Day 31

I used to HATE coming home from vacation . . . like literally . . . I would cry. But now I have this little boy to come home to and after a couple of days of being away, I just want to feel his little arms around my neck in a 2 year old hug again. He was in really good hands while we were in Vegas with Keegan's mom and especially considering he was battling some sickness, they fared really well. Good to have him feeling better and back to his old self, marching around the house in his undies, singing at the top of his lungs.

Day 30

Crazy 90 degree view in the living room of our hotel room at the Vdara. Absolutely stunning hotel. The view continued an additional 90 degrees in the bedroom and bath. Sweetness.

Day 29

Just a little casino bling from Cosmopolitan.

Day 28

I always thought I had no interest whatsoever in visiting Las Vegas. I don't gamble and I don't really enjoy dressing scantily. Cheesy lights and glam aren't really my thing. This was my third visit and I have to say, it's a darn good time and we definitely plan on going back. Yes, gambling and scantily clad women, cheesy lights and glam abound, but so does fantastic food, fantastic architecture, and last but not least, Cirque du Soleil. Keegan and I had the most amazing, entertaining weekend away. We had the extreme pleasure of staying at the new City Center . . . the ads claim, "The center of Las Vegas has shifted." It is true. This 16,797,00 square foot, mixed use, massive urban complex on 76 acres of the Strip was in my mind, hands down, the jewel piece of the city. We also ate at Mario Batali's restaurant, where the house cured meat plate with hot salted donuts melted in our mouthes and oxtail gnocchi lingered on our tongues. And last but not least, we went to see "O" by Cirque du Soleil. Just simply crazy beautiful. The creativity and magic of it all just boggles my mind. And hey, at the end of the day, we only lost $50 at the Sports Book. Vegas Baby. Vegas.

Day 27

If my usually smiley, cheerful, carefree little guy looks unusually sad, it's because he is. Liam's first official stay home from school sick day. The infamous "daycare cough," as I call it. Only took 3 weeks from when he started for it to set in, but given it's January, I actually think that's gotta be some kind of record. I thought for sure he'd bring it home after his first 2 days. Poor guy. Except for a few spare moments, this was pretty much the look we got all day. To me, he is still beautiful, even in his sadness. Cheer up buddy. On a side note, I'm headed out for a weekend getaway with my man to Vegas (photographer's playground) sans little guy. Gonna get our eat on, our drink on, our sleep on. I'll still be shooting, but I won't be posting until we get back on Sunday night. Cheers.

Day 26

Today I had the pleasure of looking after this duo while my friend went for their parent/teacher conference. These are Liam's bestest buddies and they are as fun as they look! They are active boys and as such, we took to the outdoors for some athletics. They had me in fits almost immediately . . . if we played hockey, they went inside to get their hockey jerseys, if we played baseball, they went to get their baseball hats (as shown). Don't let the giggly embrace fool you . . . Thing 1 is trying to take Thing 2 straight to the ground in a tackle. Tweet, tweet . . . foul . . . wrong sport boys! That didn't deter them . . . they went to get their bicycle helmets as stand-in football helmets so they could continue the merciless tackling "safely." Love you guys :)

Day 25

Liam wreaking havoc on our living room . . . a frequent sight these days. This picture cracks me up. Liam: "Look at this disaster, Mommy," so proudly. Me: "Yeah, buddy, that's . . . um . . . great . . . "

Day 24

Nice, but the critic in me wishes the tip of the leaf was in sharp focus. Frustrating.

Day 23

Daddy/Son moments are pretty special for me to capture. We love having Keegan around on the weekends and this weekend, Liam definitely fulfilled his daddy time with my various departures to photoshoot, jogging trails, and Target. With this particular image, I caught a tender little moment. If only you could hear Liam, "Your beard is scratchy, Daddy . . . I don't have a beard, Daddy." So sweet. This was right after the tumbling and wrestling and giggling, of course. Keegan can get Liam giggling . . . no . . . squealing . . . like no one else. First, I hear the pleading appeals, "Again Daddy, again." Then I hear the endless fits of squealing. There is so much written about how music, nature, physical activity, etc. benefits little ones' brains. There MUST be something about how playing in bed with daddy benefits the brain as well!

Day 22

I finally caught up with this adorable family after 3 cancellations in December due to rain!! Literally, EVERY time we scheduled a shoot, torrential downpour ensued. These 3 were worth the wait though! Beautiful mommy, hip daddy, and full of personality little one . . . who was also sporting the most delicious strawberry blond curls. Daddy dabbles in photography on the side and as I know all too well, being the family photographer means a lot of pictures without the beloved photographer :( . . . (which is why I've taken such a liking to the self timer and tripod lately!). It was important to this daddy to make sure to get some good ones with him in them for once!! So . . . great weepy tree + a little lens flare + the classic airplane throw = photo of the day!

Day 21

Caught a small glimpse of Liam as teenager this morning. When I wasn't looking, he rolled my uber cool office chair into his room, turned on his music, grabbed his ukelele and climbed into the chair to chill. This is how I caught him.

Day 20

I had a lovely photoshoot this morning while Liam was in preschool with this absolute cutie patootie. I have been waiting to get my camera on these big almond eyes since I photographed his mommy and daddy's wedding. He was in such a good mood and looked so freaking adorable that my job was easier than ever. It's so nice when they are at this age and aren't moving all around!

Day 19

This image came out a bit racier than I really meant for it to. I'm not really a racy person . . . just so we're clear. It was a cool idea in my head at least.

Day 18

He's turning 3 in less than two months and getting so big . . . and loud . . . and boisterous. He's so much more of a boy these days, rough and tumble, crashing cars, playing sports, rolling in the dirt (after effects shown here), etc. Although the drop off at school continues to be difficult for both of us, I have seen such a remarkable change in him even in the little time that he's been there. The biggest difference is his interaction with other little people. He makes friends with random strangers on the playground and totally chats them up. This is something he has NEVER done, always just a little bit shy and timid. He carries himself with so much swagger now. It's very cool to watch! Now if we could only eliminate the morning tears at school . . .

Day 17

A typical Sunday (although, it's Monday) morning outing for the Andersons - hike + brewery = winning combination. I am fulfilled by being surrounded by the beauty of nature, Liam is fulfilled by working out all that 2 year old energy, and my husband is fulfilled by a pint of local beer. The hike we went on today was in an absolutely gorgeous area and my eye could not ignore the chartreuse green moss everywhere. Now if only I could photoshop my son climbing these trees and my husband sitting on the ground with a stout, I'd have a real winner.

Day 16

Nothing grows faster on a child than those feet! Every time I take Liam into the shoe store, his feet are almost 2 sizes larger than the pair of shoes he is wearing. SO, we got some new sneaks this afternoon. He was so excited, he had to practice running for about 15 minutes right outside the store. I especially love how his feet aren't quite touching the ground. I sometimes feel like his feet don't touch the ground all day long . . .

Day 15

We took a little family outing today up to Napa to Bouchaine, one of our favorite wineries. Had a nice picnic, tasted some Chardonnay and Pinots and enjoyed the 60 degree weather. Many thanks to our family friend, Brendan, who was able to execute my vision with this shot!

Day 14

Took some advantage of great late afternoon light and a beautiful day. SO good to be outside without a coat, sun shining on my face, sidewalk chalk and balls in the backyard. Summer, you can come early if you want!

Day 13

A bright moment on an otherwise dull day, a day that started out with Liam having the exact opposite expression on his face as I walked away from his preschool. It is so unsettling to leave him that way and it throws off my entire morning. So when we came home, I spent some quality time with him, building towers and tunnels with his blocks. As guilty as I feel, I'm positive the drop off isn't scarring him for life. I'm pretty sure I cried my entire first day of kindergarten and I turned out ok. Goodbyes are hard. It doesn't really matter how old we are. I cried when my parents left me at college. SO, I should probably not take it so hard. I just want him to be happy like this at ALL times. If only that were possible...

Day 12

Just having a little fun today . . .

Day 11

Cleaning out the garage of some moldy boxes we found recently, I found my old wedding bouquet (going on 10 years in June!!). With mold growing all over it, I figured I was better off taking a photograph of it instead of continuing to save it. I'm not sure I did it justice . . . they may reappear in some future images . . . a work in progress . . .

Day 10

I remember thinking when we first moved to California how there really isn't any definition to the seasons out here . . . like it was just one long year of really mellow, 60 degree weather and the only thing that differentiated from one day to the next was the amount of cloudage in the sky. Coming from the East Coast, this was somewhat disturbing. Now, having lived here for about seven years or so, I realize I was completely wrong. There is definitely a winter, a fall, a spring, and a summer (although summer mostly feels like winter, without the rain). Trying to come up with some creative ideas for January family photo sessions yielded some fun handmade snowflakes. Unfortunately, the vision didn't come to life so much in the shoot, but today I was inspired by the wintry weather and the remnants of my snowflakes.

Day 9

I was finally able to commence this year's photoshoots this morning with a spirited session over in Lafayette. With 5 adults telling this little cutie pie what to do, chaos ensued quickly. I pride myself in my ability with willful preschoolers (having one myself), but this little one gave me a run for my money :) That is why I shoot long and shoot often. And I am constantly reminded, it is OK to shoo the parents away. In spite of the fluster-making, there were still a number of great ones, but this simple one came out really nicely with some post processing.

Day 8

My very cool new Christmas present that Liam really wishes was his. Get it....I-pod. Tee hee. Ok, ok...bad joke. How about, "The I-poddler . . . this is not your father's I-pod..) Come on. I can't always take myself so seriously.

Day 7

I started out with high hopes for Day 7 photography. Friday is Liam's day off school so we had plans to meet our super cute new girlfriends, Amy and Violet, at a beautiful regional park for a small hike. Playdate, cute people, beautiful setting, I thought for sure today would be easy. But, it ended up being so freakin cold, my car's thermometer displayed the winter snowflake . . . I'm still not sure what that really means except that it's freakin cold. We walked for about 5 minutes, couldn't feel our legs anymore, and walked back to the car. I brought my camera, but couldn't bring myself to take off the gloves. Multiple artistic attempts throughout the day also eluded me. But then, late this afternoon I went out into the back yard, something we haven't done in a couple of months. Mostly I was greeted by overgrown grass, frightening weeds, and deserted toys. Then I saw my confused little Calla Lily over in the corner, peeking its head out much too early. I love this Calla Lily. It always reminds me of Liam's birthday, which is actually in March, a much more appropriate time for flower blooming. I don't know what it's doing out so early, but it saved me today!

Day 6

I promise all my posts will not be of my kid! I even set out today with that as a goal and I had another really great image of something other than my kid in the running, but alas, this one was just too cool . . . and almost a bit spooky.

Day 5

Liam's first day of school! I'd be lying if I said I didn't shed a tear . . . or many actually. After staying home with him full time for the last 2 years and 10 months, I just had this sad feeling that something was ending. But look at how grown up he is, how excited and confident he is. He didn't even have his clothes on and he was ready to go! But you know what they say, no shirt, no pants, no education! When we finally arrived at school, my nerves and cold feet dissipated and I realized, nothing is ending . . . SO much is beginning. Such a world of opportunity awaits this little character and I can't wait to see it unfold. I love you buddy.

Day 4

One of the biggest reasons I cling to my camera and my photographs SO much is because basically, they are synonymous with memories. I'm not really clinging to my camera and my photos . . . I'm clinging to the memories. Now, more than ever, being mommy of a rapidly changing and growing two/almost three year old, this is true. And especially this week, I find myself more nostalgic than ever, with tomorrow being Liam's very first day of preschool. This morning when I woke up, Day 4 photograph came to me easily. I cherish every morning I have with my little guy. He crawls into bed with me to wake me up. We snuggle for a few minutes, often falling back asleep, then he drags the covers off of me and beckons me to breakfast. Here in the kitchen, we sit at his little table and share breakfast every single morning. I will always remember it exactly like this image, an image I want to have in my mind forever.

Day 3 - addendum

I should probably save this idea for another day, another shot considering I have 362 days left to go, but I don't think I'll be happy unless I actually post an image I am happy with today. The little guy, chillin out maxin, watching Sesame Street with his Ni Ni and one of his many beloved stuffed animals....in his undies of course...a daily sight in my living room.

Day 3

Panoramic photography used to be one of my favorite tools back in Architecture School. I recently started brainstorming ways to create a panoramic image of a large wedding party I have coming up in June. Coincidentally, this month's issue of Professional Photographer Magazine had an informative article about how professional portrait photographers use this tool. So...today I set off to explore the software involved in this type of image. The results are underwhelming to me . . . I think it's mostly because I can't figure out how to make this image look larger on my blog, but also partly because compositionally, I intended to include more water in the forefront with a slow shutter speed to show some movement. Anyway, I run by this boat on one of my jogging loops. I like it. There's just something about it....like it has years of stories to tell. Per aforementioned article, I set my tripod up, took 8 vertical shots from left to right, and then downloaded a trial version (hence the watermarking) of Autopano at home (www.autopano.net) to stitch the vertical images together. You can't really tell, but the seeming is almost....well....seamless. But still....why I can't I get this to look really big....

Day 2

Albeit unoriginal, New Year's Resolution 1 : Run off the 10 pounds I gained over the holidays. New Year's Resolution 2: Buy new running shoes.

Day 1

I have been inspired by many photographers who have gone about the daunting task of taking one image a day for a year and so begins my new blog entitled, "365 Days, 365 Ideas." I think I'll pretty much have to have my camera strapped to my body at all times for the entire year to keep myself honest. Even today, I had to run out for the last few brief moments of acceptable light to catch image 1, a record of the kind of rainy sites we have been seeing for months now. I've heard it many times that the 50mm 1.4 is sharpest at 2.8, but I shot this wide open at 1.4 just because I felt like it. The wind kicked up right as I shot which adds to the appeal I think. Then I ran inside with my freezing fingers and turned on the pot of spiced wine :) Should be a good year!