Time flies.

I can recall my mother saying "time flies... and it seems to fly faster and faster each year". As a teenager, I didn't understand what she was saying, because I felt time didn't move fast enough. I wanted to grow up already. I wanted to drive a car, move away from home, go to college, get married, have a life. MY life.

Fast forward some 25 years and I finally understand what she meant. I have accomplished all of those things in the exact order that I wanted. And now I am a mom with two young daughters who are growing at an ever rapid pace. They have yet to set life goals, unless you count "boat fixer" or New Orleans Saints cheerleader as a career aspiration. With each passing day, I catch glimpses of the women that they will become. And my heart breaks, just a little, as I try and remember the tiny babies they each once were.

I never thought I was the maternal type. I was always too self absorbed to think about anyone else. Then one day, my maternal clock sounded an alarm and there was nothing my rational mind could do to to silence it. So, my husband reluctantly agreed to reproduce and we now have two beautiful, healthy young daughters. And MY life is consumed with THEIR lives. It took a good two years to accept the fact that I cannot sanely balance life as a mother and as a veterinarian. To accept that my life, which once revolved around physical exams and surgery and euthanasias and emergencies, now revolves around school drop off and pick up, endless dishes and laundry, the relentless birthday party circuit that comes with little kids.

I wouldn't change a thing.

I love my little girls, more than I have ever loved anything in my life. I can't imagine life without them. And the trouble is, sometimes I don't remember life with them. With the hustle and bustle of each day, I forget to stop and appreciate all of my daughters' quirks. And that makes me sad. Because I realize that each day flies by faster than the one before it. And I panic that I will forget everything.

Which is why I am thankful for my camera. I recently rediscovered a photo that I had taken of Ella when she was about 6 months old. I was new to photography and trying to learn how to take better portraits. I hadn't found my style and was basically copying whatever I could, just for the sake of learning. On this particular day, I had Ella dressed in a diaper and Baby Legs, just like another baby in a photograph I had recently seen and admired. And I failed at copying this photographer's image. Miserably. But I managed one shot that is priceless to me, even though it wasn't what I had envisioned.

Miss Ella, sitting up all by herself. With her giant eyes and ruby lips. With an expression that is unapologetically her. Even at 6 months of age, she appears as if she is going to take the world by the hand and show it all of the amazing things she knows. So full of life and wonder and pure awesomeness.

Sometimes I forget what she was like when she was a baby. How she smelled, what she felt like, what she sounded like. And I look at this picture and it all floods back. And not just the feel of her fuzzy little head on my lips, or the fact that she smelled like Noodle and Boo. I see her curtains in the background and remember picking them out for her; the funny smell they had when they arrived, asking grandma to sew them a bit longer, the way they gently danced on the breeze that came through the window of her room. In the house we no longer live in. Stuff that seems insignificant, but is part of her history, our history.

With this photo, I am able to stop time for as long as I want. And that helps me feel not-so-panicked that time is flying by faster than I would like it to. 

Last Days of Summer

On rainy days like today, it is nice to imagine enjoying the warm sunshine.

And throwing rocks in the lake.

And finding treasures along the shore.

And playing with your best friend.

And looking for fish.

And swinging on the fence.

And playing with cattails.

And staying outside until the sun sets.

And tomorrow, we will do it all again...

The Silver Spoon

I'm sure that you have heard of the Midas touch... a person has that special quality where everything he/she touches turns to gold. When it comes to children's clothing, I have the anti-Midas touch. It has happened to me twice now. First, I fell head-over-heels in love with Peek... Aren't You Curious. They had a store in Roseville which was just the cutest place ever. I went there not only for the clothes, but to hang out with Rachelle and Michelle... two of the nicest people I have ever met in a mall. But, since I have the anti-Midas touch, the store closed it's doors (although the company still sells online and at Nordstrom). Devastated, I was forced to find a new place to outfit my girls with adorable, unique clothing.

Enter The Silver Spoon in Roseville. This store carries gorgeous lines of clothing that you won't find just anywhere. Designers like Eliane et Lena, Deux par Deux, Isobella and Chloe, Mayoral, Blu Pony Vintage... the list goes on and on. Don't get me wrong, I am all about the Target clothes for play (since my girls are about as messy as boys and can wreck clothes before I can screech "noooooooo!"). But when I want my girls to look nice (or when I just wanted to hear strangers say "oh my goodness... look at how CUTE those girls are!"), I shop at The Silver Spoon.

About the time I reached fanatic status, The Silver Spoon announced they were closing their doors. I was devastated. And I blamed my anti-Midas touch for the closure. Surely it was my fault, and only my fault.

Fortunately, The Silver Spoon is maintaining an online store complete with all of the gorgeous clothes that I know and love. And as the icing on the cake, Barbara and Kathy have asked me to shoot some of these clothes for their website. For the past couple of months, I have been like a kid in a candy store... photographing my adorable girls in some of the cutest children's clothes out there.

Our first shoot was with some gorgeous fall clothes by Mayoral Chic, who hails from Spain.

Chloe will not take this shirt off.

She doesn't care if it is 105 degrees outside, she will wear it.

I love this dress.

Love, love, love it.

And this outfit, too.

Our next shoot was at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. Gary and I took the girls to the Exploratorium and I thought that the neighboring Palace would be a fabulous backdrop for some tutus.

And who knew that the back of the Exploratorium would be an awesome set for this 

fabulous animal print coat by Lipstik Girls?

Shhhhh, don't tell anyone but I want this coat for myself.

Our third shoot was at the Old Schoolhouse in Old Sacramento. I thought it would be the perfect setting for some classic and vintage inspired clothing. And it was the first time my little one would help out in the modeling department. I think she did pretty well, even if she refused to wear shoes...

And then we headed across the street to get a few shots of this ridiculously fabulous 

Lipstik Girls ensemble.

A gold leather biker jacket with sequined hood complete with ivory ruffled skirt?

Yes please.

For our most recent shoot, I thought it would be fun to bring some other kids into the mix. I had met an awesome woman at a Silver Spoon event a few months earlier, and I recalled that she had two young children. Barbara set us up and we got some great shots at her family's vineyard. Not only was the place gorgeous, but her kids were just the nicest, sweetest kids ever (I'm thinking of trading mine in). And Krista was a fabulous hostess, putting up with me and my camera through tons of wardrobe changes in the unseasonable heat.

Kiley giving us a twirl in a Isobella and Chloe dress

Yes, Silver Spoon has boy clothes.

Thank you Cole, you cutie patootie in a train t-shirt.

Chloe and Kiley in Eliane et Lena dresses.

I took this one home with me. Chloe is wearing it in her school pictures.

Kiley, have you been watching ANTM?

I love this t-shirt.

In fact, I am contemplating buying it for my girls.

Chloe in Lemon Loves Lime dress

Kiley in a Lipstik Girls shirt.

I love this shot.

And last, but not least, my favorite shots of the day.

Kiley the princess.

I wasn't able to shoot all of the adorable clothes the Silver Spoon loaned to me to photograph. There are tons and tons more... Please go to their website and check it out. The holidays are rapidly approaching... I know there are a few things on my list that I can check off here...

My Little Photographers

I am often asked if I want my girls to be vets when they grow up. It is a valid question, as both of their parents, as well as their grandfather, are veterinarians. I usually answer that question with an "I hope not!". Because I don't want them to feel that they are obligated to follow in our footsteps. And because the road to becoming a veterinarian is a long, hard and expensive one. And the hours just get longer and longer once you actually become a veterinarian (just ask Gary, who left at 3 this morning and probably won't get home until 6 or 7 tonight). If my girls are passionate about veterinary medicine and decide that is what they want to do, then we will support them all the way. We will support them no matter what they choose to do in life, with the following caveats: 1) it has to be legal and 2) they have to be able to support themselves.

Last week, Chloe asked if she could take pictures with my camera. I thought it was cute, so I handed her my old D80, put it on auto mode and gave her a few instructions. Before she got busy, she asked me to help wash her Sleeping Beauty doll's hair... Chloe wanted her to look beautiful for her photo shoot. I found myself spending the next hour washing, drying and styling the doll's hair. I can't even style my own hair, let alone the synthetic mop sitting atop Sleeping Beauty. But I gave it my best and handed her over to Chloe. Who ran off and closed the door to her bedroom. She emerged a few minutes later and showed me the photos she had taken. This is straight out of the camera (I didn't think it would be fair to Photoshop her work):

Now I realize that I am totally biased, but I just love this photo! I love her composition (she utilized the rule of thirds!) and her perspective. I love that I can see the toe of her pink cowgirl boot in the edge of the shot. I love that Chloe picked up the camera and produced an image that she is proud of. And most importantly, I love that she had a blast doing it:

Little Miss Macro

Little sister had to get in on the fun, too. Although I think she is not quite ready for the D80 yet:

Who knows where this will all go... for all I know, they will grow out of this new phase as they do everything else. But just in case it does go somewhere, I have a portrait all ready for Chloe's first magazine article, spotlighting the hottest new photographer in the business:

Tiny Dancer

My mother put me in ballet class when I was four years old and I looooooooved it. I took lessons all the way through high school, and should have continued through college (UCI has an awesome dance program). But I decided to focus on my school work as I couldn't figure out how to fit in all my science classes and dance classes. I can't say that things turned out too badly...

Several years ago, I realized that I missed ballet and enrolled in an adult ballet class at Hawkins School of Performing Arts in Folsom. I would still be doing it today, but I have had two babies and can't seem to fit it into my schedule. So I did the next best thing and enrolled Chloe. The jury is still out as to whether she will love ballet as much as I do. She's four and her current priorities include coloring and walking her stuffed animal doggie named Chloe. Unless she develops a deep disdain for dance, I will keep signing her up for class as I feel it will help her to develop poise, confidence and discipline. And lets face it, the costumes are just so darn cute!

Chloe had her very first ballet recital last week and I was beside myself with joy and pride and will admit I shed a tear or two. I am very pleased to say that she did a wonderful job - Chloe smiled, performed most of the routine and didn't run off the stage. For a four year old, that is quite a feat. Would you like to see my little ballerina? Here are a few from backstage:

Fiddling with her choker

Hanging out with her friends

We also ran into an old neighbor of ours.

Amazingly enough, Chloe remembers going to Sophia's birthday party.

Which was 2 or 3 years ago.

Chloe was a little reluctant to be on stage...

... but she got over that pretty quickly:

I love how each girl is doing something different:

How cute are they?!?!

Here a few shot of Chloe and her ballet BFF, Jilli:

And Chloe with her daddy:

One thing that completely surprised me through all of this is what a diva my little girl is. I took hundreds of shots of her during her rehearsal and recital. And in those shots emerged a miniature model. I did not coach her on any of these, she is just that fierce:

I asked her to give me a ballerina pose and she gave me this:

I have no idea where this little girl came from. I was never this fabulous. And her daddy? Well, lets just say that he is really good at things like wrestling cows and chopping down trees.

Chloe, I love you dearly. You continue to amaze me each and every day. While I want to freeze you in time and keep you just as you are right now, I cannot wait to see what new and amazing adventures you have in store for us. You are and always will be my baby.