Portland Oregon Family Photography » my life

Sunday 5/19/13

jen — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:37:04 +0000

Bathtub mermaid…

The humanness of blogging. AKA Sunday #???

jen — Tue, 07 May 2013 19:26:02 +0000

Dear Readers, I have faltered. I was finally in such a beautiful rhythm of blogging, and I owed it muchly to the Sundays project. And then one Sunday I really didn’t feel like shooting. So I didn’t, and in all of my procrastinating perfectionist glory, the blogging came to a screeching halt. And then the self-imposed guilt and the kicking of my own arse for being such a failure. Silly me. You know those inner voices. We all do, don’t we?

At any rate, I’M BACK… and oh do I have things to share with you! I’ll likely stumble again. And I’ll try to not get stuck for a month, and just go with it. I promise to try.

Picking up with this past Sunday… Sunday and Monday actually. Rob & I decided that our little crew could really use a little perspective refreshing, so we packed up and headed to the beautiful Oregon Coast to take advantage of the incredibly perfect and warm Spring weather we’ve been having. We are super lucky to have friends with a cozy house near Pacific City, and they know how important is for our family to get away occasionally for some fun away from the daily grind. We are so thankful for that gift! Wild and free us. Just for 24 hours. Renewed.

Sunday #10 – reluctance

jen — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 19:40:23 +0000

I love photography. DUH. I love photographing my kids, my life, my real bits. But there are some times, some days, when I just don’t feel like picking up my camera. This Sunday was one of those days. However, I am committed to this project and I forced myself to grab it and persuaded Zoë to let me take some portraits of her. And you know what? I was so glad I did.

Be sure to see…

Andrea’s Sunday | Hula Seventy

Amy’s Sunday | Amy McMullen Photography

The star of Springtime

jen — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 16:22:15 +0000

I grew up in the South San Francisco Bay Area. Spring comes early and warm there, and in all honesty, is the one thing I truly miss about living in that part of the country. That and great taquerias, but that’s another story. Over the past 7 years, I have slowly but surely come to embrace our slow to come, cold and wet and dark Northwest Springs. There is something incredibly magical about the buzz of excitement and joy in the air when we do get a sunny day in March and April here in Portland. Folks are so ecstatic to see the sun, they throw off their many layers of sweaters and raincoats and run around half naked. EVERYONE is out and about, and so so happy. And there’s also the bulbs and the blossoms… they are so soft and beautiful and colorful when they emerge from the soggy earth and barren trees. Such a clear symbol of rebirth. And I love me a fresh start!!!

I don’t remember seeing magnolia trees in bloom growing up in San Jose, CA. Surely they must be there, but not in my memory. The grand magnolia trees of Portland, to me, are the shining star of Springtime here. The blooms so big and beautiful, delicate and noble. The blossoms are falling now, making the sideways slick with their petals. I find it sad to see them go… but now the dogwoods bloom and I fall in love all over again.

Sunday #9

jen — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:00:23 +0000

Our Easter Sunday.

Spent lounging…2 farm store visits & dirty looks from goats…Farm store #2. this time with sweet looks from goats…New babies. Here’s Bunny. A Black Sexlink…And here’s Happy Unicorn Lady Gaga. A Buff ORphington…

Sunshine and a little yard clean up. Sam said it was “pretend summer”, thus nekkidness was required…And some water play…Chick watching…And some egg dying that was an exercise in patience…Dyed finger tips…And our own natural egg bounty. (finger nail by Zoë)…

Sunday #8

jen — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 16:05:23 +0000

Sunday #8 was St Patrick’s Day. It was tacos and The Portland Flea and Sauvie Island and friends (this lady) and photos with pups who are preparing for departure and rain and a little bit of sun and deep breaths and loud and quiet.The view from Amy’s kitchen window.I think I take a photo of this every time I’m in Amy’s kitchen.This is what 12 year olds look like after a night of staying up till 3am watching Poltergeist and The Shining…These two… words do not suffice. This is one loved, sweet, old pup.Amy, shooting her own Sunday!And this girl. Always this girl.Ok now, hop on over to see Amy & Andrea‘s Sunday!

iphoneography Friday

jen — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 04:26:47 +0000

My week…

Sunday #7

jen — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 15:57:47 +0000

Lazy snuggles. Breakfast Monsters. Big emotions. Obligatory Target Circle photos. Swimming birthday parties. This was our Sunday #7

Don’t miss…

Andrea’s Sunday

Amy’s Sunday

iphoneography Friday

jen — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 17:36:19 +0000

For as long as I can remember, I’ve wished that there was a camera in my brain. Even as a little girl I wished that I could blink my eyes and record a moment and be able to print a photograph of the memory. If I could order up a superpower, that would be it! The iphone has become the next best thing for me. Quick, easy, and always on me. There are still moments I miss of course, but this little tool has been such a joy for me.

I post my little snippets on Instagram often (username shesawthings), but I thought it would be fun to start a little feature here on the blog to share these favorite little bits of my week every Friday. Here we go!

Have a wonderful weekend! Portlanders, enjoy the precious SUNSHINE!!! xoxo

Sunday #6

jen — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 11:34:02 +0000

Sunday #6 was a tough day for us. Nothing tragic, just hard. In fact these past few weeks have been hard. I’m not sure if Sam’s broken arm pain is manifesting in some difficult behaviors or if this is just a season that coincidentally came about around the same time as his injury, but we have been seeing some of his more challenging autistic characteristics shining through loudly lately. He’s been waking up at 2:00, 3:00, 4:00 in the morning… FOR THE DAY. (which means I’m up with him because he requires constant supervision) He’s been really scattered, destructive, extra loud, and not following directions. He’s so wonderful and amazing, but these kinds of behaviors with a kid who requires the level of attention that he does… well, its exhausting. And frustrating. And leaves us wondering what exactly he is needing. Anyhooo, this too shall pass, and we will approach each day with open hearts, tapping in to our super hero-esque creative problem solving skills, and bolster our patience as much as humanly possible.

One night last week, in an attempt to coax Sam into relaxing back into sleep on one of the 3am wake up nights, I promised him that if he went back to sleep we could dye easter eggs. (He is a big fan of holidays, and has been talking about dying easter eggs non-stop since we started seeing easter stuff in the stores.) He didn’t fall asleep until 6:30 and needed to get up at 7:00, BUT a promise is a promise. So today was the day…

Zoë got a new camera. The kid has a REALLY. GOOD, EYE. Fantastic compositions!We had a little Barbie hair salon too. My kids tend to turn all Barbie’s into their own brand of Monster High dolls.I thought I had killed the very last little bit of the very last plant remaining from my Mom’s plants… but thankfully Rob’s green thumb is nursing this little cutling back to life. Wish it luck!This girl is amazing. She sometimes has to endure a lot of stress. She has times when it gets to her, but she is such a dreamboat.Water always helps when things get difficult. Water is magic.“Grandma Fingers”He is just such a tender little puzzle, always challenging us to figure out how to find the best ways to fit the pieces together and gracing us with his BIG HUGE LOVE.

I am ever so grateful to Andrea for this wonderful project. Documenting my regular life on Sundays is already so fulfilling to me. Go see her beautiful Sunday HERE! Amy is taking a little break this week, but she’ll be back.