Kimberly Dunbar Photography » Blog

My little man loves to collect things. Wood chips, sand, rocks, blocks, crackers, grass, balls, you name it, he will find it and gather it.

It’s funny, because, I am the mom at the park who’s chasing her son around and around as he collects this and that. He has no long term interest in the slide or the swing, he’s more into looking around for what he can crowd together with pride and joy. Nate just wants to run. Run to the empty field, the cement parking lot and the hill. He’s such a free bird.

I thought, since he’s in this phase now of amassing things alike, to get together some of his favorite things and put them in vintage jars while spreading them around him. I had a vision of him sitting in front of these jars of treasures with him sheepishly looking at me and grinning… but I think as we all know, kids are so unpredictable and I was hoping he would do it on his own, but the shot never did come through, and that is A-OK. Everyone knows that my style of photography is unforced – so I let Nate be Nate. I ended up getting some precious shots of Nate’s personality at this very moment – which is what I was hoping for. Because, they change so fast – come next week, he may be doing something completely different, and I never want to forget how adorable it was to watch him round up all the little things that make him so happy. All of which, I never had to pay for. His dad likes that, very much.( crackers and balls excluded ) Speaking of crackers, if Nate has anymore Goldfish or organic Duckies, he may just turn into one. Honestly.

Here are some of my favorite shots from that afternoon in the backyard with my little man and his most treasured valuables. Nate is rich with simplicity, and I hope his appreciation for very little, stays with him, a very long time.

And on a side note, Nate is growing into quite the little man. Smiling all the time, laughing out loud, and running about the house. As of this week, I now can add ‘ feeding himself with a spoon’ to that list. It’s so bittersweet because you want your children to grow up and become independent ( lord knows, my mother taught me that well – I don’t want to still have to feed Nate when he’s 16 )  but then you realize, there’s one less thing they completely depend on you for. Ouch. So soon?! Really? He wants no part of my helping hand when it comes to shoveling food in his mouth. And I’m ok with that, now.. I have come to realize, that with this one less thing that he will expect of me, it will create another need. Maybe something more along the lines of an athletic responsibility, like relying on me to take him to soccer or hockey. Come to think of it, I can live with the switch of responsibilities…xo.  So in true fashion of blogging everything Nate does for the first time, here is a snap shot of him eating, like the big, little man he now is.