I don’t have much of a green thumb. Everytime I get a houseplant that is supposedly “impossible to kill!”…. it manages to die.

However– that seems to be changing! I don’t want to jinx myself… but I’m excited. Last year, my mom helped me plant bushes and flowers in my dirt hole garden. It actually looked like a real garden! I didn’t even kill (much) of it all season. This year my lilies are bigger, my ivy is getting huge, and my bushes are flowering! Mom came back out again and helped me pick out a few more annuals to add some color. I think I’m getting less plant-fearful this year. We took another step out and also got some rosemary, basil, dill and lavender, as well as 2 tomato and 2 pepper plants! Hooray for buying less at the grocery store. (assuming I don’t kill them).

So every morning, Kaylee and I head outside to water our plants. (this is probably why they are still alive, unlike years past)

She gets SO excited when you tell her it’s time to water the plants. I use the hose (and she tries to jump into the spray) and she has her own little watering can. She waters the flowers a little, but mostly waters the concrete and her toes. She gets such a kick out of it.

As you can see, she also takes her job VERY seriously.

© jen snyder photography

I met up with this wonderful family today to get some portraits of their beautiful daughter. This was one of my auction winners and I’ve been really looking forward to this session!

Miss M was full of energy today and she really kept me on my toes. She’s got a great smile and check out those eyes!

© jen snyder photography

I love it when you can actually feel the love a family has for each other. The kids were both a lot of fun (and total sweethearts), and all four of them are so good looking! I had a great afternoon with them.

I think my favorite part of the afternoon was right when things were winding down. We were just about done and the kids were getting silly. I’d hold the camera up to take a photo and they’d throw themselves on the floor as if killed. There was a lot of giggling and a lot of dramatic falling. I’m so happy when kids can be themselves instead of stiffly posing with that fake school-portrait smile.

© jen snyder photography

Remember the sweet maternity I shared recently? ( here ) Well, her beautiful 10 lb baby came into this world and I was lucky enough to head back down to them his very first portrait session.

I just loved snuggling with him! He is also very lucky to have such a loving, attentive big sister, too. She was my special assistant, and when little brother took a nursing break, big sister and I read a few books together. There is not much in the world sweeter than a toddler running up to you and plopping in your lap with a book in hand.

© jen snyder photography

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday! I know this is total Mommy-Goggles, but I wanted to share this photo of Kaylee. I’m just amazed that she’s smiling AND looking at me! I feel so lucky! She was trying to climb up my leg as I was sitting and leaning against our storm door. We had just finished looking outside (something we do several times a day, to point out the birds and cars and trees and grass and everything else a toddler finds fascinating… we do actually go outside quite often, but when we are indoors we still have to look out to make sure it’s all still there)

Stay tuned… I’ve got at least 2 more sessions to blog tonight! It’s been a busy week. (I wouldn’t have it any other way)

Miss M was an amazing model for me yesterday! She is so sweet and cuddly.

She was an absolute dream to photograph, as long as she was in the spotlight. She didn’t care much for sharing the limelight with mom! In the end, I think we wore her out and I hope she slept well that day.

I’m telling you, I have the best job in the world. I love being around beautiful babies!

© jen snyder photography

I ventured back down to Fell’s Point for an urban family session. Fell’s is quickly becoming one of my favorite places to shoot. There’s so many great colors and textures there!

Check out that adorable smile!

He was throwing rocks into the giant puddle, and decided to give mom a BIG hug. Awwww…..

He had so much spirit! Truly, a lot of fun.

Let’s see, we threw rocks into puddles, fed and then chased some ducks, jumped over a lot of stuff, inspected “traps” (cellar doors), spun in circles, swung around, jumped, and all around had a fantastic time. We ended the day in my favorite coffee shop. We had expected to shoot between rain drops but it held off the entire time!

Thank you so much for spending the morning with me! I had a great time!

© jen snyder photography

I had the pleasure of photographing a “fairy garden party” to celebrate springtime and the blooming flowers. Let me tell you, there is not much in life better than beautiful weather and 10 little girls in fairy wings, with fairy wands and fairy crowns.

There was even face painting!

One of the little fairies.

Little fairies are flying!

I think my favorite part of the afternoon would have to be when they all went hunting for golden eggs to give to Queen Titania. The girls were so excited, all I could hear were giggles, and all I could see was a blur of heads and glittery wings as they went searching in the wooded path through the gardens. Everyone had such a good time!

Thank you so much for having me up, I really enjoyed the party.

© jen snyder photography

Toddlers crack me up. Not that long ago, you couldn’t get Kaylee to wear a hat. At least, not without her screaming bloody murder and acting like it was the end of the world.

Those times are gone! Most of the credit for this goes to her Brobee hat… that was about the time her opinions began to change. Now, everything is a hat. Blankets, socks, bowls, etc. She has one particularly favorite “hat” though– her baby doll’s diaper cover. It’s really a perfect fit for her head, so I guess I can’t really blame her. She gets really into it and puts on the doll dress, too! (When it’s unbuttoned it will fit over her head and looks a bit like a capelet on her.

Every day. Every day, she wears this dress and diaper cover. She gets pretty miffed at me when I take it off before we leave the house if we are running errands. “Hat! Hat! Hat!” She will continue to demand! And once it’s back safe and sound on her head, she declares, “I pretty!”

And what good is a story without photos?

Here she is on the couch, with her wallet, doing her other favorite thing: counting her money. (She gets super excited when she finds pennies and such, yelling “Money! Money!”, and she likes to keep her coins in this little zipper pouch)

Hanging out in the kitchen while dinner is cooking. Love the super hero cape (also known as her receiving blanket from her infant days).

All decked out and coloring.

© jen snyder photography

Today is the last day to bid in the silent auction to benefit the Baltimore Child Abuse Center. I have a gift certificate there, good for a session and an 11×14 wall portrait! It’s a $175 value and is currently only $45! There are also a lot of other great items, including restaurant gift certificates, a one night stay for two at a nice hotel, a round of golf with the Police Commissioner, a massage, etc. Father’s Day is around the corner, or you could just treat yourself. It’s tax deductible and going to a great cause, so go out there and bid!

Click here to bid!