i knew the minute i saw this dress she had to have it.  but i waited.  then of course i couldn’t find it in her size.  finally, grabbed it from the sale rack some time last month.  and there it sat.  with less than a week to get some valentine pictures done, make a card, send it to be printed, and mail it out, i was giving up hope.  then today, i just thought, forget all the plans for a big valentine shoot, and just get a few pictures…and it’s a good thing i did.  don’t know how much longer the dress will fit (oops).  while she was not the most cooperative 10 month old, on the front porch, in the cold, when mama wouldn’t let her eat the rocks, i do think i got some keepers!  (maybe sometime i will post the one of her eating the rocks). anyways i still {heart] this dress! and of course i {heart} my baby girl!

my poor little man was sick yesterday. sick – like stay home from school sick.  he was coughing so much i was sure he would not be able to complete his work, so he stayed home.  later we went to the doctors, me thinking he might have a sinus infection or bronchitis or something.  when we got there, he was pretty quiet except for the barking seal cough. as we sat in the room waiting to see the dr, he was pretty miserable.  as soon as she came in to see him, she could see that he was having trouble breathing.  she suggested a breathing treatment right there in the office.  he has never had a breathing treatment. he was so good, just sat there, with me holding him and his dinosaur mask on.  i felt so bad for him.  he never said a word.  and i missed it, just thought he had a cough.  it was one of those moments when time seems to pass so slowly, and i just sat holding him, thinking of all the mommy mistakes i have made and where this one fit in, and watching the medicine make a white cloud in the mask and his chest working so hard to breathe.  not something i will soon forget.  but my little man took it all in stride.  a few more breathing treatments since then and he seems to be doing fine.  late last night, i checked my email and found this wonderful photo of my boy.  it is actually this very photo that i had planned on posting today.  to my surprise, my dear friend nancy had pulled this photo from a set that i shared with her to play with and work her photoshop magic on. she made the wonderful colors just pop and added just the right textures too.  thank you my friend!

so today is ground hog’s day.  and if you have a child in kindergarten i’m sure you heard all about it.  i was reminded today that if the groundhog sees his shadow then we will have 6 more weeks of winter, but if he doesn’t see his shadow, then spring is here.  and of course today the groundhog saw his shadow, great-6 more weeks of winter.  but as i heard the story for like the third time on the way home from school, my mind started to wander….is the ground hog here local?  cuz it’s sunny most days here and of course he would see his shadow. if he’s not here, where does he live?  is it a place that gets a mix of weather this time of year?  and why if it’s sunny on feb. 2nd, does that mean that winter is going to be longer, cuz it feels like it should be the opposite, the sun is out, it’s getting warmer, it makes a shadow-spring is coming….is anybody with me on this one?  guess i could google it and read up on groundhog’s day, but it just seems logical, no?  anywho…. what is a post without a photo?  so i grabbed this one of my boy and his shadow.

the only nice thing about being imperfect is the joy it brings to others {doug larson}

i am sure that you can guess why i love these images, of course because she is my baby girl.  these images are technically not correct, imperfect. but there is more to it than you can see by just looking at the photos.  they mark the beginning of a journey for me. a journey that has brought me to embrase photographing what i want, having a vision and going for it, creating feeling through photographs, and yes, sometimes loving an image that may not be technically correct. as for my baby girl, i {love} her chubby little legs, how you can see her motor skills in action, and the silly expression on her face – not sure if she was more annoyed with my requests to get her to look at me, or that i made her wear that hat.  thank you baby girl for being a part of this journey with me.

i know its been a while since you have seen one of the kiddos.  i could not resist sharing this one.  just look at that face.  love this little boy.

the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams {eleanor roosevelt}

i am loving how much i am learning and growing as a photographer right now.  i will have so many images to share soon. i continue to be inspired by what i see around me.  and i am loving seeing the light in new ways.  stay tuned for some beautiful images.

to accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe {anatole france}

this week i have been participating in an on-line photography class taught by one of my favorite photographers http://www.martalocklear.com/blog/ .  it has been such an awesome experience for me.  one of our assignments was to take a self portrait {take a picture of yourself…by yourself, or with a tripod or timer}. these are some of mine.  there are more, and i promise i will share them later.  the class is both  a creative and technical one.  i feel like i have learned so much already.  and i am so excited to get out and try new things, which means more pictures to share.  soon, i promise.

Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it. {Confucius}

for some reason this photo speaks to me.  it just seems to fit with things right now.  one of my goals this year is to embrace my surroundings.  so in an effort to do so, the boy and i went out to this spot i saw driving home one day.  while part of it had natural desert landscape, there was also a dirt path and several old tires along the edge of the path.  my boy found this “stick plant” as he called it on the ground and asked me if it was pretty.  i think he is doing better at finding beauty in our surroundings than i am.  ♥ you little man. thanks for showing me the way.

i promise there will be some chalk pictures soon, but this one was ready to go, and i’m afraid i am going to misplace the paper with the info, so i just needed to get this done.  we went to the pediatrician for her 9 month check up over a week ago!  so here are the stats:

weight: 17lbs, 6 oz

height :27.5 inches (major growth in this area…yeah!)

likes: food – baby food, cereal, baby snacks, grandma’s home made dinner, anything anyone is eating (did i mention she likes food?); standing – at the table, in her crib, with a walker, in a cart at target (she pretty much wants to stand all day long, guess she is proud of her new skills);  playing with bubba, and her brother (although he has been trying to keep her away from his new toys); talking (jabbers all the time); her new baby doll; lots more i am sure.

dislikes: being told “no”, when there is no more food, when brother won’t let her eat his toys; being seat belted in the carseat or shopping cart; you get the general idea

other: she is crawling everywhere, can go from crawling to sitting, pulls to stand on everything, gets into everything, likes to touch power cords, is happy most of the time, makes some pretty funny faces, can click her tongue, can clap her hands, gives her baby kisses, says something like “hi”, “dada” and “mama” inconsistently, is on the verge of walking, is chewing/teathing on the side of her crib, and makes me smile and fills my heart with joy. 

for 2010…

photograph more; share more; cook more; read more; embrace my surroundings; try new things; worry less; stress less; get upset less; enjoy every minute.            what is on your list….

the boy & i found this nest in the back yard as we were playing in and cleaning up the leaves…cool huh? 

HAPPY NEW YEAR’S TO ALL !