When I got home from my photo shoot tonight, HAH said, “I have a camera. I can come take pictures with you.”
And now that I showed him how to turn his camera around the right way, I think this partnership may work out perfectly.
365
Day 21 – changing my idea of heaven…
Prior to HAH I thought the whole gender stuff was a bunch of socially constructed nonsense. So I bought my son dolls. I surrounded with him with stuffed animals and only let him watch nature documentaries.
Despite my best efforts to fight what was ingrained in his DNA, it is all… dump trucks, milk trucks, monster trucks, fire trucks, UPS trucks, ambulances, tractors, excavators, cranes, diggers, front loaders, motor boats, airplanes, rockets, motorcycles and trains… all the time.
While it may not be my favorite subject matter, it sure makes getting him out of the house easy, especially in Petaluma.
One of our favorite walks prior to HAH was down to the river. We liked it because Arlo could swim after sticks and we could walk in a quiet open space by the water.
Now if we want to go to the river, we have to sell HAH on all the cement trucks we might see at the factory across the river, or the boats that we can climb on and pretend to sail to North Carolina.
Tonight though, we hit the jackpot. Just before we started to leave, a front-end loader actually started smoothing out one pile of rocks and scooping up another pile to dump in a giant container. We sat motionless and watched him for at least 30 minutes… which in toddler years translates to two hours. The driver even honked and waved at us twice.
We were in absolute heaven.
Day 19 – a day off and a reminder about sharks…
This film photo was not taken today, but with the weather we’re having, it could have been.
Instead, I took the day off from photographing today and I’m posting this photo for my Monday To-Do list. And as a reminder that when your two-year old is standing in the bay with a giant leopard shark three feet away from him… you should probably go and get your child out of the water. That’s what my husband told me I should have done, instead of just standing frozen at the water’s edge calling, “Harper, come here. There’s a shark!” And even though I don’t think leopard sharks are a threat to humans, I still think that’s probably a good rule of thumb for future shark encounters.
Day 15 – some mornings are harder than others…
At night I toss and turn for hours and hours thinking of all the things I HAVE to do.
But when morning comes, I can’t think of a single reason why I should get out of bed.
Day 11 – I can see where this is going…
Arann has always had an interest in family bands. Looks like he may at least get a back-up singer out of this one.
Day 9 – this is film…
These were the last photos my beloved Rolleiflex took before it broke on Christmas morning. 
These photos remind me how much I love that camera.
And I hope it comes back very soon.
So even though these photos were not actually taken today, because they are film, I think they are allowed to break the rules.
Day 7 – climbing to the moon…
…wearing pj’s and a bike helmet.
Day 4 – This kid hates to go to sleep…
As much as I hate broken cameras. In the last two days I have sent three cameras in for repair. But going to sleep and broken cameras are a part of our lives, so we better get used to them both.
Day 3 – bribery for a good cause (picking just one photo a day is going to be hard…)
New Year’s Resolution #3: Hike up the hill behind our house once a day.
Good thing I didn’t say we couldn’t bring cookies as motivation…
Because hiking with a two-year-old kind of defeats the reason for the resolution.
But five cookies, two tangerines, a handful of almonds and craisins later and…
We finally made it to our goal.
Going home was a much easier sell. 
Day 1 – A hike with friends and a new (very old) camera
New Year’s Resolution #6: I need to be a part of my own life, instead of just documenting others.
So, I am going to try a 365 day photo challenge, for the first time ever. Kind of scary, but exciting. I want to be more creative and have more fun with my photography, so maybe this challenge will help.
Arann gave me a Polaroid Automatic 250 Land Camera for Christmas and two boxes of polaroids. I was excited to use it, but scared I would break it because it didn’t come with a manual.
Today my long time friend, and fellow intern veteran (aka photo slave) from the early days, helped me figure out how to use it. One box of polaroids later and I think I am getting the hang of it.
somewhere between a handshake and two kisses 