Today was another day where I only did about a half-day of work (lazybones!). I had planned on taking this entire week as a "staycation"... but ended up working about 20 hours or so instead. Oops.But I was determined to complete one of the many projects on my to-do list: building a book of all of the photos of Ezra's first year. Well, not ALL of the photos (ahem), but a very edited version. If I can keep my act together, I hope to do this every year, but let's not get ahead of ourselves, eh? I think it's so easy for photo prints to get lost in the cracks, and I can't imagine that in 15 years I'll still know where all of these digital photos are or how to access them (other than my blog). So an analog book was high on my list of priorities. I'm old fashioned like that.And what does this have to do with that photo up there? Well, as you can imagine, there was a lot of digging in my archives today, and I found that one!Remember back in August when Minneapolis St. Paul magazine ran that feature of my dog photos? They asked for a photo of myself and Magda to run with the piece, so I set this one up in the studio and had Jamie snap it for me. Then I sent it off in my email and flew to Kansas to take care of my mom. When I returned, I found the email with the photo stuck in my outbox, and it never made it to the publication and never ran. So here it is! Ha!For your internet shares today, this makes me very nervous. And this leaves me wondering, um, where do you go to the bathroom?

It rained all day today! Poor Magda never got her walk, but at the same time, I do enjoy the dark days every once in awhile.I took this photo on the side of the road -- in the gutter. I loved how the trees were dripping so much and how the light was catching in each of the rings. Sadly, my own reflection darkened it a bit, but you get the idea.Isn't it amazing how the rings cross over each other, but don't loose their perfect-circle shapes?For your internet share, this makes me want to go to Alaska. Especially that moose! Turning grapes into bunnies? I am totally stealing this idea for Ezra.

Today was Ezra's "real" birthday, so he and I lived it up! Our day included a trip to the hospital where where we dropped off some blueberry pie and a thank you note for all the doctors and nurses who helped us birth this guy last year. Next we visited Wild Rumpus, where Ezra chased chickens, examined birds, gazed at ferrets and watched some fish (and we bought a new book). We also visited Hello Pizza for lunch, and upon arriving home we opened gifts and played in his new fort.Then Jamie came home and we gave the kid a cake to play with. This was a leftover layer from his birthday cake that I had frozen and then frosted just for him to smash. This? This was a big hit. Enjoy the photos. For your internet shares of the day, I am not one for DIY projects (AT ALL), but this one is tempting. And if I win the lottery, I'm totally buying these shoes.

What a fun day!This time last year, I was rounding off day two of my labor with Ezra (sixty hours, remember?). To say I have a little PTSD about childbirth might be an understatement. Don't worry! I'm not going to get into details!But I did decide to give myself a few days off this week to commemorate a few things:First, that crazy-ass week in the hospital. Thank GOD I'm not doing that right now.Second, I survived (supposedly, according to many of you other parents) the hardest year of parenthood! And yeah -- I totally just jinxed myself.Third, I have a pretty fun kid (which is why tomorrow I'm letting him skip daycare and we're spending the day playing hooky together).Anyway, today (my first "day off"), I drove up to the North Shore with Nyberg. We had an *amazing* lunch at The Scenic View Cafe (one of my favorites) that started off with figs cooked in brown butter maple sauce, sprinkled with roasted walnuts and served with crusty bread and bleu cheese. YEAH.Then we headed to my favorite "beach" on Superior where we soaked in the serenity of the lake (as seen above). And then we sped back home so I could feed Ezra and put him to bed before heading to the arena to photograph the Ed Sheeran concert. See? I'll shoot any concert I can if my schedule allows. Even Ed Sheeran :)Obviously, I wasn't online much today, but here are links to the Sheeran show tonight, and I also shot the Desaparecidos show on Sunday, if you'd like to see that one.

What a weekend! We pretty much just prepped for a very small brunch to celebrate Ezra's first year. His birthday isn't until later this week, but we wanted a few of the people who have truly helped us to survive this first year (clothes! babysitting! advice! baby gear galore!) to celebrate with us.Ezra took a two hour nap that morning (!!) making him 20 minutes late to his own party. We didn't mind though as it gave us time to get all the food ready etc, but he was a bit groggy and confused when he woke up and there were a bunch of people, bubbles and balloons in his backyard. So he's a bit... dazed in some of these photos. He livened up after the cake though.Also, I put 51 weeks in the title of this post as a bit of a joke. One thing that drives me bonkers, is when moms refer to their kids in weeks or months after it is wholly ridiculous.This drove me crazy when I didn't have any kids, and I thought maybe once I had one of my own I would understand. Nope. The only thing this does is make me do more math. The other day I was with Jamie and Ezra at a restaurant, and there was a woman nearby with a baby. I asked her how old it was and she told me 26 weeks.No.That child is 6 mos. old. Don't make me do the math. So then Jamie asked me, "So how old was she?" And I snickered, "182 days." Here are my own general guidelines:Age in days: Appropriate up to one week old.Age in weeks: Appropriate up until 10 weeks old.Age in months: Appropriate up until one year old.After that? Let's do full and half years please, people. One time a woman told me her child was 39 months old and I seriously had to take a deep breath and not scream YOUR CHILD IS THREE. SAY IT WITH ME.Again, I bet this bothers me more than you because I hate math. But there it is. Oh, and I should also say  that "How far along are you" in pregnancy used to drive me nuts when answered in weeks, but I now understand why that matters and that is totally OK. In case you were wondering my stance on that.But enough of my ranting, and on to the photos. Oh! And there are photos of ME this week! My buddy Jaime (not to be confused with my husband) grabbed my camera and shot some during the party -- which was awesome. Thanks Jaime!  I had to get a shot of him standing on his own this week. It's a bit wobbly, but he's getting better. Best party cleanup around. Sign of a good party? When you need two baths afterward.  The bubble machine I got for the party was AWESOME.

Oh, what a lovely wedding this was.I was so lucky to get to photograph these two, who made me cry at their ceremony (a first in many years).They had a beautiful location, my very favorite officiant (seriously, check her out) and such a loving group of friends and family surrounding them. But my favorite part of the day (hands down), was before the ceremony when they exchanged very personal vows in a small room with just their closest loved ones. The "real wedding" was wonderful as well, but that first, more private ceremony blew me away. If I were to get married today, I would do it that same way.Enjoy the photos. * Also! A very special thank you to the fabulous Jess, for second shooting this one with me.

This here bunny was one of our favorites as we perused the variety at the fair this year. His long coat reminded me of both Merlin and a strange chicken! And he was so big with all that fur!Today was another day spent tied to my computer, which is why you get the older photo. I'm just about to head out for tonight's shoot, but I'll leave you with a funny internet share to keep you entertained. This made me look twice.It's almost the weekend! Don't you love short weeks? Yup.

Today, my fabulous buddy Leah stopped by with a bunch of amazing balloons for Ezra's birthday (she's early -- and amazingly sweet), and I love how the dinosaur's eye is the same color as Magda's. But Magda? She's a bit terrified of the balloons. Poor girl. She'll get used to them :)OK. For your internet share of the day, have you heard about The Cyber Party? I think you're about to. And on a much less serious note, I would love to own this purse. Right after I win the lottery.