Welcome Fall! (Alpharetta Family Photography)

I absolutely love fall. I'm not sure if it's because it doesn't last long for those miraculous colors, much like those daily miracles of childhood, but I cherish these days more than any other time of the year.

We got our first true taste of fall last weekend. Saturday was almost summer-like while I was sweating it out at a session in the mid afternoon sun. By Sunday morning though, clouds had crept in with a chilly wind to boot- fall had arrived!



I met this fun family in downtown Duluth, GA early in the morning. I am embarrassed to admit, before that weekend I had never been there, though I'd driven past it probably hundreds of times on the way to/from UGA. The place is great! It's so family friendly, with a playground, sprayground, a festival for concerts/events, a great clocktower, a large open green space, beautiful trees lining sidewalks and unique stores/restaurants surrounding it.

After a few family shots, I got to run around after Miss 18 month-old munchkin! This age is fun, but bribery (or incentives :) don't work much until probably around age 3, so you have to get a little creative trying to get them to stay in one place, or be prepared to move!





Oh what fun gathering up some leaves can be!







Big sister was a blast- she loved throwing leaves at me and spinning around. She had a great time.



I managed a couple of the girls sitting still AND looking in the camera's direction- success! :)



When big sis lost some steam, it's amazing what the little incentive of candy did for her spirits:



Evidence of the changing colors underway...



After the session was done, we headed over to the new Tie Dye 4 Bakery to warm up with some coffee (for me, not the kids) and jazz up on some sugar (who could resist?).

And while the colors are even more intense this weekend, the weather feels like it's almost back to summer today, but I'm sure we'll be back in sweaters soon.  I've got my favorite one on standby.

Mommy was missing!

My little girl started Pre-K this year. It sounds cliche, but I don't know where the time went. I was just rocking her to sleep and now she's a night owl reading books until midnight if we'd let her.

The other day, I saw a drawing she did at school which made me sad and realize I had to rethink my priorities:



Mommy was MISSING... I wasn't there in our own family drawing- I was off taking pictures. Don't get me wrong- I love taking pictures and I know the importance of them for families- it's something that I try to convey to everyone I get the chance to photograph...time is fleeting, your kids will grow and change, and that it's so great to create and capture those memories and understand the importance of them.

Then I realized- what if you're too busy to be there to make memories with your family?
I'm not a full time photographer. I also have a full time corporate job. I have always loved photography since I was a little girl, so I have to balance the day job with the side business with the family time, and apparently I wasn't doing such a good job at it.

Since this time, I have made efforts to balance work and life, to block out the much-needed time with my family to enjoy those times to take them on fun outings or just hang out. It's important, because how can you make memories if you're not even there?

I'm happy to say I made the cut on the family drawing this past weekend (and notice the transformation on how she draws people! My baby's growing up...:)