lazy saturday

It feels so nice to have a photo-shoot-free Saturday. I can't remember the last time I had the entire Saturday free to do whatever I want. It's been very relaxing. I've proofed a few family pictures I took last week of my extended family and I took some pictures of Diego. I keep taking pictures of him because I'm loving his curls! I'm so scared they'll go away the first time he gets a hair cut. So in case that happens, I want to remember those adorable little ringlets. I'm making this blog a short one since I want to enjoy my family today. Have a great weekend!





Here is one I had Tia Marta take of the cousins that were there and some of the nieces and nephews. (I'm in the far left with my cheesy, full teeth smile. Makes me laugh!)

aged beauty

I came across this picture of my mom that I took back in December of her. It just drew me in. I love her gaze! She'll probably hate the title for this post, but I was looking at the details in her face and they spoke so much of her life to me. I've always thought people are beautiful as they age. Every line, every spot have a story to be told. As I see my mom's lines, I think of her life: her victory over cancer, her struggles with her heart problems, the sorrows in her childhood. But I also see such happiness that she has derived from all her trials and the satisfaction of overcoming them. I love this contemplative gaze. There's so much depth to it, just as there is so much depth to the woman she has become.

arrorró...

I've dedicated a little section of Kai's room for Diego's crib. It was lacking something, so I decided to put a word phrase on the wall. I checked out several online companies and they wanted more than $75 for the phrase I wanted. Outrageous! So I had a brilliant idea and called a local sign company that also makes vinyl lettering for business and they said they could do it for less than $20. Stupendous! I put it up and I absolutely love it! I went with an old Mexican lullaby that my mom would sing to us and that I sing to my boys.

I just love Photoshop actions! They make my life so much easier. I can't get enough of editing photos recently since I just upgraded to PSCS2. It is awesome! Can't imagine how I did without it for so long. I also added a few actions to my collection. They're a set created by Marie C (http://justmariec.typepad.com/). I really like them, but I'm just trying to personalize them to my style. These are some pictures using Color Love without any tweaking. Not sure if I completely like them or if I need to tone them down. I'm still trying to decide. (This baby was sooo cute! He had the funkiest hair. I love babies with personality.)

mr. independent

Kai reminds me so much of myself when I was a little girl. I know most children go through an "independent" phase where they want to do everything for themselves, but I never got out of that phase. I am a very independent person, ask my parents. They still get frustrated with me. And up until the time when Kai was 2 years old, I didn't understand why they got so frustrated- but now I know! It is great, however, that Kai is wanting to become a separate little being aside from us. He wants to put on his seat belt, make his own chocolate milk, go to the bathroom, and get dressed: a mismatched long-sleeve shirt in the middle of summer, crazy pajama pants and the left shoe on the right foot and the right shoe on the left foot! It's a wonderful thing being able to tell Kai to put on his clothes when we're getting ready and forget about getting him dressed. I must confess that sometimes I will purposely tell him to go put on his sandals so I can get him out of my hair for fifteen minutes (that's really how long it takes him to put them on). I know, I'm a horrible mom, but I need my sanity sometimes! Making his bed is his newly acquired skill. It's so cute! I couldn't resist taking the camera out and capturing this right of passage from toddlerhood into childhood (sniff sniff).

party of 5 times 2

This family was a blast to photograph. I just loved the way the children interacted with each other. I always love it when I photograph kids and their siblings are right there with me. They just bring out great facial expressions in each other that nobody else can. They get all goofy and giddy and it's great. I can't even begin to imagine what it'd be like to have 7 brothers & sisters, but I bet nobody ever gets bored in their home! All the kids have stunning eyes and I really wanted to capture that.

rain, rain, go away!

I cannot believe how much it has rained in El Paso. I feel like Noah! We've been hanging out all day at home in our comfy clothes looking at the computer and watching TV. I was looking at old pictures and saw the ones I took this weekend in Cloudcroft. We decided spur of the moment to go fishing at Silver Springs on Saturday for the evening. We got there at about 5 pm and fished for an hour. We had a blast. It was Kai's first time fishing and he got 2 fish. (Well, Matt actually caught them, but we're giving the credit to Kai.) It was hillarious to see his reaction when the fish came out of the water. It was flipping and squirming on the ground and Kai was screaming like a girl and running away! After fishing, we went to Ruidoso to Flying J's Chuckwagon Restaurant and had a great dinner and show. Kai LOVED the music and danced in the aisle the entire time. Needless to say he was exhausted at the end of it all. I had a wonderful time and the company was great.

reflections of my simple life

My life is fabulously simple: changing diapers, making beds, "Wonder Pets" and "Dora the Explorer" as background music, dealing with temper tantrums, having my 3-month old permanently glued to me (or at least what seems to be), watching men in their 30's play basketball at the local rec center (my hubby seems to be the exception, since he acts and looks like a youthful 28-year old) , and the photo shoots on the side. But this is my life and I love it! I will hopefully be able to capture the simplicity of my life and my reflections as I coast along, just as I try really hard to capture the simplicity, innocence and purity of children in my photography.

I'm not as eloquent as Matt is and I really wished I was. I'm always at a loss for words. This is why I'm in love with photography. My little black box helps supplement my thoughts with wonderful emotions and expressions. The old saying of "a picture is worth a million words" is so true in my life. When Kai was born 3 years ago, I began taking picture after picture of him and it soon developed into my life's greatest passion and obsession. Photography has become a way to creatively express my inner most feelings. It has become part of me and my life.