Saturday morning with Aunt Ericka

Friday night I sweet-talked my sister into letting me take my niece (you read about her here) for the night. Like all night.

I forgot how much fun it was to have a one-year-old in the house and immediately remembered why I leave the alphabet magnets on my fridge. (Ok, I admit, Chris and I sometimes exchange corny "I love you"s with them.) Dani entertained herself for about an hour (maybe longer?!?) with those things. She take 'em off, she'd knock them off, she'd pick them back up, I'd say their name or color and she'd try to say it. She was so content with those stinkin' magnets. (T -- if you don't have any of these, I'm totally getting you some!)

I also was quickly reminded what it was like to sleep in a bed with a one-year-old. I was kicked in the ribs and smacked in the face more times than I could count. I won't complain though because she was close enough to smell the baby lotion that I put on her, and that is a smell that I don't get much of these days.

You guys all saw what I did last time she came home with me. Why should breakfast time on a Saturday morning be any different??!

(are you kidding me with those eyes right now? Seriously. Even in black & white they look amazing!!! 100% real, 0% Photoshop, too, BTW.)

Game of the Year

I never would have thought I'd ever pick up a glove again (or bat), I mean, I haven't played softball since I was 13. But when I got an email yesterday afternoon from Taylor's softball coach, it was obvious that I didn't have a choice. I HAD to play whether I liked it or not -- regardless of my athletic skill.....or lack thereof.

So, last night Taylor's softball team (um, did I mention it was a FAST-PITCH softball team!?) and the moms of all the kids, played in our own version of a Pros vs. Joes game. Which was realistically more like 10-year-old-Pros vs. Middle-aged-out-of-shape Joes. We struggled with almost every aspect of the game, except our team name. We started out as the "Kid Crushers" but then affectionately turned that into the "Cannon Crushers".

It's hard to put your finger on the best part of the whole evening. Sure, it was fun to be out there playing with your daughter in a sport that they love to play, and it was emphatically hysterical seeing moms with batting helmets 6 sizes too small. But, I think the funniest part of the night was realizing how out of shape us Mom's really are. I mean, I fully support anyone that claims that Chasing Kids should be an Olympic event, but carting your kids to and from practice twice a week doesn't really stretch out your hamstrings. (And let's be honest here, I was probably the one that did the LEAST physical activity since I pretty much had a camera in my hands most of the night.) I'm sure there are other Crusher teammates that really struggled to get outta bed this morning. Our "cat-like reflexes" were more like tortoise reactions. Our feet stopped when we wanted them to, but our bodies didn't.

Lucky for us, our salary cap wasn't even close to being extinguished, so we were able to scout and draft a few "young'uns" to help us out. (Thanks Gabby, Haley and Erin -- and anyone else that stayed over from the 12u practice to play!!)

(yes, I was totally playing left field at the time I took this picture. C'mon....photographers never sleep.)

(that's me and Taylor in the bottom left-hand corner)

I can't decide on my Play of the Game yet….it's a toss-up between Audra (Kara -- the pitcher's -- mom) getting a hit off her daughter (that girl throws a mean change-up, too) or Jess (a Young'un we acquired in a trade early this spring) cranking one clear out to the fence.

I'm sure the girls enjoyed as much as us Moms did. I mean, when's the last time you got to talk smack to YOUR mom and not get in trouble for it?!? Plus, they ended up winning the game 10-8. I'm sure they'll be gloating about that for a while. At least until this bruise on my ankle from a wild pitch goes away.

The thing

At any given time during my normal morning routine, I can tell what time it is. My alarm goes off at 5:30 and I'm out of the shower by 6. By 6:30 I'm turning off the blow dryer and my make-up is done by 7. By 7:30 I'm walking out the door.

So when the phone rang in the middle of me putting on mascara, I knew it wasn't good. I knew whoever was on the other end was in an urgent need to speak to someone.

They wanted to speak to me, and that 'someone' was my sister. Her father-in-law had passed away just a few hours earlier from a short battle with cancer.

Immediately my heart sank. We've walked this road before with my mom and no matter how many times you deal with death, no matter how many times you try to prepare yourself, the feelings still come rushing back. You re-live that pain all over again. She was obviously hurting for her husband, but also for her own scars that had just been ripped open. You've been there. So you know exactly what they are going thru. That pain is something you do not wish on anyone…especially your husband.

I always feel so helpless when someone I care about loses a loved one. You want so badly to help them -- do SOMEthing -- for them that can help. And at times I've found a few things to do that does seem to help….fix a dinner, deliver a goody bag full of magazines for sleepless nights and a notepad to keep track of the who-did-whats for thank you cards later.

Last night, my "good deed" came in the way of taking my niece (full of cuteness and ornery, BTW) for a few hours while my sister and my brother-in-law tended to business. And let's be honest here, I think I'm the one that benefitted from the "good deed". I'm the one that got a few free hours of QT with Her Giggliness. As sad as it may sound, our lives go entirely too fast and I haven't had the chance to spend one-on-one time with her like I'd want to. OOOOOooooo!!! Add that to the things I get to do with my new "job"!!!

After Dani and I ate our Sloppy Joes and TaterTots, as you can probably imagine, I had no alternative but to give that child a bath. How she managed to get Sloppy Joe's behind her ear is beyond me. (I guess they wouldn't be 'sloppy' if no one made a mess with them, huh?) And having learned the Physics of Child Dinnertime (twice!!) I learned that there comes a point when you don't even try to clean them up with napkins and spit.

Bath time was always always ALWAYS my favorite with my own kids. Taylor would soak in the tub until she turned into a flesh-colored prune and the water was ice cold. That child didn't mind it one bit. And Harley is still a waterbug. She'd play in the tub for an hour or more if I let her. And I used to, until she fell asleep in the tub last summer. Waydago, Mom-of-the-year.

So, I did what any good Aunt would do -- gave her a bath. I stripped her down and let her run naked thru the house for a few minutes while I drew her bath--complete with bubbles, thankyouverymuch. I don't know of a single kid that doesn't love to be naked and running wild. I'm sure it's some sort of freedom in their own mind -- free from diapers and onesies, no doubt. She ran thru the upstairs, screaming at the top of her lungs. I couldn't understand a single word she said but I imagine it was something about being naked and "you can't catch me". Then, she stood at the window for a few minutes, still squealing, and was all "Yeah I'm naked!! You see me???!" to anyone that could hear her outside.

Her mom is probably going to kill me for this, but I couldn't help busting the camera out.

There is just something about those chunky legs and cute toosh that makes me want to squeeze her 'til she pops. And seriously, have you ever seen an ugly toosh on a baby?? Maybe it's just a 'mom' thing.

There was a point in my evening last night with Dani that I realized, if I hadn't realized it before now, that I have definitely turned into my mother. I did with Dani what I watched my mom do to my niece, Ashley, and my cousin Sarah. I could feel my face glowing with excitement and adoration, just as my mom's had years ago.

She always did this thing with babies. And it always included a bath. She loved to give baths and sit there with them, next to the tub, splashing in the water, making those ridiculous faces that we all get sucked into making when kids come around. She'd talk to them like she knew exactly what they were saying. For a few minutes my mom and whichever lucky kid was in the bathtub, were in a world all their own.

Then she'd get them out of the tub, wrap them in a huge, soft towel and cart them into the bedroom. She'd plop them down on the bed and dry them off. Every kid would try to crawl across the bed in an attempt to get away from her, giggling the whole time. Mom would grab their ankle and pull them back to her. This monotonous cycle would repeat itself for what seemed like an hour, and each time she'd pull them back to her, she'd blow a big, loud raspberry on their bare belly. And somewhere in the middle of them rough-housing on the bed, she'd find a spare second to lather them in baby lotion and get them dressed. She got just as much joy out of trying to clothe them as she did bathing them.

I did this thing to Dani last night as if I had done it a million times. As if it were part of my instincts.

T, I know I'm not even a close 2nd to her, but I do hope it comforts you to know that I am unknowingly carrying on Mom's audacious legacy. Last night, Dani got a small piece of Gramma Tutti. And I hope that thru these small ways Dani is coming to know her just as we knew her.

The view from the deck

Every year in July, Dayton hosts an elaborate air show. In my 32 years, I think I've been to it twice.

And this year wasn't any different.

Infact, I could see everything I wanted to see from my deck.

The USAF Thunderbirds.

Planes really aren't my 'thing'.....but picture taking sure is.......

Delicious light and broken rules

While I was posting one of my last blogs, I realized that I couldn't remember the last time I did a shoot with my own kids. I mean, I have the big moments on file -- birthdays, games, etc. -- and a few random moments captured. But, I can't, for the life of me, remember when was the last time I took them out and did a fun shoot.

So, tonight I had a couple of hours to kill -- just us "ladies". Chris was at a coaches meeting and the boys were at their mom's house. So, for a little while, it was back to the three of us, searching for a way to keep busy. Any way other than dishes or laundry.

As a photographer, my favorite time of day is the very last hour of daylight. That hour where the light turns into this delicious golden blanket that covers every crevice of the horizon. The kind of light that makes you want to stand facing it, with your eyes closed, just soaking up every last ray. That light does magical things to the colors in the sky and does it's own sort of mojo in images.

That light makes me want to sop that creamy, butter-y mess up with a biscuit.

As a photographer, I have broken more rules than I can count here. I've cut appendages off, I have blown highlights, I've over-exposed my skies (intentionally) and I've broken THE #1 rule.

The Mack Daddy.

"Do not, for whatever reason, shoot toward the sun. Keep it behind the lens."

My professors are probably blogstalking me right now, steamingly irrate at the fact that I've broken the sacred Backlight Law of OIP facilty and staff. They are probably all sitting at a Round Table meeting, severely disappointed, contemplating how to revoke my Golden Gallery award. Ok, maybe not that much.

But I love love love love (infinity) what that backlit sun-full-ness does to my images. I love what happens to the colors, the lensflare, the golden cast that everything soaks up. I just love it. I love it when single strands of hair sparkle and catchlights in the eyes are sparkly. I love the halos of light that envelope your subject.

I do. I love it. And I will continue to break those rules so long as I get these kinds of images.

Now.......if I could just get the boys to give in to a shoot like this....

Edit:

I'm not sure when they got to be so gorgeous. I mean, don't get me wrong, I've always thought I had cute kids, but when did that transition happen with Taylor???? Have I been in a coma the last year and been completely unobservant of the whole thing? She went from "cute kid with dimples" to "daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang!!!" right before my very eyes!!! Seeing these images makes me want to lock her in her bedroom until she's 40 or beat her up just so the boys aren't interested in her amazing green eyes and darling freckles. What will the next 10 years be like for me?!!??!

Seriously.

Tiffany and Dave

I'm not even halfway thru the 1100 images we took at Saturday's amazing wedding, but I had to share a few of my favorites so far.

Tiffany was reffered to me by one of my sweetest clients ever. She and her fiance, (well, now husband) Dave, live in the Twin Cities but brought their wedding back to the Buckeye State. It was one of my favorite weddings I've done so far and I was thrilled to be a part of it.

Someone asked me what made it so great and my response was "everything". The whole affair had this black and white baroque motif to it -- right down to the beauty baskets in the bathrooms. They paid close attention to each and every detail.

I could stay up until the wee hours of the morning working on these....only I need all the beauty sleep I can get these days.

I'll be posting more as I go.....

*sigh*

I just love wedding season.....

Cuteness in a striped dress...

If I could take a big ball of a wholelotta cuteness, dip it in some animation and giggles, put some dark curls on top and wrap it in a striped dress.....this is what it would look like:

If I dug deep enough, I would find pictures of me, my sister, and Miss Ella's mom, Amy, back in high school running around together. Now we're old (remember when you thought people in their 30's were old?!?), and have kids, mortgages and car maintenance to think about. Funny how fast life happens, huh?

Miss Ella is going to be a big sister before long! Hopefully I'll get the chance to catch the little guy with his big sister!

Happy 4th!

...more coming soon.....

Seriously.....

Does every kid do this??

I'm filing this one under "Instant Happy". You know, those pictures that you can pull out when you're having a bad day -- and viola! -- you've forgotten all about the dog peeing on the carpet, or the late charge on your credit card bill, or that you burnt dinner! I laugh out loud every time I open it....

PS. It's really comforting to be in someone else's home and see their windows/doors in the same condition as my own. Like I always say "we aren't living in a museum"...and "it gives it character". ..