Moving to a new neighbourhood means you get to scout out the area and find fun new places to do portraits. This can be a really fun and daunting task at the same time. But throw in your 15 year old teenage son and it turns into an entirely different adventure altogether.

No time to waste

Boy moms quickly learn that you have to keep boys entertained and laughing in order to get them to do what you want. It generally involves a lot of  pleading, which in turn leads to a lot of bribery (a trick learnt VERY early in the journey :p) followed by repeating yourself, over and over and over….and over…. by which time you’re just really thrilled they agreed to come along and you take what you can get – ESPECIALLY when it comes to getting pictures of them (I KNOW my fellow boy moms are agreeing with at least 1 of my previous points because well real life….am I right?!?)

Happy Helper

All the toddler moms are reading this thinking “I thought it gets easier as they get older??”. And yes, it gets easier – but they also get louder and more opinionated. They also get stronger willed and being older they can just down right refuse….that stubborn streak you thought was so cute when he was 2 isn’t so cute when he’s 15  :p

But this time I struck gold. Connor, my gorgeous 15 year old, was actually quite easy to convince to come along. He’d just bought himself a new bike and was enjoying riding about the neighbourhood trying out a few tricks. So luckily there was no bribery needed and only a small amount of pleading (it would take all the fun out of it if they simply agreed first time round – you’ve got to make mom work for some things…..pictures being one of them…..)

Fun and Games

Once out the door and headed in the general direction of the areas I wanted to check out the fun really began. You see Connor is the family joker. This child seriously keeps us entertained non-stop and always has a witty comment. He also hardly ever stops talking (yes he got that trait from me… :p)!! We’ve always joked that his mouth is linked to eyelids and as soon as they open so does his mouth. When he was little he’d talk just to keep himself awake. If he was quiet, you knew he’d finally fallen asleep. (apparently another trait he inherited from me… :p hahaha)

So given the very nature of my youngest child it should be absolutely no surprise that the pictures below are not only your normal smiling pics (there are a few of those too…surprisingly – much to my delight! hahaha). But they capture his nature perfectly and I just love them, because THIS is who he is. And I just loved the black and white and how they highlighted his personality even more….so they’re pretty much all black and white!

And a side note to all the boy moms out there – capture the funny faces. Life is far too serious and we need to include more fun in our every day. Before you blink they’ll be grown and you’ll miss those funny faces.

Enjoy.

This picture was especially for his dad. Connor loves his hair long and it drives his dad crazy, because in Aus the kids don’t have to cut their hair for school (in SA it’s strictly short back and sides – especially at their very traditional All Boys School back in Jhb – Kind Edward VII!! :p)

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