no babysitter week

It has been the kids and I this week! Our sitters are in Spain, Aruba and Florida soaking in the sun for spring break... so I haven't been at work. We've tried to make our week fun by having a special playdate, lunch with friends and a day of banana bread making! Tomorrow is Friday and then a busy weekend is in store. Addie has been invited to 4 birthday parties in March (two on the same day and one party is for twin brother and sister!) - the first party is this Saturday. We had fun at Target yesterday buying presents for all her friends. She was very particular about what to get each person. Funny girl.
Jack has been potty training and seems to have poo-poo down. He has been consistently going on the potty for about a week. He doesn't quite get the pee-pee in the potty thing, though. We've tried to wear underpants twice and twice he's eventually peed in them! We'll keep trying! He does look pretty cute in his briefs!!!

Sunday

Did you remember to spring ahead today??? Hard to believe that it was about 6:30-7pm before it started getting dark. Love it!

ONCE: Falling Slowly

This is the song that won an Oscar... love it! I rented the movie the other night. Very good. It is so refreshing to see movies that are no-frills but entertaining and pure. Check it out!

hopscotch diva

In keeping with the Diva theme that I discussed yesterday I thought this was an appropriate picture. She's getting to be the hopscotch queen. We had a GLORIOUS day today, full of sunshine and mild temperatures. Addie refused to wear a coat (sorry Nene). I hear winter is coming again tomorrow, though. Oh well... we enjoyed the nice weather today!

kids

Just a normal weekend around here. We've actually seen the sun recently and it was so inviting that we took a big walk this afternoon. It was lovely!

One of Addie's favorite things to do is sing at the top of her lungs. Usually it is a song from Noggin (esp the show Lazy Town). Tonight at dinner she declared she is a DIVA. What the heck? How old is this kid?

Playing with different post-processing...

I asked Jack if I could take his picture. He sat on the bench near the front door and started to pick his nose... I told him (nicely) to stop picking his nose. This is what I got:

Senorita

Addie's new dress from Mexico.

don't touch

don't touch
Originally uploaded by stephaniephotography

Ouch! This is why we teach our children to "look, don't touch!" Addie was scared of these cactus spikes just looking at them!

a few more from Mexico

back to reality

We just got back from our lovely week in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. What a great week it was - good friends, great (actually, perfect) weather, blue ocean and skies, no responsibilities, no temper tantrums to deal with.... a week of leisure!!!!
I'm going through my pictures (oh how i've missed my computer!) and here are just a few for now.

Take a good look at these wintery images!

because next time I post I'll show you some SUnnY, WARM, beachy, MEXICAN pictures!!!!! Whoo-hoo... heading south!

kids

I got an email from a friend of mine whose oldest daughter is the same age as Addie. She was commenting that she is enjoying this stage of parenting partially due to the fact that it is actually possible to have a conversation with our 4 year olds. It is even enjoyable to have a conversation with them (sometimes!).

Last night as I was tucking Addie into bed she said, "Mom. Do you know what I need in my room to make it perfect?"

I said "What is that, Addie?"

She said, "I think I need a TV."

and I just laughed, said "No Way!" and walked out of her room - smiling the whole time.
She is funny!

more of Sunday

Instead of going to the park, we just explored our backyard. Surprisingly, we did not find any deer tracks this morning. We followed some rabbit prints, played in the snowy playhouse and tried to sled on the little bit of snow.

Ruby says, "throw the darn stick, already!"

Sunday

Silly picture from yesterday. Jack looks so cute, Addie looks a little odd!!! Apparently the magnification of my glasses caused a major distortion on her face. Let's hope her eyesight is never as poor as mine!

We had a lazy day yesterday and it is looking like much the same for today. Jack was up EARLY and would not go back to sleep. Hopefully that means a big nap this afternoon. We have some "housekeeping" things to do before we head out of town this weekend. We got a little bit of snow overnight so everything looks fresh and pretty. Maybe I'll take the kids and Ruby to the park to let her run around (Ruby). Areas to the north of us may get up to 2' of snow. We've been spared so far this winter - it has been pretty mild.

Maybe more later... we're off to the kitchen to make scrambled eggs.
Happy Sunday.

yael naim new soul clip

love this song!

sick, sick.

It takes a lot for me to go to the doctor. I went this week, thinking I had a sinus infection. I do have a sinus infection. Now I'm taking lovely antibiotics and even got a prescription for cough suppressant with codeine in it for night time. Whoo-hooo. Boy, I forgot how horrible that stuff tastes! Anywhoo.... I felt better yesterday, now I'm coughing more. I guess I'll give it a few days for the meds to kick in. ugh.

The kids have been pretty good. After tubbies tonight Addie raided my closet because she "wanted to dress like me" - this is what she came up with... FYI, I do wear pants unlike Addie!!!!!!! I guess she didn't feel like getting my jeans out of the laundry basket!

red shoes

Addie got a new red valentine's dress today. I surprised her with it when I came home from the mall. She LOVED it. She immediately went upstairs, changed into it and put on her red sparkley shoes. You'll probably see several versions of this picture/outfit.... I have some ideas, just need some good lighting and cooperation from the 4-year-old!

I thought of another funny thing about the kids. If I ask Jack to put his coat away when we get home from being out he tells me he's going to "put it in the locker room!!!" We have an armoire for a closet in the entryway and apparently he thinks it is the locker room! Funny.

out of the mouths of babes

Here's how the funny conversation went tonight:
Addie: "Mama! Do you know what we have on the sides of our tongue?"
Me: "What?"
Addie: "Taste bugs!"

exciting stuff!

This is my friend Genevieve. She is a VERY talented photographer whose work I admire. I will be assisting Genevieve with weddings this year (8 of them, last count). Yippee! Not that I'm biased, but I do believe we will make a great team! We met today to discuss wedding pricing for the 2009 season, more as partners. We switched cameras and had a little fun with each other's lenses, etc. I personally think she looks like a high-couture bride with a fabulous little tutu-number on her head!!!!!!! She was actually trying to make Addie laugh!!
Gen, looking forward to this wedding season! Thanks!

Carolina clients!

I'm happy to report that I now have a start of a client base in North Carolina! LOL!
While we were visiting Poppy this weekend, I had the pleasure of photographing one of Nanie's friend's newborn. When she was in the hospital a month ago, Nanie asked to purchase a gift certificate from me to give to her friend for a baby gift. Nanie LOVED photography, babies and giving presents!!! When Nanie died, I saw her friend and told her about Nanie's wish to have me take pics of the new precious baby... so we made arrangements while I was in town this weekend.
One. Week. Old!!! The love this new family has for their beautiful daughter is palpable.
There is something about a newborn cry that is just gorgeous!

Pure sweetness.
She really wasn't asleep here... just pretending as she was awake almost the entire time I was there (1 1/2 hrs!). I am sure she took a long nap after I left!

A trip down south

We took advantage of the long weekend and went down south to visit Poppy. It was sad visiting without Nanie - just not the same without her. We arrived late Friday and we apparently brought our NY wintery weather with us, Saturday was cold and s.n.o.w.y.!!!! Of course, the city was about ready to shut down and they were expecting 1-2 INCHES of snow!!! I got a good chuckle out of the frenzy - we get an inch of snow daily sometimes!!!! Funny.

Anyway... Poppy's good friend Jim arranged for us to go visit his work at the railroad so Jack could see some BIG trucks and trains. WOW. Jim presented Jack with his very own hardhat and safety glasses . Jack just about died.... he wore the hardhat non-stop over the weekend (which was personalized with his name on the front and back, with the title "Railroader") - even to bed, as you can see in the second photo. I loved the colors of the railway machines and the shapes and texture of the train wheels. What a FUN experience for a little boy. Thanks Jim!

for you Nene and Papa....

This is what we did today! Jack made silly faces and played with Lightening.


Addie practices writing her letters on the blackboard. And, she growled like a monster.


They jumped on the couch and fell down on one another, laughing and giggling. And, Jack read his Cars book in his bed... this is what I found when I checked on him:

Hope you're having fun in Aruba. Bring some sunshine and warm air home to us!

another pretty girl, revisited

Back in October, I photographed my cousin, Anna, for her senior pictures. We're in the final stages of finishing up the proofs and making decisions on which ones to go with. Here's one I originally missed.... love it. Another one where I can't decide if I like the color or B&W one better. So pretty!

pretty girl

lazy Sunday. Jack has a runny nose, Mama has a runny nose. I'm tired. At least the sun was out this morning!

oh, boy!

We broke a record this week with our 60 degree weather. It was so nice. The kids enjoyed fresh air, a bike ride and some play time outside. Isn't Jack the cutest boy ever???!!!

Which do you prefer- color or b&w??
I love them both and think I may order this one BIG! It screams cute little boy! My favorite thing about the picture is the way he's holding his hand/fingers.
Crazy sister, doing her hopscotch. Notice the numbers in the blocks? Done by Addie. I had SEVERAL people comment on her beautiful outfit when we were out and about that day. Addie was very proud of it, and she told everyone how she picked it out herself.

A sad week.

I don't really feel like writing a lot tonight, but just wanted to say that my Mother-in-Law passed away on New Year's Day. We just got home from NC after spending a week there; first to visit, then to watch her die, and finally to plan and attend her funeral. Sad. Hard to believe she is gone - she was such a presence. Perhaps I'll write more about it later, but I'm tired.
The bright spot during this week was getting to meet our new niece from DC. She's already 3 1/2 months old and oh, so cute!Addie was SO excited to see these pictures tonight when we got home. She was very interested in the pictures of Avery crying!