Join me as I take one photo a week for the next year, each one capturing a specific aspect of our family life and my kid's childhood that I want remembered. You can read the introduction post here, an FAQ post here and all related posts here.
The second week of every month I'm photographing the relationships in our life.
Assignment 46: Photograph your littles with their best friend.
I do have a photograph for this week's prompt but Angelo's best friend's parents choose not to put photographs of him online so you'll just have to imagine how cute the two of them are together. And let's face it, Gracie doesn't really have a best buddy yet.
So while I don't have a photograph for this week's Our Year In Photos project to show you, I do have some else I'm really excited about.
Here it is....
You can now get your own downloadable copy of the Our Year in Photos project.
I'm relaunching the Jenn Di Spirito Photography facebook page and wanted to do something special for everyone who takes the time to like the page and follow along with the happenings around here.
The download includes some helpful tips to get you through your Year in Photos and the 'rules' that I followed that helped me capture our life as it was happening, instead of the pretty life I was finding myself trying to create in my personal photographs. I want my kids to see the what our life was really like - not how it looked when they all had perfectly matching clothes and in a perfectly clean house - though if you've been here a while you know how I feel about my house being clean. :)
Four themes a month means 48 photos a year which gave me 4 extra weeks here on the blog that I used for tips and other little helpful hints. For those four weeks in the download I added four different prompts that I would have loved to see in my album - I think you'll really like them.
And I changed the order around a bit just to make dates work with holidays and such but overall I'd say it's the new and improved version of Our Year in Photos.
Please head over and check out my page and download your copy of the Our Year in Photos project.
Jenn Di Spirito Photography facebook page
1 comments so far
Join me as I take one photo a week for the next year, each one capturing a specific aspect of our family life and my kid's childhood that I want remembered. You can read the introduction post here, an FAQ post here and all related posts here.
In the first week of every month I photograph a room in our home.
Assignment 45: Photograph grandma & grandpa's house (or your home away from home).Grandma and grandpa's house - where the apple juice flows freely and the Lightening McQueen cookies are plentiful.
Once spring rolls around and they're back in town, we're here regularly. The kids love having my parents undivided attention, tonnes of toys (the perfect mix of one's from my childhood and cool new ones) and lots of treats. My littles decided on their own rules about who gets to press the buttons for the elevator - Grace on the outside and Angelo on the inside because he's taller - and they have smiles from ear to ear the minute they hear this is where we're heading.
I took this photograph a few minutes after we arrived and usually by now they'd each have pulled out their 8 (at least) favourite toys and scattered them all over the floor. But this day my mom & dad had bought a new game and they were all trying it out.
It's definitely one of their favourite places to be.
If you're playing along comment below or send me an email - I'd love to see your home away from home.
6 comments so far
Your parents live in a very chic house. And the light is so beautiful. This photo is such a treasure. :)
Looks like a lovely home and loving grandparents. It's wonderful that you all enjoy each other so much.
this is so sweet. i love it and i can totally see where you get your great sense of style from! :)
That's funny that Heather commented on your parents style. My first thought was that it looked like it could be your place. You can tell that they love it there! And I love how Angelo is the same size as Grace while he's kneeling down. So cute!
And we have a smile from ear to ear when we hear they are coming. Now if we could only find the box with your cabbage patch dolls, we would really be happy. It is here somewhere!
Join me as I take one photo a week for the next year, each one capturing a specific aspect of our family life and my kid's childhood that I want remembered. You can read the introduction post here, an FAQ post here and all related posts here.
April has five Mondays (and my project has four assignments each month) so this week is another bonus week. If you're following along but find yourself behind a bit, this is a great week to play catch up. And even if you haven't been playing along, this week is for everyone.
Assignment 44: Zoom in.For this project, I've been really big on zooming out and capturing our everyday life as it happens. But sometimes I don't necessarily feel the need to capture our everyday.
Like this past weekend. We had an amazing weekend and packed in a tonne of fun things for us and the kids. But we weren't home a lot. And when we were home, we were usually running around getting stuff ready for our next adventure, which meant the kids had free reign of the house.
So this happened.
And if you've been following this blog for a while or know me at all, you know that this gives me the shakes. Our usually very tidy home was not. I can see crafted cat homes, dismantled forts, piles of books and the remnants of Gracie's dress-up session scattered all over our living room - a space that is usually not a dumping ground for toys.
My solution? Zoom in.
These two photos were taken seconds apart. And while this one isn't going to make it into the gallery on our wall, it's very her right now. It's also devoid of the mess I know is right there.
I used this technique a lot in the baby years. The brightly coloured toys seemed to be always lined up against our walls and nothing takes your focus away from a beautiful babe faster than brightly coloured toys in the background. It's also great to use in the park or when your background is less than perfect - shoot down towards the grass or cement and you'll have a beautiful green or modern grey background.
If you're following along I'd love to see your zoomed in photographs. Or if you want to just comment below and let me know that I'm not the only one who has a house that looks like this on a busy day, I'd love to hear it.
8 comments so far
Ha! Yes, they can create havoc in a matter of moments.
You can always think of it another way...before you know it, they will be on their own and you will have your clean house ( then you'll yearn for the mess).
It's a no win situation, just love them up.
Oh my heck...I love her hand on her hip! That is the cutest photo I've ever seen of her. :) I love the zoomed in one too though. And I know I don't have a little one anymore, but I have a dog that leaves her toys all over the place. I need to train her to put them back!
Cute! Our house looks like this on a daily basis!
that photo of her is just priceless! she cracks me up. and um, our house looks worse than that on a daily basis. ;) i feel so far behind in these photos right now but am determined to catch up!
My first thought was, "Yay! I see she does have a messy house!" And then I felt the shakes for you. I can only handle it that way for a day and then I'm all over it!
This post made me smile immidately! She is not only a total doll I love the blankets and books all over the living room---it's a mirror reflection of my living room and I wouldn't have it any other way.
She is a doll. When I look back at my now 17 year olds "little guy" pictures they make me smile, all those awkward baby moments and faces. We are so blessed to really be able to capture these moments. Your family is lovely.
Join me as I take one photo a week for the next year, each one capturing a specific aspect of our family life and my kid's childhood that I want remembered. You can read the introduction post here, an FAQ post here and all related posts here.
It's the fourth week of the month so this week I'm photographing more of the details of our life.
Assignment 43: Photograph their eyes.
I love how my two have such similar eyes. They're almost identical except his eyes are more greeny-hazel (just like his dad's) and hers are a little more blue (just like her mama's) - fitting since he's been such a daddy's boy lately and she's definitely a mama's girl right now.
6 comments so far
Wow...their eyes are really similar. And so pretty! She has TO DIE FOR lips! I've never noticed that before.
Gorgeous eyes!! Such cuties. My mom has hazel eyes as well as my husband and one of his sisters. Max got hazel though they look brown most of the time.
Wow! So similar! They are so beautiful. precious!
oh man, their eyes are just GORGEOUS! i can't get over how similar they are.
Join me as I take one photo a week for the next year, each one capturing a specific aspect of our family life and my kid's childhood that I want remembered. You can read the introduction post here, an FAQ post here and all related posts here.
Usually in the third week of the month I'm photographing something seasonal or a time in our day but I switched things around for Easter this month so instead I'm photographing a room in our home.
Assignment 42: Photograph mom & dad's room.
This wasn't necessarily my favourites of the photographs I took yesterday in our bedroom, but I'm embracing this one in the spirit of my Our Year in Photos project.When I look at this photograph it's hard not to focus on the things I don't love. I keep meaning to buy a rug to add a little more warmth to the room. The bottom left photograph of our wall collage is crooked. And the fact that you can see our boxspring reminds me that I still haven't picked up a bedskirt yet.
And then I see those two little people sitting on our bed. The kids don't spend much time in here - it really is a sanctuary for me and Jim and one of the few (the only?) toy free space in our home - but sometimes if I'm having a late shower the kids will bring in a stack of books and climb up on the bed and read together.
So I'm glad I have this photograph of them in our room together. And I'm glad I'll remember exactly what this room looked like this day in 2012.
If you're playing along and posting your photographs somewhere on the interwebs, leave me a comment below or send me an email, I'd love to follow along.
7 comments so far
I know! When I started doing 365 Wendy really encouraged me to pull back and shoot the entire room because she knew how much I'd love to be able to look back at our home later on. And so I did. And then we moved. I'm SO grateful I have pictures of our imperfectly decorated, messy, house. I also appreciate that when you look at a photo like this it helps clarify what really needs "doing" in our rooms. I love your room and love that it is a refuge for you and Jim. I woke up this morning with Ken, Natalie, Aaron, Chubby and Lanie all sprawled around my bedroom. Maybe I need to lock my door at night? ;)
Love your room! The puffy bedding, the gorgeous hardwoods, the lack of clutter... Our room is far from what I'd like it to be. So much clutter (all my fault) and mismatched furniture and ugly carpet. But it's still a nice escape from the rest of the toy-filled house! :)
LOVE your photo collage on the wall.
wow, your room is gorgeous. i love that you shared it here. our room is no where near what i'd like it to be and i'm thinking i need to do some serious cleaning before i take a photo of it (mainly the mountain of outgrown kids clothes piled up on our dresser). ;)
I love the kids reading on the bed. So sweet! Gracie looks like she's totally into her book! And I bet you make your bed every day...not just for this photo!
I love that photo collage!!! And I have a hard time pulling back and taking in the whole scene too but I love that you did here and that you captured it right NOW.
I adore this, Jenn. My kids also love being on our bed. It's a treat for them :) And I love it when they are there.
Join me as I take one photo a week for the next year, each one capturing a specific aspect of our family life and my kid's childhood that I want remembered. You can read the introduction post here, an FAQ post here and all related posts here.
The second week of every month I'm photographing the relationships in our life.
Assignment 41: Photograph dad with the kids.
I have lots of photographs of both the kids with Jim but, since she got a birthday post last week, it's his turn this week. He'll be five on Wednesday. And he is definitely a daddy's boy.He loves me too, of course. But at 5PM, I start getting asked every 2 minutes when daddy is coming home. Daddy the hockey goalie on our make-shift rink in the playroom. Daddy the lacrosse player in the backyard. Daddy who takes him for long bike rides on the weekend while Gracie naps. Daddy the one who'll wrestle and rough-house on the family room floor. Daddy the one who has to read the bedtime stories, because no one else does it quite like him.
Happy birthday my smart, talented, kind, not-so-little-anymore boy.
4 comments so far
Love the blue wall! This is a must print and frame and hang on the wall photo! :)
what an awesome shot! i totally think you should make it big and frame it.
I bet he'd love this one hanging in his room! So sweet. When you print these at the end of the year, are you printing your journaling too?
Join me as I take one photo a week for the next year, each one capturing a specific aspect of our family life and my kid's childhood that I want remembered. You can read the introduction post here, an FAQ post here and all related posts here.
Ordinarily in the first week of the month I'd be photographing the rooms in our home but this month I'm swapping things around for Easter.
Assignment 40: Photograph your Easter.And obviously I haven't photographed my Easter yet but I wanted to get this assignment in here so you'd have it in case you're following along. I'll add my Easter photographs in next week. Gracie's birthday is this weekend so we're having both sides of the family over to celebrate Easter and her birthday all in one. I'll likely include one from church that morning, one from dinner that evening and one of the kids checking to see if the Easter bunny came too.
And since it's no fun leaving you with no photographs, here's a couple from our trip to Science World last week. The kids could have spent the entire day there.
Have a wonderful Easter week everyone.
2 comments so far
This looks very much like the SF Exploritorium that we go to. We could spend hours there too!
Boy, you can tell that they are enjoying it! Are you using a flash in the bottom photo of Gracie? That's great lighting!
I can hardly wait to see your Easter photos. :)
Join me as I take one photo a week for the next year, each one capturing a specific aspect of our family life and my kid's childhood that I want remembered. You can read the introduction post here, an FAQ post here and all related posts here.
It's the fourth week of the month so this week I'm photographing more of the details of our life.
Assignment 39: Photograph their favourite character, movie or actor/actress.
No question which character Angelo loves, it's Lightening McQueen all the way. Angelo has a crazy good memory. And a Cars 2 game for his computer. Which means we are treated daily to a recitation of Francesco Bernolli's introduction and Mater talking about Tae Kwon Do. He likes to line up his cars to watch him eat and sleep or to keep him company while he watches a show.Gracie doesn't have any interest in (or the patience for) tv shows or movies. She is all about her 'babies'. She takes them for walks and to the dentist, feeds them and shoves them at me when she thinks they need cuddles. So if I had to pick one thing she was really into, this would definitely be it.
If you photograph the beloved characters in your home, I'd love to see them. Send me an email or leave a comment below.
3 comments so far
I am following your photo challenge (though I just began in March) and have been posting each week the pictures I take. It has been nice to have something to focus on with my picture taking instead of just the same old 'look at my cute kids' kind of photo. I realized with this weeks challenge that I have zero Tinkerbell paraphenalia, even though it is my daughters favourite!
these photos are so perfect. i absolutely adore that one of gracie. i think i could take the exact same photo of my boy - he loves his cars too. :)
Gracie is just too cute with her dolls. I finally posted photos for this challenge. It took a bit of thinking for this one, but I like how your assignments challenge me and the photos I take of my boy and our family.
You crack me up about you and your clean house...even when it's what you call "messy" you could eat of the floors!! I am so doing this project when i am in a house!!