Monthly Archives: August 2010

Lily has been asking me for a bunny Zhu Zhu pet for a couple months now and I finally agreed to go out and find one for her. Turns out that Zhu Zhus are lil’ toy hamsters that move around and make hamster noises. No bunny to be found. Well, at Target, right next to the Zhu Zhu pets there was a rabbit toy that looked JUST like the Zhu Zhu pets, except it was a furry carrot loving pet that moves around and makes cute lil’ bunny  noises. Lily is in heaven. She’s been taking very good care of her new pet and proudly named him Wiggles {she sometimes just calls him Zhu Zhu}. They play ball together, go down slides, swing on her swing set, race each other, cuddle and sleep together. Wiggles has gotten pretty dirty in the last few days from playing so hard outside, so we carefully bathed him on Sunday as well. Turns out that he loves popsicles, carrots, blueberry muffins and water. Oh, and he loves Lily’s Lambie as well. {don’t worry, Lambie isn’t going anywhere} The two of them even play Max and Ruby together.  So cute! Well, to my surprise, Lily asked me to get my camera and capture Wiggles the other day and then she decided she’d like to be in some of the pictures as well. Don’t worry…Wiggles was not injured in the process of making these pictures – Lily wouldn’t allow the swing to even move while he was on it alone. Safety first! So, without further ado…

Oh my goodness…so many changes happening in the Niemann household! My lil’ Lily turns FOUR on Tuesday and on that very same day she starts Preschool. Might as well rip my heart out. I’m so not ready to let go. I still see her as my lil’ baby and on days like today, I look at her and can’t believe how much she’s grown and how she’s now my lil’ girl. I don’t care what anyone says…she will ALWAYS be my baby. The one that I carried in my belly for almost 10 months. The one that made me laugh and cry at the same time when I first brought her home and couldn’t believe she was mine and how lucky I was to have her as my daughter. The one that I prayed for before she was even conceived. The one that used to be too tiny to even fit in those tiny tiny newborn clothes and anything larger seemed like something a giant would wear {I actually couldn’t believe that she would ever fit into anything larger at that time}. The one that used to wake up every hour and half for feedings. The one that smiled at ME for the first time when she was only a few weeks old. The one that melts my heart when she calls me mommy and gives me hugs and kisses – just because. The one that wipes my tears when needed and tells me, “It’s OK mommy.” {I swear, I don’t cry often – mainly when watching something touching on TV. Things that never made me cry before having my Lily} The one that brings me joy and amazement every day just being in her  presence. The one that is part me and part my husband and the one who completes us in every way. So…when did this lil’ thing decide to grow up and turn four and actually start school? I know this is the way life goes, but it doesn’t make it any easier on me. For her…it’s exciting and fun. For me, it a mixture of emotions. Pride, happiness, sadness and anxiousness all balled into one. I’m sure the first week will be the hardest, but it’ll get easier and I’ll carry on. Many parents have gone through this same thing in the past, so I know I can do it as well. I just need to be strong.

Well, today, I decided to capture my lil’ girl right before her birthday so that I can remember her this way for always. This pram is a miniature of the one that I really wanted for Lily when she was a baby, but it just wasn’t practical for my suburban self and let’s not even talk about the price tag. Well, since I’m letting go and watching my li’ one go out into the world, I decided to buy this doll version. It’s for her to play with of course, but also for portrait sessions for you, my clients.  She LOVES it and I couldn’t wait to take some portraits of her with her new lil’ toy. She had a hoot strolling her lambie around and I enjoyed watching and capturing her. These are those moments I cherish and want to remember always. Luckily, I will be able to do that with these images. It’s a benefit of being a children’s photographer! 🙂

I drive past this driveway almost daily and I was fortunate to get permission from the owners to have Lily’s lil’ session in their tunnel of trees. When we started the portrait session, the sun was giving me these beautiful rich colors and within 10 minutes of the sun going down, it gave me this pretty light that was bright and heavenly. What a difference a few minutes can make at sunset!