Day 151

Day 150

Yah! Daddy is home. It was a long week with Keegan in London for the second time this year. I'm always kind of surprised how hard it ends up being on Liam. I know they are tight and Liam adores Keegan of course, but Keegan does work all day and I spend the majority of the days with Liam. He was really sad and missed Keegan quite a bit this week. We were really happy to gather him from the airport finally and bring him back home with us. Daddy and 2 new Paddington books brought a smile back to his face pretty quickly.

Day 149

Liam and I were sitting at the breakfast table this morning and he looked at me and said so full of expectation, "What are we going to do today, Mommy??" (In my head) "Well Buddy, we had 3 playdates this week, rode bikes to the pizza place, went bowling yesterday, and Daddy has been gone all week. I was thinking about sitting here in my jammies and drinking my coffee for about 3 more hours until naptime." (Out loud) "Well Buddy, I didn't have anything planned . . . entertainment committee better get a cracking." I ended up taking him to Lake Temescal where there is a sandy beach and a couple of nice trails. Going to the beach sure isn't what it used to be (i.e. relaxing) but, we had so much fun. We kicked the ball around, built sandcastles, ran makeshift obstacle courses in the sand, and I finally lured Liam into the water. I can always tell how much fun he is having based on the amount of clothing that comes off :) After about ten minutes, the shoes and socks came off, then about a half hour later, the pants came off, then about twenty minutes of splashing in the water, the shirt came off. He was pretty convinced he wanted to take his sandy, wet undies off too until I alerted him of the no nudity policy of the beach. After the rain finally chased us back to the car, Liam says to me, "MOMMY!! That was so much fun!" I almost melted. He rarely reflects like that and it was such a satisfying feeling to know my last minute furious planning was not a waste! Jammies and coffee a long lost memory.

Day 148

Another trip bowling.

Day 147

Good things can happen when you release yourself from the confines of focus.

Day 146

Day 145

Ahhh....if only it wasn't so transparent what I do pretty much every day of my life .... :) I'm a lucky girl though for sure.

Day 144

I've decided to come up with a title for a series of images that I just sort of spontaneously started taking of Liam all along that evoke a more dreamlike vision of his every day activities. "Enchanted Childhood"

Day 143

Birthday party central around here. I should know being a May baby myself. We are all ok with this as it means numerous trips to the toy store and free cake. What IS it about birthday cake that is just so damn good no matter how old you get?!

Day 142

Beware, you are about to experience large quantities of Liam images (well....more so than usual anyway...). Have him all to myself for a couple of days. My full time buddy and camera assistant/subject.

Day 141

We have officially termed Fridays, "Mommy Day," around here. It's Liam's day off from school and a day I try to field all those outlandish school day requests for Zoo, Museum, Beach, etc. This day we went up to Little Farm in Tilden park to ogle at the baby chicks, giggle at the enormity of the pigs, and avoid getting anywhere near the cow's tongue. We also combine this outing with a hike around "Jewel Lake." All of this for free AND within a ten minute drive from home. Well played.

Day 140

I've been going a little stir crazy lately as my torn ACL is keeping me from doing two of the main things I love doing and that keep me sane, jogging and basketball. So I've tried to fill the void with some spectacular photowalks at sunset the past few days. Definitely gain a little perspective looking at this kind of beauty, although . . . mostly I just want to take off jogging down the path :)

Day 139

Day 138

. . . because if you can't wear sweatpants, take a nap, drink a cocktail at 430 while playing legos with your three year old, eat enormous amounts of fantastic Italian food, drink fantastic Italian red wine, stay up late and watch Glee while eating Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake on your birthday . . . when can you?!

Day 137

Day 136

Impressive form for a 3 year old, no?

Day 135

A week later, Liam and I returned to the Academy of Sciences yet again, this time with Daddy. This place is just too cool. Loving the high ISO settings on the 5D.

Day 134

I never know if I prefer playing with Liam for 30 minutes to make sure all hell does not break loose, and that Liam can maintain some sense of order around here, or having 30 minutes to myself to get some things done so that I can maintain some sense of order around here WHILE all hell breaks loose . . . tough call really.

Day 133

Lately, when I've been photographing Liam, I've become so enamored with capturing the essence of childhood. This image to me comes pretty close. A huge thanks to my guy for allowing me to do. . . or at least tolerating . . . what I do. It is because of him that I can so vividly relive the innocence, the carefree spirit, the wonder, and the pure joy that makes being a child so fantastic. Incidentally, on a side note, it's not that I love photographing Liam nake nake. It's just that I love photographing Liam and HE, for some weird reason, loves to run around with just undies on or in this case completely nake nake, so there you go.

Day 132

This would be an example of shooting at a location at which Liam isn't joining me . . . creepy abandoned building across the street from where I dropped my car for tune-up. Creepy building = good photo opp.

Day 131

Mmmmm....legos on the porch at sunset. Good times.

Day 130

Whenever I come into the house from being out somewhere, I never fail to have too much in my hands . . . the gym bag, an old coffee cup, a rogue stuffed animal, the camera of course. Things go flailing and land where they may. Tonight was no exception . . . this is where I found my shoes after all was said and done, looking so colorful, perfectly contrasting with the rug, and oh so aesthetically pleasing.

Day 129

I had a family photoshoot the next day for Happy Mother's Day. What a great way to spend my morning celebrating mommyhood with this family and this capture is just too perfectly appropriate and sweet for words (view more images from the shoot at: http://sarahandersonphotography.blogspot.com/2011/05/ollie-turns-2.html) Es and Liam hung out at a park nearby then I picked them up and off to the California Academy of Sciences for the rest of the day. Liam just absolutely conked on the car ride home after 3 fun filled days and little napping.

Day 128

We didn't stop moving once Esme stepped off the plane. She and I went to a James Blunt concert straight from the airport, which was just fantastic. We hit the zoo the next morning, took a break for a 3 hour nap for everyone, Mexican food and Ice Cream that night, BART train into the city the next day, Vaillancourt Fountain (depicted here) Ferry Building, Ice Cream, Streetcar, Pier 39, Sea Lions, Dinner . . . to be continued

Day 126

Liam and I had the extreme pleasure of hosting my dear friend from college, Esme, for the weekend while Keegan when out of town for a Bachelor party. Esme is a HUGE hit with Liam and we 3 had a marvelous time. Esme, always the thoughtful Auntie, brought Liam this little gift of beanstalks :)

Day 125 (revised numbers)

Dreamy summer day #2 here in California. Cold front moved in about an hour after this photo :)

Day 127

What a fantastic day in California. This is what summer days should be like, but I'll take 'em when I can get 'em. We met Liam's 2 best buddies at the park today after school for some lunch. Lunch turned into 2 hours at the park, which turned into 2 hours in their backyard in the kiddie pool, which turned into another hour of playdate, which quickly turned into, "Shoot, I better get home and figure out something for dinner in the next half hour," which then, of course, turned into the call to Dominos. Look at those faces though . . . so worth it :) Funny story regarding the matching button downs . . . the boys' mom decided to bring them to the park on the train because they've been requesting a BART ride all week. Their dad goes to work on the train every day so they equate the train with going to work. When it was time to go to the park, the boys ran to put their "work clothes" on. I love that the outfit is complete with bike helmet and knit shorts. Very professional indeed boys!

Day 126

Studying architecture in college, I once read a quote by the architect Louis Kahn that has stayed with me since, "The sun never knew how wonderful it was until it fell on the wall of a building." Now, being a mom, I have to say, that isn't exactly true. I'd like to so boldly revise that quote to read, "The sun never knew how wonderful it was until it fell upon the face of a child . . . even if that child is veggin out watching a little tv before school . . . "

Day 126

Day 124

My sexy hockey player showing off his killer form.

Day 123

Hmmm....kicked off wedding season this past Saturday at this gorgeous wedding in Burlingame. I almost peed my pants when I drove up to the site. View more over at my other blog: http://sarahandersonphotography.blogspot.com/.

Day 122

Nothing like a little morning jam session in the underpants and wristband.