Atlanta Family Photographer

This Atlanta Family Photographer had another birthday in the family, so this post is dedicated to my freshly turned 9 year old, Kellam.

Let’s pretend, for my sanity, that today, the day you are reading this post, is June 17.  Thanks for being such a good sport!

Kellam was so eager to make his debut into the world, that he came 2 days prior to his scheduled c-section date.  He was welcomed into our family by his 16 month old brother, and of course, me and his daddy.  When I see kids that are 16 months old now, I can’t believe that when my oldest was that age, I was crazy enough to have a newborn as well. We survived, and the boys are such close friends, when they aren’t duking it out, now.

Kellam was a pretty good baby, but he came out more spunky than his brother did for sure.  He is loud, giggly, and full of emotions, and has been from day one.  Kellam has never been the kid that I’ve said “he is such an easy child” but he sure is fun.  He challenges me in ways I never thought my kids would.  He pushes ALL my buttons, and makes me see red on just about a daily basis.  I hope his persistence serves him well in life one day.  I can’t imagine that it wouldn’t.

We got into a quick groove of going and doing things daily. True to form for 2nd, 3rd, 4th kids, Kellam was along for the ride.

Big Smiles and Big Laughs

This cutie has always had one of the most contagious laughs and smiles in our family.  He honestly, has big emotions all around. Big laughs, and big fits.

 

Our first overnight away from both boys was in December the year Kellam was born…we went away for 1 little night and it snowed 3 feet.

Here are me and Kellam on our first Mother’s Day together. Until he was about 3 he was a total Mama’s boy.

Kellam got to meet his Great Grandmother (GG) on my side for the first time when he was just about to turn 1.

Someone liked his birthday cake…

Kellam got to meet his Great Grandmother on his dad’s side when we all went to the beach together just after his first birthday.

Kellam has always been such a fun kid.  Kellam is very bright, and is an amazing problem solver.  This kid LOVES playing with legos, and building things.  He is my one kid that can figure out just about anything.  You can give him a 1000 piece lego set, and he will sit and focus on it until it has been completed.

Kellam and Animals

Kellam LOVES animals.  All animals.  He says when he grows up, he wants to be a vet. It wouldn’t surprise me if he does just that. Anytime we see anyone walking a dog, he is the first of my children to ask if he can pet the dog.  We have 2 dogs of our own, and he would take in at least 3 more if it were up to him.   The picture below is Kellam with our dog Marley when she was just a few weeks old.  He still lays with her often.

We have 3 leopard geckos as pets, and Kellam is constantly trying to pitch me for some other critter in the house.  He recently tried to convince me to get a Chinese Water Dragon that a friend of his needed to rehome.

I can’t help trying to capture my kids when they’re sleeping.  Sleeping children, especially as they get older, is one of the sweetest, most treasured pictures to me.

 

Kellam has always been my dare devil.  He was the first in our family to get stitches. This past winter, we took a ski trip to New Mexico, and Kellam was the kid that was determined to snow board.  He was amazing at it.  He excels at just about everything he tries to do.

Kellam has always looked up to his big brother, Zaden so much.  Here, they were about 3 and 4 years old…now, at 9 and 10, they are the same size, play most of the same sports, and have some of the same friends.  I have loved watching their relationship bloom over the years.  My hope for them is that they will always be close friends.

Kellam and Marley again.

When we lived in Virginia, we lived really close to a family that had horses.  I don’t know much about horses, but Zaden and Kellam wanted to learn to ride, so we let them.  Kellam, of course, was a natural.  Never afraid of such a large and impressive animal, he always just hopped right up ready to do whatever was asked of him.

Always a bit of a silly guy, Kellam loves hiding, and jumping out and scaring people.

One spring in Virginia, my husband found an abandoned baby deer and brought it home.  We kept it warm and safe until we were able to take him to a rehab place later that day.  You can see in Kellam’s face how excited and in awe he was to have a real deer in the house.

When Kellam was little, he loved fishing, Elmo, and being outside. He still loves fishing and outside things, but he has let his love of Elmo go.

Kellam was always the kid that couldn’t keep a straight face if you just said “Kellam, don’t you smile, don’t you laugh”. It was one of my favorite things about him.

Our last preschool Mother’s Day tea.  These are some of my favorite things that preschools do.

Kellam and Tucker.  I got Tucker right before my husband and I started dating.  Kellam always loved snuggling with Tucker and would often fall asleep on Tucker’s dog bed if he was tired.  Tucker liked to go under blankets, and if I ever didn’t know where Tucker was, he was usually snuggled up next to Kellam under his blanket. This past year, Tucker got out of our yard and was hit and killed by a car.  It was our first real loss. All of my kids were devastated, but Kellam was hit harder than the others.  It was absolutely heartbreaking to watch the kids work through what happened with Tucker.  Kellam has always been such a sensitive soul. He is one of my hardest kids, he is so strong willed, but he is the first kid to ask if someone is ok.  He can be so kind and loving.

After we lost Tucker, we all needed some happy in the house, so we adopted this cutie Nova.  Any guesses which of my kids wanted to hold the puppy all the time?

 Kellam is such an inquisitive kid.  He can make friends with just about anyone and is very loyal.  He’s more the kind of kid to have a couple of close friends, rather than 15 buddies.  He loves animals, is great with younger kids, and has a touch of flirty-ness that I see come out when he’s around girls his age. We are so proud of everything you have accomplished, and how hard you work.  Keep at it buddy and you will be unstoppable.

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