It was the thing all parents dread...I show up at school and see Sayer's teacher walking across the parking lot and she says, "Oh, I was just going to call you.  Sayer just threw up all over the bathroom.  He looks bad, all white".  Ugh.  Sure enough, he was sick and later that night Finn got sick too.  I went in to work the next morning, photographed little Margot and headed home to tend to the sickies.  On the way home I had visions of what was in store for me...lethargic, sad and uncomfortable kids throwing up and crying.  To my surprise, it wasn't like that at all.  We had a really nice day actually.  They played dress up, we snuggled and watched dinosaur movies.  We ran an errand with them in their Incredibles costumes.  Steven was gone so it was just the 3 of us.

I bought them some "Fairy Food" candy and we ate most of it but hid some in places around the yard for the fairies too.  The first time we checked on the food, Sayer looked up at me and said "Mommy, look!  Can you believe it...it's wet!  the fairies must have been licking it!".  They almost came out of their skin with excitement when we went later to check on the food and it was gone! (yes, I snuck out there and picked it all up when they weren't looking)

Here are a few shots from day...

awww, nice puppy...now, mean puppy! 

One of the highlights of the day was this moment.  They were standing next to each other and Sayer was busily eating his Fairy Food.  Finn reached over and softly touched his arm.

then hugs him and says, "I love you Darth Vader".  It was so sweet and wonderful.  I was so grateful to have been sitting right there to witness it.

Much of the day looked a lot like this picture (Finn is running Hot Wheels up and down my legs).  They were ON me all day.  It was a day of snuggles and engaged play.  Thankfully, I had left my laptop at work so they had my full attention.  It was amazing.

I'm not sure if it is because our house is noisy or what but Phoebe always looks sort of nervous.

So what do you get when you have a warm day+1/2 clothed toddlers+plants that need to be watered?  Well, at my house, you get naked boys playing in the water.

Now that yard was completely soaked, it was time for pizza and a bath.

That's all from our day.  Let it fill you with hope that your next sick day at home will be as sweet as ours was. 

Great Fathers are such a wonderful thing.  I also really appreciate Mothers who give their guys the space and the encouragement to be great Dads.  Steven (my husband) is an amazing Father.  He is totally in the fight alongside me and the kids adore him.  Steven shines as a parent.  He is gentle and sweet with them but manages to firm up and be more strict when he needs to be.  He's actually better at that then I am.  He's silly with the boys and takes the punches of parenting with an amazing stride.  I'm so grateful.  I can't imagine doing this incredible difficult job of parenting without him at my side.

This shot is from a session a week or so ago.  The Mom kept saying that she wanted a shot of her little girl on her husband's shoulder because that is where she loved to hangout.  It brought back a flood of memories for me.  Sayer loved to sleep on Steven's chest.  When I shot this, I could actually see this clear picture in my mind of Sayer's little face with his little mouth open completely asleep on Steven's chest.  It's just going by so fast, where has 5 years gone?

Saturday was Sayer's 5th birthday.  We had a small gathering of friends at our place.  Sayer had a really great time, it was perfect weather, the kids played hard, we (the adults that is) had lots of cold beer and great conversations.  Here's a few snaps from the day (well, maybe more than just a few).  These first 4 pictures come courtesy of Danny Clark.  I passed my camera over to him and asked him to help me out.  Thanks Danny!  Sayer was so excited about his Jedi battle cake.

After the candles were blown out and cake was being served, Danny's daughter Whitney starts crying.  I guess the above cake just doesn't look good in girl world.  She looked at him and said, "it looks just awful!"  Thankfully, I had some spare cupcakes.  Olivia didn't mind all the creatures, brown icing and light sabers though!

Once my party duties were complete, I got to have some fun photographing the kids.  I love taking pictures of Kate.  She is so funny.

Finn and James are birds of a feather.  They went straight for the mess. 

This is Christopher.  He and Sayer play so well together.  Check out his shiner!  Seems he was trying to do back flips off the couch at home.  Turns out that it wasn't such a great idea. 

A little game of "OK, 1-2-3, everyone fall down!" 

My brother, Rhett, came into town.  Looks like the kids thought he was pretty cool... 

and here's Julia enjoying a juice box 

This is Christopher's sister, Kara 

Orcas eating my flowers and a ladybug that the girls played with until it started, um, "sleeping".

a gaggle of girls 

More of Kate 

and last, but certainly not least, Zoe

Thanks everyone for celebrating with us.  It was a great party! 

Sometimes I feel sorry for them...the children of photographers that is. We make them sit for way more pictures than the average person. We test things out on them- new light set ups, backdrops, new lenses...We expect them to behave well when we do this too. Sayer will sometimes just look at me (with a somewhat exhausted look) and say "no more pictures Mommy". Finn, less interested in pleasantries, just gets up and runs away.  We can't help ourselves though. So, here's a perfect example of what happens when two photographers (myself and Danny) get together one evening after a long day's work and start playing with the fan at Danny's studio...

I am so excited about my new studio space!  Things are moving right along.  I don't have a definite move in date but it should be in about a month or so.  They are getting so much done each day.  We started with a big open room and now we have walls everywhere, a brick wall, a cool reclaimed antique window and a stained wood beamed ceiling.  I think you guys are all going to love the new location and I can't wait to open the doors!  The new space is located near the Rice Village in central Houston.  We're going to have some great neighbors alongside us in the building as well.

After visiting the studio, we took the kids out to one of my favorite spots, the Goode Company Taqueria. They actually eat there, which is always a big plus.  The weather was great and we sat outside.  The kids love to throw pennies into the big fountain and climb around in this little group of bushes that they have on the patio.

Finn took a break from playing and took a picture with me.

He also had a good time sporting my new sunglasses.

It was one of those days that I love...no big drama, everyone is in a good mood, good food, nice weather...can't complain!  Life is good.  Hope you guys are having a day just like it.