DFW BABY PHOTOGRAPHER | PROJECT 365 | WEEK 47

November 26, 2018

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Sweet baby bathed in sweet sunlight.

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Thanksgiving Eve. We usually eat at my grandma’s house, but she broke her leg over the summer and it is still tough for her to get around. Thus, I had the honor of hosting Thanksgiving this year. It was potluck, so my only food responsibilities were a pie, fruit salad and rolls. However, hosting afforded me a chance to pull out the wedding china and use decent table cloth. When you live with all boys, using fancy things is kind of a big deal and the table setting deserved its moment in the photographic sun.

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Thanksgiving! Poor Baby J woke up with a fever and a cough. He was quite the grumpster during the daytime, but seemed to rally just in time for Thanksgiving dinner. I think he particularly enjoyed the dessert portion of the evening, where he successfully conned my grandma and my aunt into feeding him way too much pie.

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This should really be Day 326.5, as it occurred in the wee overnight hours. Poor Baby J’s cough got much worse overnight and turned into croup. Charlie and I spent two hours up with him overnight. We spent a lot of time making the bathroom into a steam room to help clear Judd’s lungs.

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Miles, our Elf on the Shelf, made his return for the Christmas season. Holden was thrilled to see that Miles brought powdered donuts straight from the North Pole. Baby J wasn’t really sure what to make of the elf, but those donuts did a good job of winning him over.

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Nothing says Christmas light children fighting over the Nativity.

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‘Tis the season of packages arriving on the daily.

H Parker Photography is a DFW Baby Photographer with a residential studio in Roanoke,TX. She specializes in classic, timeless studio baby photographs.

DFW BABY PHOTOGRAPHER | WEEK 36

September 9, 2018

Has it already been a week since my last DFW baby photographer Project 365 installment? I guess it has been. This past week I feel like it rained..or looked gloomy and rainy almost every day. I am completely certain I could never live in the Pacific Northwest…or anyplace regularly rainy..because it puts me a major funk. I am so lethargic when it is like this outside. I think it’s because of the lack of variety, every day looks and seems the same. I generally thrive on routine, so my life is as structured as possible. But something about the rainy days and being FORCED to choose boring, quiet, indoor activities gives me a case of the grumps.

Let’s see what Week 36 was all about.

DFW BABY PHOTOGRAPHER | WEEK 36

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Received some flowers from my mom and her husband for my birthday. They kept going strong for a few days after my birthday, and they added a nice touch of cheer to the otherwise gloomy atmosphere.

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Baby J watching jealously as Rufus got to go outside. Ignore the disgusting finger prints all over the glass. I live with animals aka children, soI pretty much give up on that door being sparkling unless I know we are having people over. #reallife

kiwi crate tops boy and father work together

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Our monthly Kiwi Crate couldn’t have come at a better time. A perfect rainy Friday night activity for Daddy and the boy.

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Is it just a second born thing that they want to grow up so fast? Baby J tries to reject the traditional baby straw sippy cup in favor of stealing his big brother’s school water bottles. I think I’m going to give up and just toss all the sippy cups and transition to the big kid bottles, but it breaks my heart. I know it’s just that Baby J wants to be exactly like his brother, but his brother is 6 years older so I wish he would just stay babyish a little longer.

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H’s soccer game was rained out. I already had a sitter lined up for Baby J, so I figured that instead of canceling on childcare I’d go ahead and have a Mommy/Boy date with the big kid. We went bowling. It was so fun spending solo time with him, but OMG I did not realize bowling was $45/hr. Holy cow y’all. I swear back in my day it was like $15 to go bowling. Maybe I’m just glorifying the good ol’ days, but why in the world is bowling so expensive!? It wasn’t even peak time–there was hardly anyone in the joint.

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When brother is away at school and you steal his Hot Wheels cars.

H Parker Photography is a DFW Baby Photographer with a residential studio in Roanoke,TX.
She specializes in classic, timeless studio baby photographs.

DFW BABY PHOTOGRAPHER | WEEK 35

September 5, 2018

Week 35 of this DFW baby photographers Project 365 is complete. The last time I attempted a Project 365 I quit the first week of October. I had a pretty darn good reason at the time (I was super, super sick with hyperemesis gravidarum), but I will say that I am happy to be continuing this project at a fairly steady pace. Fingers crossed, but I feel pretty confident I am going to make it to the finish line this time.

Anyway, this past week my son went back to school. It was mostly just the baby and I hanging around the house. I got back into my regular routine, and there was some comfort in that. Baby J was really cranky from teething. Plus, I can tell he missed his brother dearly. We had the whole, LONG Labor Day weekend to reunite though. I solo parented it the majority of the last 8 days, so I was a little worn out by the end of the holiday weekend. I will say it always stings a little when other people talk about the holidays and their plans with enthusiasm. It is a very good bet that on any given holiday weekend my husband will be working, which means I am solo parenting it. I try to keep things lively and fun for myself and the crew back at home, but sometimes it just sucks. #aviationlife

We did squeeze in some fun, including watching the season opener of LSU against Miami. It happened to be in our neck of the woods over at AT&T Stadium, but unfortunately tickets were like $300/apiece for nosebleeds, so I enjoyed the game at home with a large amount of pizza, a drink in my hand and the good company of my sister, brother in law and my oldest son.

Okay, enough blabbering:

DFW BABY PHOTOGRAPHER | WEEK 35

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Lunchtime. Those squishy toddler hands though. So cute! Also, we are totally fine with eating on Christmas themed plates in August. Don’t judge.

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Oh, this face. Baby J has been a cranky mess all week. He is into everything and at some point you just have to big in. So, yes, he is trying to eat the sunscreen here. No, I did not care to stop him. #pickyourbattles

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Hit up the splash pad before it closed for the season on Labor Day. I love that this place can entertain both kids for an hour.

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The first Saturday of college football is a special event in our household. It’s also a great excuse to binge on our favorite snacks. For Judd, that meant a turkey and sweet potato pouch for one.

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Labor Day was a washout. It rained all day and my children were driving me crazy cooped up inside. I ended up taking them to an indoor playspace that we had never been to before and it was a huge hit! I was surprised that my 6 year old was into it, because it was definitely geared toward toddlers playing pretend. Honestly, he may have been even more into it than the baby. Winning!

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Birthday cake time.

H Parker Photography is a DFW Baby Photographer with a residential studio in Roanoke,TX.
She specializes in classic, timeless studio baby photographs.

DFW BABY PHOTOGRAPHER | WEEK 34

August 29, 2018

This week was a big transition for this DFW baby photographer. We went from sipping drinks on the beach to sharpening pencils for the first day of school all in a matter of days. There was a lot of laundry involved post-trip, and a lot of getting back into the routine. So basically, boring, boring, boring. I hate to sell it to you that way, but it’s the truth.

DFW BABY PHOTOGRAPHER | WEEK 34

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Meet the teacher night. My boy dressed up in his new boy scout uniform as he was one of the kids to work the Cub Scout signup table at this same event. We got about two seconds with his teacher–those things are always so hectic! Holden was very excited about being in her classroom though–she was one of the two teachers he was hoping for. Looking forward to a fabulous school year!

236 | 365 Brothers. Despite the age difference, they seem to play well together. H loves building block towers for his lil bro to destroy.

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Mommy and baby. I’m getting ready to cold turkey this dude off bottles. He is 14 months, and I’ve allowed him to have a night bottle because I knew we would be traveling over the summer and I thought it would be easier to get him to sleep in unfamiliar territory if I kept that bottle in the picture. At least, that’s how I have justified it. It’s definitely time to say goodbye, and I think I’ve hung onto this tradition more out of me not wanting to let go. J is our final baby, and once I feed him that last bottle that will be it. Forever. It’s hard to say goodbye, knowing that he rarely lets me cuddle him outside of bottle time. I asked my husband to nab a photo so I can remember this by. I love this for its authenticity too–I’m not wearing anything special and baby J is wearing his ‘jailbird’ jammies. We aren’t picture perfect, but this picture IS perfect.

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Last day of summer!! Spent some turtle time in the pool.

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First day of first grade.

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It’s just me and the little guy for most of the days now. He is bored without big brother around. I’m trying my best to keep him busy, so it’s toys, toys everywhere.

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Waiting….
Wishing brother would get home from school.

H Parker Photography is a DFW Baby Photographer with a residential studio in Roanoke,TX.
She specializes in classic, timeless studio baby photographs.

DFW BABY PHOTOGRAPHER | WEEK 33

August 23, 2018

Week 33 of Project 365 was a blast for this DFW baby photographer! This post technically covers like a week and a half, as I got a bit behind because we went on a family vacation to Providenciales, Turks and Caicos.

We stayed at a resort on Grace Bay (which is rated amongst top 10 beaches in the entire world). I had high hopes for clear water and beautiful sand and holy cow this did not disappoint. I mean, I feel like I’ve seen a few beaches in my time. I’ve been to the Gulf side and the Atlantic side of Florida; two different beaches in Mexico; Punta Cana, Dominican Republic; Gulf Shores, Alabama; and the Florida Keys. While all of those beach vacations were wonderful and conjure up fantastic memories, I will say that Turks and Caicos wins hands down for the clearest water. It really was like swimming in a giant pool. There were almost no waves to speak of, it was shallow, calm and there was fantastic snorkeling right off the beach. The landscape was pristine, and every day of the vacation I was blown away by the beauty of the island.

In addition to the wonderful waters, the resort was really a fantastic place to travel with young children. There were a ton of included activities–hobie cat rentals, snorkeling, kayaking, paddle boarding and a glass bottom boat tour. In addition, the resort had kids camps so the hubs and I were able to enjoy some solo beach time by checking the kids in with childcare. At night we had a private babysitter to stay with our baby in the room and put him to sleep, so the grown ups and the big kid could enjoy sit-down dinners and sunsets. I feel bad writing all this, because it was just too wonderful and I feel like I’m doing some major bragging. I am not a huge proponent of traveling to the same place twice–I mean, there are so many places to see in the world. But, this is the first location that I am already planning to visit again. I can’t wait until baby J is a bit older and can enjoy more of the activities, like snorkeling and sailing, alongside the rest of us.

Probably the only downside to traveling to this beach was that I didn’t bring my camera. I mean, that was planned, it wasn’t a mistake. I was on the fence about it…I had a hard time separating from my camera for such a momentous trip. In the end, I was afraid of having it damaged, stolen or lost. I took an Olympus TG-4 (basically a GoPro alternative) and my dated backup camera, a Canon Rebel t3i. I only brought two lenses–a fisheye and a zoom. If you aren’t a camera person, this probably means nothing to you. But, for my momtographer friends, you know what a struggle it was to make this choice. Plus, I am generally a prime lens girl, so restricting myself to a backup camera with a zoom was kind of ick. However, I figured I would be in the moment enjoying things more if I wasn’t worried about my gear. Also, traveling with a baby in tow meant we had to have a stroller and all kinds of annoying odds and ends, so I wanted to keep it as light as possible on the travel front. In the end, I have a ton of snapshots, and while I would have loved to have my big girl gear with me, I feel okay about my decision. But, if you are wondering about the quality of the photos this week..that would be a major reason why.

Without further adieu, Week 33.

DFW BABY PHOTOGRAPHER | WEEK 33

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I feel like Mother Nature got her signals crossed for the first part of August. It actually rained here in Texas for four days in a row. One of the big storms came down so hard that the drains on our patio backed up and my husband had to start clearing the lines during the storm to keep our patio and outside fridge from flooding. Holden loved watching the chaos from the comfort of the living room.

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Did I mention it was a soggy, rainy mess last week? After 4 days of being cooped inside, I loaded up the troops for a trip to Cabelas. I wasn’t brave enough to do the actual aquarium–too much of a people zoo. I feel like this was a major mom win though, because it entertained both kids for nearly an hour and it was only 15 minutes from the house.

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Packing. Oh, the packing. Traveling internationally with a baby is NOT for the faint of heart. My husband made fun of the Excel sheet I prepared to coordinate everything, until he actually had to start fitting this circus into suitcases and then he was bowing to my greatness. Or at least that’s how I choose to interpret it. Mostly, it sounded a lot like cursing and him asking why we needed to bring Calamine.

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Travel day.

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Baby’s first time in the ocean! Judd is definitely not what one would describe as ‘mellow’ — he has strong opinions about life, so I was pleasantly surprised when he took to the beach right way. He was all about that sand between his toes. I’m shocked, and elated that he is apparently a beach bebe.

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Beach party! Dancing to his own beat.

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Holden’s first snorkel experience. The great thing about this joint was that they had an amazing coral garden 5 minutes walk from our resort. Holden had never snorkeled before, but since he is a great swimmer I had full confidence he could do it. Full disclosure, he was PISSED during this photo. Salt water in his eyes, nose…going wild and hating life. Turns out, this kid is so used to goggles that a mask threw him off. We tried again with just goggles and he LOVED it. We saw rainbow parrotfish, “dory” fish, zebra colored fish, brain coral. The husband even spotted a barracuda! Definitely an amazing experience, and I am so glad that my Holden gave it another go with goggles. Probably one of my favorite activities from the entire vacation.

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My handsome boy all ready for a special dinner date with mom and dad.

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Time to head home. Always sad to say goodbye to vacation. Even Baby J was bummed about going home. That, and the fact that he didn’t take a nap ALL STINKING DAY. This kid fought sleep from 5am Eastern time to 10:30pm Central time. We kept thinking the airplane noise and motion would make him zonk out, but oh no, the stubborn is strong with this one. #perseverance #stubborn

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Post travel laundry day.

H Parker Photography is a DFW Baby Photographer with a residential studio in Roanoke,TX.
She specializes in classic, timeless studio baby photographs.

DFW BABY PHOTOGRAPHER | PROJECT 365 | JULY 2018

August 1, 2018

july 2018 project 365 monthly collage

H Parker Photography is a DFW Baby Photographer with a residential studio in Roanoke,TX.
She specializes in classic, timeless studio baby photographs.

DFW BABY PHOTOGRAPHER | WEEK 28

July 16, 2018

Week 27 was a bit of a stinker, and while week 28 was certainly an improvement for this DFW baby photographer, it still contained more than its fair share of chaos. Fingers crossed that week 29 can just sail on easy like. I’m thinking that July is just my dumpster fire month. Every year, I feel like there is that one month where a bunch of things hit the fan all at once. Last year, it was August. The year before it was October. I mean, truly, I have an incredible life filled with many blessings and I am grateful beyond measure for that which I do not deserve. All I’m getting at is that we all live through the roller coaster of life, and and the moment I’m on the part of the coaster where you want to barf. It happens.

DFW BABY PHOTOGRAPHER | WEEK 28

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If you keep up with my project, you know that we had to put our dog Bailey to sleep during week 27. This is Rufus, our other fur baby. Rufus is about to celebrate his 12th birthday, so he’s in his golden years as well. He is doing okay without his sister, but we are definitely going out of our way to give him extra loving, and I’m not sure how he feels about that. Rufus is an aloof dog, he reminds me of a cat. He gets pets from you when he wants pets from you. He has always been full of energy, jumping on all our visitors (to my dismay), but he is slowing down too these last few months. Trying to remember to take a bunch of photos and videos of this old guy.

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Baby J had my husband and I cracking up because he crawled underneath this side table and apparently couldn’t get himself out. He was stuck for more than 5 minutes. It was the most quiet, calm 5 minutes we’ve experienced in awhile.

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I also mentioned that during week 27 my grandma broke her leg. I finally had a chance to visit her in the hospital. Picture in parking lot, because there is no way my grandma is going to let me take her photo in a hospital bed and post in on the internet.

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I’m a big “eat what’s on sale” person, so we have been having a lot of asparagus lately. Trying to find ways to jazz it up a bit.

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Finding ways to get in trouble, taking all the stuff off my shelves.

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Brothers playing at the water table. We have gotten our money’s worth out of that thing!

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Of course Baby J had a fever of 104 just after the doctor closed on Friday evening. After a trip to urgent care, we discovered he had hand, foot and mouth disease. It is as horrible as it sounds.

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Baby J still mega sick. Day 3 of fever, and it was still at 103. He even fell asleep in my husband’s arms. That basically NEVER happens, so it deserved photo documentation.

H Parker Photography is a DFW Baby Photographer with a residential studio in Roanoke,TX.
She specializes in classic, timeless studio baby photographs.

DFW BABY PHOTOGRAPHER | WEEK 26

July 2, 2018

Photographing my own family through this Project 365 has been such a joy. It encourages me to get out my camera and document even the most mundane aspect of our lives. Really, isn’t most of life made up of those routines that we never think to snap a photo of? Some of my favorite images are the most ridiculously tiny ones–the baby reaching into the grocery cart for his biscuits, my older son’s hand as he fills up his cup from the ice dispenser, the kids Facetime-ing with their dad.

Anyway, this DFW baby photographer had my camera out at a most opportune time this weekend, and captured a milestone moment. The baby graduated to toddler. Yup, he is taking steps…lots of them…in a row, and I think we can officially call him a walker now. He has been taking steps here and there since his first birthday, but this weekend he really stepped it up (see what I did there?).

So, while it is a joy to photograph all those miniature moments in my children’s lives, I am also pretty stoked when I get a big, firework type moment like first steps. Yayy for all the photos!

Enjoy!

DFW BABY PHOTOGRAPHER | WEEK 26

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Happy baby.

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We keep pretty busy in the summer. So far, my son has been to a golf camp and two different Vacation Bible Schools. On those rare days where nothing is on the agenda, it’s nice to veg out and watch cartoons in our pjs all morning.

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Dinnertime with my boys.

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Watching out the window for Daddy to come home from work.

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A rare occurrence where I was able to give my husband the camera and get a photo of me and my big kid having a night time snuggle fest.

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Graduated from baby toddler. Watch out world!

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Donut day!!

H Parker Photography is a DFW Baby Photographer with a residential studio in Roanoke,TX.
She specializes in classic, timeless studio baby photographs.

DFW BABY PHOTOGRAPHER | WEEK 25

June 25, 2018

This DFW baby photographer has spent another week in the summer trenches. We are still plugging along, doing a lot of swimming. The days are SO LONG though, particularly when my husband travels most of the time and it’s too hot to do anything outdoors that isn’t water related. We have been doing a lot though, a little outing each day. Often, it’s just to the grocery store, library, gym or maybe an indoor playground. My baby is still transitioning between 1 and 2 naps a day, so he’s on like a 1.5 naps/day schedule and it’s kind of killing our ability to get anything done during the daytime. I’m looking forward to that transition being over with!! Anyone have words of wisdom for making the switch to one nap, hit me up.

DFW BABY PHOTOGRAPHER | WEEK 25

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What should we do on a 101 degree day? Make banana muffins and heat up the oven to 400 degrees. Yes, that sound like a perfect idea. #facepalm #ohwell

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And, the push along CAT truck makes yet another appearance in my Project 365. I worried about the 5.5 year age gap being too big for them to play together, but so far it’s not an issue. Judd loves pushing his brother around on this toy, and Holden loves getting a free ride from his brother. Win win.

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One of our daily outings. Library time. Two seconds later Judd started ripping all the books off the shelf.

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The 12 month doctor appointment. Shots and blood work involved. We brought the whole team to assist.

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As a boy mom who grew up in an all-girl household, I end up doing a lot of things that I never imagined. For example, archery, rock climbing, golf, camping etc. Just a lot of things I wasn’t exposed to and now have the opportunity to explore through my sons. H had a Boy Scout event over the weekend that involved indoor rock climbing. We both tried it, and it was so fun. I would love to go back with just my husband and make it a date night. Dinner and a movie has its place, but I love doing active things too. Maybe God knew what he was doing when he made me a boy mom?

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Baby J’s first taste of a DQ blizzard. This needs to go in his baby book, obviously. #Texan

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Swimmy swimmy. Used my little Olympus for some underwater shots. It’s harder than it looks, and I’m not a great underwater photo editor, so salvaging one photo out of like 100 is pretty darn good for me.

H Parker Photography is a DFW Baby Photographer with a residential studio in Roanoke,TX.
She specializes in classic, timeless studio baby photographs.

DFW BABY PHOTOGRAPHER | FIRST BIRTHDAY SESSION | JUDD

June 14, 2018

It’s not often this DFW baby photographer gets out of the studio, but I made a special concession as it was my baby boy’s first birthday earlier this week!

I thought time passed quickly with my oldest child, but the first year of baby Judd’s life has been a whirlwind. Thankfully, I’ve taken many photos and video to remind me of this special blip of time.

As with any new baby, Judd brought with him a good measure of joy, laughter and (if we are honest) some frustration. Babies are a great way to remind you that the greatest challenges often result in the greatest rewards.

It is bittersweet to recognize that Judd is leaving the ‘baby’ stage and entering toddlerhood. He is most certainly our final baby, so every time he moves out of one stage and into the next, there is a rush of excitement for his development, and a tinge of sadness at what is left behind forever.

Mostly, though, our family feels great joy in celebrating this milestone moment. Baby J has morphed from a squishy little lump into a speedy explorer of the world. Judd is feisty, curious, and makes no qualms about letting you know when he is displeased.

The first birthday is also a fun time to reflect on how much our family has grown in the last 12 months. In all those years between children, my husband and I dreamed about what our future family member would be like, how we wanted our family dynamic to be and who this little creature would become. Holden is 5.5 years older than his baby brother, so I also expected a major adjustment in adding a new family member. I envisioned jealousy from big brother, maybe some grieving on the part of my husband and I as we had to let go of our solo time with Holden to make room for a new person in the family.

Now, we have a whole year with this little dude under our belt, and our entire family feels that our unit is complete. We have found our stride, and our little Judd means the world to all of us. Big brother is so proud, so helpful and I can honestly say I have NEVER seen him act in jealousy toward his baby brother. He delights in every new stage of development right alongside my husband and me. (Seriously, if you’re on the fence about having kids 6 years apart, I’m going to tell you it’s one of the best decisions I ever made, but that’s a post for another time. #agegapkids)

Obviously, there is never a way to express how much a parent loves a child. There is no mega photo session or cake smash or first birthday party that would ever demonstrate the depth of affection we have for our little man. I hope our baby J feels loved every day of his life. I hope he knows he has a mommy, daddy and big brother rooting for him all the time, no matter where he goes or what he does.

Happy first birthday, baby boy!

DFW BABY PHOTOGRAPHER | JUDD |

FIRST BIRTHDAY | WEBB HOUSE

Baby outfits by: Sew Darn Cute

H Parker Photography is a DFW Baby Photographer with a residential studio in Roanoke,TX.
She specializes in classic, timeless studio baby photographs.