best picture

how does the academy pick the best picture of the year? how are movies that are so different compared to each other? juno made me laugh and cry. atonement was spectacular - i love how the story was told from different perspectives and i have always loved historical fiction. so, how can you compare the two? how can you say that one is better than the other when they are both entertaining? we will see what the academy has to say. either way, i recommend both.

operation

my little guy had an operation yesterday. his tonsils and adenoids were removed in order to help with sleep apnea. sam did so well while i was the one with all of the anxiety! the entire procedure was done in one hour and i was so impressed with everyone at lucille packard childrens' hospital. his breathing improved immediately - while i was holding him in the recovery room, i could hardly hear him breathing! quite amazing - he doesn't snore anymore! after a marathon of popsicles and a few movies, he is back to running around the house as if nothing happened.

sister

my sister is amazing. not only is she super smart, she is also a wonderful person. she will be leaving us in the fall to attend medical school. i have mixed feelings about this because although i am immensely proud of her for going to medical school, i am going to miss having her around. i really like spending time with her and she is a great aunt to sam and ryan! the future doctor and her boyfriend, nick, allowed me to photograph them while we were on vacation. thank you dana and nick!

miss francis

this little cutie pie is 10 months old and very sweet. here is a sneak peak from the photo session with a few of my favorites.

cake

what number do you see? today is sam's birthday and the little guy is four. i was inspired by our visit to the doctor and the vision test with the numbers inside the circles. i must confess, i am not much of a cook. i can put a dinner together and the food is good but i have no desire to spend hours in a kitchen preparing an elaborate meal with a zillion ingredients. given the choice, i would rather bake something sweet. cookies, cakes, bread....yum! this cake was delicious and the birthday boy ate it up. happy birthday sam!

oranges

we have this fantastic orange tree in our backyard and every winter it produces a whole bunch of little oranges. there are so many oranges - i wish i had a recipe so i could use all of them. fresh squeezed orange juice is always delicious but it would take forever since they are such tiny little things.

baby girl

this is my baby girl and she is now nine months. she is such a sweetie pie - so happy and easy-going. ryan is now crawling all over the place and pulling herself up. jerry is convinced that she will walk by his birthday (about a month away) but i am hoping that she waits a bit longer. happy nine month birthday baby! (just a side note about the glasses - we get a zillion comments on a daily basis so here is the scoop. ryan has genetic esotropia which means that she has a weak eye muscle. most people use the term 'lazy eye'. she will turn the weak eye in so she can focus with the stronger eye. the glasses keep her eyes straight by helping her see better with both eyes. if the eye is not corrected, the brain may eventually turn off the weak eye which is why glasses are needed. she will need to wear glasses until she is 10 or so and then we will try to taper off the prescription. at that point, there is a 50% chance that she will still need glasses. who knows what new technology or procedures they will come up with in the next ten years? in addition, she could choose to wear contacts as a teenager. personally, i think there are some super stylish glasses out there.)

2007 holiday season

the 2007 holiday season was super busy and i had the opportunity to photograph a whole bunch of really adorable babies, children and families. i have such super clients - thank you to all of the wonderful families! next year i am thinking about having some sort of incentive for booking a session early - the weather is always so beautiful in september and october. any ideas?

jungle

we have been home for four days yet vacation seems so far away. the pile of laundry is getting a bit smaller and the suitcases are put away. here are a few more pictures from our trip to maui. the first three are from our trip to the 'jungle' - about fifteen minutes away from the manicured resorts of kaanapali you can find this amazing area. it really feels like you are walking through a jungle. the light rain added to the whole experience. the kids really had a blast on the beach. sam enjoyed building sand castles and putting his feet in the waves. ryan managed to eat quite a bit of sand and she enjoyed chewing on the sand toys. we made our way through many bottles of sunscreen yet we are happy to report that our children do not have tan lines - they are still super pale.

fence

the rain was pouring down but i jumped out of the car and ran through a puddle of mud to photograph this beautiful fence. the weather was decent this year - we have had better and we have definitely had worse. i am not a big fan of getting a tan anymore so a day of rain is fine by me. we all hopped in the car and took a little drive. more pictures to come soon...here is one photo from the drive.

back to reality

aloha! just returned from a wonderful vacation on maui...sigh! i had a wonderful time with family and friends. now it is back to school, work, laundry, etc.. i plan on adding pictures from maui as well as some highlights from the very busy holiday season. stay tuned! mahalo!