Mini Sessions, Big Families :-) :: Family Photo, Columbus, Ohio
Yarmesch Family Photo :: Family Photo, Columbus, Ohio
Today I was flooded with this memory. My old basement in our house on Hearthstone Ave where I grew up. Giant square of maroon carpet. Green sectional couch. Toy baskets neatly shoved to the edge of every inch of perimeter of the room.
My two sisters, our neighbor and I are there pretending, for the seven-thousandth time, to act out every scene from Beauty and the Beast. Our parts were most definitely chosen based on seniority: Our neighbor got to play Belle (maybe because she was the guest?), my older sister was the Beast (a very begrudging yet elegant Beast), I played Lumiere and my younger sister got stuck with Cogsworth. Occasionally our roles would require us to swing back and forth from Mrs. Potts and Chip, but we definitely saw it as an honor to play all of the household items.
There you have it. A pretty much cookie-cutter memory from every child who lived through the nineties.
Now, these two little boys would make excellent Chips, but only because he's the cutest, roundest, happiest, bounciest member of the cast. They most certainly bear all of these characteristics and more. I am always grateful to this family allowing me to photograph them! I've followed them with a camera on their wedding day and through several photo shoots as a family.
Enjoy!
Rachel
The Anzelmo's :: Family Photo, Columbus, Ohio
Last week Edith and I went to Costco with my mom (a common occurrence) and they had a miniature playhouse there. [Enter, Edith's dream come true.] So, instead of doing any actual shopping, we, along with several other passersby (who we soon came to find were also grandmothers), watched her play for 45 minutes. One of my favorite stay-at-home-mom activities to date :-)
I'm fairly sure that little house was the same as the one you see in these photos, thus proving little playhouses prove to be excellent investments (plug for Costco in hopes of free diapers?). These girls and their personalities were so much fun to catch on camera.
Enjoy!
Rachel
Williams Family Photo 2016 :: Family Photo, Colmbus, Ohio
Edith is going through a phase that sort of [really] puts me on edge lately. Let me demonstrate:
Lunchtime.
Me: Do you want a peanut butter and jelly, Edith?
Edith: Yes!
I make sandwich, smash it for an easy fit in small mouths, cut it in quarters with care, and give it to her.
Edith: Nooo.
Me: Okay...Do you want pasta, Edith?
Edith: Yeah!
I microwave left over pasta, salt it like she prefers, let it cool down to perfect toddler eating temp, and give it to her.
Edith: Noooooo.
This goes on with several other foods, including pickles, olives, chips, peanuts, until finally she tells me she wants a cookie. She eats nothing and screams. I eat everything and cry.
END
What do I do? It's an unsolvable mystery, toddler eating. Or so I think. This phase was driving me out of my mind until one day when Edith spent some time with my sister Elizabeth and her kids while I was at an appointment. I walk in, and Elizabeth, among other Edith updates, says ultra-simply, "she's in that toddler eating phase. You just giver whatever 'til she eats it." I stand there in amazement. Of course! You just go along with it! You're the adult! Choose simple foods! Let it happen! Don't sweat it. Brilliant.
This moment of the sage imparting her knowledge on the ignorant has happened at least a hundred other times between my sister Elizabeth, mother extraordinaire of seven, and me, hyper-rookie first time mom. She's the ultimate go-to, and I'm unavoidably grateful to have her a short and frantic text away.
Elizabeth has also been the one to call me and ask me to take her family's photos more times than any other one person. (Here in 2014 and here in 2015, just to show a few.) Her support and encouragement have allowed me to unlock so much enjoyment and gratification from taking photos, and I'm so very grateful for her.
Enjoy!
Rachel
Clara :: Baby Photo, Columbus, Ohio
Today marks my 570th day of motherhood! I'd like to consider myself an old pro, but aside from the fact that the once-frequent "is she breathing?!" checks have subsided, everything looks about the same as it did on day one. Some days I look at my hair in the mirror and get a little scared as I remember the infrequency with which I now shower. Here are some of my shining moments as a mother: