last saturday i had the pleasure of spending the morning with a lovely family with these cutie pie twin 6 month old boys... it was interesting spend just a couple of hours seeing a slice of what life is like with twin babies. it took my breath away.
here they are, so beautiful and fascinating...
I'm leaving tomorrow for San Francisco & Berkeley! Lots of adventures to be had... will write more when I can.
xo,
jen
I found this on fellow photographer, Ashley MacNamara's, blog. I think its great so I thought I would share...
From REAL SIMPLE’s website…
Note To Self
Get Professional Photos of Your Children
I’ve never forgotten an invaluable piece of advice that I heard from an older friend right after my first child was born. She told me, “One of my greatest regrets about my children’s childhoods was that I didn’t have more professional pictures taken.”“You didn’t take many pictures?” I asked.Rubin, Gretchen. REAL SIMPLE.
http://simplystated.realsimple.com/life/2008/03/unforgettable-a.html
“I took tons of pictures,” she said, “but the fact is, professional photographs are so much better than even the best snapshots.”
I absolutely agree—professional photos are better. And keeping her advice in mind, ever since my daughters were born, I’ve been zealous about getting their photos taken professionally at least once a year.
While it’s a lot of fun (and also a pain) to take pictures myself, it’s terrific to have some pictures that are truly excellent. These photos don’t take the place of the on-the-spot pictures that I take myself—I still take scads of photos at birthday parties, first days of school, on the slide, with a popsicle—but these pictures memorialize my children’s childhoods in a different way.
Plus they make great family gifts. I can never figure out a good present for the grandparents and great-grandparents, but they always love to get a really great photograph—especially the relatives who don’t often get a chance to see the girls in person.
Also, research shows that one way to boost your happiness is to reflect on happy times, and looking at photographs helps keep memories more vivid.
It’s a splurge, of course. Professional photos aren’t cheap.
However, I figure that the money I spend on these photographs will strengthen family bonds, enhance happy memories, and capture the fleeting moments of childhood. They give me more pleasure than practically any other purchases that I make. That strikes me as pretty good happiness bang for the buck.
A friend’s family had another great photography tradition. For her whole life, at every milestone, her parents took a picture of her and her brother sitting exactly the same way on their front stoop. It’s fascinating to see them change through the years. Along the same lines, the artist Nicholas Nixon took a photograph of his wife and her three sisters once a year for 33 years. The collection of these photographs, The Brown Sisters, is riveting.
Getting professional photos take is a great example of the tiresome fact that happiness takes thought and effort. These photographs are easy to arrange; in the scheme of things, not terribly expensive; contribute greatly to our family happiness—and yet it probably never would have occurred to me to do it if my friend hadn’t suggested it.
here's just a quick shotfrom today. i am feeling a need to connect with my spiritual side... i'll let you know how that goes. :o)
xo,
jen
amazing. delightful. fun. kind. super cool. beautiful. inspiring. these are just a few of the words that come to mind when i think about this sweet family. i love them.
G, here is just a glimpse at a few of the many photos for your session that i adore....
xo,
jen
this flu never ends!!! we've come down with another wave of this nasty beast!!! GAH!
Any healthy and loving thoughts you could send our way would be greatly appreciated... we are pretty darn miserable and quarantined over here.
xox,
jen
what a week this has been!!!!
after a wonderful photoshoot with the amazing Grayson (of BACKLINE) and her delightful little family, my family was ATTACKED by the nastiest, ugliest, most unwelcome stomach flu last weekend!!! All of us had in some form or another, with me getting hit the softest (knock on wood!). I've just kept thinking "How am I going to manage taking care of all of them if I feel the way they all do???" It was one of those bugs that is just completely all consuming, and everything else came to a screaching stand-still-halt. So please accept my apologies if you've been waiting on me for anything! I am so far behind that I can't even see the end of my to-do list, but I promise that I am working as hard as I possibly can to get things done for my wonderfully patient clients.
(the above photo is proof that she was SICK! she never ever ever naps!)
oh! and not to forget the FLUBBER portion of this post...
Zoe and I made flubber. We've done it many times before, and its really cool stuff. Only this time, Zoe tried something new with it... putting a big fat, massively HUGE glob of it in her HAIR!!!! If you've made it before or visited the above mentioned link, you know that flubber is made almost entirely of glue. yep, glue. Globby, gooified, glue. In her hair. I have never seen my girl more mortified than when I told her we may have to shave her head! OH THE HORROR!!! (and I was pretty darn freaked as well because I've gotta say that the kid has just about THE cutest haircut right now that I have ever seen!) Luckily, I was able to pick most of it out and then had the wherewithall to remember that white distilled vinegar is an effective solvent to remove the stuff from clothing, so why not hair??? Many tears, a painful scalp, several cups of white vinegar, and 3 shampooings and her cute little hairdo was as good as new! PHEW!!!
Moral of the story --- DO NOT PUT FLUBBER ANYWHERE NEAR HAIR! and if you do, have gallons of white vinegar on hand!!!
Stay tuned for some seriously sweet photos! Previews for Shonda & Grayson coming up asap!
xo,
jen
ok, I've said it before, and I'll keep on saying it... I LOVE MY JOB!!!!
Where else would I get to meet people this wonderful & wacky and completely in love with their life, and get to spend 3 hours getting know them and making art with them???
Again, I walked away from this session feeling like I had new friends. Tammy & Dave, you guys are great and I can hardly wait to meet the BabyMan in May!
Tammy, you are lovely in every way.
Dave, who ever told you you aren't photogenic??? you look RAD!
here are a few (of many) favorites, just to wet your whistle...
xoxo,
jen
Zoe says some of the most amazing things. I always make a mental note to write them down, but often forget... for shame!
Here are a few of the latest...
while i was taking a shower, she came into the bathroom to talk with me. Sam came along and Zoe proceeded to say... "We're having a PRIVATE conversation, SAAAAAM! Do you no what private means??? NO LITTLE BROTHERS!!!" (keep in mind that Sammy is non-verbal and sweet as pie. You can imagine the look on his face...)
The other day while eating something in the car she says "mmmmmmmm, CREAMALICIOUS!!! don't tell daddy i said that."
I would like to live in their brains... just for a day.
i long for deep connections with people. i love people and think everyone is beautiful with their own story... but those deep connections where everything falls into place and 2 souls are open at the right time to be able to truly see one another with love and intrigue - those are rare and wonderful.
Last weekend, I was able to spend not-quite-enough-time with my dear girlfriend and her family. In the midst of a trip that was stressful and sadness filled, the light in my heart from spending time with this woman, and to watch our daughter reconnect and love eachother as if no time had passed made it all worthwhile.
I love you, Jess. Thank you for SEEING me... always.
xoxo,
jen
one of the things in life that makes me happy is waking up on the weekends really EARLY, long before the rest of my family gets up. Pouring myself a lovely cup of coffee and enjoying some time that is truly my own. It the only time I get that is completely free of feeling obligated to be doing something for others. I like to sit down in my office, with my steamy hot coffee, turn on some music, and let myself wander around the internet. ahhhhhhh.
I got to do that this morning, and then along came a sweet little surprise. My dear girl came sleepily up to my office gate, rubbing her eyes, and said, "Mommy? Would you like to go out to Genie's for breakfast this morning?"
It was like a Magical Morning. Time to myself, sweet words from Zoe, loads of hugs and kisses from all of 3 of them, and then a yummy breakfast out with my darling little family!!!! Pure heaven. Bliss.
here's me, looking happy:
Other good news: I am finally feeling nearly caught up and able to work on some really fun projects (ANGIE!!!). I've been feeling really overwhelmed for months, and it is so good to see a light at the end of the tunnel.
The daffodils are blooming, which to me means that my birthday is coming near. I will be 36 next friday. I keep reminding myself of the words a counselor once told me: "We are still struggling to grow into ourselves in our 30's, it is in our 40's when we fully blossom." Believing that makes getting another year closer to 40 much sweeter!!!
Zoe's birthday is 5 days after mine... she'll be FIVE!!!! I cannot freakin' believe it.
random thought: i want to pierce my nose. who's with me?
xo,
jen
