I took these snapshots of my friend Juli’s daughter Claire almost eight years ago, and just came across them last night when going through my archives. Let me share a little secret with you: when you’re a photographer, you are your own worst critic. The longer you work in this field, the harder you are on yourself. I remember visiting Juli in June of 2007, and not being able to resist taking a few snapshots of little Claire because she looked so cute. But upon reviewing the pictures a few hours later, I decided that they were all terrible, and I never even showed them to Juli! I look at them today and think they’re adorable. Typical! Claire is now almost nine, is still extremely adorable, and is into scouting, swimming, running and choir. How time flies!