We finally did it! We have joked for years about “someday” cleaning out the attic and making it a usable space for our kid and his friends to play games, hatch secret evil plans and read comic books deep into the night.

We started by cleaning out all the junk last fall (it was wall-to-wall packed) and then I spent the winter looking for pillows, blankets and a hammock on sale or for free on next door or facebook marketplace (still looking for hippie-like tapestries if anyone has one!).

Then we hired a handyman to build a stair railing so no small child fell to their death near the dangerous drop off, and we put plexiglass over the windows to block anyone from crashing through and falling. We also needed some electrical work added in and a light switch. As of Saturday, it was all complete!

And he loves it. He spends hours every day up there, reading or listening to books, swinging in the hammock or gazing out the window. I am so pleased we could pull this all together.

I guess it’s one silver lining of this pandemic and being stuck at home! Enjoy the photos.

I was lucky enough to photograph a baby again last week (This is Louie! Look at all those smiles! Isn’t he ADORABLE??) and these in-home shoots are my very favorite. I love capturing families where they are most comfortable and where, should we need a quick outfit change, it’s easily doable.

I also love that while I’m capturing your family, I’m also documenting your home. Our houses change, or we change houses, and seeing the places we lived years later (even if it’s the same house — but a new furniture arrangement or a new paint color) is always fun. It brings me so much joy to walk into a family’s home and to play with a new baby or better yet, a toddler (I truly do love playing with those littles!).

This is why it has been really hard on me to wait my turn for the vaccine. I know my work is not essential — in any shape or form. I get that. But to make money, I often need to take photos of people unmasked. And because of this, I am keeping my inside jobs (which in a Minnesota winter is almost all of them) 2 weeks apart to make sure there is no cross contamination. And doing this affects my income more than I would like to admit.

Now, as everyone around me is getting vaccinated, it’s incredibly difficult to just wait my turn. My patience is running thin, which I’m embarrassed to admit. But here I am, ordering more in-home covid tests to make sure I’m safe and just… waiting for my turn for my shot.

I am super hopeful that I don’t have much longer to wait — maybe a month? Maybe two? But until then, I’m having to really work on my patience. And please don’t take this as a call for a way to get the vaccine early — I want to wait until I’m eligible, I don’t want to cut the line and take a shot from someone who needs it. I just really hope the doors open up to myself and my family (and yours) soon. Until then? Deep breaths, my friends. Deep breaths.

A few weeks back, my kiddo was complaining that he never gets to make any “big” decisions in the house and that the food we eat for dinner every night is “boring” and “healthy.”

So we struck a deal that he could choose dinner once a month if HE cooked it. Please note that we get takeout each week and we rotate who chooses which restaurants and the kid is included. It’s why we had to have Jimmy John’s for dinner this month. So I am not a total monster forcing him to eat kale and quinoa on the daily.

Anyway! So a few weeks back Ezra made dinner for us. I told him it had to include a fruit and a vegetable, and he complied. And he did clean up. We all had a blast, and I can’t wait to see what he makes us next time. Enjoy the film!

I think March is the ugliest month in Minnesota, hands down. All the snow is melting, then there will be a blizzard, then it will melt again. All the dirt and sand and grime is showing up in the filthy snow piles, and where there are not remaining snow piles there is SO MUCH MUD.

Being a parent of children or dogs requires a ton of patience and feet wiping and laundry.

But! But the patterns of ice that Mother Nature leaves in the literal street gutters slays me every year. So yesterday and today I took photos of it. I hope you like it as much as I do.