Trick Or Treat?

 

Cooper decided a few months back that he wanted to be a train for Halloween. My first thought was "how in the world are we going to pull that off?" Well, thankfully Daddy is quite crafty with a cardboard box. Doug crafted the train and Cooper and I painted it. We were all quite proud with the end result! Cooper decided that he wanted Fina to be a bee. I have no clue where he came up with that. Well, we were in the store and there was a little bee costume at a very reasonable price so a bee she is.  Have a safe and fun Halloween!

A Fall Nap

Remember when I posted photos of my sweet girl napping in the summer? Well, here she is napping in the fall. She looks so peaceful while she is sleeping that I can't help but photograph her. Honestly, while Cooper is at school and she is napping, I sometimes run out of things to do. While some mornings before this break I crave time to myself so badly I want to cry, I find myself missing them while Coop is at school and Fina is napping. I know, I am crazy. I admit it!
So I fill the time by photographing her sleeping :) Or maybe it's not that I run out of things to do, it's that I am avoiding all the house work that needs to be done on a constant basis! Hope everyone is having a lovely week!

Fall Light

There are so many things that my photography journey have taught me. One is to stop and pay attention to light. I now notice the light coming through the shades and how it falls. I notice how light makes our skin look at different times of the day. Fall light is particularly pleasing and much different than summer light. It is soft and golden. The other day while Cooper was at school I noticed beautiful light shinning on my porch. Fina had just woken up from a nap so we went outside to explore it. I love how soft and warm these turned out. I love how her cheeks are red from her nap. I love how the light wraps around her creating a haze. I am loving fall light.

Around Here Lately

My sisters daughter Livia, who has made a regular appearance here on my blog, has been making a regular appearance here at our house. My sister and I decided that we would try not to get a sitter this year and just help each other out. I take Liv in the mornings 4 days a week and Ann takes Fina while I am in school with Cooper and helps out when I need childcare for photo shoots. The kids play really well together. So far it has been great. A little crazy but fun!
Cooper is very into coloring these days. So the girls naturally want to join in on the fun. He lets them, being a very patient big brother and cousin.











We encourage creativity around here, even if it means coloring on your head!









Fina can get in the learning tower now and help out with food projects like making pizza! So cute.











And... they help me clean. Cooper loves to vacuum so I send him toward dust bunnies and my sweep pile. He is actually very helpful with this. Fina loves to wipe things down so while I am cleaning I just give her a towel and she goes to town. Not as helpful, but very cute! I figure it's good to get them involved, right?





And, I am embracing my speed light flash. I prefer natural light but can't exclusively do that in the winter here.

Happy Wednesday!

Blonde Hair and Blue Eyes

If you asked me if I ever thought that in a million years I would have a blonde child, I would have said no way or perhaps just laughed out loud. If you asked me if I would have two, I would have said "you have seen my hair and eyes right? Dark genes are always dominate." Ha! I was proven wrong, that's for sure.
I am in love with Fina's hair right now. It is so soft and has a slight curl. It always smells divine. Love her.

Fall

It is fall for sure. As beautiful as it is, I have to admit that I am struggling with the shorter days and the rainy weather. I know that I will adjust, I always do. I have to admit that my mood is not as good when it is dark and dreary. But I live in Seattle so I have to work it out.
One of the greatest things about having the chickens is that it forces us to go outside every do to get the eggs and check on them. When the weather turns I am guilty of staying indoors and not getting outside. We always feel better when we get outside. Always.
Here are a few shots of the kids in the yard.
Happy fall!

Lost Photos Of My Kiddos

I tell you, I have been so wrapped up on catching the perfect photo and thinking about all the technicalities that are involved in photography (there are more than you can imagine) that I have forgotten about the value of capturing our daily lives, which is what inspired me in the first place! I often have my camera out and often snap shots of our day but I am so obsessed with editing right now that I forget it's okay to post a photo that I didn't take to photoshop to edit. These photos say so much about what we were doing on this particular day. It was hot. Cooper was playing with the fan by yelling into it and listening to what his voice sounded like.





Fina was perfecting her climbing and so proud of herself. I shot her deliciously chubby legs and feet. It takes work to have rolls on your ankles but this girl has them and they are so adorable!








Here she is chewing on my lens cap!






Then we moved to the kitchen for table top activities. We do this a lot and on this day it was magnatiles. They are so fun. In the past few months Fina has really started to be able to participate in these activities which is great!








All of this is very simple, but this is the stuff that makes up our life and this is what I want to remember. While I love a pretty image of my kiddos, I treasure photos that capture us being us and them being them.
It has been a very busy week for us. I hope to have a slower one next week :) Yeah right! Have a good weekend!