Greta and I first met in prenatal yoga when we were pregnant with our sons. She gave birth exactly a month before I did and we ran into each other at the hospital during those joyous newborn days of desperately needing lactation advice and constantly worrying that our children weren’t going to grow because they possibly might not be eating enough. (We were the epitome of first time moms, but, hey, we were indeed first time moms!) We quickly bonded over not just our shared life experiences in the newborn trenches, but the fact that we both like to be outside, work out, stretch our artistic muscles (her and her husband are both amazing artists!!), and are constantly trying to balance work life with parenting. We also happen to live less than a mile from each other and frequent the same park so, needless to say, we spent many, many days pushing strollers while doing laps and talking. (It should also be noted that since we both have brown wavy hair and bangs, our boys used to often get us confused and would hug the wrong pair of legs.)

I got to photograph this family two years ago and one of the things that constantly sticks out to me when I photograph them is how laid back they are. Their interactions are genuine and fun, and neither John nor Greta have ever tried to stick their son in a box (figuratively, of course) and force him to hold still and smile for the camera. And while, as a parent, we all want “just one good photo” of our family, my personal favorites, especially of the Martinek family, are the ones where they are just playing and letting their then-3 year old son BE a 3 year old boy.

Greta caught this grasshopper to show to E and I was like, “Greta, you are officially a better mom than me.”