So, if you ask a photographer specializing in babies what her favorite stage to photograph is, she will most likely say newborns.  There’s just something about being able to capture that sweet, fleeting, straight-from-creation newness that makes us get all giddy inside.  If you ask us our next favorite stage, 9 times out of 10 it’s going to be the sitting-but-not-yet-crawling phase.  Babies between 6 and 7 months love to smile, they adore their parents, they are awake and cheerful for longer periods of the day, they make all kinds of fun sounds and faces, and they can’t run away from you!

Again, my sweet darling boy is here to remind me to just enjoy being his mom rather than his photographer, as he started crawling 4 weeks ago and is just now, just barely beginning to sit unassisted.  What does this mean?  It means that I get about 4 seconds after sitting him down before he takes off crawling after a sister, a toy, my lights or me.  How long does it take me to sit him down, move back, lie down on the ground, pick up my camera and focus?  Around 4.5 seconds.  It’s as if he is non-verbally saying to me, “Mom, repeat after me, ‘Jack is a person, not a prop.  He is not here to fulfill your photographic flights of imagination.  He is here to cuddle and snuggle and tickle and love.”  And he is.  And I do.

So here he is in all his 6-month, crawling-but-not-yet-sitting glory.  My darling boy:

Gosh, I love that grin:).

Yeah, he pretty much wants to stand up right now.

This was taken 0.01 seconds before he launched forward and crawled off:).

See my muscles? I am more than just a pretty face:).

This was the view I saw most often: “See ya later, Mom!”

And finally, a sitting shot.  Looking a little bit like a frog, but still oh, so very cute!

Oh, baby boy!  Love you so much, it hurts sometimes!

I truly think there is nothing dearer to a mother’s heart than seeing how much her children love each other.  Case in point, yesterday my Julia was getting in the tub to get ready for church and asked, “Is Bella going to take a bath?”  “Yep, and Emily too.”  Her response: “Emily too?!  All my friends?!  All my friends are going to take a bath?!”  I am still smiling about it.

Saturday I had a session with the darling-est (yep, I’m going to say that’s a real word) 7-month little girl and her wonderful big brother.  You could just tell she adores him by the way her eyes just tracked him around the room.  He was so, so sweet back to her–so patient and kind and interested in her.  How lucky they are and will be to have each other as they grow up!

This one just made me giggle–he was trying to get baby sister to smile (On a side note, how fabulous are their outfits together?  Mom did such a great job!).

This is a better representation of their actual relationship:

After a few abysmal attempts on my own and some coaching from Henry, I finally made it through the whole alphabet without any mistakes–who knew my sleep-deprivation had gotten so bad?  He’s one smart cookie:).

And I could not get over gorgeous Lila’s delicious rolls, beautiful eyes, or those LIPS!  Mom and Dad are in trouble for sure.  I have his same shot w/a smile, but oh, how I love the hand placement, those wide eyes, and her little mouth in this one.

A session favorite–can you see her grabbing his foot?

Thanks for such a fun morning guys, and for alphabet lessons!

That’s what this little one was–a pure delight.  In fact, 10 minutes into her session I had to tell her to get ornery so it wouldn’t be so hard to narrow down the amazingly cute shots.  Nine months is such a fun age to photograph–babies are sitting so well, most are crawling (an added challenge), and some even have those first little teeth poking up on the bottom.  It’s so fun to watch these babies grow up and turn into the little people they are going to be.  Here she is at 6 days and 4 months, cute as ever.  Okay, enough from me, let’s get to the images:).

I am warning you, I did a horrible job narrowing them down for the sneak peek.  You’ll just have to suffer through cute baby overload.  Deal with it:).

This darling headband from the belle and the beau went so perfectly with her sweet outfit!

I have one like this where she is smiling, but this one just makes my hear go pitter-pat;).

Gosh, I love those little teeth!

Love!

Okay, these just make me giggle–hat is from the belle and the beau too.

What can I even say about this one?  Love, love, love:).

And, finally, sweet outfits and fun accessories are all fine and good, but if you ask me, birthday suits are always the height of baby fashion:).

Thanks for coming to play!  Hugs!

Sweet baby Anna was not so sure about this whole portrait thing.  And, really, who can blame her?  I’d much rather be snuggled up with my mom and dad (or husband and kids) than pretty much anywhere else.  She was such a trooper, though.  I loved seeing just how much she loved her parents–and mom and dad adored her right back.  I was telling them at the session how much she reminds me of my own squishy babies.  I just loved every sweet little roll!

There were so many sweet family shots, but this one just tugs at my little heart strings.

We caught a couple smiles:).

She just loved her little piggie-toes!

Hand down, session favorite for me!

Thanks for coming to play sweetheart!  See you soon:).

Oh, Baby Boy! I just love you so much–from your tippy-toes to your cute little chin (all 3 of them!). I had a session Saturday, stay tuned for a sweet 6-month old little girl in my next post, and decided to leave my equipment up so I could do a little mini-session with Jack. I cannot believe he is 4 months already. I can hardly stand it.

Just wanted to share the sweet face I find staring up at me all too often at 12:00 a.m. And 1:00. And 2:00. And… well, you get the picture.

Love this little giggle!

We have just discovered how fun toes can be:).

And, oh, I cannot tell you how utterly happy this last one makes me.  That’s my sweet, squishy, smiley boy!

Love you, Peanut!

Happy Holidays from Jessica Washburn Photography!

I am still not quite done for the year–I have two more newborn sessions in the next two days–but I wanted to take the time to wish all my blog readers a very happy holiday season while I have a moment to breathe:).  I hope your December is filled with love and laughter.

A few more images that make my heart happy:).

Happy Holidays!

Why is it that the baby boys seem to blessed with the most gorgeous lashes, lips and skin?  It’s an enigma, but it’s true.  Take 3-month old baby Craig for example.  Lashes so long they almost hit his eyebrows, the cutest plump little lips, and a perfect peaches and cream complexion.  The moment he walked, or rather was carried, in the door, I knew I was just going to be in heaven drinking in his sweetness.  I can tell Mom and Grandma are completely smitten with him; who wouldn’t be?  Mom came all the way from Westchester County for Craig’s session, and we had such a fun morning.

How cute is the hat Mom brought?

I am just in love with this big grin!

Mom missed the newborn phase but was still really, really hoping for some sleeping shots, and at three months that’s a tall order.  Most babies this age won’t stay asleep for even a few shots.  A little quiet mommy-baby time, a big bottle, and lots of patience later, though, we hit the jackpot:).

See what I mean?  Lashes, lips and gorgeous complexion!

After a little nap, we snuck in a few more.

Thanks for the workout, Craig:).  Such a pleasure to meet you!

Oh, dear!  This little lady is such a, well, little lady.  I had the privilege of photographing her as a newborn, and she is still just a little peanut of a thing.  At 5 months, she only has baby Jack beat by about 2 ounces in weight, but every single ounce of her is so deliciously sweet and feminine.  I had so much fun and could just stare at those gorgeous eyes and mile-long lashes all day!

Baby Kate:

Total favorite!

When I say that we can always take a break during baby’s session for snacks, hands and feet are not usually what I mean.  They sure make for darling shots, though!

And one with her gorgeous Mama!

Such a pleasure to watch you grow, my love!

Oh, goodness!  This little girl is just the sweetest, squishiest, most perfect little cherub.  You might remember her sweet newborn images here and here.  I didn’t think it was possible for her to get any cuter, but I don’t mind being wrong one little bit:).  At 4 months, she is such smiley, darling girl.

I often get emails from new parents who missed getting portraits done during that initial newborn phase, asking when they should book a session.  I usually recommend waiting until the fourth month or so, when baby can push up on her tummy with a steady head, make eye contact, dazzle us with smiles, and sit up with assistance.  Another great option is around the 6-month mark when he or she can sit up independently.  As you can see below, waiting for these physical and emotional milestones makes for a great portrait session:).

The headbands and hats for this session came from a great Etsy shop the belle and the beau.  Check them out, the have some darling accessories for boys and girls!

Thanks for coming to play, Baby Lily!  I had such a fun time:).

Seriously?!  It’s already been two months (okay, not really–at 1:00 a.m. tomorrow morning it will have been two months) since little Jack joined our family.  Of course, I had to try and fit in a little mini shoot.

Mini is right, as Jack was bound and determined to remind me why two months is not exactly an ideal age for portraits: wobbly head, lack of neck control that accentuates the double (I mean triple) chin, lack of eye contact, limited smiling.  Too bad for him that he’s too darn cute to let a few challenges keep me from going ahead with my attempt;).

He’s just now starting to smile, but he loves to do it with his little tongue poking out:

The girls have nicknamed him “Jack-Attack.”  Every super-hero needs a super-hero pose, right?

He made it up for a split second:).

And a little detail:

Love you, baby boy!  Love you enough to stop showing you off and to go give you snuggles… right now:).