Breakfast with Grandma

We visited with Grandma and Grandma Great by video during breakfast. If you haven't had the opportunity to use Skype, the video conferencing software that works on both PC and Mac, you should definitely check it out. It's free! — Sean

Room to grow

Abby wasn't the biggest baby and for a while our doctor was worried she wasn't showing up on the chart. But she's growing and it seems these days like a weed. We've still got a little room left on our chart at home.

Summer Vacation '08

In the beginning of July we dashed off for our summer vacation. Cathy spent two weeks in New Hampshire introducing young Harper to the family. We spent July 4th at Uncle Albert's house and enjoyed an afternoon BBQ. Cathy and the kids got to take off to the beach a couple of times. I joined her for a week in New Hampshire and then I grabbed a flight to Scotland with my roommate from college and best friend Kevin. If you ever want to see Scotland, I know a guy:) We were invited on the trip by Kevin's father-in-law Paul. Paul has visited Scotland 11 times and he treated us to a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We didn't meet anyone who wasn't a local. Details of the trip are a closely guarded secret. Click here to see slide show of both portions of our vacation. — Sean

A concert for one

Uncle Albert has a beautiful home in New Hampshire's North Country. Inside his home sits a piano. He bought it for $500. We almost never get to hear Albert play the piano. He tells us he doesn't play for people because he doesn't want them to hear his mistakes. Sometimes though, when we're coming over for dinner, we can stand outside his house and hear him playing inside. It's magical. We often plead with him to play for us. This time he relented, with Abby asleep on the couch nearby. It was a small concert for one. I'm so glad I was able to record just a bit of what we usually pause in the woods of New Hampshire to listen to. — Sean

Summer Vacation '08

Well you may have noticed a lack of posts here and that's because we took a two week vacation to the Northeast. Our family visited New Hampshire's North Country where we celebrated July 4th and saw grandparents, great grandparents, aunts and uncle on Cathy's side. (Nocousins yet, but we're waiting patiently:) Harper spent time with his granddad who makes some fine hard cider. With Harper's help they sold quite a bit of it at the Lancaster farmer's market. We alsogot in a couple of trips to the beach at Ipswich. The highlight of my trip was traveling to Scotland to play golf with some great friends, Kevin, Paul and Peter. I was the trip photographer, which proved to bedifficult since I was more focused on my five iron and the incredible food than the photographs. We're planning on posting a slide show from our trip soon. To everyone who contacted us while we were gone - thanks for your patience. We will be in touch with you shortly! — Sean

Mammo, Abby and Harper

Mammo returned home this morning and we are going to miss her. We made sure to take advantage of the time we had with her while she was here. That included plenty of playtime and a delightful trip to Manitou Springs where Abby got to take rides on her favorite horse at the Penny Arcade. - Sean

Family Day

We're taking a family day today. Have a great Monday! — Sean

Nothing better than a hug

Mammo is visiting for the week. Caught this moment after dinner last night. There's nothing better than a hug. — Sean

We had a birthday party! (And we liked it)

A photo montage of Abby and her friends at her birthday party. Despite some of the expressions caught here (I think they're adorable) everyone really did have a great time:) — Sean

Abby Cadabby celebrates her birthday!

Abby, seen here in her AbbyCadabby towel, is celebrating her third birthday today with a second (yes, second) birthday party! We celebrated with family on her real birthday and now she's having friends over. Oh what a day! — Sean

On the Chesapeake with Abby and Harper

We're visiting Mammo for the next week and photographing Xavi and Mark's wedding at the National Cathedral on Saturday. We arrived to beautiful weather. Harper looked like he flew in himself (I don't know where he gets those ears:) and Abby and I spent sunset on the water. — Sean

Breakfast

One camera, one lens, one beautiful child

Abby and I had a wonderful afternoon yesterday playing in the back yard. And there was so much to do! We checked on the peas Momma planted the day before, played in the empty sandbox, made a few phone calls and took a drive. I have to pinch myself. I'm a lucky guy to be able to spend an afternoon with my daughter and on a weekday no less. At the same time, we're headed into our busy season and I wanted to use this time productively. So I practiced my photography. Photography is so much like music, it takes practice. A style of music can also be a perfect comparison to describe a style of photography. I like to think of jazz as the best way todescribe how we work; we allow room for the moment, the spontaneous. And in many ways it is the moment that decides what the picture will be.Click here to see a brief slideshow of my playtime with Abby. — Sean

Abby places her first call

Abby makes a phone call to Daddy:) — Sean

Easter Snow

Abby and I enjoy the snow on Easter morning. — Sean

What's Daddy doing?

Abby figures out what I do for a living. Actually, she's known for quite some time now, but it's still awfully cute:) — Sean

Happy Valentine's Day!

Abby and Harper wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day! – Sean

Like Father, Like Daughter

Our dear friend Linda sent this 'Say Cheese' toy camera by Baby Gund. It comes complete with shutter sound. Abby (who doesn't have any camera yet) grabbed it immediately and started shooting. She also had plenty of stage direction for the rest of us. We're both so proud. She's on her way to becoming our newest associate photographer:) — Sean

How not to miss the moments

A tip for folks who want nice family photographs. They don't always happen when you plan for them. This image of Cathy and Abby with Mammo and Grandma Great came about before breakfast. Everyone was cheery, even if we weren't all dressed in our best. And despite the bed heads, it was a wonderful moment with four generations together. I'm sure glad my camera was sitting on the counter. If it wasn't there, this picture would be lost forever. — Sean

Notes from a lunch meeting

Cathy, Abby, Harper and I had a delightful lunch yesterday with Mammo and Papa Rum at Mon Ami Gabi in downtown Betheseda.

Do you see a resemblance? - Take 2

Brother and sister arrived in the world looking the same, but different:) — Sean

One camera, one lens; two beautiful children

Abby's feeling a little left out after the newest family member (still unnamed:) arrived. So we baked a 'Your the Best' chocolate cake, a gift from Mammo. That made her happy. Last night I left my camera on the nightstand and awoke at 5:30 this morning to find the littlest one, very mellow but quite aware of his surroundings. — Sean

Xmas Recap

Our Christmas day was fabulous. Abby loved it. Halfway through the morning, she decided that playing with the wrapping paper was more fun than playing with her new Noah's Ark and all of the animals. After watching her, I think children are as excited about the boxes and wrapping paper as they are with their new 'toys.' Cathy and I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas day and we will be sure to let you know when the newest member of our family arrives! — Sean

On Santa watch

We're on Santa watch around here. In case you're not aware, you can track Santa via the North American Aerospace Defense Command located here in Colorado Springs. Click here to find out where Santa is right now and be sure to bundle up for a long winter's night! — Sean

Mammo's visit

Mammo visited us this week and returns to the Chesapeake tomorrow. We had great fun decorating the Christmas tree tonight. This was Abby's first time getting into the swing of things for Christmas. — Sean

Dress up's in full swing

Last night Abby found the laundry on the couch and this morning she was our firefighter. She helped solve the mystery of why our heat didn't turn on... — Sean

Abby gets a haircut

After a year and a half (at least) of dealing with Abby's long hair (she was in pigtails at 1 year!), we've finally gone and cut it off. Now she has short hair with bangs that will be easily manageable by me or her father! This was all by design, since the next baby will be here in December (we hope!). — Cathy

Yumminess - A Short

Abby explains just how yummy her lollipop is:) — Sean

Raggedy Ann

Last Friday Abby dressed as Raggedy Ann and we braved the crowds at Boo at the Zoo. The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo opens the gates after dark and invites children and their parents to tour and collect candy and other fun stuff along the way. Abby enjoyed seeing the nocturnal animals, especially the lions with their three cubs and the yawning white python. Of course the candy was a big hit too! — Cathy

An Abby moment

Abby with 'Mamo' on our recent vaction. — Sean

Dumptruck - a short

Here's a really cute short made with our Canon G9 of our Abby. On my browser the video appears in a window twice. My apologies. Either I'm uploading the video incorrectly or blogger's still working out the bugs. Click the first window to play. And enjoy! We thought she was being awfully cute and funny:) — Sean

Canon G9 test drive

Regular readers will remember an accident this spring with my trusty point-and-shoot. I've been looking for one ever since. I thought I had a winner with the new Canon S5, a newer version of a camera that our friends Cassie and Will used on their honeymoon. And then I got sidetracked and never ordered it. Recently I came across a mouthwatering online review of the Canon G9 and I pulled the trigger. It arrived yesterday, right before our trip. So I spent the plane ride reading the manual and making a few moody pictures of Abby in her seat. Since I will be learning about this camera on our trip, check here the next few days to see the results. The above image was shot in color, underexposed by two stops at ISO 80 and then post-processed in Photoshop CS2. Pretty awesome so far! — Sean

Two left feet

Abby put her shoes on all by herself. :) — Sean

Ice Cream Social

Abby's best friend Kenzie came over last night and we went for ice cream at our favorite spot, the Drive-In. — Sean

The Diaper Princess

Soon Abby will only be wearing diapers on her head! Yesterday when she got up from her nap I found her in her bedroom looking like this… It's a matter of time before the diaper princess is a thing of the past and the potty/pantie princess takes her place!
Click here to see a very short slide show of her photo session as diaper princess.— Cathy

Two takes on a two-year-old

A quick post before the weekend. It's a before and after shot. Abby wanted Daddy's butter on her banana bread this morning. Apparently, the butter on her banana bread wasn't good enough. But she was all smiles seconds later when Daddy relented, gave her some of his butter and asked her to smile for the camera. Notice hand in mouth. Teeth seem to be a big issue for a two-year-old:) — Sean

Potty Party

Abby and many of her friends are learning to use the potty. Monday, Maeve's mommy Kate invited all the potty-trainers to a Potty Party. The girls played musical chairs with their potties, played toilet paper bowling using the roles as pins and enjoyed a cake decorated to look like a toilet seat.
It was a big hit. All the girls took turns using the potties for real and earned an m&m candy for their efforts. Since the party, we've added the m&m incentive to our potty training regimen and it's paying off! Here are several photos from the Potty Party. Thank Kate for hosting and sharing the photos!— Cathy

Hiking with Abby

This is the time of year for hiking in Colorado. Wildflowers are out, sunrise is early and the pine forest is beautiful. We took a hike this morning with Abby to the top of Mt. Cutler. It's only five minutes from town and offers great views of the city and of Seven Falls, a local tourist attraction. — Sean

Big day for Abby

Sunday was a big day for Abby. After spending two years in diapers, she traded them in for some underwear — Elmo underwear. She's not quite potty trained, but spending time in underwear rather than diapers makes her very happy. She showed them off to the 'big girls' next door and then joined them in a game of hopscotch on the sidewalk in front of our house. We're so proud of her! — Sean

Our visit to the Chesapeake

We returned from Maryland a couple of weeks ago, but I never had a chance to post photos or a slideshow of our visit. Abby had a great time with her cousins Henry and Chalmers. We also visited the National Aquarium in Baltimore, checked out a boat show at the harbor and spent some quality time on the beach. The most fun, though, was hanging with grandma or 'mamo' as Abby likes to say. Click here to see a brief slideshow of our trip. — Sean

One in four children experience asthma

Nothing narrows your focus or your field of vision like a sick child. This week we returned from Maryland after a couple of days of ridiculously high pollen counts and Abby had a severe asthmatic reaction. We headed to Memorial Hospital early Thursday morning and remained there through the end of the day on Friday. I never gave much thought to asthma. But after this week, I'll never underestimate it again. And little did I realize how prevelant asthma has become in children. One in four have experienced asthma and its symptoms. Except for a little lost sleep Abby is doing well and we're all glad to be home. — Sean

Our trip to the National Aquarium in Baltimore

Yesterday we visited the National Aquarium in Baltimore. It's a fabulous place for children. We saw a dolphin show in the ampitheater and toured the aquarium, recognized as one of the top aquariums in the nation. It's also one of the best attraction in Maryland. Abby was one captivated little girl and never seemed to tire, even during her regular nap time. Here are a couple of photos from our trip. If you're ever in Baltimore, be sure to make a point to visit the aquarium! Click here for more information. — Sean

Abby at Easter

We spent Easter with my Godparents and I made some photographs of Abby during dinner at the White Fence Farm in Lakewood. It was a small moment. Abby and her balloon. Funny, how little it takes to entertain and excite a child. As I get older and further away from the simple pleasure of a balloon, I appreciate her delight even more. From this I was reminded of a book I haven't read in a long while. 'All the I Really Need to Know I learned in Kindergarten' by Robert Fulgham. A simple manifesto, its advice is for the ages.'Live a balanced life—learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.' — Robert Fulgham

Easter Egg Hunt

We're closing in on Easter and Abby's second birthday. Last year, Abby wasn't walking so the Easter egg hunt was put off until she could get around the yard. This year we invited Abby's friends Gemma, Maeve, and Cooper to help us hunt for eggs. We were ready with baskets. All the girls wore Easter dresses. And the hunt was on on a beautiful Spring afternoon in Colorado. The little ones had a ton of fun collecting the eggs and I pulled the camera out. Afterwards we retired to the backyard and enjoyed deviled eggs, made from the eggs we hardboiled and colored. They were gone in an hour:). Click here to see a slideshow of the Easter Egg hunt. * A note about the photos. They were made almost entirely without framing the image in the viewfinder. Instead they were shot by feel, knowing where the lens was pointed and 'sensing' the edges of the frame. I practice this technique so that when I have to make a photo without framing it I can. Plus, it's just a lot of fun! — Sean