Naughty Bear Chair

I saw the big bear and wanted to put the little baby in it's lap...but when mom called it the "naughty bear chair" I had second thoughts. Ohhhh...you can't be naughty when you are so little and yummy...

And then I met the real Naughty Bear...

Seriously yummy

ARgh...I want to eat this whole family! I can't tell if all of the stars aligned or if they just permanently shine over their house. Everything was so sweet and loving...oh, and did I mention they are all gorgeous too!

I want them to have a million more babies...because they are so cute...but also so I can photograph them all in this awesome orange chair!

Welcome home

I just got back from Las Vegas. Sounds glamorous. More like exhausting. It was my yearly sojourn to WPPI a huge wedding and photography convention. I go to classes, buy new equipment (yay!) and rethink my business. This year is going to be great....not just blog hyperbole, I swear. I've got some new ideas that I'm finally ready to implement...

Plus, I had this email waiting for me...

"We just received the photo album today! LOVE IT!!!!! Thanks so much!!!! They are even better then I thought they would be. You are amazing!!!

It must be so much fun to give people so much joy! You have really done that for us. The pictures just really capture J.

Can't wait to work with you again.

Have a great day.

Laura"

me and patches, just hanging out...

ARis book

My Ari book is in! Yay for me...I always try to get it done by his birthday but the task of going through a years worth of photos always crashes my emotional server. This year I'm going to make a system....I swear.

So, every week we hang out and every time I take a couple of snaps. Nothing big usually, just a few of the activity we are doing or a place or outfit that seems quintessential. And then I compile them chronologically into a cool book which I have printed by a small run publisher and viola, a yearbook of sorts. It's amazing to see the changes he's gone through in a year and even more so to pull out year 1 (2006) and year 2 (2007) and see how little he was and the adventures we did.

The best part is that some weeks I just download the photos and don't have time to look at them and then they just sort of pile up so when I make the book sometimes I'm looking at photos for the first time. It's like a little Christmas! Here are a few of my favorite pages:

January 18:


August 13:


December 9:

Exie is 10 months

I've gone from wondering how Exie got so big to wondering when she is going to get bigger...when will she walk...when will she have tea parties with Coco...when will she be a kid and not a baby...I shouldn't rush her, should I. Sorry, you can stay a baby for ever...

My impossibly grown up niece

I was talking with a mom the other day who pointed to her 6 year old and said, "can you believe that big boy is my baby!" I had just met her son so it didn't have the same impact on me but I knew the sentiment. Personally I don't often get that, every age sort of seems the age they have always been.

And then I sat down to edit my holiday photos and BAM! it totally hit me. The photo of this big kid, really nearly a teen, this funny, sassy, smart girl is the niece that was 3 years old just last week...She would wear her Dorothy costume to the store and do unselfconscious dance performances, she didn't know how to swim, didn't like french fries and hated talking on the phone...

And to make it an even crazier time warp...by the time her little sister is this age she is going to be 20. Absolutely impossible!

I like kids...and my sleep

I really like kids...I think they're funny, sweet, special and good to be around. And kids usually like me. And people often say I should have kids. They don't ask if I want kids, they just say I should have kids. But you know what...I like my nieces, I like Ari and I like my neighbors. I don't need my own kids...I like yours.

The only reason I would want a kid would be to dress them and to name them...not quality reasons. And it's not often that I think, "I want kids so I can take their photos". But after this session, when I got home and looked at the photos I thought, for a split second, "I wish I had this picture of my baby".

And then I flipped on the tv and had another drink and was just happy that they had these photos and I get to get up in the morning whenever I want...call me crazy...

We did some cute feet shots with the big sibs but I like this view even better...

See aforementioned reason for having a baby...you get to dress them in awesome t-shirts like this!