Day 365 Project - Who Knows What Day - Not Me?

I've been keeping up with my daily photos (mostly) but really letting my posts slide. There's some serious catchup to be done, but I'm pretty heavily involved in getting Kidzu Children's Museum's first gala off the ground. More on that later.

We just got back from the Bahamas and I have a ton of photos to post. But these two, I just couldn't wait on. There's just something about seeing him discover the fish in the aquarium at Atlantis. Everything is still magic for this guy - making it magic for me all over again.

365 Project - Tub Time

I'm on my own for bath time fairly often these days. And I have to admit that I take a collective approach to things like bathing. Line them up, soap them down, rinse them off. Repeat as necessary. But no matter how business like I'm being, they make sure to have some fun in there. Baby C is playing cars along the tub edge. B is being, well, B. And the WG is my helpful sweetness, as ever. Even when I'm exhausted, frustrated and behind schedule I try to take a minute to just watch and enjoy them. Funny little things that they are.

Day 38 of the 365 Project

Okay, so I'm skipping around a bit. But I can't help posting these pics. This is the 365 project at it's best. I would NEVER have been lugging my big camera and long lens through my daughter's school without this project. I have to admit the MacDaddy 70-200 2.8 gets lots of attention so I tend to use my wide lens for my personal stuff. But boy was I glad I had it this day.

The WG loves her "all girls chess club." They have an absolutely amazing teacher and he has them on fire for chess. She's playing online chess at home and I'm surprised by how well she knows the rules. Her teacher tells me that she's ready for her first tournament.

Since I had my long lens, I was able to capture just how animated she is when she is playing, without being in her space or distracting her. What fun to see all those expressions on her face! I just love it!

365 Day Project - Catching Up

The good news is that I've been busy. The bad news is that I've been too busy to blog. In fact, today saw me waking at 4am to retouch the last of the images from my Valentines shoots, lay out and order four mini books, place 4 client print orders, and two committee meetings for a Kidzu Children's Museum fundraiser. I am tired. But, because I promised myself I had to catch up, here goes. The past few days of the 365 project. I realize I'm still missing some January posts, but I've shot every day sans one, so I'll get back to those shortly.

Here are some favs from the past few days.

Day 30, What happens when I ask my kids to "jump" into the car.

Day 31, The WG clowning around with her best neighborhood buddy.

Day 32, What happens when we make pudding and Baby C decides to feed himself.

Day 33 & 34 were my Very Sexy Photo Event. A post on that is coming soon! As you can imagine, there are model releases required. Wink! Wink!

Day 35, My kiddos school presentation, featuring Mr. Murray on Xylaphone, WG doing animated arms, and Mrs. Pause doing what she does best. What an adorable show!

Day 36, After a night at Gigis, we take the kids down town for lunch and Krispe Kreme. The WG wanted Ben and Jerry's so that left the boys for doughnuts. And the light was on. Yummy!

Day 37, The Chase

This is my favorite series of the 563 shoot thus far. That's because this is what my kids always do. They run around the house in their jammies. When it's good, they are laughing and playing. When it's bad, they're really chasing one another. But, this morning, it was all fun, games and laughter. And my camera was right by my side!

Day 21 of the 365 Project

So, at the very last minute, a friend and I decided to go on a quick trip to Chicago. We stayed in another friend's house and I fell in love with a tree in her back yard. Love, love, love it. Of course, it was actually as cold as hell frozen over when I went outside to take this photo, but it was worth it.

Day 20 of the 365 Project

My friend, Nickie, just handed down a super cool fire truck bed to baby C. It's been in the friend circle for a while (thanks Christina!!!!) and my baby is the lucky new recipient. But I have to say, his sibs are jealous. Even WG said, "Mom, I would like a bed like this." Really? A seven year old girl wants a fire truck bed. Well, it is cool. If only I could squish Mel in there....

Day 17 of the 365 Project

I spent the day 17 of the 365 project photographing the United Way's day of service in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday. It was held at my church, Christ Church in Southern Village, and there were TONS of people who turned out to volunteer. Young and old, black and white, and everything in between. It was inspiring. Here are some of my favorite photos of the day.

Day 16: Boys on Swings

C's first time on a big-boy swing. He loved it, but looked nervous the whole time.

And my favorite shot of B in a while. He's as michevious as he is yummy!

Day 15 of the 365 Project: Breakfast Chez Williams

One of the great things about this project so far is the experimentation. On day 15, I picked up my camera during an ordinary breakfast of french toast and berries. And I decided to leave my flash off! Wacky, I know. The light was seriously low and I had to shoot on 4000 ISO, which gave me lots of grain. But I kind of love it. Somehow, it fits the mood of breakfast in your PJs.

Day 14 of the 365 Day Project: The Playdate

So, on day 14, we brought WG's best buddy home with us. They've known one another for a very, very long time (since before their first birthdays) and they call each other "forever friends." It's pretty sweet how they've managed to stay close despite being in different classes, neighborhoods and having different friends. I love this guy too - and he gave me about 3000 different looks to try to keep me from taking his picture. Like that was going to work.

I was a little worried about how the playdate would go, because WG has a neighborhood best friend too. She's just down the street from us and the two play together every afternoon. But they had no problem playing with S, and they even pretended to lay a smooch on him. Super funny!

Day 13 of the 365 Project

So, after the national championship game, I took a few days off from everything. Getting back was a nightmare - delayed planes, snow, ice, de-icing, fuel issues - you name it. And on day 12, I rested. That means, my 365 project will be short a few days. I've decided that when I miss a day, I'll do penance - by editing something previously untouched from last year.

But when I picked the camera up again on the 13th day, it felt good. There's something about shooting that frees me from thinking. I shoot very instinctively and it always, always feels good.

So, I hung out with B and Baby C in the playroom much of the day. It was great great fun.

Day 9 & 10 of the 365 Project - The National Championship Game

My brothers, their friend Marcus, and my dad joined me in Phoenix late on Saturday night. They wanted to hit the grand canyon on Sunday, but I talked them out of it (plus, they Mapquested and realized it is eight hours round trip) and instead we hit the Budlight Tailgate in the Southport area. It was a beautiful day and we arrived in with enough time; the party filled up quickly and people started gathering on the adjacent parking deck to see the stage! We gnoshed on PF Changs, drank margaritas, listened to the band, and got to hear Mr. Penny speak! It was great fun!

On game day, Mel and I headed down to the stadium area pretty early - about 10. Even that early, people were beginning to settle in to tables in the choice locations. We settled for a couple of couches at The Yard House. It was the perfect place to hang out with old friends and new while we waited for kickoff.

It was a great, great game. If you missed it, you have to YouTube Michael Dyer's amazing run. His knee doesn't touch the ground, the play isn't whistled dead but no one on the field realizes it for a moment. My absolute favorite!!! A heads up play on Dyer's part!

All I can say is War Eagle!

Day 7 & 8 of the 365 Project - Phoenix Bound

For those of you that don't know me well, I grew up in Auburn, Alabama. In many ways, it's a lot like Chapel Hill. Small southern town dominated by a large university. The big difference - football! So when Auburn made the national championship my husband, sports fan that he is, gave the go ahead for us to go. It was a blast. And one of the best parts is that I went out two days early. I spent the first day flying out, having a light dinner with other fans in our hotel's club room, then watching Sex in the City 2 on in-room entertainment. For a mom of three, getting to just relax and stay in was such a blessing. I spent the evening watching the sunset. There's just something about the sky out there that captures my imagination. It's so expansive and full of possibilities.

The next morning, I headed across town to the new JW Marriot Spa at Desert Ridge. What a beautiful spa!!! After a three mile run and some stretching I had the most fabulous hot stone massage. Maybe the best massage of my life. Next, it was off for an orange (WAR EAGLE!) mani-pedi. Finally, lunch by the pool in my spa robe (miso marinated black cod - yum!), some reading next to the fire and then off to the Jacuzzi. Which is where I met these girls.

They were celebrating a birthday and were hitting the spa and the town! They were so funny and so clearly enjoying one another. Made me miss my friends a bit! But I enjoyed capturing their antics. Ladies, if you're even in Chapel Hill, look me up. I know you'd be fun to go out with. Sorry I missed you that night.

I really loved Phoenix. It's definitely a place I can see coming back to. It would be a terrific place to do portraits. All that sky as a backdrop...makes a photographer's heart flutter.

Day 6 of the 365 Project - My Helpful Loving Girl

So, I have to admit there's a downside to being the child of a portrait photographer. You're a built in subject. Yesterday, the WG went shopping for props with me. Today, she skipped swim team (okay, she wasn't bummed about that) to model for me. I needed to put together some promo images for a Valentines shoot I'm doing with Danielle Anthony, and she was willing. Oh yeah, and I paid her $10. But it was worth it. Got some great shots for my 365 project and for my Valentine's marketing. Oh how I love multi tasking. Tomorrow, it's off to Arizona with my brother and dad to watch Auburn play in the national championship game. So my kids will get a break, and I'll turn my lens on the tigers, their fans, and my extended family. Warrrrrr Eaggglleeeee!!!!! Here are the shots that we didn't use....

Day 5 of the 365 Day Project - The Chase

So, while I'm cooking dinner yesterday, the kids, Vitoria (now known as grand au pair) and Gabi all played a pretty rockin' game of chase. And as chase usually does, it ended in a game of tickle monster. As usual, Vitoria lost.

Day 4 of the 365 Project. A Speedy Recovery

It's amazing. Just like that, the virus is gone. B woke up screaming for food. "Mommmmm!!!! Get me filled." "What?" "I'm hungry! Get my belly filled."

By the end of the day, he was full strength. And my house re-organization was gaining momentum. At this point, I'm finished with the kids rooms, the playroom (although that needs to be organized about once a week) and I've moved on to the kitchen and downstairs. Here's Mr. B showing off his new and improved digs!

365 Project - Day 3. The Sickies

Everything was going just fine. Baby C was sleeping. B was watching TV and I was tidying up around the house and catching up on emails. B didn't want his picture taken, but all else was quiet.

Then, just about the time I was supposed to pick WG up from chess, B looked at me and said, "Momma, I'm going to throw up." And boy was he right. It was epic. I'll spare you the photo.

When there was a break in the - ahem - production, I woke the sleeping baby and put B (and his bucket) into the car and we raced off to school to pick up WG.

B headed to my bed to watch TV and WG had an after school snack, did her homework (because I'm evil) and then had to tidy the playroom before she could go outside (also because I'm evil).

And that, ladies and gentlemen is why I have such LOVELY photos of day 3 of the 365 project. Will I fare better on day 4? You'll have to tune in to find out.

365 Project - Day 2. Arm Wrestling - Chapel Hill Baby and Child Photographer

So, I'm starting to get a feel for the way the 365 project may go. I picked up my camera a few times today when I wouldn't ordinarily. One moment where the kids were playing outside. Another when Mel was taking the Christmas tree out of the house. But there was another moment, during a completely ordinary dinner of leftovers that was just so much fun it was clearly today's capture. Here's the backstory: A few days ago one of Mel's friends, Rob, was visiting and taught Bennett to arm wrestle. And it's been the beginning of something in our house, clearly. Mel likes to let the kids win. I love to be the top dog at something for once. They actually try to beat one another, which is hilarious.

I'm hoping everyone gets used to me turning the camera on them all the time. Right now, they're still making faces at me, with an annoyed expression. But then again, it is only day 2.