28 June 2016

Project 365 | The First 30


In May I decided to start a Project 365. For those of you that don't know what a Project 365 is, it's a photo a day for an entire year. I have wanted to start.... and actually finish one for many years now and I have never been able to do it (this is my third attempt). My talented photographer friend, Shannon, has been doing a project 365 and I have loved and enjoyed following her project on facebook. It inspired me to finally get my butt in gear and start one. It's was the perfect time to do it - I was feeling like my photography work was becoming stale and redundant and my inspiration was waning.

I am about a month into my project and I am loving the new inspiration that has found me. I am really trying to grow as a photographer with this project. I working to find new creative compositions, light and inspiration. Obviously, most of my photographers involve my kids - they are truly my muses. My main motivation to finish this project is the finished collection of images I will have at the end. They will truly be priceless and it will be a year forever captured in time.

I will be posting my project in sets of 30 or so here on my blog - feel free to follow along (and comment on favorites!) if you're into that sort of thing!

Here they are: the first 30.
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| Daddy Love | 
When Sean walks through the door at the end of the day, Aiden's face lights up like a Christmas tree. My kids sure hit the jackpot with this guy as their dad.


| Baby Problems |
He is OVER the play pen. Cries the second I put him in it. He has to spend some time in it though or I would literally get nothing done. He makes me laugh with his little hands on the edge and that pathetic little look on his face. Plus those are Sean's eyes. Exactly. Genes are crazy.
| The Swing Park | 
I love everything about this photo. His dimpled hands and dangling feet. Her French braid which is so distinctly little girl. I will miss these afternoons at the park with her when she heads to Kindergarten in the fall. Thanks to my friend Shannon for inspiring me to (yet again) start a 365 Daily Photo Project. Hoping it rejuvenates and re-inspires the waning photographer in me!

| Breakfast |
There's only one member of our household that enjoys Aiden's meal times more than Aiden.

| Bedhead | 
This girl has been giving me a run for my money lately. Kindergarten is calling her name... she's ready.

| Paci Smiles | 
All of my babies have been paci lovers and this one is no exception. I often find him with one in his mouth and one in his hand. I always love the big grins he gives me from underneath it too.
| Ready for Monday | 
It was a crazy weekend. We're definitely ready for a new week.

 |Milestones |
And he's off!
| Tickles |
The six year age gap between these two creates a fun and unique dynamic. She just adores him. She also loves to wrap her head in that towel after her shower which cracks me up.
|Wagon Rides |
Crabby Aiden turns into happy Aiden after a few spins around our block.
Neighborhood Happenings | 
These two love to stand at the window and check out what's going on.

Rider |
She loves to ride. Bikes and scooters are her specialty. I hope I never forget those skinny white legs and beat-up converse.
| Pre-K Graduation |
We had a fun time at Mara's Pre-K graduation tonight. She's excited and ready for Kindergarten next year!

Morning Snuggles | 
We really lucked out with this sweet dog and these moments are why we chose to raise our kids with a dog. They make the frustrating moments - like when he digs up a plant or eats yet ANOTHER sock worth it. I think.

New Normal | 
We are on day two of summer vacation and they are working on finding their new normal and being together so much. Major imagination play going on around here - store, doctor, school... Kennedy is our idea girl. I also love that they are standing below their crooked baby photos and that baby brother's head is peeking out to the left next to the rainbow. I love a good rainbow.

| Good Sport |
I pretty much live in my car. Between school drop offs and pick ups, soccer practices, grocery store trips, errands and all the things in between - I truly spend a lot of time driving. And therefore, so does this guy. He's such a good sport about it and more often than not is full of happy smiles like this.
| Wake Ups |
When I go in to get Aiden in the morning or from a nap, it always cracks me up how excited he is to see me. It's like we haven't seen each other in years. He stands there in his sleep sack bouncing up and down with a huge grin. Also - I love this crib. All three babies have used it -it's getting old and kind of rickety. There are teeth marks along the rail. But it's pretty special to me and it will be bittersweet someday when it is no longer in our house.

Belly Laughs | 
As much as they fight, they also laugh and have fun. Their peak of silliness usually hits right at bedtime when they like to wrestle and roll around and dance and laugh hysterically. Caught them in full silly mode on the stairs last night when they were supposed to be brushing their teeth. That dash of light behind them was too much and I had to grab my camera. So glad I did - I can hear the laughter when I look at both of these shots and I love it. I turned these shots into a series of eight because I loved them so much. Click here to see the full set.

| Fun with Auntie |
My girls adore their auntie Rach. Kennedy, especially, really looks up to her and thinks most everything she does is the coolest. Kennedy is also the first one to tell us when Rachael has been on her Ipod too long. #technologypolice
|The Girls |
My not-so-little sister (but still little to me) is spending time with us this summer and we love it. Grateful for all the summer memories I have been able to make with her over the years.
| Sisters | 
My girls love each other and often play very well together but they also fight like... well, sisters. More often than not, it is Mara who is irritating Kennedy which is why I love this photo. It is so THEM. Kennedy is annoyed. Mara thinks it's funny. Such a typical moment in our house and one that I don't expect to go away anytime soon!
 | Ferry Rider | 
Some of my favorite photos of my kids have been taken on ferry boats. Washington State has one of the largest ferry systems in the country (a fact I have always thought was so cool) and I love that my kids get to grow up enjoying this fun northwest trademark. Also love that her eyes are the same color as the ocean.
 | One | 
And just like that, he's one. Happy Birthday to this sweet and silly boy. He was and continues to be, such a gift. I am honored to be his mama. Thanks to my friend Heidi for snapping this photo - please disregard my bedhead and jammies.

| Summer Writing |  
Kennedy is working on a "Summer Adventure" book. Like her mama, she likes to write and has lots of ideas floating around in that little head. And like her daddy, she won't stop until it's perfect.
 | Men at Work |
Aiden loves hanging out with daddy when he gets home from work.
| Little Helper |
I can't take my eyes off this little bugger. Fortunately, he's usually right next to me willing to "help."

| Beach Party | 
Our girl in the front turns five this week so we celebrated today with a beach party and piƱata!

| Cousins | 
Life is pretty good when it's summer and your cousins are your neighbors and best friends.


21 June 2016

Father's Day '16

So we spent Father's Day eating. No seriously.

Our day began with a bright and early 8:15 am brunch reservation at Salty's (if you have children, you can imagine the shit-show it was trying to get all five of us out of the house by 8 am). But this is Sean's favorite Father's Day Tradition and since we have been doing it since... well, last year... we are going to keep it up! And I have to admit, it is delicious. Cue, the eating.

After gorging ourselves on their all you can eat brunch (and feeding Aiden a ridiculous amount of pretzels and cookies so he would sit in the high chair), we left the restaurant and drove to Seattle to catch the Argosy cruise to Blake Island at 11:30!

While I grabbed a last minute coffee before the boat left, Sean took the kids to the candy shop (more eating) so we could properly fuel them up on sugar before enclosing them on a boat with 300 other people.

Once we got to the Island, we enjoyed some clams and a couple of raccoons roaming around. Then it was time to... you got it, eat again. This time we enjoyed a lovely salmon lunch and after a lengthy discussion trying to figure out how to position our ginormous jogging stroller next to the table... a glass of wine for me and a beer for Sean. Aiden took a little nap while we ate our lunch (the most relaxing 12 minutes of my day) but he was up again in time for the Native American show and history lesson.

After the show, we hit up the bathroom, took a few photos and then it was time to catch the boat back to Seattle! Upon arriving back in Seattle, we decided a large ice cream cone sounded awesome so we all got waffle cones (p.s. butter pecan ice cream is the bomb) and sat on the waterfront and people-watched (probably the best part of my day... Seattle is amazing).

All in all it was a fun, eventful, gluttonous day with my little fam bam. It's always fun to celebrate our favorite guy and do some of his favorite things (one of these things apparently being eating which is also a favorite of mine and undoubtedly one of the reasons we make such a great team). We love you Sean!!!