I think I love photographing families because I get to see a lot of firsts. I get to see babies experience new places, families create new memories and newlyweds create new lives.

During this particular shoot, I saw Emmett experience snow for the first time.

This two-year-old saw snow when he was just a baby, but this year he was able to really dig deep and see what this fluffy white stuff is all about.

He rode a sled, examined the snow and of course, tasted it.

But I’m pretty sure my favorite moment was his first smile.

When I first started shooting, he was taking it all in. The snow, the sled, the cold. So there weren’t too many smiles happening.

That is, until his mama slipped on the ice.

The snow covers up a lot of ice here in town, so when Reba stepped on a patch, down she went.

And little Emmett’s face lit up with a smile and a laugh. Before I knew it, they were both cracking up.

Emmett hugged a huge teddy bear for the first time and even sat on top of a huge four wheeler for the first time.

But he wasn’t alone in experiencing firsts.

Shooting in cold weather is something that I am not accustomed to.

I have learned that you can’t leave equipment in the car because it will fog up and take forever to get warm.

And during this shoot, I learned that you must hold on tightly to your camera, because if it slips out of your hands and lands on the soft snow, it will fog up, too.

Don’t worry! It didn’t fall far, but that cold crept in and fogged up my lens in no time. So the photos at the bottom might seem to have a soft filter. They don’t. That’s just the fog. Firsts all around!

I love seeing firsts, but even more I love experiencing the love between families and the laughter that children bring.

Here’s to many more firsts and even more smiles and snow.