The Capture Sweet Moments Blog

Cake smashes are some of my favorite sessions, because they are a celebration of life, of a little human life’s first trip around the sun. What joy has this little life brought to all of the other lives they have touched in their first 365 days, what parts of other lives has this little sunshine lit up?

Victoria, I can tell by the light in your mamma’s eyes when she looks at you, that you have brought so much joy to your family . . .

Throughout these years that the Aviles family has given me the honor of taking their photos, we’ve done family sessions at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, and multiple beach family photo sessions in Ocean City, Maryland. This year, they decided to capture their family moments at their family home in northern Virginia. If you’re familiar with my photography, or have spoken to me about photo sessions, you may know that your family home is my favorite place to capture family photos and this session did not disappoint . . .

When baby Natalia arrived on August 29th, more than two weeks early, her mama was not at all surprised. Born 7 lbs, 7 oz and with a head full of thick, dark hair, this girl was ready for the world and she knew it.

And from the smiles, the quiet moments and the contented sighs that I witnessed at her in home newborn session in Washington, D.C., her family was ready for her as well . . .

I have been blessed to call Meredith a friend for a long time, and even though we sometimes go months without catching up with one another, every time we talk, I find out more and more how grateful I am that she is a part of my life. I’ve watched this woman handle both life’s struggles and triumphs with such grace. She shows leadership and intelligence in every interaction. I feel so fortunate that I’ve been able to be a witness to both the hard times and the joy in her life. So when she sent me a message this summer that she was due with a baby girl in September, I was both excited and honored that she asked me to capture some moments of her family before they became a family of 4, plus 2 doggies (who were their first babies).

When I first met Allison and Chris, we were at Friendship Trees for a Christmas tree farm session. It was a chilly morning, and their (almost) 3 year old, Riley, was not enjoying the cold, dew soaked grass. We captured some sweet moments anyway, and I mentioned that for a full session, I really do enjoy doing them at home so that the kids don’t have to be packed into the car to go anywhere and we can move at their pace . . .

Fast forward a few months to this spring, and Allison reached out to me again. She said they were interested in a family session, at their home in Severna Park, and I could not have been more excited to have the opportunity to document her, Chris, Riley and one year old Connor again. And this time, I would get to come to them and play with the kiddos where they feel most at home . . .

Baby Isla Marie was nice and cozy in mama’s tummy and was not eager to enter this cold Maryland February, and who could blame her! Isla made her debut on Presidents Day, February 15th, 2021 at 12:23pm, a few days after her due date, and weighed in at 7lbs 11oz, measuring 19.25”. As predicted, she is a firecracker just like her mama, giving her mama the side eye as soon as she was placed on her chest. I was so happy to meet her and to see Jen and Will again, to capture in home lifestyle newborn photos at their Pasadena, Maryland home.

A year goes by so fast. It feels as if it was just yesterday that Amanda and I were talking about doing Adelyn’s newborn photos. And here we are a year later and Miss Adventure, Miss Personality, the Pilkerton Wild One is smashing her cake and wrapping up her first trip around the sun.

Life was lived, lessons were learned, I’m still growing, as a human being, and so is my business. Read on to see what this year held for me and what I hope for in 2019 . . .

I met this sweet mom at a mom’s night out held by the organization where both of our son’s attend speech therapy. When we started talking about getting a photo session in before Christmas, I was thrilled that she would consider an in home session. We took advantage of our local neighborhood park, and captured some in home photos that portray the love and laughter that this family so clearly enjoys . . .

My friendship with Meredith dates back to early high school, with days of running around the ice rink where our brothers played hockey. We didn’t go to school together, and we lived an hour away from each other, but somehow a friendship developed that has endured over 20 years, and hopefully will continue for many more.