Memorial Day Picnic at the Park

Spent a relaxing afternoon at Mason Park today with friends and family. There was volleyball, wiffleball, lots of good food, UNO, and quality time with my girls =)  

 

Layaana enjoyed spending time with daddy.

 

Mujtaba just got back from his international gallivanting and was getting to know Nasha.

Bright sunshine was not a problem for her!

 

It was simply one of those days that I felt grateful to have had. A day that too many people take for granted. Gorgeous weather, lots of laughs, and having my kids close to me. I'm glad we didn't spend a lot of money to go somewhere in efforts to utilize the long weekend. Sometimes it's great to just sit back and enjoy what we have around us, and while we're at it, we should document the memory with some cute pictures =)



 

Happy 1st Anniversary Saira and JC!

Today is my sister and brother in law's first wedding anniversary! Over the course of the past year I have grown to love this dude like the brother I never had, and I have much abuse to make up for =) There are many great things about JC, but since it is their wedding anniversary, I have to appreciate the number one thing about him, and that is the fact that he loves Saira. He CHOSE to love Saira, whereas my family and I have no option you see ;) All jokes aside, I decided to honor their anniversary by backtracking a little.
Beginning with the moment he actually put a ring on her finger and she said yes. I remember that I was hardly pregnant with Nasha and we did a fun little photoshoot for Saira and JC.

So him asking her to marry him, led to her saying yes, led to their wedding, and this picture pretty much captures their relationship and personas. I am proud to say I directed this creative little piece. He loves to play the guitar, and she loves to bake and Disney. So Saira in a Minnie Mouse apron while JC sings to her captures the start of their marriage. 2012 was kind to us and we were blessed with 2 new family members. JC, and then my precious Nasha =)

Happy Anniversary you silly cupcakes!

Backyard PhotoShoot

Today was a gorgeous day outside. The best possible day to take pictures of kids. So today I got a chance to take pictures for Muzzammil and his two kids Azim and Aliya. They had brought home some baby chicks from school and wanted the school pets to be a part of their photoshoot. Surprisingly, the tiny animals actually cooperated for the most part! Azim is also a little athlete and we decided to capture his soccer talents as well.

I love adding personal touches to pictures for this very reason, no two families will ever have a 'generic' feel to their photographs. This is what differentiates an image from a memory. Years from now when they look at their pictures, they will fondly recall how soccer was a part of Azim's childhood, and how something as small as chicks could create so much bonding and sibling rivalry!

Overall, it was a fun, playful photoshoot and we got some great smiles and laughs out of everyone, including the chicks!

Today we had a playdate at a friend's home, and I brought my camera along to snap a few images of the kids playing. My friend Nazish brought her little boy Zayn, and it was sweet to see how easy it was for her to make her son smile. This is part of the joy in photographing children for me. Especially babies. You don't need an expensive and fancy backdrop, you don't need lots of toys... all you really need is their mom, and their eyes light up with joy at the sounds of their voices. The comfort a mother provides to a whimpering baby, or a child that just fell down, is astonishing. When I look at a child's photo as I edit it, I remember not only the moment at which they laughed; but the mother who brought the giggles out as she does ANYTHING to make her angel giggle.

Nazish likes to use a trick where she sings happy birthday to Zayn as he claps his hands in glee, and it took no time at all to capture his euphoria. May he smile at his mother like this forever <3

Check this poser out!

 

Mothers Day 2013

Today was Mothers Day, and it was the first one I was able to celebrate as a mother of TWO children. It was pretty amazing to reflect back to when Amar and I were newly weds, carefree and although we had all the sleep  in the world... life was so much emptier without our kids! Motherhood is a real blessing and I spend many moments slowly walking up the stairs exclaiming to Layaana over our family pictures displayed proudly in our home. I wear our memories as a badge of honor, and always want my children to know that every single moment of their childhood is cherished by me and this Mothers Day was no different. One day when I am old(er:) I will have these beautiful images to spell out a thousand words of joy, to remind me how wonderful every mothers day has been to me =)

My darling Layaana, you introduced me to Motherhood

So fortunate to be able to share Mothers Day with my daughters and my own Mother!

Could never have become the mother I am today, without the support of this amazing man. Nasha seems to agree!

My precious love

I hope everyone was as happy as Nasha looks this Mothers Day!