Stigman Photography Photo Session Contest
The location: Siesta Key Beach, Sarasota, FL at 5:30 p.m. It’s still early enough to get some good daylight shots, but the sun will be setting soon and the mesmerizing sunset over the Gulf will be upon us. Tony, myself, and the girls playing on the beach as a family…candid shots…no dreadful poses with my hand on Tony’s shoulder and cheesy smiles. Sophie chasing seagulls…Addison chasing Sophie chasing seagulls. Addison plopping onto her butt as she’s chasing Sophie because her pudgy, short legs won’t go as fast as her older sister’s. Mommy and daddy steal a kiss while thinking how lucky we are to have the two of them in our lives as we watch Sophie trying to help her little sister up (the seagulls can wait). Sophie running towards the water and giggling as she tries to turns to run away from it–hoping to escape the waves that are about to wash over her feet. Addison bending down to look at something peculiar she has found in the sand…to you and me it’s just a seashell, but to a 14 month old it’s the 8th wonder of the world. Sophie ventures over to have a look at what her sister has found and decides that a sisterly search for seashells is on. She sets out on her own journey with Addison in tow. Walking along the edge of the water, searching for more shells, they come across a sandcastle that grabs their attention instead and Sophie asks, “Mommy, does Cinderella live there?” Of course she does, honey. An hour or so has passed by and the sun is getting lower. We tell the girls it’s time to wash their hands off in the water so we can make our way to the pavilion for ice cream. Shouts of joy erupt from Sophie as she jumps up and down with excitement at the promise of a treat. Hands and feet are rinsed off in the salty ocean and Addison’s giggles can be heard in Siesta Village as Tony scoops her up, tickles her belly with a raspberry, and helps her with her rinsing task. We make our way towards the ice cream shoppe and Sophie orders chocolate, I share cookie dough ice cream with Addison, and Tony gets strawberry. Tiny rivers of chocolate ice cream are now running down the sides of Sophie’s mouth and onto her chin. Addison claps her hands as she takes another bite of ice cream and Tony and I look at each other and laugh at their excitement. After the ice cream, we wipe off all traces of it and walk back towards the water. The sunset is fully aglow and we finish our evening with the four of us holding hands as a family walking along the shoreline. The evening has been fun & playful, yet relaxing & intimate. We have the sunset illuminating us as a family. The girls are sleepy and they fall asleep in our arms as we head back to our vehicle: Addison in mine, Sophie in her daddy’s. Our lives are peaceful. Our lives are fun. Our lives are filled with unconditional love.
The Many Faces of Sophie 