I love capturing images of people, especially children, because they change so much, so quickly. Not only their physical features, but also their personalities, their interests, how they laugh, how they interact with each other, everything.
So to start this new year right, I took photos of my own little monkeys in their jammies… to capture just how they are right now. This will be a wonderful family tradition to do every new year.
Smiles At Bedtime
Dreaming
Nothin’ but a Hat
I hope all of you will think of new year traditions for yourself, especially if you have little monkeys in your life — whether they are your own, your nieces, your nephews, or your grandchildren.
On Christmas Day, Santa brought my 5 year old daughter a white Zhu Zhu Pet that she named Miss White. (The name wasn’t very inventive, but hey — she’s five!) Melia was so happy that Santa “was watching” to know she had good behavior this year and that he read her October letter that stated her desire for this specific toy.
The rest of that day consisted of creating a wedding between Miss White and Mr Nugget (the orange Zhu Zhu Pet she received last Christmas). From the clothes to the lavender for Inch, the Flower Girl worm, Melia and her stepsister Kaitlyn spent hours upon hours creating the perfect little wedding that I could not resist photographing!
Mr and Mrs Nugget’s wedding became a 2-day project.
Day 1 (Christmas Day): Designing and performing the wedding.
Day 2 (today): Creating a wedding photo album and slideshow. I had such a blast doing this with them!!!
When I look at the photos or watch the video, I think of my creative girls… and I feel so much joy and love because of the fun we had and bond we shared during this project!
A Few Favorites
A view of the groom when Miss White was walking down the aisle…
Miss White and Mr Nugget just tied the knot and are now about to cut their wedding cake...
One of their Bride and Groom Portraits taken after the ceremony: It was under the trees and next to a fountain… (Are you laughing yet?!!)
The Wedding Slideshow
Click on this image to take you to the YouTube video:
Click on the arrow to view the slideshow here:
Here are a couple I took this afternoon…
Happy Halloween from a Queen, a Lady Bug and a Monkey!
Behind-The-Scenes
This was taken about 30-seconds before the one above. I always find it interesting to see how shots were set up, so here is mine!
Now, is it wrong of me to find this shot pretty darn funny?!! =:D
Just bought little baby sneakers today. They have tiny hearts all over them — on the top, on the soles. It’s overkill, for sure! And I typically would avoid this kind of design like a vampire to garlic, but for my little Ava, I somehow LOVE dressing her in girlie pinks, heart designs, giant floral head pieces. You name it.
So here ya go, my little angel… Your first super pink girlie heart sneakers. You get to wear them to a party tomorrow!
(FYI to Photographers: This was a 10-second set up! I looked for any flat surface that had natural light, which happened to be next to the stairs. It was a cluttery mess behind it and I didn’t have time to tidy it up, so I took the shot slightly below the level of the “table” to miss most of the mess. Then I cranked the aperture up to 1.4 to blur out the background. I also knew I wanted to place something next to the shoes for a nifty size comparison, so I took a gander in my kitchen and voila – nectarines! My white top and skirt acted as a fabulous reflector, so the nectarines and baby shoes were lit perfectly! So there you have it… a 10-second shot!)
Being a parent can be quite a balancing act.
Since I had baby Ava in March, I started taking fewer clients. Instead of 2 to 3 photoshoots per week, I now comfortably take one client shoot per week, so I can dedicate enough time to each client as well as give enough attention to my own little monkeys. Decreasing my shoots to 50-33% is a change that has been difficult because I absolutely love my business, enjoy releasing my creative energy through photography, and am devoted to my clients.
But here’s another way I’ve been looking at it…
The limited shoots is temporary since kids grow like weeds (kids love that analogy – wink wink), so Ava won’t need me as much when she’s a little older, and my older two will both start school soon, so I’ll have more time for my business. So right now, I have the benefit of spending more time with my kids while they’re all so young and I can watch them do silly things!
Below are some photos from the past week to show you what I mean.
Fluffy and (Monkey) Mimi’s Party
Last week, I baked cupcakes and dusted off my bag of party supplies to have a birthday party for my kids’ favorite loveys!
It became a half day activity! The kids helped set up the party table, made presents and cards, and helped bake the cakes.
Mia and Ian absolutely loved the birthday party for their loveys. And for that day, I felt like the coolest momma around. 
A Sweet Card
This is the birthday card Mia created for her toy cat. She spelled her name phonetically: fluf-e! And it looks like Flufe is a princess too!
It was so endearing to read her card that I took photos of it in case it ever got lost/torn/crushed/squished/stepped on/drooled on!
You Had Me At “I Am A Burrito!”
Every night, Ian insists on getting tightly wrapped in a towel after bath and will come looking for me. When he finds me, he smiles wide and announces in a cheerful voice that he is a burrito! I always tell him he’s the cutest burrito I’ve ever seen and hug and pretend to eat him.
Girlie Time Turned Photo Opp!
Picture this:
* My 5 year old is one of the girliest girls I’ve ever known. She loves all things Princess, flowers, butterflies, dresses, Barbie, etc.
* A few days ago, I told her I’d curl her hair and she was giddy with excitement. We’re talking high-pitched squeals kind of excitement!
So who am I to disappoint?
* My old College hair curlers looked like ancient artifacts in my little Princess’ never-been-cut baby locks. (I don’t think curlers come with those wire doohickeys anymore!)
* And the way they looked in her hair reminded me of old photos of housewives in the ’60s.
* So I asked her to wear rubber gloves and clean the kitchen for some fun photos!
Do you know how I got my girlie girl to do this? I told her she was Cinderella before Cinderella became a princess!
I am clever, aren’t I?! I can’t help, but laugh every time I see these photos! Look at the gloves! It…is…just…TOO…funny!
The Moral of my Story: Life is a balancing act. And we sometimes have to make tough decisions to balance it. Just be sure you can live with the decisions you make.
To celebrate little Ava’s 4 month birthday this week, I thought I’d have the first (and hopefully, the only) installment of “If I Could Talk”! (Courtesy of Delirium due to prolonged sleep-deprivation) 
Whistling is soooo much harder than it looks!
This one smells the best. Oh wait, I mean tastes the best.
That clicking black box is so rude! It always gets in between my face and mom’s!
I… almost…. got it! It’s right below my chin! #@*&$!!!!
Meet my pal, Gi-Gi. He doesn’t talk much.
The first time I heard the Train hit, “Hey Soul Sister”, I thought of Myra. Even now that I know the song is a love story, the recurring words “soul sister” and the peppy beat that always makes me shake my hips undeniably makes me think of my soul twin.
It was recently Myra’s birthday, so we did our usual Twin Day hangout. (Click here to see last year’s Twin Day!)
Twin Day is a day of catching up, indulging in food, and doing anything we feel like that soothes our souls. There is usually a lot of silliness and laughing during Twin Day.
Myra, aka Twin, aka My My, aka Soul Sister
She is one tan lady since her recent beach vacation!
A Delicious Treat
Well, one of the treats! 
What’s Interesting?
As we walked around, I shot things that I found interesting, which is usually about light, texture or emotion.
Snap Snap!
Thank you for letting me take photos of you, Myra! And happy birthday!!!
Whether your creative outlet is painting murals, writing novels, singing ballads, citing poetry, sketching still-life, or dancing on your dining table, we all need some inspiration from time to time.
This past week, while on vacation at the coast, my husband took our older kids for a swim. I had planned on taking baby Ava to meet them, but I got caught up taking photographs of her instead. Big surprise, I know!
Ava is as cute as a button. Well, cuter! But taking straight shots of her in a sterile hotel room was a little shy of a big yawn! So I changed my shooting perspective by rotating my body all around her. And voila! I found my inspiration….
Baby Feet
They are just feet, but the way they interact with each other tells a story.
And sometimes they form a pretty shape.
It’s like laying on the grass and seeing recognizable shapes in the clouds. Art is everywhere; you just need to look for it.
Derek.
I was the first to see him after he was born (other than his parents, of course). I loved holding him when he was a baby and was always thrilled to babysit him.
He is my nephew, and he turned 7 years old today! WOW. Seven!
Here are a few photos from his party today…
Derek’s Interview
My sister-in-law Jenny was interviewing him with her camcorder when he was in the jumpy house. (The fuzzy thing on the right is from her hair/head.)
I love the look on his face in the camcorder’s LCD screen. And you can really see that Pokemon ring. It’s pretty funny!
Cake Time!
If you’re gonna get one shot at a birthday party, it is of the birthday person blowing out the candles!
Now hand over a piece of cake please! =:P
Frosting Only
My kids, like most kids I suppose, prefer to eat the frosting over the cake. Alas, I cannot do a thing about it. *sigh*
Hmmmm… and he finds it funny!
Sydney and her Giant Bows
My sweet lil’ niece (Derek’s 3 1/2 year old sister) wore her giant pink bows for me! Tee hee.
Happy Birthday, Derek!
And here’s a funny face one of the group…
I like the one where the boy is almost gauging his eye out! OMG, it’s so funny!
I was sitting on the edge of my bed last night while feeding baby Ava. And while staring at the mess of diapers and other baby goodies that were taking over my room, I noticed the pretty light adorned with stripes coming through the windows. Some may see them as just “shadows”, but I saw a beautiful pattern of light and dark. It inspired me to take portraits of my monkeys after Ava had her fill of milk.
It is so interesting where we find our inspiration sometimes.
Where have you found your inspiration? Tell me. I wanna know.
I sat Mia and Ian on my dresser where the light was, which worked well for Ian because he couldn’t move and run off, like he usually does when I try to take his photos! Heh heh.
Melia’s first kiss ever from her little brother! Look at the glee on her face!
She doesn’t usually smile THIS big where she shows her gums. That is one great big smile!
This is how I know they love each other. It is so nice to see after months of seeing them fight.
My heart fills with joy when I see this series!
Recent Comments