Letters to My Children - June 2013

Dear Jillian,
You're my third child, my girlie girl, my social butterfly. You would attend or host a sleepover every single night of the week if we let you! It has been that way from the time you were a teeny tiny 3-year-old in pre-K and you knew every single person in your school, and they knew you too. And loved you. And what's not to love?? You are funny and sociable and kind...but you definitely put your own spin on things with your somewhat dark sense of humor (gee, wonder who you got that from??). Like the Halloween - I guess you were about 4- when your older brother and sister were wearing doctor scrubs...we were looking for some fake blood to smear on their scrub tops and you innocently informed me you needed fake blood for your costume too because you were going as a ''bloody Whinnie the Pooh''!

You are definitely your own independent person and I love that. I think it is fantastic the way you mix and match and cut up your (old) clothes to make new styles. You are so creative! I think it is great the way you over-organize your stuff, carefully laying out your outfits for each day of the week and labeling each pile with a detailed sticky note, and writing out down-to-the-minute schedules for each day. You crack me up but these are great skills you are developing. I love that you love school. Try not to let that change. You are a born leader and you are going to do something big someday, I am sure of it.

You got a big surprise this month when we got our new puppy, our teacup Chihuahua, Rocky. I can tell you two are going to be great buds and you are doing a great job of helping to take care of her.

I am glad you are my kiddo! You bring a whole new dimension to my life and I hope we will always be shopping and mani-pedi buddies! I will even let you squeeze the fat on the back of my arm :) :)

Love,
Mom

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Britt - Prom!

This weekend I had the privilege of photographing a couple of gorgeous high school prom-goers and their families and dates. Her mom arranged for us to shoot inside the Boardwalk Plaza Hotel in Rehoboth, and since we actually managed to get some sunshine in between the thunderstorms, we shot some outside by the beach as well. Props to my hubby who helped with posing and equipment. Here are a couple favorites from that shoot. The rest are up for viewing on my flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tklp/

She looks like Miss America with that dress and that pose!

Aww :)

Aww again :)

Love her smile!

So cute together.

I think this one is my favorite. Pure gorgeousness!

Mom and Daughter

Friends

Love this one too. Such a cute couple!

Hope they had a great Prom!

Letters to Our Children - April 2013

Dear Defne,

My 4th baby. You are my Wild Card....I never know quite what I'm going to get with you but I've learned to hope for the best and prepare for the worst! You are so high-strung, excitable, and a Type A personality, just like your father. Stubborn. Opinionated. Quirky. A definite creature of habit. You must have your peanut butter sandwich every single day (you would eat them three meals a day and nothing else if we let you!). You are so wonderfully polite when you say thank you, but you absolutely, positively refuse to say please!! You are deathly afraid of the vacuum cleaner and of having your hair washed. However, you are a true girly girl. You carry your (empty) purse with you whenever we leave the house and you love to dress up! You are 3 1/2 but you still throw a mean temper tantrum. When your little world is coming to an end, ice cream and 'huggies' usually make it better. You are a devoted little sister and follow your older siblings' every move; but you are so loving and gentle with your little sis too. It warms my heart to see the two of you so close.

Believe it or not, you hate having your picture taken...as soon as you see the camera is pointed your way, you immediately start screaming or making faces..or look away with that little smirk on your face. You almost always give me a gorgeous photo in the end but you usually make me work for it. I guess you felt sorry for me last week and gave me these beautiful smiles on our walk to see the cherry blossoms. Maybe it was because I finally let you wear that 'princess dress' that has been hanging in your closet just waiting for such an occasion. Whatever the reason, I'll consider it an early Mother's Day gift. You're going to be breaking hearts someday with that smile!

Your Baba and I love you to pieces and we'd do anything for you...

Love,
Mom

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Letters to Our Children - March 2013

Call me maybe?

Dear Destina,

My little Peanut. I am so blessed to have you. I can remember a time when I thought I was done after 2 kids, yet here you are, number five! You are my youngest (and no worries...it's going to stay that way! ;-)) and my tiniest child. You like to keep the pediatrician and me on edge by hovering near the bottom of the growth curve, but you are far from weak. No ma'am, you are a tiny bundle of dynamite! You know how to get exactly what you want....even if it is that toy your big sis is playing with, no matter that she is about 2 times your height and 3 times your weight! You will either out-scrap her or out-scream her. You don't take crap from anyone. You think it's really funny to smack people now and that's a habit we need to work on breaking. I'm glad you're tough, but your strong little will backfires on Mommy sometimes when I'm in a store trying to get some shopping done and you've had enough... Let's just say you've got a set of lungs and you're not afraid to use them. In public. Loudly.

You are 15 months old now, cruising around holding onto the furniture. You'll be walking soon but I swear, you're going to be an early talker. You say Mama, Baba, Uh-oh, What's that...babble like crazy...and girl, if you get ahold of someone's phone, you hold it up to your ear and yell,''Aloooo!?'' just like you know what you're doing! Too cute.You wave at friends and strangers alike and shout out a little ''Heeey!'' and play peekaboo with your little hands not quite covering your big brown eyes...then giggle. I love the way you lay your head down on my shoulder and pat my back when you're tired...love the big kiss you give me when I get you out of bed in the morning...and I LOVE your infectious little laugh that comes so easily with just a toss of a ball or a tickle. You are a bundle of energy but you sure balance it with sweetness...you definitely know how to melt our hearts. I just want to hold onto your babyhood for as long as I can...you're turning into a toddler way too fast!!

You do not sit still or pose for pictures anymore but that's okay; it's so easy to catch you being adorable!!

Love your little heart and soul...

Love,
Mama

Look at those yummy lashes!!

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Floral Stills

So, Rock the Shot's March photo challenge is photographing floral still life. I like to enter their challenges, not in any way shape or form thinking I will win, but its fun to participate, see what others are doing, and challenge myself to do new things. I don't usually shoot flowers and I have a really black thumb, so I went out and bought a (fake) centerpiece. I wanted something big...over-the-top...something with lots of detail that would look good either in color or black and white. These are my favorite shots from the day...I ultimately chose the second one (well my husband cast the tie-breaking vote) for the photo challenge. And so we wait....

Crayons...very serious business :)

Just a couple shots of my little one, Defne, coloring. I liked the light coming in through the kitchen doors across from her and the reflection on the table top...

Letters to Our Children (February 2013 edition)

''Two roads diverged in a wood and I-I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all of the difference.'' (excerpt from The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost). The photo brings to mind the poem, and the poem brings to mind my daughter.

Dear Alexa,

Congratulations honey, you are the first victim of my monthly ''Letters to My Children'' blog entry :). I chose you first because...in a couple short weeks now, you legally won't be a child anymore! I can't believe my baby is going to be 18! You grew up so fast. And I am so proud of you. When I try to think of words that describe you, these are the ones that come to mind: Honest. Moral. Trustworthy. Intelligent. Funny. Creative. Hard-working. How many parents can honestly describe their 17-year-old daughter with those words? Not many, I suspect. I remember when you were about 2, your daycare teacher told me you said to one of the other kids (quoting from a Disney movie I think),''You have to be faithful and loyal and true!''. Well I guess you took your own advice.

I feel very blessed and fortunate to have you as my daughter. I admire you in so many ways. You have figured out at a young age some pretty important things about life that many people never learn, and others (myself included) only after years of trial and error. You are not only a great kid, but also a wonderful influence and voice of reason for your younger brother and sisters. A loyal friend. Did I mention funny? I love the way you can laugh at your little faux pas. Like the time you put the frozen pizza in the oven still wrapped in plastic - and fortunately also forgot to turn the oven on (and joked that two wrongs really do make a right :). Haha! You are just a fantastic all-around person. In six months or so, you are going to be going to college. I know you are going to do just fine because you always do your best to conquer every challenge that comes your way - and that is the key to success in college and in life. Which ever college you chose to go to will be lucky to have you there, and the choice will certainly be yours, but I secretly hope you will choose to go to school locally--because if you choose to go away to school, this family is going to have a great big hole in it without you here every day!! 

In closing, I just want to say thanks. Thanks for being YOU! Thanks for all the positive aspects you bring to our family. And thanks for going along with our little impromptu photo shoot the other day hehe...I know its not your thing necessarily but every mom needs photos of their kids, even their grown up kids, and they turned out great. Love you SO much babe!!

Love,

Mom

and P.S.: Happy 18th Birthday on 03/04/13!! :)

"Please follow our “Letters to Our Children” blog circle onto the next letter by David Villano by clicking the link:
http://lettersdv.blogspot.com/2013/02/February.html