We’ve known Juliana’s parents for a couple of years now (has it really been that long, Angela?). We did their engagement pics and then their wedding early last year, and now we have the pleasure of taking pictures of their beautiful daughter. I’m telling you, they are going to be in trouble when she gets older…

Kelly & David got married on Saturday and everything went off without a hitch! It was a beautiful ceremony and we got some fun pictures in the cornfield behind the church. The reception was at the Leawood Community Center… it’s such a nice event space and we were just out there a couple weeks ago for Jennie & Jay’s reception. There must be something in the air there, because there was a lot of crazy dancing this weekend too! Anyway, here are a few pics from the day…

A cool lensbaby ceremony shot

Bridal party fun

So in love!
Kissing in the corn

David gave Kelly a rose right before their first dance… so sweet.

Jenny and I made a list before the summer started about all of the different things we were going to do with Max and Ava this summer. It turns out that it is now the middle of July and we haven’t crossed anything off of that list yet. So, Friday night after I got off of work, we decided to take the children up to the T-Rex Cafe at the Legends Shopping Center. I heard it was like the Rainforest Cafe and Build-a-Bear all rolled into one, but centered around dinosaurs, which Max loves. So, here are a few pics from the T-Rex Cafe.

First, we have Max digging for dinosaur bones in the big sand pit.

Max decided to bury Ava!

After burying Ava, Max wanted to be buried, too.

Grabbing rocks with Grandma EE

Then we moved to the Build-a-Dino, and here we see Max picking out his dino…

Next, he picked out a heart…

And put the guts in it…

Then Max had to clean the dino.

It was late and this is the best one I got of him holding his dino (he named him Max, Jr.)

Since I didn’t get a good shot of Max and his finished dino, I took some more pics the next day. Max said his dino was hungry and wanted to eat the camera. Don’t worry, the camera made it out okay.

Max, Jr. really is a friendly dino.

Now that we crossed off one item off the list, we wanted to knock another one down. So, thanks to Kelly & David for not wanting us at their wedding bright and early, we had enough time to take Max & Ava to the Kansas City Zoo. A little backstory here about the first time we took Max to the zoo. As you all obviously know I’m a photographer, and I love to take pictures of my children. So, how does a photographer take his son to the zoo for the first time and tries to document it with a $10 disposable camera? I’ll tell you how, I forgot my camera! And disposable cameras suck!! So, I made sure I brought my good gear this time (it was Ava’s first trip to the zoo). Being a Friend of the Zoo helps out as well, because it allows you to see one part of the zoo before naptime, and go back whenever you want without paying each time. Here are a few pics.

Ava didn’t really know what was going on, so she chilled in the stroller…

And snacked on Cheerios…

And got excited for the lions, or maybe just excited to hit the glass, we’ll never know.

Max was roaring like a lion at Ava…

And roaring on the train ride back to the car.

And he’s still got the dino.

If you’re still reading this after the 20 pics, and all my silly captions, please feel free to check out Josh Solar Photo on Myspace. If you have a Myspace, and would like
to add us as a friend, go ahead. We’ll be updating that page with current pics every so often. So that makes our website, our blog, and myspace all as places you can keep informed about Josh Solar Photo.

We had the opportunity the past two days to shoot three different (and fun!) families. We were out at Loose Park yesterday and the Nelson today… here are a few shots from each…

I love being a dad. It’s amazing to me watching my two little ones grow up so fast and there’s so much going on in their lives that it seems like it’s flying right on by. They do cool things every single day and it’s impossible to remember them all. You can take all the pictures and movies you want, but you can’t catch everything. That’s why I try and find little moments that I can stash away forever. Moments that you can’t capture on film (or memory cards).

Tonight one of those “moments” happened and I’d like to share it with you all. Raymore is a wonderful place around the 4th of July. You get morons setting fireworks off at all hours, and it’s not even the 4th yet. Obviously, these people don’t have children. Anyway, Max is trying to fall asleep, but all of the fireworks are keeping him awake. Not only is the noise loud, but it’s scary to be 2 1/2 and hear all these fireworks going off at random times. So, really sweetly Max asks, “Will you hold me dadda?” How can I say no to that, so I lay down next to him. It’s just me, Max, and Mickey Mouse. Max is restless with all the noise, so I sing him a couple of songs. Then he asks me to “go up in the sky and punch the fireworks in the face (that’s what I tell him when there’s thunder, that I’m going to punch it in the face).” We’re laying there and the perfect song comes on. It’s Ben Harper and Jack Johnson singing “High Tide or Low Tide” originally sung by Bob Marley. Here are the lyrics:

Such a great song! I laid there for a few more minutes with him, then I really needed to get back to working on some wedding pics, so I started to get up to leave, and Max says really sweetly, “Please don’t go dadda. I need you.” So I wrapped my arm around him and rubbed his back gently. I’m actually falling asleep at this point when I feel a little hand reach over and start patting me on my shoulder (his tiny arms won’t reach my back) like I’m patting his back. I start rubbing his forehead gently with one of my fingers to get him to calm down and close his eyes like I used to do, and he starts playing with my stubble on my face (this is a sign that he’s close to being asleep). I pop over Mickey’s head and give him a kiss on the forehead and tell him how much I love him, and the next thing I know he’s out.

Anyway, the point of my story is that moments like that should never be forgotten. Times like these let me know that I’m doing something right because my child loves me so much, and I’m the one that gets to comfort my little man. In a few years, it’s going to be me trying to keep him away from the fireworks, but for now, it’s me holding him so he won’t be scared.

On a side note, I didn’t get many pictures edited, but that’s okay.

I would like to conclude with a picture of my two wonderful children that I took the other day.