Cuteness! Cuteness! Cuteness!

One thing I love about my job is getting to work with so many different types of families. It's fun to see the dynamics of each, and to meet so many different personalities. It's also cool to meet people whose situations are a bit different from my own.

Yesterday was one of those opportunities. I may grouse about having a lot of balls in the air, but in all honesty, it's nothing compared to what my client currently juggles. She has two-year-old TRIPLETS.

Fortunately, she's also one of the coolest, most down-to-earth people I've met in awhile. Basically, she says that she can get swallowed up by the chaos, or she can just choose to laugh. And she laughs. Heartily.

She also has realistic expectations, as one must with toddler triplets. She was hoping for a shot of them together, and a nice image of each individually. The funny thing is, these guys were SO FAST that I had no idea if I'd even captured anything decent with them all in the frame. The flash would go off, and before the light had even faded, one or more of them were GONE. I can't tell you how many outtakes I have with body parts flying in various directions.

But when I downloaded the images to my computer and started to go through them, I realized that at a couple of points, my shutter clicked in that fraction of a second when they were all together. And looking pretty darn cute, I might add.



Of course, I found images like this one just as charming:



And I did get some pretty pictures of the little darlings on their own.





Little T wasn't a big fan of the photo session experience, but I got him...



...and got a sweet smile when he played with his mama.



Thanks, S, for introducing me to your life and your fantastic trio. I can't wait to meet the rest of your family.

The Agony & The Ecstasy

I fired off a series of snapshots on Saturday night, and I find them so darn funny that I have to share them here. If nothing else, they give you a glimpse into our life at this point in time.

(Also, please excuse the crazy mixed lighting of my kitched at sunset. It's just not made for gorgeous photos.)

Following is the story of this particular picture, which I have dubbed "The Agony & The Ecstasy." There's just no better name for it.



But let's back up for a second, and I'll give you the backstory.

My kids are nuts over everything Super Mario Brothers, including these little packs of trading cards. While out to dinner on Saturday, we promised to give them each a pack when we got home if they could remain on their very best behavior. This is a HUGE carrot for them, so they remained extremely well behaved.

The problem was, we realized when we got home that we only had two packs stashed in the cupboard, not three.

So my clever husband opened the packs, combined them, and divided them into three piles. He let my daughter pick the first pile. Here she is as she anticipates her loot:



Then she rakes it in, a happy girl.



Next up, E wants his dad to announce the specific cards in his haul. Will it be good? Will it include one of the two most coveted cards? (Bear in mind that these packs are totally and completely random. They include only a handful of cards from a collection of a few dozen.)



Success! He picked the pile that includes a coveted card!!



But this leaves his brother in serious distress. I mean really, how is it fair that he just gets the leftover pile?



But then Daddy reads off the specific cards in his pile. AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT????



It had the card he wanted most in the world!!! He was so overwhelmed with emotion that he was still sobbing as he celebrated. SOBBING.

Which brings us back to my favorite photo of them all.



Oh, to be a kid again.

Ballplayers

It's true. Sometimes I grumble at the thought of dragging the family out to yet another Little League game. And then I get there and I smile and I laugh and I remember why we do this in the first place.

Gorgeous Sisters

I grew up with brothers, so I've always been a little curious about (and occasionally jealous of, I admit) the dynmanic between sisters. Whether they're young or old, they seem to have a very special bond. How lucky for them, I think.

The three sisters I spent time yesterday with were no exception. They enjoy an enviable bond. And they are goregous. And on top of that, they were real troopers, putting up with a chilly wind and my inane scrambling when I showed up and had to toss my original plan out the window. (Who knew they'd mow the beautiful field between Sunday evening and Wednesday??)

Aren't they just lovely?















Oh, yeah. In addition to everything else, they knew how to work it like super models. :)

Just One Pretty Image

It's dreary outside, so I thought I'd post an image I find kind of lovely.



Now it's back to editing and order fulfillment. I'm definitely looking forward to my sessions later this week and hope that the weather begins to look even a little bit like late spring. Is that too much to ask?

Happy Birthday, Fishface!

Don't ask me why, but one of our many nicknames for Noah -- and currently the most popular -- is Fishface. It morphed from something else (which itself came about because of a love of fish and not a physical likeness), but here we are.

And Fishface is six today.

On May 13, 2004, he came out looking like a funny little old man, but he stole my heart immediately and hasn't surrendered it since. I love him so, so much it truly amazes me.

We went outside yesterday to attempt a couple of photos in his dad's shirt -- something we do each year to chart his growth. It was insanely windy and cold, so we gave up, but not before I snapped the last shot of him as a five-year-old.

Is it wrong that I want to freeze him exactly the way he is and never let him grow?

Look Who's Sitting Up Now!

Hard to believe, but these guys are seven months old. Wasn't I just photographing them as newborns? Like yesterday?

And they came for their session yesterday with a new trick: sitting up. Of course, I took full advantage, even plopping them into various containers.

Aren't they just the sweetest little things?



Mr. Kelton:







Mr. Kandon:







K + K = a fun morning, once again. Thanks, guys!

Just Because

Tomorrow is a busy day, and I'm heading to bed early to rest up. Before I do, though, I felt like sharing these.

Just because they make me smile.

Our Week

It was a rough week in these parts, and by "these parts," I mean "inside my house."

I suffered a cold that seemed interminable and involved an insane amount of sneezing. I swear, I don't think I've sneezed that much EVER.

Fortunately for me, the cold did do me one favor. I was propped up in bed Wednesday night, having just managed to get one nostril in working order and enjoying the long-forgotten feeling of breathing without my mouth hanging open. My daughter started crying, so I said to my snoring husband, "You need to get that. I can't move or it'll all clog up again." To which he probably mumbled something like, "Wha? Huh? Crazy woman."

(I kid, I kid. He's always nothing but sweetness and light.)

Anyway, the poor man then trudged downstairs and began what was the longest night he'd faced in awhile. You see, the cry wasn't a standard, "I can't find my blanket" or "Why didn't you ever come down and give me those promised snuggles, MOM?" or any number of other things we deal with with 2% of our brain before trudging back upstairs and falling back into bed. No, this time it meant, "I've been sick ALL over myself, my bed, and everything around me."

And so it started. I think that in the end, he changed sheets on three different beds and ran at least that many loads of laundry. And that was all before 5:00 a.m., when she did all yet again.

I shouldn't complain, but I wasn't completely unscathed. She did it twice for me the next morning, never quite making it to the toilet either time. But that was all mild compared to the nighttime, so I'm going to keep my complaints to myself. (See that? That was me keeping them to myself.)

Anyway, she was fine within about 12 hours of it starting, and my cold finally, FINALLY let up. Today was looking rosier, so we all made it to a baseball game featuring one of the cutest darn players, if I do say so myself. Whether he was batting or literally flying toward home, his little self made me smile.

I needed that after this week.



P.S. My apologies to the squeamish and anyone who thinks boot stories are totally inappropriate.

Give (or Get!) the Gift of Photography

If you're like me, you thoroughly appreciate the handmade cards and carefully selected Mother's Day gifts you get each May. One of my favorite things I've ever received is a hand-decorated frame that says "Happ Mothr's Day 2008" (with a backwards 2 for good measure).

But I also truly appreciate the photo inside that frame. It includes all three of my kids, in all of their imperfect, perfectly childlike glory.

The gift of a family photo session is memorable and priceless. It's something that can be shared, and appreciated, for years to come.

This Mother's Day (and Father's Day), I'm offering gift certificates that include a spiral-bound proof book featuring all of the images from your session. To get your hands on one, just email or call me today.

It'll be a hit, and so will you.

Springtime Color

I was itching to get outdoors and play around in the wildflowers and evening light that I find so mesmerizing at this time of year. I was also interested in playing around with some different processing (processing is what takes place on the computer after the session is over, for you non-photogs). I wanted to play up the light, the color, and the whimsical feeling of springtime dusk in San Luis.

Thankfully, my outing with the VB kids provided me just such an opportunity.

These images -- and these kids -- just make me smile.