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

Our little giggler

Harper is teething bad. He has a little flap of skin just barely covering one of the big teeth on the top. I bet it's going to push through in the next few days. Despite the discomfort that he must be feeling, he's in a surprisingly good mood. Check out this video of our little giggler… —Cathy

Monster baby on the crawl

Harper's officially crawling and we need to keep all electronics out of his reach:) — Sean

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

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

Harper's crawling (almost)

Harper is almost crawling. He gets up on his hands and knees and rocks forward and back, preparing for the next step…moving a hand or a foot. He's much more motivated when there is a toy (or camera) to grab. I think he'll be crawling by the end of July. Abby never crawled…she scooted on her bottom, so we are all in new territory. I took these photos this morning on our bed using only window light. –Cathy

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

And now for something completely different

We thought we would share a milestone in Harper's life. He's eating solid food! — 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

Diaper Change

It's just as much a part of a photographer's life as anything else I guess:) Have a great weekend! — Sean

Back by popular demand — Harper :)

Nothing brightens Dad's day in the office like a visit from Harper.
Have a wonderful weekend! — Sean

Harper's bath last night

We had a nice home alone last night and it was bath time to boot. Here are two photographs that I think are pretty adorable of Harper.I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter! — 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 Harper

It's been a while since I posted any images of Harper. Here's one from this morning. He's settling in quite well around here. And he smiles a lot! — Sean

Harper smiles…

Harper is seven weeks old today. For all you parents and soon-to-be parents out there… last night he slept from 8 to 4:30 without a peep! I may be biased, but I think he's darn cute and very advanced for his age, you be the judge. —Cathy

Happy Valentine's Day!

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

Bathtime for Harper

Harper's first bath. — Sean

Do you see a resemblance? - Take 2

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

Harper at 2 weeks

Cathy and I went to our follow-up appointment with Laura Luckett, our midwife, and this happened. I didn't have my camera, but Laura let me use hers to make this picture. Here I want to thank Laura for all she's done. Laura has overseen two births at our home and it's just been the most incredible experience. Laura and her partner Robin operate the Colorado Springs Midwifery Center. If you're having a baby and you want to remove the hospital experience from the birth experience, then consider Laura and Robin. They are both professional and personal... and they have extra cameras lying around when you really need one:) Thanks again Laura! — Sean

Do you see a resemblance?

I was visiting my mother this weekend and she pulled out newborn photographs of me and my brother. I was struck by Harper's resemblance. (He is in the middle:) Can you figure out which one is my brother and which one is me? Place your bets in our comments! — Sean

Day 6

Here's the little peanut again. I photographed him in our kitchen using sepia setting on the Canon G9 at ISO 1600.— Sean

Day 5

Four days old and he's STILL asleep

Harper Stites Cayton

From the book The Secret Universe of Names: The letter R resonates with cheeky sexuality, which explains why it's the initial letter of romance, rakish, rebel, risque, ruddy, randy, racy and robust. But in combination with the hushed and humble tones of the letter H, the R generates the words that describe the more admirable aspects of human endeavors heroic, honor, harmonious, heart, hardy, and humor. These emotive qualities reflect the way HR people typically wear their hearts on their sleeves. To really know an HR is to find it difficult to resist the hearty and down-to-earth personality. HRs have the rare ability to put other people at ease without appearing smug or condescending. HRs may be solicitous and gentle with their loved ones, but they're not overburdened with patience. Still, even if they vent with the occasional burst of bad humor, everyone knows that it's more bark that bite. It's a good idea not to push them too far or too often, though, for over time, even these otherwise-harmonious individuals will become cranky and unreasonable. HRs amble through life with an abiding hatred of routine, which is why you won't find them slugging away at the nine-to-five grind unless forced into it by the prospect of poverty. These are capable people who have a lot to offer and aren't the kind to take a backseat to anyone. Typically, they're attracted to jobs that promise creative freedom (or at least a high degree of autonomy) and the most common complaint about the HRs is that they'll sometimes take their independent philosophies to the extreme and make far too many reckless decisions. HRs are introspective people who are dedicated to their ideals and convictions. And as friends, HRs are almost without peer. Trustworthy, reliable and dependable, they understand that the responsibilities of friendship extend beyond the casual familiarity and the occasional drink. To them, a friend in need is a call to arms, and they'll reflexively volunteer their services without having to be asked. HRs tend to choose mates who can balance their adventurous aspects with responsible and grounded outlooks. But in their zeal to find mates who can offer them the stability they need, they run the risk of settling for women who don't appreciate their unconventional perspectives. Still, because HRs are quick learners and masters in the art of compromise, their marriages are more stable and permanent than most. — Sean, Cathy, Abby and Harper

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