Alley Cat.

I bought Zachary this jacket and immediately knew I had to find an "alley" to photograph him in it.  Unfortunately, I forgot to take some with it unbuttoned since he has a pretty short window for pictures nowadays. His shirt says "seriously handsome" =) (from Carter's). His jacket is Target, pants Old Navy, and shoes are Converse. 

I love this boy.

And yes, I know it has been a while since I have posted. I do so many shoots and take so many pictures. I have gotten so backed up on blogging because of that and when I finally sit to do a blog I don't even know where to begin. It can be a bit overwhelming. But because I had to start sometime and with something, I started with these. Just because they make me smile. 

Project 52: Absence of Light, Shadows, Night

Our theme this week for Project 52 was absence of light, shadows, night. I had plans to do a little family portraits outside tonight but the rain had other plans. I was just thankful that it held out for my shoot today. So instead I just rounded up some fake candles (don't worry I did not let my baby play with fire-lit candles) that we had and let Zachary play. I would still love to do the family portrait I was planning so hopefully I will get a chance when the rain lets up.

To continue with the circle and see what the other ladies did for this theme please check out Jennifer Capozzola's post: http://jencphotos.com/photojournal/?p=244

Laughter.

I just joined a group with some wonderful women/photographers that I met through the Bloom Forum. It's a Project 52 where we take a picture every week based off of an overall topic. This was our topic was laughter. Normally this would be the perfect topic for me. I LOVE, I repeat LOVE, photographing laughter. This week however has been a rough one. I don't really want to get into details but we are going through a tough time at the moment so in case you were wondering why I have been posting less that has a lot to do with it. Sometimes life hits you with one thing after another. It really teaches you to stop saying "Could this be any worse?" Because it can. I said this once two weeks ago and ended up backwards on a freeway so I learned my lesson. Eventually there will be nowhere to go but up. So bring on the April showers. I will find the puddles to splash in until it stops and the rainbow appears. 

As much as I try to teach Zachary everyday I should really take a lesson from him. That boy smiles through anything. His little baby giggles are infectious and can really brighten any rainy day!

Please check out Marsette Guerrero's beautiful portraits of laughter. The images of her son and dog are so beautiful:  http://mdgphotographyonline.blogspot.com/2012/03/52-week-week-1-laughter.html

If you're a bird I'm a bird.

We have been having such rainy, cold weather here. After 3 months of Zachary being sick I am eager to get out of this house. Today I was on my workshop in the Bloom forum and we had an assignment to try out different lighting than we are used to. Zachary was climbing all over this vintage suitcase his grandma got me that I carry props to my shoots in. the sun looked like it was breaking through the clouds finally, so I swooped him up, threw on a sweater and rainout of the house to chase the light and play. Well, by the time we got to the location it had gone back to hibernating behind the clouds. I happen to love shooting in overcast light so still began shooting. It was freezing. He as hungry and tired. He hates hats. There was goose poo everywhere and he kept falling over. What was I thinking? Needless to say it didnt last long. This is what we got while there:

Reminds me of the Notebook a little. I had no idea there would be so many geese. Pretty cool! I was nervous one would attack him so we stayed a little bit away at all times.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day from this partly Irish family! =) We're off to a little family get-together to celebrate.

My mom got all of these super cute props from Etsy shops! Too cute huh? Love all of them! Thanks Mom!

PS. Sorry for the lack of posts recently. We are looking for a new place to call home. Wish us luck!

A field of flowers.

A very sweet client of mine told about this gorgeous field of flowers tucked away right around the corner from the mister's work. I couldn't believe that something this beautiful was right there under my nose, in the middle of the suburbs, and I never knew about it. Living in the South Bay Area there just isn't a lot of pretty landscapes so I definitely got very excited. I jumped in the car with Baby Bear and drove out to take a look. Plus, it was a good excuse to surprise Daddy at work. I must say it was absolutely breathtaking. I didn't want to leave. And Zachary was loving trying to eat leaves and flowers. It was one of those moments where you feel like real life almost matches the magic of your imagination.

I know that I'm a photographer but I have to say that the pictures don't really do this justice. It's still magical though. I already have a few shoots planned for this area while it's still this way. I may even just take Zachary out there to have a picnic and play. Or art journal in the middle of the field where no one can see you. Wouldn't that be wonderful? Thanks Tasha for the tip!

I hope you all had a fabulous Leap Day! Happy Birthday to my sister-in-law Leah today! She is quite literally the sweetest woman I know. So much so that I use her name as noun for someone sweet as can be and amazing in every way (it's true!). I love you sister!

Caps for Sale.

I don't know how many of you have heard of or read the children's book Caps For Sale but it's awesome. i thought it was a classic everyone knew but turns out I was wrong. Or at least no one I know has heard about it. Once we had Zachary I knew I had to buy it for him and he already loves it. Mostly because of my silly old-time Boston accent and monkey noises I do. I however love it for the gorgeous color palette. It's swoon worthy for sure. I just had to do a little photoshoot inspired by it's beauty with my beautiful boy.

Like always I hand-made the crafts used for the set (out of construction paper). His hat is from this Etsy shop.

I hope you enjoyed our silly little shoot!

365 Zachary: November

Here are some of the 365 pictures I took of Zachary back in November that I haven't shared yet:

November is Dave's birthday so he got to celebrate his first birthday as a daddy! We went out to a comedy show with our friends and Pop-pop watched Baby Bear. My dad HATES having his picture taken and ducks out of every shot I try to take so that picture of him with Zack asleep on him is very special to me. I love those two lots and lots and they love each other lots and lots. Melts my heart!

Dino stare down. In his super warm jammies from a cold night. Eating his first solids! (rice cereal)

We took him to his first wedding in November. He was the best dressed guy there. Let me tell you, it is not easy finding fancy clothes for a 5 month old. 

Lots of eating pictures. I think I was a little too proud of this new step. I love how he always used to eat in a heel stretch when we used to feed him in the swing. Too funny!

While shopping for his fancy clothes my mom got him this adorable bear hat from Baby Gap. So fitting for my little baby bear.

After a year of trying to get Dave to help me pick a new duvet I just went ahead and bought this one. I love me some gray stripes. And clearly so does Bubs!

Usually I'm the one putting my foot in my mouth. This AMAZING quilt was made by the mother of a friend of ours. Isn't it spectacular!? I'm still in awe. Zachary loves pointing and staring at the different robots. We called the little mister Baby Bot a lot in the womb and are a robot loving family. 

Woodland Wish is one of our favorite books. I get excited to read it and even Daddy (who is picky as heck) loves it! It even comes with a free song to the book. It's whimsical and adorable and has amazing illustrations. I highly recommend it.  That's Bubs in the crib standing all by himself!

We got Zachary his first jumperoo. He loves that thing. I swear sometimes he is going to jump himself right out of it. He now thinks that whenever he stands he needs to jump. I swear his chunky thighs are stronger than mine. I'm so impressed with how many squats he can do. The second image is his cousin Sophie very sweetly reading him Time For Bed on Skype. Another moment that seriously melted my heart and another one of our very favorite books. It was wonderful to get to see all those sweet faces again and have them "see" Zack. 

There you have it. There was a little very late glimpse into our November. I'm pretty sure the Xfinity turtles posted their pictures before me. Slow and steady. Winning!

Struck By Cupid's Arrow

We did a fun little photoshoot on Valentine's Day (a little family tradition for the past 3 years). We decided last second to actually do it that day (as we were a little cranky and, as always, sleep-deprived). I whipped up a bow, two arrows and wings in like 15 minutes. The bow was made from a wire hanger and yarn. The arrows were made from construction paper and cake pop sticks. And the wings were made from cardboard from a t-shirt box, white paint, and yarn. I know. I could totally teach Janky Crafts 101.

Yes, he will hate me later in life for this. I figure it's bound to happen either way. At least I got some cute pictures out of it.

I hope you enjoyed our silly little love fest! I also hope you all had a great Valentine's Day. And if not, hooray! It's over!

I spent the night throwing up and having my Mom over to watch Zachary (thanks Lady!) so it wasn't great but we made up for it by taking a baby to a fancy dinner this weekend. While he's in his shrieking at the top of his lungs phase. Ya, not the best idea. Delicious food though!

Clouds in first three images are Photoshop Overlays from vol. 25. Dress is from (my favorite) Ruche.