My husband and I are coming up on our 5th Wedding Anniversary. I’ll be honest it’s a bit of a strange feeling. Even though it seems like yesterday that we went on our first date, it’s hard to remember a time when we weren’t plowing through life together.
Father’s Day always lands on the same weekend of our Wedding Anniversary, so it’s hard not to have a bit of nostalgia, if you will. It’s a weekend full of celebrating.
Yesterday I took some time to think about what we are going to do to celebrate Father’s Day this year, because this man I tell you, this man deserves a whole lot of celebrating. Especially lately.
While I haven’t ironed out the plans for this year, but when I think about Father’s Day, I can’t hep but think back to my favourite Father’s Day gif to him ever.
A photoshoot with just him and the kids.
I will say, I am not sure that he truly understood the value and symbolism behind this photoshoot until after-the-fact, but to this day, it remains one of our favourites
You see, my first Father’s Day with him, was the first Father’s Day after the end of his first marriage. To say that everyone was navigating unchartered areas would be an understatement.
At the beginning of our relationship, he was getting used to life as a single dad, with a demanding job and 50/50 co-parenting schedule with three busy kids.
I was simply trying to process the fact that I had fallen in love with a single dad, with a demanding job and 50/50 co-parenting schedule with three busy kids.
From the outside, watching him father these three kids was the sexiest and most attractive thing ever. (for the record, I rarely say the word sexy, but here it seems fitting)
He may not be a stickler on bedtime, and he may say YES when I think it should be a HARD NO, but this man is a pretty stellar dad!
So I decided to document this time of their lives. I wanted to capture where they were at that very time. because I knew everything was about to change… again!
I remember the photoshoot well.
He asked me to come into the photo a couple of times, but given that we were just shy of 4 months into our relationship, it didn’t feel right.
After all, this was about him and the kids. It was about marking new beginning.
No matter what stage your at in your relationship or your blended family life, I will say that photoshoots are one of my favourite gifts to give. They are such a great way to commemorate a certain stage of your life, and well, how often do you REALLY get a good family photo?
When we’re old and grey (him old and greyer) I picture us sitting on our chairs, looking through old photos, reminiscing about all the different stages in our life and laughing at all the effort it took to get all the kids cleaned up and “photoshoot ready” (The behind-the-scenes stories are always the best)
So, here is a glimpse of my favourite photoshoot.
5 years later, its crazy to think about how much has changed! The pictures still hang on our wall in black and white, and sit on our shelves in various rooms throughout the house.
This photoshoot really did mark a new beginning for everyone, one that despite the extra complications that come with stepfamily life, I’m so damn glad I get to be a part of!
