Photographing My Kids

Do you know what I am doing today?  Placing people's final photography orders.  People.  This is HUGE.  There is light at the end of the tunnel.  I am almost finished with this fall's photography sessions.  If you were wondering why I've posted so few blogs lately... that's why.  But I am almost done! Hallelujah.



I took the kids up to McKinney the other day to see Chestnut Square Historical Village, which is really cool!  The "mom-tographer" group I'm a part of hosted little photo-op stations, with the grand finale of a little table with COOKIES on it.  This, I assure you, made the whole outing worth it from the kids' perspective.



Sometimes I really worry that I'm photographing the kids too much and that they'll resent me for it someday.  Or even right now!  I'm torn, because I want the kids to have genuine fun and not feel like they're performing for a camera... but at the same time, I do want to capture them enjoying themselves, and I'm not good at sketching.  So photos it is.



Some people have asked me how I get them to pose and smile.  Particularly people in the mom-tographer group, many of whose kids are a little older and have seriously out-grown the whole pose-and-smile stage.



My answer is that once I get them how I want them to be posed, then I tell them to stay there, and I try to engage them in conversation or song.  I start clicking when they're engaged.  Because if I just start taking photos of them posed there, they come out terrible.



Here Elliot and I were playing a little "game" -- where he would scooch toward me on his knees, and I would say (laughing), "hold still!! No scooching!!No scooching!!!"  He thought this was a hilarious game.



Here, I asked Lucy questions about Doc Mcstuffins -- about her favorite episode, and about the characters in the episodes she loves.



Here, the kids were pretty much done and were giving all their attention to their cookies, in a sort of zombies-eating-brains kind of way.  So after asking them to look at me myriad times, I just referred to an "inside joke" we have... where I say, "don't laugh!  don't laugh!!"  and boom.  They laugh.  Except not Elliot, this time.  But that's ok.



I am still so new to photography, relatively speaking... and am still learning so much.  It is unreal how much goes into exceptional portraits, and I don't think I'm there yet.  But someday.  And in the mean time, gosh it's fun to have pictures of our kids!  My parents used to take pictures all. the. time.  Daniel's did, too.  Now I get it.  It is way fun.


I keep taking these little mental snapshots, so that I can remember the kids at these ages... the funny things they do and say, and their facial expressions, which seem to always be changing.  But thanks to the most laughably terrible nights of sleep imaginable, with interruptions from all three kids often topping 8/night... my memory formation is shot.  Thus, the photos.

Twenty-four Months (Elliot's Monthly Photo)

Elliot's LAST monthly photo!!! I am only a couple weeks late.  But better late than never.  Whoever made up that sentence should get an award.  I say it at least twice/week.

Anyways.  Elliot!  Turned two!  Just before Thanksgiving.  We had two birthday parties for him, one for family and one for friends.  I'll post those pictures separately, because this post is for his very LAST monthly photo!  Aww.  It's kind of sad.



But also kind of a relief!  Making these photos happen has become more complicated with the addition of a third and during the busy fall photography season.  Nevertheless.  This happened.



New things Elliot is up to:

His vocabulary has EXPLODED!!  The number of words he tries everyday is just huge.  He repeats back almost anything we ask.

He's developed a much stronger sense of how things should be, especially with regard to Lucy and to whose toys belongs to whom.



He's really learned to climb and tumble and is learning the art of falling well, without getting hurt.  He loves to pretend to be a monkey, and to hang like a monkey.  He loves his "EE--EE" slip on shoes (they have a picture of a monkey on them).

He seems to be somewhat "spatially" challenged.  He frequently gets stuck when trying to climb under the table to retrieve a lost napkin or other something from the meal.  We try to explain to him how to turn his head to clear the space between the bench and the table, but he's just not quite there yet.



He loves to pray at meal times!  He gets very shy when it's actually his turn.  He ends up murmuring, in a barely audible voice, something like, "god.  day.  papa.  AAAAAAmen"

He still is in love with all things liquid.  You name it, and if it's a liquid, he'll drink it.  So strange.  He has decided he definitely likes fresh lettuce caesar salad dressing.  He consistently asks for more until it's gone, and then he licks the tongs.

He is a sweet kisser.  He loves giving kisses to mommy, daddy, baby Oliver, and occasionally sister Lucy.  He likes to snuggle, especially in the mornings.  He gets very sad when I leave but is all smiles when I get back.

He loves to imitate his big sister.  He's gaining in dexterity and the ability to mimic each thing she does.  They fight daily over their toys.  But they also share beautifully sometimes and are very thoughtful to each other.



He really wants Oliver to be ok.  When he cries, Elliot keeps repeating, "I'm sorry!" (said 'ah-hau-ree') until he calms down.

He wants to "heee!" (see) everything.  Anything that could be conceived as being remotely interesting (such as stirring the soup, the wet wipes used to clean Oliver's bum, whatever's in your coffee cup, bugs, whatever's on the tissue after you wipe his nose, etc.).  This makes privacy somewhat tricky when doing your business.  But it's for a short time, and I take hope in the fact that it's probably indicative of an engineer's mind.

I could go on and on.  I think I'm getting sentimental about the fact that this is the last monthly post for Elliot!



Elliot, you are such a joy.  You are cute and funny and smart and skilled at everything a 2 year old should be skilled at.  You are a delight to have as a son.  Some day you will grow up and won't need mommy snuggles or daddy snuggles anymore.  I am cherishing these days when you need us, and we love you so much.  We are proud of the way you are discovering God's world around you.  He loves you more than you will ever know. 

Photo Location Scouting

I drag the kids across town at golden hour to scope out photography locations.  Trust me -- I don't do it because I like it.  And I definitely don't do it because they like it (they don't).  I do it because it must be done.  You can't really photograph a family (or even a person, for that matter) very easily without checking out the location first. 



This is what it's usually like.  They're tired and hungry and generally annoyed not to be watching Doc McStuffins in the car (but isn't that sunlight gorgeous on the top of their unhappy little heads?)

But yesterday morning was magical. 

 
Desperate to check out downtown McKinney before a rapidly approaching evening session there, I dragged the kids across town to check it out yesterday morning.  And lo!  They were having a sort of carnival!  We rode the Ferris wheel and the merry-go-round and ate chocolate fried pies. 

I was somewhat mortified when I took the stroller over a speed bump, and Lucy somehow half fell, half lunged out of the stroller onto her head.  She was fine, but she did cry over her boo-boo (on her knee?  her shin?  I couldn't figure out exactly where it was supposed to be).  This stage of life, as my sister pointed out the other day, can be so completely and accurately illustrated with a picture of our stroller crew.  I feel like a circus act, sometimes.  We are like controlled chaos when we're out and about.  But the kids loved our morning activities, and of course they loved the chocolate fried pies.  

Lucy spent the ride home asking when we could go back. 

A Whole Person

So... here's something amazing.  Multiple times/day I pick people up and hold them and throw them up in the air.  Whole people.  This struck me as I went to get Oliver from his nap yesterday.  There he was, a whole person, smiling up at me and waiting for me to swoop him up and carry him to the changing table, the living room, the kitchen.  That's amazing.  People start out so little!  Can you believe it?  Someday our kids will be old and wrinkly and frail.  But right now they're tiny and full of energy and life.  That is amazing. 

Nonnie. And Papa. And Mimi. And Papa. And Nonnie. And Mimi. And Papa. And Papa.

That is how our prayers at the dinner table go, nowadays.  Both kids, no matter who is praying, chime in with who they're thankful for.  Again, and again, and again, and again until we wrap it all up with, "in Jesus' name... AMEN!"



I started a photography project this month.  My goal was to get the kids to tell me something they're thankful for each day, and I would let them help me take a photo of it.



But... in making the plan, I failed to consider one thing.  These kids are 3 and 2.  They tend to get sort of stuck on things. 


The first day, Lucy was thankful for Elliot (who was napping at the time). 


And the next day, her Daddy. 
 

And the next day, her baby cousin Eva--whom she's never met).  But the fourth day, she was thankful for Nonni.  I explained to her that Nonni was out of the country on a special trip with Papa, so she'd have to think of something else to take a photo of. 


And every day after that, all she would say was Nonni.  You'll note that I  was absent from her list.  As were several other special people in her life.  And lots of objects that routinely fill her with glee.  




I thought she would pick things that would be fun to photograph... like eggs.  Or Doc McStuffins.  Or crafts.  Or her "doctor's baff" (why does she not call it a bag??).  Or the play food she and Elliot are constantly fighting about.  But no.  Just Nonni. 



So, now I'm photographing what I'm thankful for.  Which is a much easier photography project.



Today I'm thankful for breakfasts together -- our family of 5! We make eggs and bacon literally every morning, and it's one of the things I like best about our day.... when we're all seated, with our coffees... the kids using those ridiculous GIGANTIC handled forks b/c their hands are still so small. I just love that time of the day. Breakfast.
 

Sorry I've been somewhat absent from the blogging world.  Fall is a notoriously busy time of year for photographers, and I've been keeping busy with weekend sessions and weekday editing. 


BUT I will try to make blogging a bigger priority, if for no other reason than that Sadie checks this blog every. single. day.  And she is definitely one of the people I'm thankful for.

Five Months Old (Oliver's Monthly Photo)

Holy Cannoli I am behind on the blog!  Apologies to the faithful checkers. 

 
I think of things to blog about everyday.  But finding the time is another matter.  Anyways.



Oliver is 5 months old!  This is my most favorite age for babies.  They are squishy and fun and content at this age (some babies... at least more so than when they were 2 months).  Oliver is fantastically happy and playful and squishy.



He likes being snuggled and tossed up in the air, and he loves it when the "big kids" try to get him to laugh.  They can do it without too much effort, because he is their captive audience. 



He has become quite intentional now about grabbing things/toys/pacifiers/faces in front of him and trying to bring them to his mouth.  He likes sucking on his toes. 


He follows us all around the room when we come in, and he is actually really close to sitting!  That last thing I didn't realize until my mom came over this evening and showed me he's almost there!  I was amazed.  How did he get so good at sitting?? 


I've been putting him on his tummy a lot, and he's a great tummy-timer.  But I did not know about what a good sitter he is!



This week he began crying (sometimes) when I put him into his crib. It breaks my heart, because I'm not used to it with him!  I think it was pretty normal for Lucy and Elliot to cry when I put them down in their cribs at this age, but Oliver really never has until this week.  It's this high-pitched, sad, pathetic kind of whiny cry that just makes me want to scoop him back up and keep holding him. 



Nursing is going well.  I'm not ready to start baby foods next month! I can't believe we're almost there.



Oliver, you are SO fun and such a delight.  Truly, every member of this family lights up when they see you.  We love you and are proud of how you're learning and growing every single day!  Praise God.

Twenty-three Months (Elliot's Monthly Photo)

Wow.  I can't believe Elliot is almost TWO!!



He has grown up a lot in the last month.  His vocabulary has expanded so much that I couldn't say how many words he has.  It seems he is adding new ones daily.  Oddly, his no's have abruptly changed from "uh-uh" to "MOH."  And his yes has changed from "yeah" to "YESH."

He is a climber.  He loves climbing on my back when I'm holding Oliver on the potty, and he loves climbing all over Daniel and "flying on the bed" when Daniel gets home from work.  He loves to repeat everything Lucy says and sings.



He is our animal-lover.  He has a genuine affection for all dogs and cats (though he's a little frightened of dogs).  He is insistent that horses go, "moooo," despite many reminders that they actually say, "neigh!"

One of his new most-used words is "elf."  As in... let me do it mysELF!"  We hear it a lot these days. 

If I'm singing certain songs, or making certain noises he doesn't care for, he covers his ears and say, "ERS!  ERS!"  as in... that hurts my ERS.  I ask him, "Does that hurt your ears?"  And he replies, YESH.



He loves blowing raspberries (Lucy calls them "belly bubs") on Oliver's tummy.  Or my tummy, or really anybody's tummy. 

HE ATE SALAD for the first time last week.  It was amazing to behold.  He is really picky about what he puts in his mouth, (and I'm well aware it had everything to do with the caesar dressing covering the leaves), but HE ATE SALAD.  He even got seconds.  And then licked the tongs.  I can die a happy mommy. 



He loves to snuggle with us in the morning.  Especially with me.  He is a cuddle bug in the morning. 

He loves to pretend to cook.  He stands in front of the play kitchen with his polka-dotted oven mits on his hands and gets his food out of the play microwave, saying, "Hot!  Hot!!"

Words that sound exactly the same:
hot, help, hop
off and self ("elf")
poo-poo and boo-boo (he distinguishes the two by adding "OW" after boo-boo)
Ow (like "ouch") and "Awww" (water? agua?)



One of his funniest new phrases is I'm sorry, which he says like this:
Ah-haw-ree, ah-haw-ree, ah-HAW-REE!!!  He says this when Oliver starts crying.  Even if Oliver is several feet away from him, and Elliot has nothing to do with the reason Oliver is crying.  He has (I guess?) picked it up from me.  But he also offers, "ah-haw-ree" (I'm sorry) quickly whenever anyone gets hurt, or if he bumps into us, or if he spills his water or has a potty accident.  It's really funny and cute.  I don't recall Lucy ever doing it. 



Dear Elliot, we love you and are so proud of the little boy you are becoming!!  You are awesome.