pascale wowak photoblog

Children's Books

Ok, I lied.  One more off topic post!

I am OBSESSED with great kids' books.  I will research online sites to find those that have great book recommendations and then order those books via the online public library system and get a stack of new books for the kids every week.  We read one or two books (or several chapters if it's a chapter book) together every night.  I've been doing this with them since before they could even turn the pages of a book themselves (although it didn't take them long to start "helping" me even as babies). Storytime is sacred in my house.  I LOVE reading and since I rarely have the kind of time I used to have to get lost in book after book, this (plus my gizillion magazine subscriptions) is my "fill."  

I can't begin to express how relieved I am that my kids cherish this time as much as I do because, quite frankly, it would be pretty pathetic to be sitting there all alone reading kids' books out loud to myself.... :)

I've had many friends, aware of my obsession, ask me for book recommendations.  We own more than I'd like to admit so I will usually go through our books and pick out a few titles I think would be best for the child's age group but I think it would just be easier if I compiled a list of our favorites that we own and shared them here with y'all.  How's that for proper English?!

Now, I know that I am forgetting a TON of GREAT books we have gotten from the library over the years although I do try to jot down my absolute favorites and some of these are on this list.  Also, a few of these are standard "classics" that everyone already knows about but I would be remiss in not at least mentioning them.  So, here goes. In NO particular order other than how they are piled up in Ellie's bookshelf. ENJOY!!

(note:  there is a definite feminist streak in many of my top faves, especially the ones about princesses who save the prince, don't need/want a prince or decide to protect their castle on their own thankyouverymuch.  I feel I have to undo the Disney indoctrination that seems hell bent on telling my daughter that her only purpose and goal in life should be to be pampered and have someone else take care of her and protect her..... grrrrrr.  So I have a lovely collection of VERY funny and well done COUNTER Disney stories! Take that!  And some really cute pacifist versions of knights and dragons becoming friends rather than trying to, you know, kill each other. Also, many of my favorite stories are very philosophical in tone and require the kids to do some soul searching and ask some hard questions.  Don't mind me and my own not-so-hidden messages I am trying to impart to my rugrats during what they feel is totally innocuous "cuddle time". Muah hahahahah)

The Faerie's Gift by Tanya Batt

Zen Shorts by Jon J. Muth

Guess how much I love you? by Sam McBratney

Olivia by Ian Falconer (the whole series is wonderful)

Belinda the Ballerina by Amy Young

The gigantic Turnip by Tolstoy (adapted by Barefoot Books)

Brave Bitsy & The Bear by Angela McAllister

A frog thing by Drachann & Muscarello (several by this duo, all are great!)

The Giving Tree by Silversetin (I dare you not to cry while reading this)

Farfallina & Marcel by Holly Keller (my kids STILL love this sweet story after all these years of reading it)

Knufflebunny by Mo Willems

Flamingos on the roof by Calef Brown (fun and funky poetry for kids)

The Mitten by Jan Brett

Gossie & Gertie series by Dunrea

If you were my bunny by Kate McMullan

Time for bed by Mem Fox (for the little ones)

Tell me something happy before I go to sleep by Dunbar

The PaperBag Princess by Munsch

I love you through and through by Rosetti-shustak (for the littlest ones)

The Princess and the Pea (the one we love the most is the adaptation by Usborne books, hilarious!)

The gift of nothing by McDonnell

Just like heaven by McDonnell

Get well, good knight  AND  Good night, good knight by Shelley Moore Thomas

There was a bold lady by Charisse Harper

Today I will fly by Mo Willems (Gavin loves this one)

Lila and the Secret of rain by David Conway

Little Beauty by Anthony Browne

The little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery (I haven't read this one to them yet but plan to soon)

The Knight and the Dragon by Paola

The princess knight by Cornelia Funke

Pirate Girl by Cornelia Funke

Stellaluna by Janell Cannon

Where the wild things are (in preparation for the movie coming out especially!)

The knight who took all day by James Mayhew

A visitor for Bear by Becker

Room on the broom by Julia Donaldson

Catwings by LeGuin

and, naturally, ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING by Dr. Seuss

If I remember any others I will add them to this list with a star at the bottom to indicate that it is a new entry.

HAPPY READING!

lunch goodies

This is totally off topic but I had a few mommies at my kids school ask me where I got my kids' lunch containers because they are pretty snazzy eco conscious little things so I thought I would link here to the items I use to pack my kids lunches for everyone's benefit!   I HIGHLY recommend the wrap n mat because I use it to wrap up their sandwiches and then when they open it up it becomes a place mat for them to eat off of.  WAY useful.  And the Lunch Bots are really great.  I use the two part one called the PICO (smallest one but it is still big, shown below in yellow) and use it for snacks.  The lunch skins come on sandwich size and snack size.  I recommend those the least of the three but they are still really great.  Here are all the links!

LUNCH BOTS

Then the WRAP N MAT  I bought theirs in the plain red-white gingham style.

and, lastly, the LUNCH SKINS.

Oh, and they've got brand new SIGG bottles for their drinks which were kindly replaced by the company from older SIGG bottles from the exchange they offered.  VERY responsible company!  All these items linked here are all phthalate free and BPA free and lead free.

I've got a big shoot tomorrow night so there will be a more appropriate photography related post soon!

Karen, Evi & Olin

I first met Evi when we were both taking pre-natal yoga classes together (taught by our mutual doula when I was preggo with Ellie).  It was a great group of women and although I stopped being able to come to Yoga classes after Ellie's birth, I did end up launching my photography business shortly thereafter  initially just as a means of getting some "me" time out of the house while I looked for a "real" job!   I was thrilled to have Evi call me last year when she learned I was doing photography so I could do a shoot for her, her partner Karen and their son Olin who was born just a few weeks after Ellie.  

I was so happy to be able to photograph them and hang out with Olin, who is such a sweet and smart little boy.  We all had a great time last year and I was so happy when they booked me for another session this year.  I love those annual photo shoot traditions that I have with so many of my clients.  In fact, the vast majority of my shoots are repeat clients from over the years, which is also symptomatic of me booking up so quickly and early in the year because my long time clients know to get their slot booked asap!  Having said that, I am (luckily) able to squeeze in new clients periodically and create new "annual tradition" bonds with them as well.  

Olin was just as sweet as always and Evi and Karen are always such a pleasure to be around.  The shoot was as seamless as they come.  Olin was so funny.  And, despite Evi warning me that he HATES the camera, I saw no signs of this as I went around my job of sticking my camera in his face! He was GREAT!  :)

Here are just a few favorites from the shoot.  Karen and Evi, ENJOY!

Olin showing off his "magic trick."

A little bit of this and a little bit of that...

Very busy weekend!  I had a great shoot yesterday that I am still working on and today I woke up at the crack of dawn, which I would normally NEVER do on a Sunday, to take the kids all the way out to Hollister to go watch a Rhodesian Ridgeback Lure Coursing trial and meet Moka and her owner.  Moka is the dog who is currently pregnant with our future RR puppy!  I spoke to seven different breeders from Pacific Grove to Sacramento looking for a responsible breeder who would provide the right match for our family and I knew as soon as I spoke to Janice on the phone that I had found the right one.  We clicked right away and I made my decision on the spot.  Moka is pregnant with a litter of 8-10 puppies and we will get to bring home a female RR right around Christmas time.   I've read sooooo many books on these dogs in the past few weeks!   Everything I read had led me to believe that this particular breed was absolutely perfect for our family.  Meeting the dozen or so RR's at the event today absolutely confirmed that belief.  What gorgeous, smart, obedient, stunning, athletic, protective, beautiful, graceful, strong, social, perfect dogs!   I'm in love.  I wish I'd brought my pro camera to take pictures but only had my little P&S and all I was able to do was grab a couple quickie shots of the kids with Moka.  Moka's temperament is exactly what we are looking for so I well imagine a few of her pups will be just like her.  Janice was so sweet because even though she was busy "running" a few of her other RR's and working the event, she took the time out to chat with us and let us spend some time with Moka.  The kids were besides themselves and asked me about a million questions on the drive home.  We are already working on a name! Ha!  So here are my two crappy little shots but hey, look at that gorgeous dog! :)

Then, after the lure coursing and meet&greet in Hollister I had to drive all the way back to SV for a play I had gotten tickets for me and the kids for weeks ago.

We went to go see the theater production of The Sound Of Music at Bethany college by SVPAA (Scotts Valley Performing Arts).

The kids were enthralled from start to finish.  This is the fourth play I've taken them to go see and I LOVE the fact that they are as into theater as I am!  It's something we can share over the years!  The cast and crew did an AMAZING job and I really HIGHLY recommend it.  The violin solo mid way alone was worth the cost of admission.  Seriously!  It's only going on for another two weeks so be sure to get your tickets.  Bring your kids.  It was awesome!

A quick heartwarming story to end this quickie post.  Sitting a couple seats away from us was a younger man, probably 17 or 18 yrs old.  He stood out to me because the crowd was almost all in the 35+ age range with hardly any teens at all in attendance and those who were there were girls.  He was there with a buddy he had clearly dragged along.   They were distracted through most of the play, but very attentive and respectful whenever a scene had the cast of nuns in it.  Well, all the nuns but one were much older women, but there was one young, cute, teenaged "nun" so I quickly figured out that that must be his girlfriend and he was there showing his support for her (willingly or not!).  He was obviously very proud of her though because he kept beaming every time the nuns came out.  I thought it was pretty cute.  

At the very end, as all the cast is coming out in small groups for the applause, I was expecting a big hoorah out of him when the girl emerged.  But no, much to my surprise, no reaction at all when she came out.  A second later though, the next group of nuns came out, he jumped to his feet and hollered "GO MOM!" and was clapping so hard.  Honestly, few things have made me smile THAT big.  Watching this big, tough, "hardened" teen boy cheering on his mom doing something SHE obviously loved to do after what I can only assume has been years of her cheering him on in the sidelines of whatever activity he grew doing.... well.... I definitely felt a swell of emotions.  It was rad.  :)

And just to finish with a quick image (again, point and shoot people, point and shoot), Gavin reading to Ellie at bedtime.  Sigh.

My 2010 Plan

I had a last minute cancellation this week that I decided not to fill which was the best call ever.  I have had the most relaxing, not too overwhelming, productive and delightful week!  I think I now know what my max amount of shoots per week is going to be next year because this was "just right."    I'm finally getting to the place now, especially with the kids in school, where I have a really good feel on just how much work I should be taking on and how to juggle all my volunteering, paid jobs, commercial shoots and my kids' activities and my other many obligations.  Obviously, every day feels like there is just not enough time in the day but far too frequently I get to a place where I am just totally overwhelmed and over worked.   I have taken on the same amount of shoots this year as last year and the summer nearly killed me what with my kids underfoot every day!  Now that both kids are in school I am managing much better but there's still room for improvement.  All this to say:  I'm going to offer less shoot dates next year.  So, when I send out my 2010 calendar announcement this December...well, it would be VERY wise to book your slot ASAP.  I won't be squeezing anyone in other than the pregnancy/newborn shoots. 

I've come to really respect my very rare and precious "free time", whether that means my personal "me time" or my "quality" time with the kids.  I'm not willing to compromise on either anymore.   Having been able to get some delicious "free" time this week, catching up with friends on walks, getting in my workouts, actually hanging out with my kids in the evening rather than being at my computer desk every single night has given me a taste as to what a more "normal" work schedule is like.  Me working every day from 10 am to 2 am with only breaks to eat and pick up my kids from school, feed them dinner and help them with homework is not a life.   

My schedule was just perfect this week and that's how I intend for it to be next year.  So, if you thought I booked up fast last year, the reduced amount of slots are going to fill up even faster for 2010.   I'm getting my priorities back in order and it feels really, really good.   Yes, I'm a work-a-holic and, admittedly, like to stay busy but having time to actually stop and smell the roses this week has been eye opening. 

A year ago...

I was going through my fall commercial shoots from last year for a magazine project and came across this shot of Ellie taken EXACTLY a year ago this week.  That LOOK!  OMG that girl is hilarious.  She could work the camera even at a mere three years!  Doesn't she look so itty bitty and yet also like she's a seasoned model?!  This is her "feroche" look.  DYING.

The S. Family

When I do a shoot with a family for the very first time, I really prefer to do it at their home because I have found that children are at the most comfortable on their own home turf when meeting someone new.   They love showing me around, introducing me to their favorite stuffed animals and being asked to jump on their beds.   So, when this family contacted me for a shoot I suggested that I drive all the way out to them rather than have them trek all the way over to Santa Cruz for a beach shoot.  I had a feeling it would be the best arrangement and it worked out beautifully.  I even suggested we do a little "activity" at the end of the shoot consisting of making/baking cookies!

People will frequently ask me what "tool" I own that best helps me capture the images I take.  Is it my snazzy new Canon 5d Mark II, my top of the line "L" series lenses, my beloved reflector, my up to date Photoshop CS4 and PS tricks I've learned with much invested time and energy, the actions I've created/used and fine tuned over the years???   My response is always the same: nope. It's TRUST.  Plain and simple.  It's the relationship between me and my subjects, that interaction between us. 

Without doubt my #1 tool is that connection.  When parents trust me, they leave me with their kids and let me do my thing and that's when the magic happens. Every single time.  Marta and Richard did exactly that.   The second aspect of trust, and the most important one, is the trust that kids seem to naturally have towards me.  For whatever reason, and I have yet to pinpoint exactly why/how, kids just totally TRUST me, they open up to me and are able to let loose with me in such a way that I nearly always get their total and complete cooperation.  Kids dig me as much as I dig them.   

Richard had warned me that while Alice was very bubbly and outgoing, little May would probably need some warm up time.   No such thing was needed as both girls were angels the entire shoot from the moment they woke up from their naps and found a stranger in their kitchen!  They were charming and delightful little girls.   So, there you have it, that's my "secret weapon". :)

Mom and Dad wanted the focus of the shoot to be almost exclusively on the girls so while we did grab a small amount of family shots at the very end, the vast majority of the images were of Alice and May individually and together.  Alice looks so much like her mother and has been blessed with her luscious olive skin tone.  May looks exactly like her father, with soft blonde wisps of hair and creamy skin.  (See, Richard, creamy sounds much better than pasty, doesn't it!?)  She looked like a perfect little porcelain doll.  Gorgeous.  Both were as photogenic as they come.

We started out with their favorite stuffed animals and moved down to the front doorway.  I tried not to do an embarrassing "happy dance" when I saw the brick walkway.  I LOVE brick.  Passionately.  And the light there was sooooooo nice because the sun was reflecting off a white house across the street!   Then we wandered, played, made cookies and came back to the front door for the final set.  

Marta and Richard, a pleasure meeting you and your girls, enjoy the slideshow!   

CLICK HERE TO VIEW SLIDESHOW

ZOGIRL!

Ellie has not only started kindergarten this year, she's gone up to the "older girl" line of dresses designed by the fabulous Julie called ZOGIRL!  Big step!  We are all so proud.... :)  Seriously though the ZOGIRL line is a continuation of the amazing designs Julie creates in her ZozoBugBaby line for babies, toddlers and preschoolers.  The ZoGirl line is for girls between the ages of 5/6 and up.  Granted, Ellie is still only 4 but we made it work!  Ellie was bonkers over this dress.  The twirl factor alone would have sold her on the dress but the big bows on the back were just icing on the cake.  She loved it!

Yesterday, Gavin had a birthday party to attend after school at SkyPark so I dropped him off at the party and wandered around skypark with Ellie in her dress looking for spots to do the ZoGirl shoot.  In all honesty, the light there was HORRIBLE and I was getting annoyed at the lack of spots with good light.  Everything was either too bright or too splotchy or too dark.  BLERGH.  I'm realizing that I have turned into a total light snob.  It's kinda like a "wine snob" but with regard to light! Haha!  I NEED good light.  I crave good light.  So, we walked and walked and walked until I found little pockets of luscious light.  It's gotten to where I can just "feel" a spot that has good light.  I know right away if it's going to work for me or not. 

Luckily we did find some ideal little pockets of light and Ellie WORKED it like only she can.  I really was a bit blown away looking at these pictures last night picking out my favorites to edit.  She suddenly seems like such a big girl.  So ladylike in her body movements.  So long and lean and mature and aware of her body movements.  So POISED.  I guess that's the word I would use to describe her.  She is just so poised all of a sudden.  Kindergarten has been such a big deal for her.  I can totally see the transformation in just a few short weeks.  I look at how she carries herself and how she speaks to me and how she processes information now and she's just no longer my little baby.  It really hit home with this shoot.  She slays me how she can really work the camera and have fun with it and is so confident in her movements.  I love that kid.

Ok, I'm starting to feel all sappy now.  Moving along!  Here is a super duper sneak peek at Julie's Spring 2010 ZOGIRL line.  I have a few more pieces coming my way and can't wait to see what Julie created this time!   First, a close up shot of the hairclip which you can also attach anywhere on the dress like a pin if you wanted to.  Super cute.  Julie can make them in small or large sizes, this was the large one.

The R. Family

There are some families you just TOTALLY click with from the get go.  Something about the vibe, their energy and the combined spiritedness of all the people involved in the photo shoot that makes it magical from beginning to end.   That was certainly the case with this family.  We'd never met before and within minutes I felt like I'd known them forever.  The kids (Alex, Ethan and Olivia) were so full of energy and zest for life.  We laughed throughout the entire shoot and I spent much more time just catching candid moments than doing any kind of posing. And, OMG, all three kiddos had the most luscious curls and beautiful eyes.  The kids could not have been easier or more fun to photograph and the parents could not have been more gracious or pleasant to be around.    At the end, while I was "posing" them near the water, a rogue wave came up on us and like the "seasoned pro" (muah hahah) that I am, I continued shooting (while getting a bit wet myself) resulting in some hilarious shots which ended up being some of my favorites.  Having said that, I had entirely too many favorites for me to do a regular blog post so I decided to do a slideshow for this one.  I think it really helps showcase the energy and joyfulness of this family.  Lots of laughter.  Lots of love.  This is just a very close knit, loving and animated bunch.  Thank you R. family for all the entertainment you provided!  A pleasure meeting you all. :)

I picked this song to accompany the slideshow because Dan and Allison just celebrated their 13th wedding anniversary and just being around them you can tell they are clearly still madly in love with each other.   So wonderful to behold.   ENJOY!

{ CLICK HERE FOR SLIDESHOW }

Ava, Jordi & Gabriela

Little Ava is one lucky baby!  She has two of the most doting and adorable older siblings (twins no less!) any little girl could ask for.  I arrived at the M. house ready to face a newborn and four year old twins and fully expecting a smidge of chaos.   Much to my surprise, the entire shoot was smooth sailing from start to finish.  Yes, we had the requisite poopy accidents (poor dad!) and I even got christened a few times myself but those are all part of the deal when it comes to newborn photography!  The rest was just pure happiness through and through.  Mom really just wanted the focus to be on Ava and her siblings so that's what we concentrated on.  Ava was wide awake and VERY alert for the majority of the shoot which made for some really special and rare open eyed shots.  She was a total squirmy little worm too so we had to give up on some ideas we had envisioned due to safety reasons!  Having said that, she *finally* tuckered out at the very end and I was able to go crazy with a bunch of different poses.  I can't remember the last time I got so many different poses out of one baby!  And then, just as a super duper bonus, we got a ton of incredible sibling shots with the twins and Ava together, which you can well imagine was a real treat to accomplish.  The twins were absolutely incredible!  It was a real pleasure meeting this sweet family for the first time.  

This little guy (Jordi) greeted me at the door with a million words a minute and was such a little chatterbox throughout the shoot.  I was completely smitten with him from the get go.  How could you not fall completely in love with that killer smile!?

This made my day (week, month, year!?)

My friend Julie wrote this post on her blog that I had no idea about until I went over to check her blog and saw this:

CLICK HERE

Busy!

I've had a crazy busy week.  Husband was out of town all week at training up in Sacramento and I individually photographed all of the kids in BOTH of my children's classrooms and did that shoot for Courtney Courtney....  Plus all of my "regularly scheduled programs" so to speak! HA!

I've got a newborn shoot up in the East Bay tomorrow morning followed by a shoot down south at Manressa Beach the day after that so my crazy busy week is getting capped off by a crazy busy weekend!  

I haven't done a newborn shoot in a few weeks (after doing a ton back to back for a while there during a little baby boom) so I am really excited to get my hands on this little one and her twin 4 yr old big sisters.  And my Sunday shoot is with a delightful family I've been looking forward to meeting in a newlocation I've never been to before so I'm really excited about that too!   So stay tuned for lots of blog posts this coming week! :)

Courtney's Hoodie Style Dress

The always avant-garde Courtney Courtney designed this snazzy hoodie style dress, perfect for layering in the fall months.  I took Ellie (and Gavin who acted as my assistant/reflector holder for some of the shoot) to a new location which I absolutely LOVED!  I'm not sharing the deets about the spot quite yet as I want to play there some more first.   Ellie was on fuego, totally doing her thing and changing poses faster than I could change my settings at times.... that girl can just work the camera!  The light there was LUSCIOUS and the dress was totally adorable.  All in all, a perfect evening.   

She looks so sweet and cute in this first shot.  Don't fret, she pulled out a little "attitude" two seconds later.

Kathy, Luke, Luci and ????

I've been photographing this super cool family since they were pregnant with Luci.  I fell in love with them on our very first shoot and have been blessed to be able to do many more shoots with them over the years.  Kathy and Luke have a very strong appreciation for good photography and they let me fully delve into my creative/artistic side.  They give me free reign to just "play" and having that freedom lets me do all the things I dream of wanting to try.  I'm so grateful for their trust and faith in my vision and ability to bring to life their ideas as well.  It's a very collaborative effort and the results are always wonderful.  

Little Luci is quite the character and we joke about how much she is like Ellie.  Very strong little personality and you can just forget about getting her to do anything YOU want her to do.  With Luci, it's all about just capturing her vibrant personality any way you can!  She keeps me on my toes!

The primary purpose of this shoot was to capture Kathy in her second pregnancy but we also got family shots as well and some solo shots of Miss Luci doing her thing.   Kathy is absolutely stunning every day but particularly glowing when she is pregnant.   She has a really gorgeous classic beauty, like an old hollywood star.  The camera absolutely loves her.

I even got to play around with some off camera flash at the end which was fun!  I used my reflector for nearly all the previous shots.  I have found that my reflector acts almost like a flash, especially when held at a distance with the "strong" side in effect.  I love the powerful directionality of the light, the intense color it creates and the sparkling catchlights it gives the eyes.  I cannot imagine doing a shoot without my reflector.  I find flat light completely boring now.   And even when I am looking for a soft effect, I just use the reflector up close on the more diffused side to open up the shadows and create an overall extremely flattering look.  People often ask me how I manage to get my images so beautifully lit and many assume I am using fill flash but I am just using my handy dandy reflector.

A VERY special thank you to Grandma for taking care of Luci while we did the parents only shots and also holding the reflector for me like a seasoned pro when she wasn't watching Luci.  :)

Another perk of this particular shoot was that we were able to do it on the grounds of the Regan Vineyard in Corralitos.  Such a treat.  I LOVE going to new places, it gets my creative juices flowing.

note: this is a very long blog post, please give all the images time to load so you don't miss out on viewing any of them!

A little Saturday morning Wii

We got the Wii system recently and I've put some pretty strict restrictions on it, not just how often they can play it but also that they have to be really good about taking turns and playing nicely and cooperatively, blah blah blah.  I had a small game budget so I only got two games, one of which is the "outdoor adventure" game mat thing.  I got it because it has a bunch of games that require two players to work together as a TEAM.   That sense of teamwork is something I really want to reinforce in my kids and considering the last couple weeks of summer vacation, where I thought they were going to kill each other, a pretty darn important theme might I add....

I messed up my back/neck yesterday and further tweaked it in my sleep last night resulting in me being fairly non functional when I woke up this morning.  Imagine if you will, a beached whale trying to maneuver on dry land.  That's pretty much the scene of me gingerly trying to get out of bed this morning while unable to sit up straight on my own accord.  Lots of moaning and rolling.  I can't move my head up or down or side to side AT ALL.  My back is tweaked in several different places and I'm walking around like the hunchback of Notre Dame.  My shoulders won't move down from their position by my ears.  I'm in pain.  And in no mood to play with my kids.  

So, when they decided to wake up at the UNFORGIVABLE hour of 6:30 am ON A WEEKEND no less, the Wii rules went out the window and the 30 mn time limit got increased to two hours.  Yes, 2 hours.  Sorry, I have never claimed to be eligible for the mother of the year award. :)

I was on the couch with an ice pack "supervising" the activities which I never do since I usually use that "break" to attend to a thousand different obligations (laundry, cleaning, working etc..).  It was actually very entertaining to watch them play together.  I decided to videotape at least one round just for posterity's sake.  I do have to say it was nice watching them work together as a team.  Hearing Gavin talk about "maximum speed" had me in stitches and watching Ellie's little arms pumping up and down as fast as she could had me giggling so hard it hurt.  Actually, breathing hurts right now, but laughing hurts even more.  Well worth it though.

Password is:  Wii

Happy Labor Day Weekend everyone!!!

Saturday Morning at 7am from pascale wowak on Vimeo.

oren lavie & danny macaskill

I've posted this video link on my facebook before but I just saw it again recently and wanted to share it here because I just like it THAT much.  I am not sure what it is about this video but it really blows me away in its creativity and artistry.  I kinda sorta really like it.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW OREN LAVIE's HER MORNING ELEGANCE VIDEO

And then here is another link to what I consider to be another example of art albeit in a totally unexpected source.  This hits me in so many ways.  Such a great lesson about perseverance and determination.  His ability to see shapes, forms, patterns and POSSIBILITIES is astounding.   There's so much art out there if you just take a moment to see it....  not to mention his MAD skills.  INSANE.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW Danny MacAskill's inspiring video

ENJOY!!!

Jack

I had the best time ever with this delightful family.  Little Jack is not only a total miracle baby (wonderful and heart wrenching story there by the way) he is also just the brightest, sweetest and most charming little dude ever.  I got so much lovin' from him (hugs and kisses galore) and he was making me laugh the entire time.  ADORED him.  And his folks are pretty darn neat too so it was all just about as easy peasy as it gets.

Jack was giving me his "cute face" right out of the gate and it had me in stitches. This little guy is just such a special dude, talking to me nonstop, taking my hand to show me things, trying to figure out how all the mechanical stuff we encountered worked.  Very curious and inquisitive little man with a mind blowing vocabulary.   Just way too much cuteness stuffed into that little body of his!

First Day

Today was the first day of Kindergarten for Ellie and Second Grade for Gavin.  Gavin woke up this morning with a huge smile on his face and the palpable excitement was STILL going strong when I picked him up this afternoon.  The kids is soooooooo happy to be back in school, it's hilarious.  I hope it lasts!

Ellie started out excited and had no problem getting settled in her new classroom and smiled at me while she waved goodbye.  I had a sudden surge of emotions as I walked to the parking lot but I had to pull myself together because I was heading straight for a shoot and couldn't realistically show up with tears and snot so I just pushed all of those "oh my god my baby is in kindergarten and she's my last one and I'll never do this again and I don't have ay more babies at home I only have school aged kids now and oh my god how did this happen arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh" feelings aside.

Fortunately, the family I went to go shoot was super sweet and fun and I was in a great mood when I got home and it was delightful FINALLY (after a long summer of working full time with kids underfoot) having a quiet, peaceful house to start sorting and editing in.  

I got back to the school a few minutes early from Gavin getting out to pick up Ellie first from after-care there.  I could hear her crying before I even walked in.  Bad sign.   She was sobbing in her little "nap mat" thing and when she saw me she ran up to me full speed, locked her little arms around my neck and burst into deeper tears.  UGH.  The caregiver said she had cried nearly the entire time in after care saying she missed her mommy (over and over again) and that at one point she said: "my mommy must not love me if she leaves me here all day."  At which point, I burst into tears.  Nice.  So, needless to say.  Rough first day for the ladies in the family.  

Gavin had a superb day so that's good.  I can only handle so much emotional heartbreak!   I really hope Ellie adjusts quickly.  My workload is far too heavy and it's too impractical for me to drive all the way into SV and back home three times a day for me NOT to leave her in after care.  It's just the way it has to be.  I'm hoping tomorrow is a better day....  Poor kid.

Anyway, this morning, right before we headed out the door, I dragged the kids outside to grab a couple "first day of school" shots as I do every year.  I sewed them their outfits this year which was a huge deal for me because I'm still learning how to sew and not very good at it and Ellie's pleated skirt was (for me) awfully complicated.  Gavin was so proud of his shirt, he kept showing it off to everyone.  Totally cute.  And Ellie got LOADS of compliments on her outfit!  Woooohooooo!  

Here's Gavin first, as you can tell, just a weeeeee bit excited.