It started out as with most kids...  

They took some getting used to me.

Sometimes when kids don't know you very well, they hide it under the "funny mask". :)

But pretty soon they got lost in the scenery around us...

And completely forgot I was there.

Then... and only then... was I able to close.

Without them even noticing!

Midst the snow...

The strange noises...

The animals...

And HUGE fish tanks...

(Don't forget kissing the huge fish tanks...)

They wandered around in a state of childlike shock.

Until we reached the gift shop. :)

That's where they found the toys...

The stuffed animals...

The giant T-Rex...

And the dino-cars.

I tell ya...

Sometimes it's the little things...

That kids love most. :)

She ran across the road in heels, dodging the remaining ice and muddy puddles.  

She squealed a little bit when she saw me (or was that me?) - it was kind of a, "Yay!!" moment.

"Yay" was our thing. We had made it our thing through email. Something along these lines: "You say yay?? I saw yay too!!"

Yay that we were finally doing pictures...

Yay that it was such a beautiful day...

And yay that I had such a beautiful subject to work with!

Joia and I immediately connected; love for Yay, scarves, short hair (just a few more months, girlie!), and traveling.

She followed me around downtown...

And made sense of the silent directions I gave her through a glass door...

But mostly just stood there and looked as cute as a button.

With a few "Rawr!" moments of course. :)

One of the things I love so much about Joia is her ability to talk to anyone and fit in anywhere.

She's switched high schools and even continents so many times...

That I immediately felt ashamed of myself for not owning a Passport.

But that's Joia - gracious and so sweet.

Never mind that she was freezing cold...

Or that I made her gaze at me through scratched old doors...

And dance and twirl in the streets...

She embraced it all with a smile.

And when I left... I had a new friend. :)