I find myself wanting to document every single moment while my kids are little and still with me day in and day out. I know there are days quickly approaching when these moments will be fewer and fewer. Then, one day, all of my babies will be grown and wrapped up with families of their own.

I am beginning to realize just how important photography of my own family truly is.

… and I don’t want this documentation to end just because my kids “leave the nest”. I’m learning why the extended family sessions that I get to photograph are so so meaningful to the matriarch of the family in particular.

I imagine myself as an empty nester, longing for the days that my kids were crowding my space and begging to be held every minute.

I imagine my babies having children of their own and just wanting to soak up every moment with my grand babies. I imagine that the absence of the chaos raising young children brings might actually feel lonely sometimes, so I can also imagine just how incredibly special it would be to have photographs done with all of them.

Moments with the whole family together can be rare as kids go off to school, move away, and begin families of their own.

I have seen extended sessions often gifted from children to a mother… every single mother was OVER THE MOON to be having her whole world photographed again. I 100% understand it now.

The effort and thought put into making an extended family session happen for her is what makes this session so incredibly meaningful.