There is something about autumn that makes me a little sentimental. Maybe it's the golden light, the crispness in the air, or the way everything seems to slow down just before the seasons change. Or maybe it's the quiet reminder that time is always moving, whether we're ready for it or not.
Photographing the Krick family on a beautiful October evening was one of those experiences that reminded me just how precious this season of life really is.
I've known Katelyn for about six years now. I had the privilege of standing beside her as her matron of honor when she married Wes, and now, here I am, photographing the two of them with their little boy, Lane, who will be turning one in December.
It's funny how life comes full circle like that.
We spent the evening on Wes's dad and stepmom's property in Leesport, surrounded by the kind of fall foliage that makes you wish October could last just a little longer. The temperature was perfect, the light was impossibly golden, and I found myself hardly wanting to touch the photographs in editing. Sometimes nature does all the work for you.
And then there was Lane.
If you've ever tried photographing a little boy who has absolutely no interest in sitting still and smiling for the camera, you know that half the fun is in the chaos. Lane has this hilarious little habit of scrunching up his nose and snorting at people, and he was far more interested in being silly than posing for pictures.
Wes spent a good portion of the evening pretending to hurt himself just to get Lane to laugh. And while I certainly captured some sweet smiles, I think my favorite photographs are the ones where Lane was simply being himself.
Because that's the thing about childhood. The funny faces, the squirming, the giggles, the little personalities that seem to grow bigger every day — those are the things you wish you could bottle up and keep forever.
At some point, Wes brought an old tractor out into the field, and I think Lane would have happily stayed there for the rest of the evening. While the tractor was running, he sat contentedly on his daddy's lap. The moment it stopped, those little hands reached eagerly for the steering wheel. He was absolutely delighted, and thoroughly unimpressed whenever someone suggested it was time to get down.
It was such a simple moment. A dad, his little boy, and an old tractor in the middle of a field.
And somehow, it was everything.
Katelyn and Wes are two of the hardest-working people I know. Between full-time work, school, overtime, and raising a little boy, their days are full. But there's something I admire so much about the life they're building. A little homestead, chickens in the yard, country music, hunting season, and an appreciation for the simple things.
Nothing particularly extravagant. Just a life that feels rich in all the ways that matter.
One of my favorite moments from the evening wasn't even planned. Lane had decided he'd had quite enough of posing, but Katelyn and Wes were sitting together so sweetly that I couldn't resist taking a few photographs of just the two of them. So Lane came and sat on my lap and helped me photograph his mommy and daddy.
I couldn't help but think about how special that was.
Years ago, I stood beside these two as they promised to build a life together. And now their little boy was sitting with me, watching the very love that brought him into this world.
There is something so tender about that.
Looking through their gallery afterward, I kept coming back to one photograph of Katelyn and Lane looking up at Wes beside the tractor. Another shows the three of them standing hand in hand, Wes carrying Lane on his hip. There's a quiet strength in the way he holds his little family close, and so much love in the way they look at one another.
I think those photographs say more than words ever could.
Watching them brought me back to when my husband and I were just beginning our own family. Our first baby was a little boy, too, and I remember so vividly what it felt like when he was the absolute center of our world. The way every new expression was exciting, every little milestone felt monumental, and the days somehow seemed both impossibly long and far too short.
I wish I could tell that younger version of myself just how quickly it would all pass.
Because time really is a thief.
We spend so much of our lives looking forward. To the next milestone, the next accomplishment, the next season when things might finally slow down. And there's nothing wrong with dreaming about what's ahead.
But I think sometimes we forget that we might already be living the days we'll look back on most fondly.
The days of little hands reaching for ours. Of laughter over absolutely nothing. Of toy-strewn floors, full schedules, and little boys who want nothing more than to sit on their daddy's lap.
Someday, Lane will be big enough to drive that tractor himself. He won't need Wes to lift him onto the seat, and those tiny hands won't look quite so small wrapped around the steering wheel.
But for one beautiful October evening, he was still little. And he was exactly where he wanted to be.
Katelyn and Wes, thank you for letting me capture this little piece of your story. It means more to me than you know. I hope that twenty years from now, when you look back at these photographs, you remember the laughter, the love, and the beautiful simplicity of the life you were building together.
And I hope you remember that even in the middle of all the busyness, you were living some of the very best days of your lives.
Because sometimes the moments that seem the most ordinary turn out to be the ones that mean everything.
