Ms S came in with her loving mommy and had the most delicious session. She was just so happy, and so game for everything we tried. I love the little punk tuft of hair; I thought her mama had slicked it up for the photo op, but turns out it did this all on its own. It was so much fun to have these two in the studio.

Here is a Q+A I put together for S’s loving mama:

Little S is sooo cute.  Where did she come by that punk tuft of hair?

My hair stuck straight up as a baby too.  My mom would try to comb it down with no luck.

What just took you completely by surprise about having a daughter?

Everything. 

What is S’s favourite toy these days?  

She loves trucks: the bigger the better!

Has she said her first word?

She likes to play phone.  She answered, “hawo?” the other day.

Is she a good sleeper?  

Being the second, she catches her z’s when she can.  When did she start sleeping through the night?  Neither of my kids sleep through the night.  I expect there will be both tears of joy and sadness when they do.

Did you ever imagine how quickly her first year could fly by 

I loved my maternity leave.  It was so amazing to have this time with my kids.  So, while the year went quickly, I have trouble remembering what life was like without her being a part of it.

Are you back at work?  What do you do?  

I teach secondary school English part time. 

How do you get through your days without her?

I spend quality time with her when we are together.  Being back at work makes me appreciate her that much more when we are together.   I have photos of both my kids at work and I tell my students stories about them and their developments.

What are your dreams for her future?  

I hope she will do her part to make the world a more compassionate place.  And I wish her “courage to change those things she can, serenity to accept those things she can’t, and wisdom to know the difference” in her life journey.

Are there more kids upcoming in your life?

I think there may be a niece or nephew upcoming and then I hope for some grandchildren twenty or thirty years from now. 

Here is the adorable Ms E at five months.  Isn’t she just a dreamboat?  Look at those eyes!  Look at all that scrumptious red hair!  And look at her chub!  I have been dying to photograph a chubby baby, and Ms E fit the boat, and then some.  I could have just squeezed her all day.  Do you think that’s what her family does?  I’ll bet she gets more than her share of pinched cheeks!

Just in time for Valentine’s Day (see our promotion to the right)…Jane Photo Intimates. We are working on a dedicated blog for these since we no longer have any grown-ups without kids on our new site (though we may), so for now, here are just a few. Ms S was a joy and a delight to work with. I draw her, too, and it was fascinating to change my approach for these shots. We had toooo many clothing changes, lol.

My faves, though, are the last ones shot through glass and fabric. I have been wanting to do these shots for just years now, a la my hero, Elizabeth Opalenik. Of course, I hadn’t even heard of Elizabeth when I started fooling around with the idea back in rural Japan, when I photographed women (with their permission) half seen in steamy onsen (public Japanese baths). When I was introduced to Elizabeth in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, I knew that her images captured a sensuousness and moodiness I was longing towards. I was not entirely certain I could get the same effect just in my little studio, but I did myself proud. These images of Ms S are mysterious and evocative and yet still so sexy.

I have many more images I love, but they will be saved for the upcoming Intimates blog.

Here are a couple faves from Jane Photo yesterday when the dotter and grand-dotter were camping it up. This is Auntie and niece–too cute. It is snowing–again. Hard. Again. Good gravy. We had more than a dozen here for dinner (and some too snowed in to make it), and much revelry was had by all. All the young ones got into the studio props and were flouncing around in pettiskirts–too funny.

Thanks for all the nominations that are pouring in for Giving is Awesome. You guys are awesome. You are really reaching out about your loved ones and friends. The stories that are flooding in are compelling, and I really wish I could manage to gift a session and prints to every family nominated. Stay tuned for new years and the winner.

And cans for comments is still active, so please take a sec and comment on a post here, so I can make a great Food Bank donation this winter.

Here are some wonderful sibs to go with the baby bambino in the post just below this one. I think the image of the three of them from above is one of my fave ever…it just melts my heart every time I look at it. I totally lost my heart to these two, three and four years old. They were sooo good and easy, and so photogenic, and they were just smitten with their new little brother.

Please leave comments here and I’ll donate a can to the Food Bank for every one.

Oh, look at this chub…can anyone in their right mind resist this shot of babe on mama’s shoulder? Adorable!

I wanted a shot that expressed how much love older bro feels for his new little guy, and this one for sure sums it up:

Oh, just yummy, isn’t it? How wonderful to get such a fabulous shot of the whole kit and kaboodle of children:

Big sis was so loving to her new little brother, and she just looks like she is in thrall:

The little munchkins together…aren’t they precious?

Okay, here’s the question: how many bits of your heart can you give away before you don’t have any left? Call the paramedics, ’cause now I’ve lost a whole lot of mine. Say hello to the inimitable Ms J and her baby sister, the smiley-puss, N. They visited the studio on different days, but I’m blogging them together. Ms J was such a hoot going costume-crazy–the studio is something of a paradise for dress-up. What a wonderful and fun person she is, and I hope to see more of her as she grows. She’s a big girl 4 now, and I think she’s destined for the big K pretty soon.

Ms J and Little N have the very same smile and it is one of the most fabulous I’ve ever seen. In Little N’s face, it takes up the majority of the room for features and is, therefore, megawatt. Little N just couldn’t stop grinning. And her language was very sophisticated for such a little sprout; she was organizing her thoughts into patterns of speech that cleverly mimicked adult intonations.

Here’s what their delightful mom, S, has to say about them:

You are the mom of the baby with the greatest smile ever. How on earth do you cope with the world losing their marbles over your little girl (and her equally cute big sis)?

Well, we always appreciate the compliments over the smiles, and we do love the way her little mouth curls into that smile when she sees us. I have a feeling that we might have a hard time resisting anything she asks us for when she flashes that smile, so we’ll have to be careful! But it is wonderful, and just reinforces for us how lucky we are with our beautiful girls.

Tell me your favourite all-time thing about your eldest daughter, J.

“Snuggle Time” in the mornings when she wakes up. From about age 1 1/2 until about 3, J. would come in to our bed in the morning for a snuggle (and a bottle of warm milk) before we all got up to start the day. She still occasionally graces us with a snuggle in the morning, but it’s much more rare these days.

How did she handle the advent of a new sister?

J. has generally been a really tolerant and loving big sister. I think she was old enough when N. was born that she had some independence and didn’t rely on us as much as a younger “big sibling” would have. She’s always been interested in N., and rarely too rough. She’s never asked us to “send N. back”, which I know other big siblings often do. J. has also “been pregnant” and “had babies” many many times since her little sister was born – she seems to think that being a mommy is pretty great and having a baby around is neat. Now that N. is more active and able to play, I think J. is enjoying her even more, and she has been heard to say “Mummy, N. is my bestest friend ever!”.

What is N’s favourite thing to do? What is N’s favourite toy? Favourite food?

N. LOVES to creep/scoot/crawl around, and to put anything and everything into her mouth. She also LOVES swings, and jolly jumping. Her favourite toy at the moment seems to be her Leap Table, which makes all kinds of wonderful sounds and has flashing lights etc. She also can’t be without something to chew – a sock, a spoon, a stroller toy. Her favourite foods – sliced canned pears, which she will gobble up several slices at a time, and rice rusks and Cheerios.

What is J’s favourite colour? Does she like running or jumping more? Is she looking forward to turning five and going to big kids’ school? What is her favourite food? Favourite bedtime story?

J.’s favourite colour is pink, but she also loves combining many vibrant colours, preferably in many different patterns. She loves to jump, especially on her trampoline. She absolutely loves going to preschool, which she does every afternoon, and she’s always asking me about going to kindergarten, and how old she’ll be in grade 1, and so on. She thinks school is quite marvelous. Her favourite food (she says) is Maple & Brown Sugar Quaker Instant Oatmeal, although I’d say rice and Chicken Noodle Soup are very close seconds! Her current favourite bedtime stories are “Stella Fairy Of The Forest” by Marie-Louise Gay, “Miss Fannie’s Hats” by Jan Karon, “Would You Rather?” by John Birmingham, and “My Dog” by Angela Joy.

How do you like being a mommy to two? How does your hubby like having two?

Two is fantastic, most of the time! We were always positive that we wanted more than one child. We are fortunate and blessed to have had two “easy” babies, and they are growing into wonderful girls. I’m glad we had some space between the girls (3 1/2 years) so that we had time with J. on her own, and that she’s independent enough now that I also get some time with N. when J. is at preschool. They seem to have a good relationship – N. clearly adores her big sister and smiles every time she sees her. Hope it stays that way!

What is the biggest challenge in having two kids?

I think my biggest challenge is finding “me” time – I need a certain amount of quiet time to myself, which I got when J. was little while she napped, or even as she nursed I could read a book or snooze. But now when N. is napping or nursing, J. wants my attention and sometimes I feel like I just want to be quiet.
Oh, and getting out of the house in a relatively quick time is almost impossible! One day, I won’t be always late!

This must be one of my favourite images ever. I have another take that’s very close that I love just as much, but as you can tell, I already post too many images when I do get around to it:

And, well, this one’s just for fun. I imagine N saying: Woman, if you don’t put that dang camera down, I am going to choke myself until I pass out!

Jane Photo photographed the most adorable twins this spring. I didn’t have any experience with multiples, and I wanted some. It was such a pleasurable session, and I have a permanent soft spot in my heart for those little gals and their mama.

Here is what the mama wrote for the North Shore Mothers of Multiples newsletter this month: