During dessert tonight Finn paused and looked at me and said, "Mommy, I only eat the icing and not the cake part".  Then he sat and meticulously separated the icing from the cake as if performing some sort of surgery on the cake.  While I was watching him eat these big gobs of icing (blech!) I was struck by how fitting that statement was.  Indeed in life, Finn is all about the icing. 

He hates to get dressed in the morning (and fights it bitterly) preferring Pj's over more restrictive, scratchier clothes.  He pleads, "no hard pants!".  I go to great pains to buy him the softest, most comfortable clothes but nothing is as good as jammies.  Jammies are like the icing of clothes.  You know that feeling at the end of a long day when you slip into a great pair of comfortable pj's...ahhhh, icing baby! 

Finn has a lovey that he is completely attached to.  It used to have velvet on one side and look something like this:

Now the velvet is gone and the ruffle detailing is also gone on 2 of the 4 sides.  It used to be baby blue and now it looks more white.  It is so worn out.  It is the icing of blankets.  I'd post a picture of it but he won't let me have it long enough.

Finn likes to pour out all the hot wheels and not put them back.  He likes to splash the water out of tub, pee in the yard and snuggle with absolute abandon.  He is a consummate snuggler.  Every morning he likes to start his day sitting curled up on my lap, lovey in hand.  He'll find a perfect spot on one of the ruffles and rub it between his thumb and first finger.  He is hell on wheels but he needs a little "icing" to get him started first thing in the morning.

He started giving huge hugs early on, as a small baby.  He's sensitive and sweet.

Finn loves destruction.  He likes to cut up paper, scoop all the dirt out of the potted plants and throw the sand out of the sand box.  He's passionate.  He gets mad with passion too.  He finds it hard to not hit sometimes, cries out loud and stands his ground.  Earlier tonight when I was asking him to "make a good choice" and do what I was asking of him, he looked right at me and said, "I like to make bad choices".  He's going to do me in when he's 16.   Just like icing, he's a little quick to melt down. 

Just a second ago, he turned to me and held up his milk sippy and said, "look Mommy, it's my beer!".  He is full of personality and loves to laugh.  He's much sillier than Sayer and loves to make you laugh too.  He dances and sings.  He can be the life of the party.

He's a handful for sure but he makes me be a better parent.  His idiosyncrasies require me to be more patient.  I have to pay attention, close attention.  When I do, though, I really get to enjoy the sweet parts more.  It's like that little bit of cake in there helps the icing taste even more sweet.  Finn will learn this too as he grows up.

My best hope is that all that hedonistic fire will serve him well.  I think he's going to be strong with big opinions and a firm idea of where he wants to go.  He's not afraid to ask for what he wants and he's not bashful about the big gobs of icing on his plate either.  He knows what he likes.  He likes the icing.

 

Today was a great day.  I mean a really, really great day. 

I went and looked at a new studio space this morning that I am completely in love with.  Looks like we'll be moving in sometime in early May.  The landlord, Jim Reid, is just a great guy too.  His places are stylish and well designed and he has a great way about him that makes you feel at ease.  He even gave me a hug!

Our display at Fannin Pediatrics (in the TX Medical Center) is almost complete.  That has been such a great project.  I didn't know how much I was going to enjoy putting it together.  We decided that we wanted to have the walls feature the patients as well as the doctor's families.  That has been the part that I have enjoyed the most.  I have taken some of my favorite photographs recently during those sessions.  I am just so proud of how it has turned out and I love hearing how happy the Moms and Dads are to see their kid's faces on the walls.  Thanks to all the little patients and their families for letting me photograph you. A huge thank you goes out to Drs. Steve Alley, Angela Chia, Christa Filak and Vicki Regan.  I also want to say thanks to the office staff for all that they have done to help me in the process.  Your practice is so wonderful and I'm just honored to be a part of it.

Just like a cherry on top of an already great sundae, the Professional Photographers of America Magazine wrote an article about me and my website and it is out this month.  For this amazing gift, I am grateful to Angela Wijesinghe at PPA.  Thanks Angie for including me in your article!

In response to the article I have gotten some really nice emails from people.  Here's one that I got tonight that made me feel great.

Dear Farrah,
I just received my copy of Professional Photographer magazine today.  My name is Christy Parker and I am a Photographer in Savannah,GA.  I visited your website it is gorgeous!  I have worked under several photographers who were all very traditional.  I am now springing out on my own and you give such inspiration!  Your work is so fun and truly displays happiness for you as well as your clients!  I would love any tips or advice you could share if you are willing or have time!  I have three boys (5, 3, and 10mths) and they are definitely my most photographed subjects!  I need to get a website setup and get my name out there.  Just seeing your work and web page inspires me!  Thank you for being so great at what you do!
Sincerely,
Christy Parker

(This is like the time during the Academy Awards when the music starts to play) 

Before I get run off the stage, thanks my sweet friend Brene for a nice reality check this evening.  Everyone can blame her for this rambling thank you email.

My kids have amazing imaginations.  I love seeing their minds work and I especially like it when they share it with me.  A few nights ago, Sayer and I had dinner out just the two of us and his Granny.  While we waited on Granny to arrive, we started talking about Star Wars.  It seems like that is all we talk about lately.  He's completely obsessed, absorbed and engaged in all things Star Wars. 

So, we are talking about Obi Wan Kenobi (had to go check the spelling on that one) and how in "A New Hope" (yes, he knows all the real names of the movies and not just the numbers) he gets in a battle with Darth Vader.  I say that Darth Vader "kills" him.  Sayer corrects me and says "No, he isn't killed, he gets made into a spirit".  Happy to hear him say it in that way I agree and say, "oh, that's right!".  So, the conversation moves on and he decides to "be" the spirit of Obi Wan and asks me who I want to "be".  So, now we are spirits and playing together.  I ask him if two spirits were to have a playdate, what would they do?  One adorable thing too is that he still can't say his R very well so it sounds like "Spiwits".  Anyway, back to the playdate...so he tells me that they "would walk back and forth through each other because they can because they are made of blue air".  Then they would play fight and if they got their hands just right they would move through each other too.  I ask him if spirits have snacks on their playdates.  He says, with a look up and a sigh, "yes, but they would just fall out of the back of their heads".  Then he goes on to say that they do, however, drink.  He says they can drink "water, juice, hot chocolate milk, hot strawberry milk, hot regular milk, red juice, apple juice and sprite and that it goes all down their body and through their intestines and out of their penis and becomes spirit pee". LOL!  It's just too much.  The missing piece to the story of course is the hand gestures and the facial expressions and the sound of his voice.  I just sit back in awe and in love. 

All this amazingness does have a downside though and I know you fellow parents know what I'm talking about.  It's when you're trying to pack up the car and get to the airport to leave from Colorado to get back to Houston and everyone is tired and sick and you find Finnian out playing in the snow with his car getting his clothes wet and dirty (and all the dry clothes are packed away).

The world is just so different for them.  It's all open and exciting and new.  It's irresistible and they are insatiable.  I try and imagine what it would be like to be them.  To have my mind filled with Obi Wan Kenobi, to relish in eating snow every chance that I could and to be so excited about tomorrow's offerings that when I look at the full night of sleep ahead of me I feel like crying because it is so very long.  I could never do it.  Their stamina is something I can't imagine having.

The trick then is to try and take a cue from them and find some place in between right?  For me that moment comes when they invite you into their silliness, their imagination, the crazy dreams, the role play, the bedtime stories and those priceless moments where they just want you to sit still and snuggle them.

Why is this all in my head?  Well, I am a lonely, lovesick Mommy.  My kids are away for 5 days enjoying a visit with their grandparents.  I love my time alone for sure and it is so nice to see yourself for a moment flying semi-solo but I do miss them so much.  So, because I can't, go give yours an extra snuggle.  I'll have to wait until Sunday for mine.  Happy weekend!

I love the Dove Real beauty campaign. I really think it is genius on many levels. It's a great message and it's also great marketing. This video is really cool and it definitely shows people (who are not privy to all the retouching and prep that goes on behind the scenes) what really does go on behind the scenes. I used to work in the movie industry in LA so I saw quite a bit of what goes on to make it all seem so perfect and glamorous. So, watch this video and keep it in mind the next time that you open a fashion magazine. Remember it when you see a model's picture and wish that you looked like they do. Remind yourself that when they wake up in the morning they don't look like that either.

I also really enjoyed this article, which questions some aspects of the campaign. The article asks some really good questions about how real the real beauty campaign is. So, today you should watch this video, read the article and then go look at yourself in the mirror and pick out something beautiful about yourself. I'll start...I really like the color of my eyes. I think they look even better when I wear a green shirt. I also love my hands. OK, now it's your turn.