JFP photo blog

It's a Christmas Mircle

This year I was given the daunting challenge of taking a family photo of our little family as a Christmas gift.  That is terrifying on so many levels....mainly the "getting my children to cooperate" part.  As you can imagine, they are a little fed up with having their photo taken.  So, it was with much trepidation that we set out on this adventure yesterday.  Miraculously there was a wee tiny break in the rains that coincided with all of us being dressed and hair fixed...we had just about given up hope of an outside shot.  We made it to the bridge, my favorite shot to shoot ever.  Got the tripod set up, mastered the time delay on my newish camera, and then the hilarity ensued.  First, you must know that the bridge gets a bit slippery in the winter.  Second, I am wearing "less than grippy" shoes.  Third, it is me pushing the button and making a run to get in the shot.  This feat is amusing for so many reasons (the words madcap caper and hi-jinks come to mind). First, I have to go past the dog, who then looks at me and not anywhere near the vicinity of the camera.  Then there is the whole skating rink of death to be conquered.  Luckily, we all survived and I am so excited about the shots we got!!  Big thanks to Lorenzo for the loan of the tripod and to Grandma Kate for the adorable outfits for the girlies!

(See what I mean about the dog...)

and then we let Madelyn man the camera for a few....

Might actually have to print that one....we don't have too many shots of us up anywhere...unless you count our wedding photo and neither of us look like that anymore!

Then it was my turn again for a few seconds...can't resist the temptation!!

   

I want all of these printed ginormous...maybe even on canvas??

It is a true Christmas miracle and I am wishing the same sort of good fortune on all of you for the new year!  I'm sure this is sign of good things to come!

Merriest of Christmases!!

Our Holiday Trip Downtown

 It has been our tradition for many years now to trek downtown to see Santa.  Not only do we get in a visit with the big guy, but we ride the carousel, see the nightly snowfall at Pacific Place, and have dinner at Johnny Rockets.  Fun times, all the way around.  Not only that, we bring Grandma, Jam, Aunt Fancy, and this year, Uncle Zorno joined in the fun.  Here are a few shots from our adventure....and for any of you photographer types, these were taken at ISO 4000 since we were outside in the dark of night.

 
So we are in the lovely stage of making faces at your mother when she picks up her camera.  You are getting the fake, cheesy smile, instead of all the grimaces and sticking out tongues.

 
Apparently she got the runaway horse....looks a little nervous on that stallion.

The two Annes.  And in case you are wondering, all photos in black and white because of all the funky colored lights on the carousel.  Everyone was taking on all kinds of purple and green glowingness.  Besides I enjoy the retro feel and am looking forward to scrapbooking them this way.

Jam, galloping westward (or something equally dashing) and his fabulous and fancy momma.  LOVE her hat...may have to borrow it!

Uncle Zorno's maiden voyage...at least with us...looks like an accomplished horseman.  Look at the cavalier one handed leaning off the horse posture.  I would have fallen off...that's how cool and coordinated I am.

Then we ventured inside to get warm and watch the snowfall....here it comes....

  
and run around a bit....

You know he's going fast when his hair is flapping...think she can catch him??

We got to go into the newish Seahawks/Sounders team store...might have even picked up a secret Christmas gift (hee, hee) and snapped a super cute shot of our littlest Sounders fan...

He was hiding from me behind a rack of pants... he thought that was pretty funny!

OK, I decide to share some of the "faces" I was getting...nothing like a little Christmas love and cooperation from the little beasties....

Oh, the pain, the misery.

"What do you mean, he sees me when I'm sleeping, he knows when I'm awake, he knows if I've been bad or good?"   

He is so busted.  Can you say coal?

OK, that might be it for me and any kind of regular blog posting for awhile.  Hope you are all enjoying all the fun of the season and making sure to squeeze in some quality snuggle by the tree time with all your small (and even big) people.  Sending out Christmas hugs to all of you, near and far!

My Superhero

 

Alright, I know he's not just "my" superhero...he carries a lot of weight around here (I'm a totally cracking myself up).  

Last night he saved my bacon big time.  He is officially the computer wiz at our house and last night my computer crashed.  Seriously dead.  Massive panic set in.  (Never fear, everything is backed up in at least three places, but it takes time to rebuild it all, if you are lucky enough to get your computer up and running at all, and time I don't have this week)  Luckily for me, after hours of gently wrangling with the beast (where I would probably have chucked it out the window) he got it up and running with no lost files or anything!  Woohoo!!  You're the best!!  Lucky me!

Guess what I'm asking Santa for this year??  I swear I've been good!

365 Days

Oh the difference those 365 days can make.

Here he is at 4 days old and just for the record....he holds the title of most cooperative newborn to date. 

Plus 362 days, to be exact.

Not so super sure about being in a bucket.

This is one of those sessions where I wish I could show you the entire gallery.  I love them all that much!  I did manage to narrow it down a little though...enjoy my cute buddy!

A boy after my own book reading heart!

Huge grin courtesy of Annie...who popped in the door for a minute and did some funky dance over my shoulder.  Clearly she is WAY more entertaining than I am!

And then mom broke out the cupcake....

That one cracks me up for the whole "Joe Cool" factor.  

And one last laugh....

Having a little fun with his snack...he looked right at me like "What?  I didn't make this mess.  You're crazy." 

The Tradition Continues

At our house the kids get to pick a new Christmas tree ornament every year.  This way, when they leave home (or at age 18...whichever comes first) they will have a collection of about 18 ornaments for their first trees.  Here is what they picked this year....

Henry's choice. 

Last year he didn't end up picking one...he thought they were all pretty cheesy.  Apparently this one is manly enough.

Madelyn's choice. 

Well, her second choice actually.

This one was actually her first choice, but since she hadn't actually looked at any others, I refused to get it for her (she is a notorious mind-changer).  So she bought it for herself.  Works out fine, since her ornament from year 1 broke last year.

Annie's choice. 

For some reason, it really makes me think of her.  Cute & sassy.  (Can't believe I just called a frog cute!).

Hope you are all in the spirit of things!  Happy Friday!

A Little Cherub

So this little one was here for Thanksgiving and you know I'm a sucker for sweet curls, soft round cheeks and those big eyes...besides he just crawled right into the studio.  What's a girl to do?  He'll put a smile on your face this morning....

Check out that dimple!!  Oh my!

Seeing as how there were 19 people here for Thanksgiving, you guess how many people came and took turns standing behind me and making faces while we were in here?  Can't begin to imagine who was back there for that grin....

Just want to eat him up. 

Subliminal messaging portion of blog post begin now....

If he moved here, well, there would be lots more photos, and baby sitting, and girls' nights out for his mom, and his dad could take his Rockband act on the road with the rest of the big boys....tempting, isn't it??

Well, anyway, I'm looking forward to a road to trip to Montana in late spring...I hear it is beautiful there that time of year.  We miss you guys already.

Happy Wednesday and 2nd day of December!  Hope you all have some vague plan about Christmas shopping....I am at a complete loss.  Feel free to send any gift ideas my way...desperation is setting in!

  

 

A Little Cutie Pie

I have had the chance to photograph this little cutie three times before...and she just keeps getting bigger, funnier, and cuter!  This time she finally brought her parents with her for some holiday/family photos.  Here are a few of my favorite shots....

Little cutie pie. 

 Cute little family.

Hee hee!  That one just makes me laugh....does she have a secret?  maybe she was just being a little naughty?  I guess we'll never know.

Then we ventured outside...can't believe we made it outside at the end of November!!

 

Love her sweet expression and, of course, her boots!

I love this one for a couple of reasons.  First, you get an idea of how tiny she really is when you see her against her parents' legs.  Second, I love that you can see them holding hands behind her.   Ahhhh, young love!

And one more family photo for good measure....

Happy Monday everyone...hope you are managing to get going this morning after Thanksgiving weekend...and just to follow up on the 1/2 marathon race post, we completed the race in our best form ever (though not our best time) and the breakfast/spa part of the day was spectacular.  Quite a bit stiff and sore this morning though.  Big thanks to all our cheerleaders at the race and on the blog!!  The encouragement was much needed and very appreciated! 

Brothers

I had a ton of fun photographing these guys last weekend.  I was so excited to get a chance to meet all the boys that belong to this mom.  She is going to have a house full of football and soccer and all things boy....actually, I think she already does.   Here are a few of my favorites....

This big brother LOVES being a big brother and is such a great helper.  And, he is the one that got the best laughs and giggles out of the little man.

See the fabulous giggle...secret tickling is happening!

These guys were just plain old fun to photograph.  Just an all around happy bunch with smiles galore.

I know I just said tons of smiles (and there are definitely smiley ones of this guy) but I LOVE this shot.  I get a peek into what he is going to look like as a teenager...watch out mom, I think you are going to be dealing with lots of giggling girls around your house!

There's a sweet little smile.   And he has the best laugh ever.  What a funny guy.  Just overflowing with personality.  I love this age for that very reason.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and is doing something relaxing today...unless you are crazy enough to shop, and then, good luck!!

A Storybook Family

This charming prince has three beautiful princesses...isn't he lucky?!

  It has been such fun to watch this family grow...adding a kid and then those kids just keep growing and changing.

A little sisterly love.  

I wonder if I ever felt like that about my little sister??  I know I do now, and I know I did when she was first born, but when she was this big and getting into all my stuff??  I'm not so sure.

And then the poor little sweet pea got a little sleepy.

 

Is that not the sweetest sleepy face ever?? 

And one more family photo that I really like...

Alrighty, that's it for me today.  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I will be enjoying lots of my favorite family and friends and a little food...and maybe I'll even get to take a few photos??  More photos on the blog on Friday...and though we are nearing the end of the holiday session rush, there are some small people lined up...yippy!  Happy Wednesday!

We Need More Cow Bell!!

So I'm giving you all plenty of time to rework your schedules so you can make it over to Seattle this coming Sunday morning...say around 8:30 at the top of the hill on Madison, right by the entrance to the Arboretum.  My sister and I will be partaking in the Seattle Half Marathon and seeing as how our training regimen is sorely lacking in comparison to previous years, we can use all the cheering we can get...especially to get us up and over the monster hill that is Madison.  I'm sure that we would be almost equally motivated by a little blog comment love & encouragement...just in case you can't manage to rearrange your plans for us! 

Here is our official race day photo from about 3 years ago...taken be the up and coming photographer, Miss Madelyn (who was 5 at the time and it was about 5:30 in the morning and it was snowing...so give us a break).

For identification purposes...I will look virtually identical...same hat, same coat, I believe Sissy-pants will be sporting her new gray running jacket...however, we WILL be together....because if she ditches me this year, I will be a sobbing, blubbering mess by the side of the road.  (There, how's that for a little guilt!)  There will be much carb loading and viewing of the fabulous running film, Run, Fat Boy, Run! on Saturday night.  And in keeping with the "tradition" we started last year, the grueling race will be followed by large quantities of yummy breakfast food and fabulous massages & pedicures....big huge thanks to my soccer team for sponsoring my trip to the spa with a lovely end of season gift card...woohoo!

Back to your regularly scheduled photo blog programming tomorrow and Friday....hope you all have started your pre-turkey dinner stomach stretching exercises!