hot child in the city

Once, when Sex and the City was still making new shows, Carrie was walking down the sidewalk wearing a pouffy, high-waisted skirt and Jimmy Choos, and the song that accompanied her during this sassy sashay was "Hot Child in the City" by Pat Benetar. It was the very first time I had ever heard the tune, and I immediately loved it like a dog loves Jerky Treats.

Well, a few weekends ago I did a shoot with Young MissE, and while I was picking out her outfit the song was running through my head. MissE, you see, is a very sweet kid, who has a strong sense of self and a style that I think rocks. She also happens to be a very smart young lady... and a girl who my kids all adore. I can only hope they turn out to be as good a teenager as she is.

Here is your sneak peek MissE...

Hi Aunt Angie

Greetings to my leader.

Sunday rewind

Little L @ 8 weeks

Rock on!

I just love my Little L to bits. She's just the most squeezable, tolerant, endearing, cuddlesome little peanut that ever existed. It's like she was conjured out of some special kind of magic that only thirdlings know about. You can see it in the way her eyes just sparkle sometimes. She has the power to cheer up anyone with one quick grin, as was evidenced tonight when G became very upset because her friend bailed out on a sleepover. G was practically sobbing, and Little L just started quietly crying along with her. G looked up and made eye contact, Little L gave a half smile, and the world was right once again.

peace. love. beach.

Naples at Twilight

Hoppy Easter!

I don't exactly know how the Easter Bunny became a part of this springtime holiday. I'm pretty sure it is derived from something Pagan. like the Christmas Tree is, or perhaps from the Jews, where the egg came from, or was that Pagan, too? I'm certain I could Google it and get the answer, but I sort of like to be in the dark on this one. I mean, who wouldn't love a large benevolent rodent that comes to your garden, not to nibble the shoots of the vegetables you are trying to cultivate, but instead to leave you presents of candy and chocolate on a Sunday morning? Way better than the fake cocoa puffs that real rabbits leave behind.

Me & My Baby

She's such a sweet baby. So easygoing and patient. She puts up with the bigs attacking her with love constantly and me being distracted half the time with a graciousness one cannot expect a 10 week old to possess. When she smiles, the sun and the stars shine just a little bit brighter. When she sleeps, so warm and quiet next to me, I am filled with peace.

In like a Lion

It seems like it only snows here in March. My friend Kath had invited my dear girl over to her house for a sleepover with her two darling children. G loves to go to Kath's house because Kath does things that I don't do, like throws tea parties for the stuffed animals. She is excellent and creative with the children, whereas right now the most creative I get is some watercolors and printer paper.

Kath brought G back home this particular Sunday morning and lo and behold it was snowing. Big, wet, sticky chunks of snow. The previous Sunday it had been 72 degrees outside. Crazy weather.

Something about snow is so magical, especially when you only get to see it once a year. The kids had so much fun making "snowballs" and trying to catch the flakes on their tongue. G got frustrated when she couldn't catch enough flakes n her tongue, so she pied a nearby branch of a tree and just licked them off of it...when she thought no one was watching, of course. Silly kid.

The snow melted by the next day. Because this is Atlanta, and in Atlanta snow is a calamity, G's school had a snow day on Monday. The snow had melted, but they still had a snow day... because there potentially could possibly may have been might have had a chance of ice on the road in the wee hours of Monday morning.

One of our neighbors had built a 3 foot high snowman. That snowman remained intact for about 4 days. It was really odd to see this random snowman sitting in a patch of green grass on a balmy 65 degree day. Thermodynamics ROCKS!

Evolution of a smile

The Shot

I have been trying to get this capture since Little L was born. Every time she'd be asleep and I had my scene set, I'd place her gently down and she would immediately wake up and push herself right off of the beanbag chair... even when she was only a few days old! Strong baby! Finally, at 3 am on Monday morning, with the heat cranked up high and and exhausted baby, she let me catch it. I was only able to get 2 frames of it, but I am thrilled I finally got it at all! And will you just look at those cheeks!! Makes me want to just gobble them up!

Maybe one day another baby will let me catch it again... when the sun is up.

little dumpling

I equate each of my children with some sort of foodstuff. G is a puddin' pop, the Jell-o Chocolate and vanilla swirl kind that are now discontinued. Bill Cosby must be so disappointed. Little Guy is BBQ sauce, all sweet and tangy and sticky. Little L, she's just a dumpling. Soft and warm and squishy.

It's weird, I know, but sometimes they are just so delicious looking you kinda want to give them a wee nibble.

pretty in pink

The night Little L was born, after she'd had her first bath and was all snuggled up in that nest of receiving blankets that turned her into a little baby burrito, my midwife Kay came over to admire her wee face up close. The first thing Kay said was "Ooh, look at those cheeks!"

These were taken on her first night home, January 27, 2009. Just look at those cheeks.

I am a Pumpkin Head

This week was really, really bad. Not for me so much, but for everyone else around me. I forgot every single appointment and/or responsibility I had this week to anyone other than my immediate family. Pregnancy is sucking the smarts right out of me. My brains are oozing out of my ears, like the pumpkin guts from a Jack o Lantern. This little one had better be a genius.

It started when I broke Mister's laptop. I have a black thumb for technology. It's only a matter of time until this machine dies, too.

Then Little Guy and I started feeling feverish and everything else went to pot. Little Guy and I have been passing out napping on the couch together every afternoon... luckily I made it to the bus stop 4/5 times. I have such understanding neighbors who will bring G home when I am otherwise occupied.

This morning, I remembered I had an OB/midwife appointment 30 minutes after I was supposed to be there. Luckily, I hadn't eaten anything so I could still do the GTT and they were able to work me in. I am quite certain I am not their favorite patient. Oh well.

In other news, baby is fine and is now *supposedly* vertex. Hopefully she will stay that way and won't flip to breech like Little Guy did... Mister said I had better get to eating so baby will get so fat she won't be able to flip around. Men.

Viha's Birthday

So long, long ago, when G was 2 years old, she started dance classes. One little girl was in her class for two years straight... the darling Viha. Viha's birthday was at the end of August and it was a grand affair... a dress up tea party at her house. There were costumes and jewelry, cakes and muffins, an assortment of nosh, and of course MY favorite, authentic Indian tea. I've never had anything else like it, and each time I visit Viha's house I look forward to that cuppa tea. Delicious!

Signs of Autumn

Autumn is my favorite season. The crisp, (seemingly) clean air that blows the hot, sticky, humid, mosquito-filled atmosphere somewhere far from here is one of my very best friends. The smell of the ubiquitous cinnamon broomsticks at the grocery store makes my nose tingle and puts a smile on my face. The colors of the fall - deep golds, spicy oranges, chocolaty browns - are some of my very favorites. And nothing beats the taste of pumpkin pie in my book.

The other day G spotted this dark berry that had fallen to the ground. Or maybe it's a nut. In any case, it was deep and dark, hard and shiny, and looked like it was preparing for a long winter before it would rise up again and grow to be some sort of fresh and dewy plant in the spring. It made me happy to think that my friend Autumn would be here to visit soon.

Have you ever....

had to tell a dear friend that her child has died? I have now.

No matter how grown up your babies get, apparently after they pass, when you close your eyes and picture them, you remember them at the age when they were most precious. For my mom, she sees my brother as a sweet 2 year old, sitting under an old tree in front of the house during the summer of '66, pretending to bring her hamburgers and coke for lunch while she rested in the shade; a relief from the heat of the house which was stifling in the last weeks of pregnancy.

For my dear friend, she sees her son as a quiet, dark eyed, 8 year old boy, always wanting to learn more and more and more about every subject and lovingly doting on his youngest brother.

I hope these memories never fade for them; and that whenever they think of their lost boys they are able to remember them only with the love and happiness of a life lived, not the pain of a life lost.

Susan Taylor

What a great name. I have the privilege of knowing two women by this name (both by marriage) and they are just wonderful people. I was even invited to photograph the wedding of one of them recently. It was an amazing night... the food, the people, the dancing. I have never seen an event more filled with joy and laughter. Congratulations, Susan & Tim, I sincerely wish you the very best in your life together.

Here is a sneak peek from your big day... These were taken during the preparation....