ho hum... WAY Behind on my Joy of Love Project

I can't seem to catch up! I had such a busy week with PTO and a newborn session that I can't seem to keep up with the willette Joy of Love Workshop. I almost threw in the towel but that's not my style so I figure I'll get them all posted eventually... better late than never?

Joy of Love Day 20: When They Are Home. How do I know when my loves are home? My mud room is FULL of shoes.

Joy of Love Day 21: Hands. On any given morning, you can find Max's hands glued to his DS. Such cute hands!

Joy of Love Days 17 and 19: Staying In and Gone... yes, I forgot 18... will make it up, promise!

Oops, I'm a day late posting. As you know I typically post two "love" days together but this time, I owe you three... only I don't have three. I only have two- Days 17 and 19.

the willette Joy of Love Day 17 theme was "Staying In". We have done a LOT of that this winter. Thankfully I can feel the super cold days coming to an end. Max's favorite thing to do on a "stay in" day is rent a movie from the Redbox. This day it was "How to Train a Dragon". He watched the movie in 3D at the theater yet even seeing it for the second time, he doesn't blink. (nor does he wear appropriate clothing but we discussed that on a previous day, didn't we?)

The Day 18 theme was "Going Out". I did go out on Day 18. To the hospital to meet my new nephew, Gavin. But my love Max came down with strep throat and the yuckies that day so we didn't go out together and that is what I wanted to capture... so I'll make up for it when he's well.

Day 19: "Gone". Interesting, huh? I had so many ideas swirling in my head when I got the email with today's assignment. Then I walked into the kitchen and was faced with this... Max always eats (scarfs!) his breakfast and is just gone! Gone to the toy room downstairs to not be seen or heard from again until it is time to go to school or a weekend adventure. Gone.

Joy of Love Days 15 and 16: Kiss and Self Portrait

Day 15 for the willette Joy of Love workshop is "kiss". Here are Max and Daddy smooching! Max is quite a lover and is always one to hug, kiss, hold hands and snuggle with anyone. I'm so glad for that! He promises to be like that when he is a teenager. You read it here first!

Day 16... Self-portrait. Here we go with the self timer... we lucked out today with the weather! It felt like April. Max and I were outside this evening playing tennis while Chris did some "manly wood trim work" inside. As the sun was setting I had an idea! Time to get out the tripod... Here is my self-portrait... aren't we pretty? ;)

Happy Valentine's Day! Joy of Love Days 13 and 14: Routines and Wedding Bands

I'm still busily snapping away for the willette Joy of Love workshop. Days 13 and 14 are here...

Day 13: Routines. I love routines. They make me comfortable. As I get older though I find it's much easier to break out of a routine and "go with the flow", which seems backward to me but I'm fine with it. Max likes routine as well! He has a great morning routine all of which happens while I'm still snuggled in bed: wake up early, get cereal, watch tv or play the Wii, wait for Mommy to wake. In the evening his routine is equally great: watch Jeopardy (his idea!), brush and floss teeth, read a book (my favorite) and of course, take a bath. With bubbles.

Day 14: Wedding Band. My Valentine's Day gift from Chris: handing me a dozen beautiful coral-ish roses in an opaque egg blue vase. Beautiful! He has worn that band for 12 years now. Like, whoa!

Joy of Love Days 11 and 12: Dreams and Eyes

The willette Joy of Love photography workshop continues...

Day 11- it's all about dreams. Chris's idea was for me to take a picture of him asleep, dreaming. ;) I decided to ask Max, "what's your dream... what do you want to do when you're older?" He replied, "I'm going to try out for American Idol when I'm 15 and you're coming with me!". Done! Watch out Randy Jackson... in 9 years you'll have Max to contend with! (please be kind!)

Max even made a sign to hold up during his "audition" for Idol. It reads, and I'm quoting exactly: "I am the next Amarcin Idl". Love it! And I believe him!

Day 12- eyes. Max's are hard to beat!

Joy of Love Day 10: Spaces They Love

Chris could seriously be comfortable sleeping on a hardwood floor. I debated making him do so in order for me to take today's picture! :) Instead I got him after work in his favorite place... the dimly lit study with his feet propped up, computer on his lap, work suit off...

If you're ever looking for Chris after 5:30, check the chair...

Joy of Love Day 8 and 9: Gift of Love and Hobbies They Love

The willette Joy of Love Day 8 challenge was a difficult one for me. Gifts of Love. I have received so many gifts of love throughout my life! How would I capture that in a photograph? I'm sure like most mothers though, my biggest gift has been Max. As I've said before, I tell him every single night how glad I am that God gave him to me. What a gift of love he is! He always gives me lots and lots of kisses and I make him promise me when he is 16, 26... 56 he will continue to smother his mommy with them. He promises!

Joy of Love Day 9 is Hobbies They Love. I asked Max which hobby he would like me to capture today. First he said "playing basketball"... dang, if he only had practice tonight! Next he said "playing the Wii". No. He then said "coloring!" which is perfect because he is king of arts and crafts; I was able to catch him in a true Max moment, making a poster of a dog to share with his kindergarten class. Coloring is a hobby he definitely loves!

Joy of Love Day 7: Generations

This challenge made me realize I don't have enough pictures of Max with his grandparents... we see them a few times a week (the local set anyway) but still, barely any pics! I took my camera over there Monday night to purposely take a 'generations picture' but the lighting was terrible and it was pitch black outside. I found these two photos from Christmas morning and thought that even though it's not ONE photo, it will have to do... and it shows the love Max has for his Mamaw and Papaw perfectly.

Max's words: Papaw and Mamaw are so nice. I like to play fighting with Papaw and board games with Mamaw...

The Joy of Love, Days 5 and 6: Love to Hate and Who (What) They Love

Joy of Love Day 5: Love to Hate. OH boy! I feel like I could post a lot of things that I love to hate. (Remember those jeans I mentioned Chris wearing? I'm posting a picture for you, Amy!)

(THE jeans. Puke)

But listing all the things I hate makes me sound like I have issues so instead I sat down and thought of the thing I love to hate most... or you could just say I hate it really! ;) Chris breathing. Awful of me? Wait, I love that he is breathing, but what I hate is how LOUD it is when I'm trying to fall asleep. So he says it's not his fault, he has a deviated septum or something. Well so do I but you don't hear me huffin' and puffin' like that. It keeps me awake!!! I tried to capture his breath outdoors in the freezing air but it didn't work so I had to do the next best thing; get an extreme close up of his nose- where the sound comes from! Oh man I hate it... er... love to hate it... Here he is, just waking up... you can still see pillow crease marks on his face!

(ps-thanks to Chris for being a good sport. I would cry if someone took a pic of me this close)

Joy of Love Day 6: Who They Love. This one was tough. Max loves his parents, his grandparents, his cousin Austin, his friends, his teacher, etc. but we weren't going to see any of those people today to snap a photo! What to do? Well I went ahead and altered the theme ever so slightly to "what they love". Ahh... that is easier! What does Max love? I know! His baby pillow. The one from his crib. He sleeps with it on top of a regular sized pillow. It still h as the pillow case from his crib sheet set (yes, I wash it!) and everything. He loooooooves it!

The Joy of Love, Days 3 and 4: Then & Now and What They Wear

Instead of posting my assignments from the willette: Joy of Love Workshop daily, I have decided to combine a few days worth into one blog post.

Day 3: Then and Now. This one was intriguing. There are so many "then " photos I could dig through, especially of Chris, and of course a "now" picture would be easy to snap! Just the other night though while giving Max a bath I really noticed how much darker his hair has been turning. Sure, in the summer he gets the naturally gorgeous highlights that most blondes pay out the wazoo for but his hair is definitely turning darker! It used to be so light!!

Then: From his first haircut (June 15, 2006):

Now: February 3, 2011:

Day 4: What They Wear. Since this workshop is all about documenting your loved ones I thought it would be fun to get some pictures of Chris for some of the days themes. For "what they wear" I desperately wanted to catch him in is 10-year-old, awful, baggy, hideous, embarrassingly ugly Old Navy jeans. I mean, they are TERRIBLE... I beg him to throw them out. He won't. I buy him super nice, expensive, perfectly-fitting jeans but he always reverts to the ones that make me cringe. He also obviously won't be wearing them to work today so I can't get a pic of him in them. Maybe you all don't want to see them anyway? Maybe I am secretly too embarrassed for him to even post a picture of them? *shiver* So what do my loves wear? Every Friday Max wears blue and white to school to show his Panther spirit, but that's "forced". What does he wear on his own? No matter the temperature or time of day you can find him wearing next to nothing!

It's 10 degrees outside. No matter! Max lives in his underwear and a t shirt most of the time. I was lucky to catch him in pajama pants with no shirt (and hands down his pants) the other morning as well! What gives? Is it a boy thing? I'm cold just looking at him!

The Joy of Love, Day 2: How They Look

I'm a dollar short and a day late (isn't that the saying?) but I'm here, posting the Joy of Love Day 2 Challenge photo from willette {classic children's portraiture}: How They Look.

Starting now I will get an email from Willette Designs with an "assignment" as well as useful tips for photographers to better myself. This class is taking place all February long! YAHOOO!!! What a great way to force me to not only document the lives of my loved ones but also to update my blog! Today, Day 2, was meant for capturing your love in their essence... catching them "how they look".

Max, my love, has a favorite position he assumes many times a day... flat on his stomach on the couch/floor/bed with his legs slightly spread, a dazed look in his eye. If I haven't heard a peep out of him for a while I can just call out "Max! What are you doing?" and when he replies "Just laying here!" I know exactly what he means... this is comfortable for him. This is rest. This is relaxation. This is how he looks...