This little cutie is my son, Joshua. He recently turned 1 year old, and as the family photographer, it was my job to take his birthday portraits! This sweet boy of mine is growing up WAY too fast. He absolutely loves to laugh. He giggles at silly sounds, faces, and playing peek-a-boo. Once you get him going, he has a hard time stopping. I’m okay with that, though. It makes my heart happy to hear that sound.

He follows his older brother EVERYWHERE. This is their small slide, and just before I snapped this photo, Christopher had been playing with it. Look at that ornery smile!

This beautiful 1-year-old sized cake was made by my dear friend Kristan Fischer-Kennedy. It was perfect for the occasion at hand!

Joshua wasn’t too sure of what to do with his cake at first, but once he tasted the frosting, this is what ensued...

Happy Birthday sweet Joshua! I look forward to many, many more with you!

Update 8/9/2023:

I am now staring this sweet baby boy’s 10th birthday in the face! I know all new mothers hear it, but the old adage, “The days are long, but the years are short” is truly correct! I can, but at the same time, I can’t believe that this sweet baby has grown into a wonderful preteen. Josh is truly coming into his own, these days, and he makes me proud to be his momma! He’s kind, caring, respectful, hardworking, imaginative, creative, and loving.

But, heavens-to-betsy! Those photos! I will always treasure them and the memories they represent of my middle child’s first birthday, but as an experienced portrait photographer, they make me want to cringe! I was still trying-and failing- to use manual focus, because that’s how I thought all the pros did it. Little did I know that since the advent of autofocus every single one has been using it. But, I was still determined to try, so yes, these photos are a little bit out of focus, but I still cherish the precious memories they represent!

And I promise y’all an updated blog post on Joshua soon- with better photos!