They're up!

As I quickly mentioned yesterday, the bright spot in our morning was provided by an amazing local photographer, Genevieve Fridley. As I commented on Genevieve's blog, she genuinely captured a day in my life as Mom of these two beauties. You can see the shots here! Which means so much to me and truth be told, also brought a tear to my eye (especially the picture of Aislin and the one of the girls walking up the hill, AKA our front lawn). Genevieve took our ordinary surroundings and the familiar expressions I see everyday, and spun them into truly magical images.

I'm not sure if I can put it into words...but this is how I see my life. These images are what I see with my eyes, but could never capture with my own camera. Which is why I can't say enough good things about hiring a professional to take pictures of your children. Genevieve is obviously an artist and a skilled technical photographer, but she also has a skill set that goes beyond that. Besides the fact that the girls instantly took to her, she has the ability to get children (and adults I think as well!) relaxed and comfortable in front of the camera, almost like she's not even shooting. Which trust me...is a talent. I'm also super impressed that she made it look like Aislin is sitting in the living room of my dreams, rather than on a chair that houses the entire Fisher-Price and Melissa and Doug toy lines underneath it and is right next to a stereo speaker from Pete's bachelor days.

These photos capture the essence of life at home, which is what I wanted. I wanted pictures of the girls playing and being themselves. You know...Aisy trying every available pair of shoes on, the girls reading, jumping on the bed, running and exploring outside the house, Leah dancing and being a fairy. I did not want a buttoned-up, formal portrait. That's just too much pressure...for me and for the kids. My kids won't even pose for a picture with Santa or the Easter Bunny. So there is no way I'd ever get them to sit for one shot at a Portrait Studio. Besides, like I said, that wasn't what I wanted anyway. Our session with Genevieve was most importantly fun. The girls did not want her to leave...which is really cool, and a great excuse to have her back again sometime to take more pictures.

PS It was tough choosing which picture to post here, Leah or Aisy, but I had a request yesterday from my dear friend Cynthia for "more of Aisy's face!" So here you go Cyn.