Come on, Vamanos!

With my computer being the ripe old age of 3 it is needing a pick me up.  I hopefully will have it back soon but in the meantime I can't post any new photos, I'm so glad I had a few things posted to flickr.

Even though I have the worst attention span for watching videos on blogs I do get a kick out of seeing them.  This one is super short, which is a good thing because I am terrible at keeping focus. 


Jbear's fave dance move is the bouncy bounce.  Every dance party we have includes him bending his knees and just bouncing. 

 
And this is my son watching an episode of Dora.  I now go to bed saying, "I'm the map, I'm the map, I'm the MAP".  Why does The Map sound like my jewish grandmother?

And don't forget to check out the Morris Hubbard giveaway going on!!! 

Sibling Portraits: Max & Jessie

Here is a super sneak peak of a brother and sister portrait session I did last week.  Although I only spent a short time with Max & Jessie I really enjoyed myself.  I loved watching them interact with each other, laughing about portrait sessions of their youth, talking passionately about creative projects, being silly around one another and just letting me capture bits of their relationship. 


Don't they have the best smiles?  You may recognize Jessie from this post.



I love so much about this photo! 

GIVEAWAY:: Morris Hubbard

Morris Hubbard is a lifestyle brand based out of Brooklyn, NY.  My friend Kellyn is 1/2 of the Morris Hubbard duo and I'm so pumped for her and her creative partner Arielle.  They are offering one lucky reader a sweat rag or schvitzing cloth, of your choice.  Summer isn't over yet and wouldn't it be a bit more charming to wipe the sweat off your brow with a Morris Hubbard sweat rag.  You can use it as a head scarf or give it to your man to wear as a dapper pocket square.

To enter just check out their etsy site and then leave a comment below letting me know which style you would choose and how you would wear your Morris Hubbard sweat rag or schvitzing cloth.  (I purchased the Wilder and love it!!)  Please leave me your email address too.  A winner will be chosen, at random, on Monday!!  

For 2 extra chances to win:
Like Morris Hubbard on facebook
Blog or Tweet about this giveaway providing a link
(don't forget to come back and comment if you do)

Due to the crazy Hurricane and my computer not working I'm extending the giveaway to Thursday!!


We have a winner!  Congrats Kristin!!

girl power and glasses

These photos make me smile so I wanted to share.  I'm a sucker for little kids with glasses... so adorable! I was a little kid with glasses, and an eye patch.  I was not "so adorable" not even in the slightest.  Can you feel the girl power here?  I can!!




I haven't processed a photo like this in a long time, but it felt sweet and summery to I went with it.

Oooh oooh, I have something fun for tomorrow!  Stay tuned!!

lake houses, man... they sure are awesome!

Joel's Uncle and Aunt own a lake house.  They own a lake house and graciously let family visit all the time.  We were there for a little over 24 hours and now I'm clearing my calendar because all I want to do is go back.  It was a wonderful little getaway that instantly put you in vacation mode... where cookies become a pre breakfast treat, it's acceptable to drink wine before noon and the naps are some of the best you ever had.

I went out on the kayak a few times and loved spying on admiring other houses on the lake.  Joel and I even took Jonah on a paddle boat but that kid didn't do anything but look cute while we were paddling against the current to get back to shore.  He absolutely loved the lake, my little water baby.














Joel takes a lot of photos that I post on this blog.  But these are some of my absolute favorites!!!


Joel's friends came down to hang out with us and they brought their dog, the most docile dog I have ever met!  I wouldn't let my mom's cat get this close to my son (however my mom's cat is a complete psycho so maybe that isn't saying much).


sweet boy!

boy oh boy!

This weekend it hit me (as waves of sentimentality usually do) that 2 years ago I was preparing myself to find out if I was going to have a boy or a girl.  I have always been very open about wanting a girl because I obviously am a girl and have had the best time nannying girls and have dreams of barrettes and french braids and frilly costumes for dance recitals (so so cute).  However, I know in reality that tons of moms can't even comb their little girls hair nevertheless attempt a french braid or Bjork buns.  And I also loved the idea of having a son first... a big brother for (hopefully) the many kids Joel and I have... one day but now now, definitely not now.  Regardless, this is just an ongoing ramble.  I adore my son and am so happy to be a mommy to someone as kick ass as he.

Joel and I knew that we were going to find out the gender of our child.  Joel said that our pregnancy was surprise enough so we were definitely going to find out as early as we could.  However, I didn't want to hear the news while the anatomy scan was happening so Joel and I concocted another plan.  I have seen so many creative ways to announce the gender of a baby but we kept ours simple.

I went in for my sonogram with a card and envelope.  I repeatedly told the ultrasound technician NOT to tell us the sex of our baby but instead to write it down on the card I had.  She took a million photos and gave them to us, none of which gave any indication in either direction.  She handed us back our card and we sealed it up in the envelope.


We also took this photo for posterity.

I can't believe we were able to make the 3 hour drive to see our families without attempting to sneak a peak at what was written.  I think it was harder for my mother in law to hold off until everyone arrived for the party.  I was convinced she was going to MacGuyver her way into my special Gender Revealing envelope.  Our families were soon all gathered- we even skyped with my sister in law who wasn't able to be there in person-  and we cracked open our fate.  My awesome nephew took this video for us.


I love love love that my nephew zoomed in on Joel's face during the end of the video.  You can see his nervousness that this was all indeed real, but so much excitement for a boy.  A boy we always knew we would name Jonah.

The photo mentioned and the reason I was laughing like a maniac:



I loved every aspect of finding out this way but I am curious, when we have another baby, to see if I could make it to birth day without finding out the gender.

I love my son for bringing this much joy to our lives even before he was even born.

today's post brought to you by swings and cheese face

nature musings and my little nature baby

To celebrate my father in law's birthday we headed out to a spot that Joel and his family used to go to years and years ago.  These images are some of the scenes I hope my son remembers of his childhood.  I could go here every day.  I've been missing Philly a lot lately, wishing we could live there again but not have to be so far from our families.  I also miss Long Island and my mom and wish I could live 5 minutes from her.  This day at the lake was so wonderful- it definitely help start a love for where we live now.






I couldn't believe that bringing the pack and play actually worked and that Jbear napped outside under the trees.






He just couldn't stay away from the water.



I've daydreamed about places like this.  It makes me think of summer camp even though I never went to summer camp (if there was an adult summer camp with time to make friendship bracelets and puffy painted t-shits I'd be there in a heartbeat).

My Affinity for Dates of All Kinds.

I have a really great memory for dates (and what I wore) but not much else.  Thank goodness for archived livejournal posts to help me remember everything else.  So, yes I can remember dates and the days they fell on like nobody's business.  It's like my party trick- so if somebody asked me, "Cynthia can you tell me which day of the week was August 12th 2000?" I would be able to reply (without looking at any calendars), "Why, it was a Saturday!"  I bet you're thinking, "HOLY COW this girl knows how to party!!!"  It's true, I do, I really really do.

So, speaking of August 12th 2000... That's the day I met Joel.  I can't say that that is the day we met each other because he actually doesn't remember meeting me on that day.  He thinks the first time we met was in February 2001.  This was information I learned well after we started dating.  I don't care I still remember that Saturday night fondly.  Never would I ever imagine that going up to Connecticut to visit my friend Kellyn would lead me to meet the man I would one day marry, even if he didn't remember me.

Aaaaaand this is what I wore on August 13th- 11 years and 1 day after I met my crush, long distance boyfriend, no distance boyfriend, husband, father of my child (11 years and 1 day after the day he doesn't remember meeting me).


Cardigan: F21,  Jeans: Urban Outfitters, Sandals: Vera Wang at Kohls

Joel rounded up some of his friends and their girlfriends and wives and we had ourselves a quadruple date with pizza and beers (although my beer was Foxon Park birch beer... I love it!!!).  It was so much fun getting out and spending time with friends.  I only whipped out a photo of the Jbear when asked.

Hey JBear... slow down son!!

Jonah is closer to 2 than he is to 1.  It's such an odd thing to think about (even though I do kind of think of those things for myself... but I'm a weirdo, this we know) but parents are constantly baffled by how fast time goes. And it seems apropos to continue to count the months (since SO MUCH happens each and every month) and to reflect the closer (or farther away) our child is from a particular milestone.

I once had a brand new baby and that's what I spent 9 months preparing myself for.  Now, I have a kid who walks and "talks", knows what he wants, WANTS what he wants, chooses to listen or ignore me, and basically looks like this now:


It would be easier to handle my kid growing up if he didn't look 2x his age.



Exactly one year ago, he looked like this:



I held a 3 month old baby last night and kind of forgot what it was like to have an infant.  I wonder if that happens with a lot of parents.  One of Joel's friends (who has a 2 1/2 year old and a 6 month old) asked if our boy was eating solids yet- he was 13 months at the time, haha.

Oh yeah, I forgot to add that never did I ever imagine there would be a time that I would need to look this up

one track mind

I have so much I want to blog... I know I say that ALL the time!!  I have photos and stories and just nonsense to occupy this space but I have been obsessed... like truly obsessed with watching this video non stop.


They move like liquid, like liquid!  I'm in awe!!

I am also in awe of this video:


It's so interesting to see the different styles of dance side by side- both amazing and beautiful in their own way.

And I've been dancing up a storm in my living room.  Who would have thought that it would be so hard to find adult classes!  I've been calling up dance studios but I guess since it's the summer it's a little slower.  I just want to go take class after class.  In the meantime I'll just keep playing Aaliyah and Missy and dance in the privacy of my own house.

Inspiration!! Dance!

I want to talk about inspiration!!  For years and years I would spend an obscene amount of time online just staring at photos, blogs, website layouts, knitting projects, recipes, etc.  I would look and look and look for hours thinking that I was soaking in ALL this inspiration but I wouldn't complete a single task.  I still look online and check blogs basking in what others are doing and the majority of the time I do think- "Oh, I'm not creative enough to do that" or "I'm not talented enough to get to that point".

But now, I'm trying to think a bit differently.  When I look up dance videos and see people going nuts and just busting loose I try not to think, "I'm way too old for that, my body simply can't move that way" instead I push the couch and coffee table out of the way and go at it.

Here are some videos that inspire me like crazy.









I have so many more favorites but I'll save them for another post.  Right now I need to take advantage of Jbear's nap and pretend I'm one of Justin Timberlake's back up dancers!!


This week I'm going to be talking a lot about my inspiration- photographers, blogs (and bloggers), style and more.  I hope you'll join me and divulge what inspires you!

Have an Awesome Weekend!!

Joel and I are off to New York to attend the wedding of my friend Mike, whom I've known since high school.


Mike and Hajeong from some of the photo booth pics from my party!!!

While we're in Long Island I plan to consume a lot of italian ices and maybe even some rainbow cookies!!! And hopefully hang out with my niece and nephews and go swimming!  What are your plans for this weekend??

Fun Things (the good clean kind... maybe)

I like having back-up.  I don't usually do anything quietly or by myself.  I can spend hours by myself without getting bored but when it comes to projects and ideas I am always talking things out and asking for support or just good 'ol fashioned back up.  I recently posted that I am starting a month long project where I take 10 minutes EVERY DAY to dance! (Last night I felt so sick but I still found a way to add those 10 minutes of dancing in... well more like swaying, but I'm still counting it)  Joel is joining in but I wanted to see if Kim wanted to try something for 30 days too.  I suggested just doing something FUN each day for an entire month, especially since this is what inspired me to start the project in the first place.

Here are some (ridiculously silly and maybe a bit lame) ideas:

1. pick 2 different nail polish colors and paint alternating nails a different color.
2. wear a fancy dress and pretty shoes just to go food shopping
3. chocolate chip pancakes for dinner (Yeah, BRINNER)
4. bright pink eyeshadow
5. catch fireflies
6. photo booth pictures
7. practice making silly faces in the mirror with your baby (good practice for photo booth shots)
8. a drive down by the beach, windows down and the radio playing!
9. ice cream with sprinkles!!! (obviously)
10. go to the movies in the afternoon during the week
11. watermelon seed spitting contest (kind of gross but fun nonetheless)
12. play tag, hopscotch, simon says (with nieces and nephews, neighborhood kids, etc.)
13. have lunch outdoors.  have lunch on the floor of your living room. have lunch in the back of your car.  have lunch someplace other than the kitchen table.
14. make lemonade from scratch with lots of sugar.



Feel free to add: happy hours, getting together with the girls, dancing the night away, and adding vodka to that fresh lemonade.

Can you guys suggest some things that ooze FUN?

For the Love of Sprinkles... Yes, Sprinkles!

Our last night in Rhode Island we went out for ice cream! As much as I love mint chocolate chip and butter pecan I can't resist soft serve ice cream with sprinkles.  When Lily ordered a strawberry cone with rainbow sprinkles I knew I wanted the same exact thing!  My friend Kate told me that the day after I left they had pistachio soft serve, my absolute fave!

Are you a sucker for sprinkles like I am?  What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

When Life Gives You Lemons

Just EAT Them!!!!





It doesn't hurt if you make adorable faces in the process!







So, I am not going to suddenly start writing all "Woe is me, boo hoo" posts but I just wanted to be a little more honest here.  There is quite a bit going on in my life.  My mom isn't feeling so well but I don't know how to get into it here so I'm not.  She is definitely going to be okay... the question is when and how.  I hope I don't sound rude in asking for you to not comment on the subject.  I have complete faith that things are going to be okay.

I'm posting this because I just want to share that I'm choosing positivity.  I am a pretty optimistic person and I don't want that to ever change.  I will constantly choose to surround myself with positivity.  I won't let anything or anyone bring me down unnecessarily.  Life is just too precious to hold onto mistakes, faults, etc.  I'm all for reveling in misery (hopefully for the shortest amount of time possible) and then letting it go.... moving on.

Plus, I've got a cute baby eating lemon slices to photograph.  Jonah was being so cute that Joel and I captured him with my Fuji Instax, the holga, and Joel's phone.

My Jazz Shoes Are So Excited!

I just read this on Mighty Girl's blog and I knew I was going to be inspired.  She posted this video and I just knew I had to start!



Matt Cutts talks about 30 day projects and I feel like this is right up my alley.  Yes yes I am still working my way through my 30 days before my 30th birthday list (which was in fact 4 days ago) but I am jumping on this now.  I also kind of like that it's the 1st of the month when I'm starting this.

Okay, so a little over a month ago I posted this.  I wrote a lot but was also kind of vague.  So here it is: I want to dance... plain and simple.  I love going out and dancing but what I really want to do is performance dancing.  I used to dance when I was younger and although I wasn't very good I still loved it.  My love would come back in tiny bursts, especially when I had the opportunity to photograph a dance theatre group's dress rehearsal.  My two loves combined- dance and photography.  I didn't have the dedication or the discipline to continue but now I definitely realize the mistake I made in stopping.  However, I'm trying to focus on the whole "it's never too late" theory.

So, along with looking for dance classes to take in the area I am vowing to give myself at least 10 minutes a day to just dance.  It can be in the form of a dance class or just busting a move in my living room while the Jbear naps.  I hope this all leads somewhere but for now I just want to dance!!

Joel is doing a 30 day project too- he will be shooting film for 30 days.  While he was out, shooting with our Canon A-1, I rolled up the rug and danced along to this song:



and this one

If you gave yourself 30 days to do something you've always wanted to do, what would it be?  

Summer Playlist

For the past two years I've made birthday playlists.  It all started with wanting to hear "When I Think of You" on repeat on my 28th birthday.  I just wanted to dance all morning, but I had to take breaks because I was about 17 weeks pregnant.  I just started putting songs that I didn't mind listening to over and over again and songs that made me want to dance to or sing along to.  So I guess it's tradition now to make a Birthday mix each year.  Jbear and I listen to the mix I made last year all the time- he especially loves to shake his booty to "Daft Punk is Playing at My House" by LCD Soundsystem.  Here are the songs I have been listening to on repeat as of late.  I'm totally been inspired by my 90's birthday dance party as well as all the new music I've gotten this year and just some plain old favorites!!!  




My 29th birthday last year



2009


And no!!  I'm not ashamed that Mariah Carey's Fantasy is up there 2x or the fact that LaBouche's Be My Lover is on the list.  Nope, not ashamed at all.



Please, still be my friend!