A Family Affair.

When I was 4, my mother bought my first camera at a garage sale. A Kodak Instamatic, that took 126 film and square light bulbs that rotated once they were used up. 

I loved that thing. Momma kept me stocked with bulbs and film and let me shoot to my hearts desire. 

When I was about 7, I set up a sleeping bag backdrop under our kitchen bar and had a "professional" photo shoot with all of my favorite dolls. 

One of my best childhood memories is of a road trip to Arizona I went on with my Granny and Pawpaw Reel at the age of 4. I took my little Instamatic camera along and cherish what few of those photos I have left. 

To this day, I have such vivid memories of that trip. Partially due to the fact that I was able to document those special moments on my own terms, in my own 4 year old way. It made me feel so grown up to carry around my little camera and gave me a sense of control to get Granny and Pawpaw to bend down every time I wanted to snap a photo of them. 

Today, I have one of those photos framed on our bedroom wall. 

I thought it may be fun to teach Johnny how to use my camera phone today. He's played with it before, clicking off pictures of the bed where he was sitting and laughing at the camera shutter sound my phone makes. But today, there was none of that. Today was a lesson in framing your subject in the viewfinder and clicking the round white button. Then I showed him how to view the photos he'd taken. 

With my phone in safe mode, so he could only take photos and view the ones he'd just taken, I let him loose while I folded some laundry. 

I have to admit that I was pretty shocked (and enormously proud) of what I discovered about an hour later when I had the chance to look at what he'd taken. 

It's not about what natural or learned talent he or I have. It's about giving myself and hopefully my children one more way to view the world and express what's important to them, while all the while giving them an creative way to do it. 

What are some of your hobbies you've shared with your little ones?