Shutterbug Mama

I did an impromptu photoshoot of Cadence in her "new" vintage red dress while I was getting her dressed. The light was just right in her room, not that it matters so much when you're shooting raw and editing in Adobe Lightroom.

Here's a full view of the dress. It's pretty short, as you can see. I had her wear it over a pair of jeans, and it works well as a blouse too.

I'm kinda tickled at how good she's getting in front of the camera. Sometimes she runs, but sometimes she actually cooperates. She likes looking at the photos right after I've taken them.

I've got a dozen and a half of these Red Dress photos, so if you wanna seem 'em all, the flickr set is over here.

Speaking of that Red Dress, Cadence actually wore it to the Elizabeth Michell and Family show @ Ravinia on Saturday. In case you don't know, Elizabeth Mitchell, her husband Daniel Littleton and their daughter Storey have a series of kids albums that are THE BEST children's music you'll find in records stores these days. Their music is such a gift to true music lovers who do not want to have to resort to Barney or The Wiggles when it comes to listening to music with their kids. Cadence LOVES their music and sings along to all the songs now. I can't tell you what joy fills my heart to hear my daughter singing songs by The Carter Family and Woody Guthrie and Elizabeth Cotten, to name a few.

We met up w/ our friends Ada and her parents Jenn and John at the show. They are also big Elizabeth Mitchell (and Ida, Liz and Dan's grownup band) fans. Our friends Felix and Zarah and their new son Asher were also there. Zarah is actually cousins w/ Dan Littleton, so they got special passes and all that jazz. When Z invited me to hang out with them after the show, however, I got too shy and declined. It kinda would've been like having lunch w/ Bono for me.

Anyhoo, rest of the Elizabeth Mitchell and Family show photos can be seen over here.

Check out more folks' best shots on Tracey's Picture This.

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, childrens.music, elizabeth.mitchell, i.heart.vintage

Ok, now where were we...Ah, yes. On to the reception!

Here are the newlyweds entering the reception hall to much applause.

And straight into their first dance as husband and wife.

Next was the bride's dance with her father.

And if you look closely, you will see Lauren's pink Converse All-star sneakers peeking out from under her dress. I just couldn't resist taking this shot...

The part that may have produced the most tears from the guests was the dance with all four of Lauren's brothers. Here she is with the oldest, Dave.

And with Jason, the youngest and her twin.

With Charles, the 2nd oldest brother.

And finally, with Ted, the middle brother.

Here's Cadence watching her daddy twirl her Aunt Lauren around the dance floor. She looked so thoughtful throughout the dance. I don't know what was going through her head. Maybe she thought her dad was a good dancer.

Here she is trying out Daddy as a dance partner. I am not even going to think of her dancing with her Daddy at her own wedding someday.

I have to admit, though, that Cadence didn't spend much time dancing cuz she was too busy running. No surprise there.

Can you hear the glasses clinking?

Oh, look. Another one! And a dramatic dip! Glad I had my camera ready!

This is one of my favorite dancing photos. That's Ted's mom and a very good family friend, Mr. Motyl.

I had a lot of fun photographing our friends Jeff and Lena. They are such a beautiful couple and a lot of fun on the dance floor. I have some goofy photos of them, but I really like this sweet one.

And this is probably in my top 10 favorites of the day. I think I need to do a little more editing, and it may look best in sepia or black and white. We'll see.

I think the dancing photos were the most fun to take. People were having so much fun! There was dancing pretty much non-stop for the reception. Even Grandma Sophie danced the afternoon away. She met a very nice Italian gentleman from Florida who whisked her around the dance floor. He later told me what a great dancer she was and how astounded he was by her agility and lightness of feet.

Anyhoo, I could go on and on with dancing photos, but I'll stop for now. The band definitely deserved a big round of applause.

There was an after-party at the parents' house post-reception, which all the wedding guests were invited to. Ted's mom is a fabulous hostess, and everything looked awesome with just one hired helper.

Some folks on Doug's (the groom's) side of the family gave speeches. I have to say, it amazes me how people from other countries (in this case, Sweden) are so good at speaking English. I mean, could you imagine going to Sweden and delivering a speech in front of 100 guests in Swedish? No, I didn't think so.

I think a lot more drinking went on at the after-party due to the presence of some really awesome homebrew made especially for the wedding by Ted and Dave and Ted's best friend Brian.

There was also no band to keep people on the dancefloor. Unless you were Dave and you dance to the beat of a different realm of reality.

By the end of the night, some of us were in dire need of some shut-eye. All in all, though, it was a fun day. I gotta say, Ted's family sure knows how to party, and I mean that in a very positive way.

So that's it for the photos. Again, you can see all 422 over here if you're so inclined. Hope you have broadband.

Labels: auntie.lore, family, photography, photos, wedding.photography, weddings

That's right, folks. I survived the wedding extravaganza week, and I'm almost back to my everyday life, which would include this blog, of course. I've been editing photos during every moment of my free time since the wedding on Saturday, and I finally have something to show you all. I took over 1,000 photos, and of these I kept a little over 400 from the wedding day itself. I've posted all these to a different flickr account, so if you want to have a look-see at ALL of them, you can mosey on over here. Otherwise, I'll share some of the more memorable photos in this blog post. Excuse the lack of words. I'm tired.

And here is the bride's bouquet. The colors of the wedding were red and orange (for Rouge Douge and Orange Loren).

I didn't really take photos during the ceremony, so here they are moments after being married. The ceremony wasn't the kind that would've allowed me to move around much to take photos. The professional photographer basically planted his tripod and stayed put for most of the ceremony. I figured if he wasn't moving around, I wasn't going to either because I felt self-conscious of my very small lens.

I didn't partake in the family photos, either. I kind of hung around, but I know it's distracting to have two photographers taking photos for posed shots so I didn't take very many photos, except of folks just standing around, like Uncle Charles here. I was kind of disappointed that the photographer didn't do very many family shots. Maybe it's cuz I'm Asian, but I was hoping for a really big family photo. I think I was in only one of the posed photos (the sisters-in-law), and Cadence wasn't in any. But after visiting the photographer's website, I'm glad because the photos I saw on there were kinda scary. We may need to be photoshopping the professional shots...

This is one of the few photos of Cadence I took the entire day, not to mention the entire week. She was half-asleep already.

And here are the newlyweds going off to the reception in their limo. I have no idea how Ted's dad scored a stretch limo 2 days before the wedding.

This one may be my favorite photo of the day. Grandma Sophie had a blast blowing bubbles. She is a total HOOT to photograph.

Alright. I'll end it there for now. More later!

Labels: auntie.lore, family, photography, photos, wedding.photography, weddings

Help! There is a guinea pig, turtle and duckling peforming an operetta in my head, and they won't stop!! Someone sing me Spanich techno, NOW!

Alas, I suppose I deserve it, considering how many hours we've allowed Cadence to watch that show during the past week. There must be something like 8 different episodes on one DVD, and that is ALL she wants to watch these days. We find ourselves singing the theme song at random moments throughout the day. Cadence's affection for this show far surpasses any previous obsessions.

Simultaneously, she's developed quite the thing for Winnie-the-Pooh. She'd always been more interested in Tigger, but lately it's all about the Pooh.

*sigh*...It seems that we have sold our souls to the media devil...Heaven help us now...

Hopefully, once we start acting like sane people again after the wedding this weekend, we'll actually do things that require putting on real clothes (or bathing suits) and maybe smelling some flowers or something. For now, though, those Wonder Pets have sure got the right stuff.

Labels: cadence, fess.up.time, new.pornographers, this.busy.life

We went to the annual Chicago Korean Festival on Saturday. I don't know why I go to this every year. I guess to get my occasional Korean fix. Unfortunately, the food just isn't up to par, and I couldn't get any paht-bingsoo this year because the line was too damn long at Outdoor Cafe. We did get to spend some time w/ Halfmama and her family and later my cousins Ben and Rachel and Baby Eden, which was nice. I felt bad the festival was so lame though.

I am in full wedding preparation mode, PLUS I'm super busy at work. Poor Cadence...She's been watching a lot of Wonder Pets these days...

To make matters possibly worse, Ted started getting sick yesterday. We don't know if it's allergies or a cold. All I know is, we don't have TIME to get sick. Ain't that always the truth?

That's not all. I woke up with a migraine in the middle of the night last night, and I couldn't fall back to sleep. By the time I got to work at 8am this morning, I had already been up for 7 hours. That is going to throw my sleep WAY off. I just hope I don't get another migraine from the lack of sleep...

See more folks' Best Shots Monday on Tracey's Picture This.

Labels: best.shots.monday, family, photos, this.busy.life

#1—I was walking to the train one day when I passed an elderly dog of indiscernible breed hanging around his front lawn. He was a friendly type---the kind that always has a smile on his face, and I wasn't worried at all walking by him. His owner was on the front porch, just a couple yards away, and he called to his dog in such a gentle, amiable tone that made me smile to myself as I hurried to catch my train. It got me thinking about a quote by Gandhi that says, 'The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.' (Thank you, Google) I think this is true. I then got to thinking about how it is considered inhumane to hit a dog or cat or most animals in this country, but when it comes to hitting a child it's considered discipline.

I suppose the Christians have at least a little bit of something to do with this. One little Bible verse in the book of Proverbs—'Spare the rod, spoil the child' has probably done more to mislead parents regarding appropriate discipline than all the other verses regarding love, gentleness, kindness, mercy and forgiveness combined have done to enlighten them. I know that there are now Christian groups who believe in grace-based discipline and do not believe in spanking. William and Martha Sears, who are often considered the spokespersons for Attachment Parenting, are in fact devout Christians. Still, most folks who grew up in Christian or church-going homes grew up being spanked. I know a lot of folks who were hit as a child say they turned out okay so spanking must not be that bad. To them, I say, you probably turned out okay DESPITE being spanked. I'm sorry, but I personally don't see how the assertion of one's superior physical strength or size over another of inferior strength or size can EVER produce truly positive, long-term effects, such as instilling a sense of SELF-discipline, or the sense of right and wrong that is based on internalized morals and not fear of punishment.

I do believe that parents have the responsibility to guide their children. To me, that is what The Rod in the verse from Proverbs is referring to. Shepherds use their rods to guide their sheep, not to beat them when they stray. I'm no expert on discipline. In fact, it's an area that I really struggle with in our home. I am convinced that rewards and punishments do not work in the long-term, if what I'm looking to do is to teach Cadence self-control and desire to do the right thing, not out of fear of punishment or the desire for a reward but simply because it is the right thing to do.

And yet, I understand why parents spank their kids. When you are being pushed to the limits of your sanity by a scrawny 36 inches weighing less than 30lbs, it can be so easy to just revert to how you were parented. I really think that unless we experience significant internal changes, and unless we equip ourselves with the tools to know better, we just can't help ourselves from becoming our parents. For those who were parented well, this is a blessing. For the rest of us, it's a source of frequent internal and external strife.

I didn't grow up with a lot of physical discipline. However, I do distinctly remember my mom telling me that she wanted to beat the tar out of me (loose translation from the Korean), and I never forgot that. I just hope I never say anything so hurtful to Cadence. It would be as bad as giving her a spanking, I would imagine.

I believe that there is another quote out there about how you can tell a lot about a people by the way they treat their young, their old and their sick or disabled. If there isn't, there should be. All in all, I do believe that our humanity is determined, for better or for worse, by how we treat the weakest, the most vulnerable, the frailest, the most dependent among us.

Which is why Jesus is my hero, even though a lot of the stuff that often comes packaged in Christianity drives me totally nutso. But that's another thought for another (Thurs)day.

#2—On a totally different note, will any of you respect me less if I wear gauchos? I know some folks don't have a problem with it, but others simply cannot stand them. I just can't find anything to wear to the wedding that is comfortable enough for me to move around freely so I can take photos. You see, to get some of the shots I want, I sometimes find myself in awkward positions, and I mean that in the physical realm. I've been known to do things like stand on high places, kneel or get my belly on the ground, and I don't want to be doing all that in a skirt. Gauchos provide a nice in-between. Ted doesn't like them at all, but I can't find another pair of pants that I like. And don't get me started about the top…

#3—Can I just say that I absolutely love Ted's new haircut? I made him go to art+science which is much more pricey than just a barber or Supercuts. I have to say, it's totally worth it. Best of all, he loves it too!

Cadence thinks the haircut is beautiful too. They sure make a good looking pair!

Labels: attachment.parenting, cadence, parenting, photos, three.thoughts.thursdays

I'm practicing my photog skillz for Auntie Lauren's wedding, which is coming up really fast now! Here are a few of my faves from this past week:

Cadence's little friend Ada at her Dr. Seuss-themed 3rd Birthday Party. Notice her little tattoo on her arm. So cute!

Adorable little Nora at the birthday party. I like how Ada and Cadence are off in the distance, and here's little Nora chasing after them.

Here, I'm playing around on Picasa, which is a google software for organizing and editing photos. I've muted the colors every so slightly.

This one is kinda dreamy. I don't think I'd want to do too many photos like this as that would probably make me want to vomit. But a few here and there I think would be okay. I'm really not so much into the effects. I like when other people do 'em, but I like to keep things simple. Probably cuz I'm lazy.

I just like the light in this one. And I am a big fan of window seats! I always think of Jane Eyre as a little girl hiding away in one of these and reading for hours and hours during the cold winter months.

This happened to be in Ted's parent's fridge. It's almost 2 years old! There will definitely be a bunch of homebrew at the wedding after-party.

There's something about this photo that I really like. Part of it is because I think Becki is just absolutely beautiful, in a really pure, natural and wholesome way. The awesome part is that she's really this beautiful on the inside too. I know that sounds hokey, but it's true. Uncle David is so lucky that she chose him!

As you can see, Cadence is quite fond of her Aunt Becki, whom she called Aunt Duckie for the longest time. *sigh*. I kinda liked it when she called her Duckie...

Oh, all of these photos were taken w/ the 50mm f/1.8 lens on my D50. I'm thinking I'll shoot mainly w/ that lens cuz I just love the blur. So I guess it won't matter so much that my 18-55mm is broken. I have an older 35-55mm from my film camera that I can use on my D50, so I'll do that. I'll use my D40 for my 55-200mm zoom lens, mainly at the ceremony. I'm going to focus more on the reception and after-party and leave the main ceremony shooting to the pros. There is no way I'll get much more than maybe some artsy looking grainy B&W shots at the ceremony, since the church does not allow flash or planted lighting. We'll see how it goes...

Go see other folks' Best Shots Monday at Tracey's Picture This.

Labels: auntie.lore, best.shots.monday, cadence, family, photography, photos, weddings

Now I know y'all are familiar with Uncle Dave, Ted's oldest brother.

Cadence also has a series of other uncles who dote on her, including her uncles Phil (a.k.a. Teal) and John (a.k.a. Brown). It just so happens that they were in town this week (they live all over the place, most recently in Portland, OR) and paid a visit last night.

They had a chance to get caught up on Ted's latest homebrews over dinner.

John is leaving in the next 10 days for India where he will be studing music for 6 months.

Phil may be going to Ghana with their other friend Mikey for the funeral of Ghana's most esteemed xylophone player.

Some people get to travel everywhere!

Makes me want to renew my passport...

Photo slideshow of the visit is here, if yer interested.

Labels: family, friends, friends.rock, photos, uncles.galore

When I chose to do certain things as a parent that some folks would consider attachment parenting, I have to admit that I didn't have visions of beautiful bonding moments with my child; they were for reasons of convenience and necessity as a working mom. Breastfeeding meant I'd always have food ready to serve without needing to measure, mix or warm up. Extended breastfeeding meant I'd always have a means of calming and comforting instantaneously, not to mention being able to give Cadence—ever the Energizer bunny—the equivalent of a sleeping pill every night. Co-sleeping meant being able to nurse and comfort without having to get up or entirely waking up so that I could actually function during the day and bring home the bacon. Babywearing meant being able to do things around the house and not having to lug a stroller everywhere, the technicalities of which I never fully grasped (I am severely mechanically challenged). If these things promoted attachment between Cadence and me, well that was an added bonus.

As she grew older, however, I wondered if my laziness had set us up for disaster. I mean, would Cadence EVER stop nursing during the night, with a midnight snack just inches from her face? Would she EVER learn to put herself to sleep without the sleep-inducing hormones in a nightcap on tap from mama's boob? Would she EVER wean herself, if we let HER decide when she was ready? Would she EVER be able to sleep by herself in her own bed without a warm body next to her?

It seems to me that the answer to all these questions is YES. She has already stopped nursing during the night for the most part through no effort of my own. Sometimes she stirs, but she usually just settles herself and sleeps through the night until after I've already left for work. She has also started getting in bed and putting herself to sleep for naptimes, but only with Ted. I don't try to force her to do it with me too because I get to put her down for naps only three days a week. But at least I know that she CAN do it. She obviously hasn't weaned yet, but I know she will someday. Now that she's cut out her pre-dawn session, she only nurses twice a day as it is.

As for sleeping in her own bed, I am personally skeptical of the notion that a child should be expected to sleep alone so early in life. I remember sleeping with my grandmother while my brother slept with my parents until I was at least 5 years old. For thousands of years, humans slept together in one family bed, so I think babies are hard-wired to want to be close to a warm body, probably as a built-in safety feature. I believe that humans are highly adaptable and therefore have learned to sleep alone from infancy during the last 100 years or so (at least in the Western world). However, I don't expect this of my own child, because I know her personality. Some babies are great in their own cribs and beds from the get-go. Others can gradually become accustomed to sleeping alone. Cadence happens to fall into the camp that requires a little more coziness during the night. Maybe it's because I am away from her so much during the day. Maybe it's just how she's hardwired. At any rate, co-sleeping gives me the opportunity to be in close contact with her for at least 7 hours during the night, and although we may be asleep through most of it, in our dreamy state, we soak in each other's presence and touch, and it diminishes the sadness of being separated for 10-11 hours during the day. Of course there are nights when I just wish I could sleep unencumbered all alone in a nice big soft bed. Overall, though, it's so worth it.

Labels: attachment.parenting, cadence, cosleeping, extended.breastfeeding, parenting, photos, three.thoughts.thursdays