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May 2024

The Stork and the Beanstalk

A Mother's Journal

A photo journal comprised of my thoughts on motherhood and other life happenings, as well
as some of professional work as a photographer. Southern California is home.

Tag: A Portrait A Week

6/52

by Ashley filed under A Portrait A Week Project, Photography

A portrait of my family, once a week, every week in 2014

A stop in at

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the local reptile shop:

Van: Loved the turtles

Hooper: Got scared when the giant lizard stuck out it’s giant tongue

Click here to check out the series, in its entirety

3/52

by Ashley filed under A Portrait A Week Project, Family

01.18.201401.22.2018

A portrait of my family, once a week, every week in 2014

Van: Wants to be just like his brother

Hooper: Loves jumping off rocks and throwing sticks into water

Willy: Misses the Christmas break from work

Me: Wants to make up for lost time

Click here to check out the series, in its entirety

THE OUTTAKES:

The boys’ shirts are c/o our friends over at The Be Kind Movement. You can follow along on their instagram, where they have loads of giveaways and special deals.

2/52

by Ashley filed under A Portrait A Week Project, Family, Photography

A portrait of my family, once a week, every week in 2014

Van: I’m pretty sure if he could open the refrigerator, all the food would be gone

Hooper: Raisin fiend

Willy: Took me on a date where I had breakfast for lunch (my favorite)

Me: Trying to get used to life without my back brace

Click here to check out the series, in its entirety

1/52

by Ashley filed under A Portrait A Week Project, Family, Photography

A portrait of my family, once a week, every week in 2014

And so the New Year has begun. Those of you that follow me on instagram know that our New Year has gotten off to a shaky start. I was discharged from the hospital yesterday after being admitted the day prior with dehydration following an episode of passing out while on the toilet at home. Once again, Willy was there to catch my fall – thank goodness he had gotten up with me – and an ambulance came to transfer me to the hospital in the wee hours of the morning while the boys were still sleeping. It was a scary ordeal for him and a draining go-ahead-and-kick-me-while-I’m-down episode for me. I’m feeling much better at the moment now that the stomach bug seems to have run it’s course.

For a moment, I thought I might miss the first post of my new 52 week project. Talk about catastrophes, a? Anyway, my plan for this project is to rotate subjects between all four of us. I’m starting with the boys because you don’t want to see Willy’s stressed out face or my pale post-barfing puffy face, I can assure you.

Are you participating in a 52 week portrait series? If so, leave me a link in the comment section; I love to check out other’s projects.

Click here to check out my 52 week project from 2013.

52/52

by Ashley filed under A Portrait A Week Project, Photography

A portrait of my husband, once a week, every week, in 2013.

I didn’t stop loving my husband when my children were born, but love – in general – became redefined. My love for my children was all-consuming and nothing in the world seemed to measure up to the love I had for them. I’m speaking in past tense, but my love for them today is the same.

I payed less attention to my marriage in those early days as my new motherly instinct took over. I didn’t love Willy any less, per say. Rather, I had one little man whose life literally depended on me and one real man who was more or less capable of caring for himself. And so my attention went to my son.

And then, before we knew it, there were two. Everyone says your love multiplies and while I agree with a few astrics attached, I’d argue further that your attention gets divided. And suddenly, Willy fell further from the front of my mind. I didn’t nurture our relationship like I once did. In fact, at times I’d say I even resented what seemed to be an uneven amount of “shared” responsibility. I had envisioned entering motherhood as a team and the reality of it was that I somehow had more responsibilities; my life felt more heavily impacted.

As a side note, our marriage didn’t suffer. I can’t say that this was a hard time for us or that we fought a lot; Rather, there was a lot of adjusting and sorting and trying to keep our heads above water and life continued on and eventually we got our bearings as new parents. A lot of what I’m saying now are things that I’ve recognized in hindsight.

And so, at the start of 2013 when I thought about joining Jodi’s 52 week project, I thought of my husband.

You see, having a second kid has a way of knocking you over the head. When Van came along, our world became chaotic. Not necessarily all at once, but gradually. I mean two kids so close together in age is hard. And at some point in the shuffle I remember looking over at Willy and feeling overcome with gratitude. He is my partner. I get to navigate my way through this chaos with him, my best friend.

It’s funny… You spend your young adult years dating and searching for the “one” and, if you’re lucky, you find him and chose him to be your husband. Then, a few years later – if you’re lucky again – you give birth to a child that granted you don’t really know at all. And suddenly you forget all about the one you’ve chosen and become all consumed with a complete stranger.

In any event, I was called to shoot my husband for this 52 week project for reasons I didn’t fully understand in the beginning. But now, 52 weeks later, the reason for the calling is clear: A reminder, perhpas, that I chose him. And I’m oh-so-glad I did.

I love you, Willy. Thanks for letting me put my camera in your face or behind your back or over your head. You’re a real trooper.

Not sure what I’m going to shoot for next year’s project. I gather I have a week to think about it.

You can check out the complete series by clicking here.

51/52

by Ashley filed under A Portrait A Week Project

A portrait of my husband, once a week, every week, in 2013.

‘Twas the week before Christmas…

You can check out other posts in the series here.

50/52

by Ashley filed under A Portrait A Week Project, Photography

A portrait of my husband, once a week, every week, in 2013.

Trying not to be jealous of the fact this guy is at a Merle Haggard show in Vegas right now.

You can check out other posts in the series here.

48/53

by Ashley filed under A Portrait A Week Project, Photography

A portrait of my husband, once a week, every week, in 2013.

Things came to a head yesterday. My recovery has been hard on all of us and our fuel tanks are running on low. So we went on a family drive. Hooper fell asleep within minutes and Van watched the world go by as Willy and I let it all out. Mid-fight we stopped at the top of Topanga to watch the sunset over the valley. And when we felt like we found a common ground, we stopped for dinner. By the time we walked back in the door of our home, our hearts and bellies were full. Went to

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sleep feeling grateful, though still struggling with impatience as I continue on the road of recovery.

Hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving.

You can check out other posts in the series here.

47/52

by Ashley filed under A Portrait A Week Project, Photography

A portrait of my husband, once a week, every week, in 2013.

The weather here in southern California has finally cooled. The wind has been blowing wildly reminding me how grateful I am as I lay recuperating in bed with a solid roof over my head.

This morning, Willy made breakfast complete with hot chocolate with whipped cream on top.

Wishing everyone a lovely weekend.

You can check out other posts in the series here.

46/52

by Ashley filed under A Portrait A Week Project

11.16.201301.22.2018

A portrait of my husband, once a week, every week, in 2013.

Added to Papa duties is taking Hooper to the potty given the fact I’m unable to lift him onto the seat. Time to invest in a step stool, right? Funny thing is we have one and just have yet to put it in the bathroom for him (hashtag: lazy parents). In any event, Hoop has been potty trained with #1 for some time now, but just over the last week or so has he been asking to go #2 as well. You better believe it’s quite the celebration. Today, he got a lollipop with a scorpian in it. He ate part of the scorpian then handed it back to me and said, “all done”.

You can check out other posts in the series here.

45/52

by Ashley filed under Photography

A portrait of my husband, once a week, every week, in 2013.

This man has impressed me so much over the last few weeks. His ability to adapt and juggle and show love and compassion while doing so has this mama’s heart all aflutter. I know we’re both eagerly awaiting for life to be normal again, but when that day does come, I also know we’ll appreciate the normalacy more than ever.

You can check out other posts in the series here.

44/52

by Ashley filed under A Portrait A Week Project, Photography

A portrait of my husband, once a week, every week, in 2013.

Yesterday was the first day I have picked up my “big girl camera” since my surgery. I’ve been on pretty hefty lifting restrictions, as in nothing more than a coffee cup for the first two weeks. I made an exception on Halloween and perhaps paid the price the next day, with an extra sore back and some fun spasms. I couldn’t stand to not document my babes in their sweet lil’ costumes. I’ll share those pics when I get around to it.

In other news, Willy held the fort down for the entire two weeks I was in the hospital. I think he thought he was going to lose his mind and, at times, I thought so too. It ain’t easy running a household, is it? In any event, I know he’s grateful to have his parents here for the past week helping out. I know I am. Hope everyone had a nice Halloween.

You can check out other posts in the series here.

43/52

by Ashley filed under A Portrait A Week Project, Photography

A portrait of my husband, once a week, every week, in 2013.

Moments like this make any pain go away and any struggle seem beatable. Perspective is everything and this image puts everything in it’s right place.

You can check out other posts in the series here.

42/53

by Ashley filed under A Portrait A Week Project, Photography

A portrait of my husband, once a week,

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every week, in 2013.

This guy does such a good job taking care of all of us. Not sure what we’d do with out him. This is a throwback pic cuz’ I’m barely starting my long road of recovery following surgery. Thank you all for

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your continued support and well wishes, it means a lot.

You can check out other posts in the series here.

41/52

by Ashley filed under A Portrait A Week Project, Photography

A portrait of my husband, once a week, every week, in 2013.

As I lay here in the hospital, I can’t help but look at this picture and think of how beautifully it captures what was our everyday life. I know our current situation, with me recovering, is temporary but I long to get back to normal and the journey to get there has barely begun.

Pictured above is the moment Papa walked in the door from work earlier this week. I’m including the outtakes this week as well because they’re good for a recovering mama’s soul.

You can check out other posts in the series here.

40/52

by Ashley filed under A Portrait A Week Project, Photography

A portrait of my husband, once a week, every week, in 2013.

Well, this guy finally came home. It’s always hard when he’s gone and hard for him to be gone (some of the time, anyway…). It’s been back to “normal” life this week but things are about to go haywire as my surgery is just around the corner. We’re soaking up whatever time we have as a family and mentally preparing for the tough road ahead…

You can check out other posts in the series here.

39/52

by Ashley filed under A Portrait A Week Project, Photography

A portrait of my husband, once a week, every week, in 2013.

This guy has been workin’ like a dawg lately. He’s been gone since Wednesday and let me tell ya, single parenthood ain’t easy. At this point, a week in the hospital is looking more and more like a well-deserved vacation. I kid, it’s going to suck. Looking forward to his return home…

You can check out other posts in the series here.

38/52

by Ashley filed under A Portrait A Week Project, Photography

A portrait of my husband, once a week, every week, in 2013.

This guy always supports me and as I’ve taken the plunge to start my photography business, he’s been by my side every step of the way. It feels good having him believe in me and encourage me. He is my rock.

In other news, I feel incredibly honored to have been invited to participate in Amy Grace’s Chorus. To be included amongst so many other photographers I have grown so fond of makes my heart beat funny and the hair on my arms stand up a bit. You can check it out by clicking here.

And, I posted portraits of my children yesterday. You can click here to check those out too. Cuz’ I know y’all don’t love my hubs as much as I do… I get it. But, he is pretty fab.

You can check out other posts in the series here.

37/52

by Ashley filed under A Portrait A Week Project, Photography

A portrait of my husband, once a week, every week, in 2013.

We spent last Saturday down in Dana Point visiting my sister and her fiance. The weather was lovely and the boys had fun seeing two of their favorite people. I’ll be sharing more pics soon.

Wishing everyone a happy weekend. And special thanks to everyone who has been voting for me over on Top Baby Blogs!

You can check out other posts in the series here.

36/52

by Ashley filed under A Portrait A Week Project, Photography

A portrait of my husband, once a week, every week, in 2013.

Been thinking a lot lately about how special this man is to me. Here he is, caught off guard, looking for some new pants for work. At the moment, he’s watching a youtube video on how to tie a tie using the double windsor tie technique. And, for the record, double windsor is where it’s at. Even cooler than a double rainbow. He’s something special, I tell ya.

You can check out other posts in the series here.