An Autumn Family Session | CT Family Photographer

Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each.” - Henry David Thoreau

Mama Lucy reached out to me for a sweet little session to celebrate her family and her one year old daughter. We chose the lovely Westmoor Park in West Hartford, which had just started to turn all colors of the fall; bright reds, deep oranges, and crisp browns.

I watched this sweet family through my lens, feeling nostalgic. My own family and I had our first “real” family session when my son had just turned one year old, and I remember it being a bittersweet time.

They say the first year flies by, and it’s completely true. I still can’t believe my second baby, whom I swear was born just yesterday, is already past 3 months.

I remember with my first babe, watching each milestone and being excited about them. I couldn’t wait until the next milestone, the next “new” thing he would do, realizing that I was missing the moments happening RIGHT NOW.

I remember when the one year milestone arrived, I broke down in tears realizing that the time truly flew by, that those little milestones I eagerly yearned for had passed and I wanted to revel in them again.

I think I take a little bit of that nostalgia and yearning, and allow it to influence how I see the families before me. Capturing the acts of love, the honesty of parenthood, the joy of family, the milestones of the moment before me. Deep down, I realize as a mom myself, I would need those moments. Like a fine wine, those moments growing sweeter with age.

I watched this sweet family smile, I watched them play. I watched a father comfort and sing to his sweet daughter as she cried. I watched a mother, overcome with love, hug and kiss her baby. I watched parents proudly encourage this sweet little one to stand up and walk, and then watched her little eyes light up as they smiled at her and hugged her close.

Our babies grow up way too fast. Revel in each and every moment. Live life right now. Just like the seasons, embrace and enjoy the season right now. Breathe the air, soak it in, live in it, and take allllll the pictures of it <3