes (how many purses and picture frames does a girl really need these days?), potty training a toddler, nursing and other painful adventures in breastfeeding, finding a rhythm after becoming a mother to multiple children … and the other general mom-to-mom heart-to-heart stuff. Erin became a friend almost instantly — and she has been there consistently, encouraging me and making me laugh. Before she and her family of four (plus dogs) took off on their adventure across the country, we did one more little photo session with her two adorable kiddos, Finnegan & Penelope (the sweet souls who give personality to the two GORGEOUS faces below). 

What resulted from this session are some of my most favorite images EVER. I cannot believe how many usable, beautiful pictures we were able to get that day. Penelope was not feeling well (as we discovered about three-quarters into the shoot when she had a little spit-up accident all down Erin’s arm), so her normal infectious grin was replaced with the quiet expression you see below. She’s still beautiful, isn’t she? And to think I got to be the very first person ever to capture her precious mug on camera the first few days of her life.

I am in love with the images from this session. I couldn’t even narrow down which images to post and which to save for Erin’s surprise after she gets her disc of pictures. I wanted to share them all. So I ended up choosing a ton to post here (but don’t worry, Erin … there are still many more for you to be surprised with when you get your disc in the mail very soon!). I’m going to cease the talking (typing?) now on this post and just leave you with the rest of these pictures of Finnegan and Penelope. We love and miss you here in Washington, Erin!