And then it was 20-15

Happy 2015, friends. Or as Q said, "It was our best party ever!"

We had dinner at 6 and were in bed by 10...and I'm not talking about the children.
Dinner involved my husband holding a crying Ardyn while trying to eat a steak one-handed, and me convincing Q that her alfredo noodle dish was actually a "new version" of mac-n-cheese while spending 75% of my meal under the table picking up her Sleeping Beauty figurines that we COULD NOT leave the house without.
I'm pretty sure someone at the next table loudly mumbled "Get a Babysitter!" as we left.

So, yeah.
Best Party...EVER!

She must have been referring to the confetti...

Quinlin Turned 3! ....five months ago.

So, yes I'm a little behind on blogging.

I intend to try and catch up...starting with Q's birthday shoot. 

From August.

 Mama decided she was too tired (and too pregnant) to throw an at-home birthday party, so we had it at this wonderful place called The Coop. The theme was "A Mid-Summer Knight's Dreamy" and of course, Q dressed the part of the Fairy Queen. She had a blast and as a birthday present we even let her open the gargantuan doll house that we'd been hoarding in the closet since the Christmas before. Yes, I am now referring to Christmas circa 2013.

 

Ardyn, 365

The year Quin grew from a little 1 year old to a big ol' potty-trained, big-girl-bed-sleeping 2 year old, I embarked on a little project. Following the template of the ever amazing Drew B of Mom*Tog, I started a 365 project. My goal: to take a photo a day, using any camera I had handy, of my girl going about her daily activities. The end result was incredible, and a total tear-jerker  (I posted a pic below). I could not believe how much my munchkin had grown in one year. It was also amazing to look back and re-live so many day-to-day memories that otherwise may have been forgotten. I was so happy with the outcome (thanks, Drew!) that I then and there swore that on Jan 1 of my second babe's year, I would do the whole thing again.

First of all, I can't believe it has almost been a year since my Ary Bear was born, but it is also surreal to think that she is about the same age as Quin was when I started her 365. I just know Jan 1, 2016 is going to be here in the blink of an eye and I can only pray that time slows down and take comfort in the fact that at the end of this brand new year, I'll have a peek into every single day of her little life.


Annnd I digress. The point of this post was to say that this 365 fueled me to pick up my camera again. It motivated me to go beyond my iphone (the only "camera" I've been using these days) and to start retraining my creative eye. ...It was getting cataracts. ;)

So cheers to a fresh start, to a fresh year- a full 365 days of pictures! That sounds pretty daunting, huh? Here's hoping I can follow through a second time! Happy 2015, friends. I hope this year is YOUR best year yet!

 

Quinlin's 365:

A photo posted by Jordan (@jjm7) on Jan 1, 2014 at 4:00pm PST

Dad

Sometimes, no words are needed. 

If I knew these would be my last photos of Dad in his element, I would have filled my camera roll.
I miss you every day.
9/26/56 -- 10/30/14

My Favorite Face

My Favorite Face

So I know I haven't written or posted in quite a while. These past three months have been pretty intense. Aside from "the holidays",  moving to a new city, and raising my two little girls, something else has caused me to step away from the camera, something I have yet to discuss.

The last time I posted was my Halloween post on Oct 28th.
Two days later my father passed away. 

My dad had been sick for a while with the awful and terrifying Lewy Body Disease. This sickness, in layman's terms, can best be described as a mix of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. I'm not going to go much further than that, aside from saying that in September he was moved out to TX from NJ to be placed in a wonderful facility just minutes from my house. Thrilled about having him so close, my girls and I visited PopPop as often as possible, always with a treat in hand. (His favorite was either cookies to add to his personal cookie jar we kept hidden in his room or a Coke from McDonald's...sometimes both) The girls were my dad's biggest source of joy, and despite the awful day he might have been having, you could see his face light up from across the room when they walked through the door. He loved them almost as much as they loved him and for me, watching them interact was like seeing my childhood replayed.  When he was with them, his true self shined through.

Recently a friend encouraged me to submit to the I Heart Faces "Favorite Face of 2014" challenge. I have to admit, aside from documenting some of my family life, I haven't had a shoot or picked up my camera since October. Frankly, I just wasn't feeling up to any of it. I know it isn't what my dad would want from me and I know I need to find my motivation once again. That being said, I'm taking the nudge from my sweet friend and submitting the only face that could possibly be considered; the face I can't stop staring at, the face I'd do anything to see just one more time.

It's time to get back on the bandwagon and I can't think of a better way than with a tribute to the most amazing man that ever lived. This submission is for no other reason than to show you that I'm moving forward, Dad.  Like I promised.

This photo was taken on October 19th, less than a month after his 60th birthday.

Who's The Boss

I'll never forget the first time she requested to watch "Who's the Boss". I was wracking my brain..."When did I introduce her to the world of Tony Danza? I don't have 'Who's the Boss' on DVD, do I? I probably should....but, no."
It wasn't until in utter miscommunication-frustration, she followed up her request with, "Mooooooom, I wanna see the meeean witch on Whosthebossz" that it finally clicked.

Thus began her Wizard of Oz fascination. The kid is obsessed with musicals, but good ol' Dorothy holds a special place in her little heart. We watch WoZ daily, along with the terrible-but-kinda-grows-on-you-after-500-viewings, remake "Dorothy's Return to Oz". Poor Zoe is her unwilling sidekick, playing the role of Toto to perfection- as best her tea-cup yorkie self can handle.

Every raised surface in our house is a stage, on which she belts, "Ober-der, Ober the rainbow..." ("somewhere" is not quite in the vocab yet!) and when we drive, everything she sees out the window, relates in someway to the Land that is Oz. "Mom, dat tractor like in Wizard of Oz?" (we have the name down now.) "Mom, see dose trees? Da Yion live in der. He jump out and say rooooar!" And as if you were thinking the car was at least a respite from the Wizard of Oz DVD loop occurring at home, think again. The Wizard of Oz or Wicked soundtracks are her driving tun-ages of choice. (My vote lies with Wicked) ;)

And so, it seemed only expected that when I asked her a few months back what she wanted to be for Halloween, the answer was unmistakably: "DARAFEE!!"

Of course, lil' sis' costume was still up for grabs so I let Quin help me choose....

**As far as the editing goes, yes, I realize we are tipping the scales at a "10" on the cheesiness factor. But let me tell you something- her little face when I showed her these pictures...worth every single solitary yellow-GD-brick-placing-second. ;)