{Lifestyle Portraiture} Independence: What does it mean to you?

Independence means so many things to so many people. Freedom to do what you want, freedom of speech and expression, freedom to practice any religion without fear of persecution...etc...etc...etc.

For those in the US, July is synonymous with Independence day. Come July, the flags come out and fly strong and proud all across the country. 

For me as a parent, everyday is Independence day as my kids learn to do things on their own - walk unassisted, wave bye excitedly while being dropped to school instead of the desperate clinging of your arm or leg! and lately, riding a bike without training wheels. 

That is what we achieved this past week - our little Ms.Independent rode a bike without the training wheels. 'I want to try' , 'I can do it...I know I can' is all that we heard all week. Sure enough, it took just 5 minutes of assistance and away she went. I wanted to weep....really, I mean I wanted to sit down and bawl so hard...I did not care about independence, freedom, doing what you want...nothing. My baby was growing up and I did not want to be left behind. I wanted to savor the memories and moments of her holding my hand as she peddled her tricycle...I wanted to remember all the conversations and countless questions I would hear as we peddled miles on our tandom bike :(

 Just give me a push, dad!

This one melts my heart! - I see the pride as well as the sadness as we realize she is growing up and getting ready to explore - one peddle at a time!

And away she goes! - here, there, everywhere....

This was special "by request" picture - "Take one of my cooooollllll bike" - yes, honey - it is very cool :)

We rode to the park and as we were going, I saw this guy in the swamp. Right when I put to camera to my face, he took off.

For some reason, this picture captured the emotion of the moment - Ms.Independent taking off in her bike - her "wings" that would take her to new places and new adventures!

The tandom attachement is already left behind as we practice our riding...I miss it already and she has just learnt to ride her bike. At this rate, I am going to have a meltdown when she goes to elementary school :(

{Lifestyle Portraiture} Sneak Peek - The M family - simply gorgeous | Naperville Family Photographer

The M family was my second photo shoot at my favorite park!. They totally rocked the shoot. I did feel really bad that I made them walk around so much but the parents and the kids did not complaint even once. While we were taking pictures, we told the kids to pretend that they were playing, and little Mr. A said ' But I really do want to play!' - so adorable.

The kids loved climbing the rocks, watching the fish in the stream and even the occasional dragon flies that were hovering around.

Thank you M family for coming out on a HOT Sunday morning and for taking everything in stride to give me some amazing photos! - Enjoy your sneak peak!

Ah! - Ms. C - she is a photographer's delight. Every time I would call her name, she would give me the cutest smile....a pro at such a young age!

This is my attempt at giving the spotlight to each kid - how beautiful is she!

Adorable family picture!

I LOVE how color co-ordinated they are...Perfect "Red White and Blue" snapshot!

Oh! Mr.A - so handsome and so very cute.

{Lifestyle Portraiture} Sneak Peek - White and Khaki do go well with Green | Naperville Family Photographer

I recently discovered a fun park near our home. It has many winding paths, biking trails and cute bridges that go across a small stream. So it is only natural that when I wanted to have some outdoor family photoshoots, I would choose this park.

My first family got there bright and early on a Sunday morning. They got out of the car and I immediately knew this was going to be a fun shoot. They were all dressed in white and khakis - a great contrast to the abundance of green and brown that was in the park.

I had so much fun with these guys - the kids were adorable and mom and dad were game for anything! We walked, we ran, we climbed logs and also did some "Taekwondo" poses! - so very cute.

Well! guys - here's your sneak peak! - thanks for coming out on a Sunday morning and being such good sports :) - Enjoy!

 Doesn't she look awesome! - and she is training for the Chicago Marathon..wow!

The first thing that comes to my mind when I see this picture is "Gosh! these kids are going to be runners just like mom and dad"! :)

Daddy's girl! - I LOVE the finger holding pose :)

I love these - they just bring out the special bond between parent and kid!

How can you not smile...okay laugh.. when you see little Ms.M 's smile!

Little man V's game face! - I adore the way his eyebrows curve! - I tried to duplicate this at home as I was going through the pictures and its tough!

 Ms.M was such a sport for a 2 year old - she was so happy running around and imitating big brother right down to the game face!. This was just as we were leaving - such a cute smile while eating her cracker...lol!

{Travel Log} Staycation for a change - Happy Summer!

As much as we love to travel, every once in a while, we are know to slow down and hang around the house doing nothing much and totally loving it.

This 4th of July weekend we decided to do just that - absolutely nothing. But we still ended up having an action packed weekend. We did a whole lot of little things that left us exhausted and happy to have had a "staycation"!.

We biked...
We walked...
We conquered monkey bars in the local playground...
We swam in the pool...
We watched a local baseball game and loved it...
We overdosed on popsickles...
We watched movies from the comfort of our car...
We climbed trees...
We spent several minutes observing birds and ducks...
We had picnics in the park...
We enjoyed a spectacular fireworks display in our town...

AND the best part, we drove a grand total of about 15 miles during the whole 4 day weekend!

Happy Summer!