{reading} ....abc's, abc's, abc's

as i've stated before annie is crazy about letters. all 26 of them. she can be heard humming the alphabet song or sneaking on my computer to type her name out...a-n-n-i-e-, a-n-n-i-e over and over day in and day out. she will read her books for hours, she reads to her baby dolls, to her stuffed animals, to her teapots, anything. her favorite place in the whole world these days, big surprise, is the library. we try to go once a week. she will grab a "magazine" and sit at the table and just soak in all the letters in front of her. we have flash cards at home that we work on with her identifying the letters and the objects that begin with those letters. i love to watch her learn. to be excited when she gets it. she's a sponge. she's intense. don't interrupt her when she's reading - it's too important. her response always is....."in a minute"....

{ballerinas} in training that is.

it was peek week at annie's ballet class yesterday. these darling little 3 year old girls running around on their tip toes, twirling, spinning, falling, laughing. oh to be that free. it was organized chaos to say the least. jean is so patient to take these little gals under her wings and calmly try to teach then dance. formal training doesn't begin until the age of five. i want annie to learn the art of ballet. it's beautiful. i danced ballet for nine years and often regret letting that go. there's an etiquette that goes with ballet and that's what i want annie to learn. a sense of self - and along with that grace, poise, respect, music and french - such a beautiful language.

the lighting in this studio is horrible for photography. there are no windows. beautiful wood floors but jet black glossy walls trimmed in wood - it's very 1970's bob fosse. {one singular sensation every little step she takes.....} oh sorry. anyway, it really was impossible to get any decent photos, so i really have to figure out this solution before the next peek week. i need that new speedlight from nikon the sb-900, yes that will do quite nicely.

here's a few shots - dark and grainy as they may be - think degas on a cloudy day.
{click on photo to enlarge}

{RUN!!!} don't walk..............

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{butterflies + pajamas}

annie had a pajama day at school. all the kids got to wear their pj's to school and the teachers too - they could bring their favorite stuffed animal. annie's class had an indoor picnic as well. it was so cute to see everyone walking around in their pj's and fuzzy slippers. of course annie wore brand new jammies - she loves butterflies. this is just a quick shot on our way into school. i love her pose - the combo of her two favorite things in the whole world {well for that morning anyway!} - butterfly pj's and rainboots.....we're having a nice thaw these days but unfortunately may have more snow tonight. humph!!!

{photo mojo}

today annie and i are starting our photo project. inspired by the good folks at photojojo. annie is mad about letters and numbers. she walks around all day pointing out the letters of her name and when she sees numbers she immediately starts counting, she also likes to hold up her fingers and ask us how many and then she puts her hands behind her back to "change" them and asks us again. hours of numbers fun!! i love her little sponge mind soaking up everything she learns at school. to say she is thriving in that environment would be an understatement. she amazes us everyday. i love the way she writes her name too - to me it's perfection. but anyway..... this project is perfect to combine her two loves to make this really cool calendar for her room. the calendar is a daily activity at school and makes for good observations to include the weather and even the time. we are going to go exploring for numbers and letters that i can photograph to create our masterpiece. i will post our diy journey and then the final product soon. i figure this is a great way to kill many birds with one stone - spending time with my favorite person in the whole world, getting outside and some much needed exercise, letting annie use her eye spy eyes and seeking out numbers 1-31 and letters for the days of the week and i can continue the happiness i get everytime i hold my camera in my hand. why don't you try this project and show me your results. i'd love to see.

{who inspires you}?

james merrell, james merrell, james merrell. if i click my heels three times can i capture an image like james merrell?! forever added to my list of who i want to be when i grow up. mesmorizing, gorgeous, stunning, breathtaking, why didn't i think of that?! wow wow wow. there are just not enough words to describe the beauty of his photography.
it's not possible to open up a design magazine, catalog or design book without seeing an image by this amazing photographer from london.
his portfolio is amazing and the inspiration is unending.
who inspires you? i would love to hear.