Tag: Family portraits

Fifty Three

by Ashley filed under A Portrait A Week Project

San Clemente Family Photograhy-5 San Clemente Family Photograhy-6

A Portrait of my family, once a week, most weeks, in 2015

Willy: Finally emptied his suitcase from Cuba. I’d like to think it was an attempt to hold onto memories he didn’t want to forget, but it’s pretty consistent with his track record. In fact, the majority of the days of the year you’ll find a half filled suitcase next to his bedside.

Hooper: Requires a napkin with nearly every meal for even the slightest bit of yogurt or sauce that lands outside the perimeters of his mouth. Quite contrary to Van who sits across the table using his strawberry yogurt to make a red nose, “wyke roodof”.

Van: Used my belly as a pseudo ski jump for his army man. Apparently my boobs are too saggy to be considered good jumping off points.

Me: Neck pain. That’s all I can say about myself and the last week or so. As a side note, I love that the setting for our family portrait is flipped… a mirror image, if you will, offering just the hint of foreshadowing needed to end the year (we switched things around in this room to allow for a more inviting space for the new baby’s crib).

Jimmie: Seems to have transitioned from sleeping the first few hours of the night on our bed to sleeping the entire night (and most of the day, really) on our bed. In the beginning, he was quick to move with a little nudge but lately it’s like moving a boulder. My feet are extra warm and my legs, extra cramped. But look at him… always with his family… perhaps the only member that never needed a formal invitation to show up to one of these family portraits.

Weekly (errr, not really though) recap: This is my third consecutive year doing a weekly portrait of some kind. I held myself to no true commitment in terms of it being weekly or monthly and I think that helped save some sanity for all of us. I’m happy to have completed the year and to have stuck with it. We dropped the weekly resolutions that started along with this project at some point, I suspect out of fear of pulling that ever-looming “no TV for a week” written note from the jar. The moral of the story is this: sure, there are things we could improve upon… having our bed made daily, for example, would be phenomenal. But all in all, we’re happy and in the end having our bed made or not made doesn’t really have any hindrance on that. So ba humbug to resolutions.

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy New Years. And if you care to check out this series in it’s entirety, you can click on the icon below. Not sure I’ll be doing a 52 week project for 2016 as I’m prepping to lessen some loads 😉52weekproject-b

Sixteen

by Ashley filed under A Portrait A Week Project
338A2289-14 338A2319-22 338A2348-29A portrait of my family once a week, every week, in 2015
Willy: Was golfing when I took these photos. Ya snooze, ya lose.
Hooper: Asked if it’s going to be Christmas soon. Twice. He says he wants a new dump truck (the wheels on his old one fell off). Also refers to a roly poly coming out of it’s ball as a roly poly ‘hatching’.
Van: Suddenly became interested in potty training and likes to pick out his big boy choines on his own. He refers to the small slit in boys underwear as a ‘pocket’ and makes his selection based on the biggest ‘pocket’ and then proceeds to stick his toy cars in the slit. Also, told me he was going to fart on me and then – sure enough – turned around, put his butt on my leg, and farted on me. Twice.
Me: I have too many sunglasses, really, but my favorite pair are the cheapest pair and the only pair that essentially cannot be replaced. I bought them from the Melrose Flea Market years ago. They have gone missing several times; like the time I couldn’t find them for months, blamed it on our move, and begrudgingly accepted the possibility of never finding them again. Only then they turned up in the undercarriage of the stroller, that we never use. Well, on Monday, I stepped on them. Gone for good.
Jimmie: Played with a boxer puppy at the dog park and then came home and peed in the house twice. That happens when he’s too tired to get up and ring his bell. And yes, he has a bell he rings. He’s not so dumb after all, is he?52weekproject-b

Click To Vote For Us @ Top Baby Blogs Directory!

Five

by Ashley filed under A Portrait A Week Project
weekfive

A family portrait, once a week, every week in 2015
Willy: Mentioned googling “guys with long hair” and immediately regretted admitting so once I started poking fun. He’s in the process of growing his hair out and is clearly having a hard time with the awkward phases. He wears a lot of hats.
Van: Spent some time in the pool and referred to his fingers as becoming blueberries. I think the reference he was going for was raisins. Tried a pop tart for the first time and, of course, loved it; so-much-so that when he was done he begged for more, complaining that his “muscles aren’t big” (and therefore needs more). When we asked him to show us his muscles, he pointed both index fingers fiercely up to the sky. He’s got some mean index finger muscles. Also, threatened to flush me down the toilet because I wouldn’t give him candy. Check out that mean face in that third shot. Woah, settle down now, Van.
Hooper: Spends a lot of time on his hands and knees pretending to be a kitty. Has also been into digging for dinosaur bones. The first pic of him is reminiscent of his preschool photo, which I really ought to share here soon because, well, you’ll see…
Me: Felt like mom-of-the-year for handling both kiddos and Jimmie while away from home all week. Last time we joined Willy for one of his business trips, I swore we’d never do it again. I should never swear. Also, check out my hyper extended fingers, wowza.
Jimmie: Bit through two more leashes, bringing the total to somewhere in the ballpark of six. We finally bought him a chain leash. If you’re wondering if it took us six leashes to be bitten through before we opted for a metal one, it did. I’m a bit bummed we couldn’t get him into the Photo Booth. Maybe next time…

Click To Vote For Us @ Top Baby Blogs Directory!

Four

by Ashley filed under A Portrait A Week Project

338A5466-33 338A5473-35

A family portrait, once a week, every week in 2015
Willy: Spent the better part of the week out in the desert, working.
Hooper:  Dismissed himself from the table when he saw asparagus on his plate and said he needed to take a dump. He managed to squeeze out the smallest little nug. Anything to not eat asparagus. Ultimately we bribed him with a marshmallow. He ate asparagus. He also fell in the toilet the other day. It was a funny scene to walk in on.
Van: Made an official announcement that he doesn’t like rocket ships because, according to him, there are frogs in them. I don’t know when he decided to turn against frogs. He also made his first poop in the potty. There have been misses since, but hey, it’s a start.
Me: Had one of the best days I’ve had in a long time as a mom; it was like the stars aligned. It was such a beautiful day, too, so I have lots of pictures to share. I also did a kids fashion shoot in conjunction with Sweet Threads that featured some adorable playsuits on some adorable little girls in an ice cream parlor. I really love walking outside my box every now and again.
Jimmie: Made out like a bandit this week; got to play with a neighborhood friend,  went on a hike, and enjoyed a day at doggie daycare. He also bit through his leash while I had him tied to the front door so I could clean the car. This is at least the fourth leash we’ve had to throw away. Grrr.
Weekly resolutions: We didn’t draw from the jar this week. I knew Willy was going to be out of town and so many of the resolutions involve both of us taking part. Instead, I did a little of each one as I saw fit; I read to the boys more, I worked with Hooper on tracing his letters, I took Jimmie for a few walks, I cleaned the kitchen after dinner each night, and made some real headway in a book I’ve been reading. The bed is no longer made. That was so last week. Hoping we can get back on that train.

Click To Vote For Us @ Top Baby Blogs Directory!