I love...

Girl Scout cookies. Now, girls, where are you? I've been waiting by the door for you every night!

2 Years Old!

Two year olds can be tough to shoot--they are always on the move, but M was a lot of fun even if he was active. We did this session in my mock studio set up at home, all natural light.

I love...

Dirty dishes. I know, call me crazy. It's actually a love-hate relationship. I don't actually love dirty dishes, nor the act of washing them, but I love what comes before and what comes after. I love the process of creating a meal. I love eating the meal. I love feeling fully satisfied from something I did.

I actually don't like doing the dishes. At all. But I can't stand a sink full of dirty dishes even more, and it forces me to just get them done! I admit it--they add up as I attempt to see if anyone else will just volunteer to do them. I even tried to bargain with my hubby one time. I told him that whoever made the meal, the other would do the clean up. I thought it a fair trade. He didn't like it since it would nearly always put him in charge of the dishes (okay, I can't say I blame him--if you don't like doing the dishes either I can see how that wouldn't fare well). So it was a no-go and he still helps out too, but more often than not, the dishes are left to me. It's probably better; I'm anal when it comes to things like loading the dishwasher. It has to be done just right (unloading too).

Even more, once the dishes have been washed, or put in the dishwasher and started, I get to see the bottom of my sink-clean. I love that feeling. It inspires me to continue cleaning the rest of the kitchen, scrubbing down the counters, sweeping the floor (which already happens twice a day with the little kids), which then leads to vacuuming the rug, and while it's out I will vaccuum the family room, which leads to the living room, and after starting work on just a sink full of dirty dishes I end up with a clean house. Is anything better than a clean house? Not much.

I love...

Window light. As a photographer, something related to photography has to make me fall in love, right? Ah, yes. And window light it is. I imagine you've heard me say this more than once, but it is true. I love the versatility I can achieve with it. For example, the following picture was taken just using window light, as was this one here. Depending on the length of the rays coming through the window I can achieve a totally different feeling from one picture to the next.

So today I caught S running around in her swimsuit, her hair pulled back, and a milk mustache on her lip. My mommy heart fell in love with her and I jumped for joy when she said I could take her picture. We immediately ran over to the bay window in the kitchen and I put her on the chair. I didn't think I was going to post about her today (in fact, I had a different post planned, but you'll get that later this month), but after loading the pictures onto the computer, I just had to post about the window light. Do you see how it hits her eyes? So pretty!

I love....

I love my time. I don't get much of that as a mother. It seems every time the phone rings or I hop on to check my email, or I'm trying to clean up, read a book, workout, whatever...that's when the kids scream for Mom. I know I'm not the only one out there, because I've heard many of you say the same thing! It's uncanny, really. They could care less if I'm trying to spend quality time with them (or so it seems), but as soon as my attention is turned elsewhere they NEED me. Urgently. And they are very vocal about it. If you have ever been on the phone with me and you hear the chaos in the background, you know exactly what I'm talking about. I am glad that they need me though ;)

But I have learned a few tricks over the last couple of years that work wonders when I really need my time. One is that my little girl LOVES to draw, paint, color, cut paper, etc. She is an artist in all respects (and my walls show the truth of that statement!). Putting her in front of anything that will allow her to explore her artistic side seems to buy me a good bit of time-sometimes up to an hour! I figure it's great for her too!

It's nice to find those little things that make life (and my sanity) just a little better.

I love...

Is it possible to be in love with food? I say yes! Especially if it's homemade bread. So what if it's from a bread machine (I need the convenience!), it still tastes great and is such a comfort. I love it warm with butter melted over the top, or with almond butter and honey. And what makes a better bed time snack than toasted bread with jam alongside a large glass of cold milk?

Things I love...

There are many forms of love, and since this is the month of love, I thought I'd document and share with you some of the best things I love.
I love Davis, my little scientist, because he's methodical, quirky and smart. He learned to write his name a year ago. He decided he was tired of writing his name and took a year off--he literally refused to do it! But, I thought he could try again, so we sat down with a paper and pencil. I wrote his name on top, drew the lines out and asked him to copy his name down on the lines. He did a great job and I was SO pleased. But he wasn't. So he erased it.
And thought about what he needed to do to make it better.

And tried again,

then shouted "YES!" when he'd finished.

I love that he's learning to try again when something is hard, or when you make mistakes. It's a big lesson that everyone has to learn at some point in life, and I love that he takes his life lessons to heart already.