i heart faces: Best Face Photo

This weeks challenge over at i heart faces, is to choose a photo that you took in December of 2009, or January, that you feel shows off where you're currently standing with your photography skills. I hopped over to my flickr, and scanned through my pictures. The memory that I decided to use, was this one of Charlie...


Its not the best picture that I've taken, but its pictures like these that I cherish the most. The reason for my photography hobby, is to document my children's lives. I want there to be pictures for every day of every year. It may sound a little ridiculous, but what I wouldn't give to have pictures like that from my own childhood. I want to (and I want them to) remember the simple things. Like when Charlie first started pulling himself up and walking along the window sill, grabbing at the Christmas lights while attempting to take big boy steps all on his own. The lights were always on, because I'm the lazy kind of mom that would rather sit down during my 5 minute break between changing diapers than walk across the room and unplug the dang things, so he was constantly grabbing at the little bulbs, and I was constantly yelling at him to stop. It then turned into a game. Charlie would stand at the window, look over his shoulder, and once he knew I was looking, he'd start picking at the lights. When I told him "No!", he'd start stomping and giggling, which would cause him to fumble and fall, but right back up he'd get, just to grab another handful of lights, and look over his shoulder at Mommy again.

Visually, I take better pictures when I'm surrounded with better light. I take better pictures when I'm in a better mood. I take better pictures when I really try to take a better picture.

Realistically, I take better pictures when my heart is present. I take better pictures when my camera settings are wrong and my angles are sloppy. I take better pictures when I'm documenting my life, rather than trying to take a picture.

*sigh*

Oh little Charlie. You and that window sill.

Hello Baby Face

That pretty little girl with the short messy pigtails, is Eleanore. You might not have recognized her, since her face isn't being smothered by a thick blanket of blond, but after sitting still in a chair yesterday long enough to let Mommy have a go with the scissors, Eleanore's baby face was finally set free.

Its been so long since I've really been able to see her cheeks. Those beautiful chubby widdle cheekers. For as long as I can remember, shes been known for her long curls. People have commented on them all the way from the park to Walmart. Sometime this past summer though, her curls disappeared. There was no going away party, one day they just up and left. Her hair fell straight as a board after that, and doubled in its thickness. Her hair has always been hard to manage, it got to a point where I just stopped trying. I never put it in ponytails anymore, its so heavy that the ponytail would just fall out within minutes, wasting my efforts and half the time breaking the pony holder. The decision to cut it all off, did not come lightly.

A few months ago I cut off about 6 inches, thinking that it might be enough, but as the weeks went on, there really wasn't any difference. It was still always in her face, and no headband or hair clip on the planet would do its job. Yesterday, Miss Eleanore picked out her favorite Rainbow Brite movie, pulled up a kitchen a chair, and while she didn't move even an inch, I snipped away through a forest of strands, until there was nothing left.

Of course, this morning I had forgotten about her haircut completely, and when my eyes focused in on her sitting neatly at the dining room table, my heart jumped into my throat and my breathe slipped out of my mouth in the form of "ohmahgod". Its going to take a lot of getting used to. A lot. Until her new look has settled in with all of us, I'll probably be fluffing things up with cute pigtails and alligator clips galore. Just like in the picture above.