The Faces of a Child

I once heard, from a not necessarily reliable source, that the average number of "faces" a child can make is 27. The average number of "faces" an adult can make is only 4. This seems to suggest that somewhere, while growing up, we lose the ability to put an appropriate "face" on a particular feeling. Either that, or we've lost a particular feeling, and no longer need a "face" to match. I prefer to believe the former, and have personally tried on many occasions to restore a lost "face" as appropriate.

A good photographer realizes this, and is able to capture all emotions, not just the smiles and laughter (although those can be great shots in particular). As a parent I know that I want to document every tiny detail about my children before they grow, and change, and disappear, or evolve into new details. There are so many! I don't stop to think about them too much, until I see them captured in a photo.

Here are some of my favorite pictures recently snapped by my dear friend Kelly. They mean so much to me it's beyond words. The smiles, grimaces, grunts, frowns, furrowed brows, you name it, she captured it. I've spent days looking through these photos trying to pick some favorites, and I'm not even sure that I can. And even though I'm not necessarily thrilled about sharing some of the stranger or grumpier "faces" of my children with the world, I do want to keep them for myself as cherished moments of their childhood -- before the faces are gone.

I hope you enjoy these pics at least a tiny bit as much as I do. And what can I say to Kelly besides the biggest THANK YOU in the world.

The Faces of a Child -- live from our home

You Oughtta Be In Pictures -- with the setting sun at Fort Vancouver