When it comes to capturing my own kiddos, I do it well but not nearly as often as I should. I am acutely aware of how quickly each phase flies by and how often my son, Zachary, and daughter, Addison, change looks, interests, even personalities and attitudes. If nothing else, I always attempt quick portraits of Zach and Addie on their birthdays.

Addie’s birthday is in mid-May and her personality is HUGE. She can be spotted in a glittery tutu skirt as easily as some mud-covered jeans and she’s either in her art corner of our basement or outside looking for bugs and creating adventures with her imagination. She’s helpful, empathetic, sweet and definitely opinionated. Her backyard birthday party at our Lake Linganore home in Frederick County was filled with bright colors and lots of friends and laughter. She thanked me a thousand times that night as she went to bed for what she called “the best day of my whole whole life.”

Zach’s birthday is in early August and while his personality may not be as in-your-face as his sister’s, there are definitely a lot of parts to it. He’s grown and transformed so much this year and with that comes better speech, greater endurance and new passions. He’s currently obsessed with scorpions, thanks to his Who Would Win books series. He also loves playing with his sister and his friends, playing and watching sports (especially football and baseball and hockey and bowling) and he is kind, curious, loving and just the right amount of ornery. He makes us laugh SO much with his one-liners and witty comebacks.

I love pausing as often as I can throughout the year to hit ‘freeze’ on this moment or this phase. It’s especially poignant on the anniversaries of their birth — these days that hold so much meaning for us and our family and are the most obvious reflection of their growth and change.

Enjoy this little peek into my own babies and their summer celebrations.