As per usual in Chicago, it’s been a long, cold winter. We got lucky enough to tag along with my husband to a work conference he had in Clearwater, Florida. It was only a few days, but it was just what we needed!
I took all of these images with my little Olympus Tough point and shoot camera…sometimes I will take my dslr or film camera to the beach (beach + film = one of my favorite combos ever), but when I want to just not worry about it but still document things, I bring this little guy with me. It’s waterproof, sandproof, and my boys can drop it and it won’t break (yes, this has happened several times!). It’s quite freeing to not carry around your bulky, heavy, and expensive gear and just use a point and shoot or your phone sometimes. You can read more about my photography gear here in this post.
We go back to Florida in a couple of weeks and I cannot wait! The boys keep asking when the snow will melt and while it’s finally warming up here and I do believe most of the snow will melt this week, we could definitely all use another dose of warmth and sunshine.
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What a difference a year makes! I had the pleasure of photographing this sweet little girl in her beautiful Chicago home when she was a newborn, and then again right after her first birthday. She was such a tiny peanut of a newborn, it’s amazing how much she has grown.
I had major deja vu driving over to go do Pearl’s one year shoot. There was a lot of snow on the ground, and it was snowing quite a bit during my drive. Just the same as it was a year ago. The first year of life is just so full of changes, and such rapid development. Pretty fun to experience as a parent, and I love to be able to capture it on camera.
I’m including some of Pearl’s newborn shots here, so you can see just how much the little nugget has changed. Pretty amazing! Love this beautiful little family!
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And here she is now!
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We are soooooo close to spring. My boys keep asking me when the snow is going to melt. I sigh every time and hesitate until they ask again. Because they never like my answer and neither do I! In like a LION this March with more biting cold and snow. All of us suffering through another round of various illnesses.
Not gonna lie, it’s been a bit of a drag. But of course, we’ve had our fun too. Trying to find some ways to quell our intense cabin fever. Spring is right around the corner, and if it isn’t, we’re going to force it with a spring break trip to Florida in a few weeks. So March will go out like a lamb whether it wants to or not!
57/365 | selfies with my chunky monkey (how was she in my belly in October??)
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58/365 | post preschool shenanigans
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59/365 | with three kids to herd worry about, calvin has to sleep with one eye open (he’s exhausted)
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60/365 | pinewood derby!
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61/365 | editing sessions with one hand, my boss doesn’t like to nap during the day…
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62/365 | the iPad addict in action
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63/365 | two new tricks this week demonstrated simultaneously: rolling over back to front, and sticking tongue out while giggling (sorry I couldn’t photograph the giggle)
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Continuing my personal project with this dynamic duo! You can read about the origins of the Buddy Project here in my first post. This project is meant to capture the unique and special bond that dogs have with their (young) humans.
I always ask participants to describe their kids (human and canine) in three words. Here’s what Evie + Sally’s mom had to say about them:
Evie: caring, happy, and sometimes stubborn
Sally: sweet, cuddly, and a bit crazy (no surprise there, she’s a 1 year old black lab!)
“Evie loves dogs. A LOT. She picked Sally out this past spring when she was born. She calls Sally her ‘little sister'”. She went on to describe how inseparable these two are, that they spend every waking moment together, reading, watching tv, hanging out on the dog bed. She also mentioned how careful Sally is with Evie, that she never jumps on her, even though she’s an energetic young lab. I always find it so amazing that dogs just know.
Also, I got to find out the cute story of how Evie decided upon the name Sally for her furry sister. It all has to do with this book, which she ran up to her room to grab shortly after I got there to show me. And then she read the book to Sally. Thank you, Evie and Sally, for letting me hang out for a little while to capture your friendship! I’m so glad you two have each other!
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“No, no, look, seriously – I’m not really Boba Fett. It’s just meeeeeeeeee! Your little brother. See? See?”
Another fantastic and much loved set of Star Wars hand-me-downs has made their way here from my nephews, and these costumes are getting some pretty good use around here. Not much else to do when it’s freezing out other than pretend you’re a bounty hunter arguing with a storm trooper…
Now follow me to Bainbridge Island, Washington to see what my buddy Krista has been up to in February!
50/365 | oldest + youngest
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51/365 | he always brings home his little drawings from preschool for me. this is princess leia and “your favorite guy – hans”
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52/365 | wall o’bath fixtures in kohler, wi
53/365 | skating pond, cedarburg, wi
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54/365 | making our favorite recipe – beer bread {see recipe at the bottom of this post}
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55/365 | what happens when you stop paying attention to them for two minutes…
56/365 | where is spring?
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how to make {beer bread}
- 3 c. flour
- 3 tsp. baking powder
- 3/4 tsp. salt
- 3 tbs. sugar
- 1 bottle of beer (12 oz., anything works but we like to use amber beer or ale)
- spices – garlic powder, rosemary, herb blends – whatever you like, throw it in
preheat oven to 350. mix everything above in a large bowl and spoon into a greased loaf pan. bake at 350 for an hour. it’s so good warm with salted butter on it.
