\Letters to My Children\ August

What a month this was for us... you had your mini summer break from school, which meant you were home with me for two whole weeks. I had to work some of the days, which we both thought was a bummer, but the other days were jam packed with fun. We made new friends, had naughty treats, and went on lots of adventures... long walks to the park, laughing at Mary Poppins, jumping into the pit at gymnastics open gym, new books from the library,  walking Rocco, exploring Fountain Rock, a playdate at Lilypons with Christopher, and that was just the first week! 

You even helped nurse me back to health when I came down with a bad stomach bug.

Our second week at home brought more new adventures. I worked for the first couple of days, but then I was off for the whole rest of the week! Our first adventure was to Glen Echo park for a puppet show (which you loved) and more playing in the park. Nana and I were so excited to take you there because her parents took HER there when she was a little girl, and my parents took ME there when I was was a little girl. It was so special to see it new again through your eyes.

(This is your "I was super excited to go on this ride but now I'm actually on it and will remain expressionless until it ends" face. Any type of ride, it never fails. Daddy and I love it.)

The next day it was back to our house for some pool time. We're all going to miss the nice pools here once we move, so it was nice to get to go a few more times before summer ends.

For our last (week)day of summer break we went to Catoctin Zoo and you looooved it. You sang "We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo. How about you, you, you..." all the way there, and ran from habitat to habitat remarking on all the animals. You especially loved feeding the deer and llamas.

After the zoo we went to the Roads and Rails museum and you had so much fun pushing all the buttons to make the trains go.

Our two weeks flew by, and even though we were both pretty tired and ready to get back to our normal routines, it was still bittersweet to have it come to an end. We so rarely get time just the two of us anymore. I obviously love Jonah to pieces, as do you, and there's nothing I enjoy more than hanging out as a family - but to have time where it could just be us, going on new adventures, laughing, snuggling, not having to ask you to wait while I finish nursing Jonah, not feeling like I'm being pulled in a million directions and unable to give you as much attention as I'd like. Well, it was pretty darn glorious for both of us.

But all good things must come to an end... Monday I got back to work, and you started Primary. Seeing how big you looked on that first day of school made me even more grateful for those two weeks together, when it felt like - ever so briefly - time slowed down a little.

I love you, my darling girl. Only 360-something days until next summer break.

I encourage you to head over to my lovely friend Lucy’s blog (Philadelphia Family Photographer, Lucy Baber Photography) to read her letter to her children.

\10 on 10\ August

Park + Pool + Kidstock = best Saturday we've had in a long time... \1\ The only benefit to waking up so early

\2\ Digging

\3\ Thirsty

\4\ Adult swim

\5\ Chompers

\6\ Metamorphosis 

\7\ Festival kid

\8\ Big Blue

\9\ Like no one's watching

\10\ Sunset over Kidstock

I’m joined in this project by a group of amazing photographers… head on over to Christine’s blog to see a day in her life, then continue around the circle until you end up back here!

/365/ Every Day in July

/365/ Every Day in June

As I mentioned yesterday, I'll be sharing my 365 project on a monthly basis here on the blog. (If you want to follow along during the month, be sure to like my Facebook page.) Here's my catch up post for June...

(Day 17 is from the kids' bathtime, so we'll be keeping that one private :) )

Every Day in June: Part 2

Well, it's almost August, so I figured I should probably finish Part 2 of this Every Day in June business. When I first wrote about this project, I mentioned that it was a HUGE epiphany for me and has impacted my shooting in ways I never expected but am extremely grateful for. At the end of the post I wrote: "So I had the 'how' and the 'why'… now it was time to figure out the 'what.' What did I want my photos to look like, to feel like – both to myself and to other people?" The answer lay in an unexpected place...

I've mentioned on here before how music is a huge part of my life. Give me a song with some guitars, banjo, a little mando, heartfelt and honest lyrics, preferably live, and I'm good. I want a song I connect to - that when I listen to it, I feel something. Music that trades polish and perfection for honesty and emotion. And that's when the lightbulb went off... what I wanted my photos to look like is exactly how the music I love makes me feel.

Once I made that connection, everything started falling into place... my compositions, my use of light, my editing. For the first time in my 2 years of being a photographer, I knew I'd found my style. It was ME, through and through.

I continued to shoot my 5 photos every day, and found myself happier and happier with the photos I was taking...

6.15.14: safe / little charmer / "daddy, play me something on the ti-tar!" / passed out... again / watching George with George

6.25.14: bed head / stalling getting dressed / chunky legs / pantry peekaboo / trying to flatten them out

6.26.14: wheeee! / looking for groundhogs / Elmo / But I don't want any of the expensive organic fruit you bought for me! / breaking point

6.27.14: good morning! / these two... / from above / my boys / she sleeps

6.28.14: soccer sit / reflection / a parent's greatest struggle / hanging around / play

6.30.14: mornings are tough / reward / Jonah sandwich / dueling humidifiers / this smile makes any work day disappear

You'd think that I'd be super relieved to be done with this project... shooting for a set of 5 photos every day is definitely tough, but the funny thing was I missed it when it was over. Like, a lot. So I decided to keep going with a 365 project. Our everyday, every day for a whole year. I'd always felt so intimidated by doing a 365... always made excuses why I simply couldn't do it. The primary reason being that I work full time and I feared that weekdays would be super challenging, especially during winter when it's dark before and after school. But I'm throwing caution to the wind and telling myself I can make it work. (<-- someone remind me I said that come January) Heck, I already had June done! What's 11 more months? Ha ha.

I'll be sharing some of my 365 photos here and there on my Facebook page, and at the beginning of every month I'll be posting all the photos from the previous month here on the blog. I'd love to have you follow along!

\Letters to My Children\ July

You, my little one, have been on a huge development streak since my last letter to you! It seems like every day you're doing something you couldn't do the day before. Your cautious army crawl has been replaced by standing, cruising, and getting into EVERYTHING. Your absolute favorite thing in the world is to make your way over to Emma's kitchen and enthusiastically toss all of its contents onto the floor. Sometimes you make a loud bang when you drop the pots and pans and you look over at me to see my reaction and give me the silliest grin - it's impossible to be mad at you!

Your other favorite toys are your music table and this little pop up toy that frustrates you to no end, but you love it anyway. We're anxiously awaiting the moment you figure out how to make the little guys pop up on your own.

You've been pulling yourself up for a while now but you only recently figured out how to get back down. And it's the funniest thing - you basically do triangle pose until you get one hand fully on the floor, then you pivot around and down into crawling position. Our little yogi!

One thing that hasn't changed is how well you and Emma get along. She's always so thoughtful where you're concerned, and you just adore her and so desperately want to be able to do everything she does. You'll get there sooner than you know, buddy. I promise.

Watching you two together makes my heart so happy, and while I know it won't always be this way, I sure hope the fierce love you have for one another never fades.

The next time I write to you, you'll be turning 1. That gives me two more months to come to terms with the reality that you're not going to be my little baby forever. Oh, who am I kidding. I'm certainly not one to quote Mariah Carey, but you'll ALWAYS be my baby. ;)

I encourage you to head over to my lovely friend Lucy’s blog (Philadelphia Family Photographer, Lucy Baber Photography) to read her letter to her children.

\10 on 10\ July

Back for another 10 on 10! This month you're looking at a Shellaway Summer Sunday... \1\ Remote thief

\2\ Trucks 'n Chucks

\3\ Run like a chicken

\4\ Two of a kind

\5\ Step right up

\6\ Emma McStuffins

\7\ Pool snack

\8\ Making breadcrumbs

\9\ Pre-bath raspberries

\10\ Goodnight, sweet girl

I’m joined in this project by a group of amazing photographers… head on over to my sweet friend Carrie’s blog to see a day in her life, then continue around the circle until you end up back here!

\Letters to My Children\ June

I’m continuing my “Letters” project this year with a new group of my very dearest photography friends. Each month I’ll write a letter to one of my babies.  This month it’s Emma’s turn…

This month we celebrated your 3rd birthday! It feels like just yesterday you were a fussy, wriggly little thing, and now you're THREE.

We kicked off your birthday festivities by skipping school and heading to the zoo with Nana. You were so excited to see all the animals, and despite it being ungodly hot out, you had a blast. You were so curious about all the animals and got such a thrill every time you found one hiding in its habitat. We ended the afternoon with ice cream (of course), and you were asleep in the car before we even turned onto Connecticut Avenue.

That night we met daddy at Cafe Bueno ("the quesadilla restaurant") so you could get your favorite dinner, followed by the homemade peach cupcakes you requested.

The Saturday after your birthday we had a small get together so close friends and family could celebrate your big day. It was a wee bit overwhelming for you to open all your presents, but worth it in the end when you opened your big present from me and daddy - your new dollhouse! It was actually my and Titi's dollhouse when we were little girls and I renovated it to make it a little less, well retro-tastic. I know you don't exactly have a taste preference when it comes to design (yet!) but I figured tan floral wallpaper and green shag carpeting weren't your thing.

Overall, it was a wonderful few days of celebrating our beloved little you, and Daddy and I are so excited to see what this coming year has in store for you - our sweet, silly, brilliant, thoughtful, fiercely independent, always-moving Emma.

I encourage you to head over to my lovely friend Lucy's blog (Philadelphia Family Photographer, Lucy Baber Photography) to read her letter to her children.

Emma: Age 2

Tomorrow is Emma's birthday, which means this is the last day of my baby girl being 2 years old. (Excuse me while I go sob in a corner.) I can't believe how much she's matured in the past year... she went from toddler to little girl, seemingly overnight. Here's a look back at some of my favorite photos of our sweet, hilarious, thoughtful, curious, beloved Emma as a two year old...

Every Day in June: Part 1

I owe Oprah an apology. I tend to be a pretty cynical person, and I've spent years thinking I was beyond all her self-discovery, aha moment mumbo jumbo. I was a confident, together modern woman. I knew who I was and what I wanted from life. Then it happened. Out of nowhere, I found myself in a moment where everything I knew about my life and myself all sort of fell together and made sense in a way it never had before. I had a purpose, a vision, and damn was I excited about it. See, like most people who pick up photography, or any art form for that matter, I've spent a ton of time over the past two years soaking up every tutorial, workshop, and blog post I could get my hands on - learning how to take better photos. I reached a point where I had the "how" pretty well figured out. I was chugging along, taking pretty, properly exposed, well composed images, but it felt like something was missing. So I started asking questions... I examined the work of photographers who I look up to, I explored my motivations for taking photos, and dug deeper and deeper until I was all the way back at the beginning: my family. They are my raison d'etre, and telling our story with my camera is one of my greatest joys and honors in life. I wanted my images to reflect that, and they weren't. At least not in the way I wanted them to.

A huge breakthrough came from reading Erika Ray's breakout session called "Let's Get Real: An Honest Approach to Photography." She's a master at real, honest, authentic photography and I connected with her work and her words in a way that I never had before with any other photographer. She helped me craft my vision for my photography, and to own that vision. I started asking myself every time I pick up my camera, "what do I want to remember about this?" And the answer is often something that likely has very little meaning to anyone else, but has immense personal meaning to me. The challenge then becomes translating that memory into something more than a simple snapshot... taking your life and making art from it. And you know the amazing thing about doing that? You start seeing your life as art. Every day moments become as beautiful as any Picasso. Even when I'm not shooting, I observe my family, our home, our life differently now... through the eyes of an artist. Which sounds like an incredibly stupid and arrogant thing to say, but that's the only way I've found to describe it.

So I had the "how" and the "why"... now it was time to figure out the "what." What did I want my photos to look like, to feel like - both to myself and to other people? I know the answer, but since this post is already insanely long, I'll save that for Part 2. In the meantime, I'll share with you a bit of what's come of all this soul searching. Once I had my big aha moment, I wanted to shoot all.the.time. I've never been an every day shooter because I work full time and before and after work is an elaborate, chaotic dance that rarely leaves time to sit and eat breakfast, much less snap some photos. But I stared down all those excuses and said screw it. You and me, June. It's on. So every day this month I've been shooting my "everyday." Each day, a new set of images that tell the story of our day... some days they have a common theme, or they're of a specific time of day or event, but it's always 5, and they're always real, and honest, and basically the kind of photography I wish I'd always been doing but I'm SO happy to be doing now. This is my absolute favorite challenge I've ever done. Here are a handful of my favorite days so far...

6.1.14: morning tv time / meal planning / first nap at home in months / big park / nature's highlights 6.2.14: (Weekday Breakfast) iPad in bed / brekkie / fuel / serenade / drinking the "juice" 6.4.14: If You're Happy and You Know It / always pumping / end of year school celebration / sassy like his mama / happy to be heading home! 6.5.14: (Day in the Life of Jonah) wakey wakey / busted / showing off for his teachers / yum! / precious boy 6.8.14: (Weekend Breakfast) bacon, always / blueberry pancakes / blowing raspberries / blueberry face / helping Jonah with his puffs 6.10.14: (Day in the Life of Rocco) rise and shine / out for a walk / pondering / waiting / back to bed 6.11.14: (Between work/school and dinner) feeding puppers / Doc McStuffins / still snoozing from the car ride / daddy's home! / so much love

\10 on 10\ June

A little something different for this month's 10 on 10... a couple of the other working moms in this circle and I made a pact to document a work day in June. I feared it would be super boring, but it ended up feeling very personal because, well, it's my life! /1/ Rise and shine

/2/ Hang time with my sweet boy

/3/ Wavy gravy

/4/ And we're off!

/5/ Empty carseats... the saddest part of my day

/6/ Workin' and pumpin'

/7/ Taking my handsome coworker for a walk

/8/ The best rear view

/9/ Nom nom

/10/ Time to edit... (and yes, I do have freakishly long toes. They're very handy when my arms are full of babies. Evolution for the win!) ;)

I’m joined in this project by a group of amazing photographers… head on over to Jessica's blog to see a day in her life, then continue around the circle until you end up back here!

\Jonah Month by Month\ 8 Months

\Letters to my Children\ May

I’m continuing my “Letters” project this year with a group of my very dearest photography friends. Each month I’ll write a letter to one of my babies.  This month it’s Jonah’s turn…

We went to the cabin for Memorial Day weekend and, considering the last time you were there you were in bronchiolitis/teething misery, it's safe to say you had a much better cabin trip this time. It was your first tenting experience, and you weren't thrilled with that part. It was a wee bit cold at night and not even double PJs and your fancy sleeping bag sleep sack seemed to keep you warm enough. Bad mama.

Okay, so other than freezing your cute little tushie off, you had a great time. You had lots of hang time with Daddy, got to crawl around next to the pond, and had lots of fun goofing around with your Uncle Dave.

Before I know it you'll be chasing after the older kids, casting your own fishing pole, and swimming in the dam no matter how ridiculously cold the stream is... so I'm trying to savor this time when you still want to be close to me, hanging in the Ergo, or smiling up at me from your blue blanket.

When Monday morning rolled around, you were ready to hit the road. Exhausted from a great weekend, you fell asleep before we even got in the car.

Sweet dreams of many years of happy cabin weekends to come, my beautiful boy.

I encourage you to head over to Valley Forge Family Photographer Lucy Baber Photography to read her letter to her adorable boys.

\10 on 10\ May

Finally a weekend without anything going on, so we decided to take a day trip to Harper's Ferry for some hiking... \1\ family breakfast at Family Meal

\2\ Sweetness

\3\ Driving to Harper's Ferry

\4\ Singing along to The Avett Brothers covering "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" by request... she can't get enough and we're happy to oblige

\5\ Very buggy, \6\ but very pretty

\7\ Taking in the sights of the Shenandoah River

\8\ Post-hike treat

\9\ and \10\ They sleep...

I’m joined in this project by a group of amazing photographers… head on over to Kyla's blog to see a day in her life, then continue around the circle until you end up back here!

/Jonah Month by Month/ 7 Months

Anatomy of a Tantrum

She just wanted to finish her game, but mean mama said time was up...

:)

\Letters to my Children\ April

I’m continuing my “Letters” project this year with a new group of my very dearest photography friends. Each month I’ll write a letter to one of my babies.  This month it’s Emma’s turn…

We had Spring Break this month, which meant we had a whole week to hang out and do fun stuff. We started by making homemade moon sand. It was too cold to play with it outside, and I'd already gotten you excited about it, so I braced myself for a mess and let you have at it. My instructions to "make sure it stays inside the bin" apparently fell on deaf ears, but you had a blast and that's all that matters. :)

Next up we painted your toenails! You love having me paint your toes and you even got to pick out a special color at Target ("the red store"). You, of course, picked your favorite color - purple.

The next morning you let me do your hair in special braids and you looked like SUCH a big girl. No more braids for a while because mama can't handle how grown up they make you look.

Then it was off to Green Meadows, the local petting farm and one of your all time favorite places to visit. You know all the animals and especially love feeding the goats. That particular afternoon they even had an easter egg hunt! You were very excited to pick out your eggs, but weren't such a fan of the costumed Easter Bunny they had strolling around. People in big furry costumes aren't your thing.

I think your favorite part of the week was going to our dear friend Leslie's farm in Central Virginia with Titi and your cousin Zachary. You kids had a BLAST feeding the animals, running around the huge property, playing with all of Leslie's toys, and generally being complete goof balls.

After our sleepover at Leslie's we headed back to Titi's to play and get everything ready for Easter. We stayed the night there and, as usual, you woke up way too early. This meant iPad time until everyone else woke up. Hmm, no wonder you like waking up early!

You and Zachary were SO excited to get a very special Facetime call from Nana and Grandpa Ed! They were on a boat in Paris and we could see the Eiffel Tower in the background. You're obsessed with Madeline lately so that part was especially cool.

I apparently got tired of taking pictures at this point, so you'll have to take my word for it that you had an awesome Easter, filled with family, fun, and lots of yummy food. More importantly, we had SUCH a fun Spring Break! I loved having so much time to hang out with you and can't wait for our next day off together.

I encourage you to head over to my friend Ann’s blog to read her letter to her sweet boys.

\10 on 10\ April (Portraits of Fatherhood)

For this month's 10 on 10 I wanted to do a day in the life series on my husband, Jared... For all the curveballs life has thrown us the past couple of years, and how tough the transition to two kids has been, I look at these photos and know I married the right person. Aside from being a genuinely great guy, he's such a wonderful father and husband. I feel blessed to know the example he's setting for our children of what a real man is. \1\ Start your engines

\2\ He always makes us breakfast on the weekends

\3\ Driving to gymnastics

\4\ Jared to me: "Don't draw attention over here! I just want to eat my yogurt without having to share it with Emma." as he spitefully savors the last spoonful :)

\5\ They're starting to spend more quality time together now that Jonah is going longer between feedings... I love the bond they're developing

\6\ These two have so many little games they play... this one is where he "makes it windy inside" by blowing on her and she just cracks up 

\7\ Pre-bath potty time, \8\ brusha brusha

\9\ Story time

\10\ Kicking back

I’m joined in this project by a group of amazing photographers… head on over to Christine’s blog to see a day in her life, then continue around the circle until you end up back here!

\Letters to My Children\ March

I’m continuing my “Letters” project this year with a new group of my very dearest photography friends. Each month I’ll write a letter to one of my babies.  This month it’s Jonah’s turn…

I can't believe you're already 6 months old! It seems like just yesterday we were bringing you home from the hospital, and now you're rolling over, scooting around to get to your toys, and starting solids. We gave you some avocado to try and after the initial excitement wore off, you were pretty skeptical.

Eventually you got on board and have been doing great ever since. And now that you're finally feeling better (begone chronic bronchiolitis!) you're drinking lots and lots of milk and sleeping better at night. You still wake up a little too early for our liking, but we'll work on that. You're so stinking cute, we're always happy to see your face - even at 5am.

We love you so much, buddy, and can't wait to see what the coming months have in store for you. <3

I encourage you to head over to my lovely friend Gwen’s blog to read her letter to her children.

/Jonah Month by Month/ 6 Months