Oh hi! Remember when I was talking about all those deadlines?Well, yeah. I had an awful lot to get done before traveling 12 hours over a big ocean to arrive in Norway! And man, has it been worth it!First, yes we brought Ezra. Second, we might be crazy for doing so, but up until now at least, it's been really fantastic. Sure he sometimes says he wants to go back to Minnesota (he misses his dog!). But he also is having a blast riding trains and buses and airplanes and soon a boat! So I think we are even. The scales might tip by the end of the trip though, we'll see.The highlights of the trip so far have been meeting up with our friends Ina and Kevin and their daughter who is Ezra's age and seeing the two kids interact, hitting up the folk museum (photo above and more below) and frankly just exploring parks and cafes and wandering the city in this 70-degree weather! It is glorious!I can't promise I'll be posting every day as we have a lot of travel ahead and we have a toddler with us, but I'll try my best. Until then, enjoy the photos!
It was really cold and rainy in Minneapolis this weekend (well, cold for May anyway), and so our plans of outdoor concerts and baseball games faded away, and we decided instead to take the tot bowling. My, what a success that was!Who knew this guy would have so much fun! He loved the "silly shoes" and the big ball. He didn't so much care about knocking down the pins as much as he just liked carrying the ball around and rolling it down the floor. And he also liked that he could eat french toast while doing all of these things. Overall? It was a huge hit.
We have a lot of busy stuff coming up over here, and on top of that I have a ton of big jobs I've been shooting lately that are all coming due. Because of this, the blog might be a bit sporadic this week. Bear with me -- I promise when I return to posting there will be some lovely photos to show you.+ 
So Mondays at the Madhouse is officially over with, but of course I'll give you a few shots from the kid's birthday weekend.But first, I want to tell you about my new goal. Something I'm really trying to work on in my paid gigs is snapping a few photos that don't just document the time I have with clients, but that also capture what it feels like. Does that make sense? I think this is particularly important for family and wedding photos, and I think it takes the photos to a deeper level (not that I always succeed at this! Which is why it's a goal of mine). So my Monday goal is to now show you a photo from my weekend that capture the feeling of that moment for us. The images might be abstract or they might not -- it's a lofty goal, for sure, but I think this blog is a great place to experiment.So! This weekend, we celebrated Ezra's birthday on Friday, and Saturday morning Ezra woke up with a fever. And the fever climbed and climbed and peaked at 102.8 that day. There were a lot of "blankies" and "bunnies" and "wawa" and popsicles. And the photo above captured the feel of our weekend pretty well. It was sweet and snuggly, but also sad because no one wants to spend their birthday weekend like this.And because of the illness, we had to cancel the birthday party on Sunday. We didn't want anyone else getting sick. So below are just a few images from his actual birthday, which was a lot of fun.
Above is the cake that I made for Ezra. Thank you Pinterest for the awesome idea.
And because I thought you might want one more image of the kid's sweet face, here he is stuffing that cute face full of mac'n'cheese for his birthday lunch. Oh, how he loves mac'n'cheese.
We returned from California mid-week, and Ezra started a new classroom at school for two days before it was the weekend. A much needed weekend to, you know, unpack, do laundry, get the house organized, clean out the fridge, get groceries, etc. But we managed to squeeze in a lot of play as well.In the photo above, I was showing him how to balance a cup on top of my head. *Actually,* I was showing him how to balance a cup on top of my head while taking a photo. I am nothing if not magical in some instances. I should remember this trick for surly clients.We also visited a petting zoo, went to the park, made waffles and took monster naps. It was a touch slower than some of our recent weekends, but it was still glorious. Enjoy the photos below.Also, this is the official last Monday at the Madhouse post. That said, I fully expect next Monday to show you a photo or two from Ezra's birthday. So don't worry, I won't cut you off cold turkey.
The three of us went for one last walk in the woods on our last day in Sonoma. It was about 7:45 am, and there were only a handful of us in the park. The light was lovely, and the smell was glorious. I love that shot of my boys.
On Tuesday, we were back in Sacramento, and Ezra was sitting on a stool in the kitchen brushing his teeth and I had this vision of him as a 12 year old. I don't know if it was the height of the chair or what, but something just time warped. It made me a little sad, so I snapped the moment to remember and enjoy this toddlerhood.
After the tooth brushing, Ezra got his ride in Grandpa Sookie's old MG. Pretty rad.
Later that day, we went to visit Goldie, a far-off cousin of Ezra's. Goldie reads this blog each week and is a huge fan, and it was so wonderful to meet her in person. She has the best outlook on life and was such a joy to have coffee with.
Oh! But before I forget, we took Ezra to In-N-Out while we were in California, and he refused to try the burger. In the past, this kid has eaten: Sushi, broccoli and grahams for breakfast, pickled ginger, sauerkraut and fish. But he wouldn't try that burger. It has me seriously questioning if there was some sort of mixup at the hospital.
On Saturday, a petting zoo popped up at the park a few blocks away, so in we went. Ezra loved seeing the animals and feeling the coats on the goats and such.
And here is a photo of my child literally choking a chicken. (Sorry. Had to go there.)
AND THEN I CAUGHT HIM WITH HIS THUMB IN HIS MOUTH. Really. I wonder why we are all sick all the time. Christ.
Sunday, after nap, the light was nice and the kid was happy, so I snapped a few shots in his room.
And later that day, he laid down, asked me to cover him with a blankie and then requested that I sing to him. Sometimes he's like a teenager. And then he's like this. 
Look at that California light!We arrived last week, and I have taken so many photos. Photos of trees and skies and beaches and family and dogs and food and we haven't even left yet! I'm just going to put a sampling of images in here and say that I hope you all had a wonderful Labor Day weekend. Ours was damn good.Also, since I'm still traveling, the regular scheduled blogging might not return for a few more days. Be patient! I'm trying to relax out here!
We did a few portraits at sunset one night just for fun.
The red woods were just what I needed. Damn, do I love those trees.
My niece Emma joined the cross country team this year, so she spent a lot of time this weekend training for her first meet this week.
But seriously, these trees.
Oh hi there, Bambi.
Ezra was pretty enamored with his cousin Johnny.
Of course I have to put this one in again. I love those stars so much.
After shooting the galaxy, we shot some light painting photos of the cousins.
Oh man. What a weekend. There were meals eaten by lakes, dress-up clothes worn, woods explored, pebbles thrown, cats discovered, sidewalks chalked, meals prepared for/with friends, long walks in the neighborhood, foggy mornings enjoyed with waffles and so much snuggle time with Magda. It was glorious. Also? The kid finally got back to sleeping through the night. Or at least he did so last night. We'll have to see what he has planned for the rest of the week.
Today, it smelled like fall. In fact, this whole weekend was sort of fall-like. We took jackets with us and wore pants and even, sometimes, SOCKS! And the feeling of that crisp morning air and the smell of the damp leaves? Oh I do love this time of year.This weekend, we also had Bubie Carole in town! She and Ezra had a blast, as you'll see. Above, we went back to the "yellow choo choo" that is the Linden Hills trolley. He just kept smiling and repeating "yellow choo choo... " over and over again in disbelief while we rode it. Ah, kid. The adventures we have ahead!
Something new Ezra tried this weekend was walking in mom's shoes. First he did these, and then declared they were too heavy.
So then he moved on to my Toms. Smart kid.
We visited a train museum in St. Paul and reluctantly climbed into this train to ring the bell and blow the whistle. This took far more convincing than you would imagine.
He did enjoy this bell with his Dad, though.
It rained all day Saturday, so we visited the library and had lots of good books around.
Between showers, we went on many walks.
And on Sunday, the weather was glorious, so we walked to the market and to the park. Bubie is like a kid again with Ezra. It is so much fun to witness.
The kid still has not figured out drinking fountains.
While walking home from the park, we discovered a backyard in the neighborhood that houses chickens! Ezra was enthralled.
Here he is trying to "pet" the chickens. Good luck, kid.
Then Sunday evening we headed down to Lake Harriet for a picnic and to ride the trolley. Ezra holds on tight to his trolley token.
And that was our week! This week, I have seven shoots scheduled with the potential for two more, so I'm slammed. Please forgive briefer-than-usual blog posts, but know that I'm working hard on new content! And Happy Monday to everyone!
We started this weekend with nothing on our plates. Just a slow weekend to do what we wanted. And yes, we completely filled it to the brim -- but all with great fun.There were visits to the aquarium and parks, lots of long walks, the farmer's market, dinner with the fantastic Eric and Eero (who showed Ezra his tablet, above -- love seeing photos of those two playing together). There were tacos and guacamole and meals eaten at restaurants and brunch at friends' homes. There were new dogs to meet, new yards to explore, and the kid's first toad spotting.And I would be remiss if I didn't say there was also some moodiness. Ezra is one month away from being two, and dare I say it's starting to show. The amount of negotiation is exhausting and yet, forces me to be perhaps the most creative I have ever been in my lifetime. There is crying and frustration for this kid, but there are also hugs and kisses and moments when he looks up, holding my hand, and says, "Ezra happy." And that is pretty damn rad.And now, I need to tell you that Mondays at the Madhouse are coming to a close. I'm going to stop posting weekly about this adorable boy when he turns two. I've thought a lot about this since he was born, and while our family stories drive tons of traffic to my site (thanks everyone!), I think at age 2, Ezra is becoming his own person, and he should get a say about having an internet presence.I will likely still have occasional posts about the family and what we're up to, but not as regularly, and not with as many photos of Ezra. This whole "sharing on the internet" is a tricky thing to navigate, and while I'm happy to share things about my own life to the world, I want him to make those decisions for himself. Also? I don't want this to turn into a space where I write about his tantrums or his potty training. Those things are for him to experience, not the world. And those things are right around the corner.So after this week, you'll have four more weeks of seeing Ezra, and then we'll have to get a little more creative about our Monday mornings. Don't worry. I have ideas :)
One big change this week was that on our family walks, Ezra is actually walking more. There's far less time in the stroller, and more time exploring the rocks and cracks in the sidewalk. Which is why it took 1.5 hours for me to walk 10 blocks with him this week.Patience is a virtue. Right?
Are you guys eating all the peaches right now? Because we cannot get enough over here. My god, they are heavenly this time of year.
We have a vacation coming up soon, and on this trip we need to bring our huge carseat as we'll be driving a lot once we land. So we tried out this new gizmo that will let us pull the kid through the airport like luggage before we check the carseat at the gate. I think it's a hit.
Back in May, I got Ezra a ziplock baggie full of Fisher Price trucks at a garage sale for dirt cheap. Smartly, I hid them until this week when he was tired of his current toys. Oh you guys, what a hit. They have travelled with us everywhere, provide hours of entertainment and have even been in the bath tub.
Another shot of Eero and Ezra with the tablet after dinner. Oh these two.
At brunch on Sunday, we ate outside in our friend 
I would be lying if I didn't admit that I am being called into duty to play with the trucks with Ezra constantly. Bubie Carole is coming this week, and I cannot wait for him to have a new truck partner. It will be a well-deserved break.
And I captured this "God Mom!" teenager look on Saturday morning. Up next? Eyerolls, I'm sure.