How Do You Make Memories With Your Kids? by Alex Mooney

How Do You Make Memories With Your Kids?

Today's blog post comes from Alex Mooney, mama to 3 adorable kiddos and photographer. She's sharing how photography is a key component in making memories with her brood. We love Alex's newborn photography - especially those Fresh 48 snaps in the hospital blanket! And after those photos? Send that blanket in to us to turn your once in a lifetime memory into an heirloom quality animal for your little one.

Photography is a huge part of our home -- being a photographer myself, I love to snap all of those fun little life moments, candid childhood captures that I can!  And what a great way to make a lasting memory than with photography, right!?  Cause in the age of digital pictures, snapping candidly and carefree allows to you to take seemingly unlimited memory holders on a single tiny SD card.

One of my favorite things to do with my kids is to make lasting memories with them -- not just with the activity we’re doing, but having it documented as well!  And not just momtog here doing the documenting, but flipping the camera over to them and letting them snap away with the memories too.  To me, this is twofold: we are not only doing something fun and ‘memory-making’, but my kids are the ones doing the memory-keeping by snapping those pictures of our activities!

My oldest, my son Patrick, is the most excited about playing ‘kidtog’ when we are out and about -- from the park to Target to playing with our geriatric dog Scooter -- he is all about being the one to snap!  He loves using his little sisters as his subjects and even complimenting them on what they’re doing while he’s snapping!  However, as much as he loves taking pictures, he’s quick to hand the camera (or phone) back to me so he can join in on the fun with them. 

I love photo-documenting what we’re doing everyday and then using those snaps to make into separate activities with my kiddos!  They love decorating their room with printed snapshots from our adventures and activities as well as helping me design photo books and Chatbooks that we’ll get printed to have on hand to show off in our house.  My kiddos are super into art as well, and love to take pictures and ‘cut them out’ and paste them onto new posters and drawings that they make for the grandparents and their teachers.

Some people think that always having a camera or phone in your kids’ face is a bad thing, but I disagree!  Obviously being a photographer I have a little different perspective, but I truly think having that camera out to capture all of those memories being made really makes lasting, forever remembered memories for both myself and my kiddos!  I embrace technology and use it to my advantage, and if it’s going to help me make more memories -- and memories that I will forever remember (and be able to remember, thank you digital imagery and social media!) -- with my kiddos, I say bring it on!

You can find Alex on her blog, Instagram, and Photography website. Alex resides in St. Louis and snaps everything from birth photography to first birthdays, brand photography and more.