I feel so lucky to have an amazing husband in my life who is also an absolutely amazing father. Just the other day, someone commented on how much my husband engages and plays with not just our son, but the kids in our neighborhood on a regular basis. And it’s so true. He just embodies what it is to be a devoted loving father. And it’s not just through the weekly routines of work, cleaning, mowing the lawn, etc., but also through his presence in every moment with our son. Even when I know he’s exhausted, he will crawl on the floor with our son to play lions, run with him through the sprinklers, and bring out each and every sports equipment item to play. He knows how much those moments mean to our son and I know how much joy it genuinely brings him too.
With our little girl on the way, I wanted to do something extra special to celebrate him this Father’s Day. Some of his favorite gifts are precious moments captured in photos. So I contacted our friend and favorite photographer Lee and attempted to be very stealthy by doing a secret mother-son mini photo shoot.
I surprised my son that day by picking him up from school early with his favorite egg & cheese bagel sandwich. After arriving in Sacramento at Lee’s house, we casually got ready for our mini-shoot. She has three beautiful boys of her own so it’s always easy to please our son at her house…plenty of toys, excitement, and snacks. For our photos, Lee took us to WPA rock garden, a gorgeously serene spot with winding and sloping paths lined with a beautiful variety plants and flowers.
Now that my son is getting older, it’s a bit harder to wrangle him for photos. But he loved the garden and Lee is fabulous at ‘tricking’ him into photos. We took turns picking spots for photos and ended up with so many wonderful shots.
I was pretty proud for thinking of this secret way to surprise my hubby. But of course, the night after our shoot, my son totally spilled the beans. As he gets older and has so many more words, it’s so much harder to keep a secret. He kept referring to the special ‘friend’ we went to visit and soon enough the jig was up. Lol.
Even though my hubby knew ahead of time what his Father’s Day present was going to be, he still absolutely loved the gesture and photos. I framed one for his office desk and gave him several others. With so much being electronic these days, there is something so lovely about hard copy framed photos.
I had been debating whether I was going to take any formal maternity photos this time. But I’m so glad i did, not just for my husband, but also for me to celebrate this special time with my first born. I know that when our little girl arrives, our world will completely change again. And while I can’t wait for that day, I’m also savoring the remainder of this pregnancy and the daily one-on-one time with my sweet boy.
Thanks for reading. And a BIG thanks to Lee Brown for capturing these beautiful moments. I’ll treasure them always.
Valerie
