Greyson is 5!

Today Greyson is 5 years old!  It’s been 5 years of excitement, sleepless nights, adventures, time outs, big kisses, and happiness I never knew possible.  Ever since his little brother has been born, I’ve been awful at keeping up with these personal posts of my boys. The time just somehow slips out of my hands. But Greyson was the whole reason I started this little adventure called Jessica Snider Photography 5 1/2 years ago so it only makes sense that he gets to be a blog post :)

I wanted to do portraits of Greyson that truly showed who he is as a person - fun-loving, adventurous, theatrical, sweet. And I wanted to incorporate some of his favorite things - catching fireflies, art, (of course) Superheroes, his brother, and Rakestraws ice cream! We even recreated a session I did of him when he was 2 years old.

(Here are the shots we recreated above from when he was 2 years old! I miss that fro!)

The things I love most about Grey is his constant happiness (I swear this kid is always smiling no matter what the circumstance), his determination, his big imagination, his love for people and life, and his intelligence (this kid is way too smart for me.)  He also loves playing with his little brother and grandpa, playing with his super hero action figures, helping me bake brownies, pretending to be Hulk (especially when we’re checking out at stores - not embarrassing at all), Chikfila, playing Go Fish, his best friends Riley and Luca, swimming, running, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and art (especially painting).  He wants to be a police officer when he grows up and is starting Kindergarten in a few short weeks.

Greyson is the light of our family. I say every year on his birthday that when he came around, he changed my life forever.  And every year as he grows he teaches me brand new ways of being a better mom + person.  My only hopes for the rest of his life is that he does what makes him happy, works hard, and always knows how incredibly loved he is. I have no doubt that he will do great things someday.  Happy birthday, Greyson Ryder!

Here are some oldies but goodies of little Grey!  He had surgery on his tummy a few hours after birth and had a 3 week NICU stay - you would never know now, would you?!

Brayden - 5 Years Old

Every year I get two glorious hours of running, jumping, rolling, and playing with this little dude. Brayden has the biggest personality and heart. He will do anything to keep a smile on your face and I was honestly laughing out loud while editing his session.  I can say I'm a somewhat nostalgic.  Little dinosaur-chasing Brayden is gone and has been replaced with an intelligent, tall and suave Brayden. During his session while I was trying to get some genuine smiles out of him, he did the finger point and winked at me! LOL! (pictured below)  But he's growing into such an amazing young man and it's a blessing capturing it for his parents. I can't wait to see him be the best big brother to a little sister. Something tells me he is perfect for the job. Enjoy some handsome and silly favorites from Brayden's session!