Lilia

Yesterday I had the good fortune to photograph little miss Lilia's first birthday party. It was a last minute job and I forgot to mention it to Josh and it turned out he was heading to Maker Faire with Ben. So I asked if I could bring Sam along. Amy was great about it and it turned out that Sam was amazing. It doesn't mean I will be bringing my kids to work anytime soon, but I was so grateful that he was such a superstar.Here is a very brief sneak peek of Lilia's special day. I will post more soon. The first shot is my favorite from the day. And what a day it was. She had all of her wonderful family around her, loving and adoring her and it was a beautiful day. What more can you ask for?

Daddy's Boy

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Sam is definitely a daddy's boy. Ben loved being with both of us as a baby, but I think he was a bit more attached to me. But not Sam. He is all about his dad, especially once I stopped nursing him. In many ways I am grateful for the break, but I must admit at being a bit jealous at others. It feels like a sneak peek of the future. I grew up in a family that was dominated by testosterone. I wanted a sister SO badly. And when I was little I said that when I grew up and had babies that I wanted two girls, but somewhere I just knew that I would have two boys. And here we are.So I dread the allegiance of gender and the inevitable distancing from mom. I know it will come and that I will never be ready for it. Josh and Ben were talking in the car yesterday on the way to pick up Noah for the Maker's Faire. Ben said something about Josh and Ben being two boys. So Josh asked if Noah was a boy and Ben said yes. Then Ben pointed out that Sam also was a boy. So Josh asked if mommy was a boy and Ben said, "No. Mommy is a girl. She is the only one."

The Smartest One in the Whole Operation

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Yesterday morning I was trying to find Talullah so that she would go outside and do her business before I left to take the boys to school. So I called her over and over and Ben started to call her too. Then Sam got in on the action saying' Ooola'. Ben and I look perplexed. Sam looked at us incredulously with his hand pointing downward towards the floor. And there was Lula, who had been there the whole time. Sam and Lula looked at us like we were the village idiots. And I suppose we now officially are.

The Austin PUG

The other night I headed over to Sarah and Jennifer's studio for a Pictage Users Group meeting. It was so great to see some familiar faces and meet some new ones. We started off the evening taking head shots of one another. Trying to get a bunch of photographers in front of the lens for a change is no easy feat. After the shooting there was beer and pizza. You just can't go wrong with pizza and beer, can you? And finally Jefferson gave a great presentation about websites, which was extremely helpful. I love the photography community in Austin. Everyone is so helpful and supportive. I am so grateful to be amongst them. The shots below include Allen, Amy, Courtney, Dustin, Harlen, Jennifer, Jefferson, Jim, Stacy and Tiffany. And check out Felimon's blog for one of yours truly.

Home

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Sam's teachers gave him a ponytail yesterday. On the way home, Ben asked if Sam was a girl since he had a ponytail. Three points for gender stereotypes being alive and well. But darn he looks cute, doesn't he?

Facebook Revisted

So I still think Facebook is really cool. I love it for being able to look up people I have lost touch with and seeing what they are up to. But it has also started to remind me of junior high lately. I want to know what people are doing, but I don't need to know what they say to people other than me. Do you know what I mean? And I don't need to know who their latest 'friend' is either. It's a little bit like googling an ex. You want to know what has happened to them, but you don't want to know TOO much. It also reminds me of big brother, as if it knows everything I do or say (of course because I have let it). Here is where my more paranoid side comes out.I can be sucked into any sort of gossip or melodrama. This is one of the reasons I choose not to work in offices or with other people (other than clients, of course). Because next thing you know my energy has been zapped by thinking about whether Suzie Q and Janey R WERE talking about me when I walked into the room and they immediatley stopped talking. And then I am not sleeping at night because I am worried that what I said to David R is going to be misunderstood or misinterpreted and then he will be mad at me and tell everyone not to like me. I can so easily revert to my twelve year-old self. The one who was on the party line (if you are under 40 you probably have NO idea what this is, but it was definitely a precursor to Facebook) and someone told me that Susie Rivo and Carolyn Jones were bad mouthing me on the line. And here I was thinking they were my best friends. Yes, it HAS been one of THOSE weeks. Maybe this is one of those situations where it is just me. Do I need to go back to therapy again? I mean, I am a very self-confident, self assured and empowered person. That is, I am when I am the only person in the room.

Rough

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I must admit that I am having a rough day. So I am posting a photo of the people who make me happiest to remind me of what is important and why I starting taking photographs in the first place.

Facebook

I have become a facebook addict. It is just what I needed--another way to procrastinate. So if you are on facebook and procrastinating too, let's do it together. Add me to your friends list so that I can see what you are doing to battle YOUR productive tendencies. You can find me here.

And the Winner is . . .

Well we used a very scientific method for picking the winner of the $30 Amazon gift card. Ben picked a name out of a hat. I say that if it ain't broke, well you know the rest. And the winner is . . . drumroll please . . .Katie. The gift card has been emailed to you Katie, so if you do not get it please let me know. Congratulations to Miss Katie and THANK YOU to all of your for all of your help in making my website a more beautiful place. Have a great weekend and Katie, you'd better get shopping.

I LOVE School

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I love my boys' school. And I love to go there with my camera. Sam's classroom is called the Hummingbirds. This has always been my favorite room at the school, even when neither of my boys were in it. It is just such a great age. And they all look so darn cute running around in their diapers and nothing else. I was procrastinating the other day from doing real work, so I played with the kids and my camera. First I made a quick trip to the Starbursts, which is Ben's room (the first two photos), and then I headed for the good old Hummingbirds. And we all had such fun.

Sick Sam

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Sam was sent home from school mid-day with a fever. When I went to pick him up they said that he ate okay, but that he didn't try to steal other kids' food. That was when they knew something was wrong. A chip of the old block. After he came home, I doped him up with Tylenol and he slept for quite awhile. Then I took him in the stroller and the dogs on their leashes and we went for a walk. I tried to take some photos of Sam, but he wasn't having it. I know all these photographers who have kids that love to be in front of the camera. Not mine. Granted Sam was sick today, so I would never expect him to want to have his picture taken, but both boys never want to look at the camera. At least they don't scream bloody murder when I bring it out, but would it kill them to take some direction and LOOK AT ME every once in awhile? This is HOW BADLY HE DID NOT WANT HIS PICTURE TAKEN TODAY.

Three Years Ago

I got this idea from dooce's daily photo today. It made me realize that Ben is actually old enough to have a 'three years ago' photo. And then I became curious about what he actually did look like in October of 2005 (any excuse to procrastinate). And what I found made me smile.

To Sam on His First Birthday

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Dear Sam:I realize that your birthday was over a month ago, but I have not had a chance to write this until now. The photos, however were taken on September 6th, your actual birthday. I cannot believe that you are already one year old. Just yesterday you were an itty bit. Everyday you are becoming more and more your own person. You are truly an amazing child. You have so many little habits. You are a classic thumb sucker and you can crawl up a storm. When you are really excited you do a little crawling dance as you start to do your take-off. You love to crawl up the stairs over and over again. You are afraid when I try to teach you how to go down them and the other day you did manage to fall down them the ONE time I had the baby gate down. I was so scared, but you just cried for about 30 seconds and then spent the next 30 minutes sucking your thumb and lying on my chest. It was definitely one of those moments when I was glad your dad used to be an EMT and could talk me out of my panic. I expect that you will be walking soon and then we will really be in big trouble. It is hard to be the second child, but you handle it with style. If you cry and your needs are not met right away, you just cry louder. Smart boy. You are incredibly curious. Everything demands a touch and a trip into your little mouth. If it meets with your approval at that stage then it needs to take a few spins around the room, while still in your mouth. Then it needs to be banged on the table a few times to see what sound it makes. You are also highly independent. You won't let me feed you because you want to do it yourself. You with a spoon and a container of yogurt make for some crazy kitchen art. You don't want to sit still for even a quick diaper change. It has become a crazy sport just to get a dirty diaper off of you. You are so like and unlike your brother at the same time. You think that the sun rises and sets with Ben. Every morning when we drive to school you and Ben laugh almost the whole way there. The sound is like music to me (at least for the first ten minutes). Sometimes when I pick you up at school, I see that you are happily playing, before you have a chance to see me. But once you see me you cry and reach for me as if you have been saving up all of your fears and unhappiness until you could see me or your dad again. You laugh when I throw you up in the air and clap your hands when I sing. When you smile it lights up the room so that I am almost blinded by my love for you. I am often plagued by doubt about the things I do and the directions I take in life. But you and your brother are the two things of which I am the most proud. You are two people that I cannot believe came from me. I am flawed, but you, my dear, are perfect. Simply perfect. Love, Mommy

Austin Wedding: Dawn and Matt

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On Saturday night I shot a wedding with the fabulous Sarah Quiara at the Driskill Hotel in downtown Austin for the amazing Matt and Dawn. We had a great time and even I couldn't help dancing when they played "Dancing Queen". Once again I was unable to restrain myself and there oh so many photos. One of my favorite moments was when the groomsmen had an impromptu dice game while waiting for us to photograph the women (see photo below). And didn't the bride look resplendent? I'll say. She was a definite ringer for Veronica Lake, but with brown hair.