Isn't He Hot?!

Wow. I sure think so. We've been meaning to take Sam portraits for some time now, so when our shoot fell through on Saturday we decided to head up the canyon anyway. We saw this stone amphitheater in pictures at a wedding reception last Friday, and had to try it out. Luckily it didn't rain on us, but it was pretty wet & chilly.



While Sam and I were occupied, Rachel got to run amok. She took advantage of the situation and drenched herself jumping in puddles.

Camera Shy

Rachel really does not like to have her picture taken. I take that back. She really doesn't like to look at the camera. She doesn't mind the pictures, so long as I don't tell her what to do and it doesn't interfere with her current activities. Ah well. Someday I'll get a picture of her cute smile. I think Sam is right about one thing...I'm going to love photographing in northern California. I love the brown/yellow grass. It looks so good, and is plentiful in the Bay area.





We also found a fun "choo-choo train" to shoot by. It took some serious snack-bribery to get this shot.

So true

I love the Parenting blog. These guys are seriously so funny. If you don't read it (and you are a parent, or are ever going to be a parent) you should add it to your Google Reader. If you don't have Google Reader, you should get it. Because, well, it's awesome and for those of us that are addicted to blogging, reading blogs, and everything else involved it saves a gazillion minutes per day. Anyway...back to the Parenting blog. These guys really understand what it means. That's probably why I find their posts so funny. Especially this one about Standard Issue Fun. You know it's oh-so true.

Biting the Bullet

Remember when I said we needed to just buckle down and spend the money to get real lighting stuff? Well...we did. I admit the bullet was large, rather hard to swallow, and we won't eat for the next month, but I'm so excited! After Rachel went to sleep (because you know we don't get anything productive done before she's in bed), we pulled out our shiny new toys and set them up in the living room. (Just as an aside, I love having technical support 24/7. Sam rigged it all up so my pictures would show up on the computer, set up the lights so they worked properly and let me have it. So nice.) Anyway....our neighbors came down (Jamie knew we had new toys to play with) and conveniently brought Brock for us to practice on. We took lots of pictures. So nice. He's such a cute baby anyway. I think we just stepped up our photography to the next level. I've already learned so many new things that I almost can't contain my excitement. So...if you are as excited as I am, I'd probably pay you to let me practice some more. :O)

Quiet Time

Andrew hasn't done this very often, but we sure milk it up when he does. He just sat in Sam's lap "helping" with homework for about an hour the other night. They were so cute, I couldn't resist.

I've also found that I'm taking less pictures of Andrew than I did of Rachel. If you visit our Flickr site, and view the Rachel set...wow. Picture crazy. I imagine it had a lot to do with a brand-spankin'-new toy, er camera, but still. Is Andrew going to be all sorts of put out because there are only a gazillion (instead of 2 gazillion) baby pictures? Probably not. In fact, he'll probably be grateful that every nano-second of his first year was not documented for posterity. Our family needs a disclaimer: "Please note...if you come to this family you will have your picture taken." Ah well. I'm sure they will be less of the next kid, and even fewer of the one after that. Life just keeps getting busier. I do love the quiet moments though. We have a few precious, all-time favorites of Rachel and I'm building up Andrew's portfolio as well.

Because I Said So...

I had this video forwarded to me earlier today and I just had to smile. How many times do we (as moms OR dads) say these things? Probably way too often. I also still find myself saying things my parents said to me (and I swore I never would!).

Spooktacular Deal!

Cute Halloween costumes. I love it. With some nudging from a friend (thanks Heather) I decided to offer a sweet Halloween photo shoot. *Cost is $12 and includes a 12x12 scrapbook page (see below), or an 8x10 picture if you're not in to that sort of thing. Bring your kid(s) in their costumes, and come have some fun! Pass the word along to all your friends and family. The more the merrier.

I have 2 days available:
Sat, Oct 13 10am-12pm (every 1/2 hour)
Sat, Oct 20 2-5pm (every 1/2 hour)

Email to schedule a time or for more information.
currenphotography@gmail.com

*Additional prints are at normal prices.

First Snowfall?

Snow? In September? I'm pretty sure this doesn't happy very often. But, a get-away trip to a cabin with some friends and snow go hand in hand very nicely. Something about sitting in a secluded spot (with a log fireplace), watching the flakes fall, laughing with friends, and sipping hot chocolate just makes me happy.

I also have been reflecting on the pre-Rachel era (I know... difficult to remember that far back), and how easy life used to be. I don't even have to go that far back to have things be easier. Just having Andrew for one night (Rachel had a sleepover at Grandma's) was so relaxing. He can't move, he sleeps when he's supposed to, and he's really, really cute. Babies are so fun. I've decided it's having a toddler and having a baby that is the challenge, and I'm sure it just gets harder from here on out. While it was great to have some one-on-one with Andrew, we really did miss Rachel. Things are sure a lot quieter without her around. Maybe too quiet.

Payton

This is my high-school friend's little boy. We had a photo shoot at Murray Park yesterday afternoon where I learned that 1:00pm is probably the worst time to take pictures (I really did know that already, but I thought I could handle it), and I need to put some squeaky/ noise-maker toys in my camera bag. We could not get him to smile for anything. It was truly amazing. However, I've found that the more serious portraits are often my favorites anyway.

For all of us who've ever had a bad mommy day

I never thought I would feel guilty for not playing. Isn't it supposed to be work before play? As I was desperately trying to organize the mess in Rachel's room this morning, I realized that Andrew hasn't had tummy time in about a week. He goes from his bouncer, to his car seat, to his bassinet, to the floor (on his back because that's the only way he's happy, right?) and back to his bouncer. Aren't I supposed to be creating quality learning time for my one month old baby?

Then I read this blog post, and it really just made me feel better. I'm not so alone when I fail miserably as a parent.

And we had tummy time outside on the grass today.