HIGH FIVE! - Oct 19

This week has been a crazy one to say the least. On Monday it was our 6 year wedding anniversary(yay us!) so while our day had to be mostly buisiness as usual, we did manage to go out dinner just Heather and I. Although I'm sure Chloe would have loved to scream random things and talk throughout our dinner, I arranged for my mom watch her instead. =)

The weekend just prior we had a full schedule of things including swim lessons, a pot luck get together with our friends, I shot a wedding in the city with another photographer and then a birthday party and a couple more photo sessions on Sunday for me. I wasn't able to attend our pot luck with our friends but it was a bit of a Halloween theme so all the kids dressed up in their costumes and they played games and did all kinds of fun stuff. One thing I wish I had been there for but was able to see thanks to Heather taking a video with our pocket camera was the kids bobbing for apples. I never would have imagined that you could explain to a kid how to bob for an apple and they would actually be able to do it! I thought for sure Chloe would have her hands in the water but sure enough, she did it without using her hands! I was blown away. =) So because I have a million and a half things to do before we leave for a few days vacation, I wanted to share this video with you. Have a great weekend!




(PS if you are viewing on an Ipad or phone this may not be viewable until you are on a "real" computer)

A Pear Of Queens - Oct 12

Talk about a lucky kid. Last weekend I did some photographs for some of Heather's side of the family and afterwards we all went to dinner at a local Round Table Pizza...MMMMMMMM, PIZZA.

Heather's aunt was spotting the kids quarters to play some games including the game everybody knows can't be won, the claw game. Apparently, Chloe is a prodigy because she was able to retrieve this...amazing?...interesting?..somewhat creepy? pear with a face stuffed thing. She has absolutely forgotten about every other stuffed animal she owns right now. She sleeps with this pear, she brings it to breakfast and makes it sit at the table with us, she freaks out if she walks into another room and forgets her "Pear". LOL. I thought it was fitting to include some photos of Chloe this week with her new favorite thing. Her prize.

Have a great weekend!
-B

I'm Going To Listen To The Directions! - Oct 5

It's been an interesting week around here. We all went to bed Sunday seemingly in good health and woke up Monday morning to a sick little Chloe. Knock on wood, I think this is only 2nd time Chloe has been sick all year. She gets sick and it runs the same course..fever for a day and a half, runny nose, stuffy nose (but running green), cough. The good news is that generally she has been in good spirits all week but we have pretty much stayed home.

I now I posted some pics before of her attending a gymnastics class at my Mom's gym but a few weeks ago we made the decision that Chloe was ready to join a weekly class there. It's been really fun and Chloe has made tremendous improvements week after week. I was a bit concerned at first because she has been there before(her 2nd birthday party was there). Because she was used to having the run of the place I was worried that she wouldn't listen to the teachers(one of them being my mom, her grandma). The first 2 or 3 classes were fun but kind of frustrating because she wasn't used to having to wait her turn to do something and generally was doing whatever she wanted instead of what the class was doing.

Every week before class we started reminding Chloe that she would need to "line up with the class" and "wait her turn" and "listen to directions". She got excited about those things and after about the 3rd or 4th class she has been doing great. By coincidence a few high school friends are in the class with their kids who are about Chloe's age so that makes it all the more fun.
Here are some pics from this weeks class(which I don't think we should have gone to due to her illness, bad call on my part)
Have a great weekend. =)
-B

The Location Scout - Sept 28

This week Chloe was lucky(or unlucky)enough to get to tag along with me to a few parks while I search for new and exciting locations for portrait sessions. While I'm not sure I really found what I was looking for, it was fun getting out on some adventures with Chloe and I'm sure she enjoyed being outside and getting to play. These are just some pics I grabbed..test shots if you will. =) Have a great weekend.

-B

I Can Do It All By Myself! - Sept 21

Over the last few weeks we have been told by Chloe repeatedly that she does not want nor need our help for a literal laundry list of activities. We are constantly being told "I CAN DO IT ALL BY MYSELF!" or my most recent favorite "DADDY'S NOOOOT GONNA HELP ME!!" LOL. On one hand it's good because she actually can put on her own underwear and shoes and she can use the potty and wash her hands by herself but she gets so upset if we try to help her complete any of these tasks the result is basically a full blown meltdown. It has gotten better the last few weeks but man, talk about a new phase in the adventures of having a 2 year old. =)

This week is just a few random pictures taken while playing in and around our house. We feel like she grew a few more inches in the last week or two..she keeps looking so different to me/us, it's nuts.
Have a great weekend!

-B

A Real Octopus! - Sept 14

Chloe's Grandma & Grandpa P got us some passes to go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium a while back(thanks!) and we have been trying to plan a trip there ever since. The summer has been slipping by and weekends have been hard to come by so this week Heather took off a few days and we decided to make the trek. I think this actually worked out better because people for the most part are back in school and the aquarium wouldn't be packed like it might otherwise be. We had a great day and Chloe was actually great the whole time. We brought the stroller but she basically walked holding our hands the whole time and mostly stayed within range of us..something I'm sure that would have been a different experience had we gone sooner. She was obsessed with the gigantic octopus they had above everything else. It might be a toss up between that and the seahorses but overall I think it was a really neat experience for her. They have plenty of stuff for kids her age to touch and interact with. Realistically it's a bad place for taking pictures of anything because it's all very dark and you aren't really supposed to use a flash. I shot what I could and just enjoyed the time with the fam.

Have a great weekend!

B