Two heads are better than one. :)

Lazy Sundays. Our favorite. Cheaper by the Dozen is on and she loves to watch it. See that lump to the right (her left)? That is Hershey Kiss. She sweetly talks to him until he falls asleep and then she covers him up. She is the Cat Charmer.

All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139:16

He must have written about the day we colored the sidewalks behind the house. Certainly he told about how we giggled about Hershey Kiss doing the kangaroo (he lies indefinitely on his back with his front and hind legs bent over looking, of course, like a kangaroo). He couldn't have left out the part where we sang silly songs and drew silly pictures.
I love being your mommy.

Speaking of dancing. Here she is. A full review of her Saturday performance will be published tomorrow. Check back. :)

She is my mini-me.
She looks like me.
Acts like me (sorry Chrisy).
Except for the obvious, it was like our kids got switched at birth.

She is incredibly profound to be 3.
I love to watch her dance and if you are around her longer than 4 seconds, you will get to see her dance. And if you stay around another 2 1/2 seconds, she will inspire you to dance too. Promise.

Children's photography isn't always about smiling and cheesing. For me, it is about honesty.

"Do I like smiles? Yes, but only if they are real and filled with life. And I also like tears. You see, truth is beautiful, no matter what the expression." Randy Bacon

Going through some old photos, I found these and felt a storyboard of the images was appropriate. I can still hear her singing *Christmas, Why Can't I Find You* from the Grinch. She gets really close and stares into your eyes as she sings ever so seriously with big eyes batting at you. It is the sweetest thing ever. Trust me.

Never did I imagine five years ago when I gave birth to the 9 pound 6 ounce sumo wrestler that she would, one day, turn five. The night before, we laid in bed and I told her the story of when she was born as she cuddled in my arms, twirling my hair with her fingers.
I cried.
She cried.
Her birthday party was the sweetest ever. We were surrounded by the most important people in our lives and we had fun. We had a special guest, Oreo the Cat showed up and shared center stage with the birthday and her side kick.
In the words of my fave song at the moment:

My familys not rich by any means,
But I feel we won the lottery that day

I hope she won't forget her 5th birthday because I know I won't. It couldn't have been any more perfect.

Today, she wrote me a note. It said Reagan hearts Mama. How simple yet profound. Seriously I choked back tears like I am right now as I type this. She proceeded to follow it up with instructions on how to cook a Kid Cuisine frozen dinner. She wanted the spaghetti one and she wanted to put the white cheese on it herself. Why you ask? She explained it very clearly. She looked me straight into my eyes and explained very slowly that the kid must put the cheese on it because it is a KID CUISINE. The kid puts the cheese on it.

I love her in so many ways. I love the way she loves me even when I am not a perfect mother. I love to watch her love other people. I love to hear her giggle. I love the way she sings with me in the car *very loudly*. I just love her over and over and over and over. She will find me tear up when I realize how much she is growing up and how much I miss her when we are apart. She will often say *Why are you crying? Is it because you love me so much?* You know it, girl, you know it.

Mama rabbit. She gets the best seat. The front basket on a little pink bicycle. They turn the corner and the wind tossles her terry cloth fur. She has amazing sustaining powers. You see, Mama Rabbit can hang anywhere for hours on end with no wavering, no complaining, and no sweat beads on her forehead. Notice how she holds her hands together, composed like she is sitting on the front pew on a Sunday morning. She has magnets in her hands. The main reason for her magnets is to hold her tiny baby who has magnets in his head. Baby rabbit remains on a shelf high up on the wall, clean and safe.

I knew by the way she parked her bicycle sideways, it wouldn't last.
Her childhood that is. The days are fleeting. One by one, we get closer to *the day*. First day at kindy is approaching very fast. What a bittersweet moment.

And they danced. And giggled. And shook their tailfeathers. :)

It's the everyday moments that make life so very extraordinary. She is extraordinary.

I forgot.

I forgot to take a *real* photo of my Christmas tree before I took it down. :'( I was so sad when I had half of her packed up and realized I just had a few snapshots to remember my 2006 Christmas tree. This is as good as it gets and it ain't good. haha I am already planning next year. :)

Last night, I had to go to bed with a stomach ache. . .
from laughing at this kid. Seriously, she made me laugh so hard last night that my stomach hurt. The roars of giggling was a sweet little reward for me at the end of the day.

I love this kid. While I type this, she is circling me and the laptop, shaking the jingle bell door hangers, singing Christmas songs in preparation for her Christmas program at her school, Thursday evening. She sings just as loud as she can. I *know* my neighbors can hear her at times. I *know* that anyone who calls me can hear her even from the next room. I think even the cats know her Christmas songs by now. She reminds me of Buddy the Elf. She gets so excited just hearing a Christmas song. The tree is up. The presents are bought BUT NOT WRAPPED. Last year, I made a mistake of wrapping gifts and putting them under the tree too early. Never again.

Isn't it funny? I spent my childhood thinking of all of the ways that I could be a better parent than my folks. Now, I have spent the last 4 1/2 years hoping I am half as good as they are. It is 9:15pm and my spaghetti faced baby girl is sitting next to me playing the guitar serenading me with Feliz Navidad while I proof photos. No she hasn't had a bath yet and yes she is about to get in the tub. No she isn't in the bed but she is going there as soon as she gets her bath and does a breathing treatment for her asthma. There just isn't enough hours in the day. Can we get a couple of extra hours between 9pm-midnight? Or just an extra day between Sunday and Monday? Possible names: Smonday, Tonday, or Smensday.

Friday, my sister and I went shopping on Black Friday. I pulled Reagan out of bed at 7am to go with us. This 4.5 year old little girl, rode in the buggy and watched us pick out and buy a lot of the toys she wants for Christmas. We alluded to the idea that these toys were for other kids. Did she cry because they weren't for her or did she beg me to buy her something? No. She was simply *very* excited that these other kids were getting these toys and maybe they would let her take a turn. I am 28 years old and it would be hard for ME to watch someone load up a buggy with MY *i-can't-live-without-this* faves.

I don't know about you but I think the world needs more sixth babies.

And he peeks. Funny kid already. In the middle of me taking photos, he seems to fancy cracking one eye to check out what I am doing. It is kind of like looking out of the blinds when you think someone is outside. No matter how quiet you are, and no matter how very little you lift the blinds, it is obvious. :)

i love being a mommy the best. but a close second, i love being an aunt. today, we welcomed joseph brice into the world a wee bit early. i bought a bag of potatoes last night that weighed more than his 5 and some change pounds. i wanted to capture his little milk bumps and his little hairy face so i had to use my macro lens for a lot of the shots so i could get super close. it is a little noisy. he was in and out of sleep and i was getting *really* close to his face and my noisy lens would zoom in on him. in one of his pictures, he was peeping out of one eye looking at me like i was a jive turkey for waking him up. :) he just doesn't know what i have in store for him for the next 3 dozen plus years.

welcome, joseph brice. you were born for such a time as this. . .

Cousins? Check. Best friends? Check. Technically, both of them are only children for the time being. There are pros and cons to being an only child. There are also pros and cons to having brothers and sisters. These two are like sisters in so many ways. They are purely giddy when they get to see each other, and of course, throw in a few cries, a little screaming, some tattle-taling, a little tend-like and lots of giggling, and yep, they pass the sisters test.

Have you met my baby boy? Here he is. Hershey Kiss. He is such a loyal cat and a great brother to Reagan. Not too long ago, I opened my bedroom door and startled him. He was under a blanket and was wearing a baby bib that said *Who needs Santa, I've got Grandma*. Guess how he got that way? She sneaks him some food or some extra treats. He humors her. Many nights I wake up on the absolutely edge of the bed and discover that he is stretched out as far as he can on the far side of the bed and that is why I am dreaming of falling off a cliff and wake up startled. Hershey is the best.

I get comments all of the time asking how I get the kids to pose for me like they do. I don't do a thing. I don't pose them. I don't ask them to do anything. Usually I have something different in mind than what they give me. How could I possibly convince a 3 year old to point her toes straight out? :) In fact, I wanted her to sit up and talk to me. She wanted to do this. I like her idea better.

She humors me in so many ways. We set up studio and began to play, talk, laugh, whatever. As I am sure many of you know, the season finale of Project Runway just wrapped up. Every Wednesday night 10pm, we were watching it without fail. Somehow in the middle of our playing that night, she got into *model mode*.

She was born for such a time as this.

She often dresses herself to play around the house. The *fabulous* outfit is usually topped off with her pink rainboots. But they are hard to run in as you can see here. I wonder if they even make rainboots you can run in?

She was reading a book to me. Her story was much better than the one in the book. She gives lots more details, action, drama than a typical children's book. :)

On her 3rd birthday, she swang.

She had to use the chair to even get the snacks for the both of them. I am not sure which ate the Planter's peanuts and which ate the cat treats. It won't kill either of them, right?

She answers to many names: Reese Cup, Stinky Boo Mow, Murr Murr. Tonight she is my playmate as Reagan is vacationing until Friday. Finally got a macro and she was the closest victim. This is as close as she would let me get. I questioned the safety of the camera if I got any closer.

Yes, it was lunchtime and we were still in jammies. Hey, at least I cooked, okay? Not far below was the cat. Waiting on her to drop some food. He just didn't know it was vegetarian spaghetti. :)
The last image in the series, she was using her hand phone talking to her cousin miles away.
This weekend was/is a new beginning for us. I remembered why I picked my camera back up. I want to remember it all.

Such an incredibly strong little girl. She is my side kick, my snuggle buddy, my baby doll, my inch high private eye. I know she is my kid, but she is the most beautiful thing, inside and out. Count yourself lucky if your kid is 1/10th of the awesome spirit being that she is.

Four years old. How did she get so big so fast? I feel like the 1460 days have zoomed past me, yet it feels like an eternity *and what exactly did I do before her and what did I do with my money?* She totes her little guitar all over the house and the yard. Many times, she will sit right outside the bathroom while I shower and take song requests. I *used* to sing in the shower. :)

Okay, I feel like my little *niche* on the children's photography market is that I don't ask a child to pose for me. So, how is it that in a few of these she is totally posing like she is a pageant queen? She has this new *stance* called the Daisy Dance. Please, oh please, dont ask me where she got it from. It is a slight variation from photo #4 from above except she crosses her legs and puts her hands on her hips. Don't you love the Hello Kitty handbag on her arm and her Hello Kitty sippy cup hanging around her neck? Didn't you get the memo that Hello Kitty is all the rage this summer? :)

She is a card carrying over-acting actress. I have finally reached *the* crossroads of my life. It has been a difficult time in so many ways. She is *always* there to remind me that it really and truly is all worth while. She is the reason that I do all that I do.
You probably think that my house is decorated in large portraits of my work or my daughter. Sure, I have a picture here and one there. I hold off thinking that I will get *the* image tomorrow. And, yep, everytime I take new images of her, I find a new favorite. However, I want my walls covered in my favorites, from yesterday until today. We took these images on Sunday. We gave up a beach trip this weekend because our cat had surgery on Friday. It was a difficult time for the both of us . Our choice was to take off to the beach and have a friend pick him up from the vet or stay home and pick him up ourselves and baby him all day. We took the 2nd road and we were so glad we did. Several hundred dollars later and a jar full of our tears, he is on the high road to recovery. I can't quite say the same for me until I decide which road to take here at the crossroads. . .

I had never seen a dog actually model for me. The puppy dog formerly known as *Milkshake* proceeded to shake his head in the wind to actually shift the hair out of his eyes so he could pose for me. How cute is he?

Bunny cannibalism. It is rampant this time of the year. It is truly a bunny eat bunny world out there. It all started when I picked her up from school. She had these pink ears glued to her head. I ran several errands and this little pink bunny kept following me. We went to target and she wanted to purchase some yellow cousin bunnies. I thought she wanted to play with them. She didn't. The package was opened, and one by one she ate each one. She started out with small nibbles, proceeded to lick the sugar off of their hide and after just a few more bites, the yellow bunnies were history.

Can you imagine how much force it takes a little girl to sniff so hard that the walls of her nose cave in such as they do in this image. Abi is such a trip. She is definitely my lil drama mama. :)

She is always my easiest model to work with. She *loves* for me to take her picture. However, this day wasn't the same. She was sick, wanted her mommy, and made it clear she didn't want me to take her picture. It was a beautiful overcast day and I needed to get the images. I never forced her, in fact, I almost ignored her. In my mind, I wanted her in a chair in the middle of the field. Eventually, on her own, she crawled up in the chair and sat for me. I didn't ask. We didn't even talk. It was beautiful. haha Before I had even arrived, her mommy had her freshly bathed and all pretty for me. I drove up to a little girl throwing dirt much futher than I ever could. :) I just love her, dirt & stringy hair, and all. :)

Vroom, vroom says the little pink corvette. The air tossled her little curls and her tutu as she turned the corner of the driveway as if she was on rails. Checking her Strawberry Shortcake watch, she exclaimed "OH, NO, it is time for Spongebob Squarepants! I must find out just exactly where IS that Gary!"

i sat there watching her for at least 20 minutes and i took probably 40-50 images. she probably looked at me twice. seriously. twice. the. entire. time. i. sat. there. i love to get to her house early in the morning (but if you know me, i dont get up early unless it is serious business) and see her sitting in her chair watching cartoons in her little gown. the only thing missing is a little cup of coffee in her hand, decaf of course. hahaha

yes, she is a funky little kid and just happens to be a brown eyed girl too. this shoot was a mini-disaster. in fact, this is one of the last images i took before my beloved camera was sent off to the camera hospital/spa. in one very long week, she will be on her way back to me so i can properly finish my shoot. it was too cold to shoot outside with the girls in short sleeves, so i travelled an hour with my studio equipment and elaborate cashmere scarves, beautiful tutus, funky tees, swirly lollipops, basically everything BUT my softliter (big umbrella). sooo, we set up a natural light studio on the front porch. haha it worked okay but my camera managed to chew up and spit out my beautiful images as it saw fit. we have such a love hate relationship lately. i love her. she hates me. haha hopefully a week at the spa will have her purring like a kitten soon. . .

My first born. She goes by many names: Reese Cup, Stinky Boo Mow, Mur-mur and Sister. She came to live with me a week to the day before I found out that I was pregnant with Reagan and we have been partners in crime ever since. I remember her *kittenhood* just like it was yesterday. I still get a glimpse of my kitten every now and again. Even though she is an adult cat at 4 1/2 years old, she still loves Martha Stewart, butter beans, cat nip and smelly shoes *really, don't ask* I love her, I love her, I love her, I love her.

Some religions believe that the camera captures your soul. Yes, yes, I believe they are onto something. Although I can't claim to capture your soul, I promise to capture a glimpse of it.