Eric, Christy, Lily and Paige

So I know it has been a while since I've checked in, but every now and then I come out of "retirement" to keep up with a hobby that I just can't seem to let go. A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of shooting one of my favorite "Culpepper Families" and close neighborhood friends - Eric, Christy, Lily and Paige. Over the years of living in our neighborhood, we've gained so many friends in what used to be a small community. Eric and Christy are part of the first Culpepper Landing crew members that we met and we are so glad to have gained their friendship. They are some of the best neighborhood partiers, caring friends, and just plain fun people to be around. Of course, Eric is the best "trash" talker in the history of sports competitions, but for some reason I find his trash talk entertaining. Heidi Calma, my sister in-law, (and great up and coming photographer www.heidicalmaphotography.com) joined me for some assistance with this shoot and was a big help for posing and gathering. We took the family to the Deep Creek Lock Park for an early morning shoot and had a good time. Lily got comfortable behind the camera and Paige was a good sport. We enjoyed hanging with our buddies from The Pepper and look forward to more shoots as the kids get older!

Baby Emma

Introducing Baby Emma! Congratulations to Krystal and Steven for the healthy birth of their second daughter. Krystal is Nicole's sister and we've had the pleasure of watching our kids grow up together over time. When all of the kids get together, it sure is a sight to see. Hugging, pushing, tackling, sharing (or not sharing), smacking, yelling, crying...and on and on, but we love them no matter what. Baby Emma has been a quiet little treat so far for them, but I'm sure we all know this is just the beginning. Congrats again to both of you and as always - see y'all in the neighborhood :) By the way, the last picture is a comparison of the two sisters. Kylie (her older sister) is now 2 1/2 years old.

Tristan - Smash the Cake Fun!!

This was my first informal smash the cake session with my 1 year old son Tristan and we enjoyed every bit of it! I'm thinking that he probably had more fun than we did. Before filling you in on the details of this session, I wanted to talk a little about Tristan. First off, I'm going to admit that he is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay easier to manage than Brayden ever was. He barely cries and throws tantrums, he is so independent, and even though he can't talk yet he keeps the complaints down to a minimum. Even though Cole and I sit back every now and then and think "What have we done!?!?!?", Tristan and Brayden continue to make us smile every minute of the day. Watching two boys bond and get into everything together is amusing and painful at times, but we wouldn't trade it for the world. I always tell Brayden that he is my best friend. I consider Tristan to be my best "little" friend. Without my two sons (and wife of course), I wouldn't be who I am today.

Now back to the session! Speaking of Brayden, we ended up having to usher him away from the session because the kid brother jealousy kicked in and he decided to pop all of Tristan's balloons. It didn't phase Tristan though, he kept it going. Like any curious human, Tristan was a little unsure of what he was allowed to do. Once he figured it was OK to destroy the cake, he plowed through it! What better way to celebrate his 1st birthday then to let him cause destruction to a cake and my neighbor's yard (by the way, thanks to Scott for letting Tristan drop blue cake all over your yard). Eventually, the cake was a pile of blue mush and Tristan realized he was a mess. He cried about frosting in his eye and that's when we knew it was bath and bed time.

I loved every moment with Tristan that day. Having a second little guy in my life is a whole new ball game, but I love everything about him....