My love of photography started out when I was a teenager. (Do you already know this story?) My little sister, 4 years younger than me, was always a willing subject. We would brainstorm photo themes and then I would choose her outfit, the location (usually our yard. Neither of us were old enough to drive) and then borrow my moms camera for the afternoon. Country, skater and pajama party were a few of my favorites. I don't do very many "theme" photo shoots anymore. I decided this past year I needed to do annual Birthday portraits of my kids. That way I would make sure I did at least ONE shoot with them that was more than just randoms on my phone. (Not that those aren't great to have!) Well, I've been breaking out the themes again for their photos and it has been a lot of fun!! Definitely a throwback to my beginner days. This year, Sophie really came into her own. Her own electronics, that is! She has always watched Ryan play video games, but never really wanted to try it out herself. We offered, she'd refuse. I can't even pinpoint the day it happened! But, it did, and she's a little Minecraft wiz now! It's fun to watch her creativity and silliness manifest itself in that little world of cubes. She even requested a Minecraft theme for her Birthday party this year. I was apprehensive about that at first, but it turned out to be a super fun challenge to kind of, "girl-ify" that typically boy party theme.
Sophie still loves all of her girly things. She told me her favorite color was "all of them". She loves to pick & bring me flowers from home, the church yard, anywhere. She's always creating books, drawings, coloring. Her and her big brother are constantly out in the yard or woods when it's not too hot, catching bugs and playing pretend. We bought her a Barbie house last year on her Birthday, and her collection has really grown. They're currently one of her most played with toys, though stuffed animals still hold the top spot. I would be remiss not to mention the drama we had on her actual Birthday a couple weeks ago. We were already having kind of a rough week when Sophie accidentally broke our front living room window and gashed her arm on the broken glass an HOUR before her party was supposed to start! Nick ran her over to the ER and she had to have five stitches in. Poor thing. Nick will recount how well she handled it (She didn't. It was bad.) if you want to ask about it. It's healing well! You can see the scar in the photo where she's pulling down the lever. Anyhow, here's where we ended up for photos this year! We made a trip over to Indiana and I asked a photographer native to the area (My nephew's wife, Joylily) if she knew of any cute ice cream shops. She suggested Ella's Frozen Yogurt and it was perfect! The socks she's sporting were the inspiration behind the shoot spot. Sophie's cheese face is turned up to an 11 and it's really hard to get her to smile genuinely lately, but Ryan saved the day and got her giggling for a few. :) Happy 6th Birthday, my little love. <3
