Happy 1st Birthday, Gabriella!

Hard to believe that today we celebrated our baby girl’s first birthday.  Time is certainly flying by, and I can unequivocally say this has been the fastest year of my life.

Seems like just a short time ago that we brought our daughter home to complete our family.  I don’t think I could have possibly imagined how much she’d add to our lives.  Watching her and Matthew together has become one of the greatest joys of my life.

I looked back today through some pictures of the day she was born.  Amazing how much she’s changed since then.  See for yourself…

 

And here she is today……

She’s happy and smiley, yet feisty and strong-willed when she wants to be.  She has a silly sense of humor, and you just can’t help but laugh when she laughs.  She’s flirtatious and clever, coy and quick.  She adores her big brother, and sometimes even gives him a run for his money.  I hope she never changes.

Happy Birthday, sweet girl.  Mommy, Daddy and Matthew love you so very much.

Happy Birthday, Babe!

Happy Birthday to the most wonderful husband a woman could ask for.  Thank you for all the thoughtful things you do every day.  Thank you for being such a great dad to our kids, and a true partner in raising them.  Thanks for working so hard and taking such good care of our family. Thanks for being my very best friend.  And most of all, thank you for loving me for me. 

Happy Birthday to the best Dad a boy could ask for.  Thanks for all the shoulder and piggy-back (a.k.a. Peterbilt) rides.  Thanks for taking me lots of fun places.  Thanks for spending time playing with me, and showing me how to hit the ball really far.  Thanks for reading me stories every night.  And thanks for not being afraid to show me and tell me every day how very much you love me.

Happy Birthday to the best Daddy a girl could ask for.  Thanks for making me feel like a little princess.  Thanks for holding me tight and kissing me.  Thanks for laying on the floor and letting me climb all over you.  Thanks for being so protective over me.  Thanks for reading me stories every night.  And thanks for not being afraid to show me and tell me every day how very much you love me.

Happy, Happy Birthday!  We love you very much!

Happy 4th Anniversary to my wonderful husband.

My partner, my best friend, the love of my life.

I love you with all my heart.

Team-Up Thursday

Week 26 Theme - Silhouette

Gini's on the left; mine on the right.

As soon as I saw the theme for this week, I knew I would be digging into the archives to use a picture I’d taken years ago.  Mine is a shot from York Beach, Maine, from a house we used to rent for a week in the summer with Dennis’ family.  I’d woken up early one morning, and saw the most amazing light outside.  I snuck out into the yard and captured this shot.  It’s one of my all-time favorites, and I think the one that really sparked my interest in photography.

As for my sister’s shot, I think it epitomizes everything that a silhouette should be.  When I think of the old hand-cut silhouettes, I’m always amazed at how clearly you can make out the subject.  In Gini’s picture, there’s no mistaking whose silhouette that is.  Well, for those of us who know her, I guess.  It’s my beautiful niece, Hannah – I’d know those eyelashes anywhere. 

Team-Up Thursday

Week 25 Theme – Where You Live

Gini’s on the left; mine on the right.

Two different shots of Longmeadow. Gini’s is of the Community House, the place where so many things happen in this town – voting, pancake breakfasts, social events – even a surprise baby shower for one Miss Gabriella Egan. Town Hall. (Why don't you look a bit closer, dummy.) And mine is…well, our house. Funny that with all the different architectural styles in town, both our pictures are focused on colonial brick structures. Even more interesting is how we both focused on 5 windows and a door of said structures. Hmmm….

I interpreted this theme quite narrowly, as you can see. I thought about trying to capture the character of this town, but I just couldn’t come up with one picture that I thought would do it justice. I wasn’t thrilled with my shot when I originally took it, but looking at it now, I see that it reflects the essence of why we bought this house.

Dennis and I always wanted a brick colonial with white trim and black shutters. And, we knew we wanted to end up in Longmeadow. This town is a throw-back of sorts, a sleepy little town where family life is central to everything. There is little industry, lots of history, mature trees throughout, and an enviable “network of sidewalks”. We looked at a number of homes, of all different architectural styles, but none quite hit the mark. Then one Sunday, I was scouring the “Homes for Sale” section of the classifieds and came across a tiny 3-line listing for an open house that afternoon, a house For Sale by Owner, with no picture, but in our price range. Dennis was studying furiously for his second bar exam, so I decided to venture out on my own to check it out.

Well, the minute I turned down our road I knew I was home. Our road is lined with huge trees, with the majority of homes being brick colonials. As I approached #10, my heart was practically leaping out of my chest. I called Dennis at home and told him “You have to come meet me here NOW.” As I said, he was studying furiously, so he was in no place to be dropping everything and running out to look at a house. He told me to come home and we could take a ride back later to see inside. So home I went, a bit dejected if I’m honest, and waited patiently for him to get to a good stopping point. As soon as he did, we headed back to the open house, and did a walkthrough of the house that lasted 5 minutes tops. The owner was chatting with other folks while we were there, so we didn’t even get a chance to talk to him. We got back in the car, and both agreed that this was the house for us. We went home, Dennis called the owner, and promptly made a full-price offer. The owner told him he’d already gotten a full-price offer, so he’d take ours into consideration as well. When Dennis hung up, I was devastated. We talked it over quickly, and agreed (well, kind of!) to call him back and offer him more money and a quick close date. I just knew this was where we were meant to be, and I couldn’t let it slip away from us. I mean, come on, it’s a brick colonial with white trim and black shutters, in Longmeadow. Seriously.

So, long story even longer, they accepted our offer and we moved in at the end of March, 2006. And we’ve loved it ever since. Admittedly, it’s smaller than we’d like (or really need) it to be, we’ve found some crazy handiwork here and there courtesy of the previous owner, and we have a wish-list a mile long of projects we’d like to tackle. But, this is home for us, and I wouldn’t trade it, or the life that we’ve built in it, for anything in the world.

Team-Up Thursday

Week 23 Theme - Water

Gini’s on the top, mine on the bottom.

Funny that we both ended up using pool shots this week.  Funny in that Gini is always around a pool and I seldom am.  And funny that my sister thinks she was predictable this week, and yet I opened her email just like every week - wondering what she’d chosen to do with the theme.  Go ahead…say it…DUH!

I like this combination and the way it depicts both work and fun.  In the top you have my niece, Hannah, who swims competitively (and is damn good at it, to boot!), skillfully working her way through the water.  In the bottom, you have Matthew and Dennis, just in it for the sheer fun of it.  I love looking at the difference in their facial expressions – Hannah so driven and focused, and Matthew so playful and giddy with anticipation.  I especially love seeing how similar Matthew and Dennis’ expressions are – the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree!

Team-Up Thursday

Week 22 Theme – After Dark

Mine on the left, Gini's on the right.

No interesting story this week, really.  When I saw the theme, this was the shot that popped into my head.  I stepped outside the other night as a soft rain was falling, and started firing away.  I ended up with a bunch of good shots, but this one matched up exactly with what I had in mind.  I love that feeling.

As for my sister’s picture, I recognized the location pretty quickly.  I’m struck by how busy this shot makes the street look.  Longmeadow is a pretty sleepy town, but it’s interesting to see how much busier it can appear when street lights, traffic lights and a couple of cars run through it “after dark”.

Happy Father’s Day!

Happy Father’s Day

to

the world’s best Daddy!

We love you like crazy!

Y Matthew & Gabriella Y

(and Mommy, too)

Team-Up Thursday

Week 21 Theme - Chaos

OK, how funny is this??  Gini's on top, mine on the bottom.  That’s all boy right there!  I love that we both had similar ideas once again, and I love that Gini took a close-up shot.  LOVE the wreckage in the background, and that Thomas is just chugging on through with that perma-grin on his face.

I knew for our theme this week I’d end up taking a picture of some spot in my house.  Right now, pretty much every room seems to be in chaos, looking like a bomb went off.  Which, incidentally, is making my head feel like it’s in chaos – but I wasn’t quite sure how to take a picture of the inside of my head.  I’ll have to ponder that one…. 

Anyway…I decided earlier this week that I’d take tomorrow off.  For the first time, I’ll be sending my kids to daycare while I stay home.  My goal is to bring some order back to our living space.  I know there are much worse messes, but for someone with just a tiny bit of OCD (perhaps), it’s making me crazy.  I mean, come on.  Do you see two balls that aren’t in with the other balls?  And yes, I see the third one that’s not in there.  But that bowling ball belongs with the bowling pins in the green tub on the top rack.  Each in its place.  :)

I’m feeling pretty crappy about being home and not having my kids with me, but I know on the flip side if I’m able to get things more organized, I’ll feel much less stressed.  Less stressed Mommy is a good thing, right?  I know it’s worth it, and I know tackling the chaos in the house will tackle the chaos in my head as well.

Team-Up Thursday

Week 20 Theme – Mirror

Gini's on top, mine on the bottom.

What can I say?  I love my little boy’s face in this picture.  And I love how he’s really looking at me, rather than himself, in the mirror.  First week using my new camera, which just arrived Tuesday afternoon.  Can’t wait to see what I can do with this puppy.

And as for my sister’s shot.  Aside from absolutely loving the reflection of those beautiful angels, it reminds me of my great aunt.  She used to have this huge, beautiful mirror with angels all around it at the bottom of her staircase.  I remember her going to see a psychic one time.  She told us how the psychic held on to her watch and was able to tell so much about her – crazy, little things that you’d have no other way of knowing.  Like the fact that she had this giant mirror with angels at the bottom of her staircase.  The psychic told her that if she sat down on the stairs, closing her eyes, and then opened them and looked in the mirror, she’d see her own angels behind her.  She was always too nervous to actually do it, a bit afraid of what she might actually see.  I think about that story often, most especially when I need to feel that my own angels are behind me.

Team-Up Thursday

Week 19 Theme – Signs

Back in the saddle again this week, and I think we done good.  Mine on the left, Gini's on the right.

I was quite happy with our creation this week, and when I went to draft this post, I got even happier.  In taking my shot, I had focused on the horoscope (get it, sign?) for Scorpio, since that’s what I am.  (You could have guessed that, right?  Yes, I am pretty much a textbook Scorpio.  Google it if you’re curious.)   What I didn’t realize until just now is that in focusing there, I managed to capture the 4 signs of my little family.  Dennis the Libra, me the Scorpio, Gabriella the Sagittarius and Matthew the Capricorn.  Cool, right?  OK, maybe it’s just me….

As for Gini’s picture, make sure you follow the link over to her blog, as I’m hoping she’ll share the story of how it came to be.  Personally, I love it, not just because I think it came out cool, but because of the memory it conjures up for me.  If you don’t already know this, our mother was a paraplegic, and had a handicapped permit as a result.  One time when we were shopping up at Ames in Sturbridge – gosh, it’s gotta be at least 25 years ago now – my mother had parked in a handicapped spot near the front of the store.  Gini, Chris and I were at the trunk, preparing to get her wheelchair out, while she was still sitting in the driver’s seat.  Well, this woman came out of the store, saw that we’d parked there and that the three of us were able-bodied, and I can only imagine assumed that the only person remaining in the car couldn’t possibly be handicapped, since she was in the driver’s seat.  She proceeded to come over and start yelling at us about parking in a handicapped spot.  What happened next was priceless.  My sister whipped my mother’s wheelchair out of the trunk and chased the lady through the parking lot with it, yelling “Do you see the wheelchair?”   One of my favorite stories of all time, and something I was always proud of my sister for doing.  Not sure I ever told her that, but I guess now I have.

Team-Up Thursday

Week 18 Theme – Out of Focus

Just not feeling it this week for some reason.  And figured I’d rather not force it.  That would just take all the fun out of it.

Team-Up Thursday

Week 17 Theme – Hot & Cold

Mine on the left; Gini’s on the right.

I must admit I kinda mailed this one in this week.  The days got away from me, despite finding out about the theme very early on.  The kiddos have been sick, and I couldn’t seem to get past the most obvious interpretation, as evidenced by my faucet picture.  Funny thing is – I was working through some other ideas that would have ended up being pretty similar to Gini’s, which I love, by the way.  Aren’t the flames on a gas stove just the most beautiful color?  Kinda match nicely with the purple in my bathroom…

Looking forward to hopefully being a bit more creative next week.

Team-Up Thursday

Week 16 Theme - MOM

Ummm, yeah…Gini's on top, mine on the bottom.  So, great minds think alike, right?

I must admit, though, this isn’t where my mind went initially.  When I first saw the theme for this week, my initial thought for the subject of my photo was myself.  My second thought was of my Mom.  And when that thought came to me, I instantly felt guilty for having had the first.  I thought that I must be awfully self-centered that my mind didn’t immediately go to my own mother when I saw the word Mom.  I wondered if after 23 years of not seeing her face or hearing her voice, she was starting to lose that place in the forefront of my mind.  But after giving it some thought, I realized that wasn’t it at all.  And, I found that the real reason was something to be happy, not guilty, about.

I realized that, for me, Mom has become my identity.  It’s more than my title; it’s who I am.  It’s how I think of myself, and not just in terms of my babies, but also with my husband.  I’m not only his wife, but the Mom to his children.  And it’s a role I cherish.  So, I guess it’s only natural that this is where my mind would go when I see the word Mom.  It’s because on that day when I first became one, I came to realize the depth of the love that comes with that title.  I came to understand how my own Mother must have felt for us three, and in that understanding, I felt even closer to her.

Anyway, back to the diptych.  I love that we both had the same thought, and love that both shots have flowers – life to offset the death.  Gini obviously thought to bring some with her, unlike me.  =)

What it means to me….

M aking the most of every single moment.  Having lost my mother at 17, I don’t want to waste a single second with my children.

O ffering a hug or a kiss or a song (even though I can’t carry a tune) to comfort my kids when they are sad or sick or scared.

T eaching my kids to be loving, compassionate and kind.  It’s my job, and definitely a work in progress.

H onoring the traditions and values I was raised with, and sharing them with the next generation.

E arning the love they give so unconditionally.  It’s important for me to live up to their expectations.

R elishing every laugh, every smile, every milestone, and burning them into my brain because the time passes all too quickly.

Happy Mother’s Day

Happy Mother’s Day, Moms!

I wish you all a day of feeling appreciated and loved!

Team-Up Thursday

Week 15 Theme - Friends

My photo on the left; my sister's on the right.

This one started out easy, then became tough, then became so easy again.  When I first read the theme for this week, I was excited.  I immediately thought I’d use a photo of Matthew loving on Gabby.  I take lots of these, although I must say, they never quite come out the way I think they will.  Someone’s always moving, or blinking, or squinting, or something.  And when you’re using a little point and shoot camera like I am, that translates to often times missing the shot.  Because of this, I decided to rethink my shot.  And then, the week got away from me.  Not sure where it went or what I was doing, but yesterday afternoon I realized I hadn’t taken my photo yet.  Time to resort to one I already had.  I knew immediately what to pick.

I absolutely LOVE the photo I used.  I took it on Saturday at Scarborough Beach in Narrangansett, Rhode Island.  We had taken a ride to Point Judith for lunch at Aunt Carrie's – the most fabulous crab cakes you’ll ever have.  Seriously.  After lunch, we decided to make a stop at the beach, and let me say I was thrilled at how much Matthew loved it.  He’s been to beaches the past two summers, but this year he really gets it.  He loved walking barefoot in the sand, and didn’t mind sticking his piggers in the fa-reezing cold water.  This bodes well for future beach trips, methinks.  Anyhow…I digress.  I fell in love with this picture the minute I took it, and couldn’t wait to see it full size.  I think it captures the most basic of friendships – that between a boy and his Daddy.  I just melt when I look at the way they’re looking at each other.  <3

As for Gini’s picture, a similar thought had occurred to me at one point during the week, but not in nearly the same dramatic fashion.  WOW.  I just love seeing Hannah’s dark profile juxtaposed (Ha!  There’s a $5 word for you!) against the white of the screen.  Just gorgeous.  And look at those fabulous lashes!  To use old Facebook lingo, I’m a fan of this photo.

Team-Up Thursday

Week 14 Theme - Fruit

Gini’s on top, mine on the bottom.

I love Gini’s interpretation of this theme. It’s unexpected, in that there’s no real fruit depicted. Love reading the names of all the fruits instead, and looking at the painted pictures of them.

I must admit that I pulled this one out at the last minute. I had a hard time deciding what to do this week. I had planned to hit the grocery store, but didn’t manage to get there yet this week. Probably just as well – I’m not quite sure how I would have looked taking photos in the produce section. And, since my Peapod order is not coming until today, I didn’t have much for fruit in the house. I did, though, have these last few bananas, which to me are just now at the perfect ripeness. Can’t wait for breakfast….

Team-Up Thursday

Week 13 Theme - Shape

Gini's photo on the left, mine on the right.

I love the heart-shaped leaves in Gini's picture - beauty in nature. I also love how the greens are carried through in both pictures. Appropriate for publishing on Earth Day, no?

Giggly Gabriella

Just had to share this little video of my girl. I just love to hear her giggle!!

Team-Up Thursday

Week 12 Theme - From Lying Down

My picture on the left, Gini's on the right. Love the blue sky in both of our shots, and how you really get a sense of lying down in Gini's.

This one posed some challenges for me. When I first read the theme, I was very excited at the prospect. I liked the idea of changing up the perspective on things, and the first thing that popped into my head was a photograph I saw years ago by Dewitt Jones, a National Geographic photographer. I first saw it at work in a training video he put out called "Celebrate What's Right With the World". The message of the video was about choosing to see possibilities rather than focus on what's wrong. The message stuck with me, as did the stunning photos he used to make his point. As I remember it, he told the story of how one day, he'd gone to capture photos of a field of yellow dandelion flowers for a spread in National Geographic, but when he got there, they'd all turned to seed. At first he was disappointed and frustrated, but then he decided to think of what was possible. He laid down, looked up, and this photo was the result. Simply beautiful.

So, all that to say that I loved the idea of "from lying down". I actually took my picture in Court House Square in Springfield on Sunday, after we'd taken Matthew to a hockey game. We were walking back to the car, on that gorgeous afternoon, and I saw an idea for a shot before me. I'm sure I looked hysterical lying down on the ground in downtown Springfield, but I figured - who the hell cares? Matthew popped into view as I was taking my series of shots, and this one ended up being my favorite.

Putting the diptych together, though, was a challenge. I tried it a bunch of different ways, and just couldn't get excited about any of them. I sent one off to Gini, but then stewed about it all night. Then this morning, after taking some time away from it, I gave it another shot and was really pleased with the finished product. I just love how the tree branches seem to line up - totally unplanned, but I love how it worked out.

Now if I could just get myself back to remembering Dewitt Jones' words of wisdom on a more regular basis.....

Team-Up Thursday

Week 11 Theme - Color

Once again, Gini's on the left, and mine on the right. This pair makes me happy. So bright and cheery. I love the spotlight effect on the eggs - it makes them just pop off the screen. As for mine, it's not the shot I thought I was doing, but I saw this box of markers while at Gini's the other night, and grabbed the shot in case I wasn't able to get an opportunity to shoot the one I wanted. Not bad for my little $150 Canon point-and-shoot.

And never you mind about the shot I had planned - I'm hoping maybe an upcoming theme will lend itself to my idea.

Team-Up Thursday

Week 10 Theme - Book

Gini's on the left, mine on the right. I struggled with this one this week. Couldn't seem to get very creative. I think I got stuck in my own head because I used a book in my close-up shot a couple of weeks ago.

Gini, on the other hand, was able to think outside the book...I mean box. Nice job balancing, Connor!

Team-Up Thursday

Week 9 Theme - Happy

Mine on top, and Gini's on the bottom.

I love how different these are this week. I, of course, had to go with my smiley little girl, who is the epitome of happy (most of the time, anyway!). I just adore those toothless grins!

And Gini's picture was obviously meant to be. Just happened to be her fortune at dinner last night.

Oh, and don't forget to add "in bed" to the end of it!

Team-Up Thursday

Week 8 Theme - Close Up

Mine on top, Gini's on the bottom. I love the contrast of these two pictures, in color and also in the feelings they seem to evoke. The cool solitude of the page vs. the warm togetherness of my beautiful nephews. Love how this turned out.

Lately it occurs to me (...what a long, strange trip it's been....oh, sorry) that these Team-Up Thursday posts may come off a bit conceited, since my sister and I are so pleased with our own work. All I can say is this - we certainly don't intend it to come across that way. Just really enjoying this creative challenge and the opportunity to do something together.

Happy St. Patrick's Day....

from our two little leprechauns!!!

Team-Up Thursday

Week 7 Theme - Relax

Gini's photo on top; mine below. For me, Gini's picture exudes relaxation - the warm glow of the fire, feet up after a long day, and best of all, the pedicure. Ahhhh.......

The teacup in mine is one that belonged to Dennis' great aunt. She had a huge cupboard full, and I was fortunate to be able to give many of them a new home when hers was cleaned out. There's a wonderful assortment of cups and saucers, that together make a beautiful, eclectic collection.

So suddenly I'm feeling the need to redecorate the built-ins in our dining room....

Team-Up Thursday

Week 6 Theme - Walk

Gini's photo on the left; mine on the right. This was a fun one this week. My original thought was to take a picture of a walk signal. You know, showing the little orange guy walking. But, I didn't fully think through what it would take to capture that. Didn't stop to think that if there's a walk signal somewhere, it's probably because there's a fair amount of traffic. I knew there was a signal near the Old Town Hall (the brick building in the background). So, I drove over and proceeded to head to the crosswalk. Then it dawned on me. In order to capture the signal on walk, I'd have to press the button and stop traffic. Which would be fine if I was planning to actually cross the street and not just stand there clicking away. Whoops! So, I grabbed this shot on the first try and quickly ran across to the other side, figuring I'd snap a quick shot or two of the orange guy on the way back. I walked down the sidewalk for a bit before turning around and going back to cross back over, so as to not look too crazy. I was psyched because two other people out for a walk came to cross at the same time. Jackpot! Unfortunately, the hood over the signal that shields it from the sun so it can be seen was bent in half, covering the stinking guy up. Oh well, not to be. Just as well, because I think this combo works great. Love how Gini's shows a peaceful path, while mine implies the busyness of the street.

Team-Up Thursday

Week 5 Theme - Self-Portrait

This week, the group was asked to create a self-portrait. Believe it or not, Gini and I did not plan this. It was really quite serendipitous that our shots ended up aligning the way they did. I think the result is amazing - I'm going to need to print and frame this one.

Team-Up Thursday

Week 4 Theme - Nine

I really, really love our entry for this week. I had a bunch of very different ideas, none of which panned out. Nonetheless, I was happy with the result when Gini sent me the finished product (hers on the left, mine on the right).

Team-Up Thursday

Week 3 Theme - Love

In honor of Valentine's Day, our theme for this week's diptych is love. I couldn't be happier with the way our entry came out. To me, it sums up my general philosophy on photography. That is, a photo should capture a moment and freeze it in time, allowing those who view it to feel what it was like to be in that very moment. Both of our pictures capture love as it happened, not in some staged or posed fashion.

In Gini's picture, you not only see the physical demonstration of love - the actual valentines - but you can sense how lovingly they were made by looking at Garrin's sweet little fingers, working busily away.

In mine, I think you can feel the love between Matthew and Gabby. He's touching her head so tenderly, and she's resting so peacefully in his lap. I took this picture a few weeks ago with my Blackberry, hence the lousy quality. I tried yesterday to recreate that moment so I could capture it with one of my other cameras. But you know what? Despite their higher resolution and clarity, they didn't come out anywhere near as beautiful as this one.

Further proof that you have to just let life unfold before your eyes and relish it. You can't try to orchestrate it so that it's perfect, or you'll end up missing the true beauty of the moments.

Team-Up Thursday

Week 2 Theme: Dark


Funny how my mind always jumps to food first....

Teaming Up

Last week, my sister emailed me about a post she'd seen on this blog. It was regarding a creative venture called "Team-Up Thursday", in which two partners photograph a common theme or idea and create a diptych of what each has captured. Pretty cool idea, I thought. I love photography, despite my lack of a truly serious camera (yes, I have camera envy for my sister's monster machine). And, I've been seriously lacking in the blog post department lately, despite having plenty going on in my life to blog about.

And so, Gini and I are teaming up to see what we can come up with. Should be interesting to see how differently (or similarly) the two of us interpret the same theme each week.

So, here's Week 1's diptych, on the theme of "Movement".

This is gonna be fun.

On to the Twos...

Happy 2nd Birthday to my little boy....

Hard to believe how quickly you've gone from this...

to this...

We love you so very, very much.