Thank you for visiting us here this past year. It's been great! However, I've got a new blog...I'm moving to Wordpress. It should allow for more features related to showcasing photography than this one.
Please visit us here:
http://kaosong.wordpress.com/
Hanukkah has already begun, but wanting to send our wishes out to all. We got our cards out kind of late so I didn't want to post too early. These were our cards this year:
Front of card:
I had forgotten how much I loved Christmastime until this year. Having Roan has brought back much of the excitement I used to feel. I remember lying underneath the tree in the dark, except the lights from the tree and looking up into the branches, pretending to be a small Tinkerbell flying through it.
He was so excited to see Santa (according to Roan, Santa is called Christmas) at the mall and since then, he's noticing the local decorations. We put up our tree and decorations (and took our holiday photos) on Sunday (we started on Saturday night) and he was so excited. He took many of the ornaments and was pretend playing with them. We did have a few casualties, as far as broken ornaments, but that's because I tend to stay away from the fancy stuff. Up until this year, we've had no issues with Roan touching the ornaments, but every day since I've found abandoned ornaments around the house. He also loves the tree lighting every night. So sweet!
When we finally got all of the ornaments up on the tree and turned it on, he said, "Beautiful!" It was so sweet! Finally, someone who appreciates my work! Unfortunately, I'm not much of a decorator and I tend to lean on the haphazard side, even though I love pretty things. The following are some photos from the night.
Below: He actually wanted to pose for photos with the bare tree. And yes, ours comes with lights. One day we'll have a real one, but for now...this is all that I can take.
How can this sweet little face already be such a trouble-maker? I got notice that he had to be separated from another boy at school and the bus because they were fighting. I feel so conflicted over this.
The bus driver told Mary, his daycare provider, that she thinks it's the bigger boy (not Roan). Roan doesn't have any issues with this anyone else, but the big one does. The little one (Roan) is only defending himself. Mary says, "What's a little guy supposed to do, but stand up for himself?"
Here's our conversion:
Me: What happened?
Ro: I fight.
Me: Why?
Ro: He pull my hair.
Me: So you hit him?
Ro: Yes.
Me: Did he hit you?
Ro: Yes.
Me: Is he your friend?
Ro: Yes.
We have our first parent/teacher conference on Monday night. I have no idea how it's going to go.
On another front...he loves baking with me.
I like to think that one day I'll look back and think this is so silly, but I was so excited to see this on my blogroll this morning when I opened the link to the Parentdish blog. Roan's photo was chosen as the "Image of the Day"!
I took a fun photo of Roan in his new hat--the one that Roan will be wearing in our holiday photos/card and just loved how sweet and happy it made me. He's actually wearing his PJ's and I have no idea how the background turned out black. It was taken in our office.
Here is the link: http://www.parentdish.com/2008/11/13/image-of-the-day-furry-friend/
I don't know how I feel about being referred to as "his".
A couple weekends ago, I had my first engagement session. I have to say that I really enjoyed the session! B and J were so fun and open to doing whatever I asked and it was so refreshing to see a couple so genuinely in love.
I also love it when clients come to the session with coordinating/complimentary and colorful clothing! It really helps to make the photos stand out. 
A few weeks ago, I finally got the chance to meet the V Family. M designed my beautiful logo for me and due to my inexperience, I bugged her over and over again for the file in several formats. I have so much to learn...and so much on my list of things to do before I can be successful at this photography thing.
I loved this photo (below). They are such a cute family and this was such a fun shot! We only had a short session...almost a mini, but I managed to get some really fun shots of the family.
Roan learned about the candidates today at daycare. I asked him who he was going to vote for and he said, "Obama!" I thought that was hilarious! Seriously, no prompting from me at all.
We went for a walk yesterday morning while Choua fixed lunch. Seeing Roan enjoy the unseasonably warm autumn day, made me nostalgic for the endless days of my youth, when my biggest worries involved my not letting my sister catch me dancing to music in our room because she'd tease me to no end.
I think he loves being outdoors even more than I did when I was little. I feel so blessed to have such a sweet, happy, little boy. Words cannot even begin to explain how much I love him.
I don't know if it's more evil that I enjoyed taking this picture so much or that I actually took the time to put it into a storyboard. In his defense, I keep his jeans on the loose setting so that he can pull them off to go to the bathroom on his own. It's hard to see here, but he's got a little crack going on. It's so cute!
**EDITED** Please remember to vote tomorrow morning!
I could tell that he would love playing and jumping into leaf piles when he instinctively ran through the small pile that had gathered, naturally behind our house. All the while, yelling "Whee!" with joy.
On Saturday, Choua and Roan gathered up the leaves and called the neighbors over to have some fun.
Jackson kept jumping into the pile every time we would gather it up, before his sister and Roan were ready so this one time, below, Victoria jumped in first. You can see in the first photo, on the left, Jackson walking over to Mom, in tears. In the second photo, he's laying on the ground while Victoria and Roan are playing away. Ahhhh...classic!
I lost my CF card with the photos from Halloween last night. :( It's somewhere at Millenium Park.
I also missed my chance to vote early. :( We went Thursday night but I decided to eat first and then they were closed. So I planned to go on Friday afternoon, but the polls closed at 11:30a.
I had a fun session with the H Family. J and K were my first "strangers" session last year. This is the third time I've met with them in one year. I feel so blessed to have seen their family grow.
It's funny how things lined up. We had been trying to get together for another session for months and then we finally set it and it was almost exactly a year to the date. Last year, our session was during the Chicago marathon and it was again, this year.
Below are some previews from the session. The first one is a cute outtake...Baby H was so serious in this photo.
Finally...they are finally becoming friends. It's taken almost three years for Roan and his cousin, Gabe, to finally be chummy. I think Gabe is still a little afraid of Roan, since Roan tends to make himself at home anywhere he is...sometimes at the detriment to us and whomever's home we are in. But alas, I was able to capture one cute photo of the cousins.
Yesterday, we spent the morning at the Morton Arboretum for their annual "Trick or Trees". It's getting cold now. I'll post up a collage later (hopefully), but he was following another boy around because the other boy was Venom. The other boy was a little scared also, since Roan decided to be Mr. Incredible that morning. He lost his face mask for his Spiderman costume so we had to get him a new costume.
I asked Choua to take some photos of Roan and me and he did a great job!
I know...what's up with the multiple posts in one day after weeks of nothing? Well, I've been so busy with my day job, my family/personal life, and my serious hobby that I have not been able to be very good at handling any of them. I have to keep reminding myself **chanting in my mind** "Moderation, full life, moderation, full life..."
I realized that I have not been paying attention to my most favorite (and most difficult) subject, my son. He had picture day at his preschool yesterday. I was worried that he'd pull a PCS (photographer's child syndrome) act. I guess we'll see when the pictures come out. We started off the day practicing looks for his first official school pictures. I really need to put these into a storyboard so there aren't so many pictures.
What would I do without mine? Look at how sweet they are together.
We walked around their neighborhood and T said that that was her friend's house so we jumped up and used it as a backdrop.
She was my first skill building subject. Here she is 18 months old now. She has such a personality...and what a cutie?
I was able to do a quick mini-session while her father, who is working in Africa, was home visiting. We still need to get together to do the rest.
I have to say, I have the most attractive friends!
Above: An outtake...it was too cute not to show. Totally unprompted!
I finally registered to vote last week. Roan and I have been going to the library a lot lately. I rediscovered it recently. I am horrible at getting materials back on time though.
Anyways, I've been trying to watch the debates. It's kind of late news now, but I have a hard time taking the candidates seriously. I can't tell if they are giving facts or just throwing in numbers and trying to make the other candidate look bad. I am so lost. I'm not undecided, just conflicted about what I am hearing. Where does an ignorant citizen get more educated with facts and insights?
Is it Halloween yet? Is it wrong that I let him wear it just about everyday? Every morning, the first thing he says is, "I want to be Spiderman."
It's funny because this is the first time that he's actually let me know what he wants to be for Halloween. I was sad that he didn't want to be a cute, fuzzy little animal like he's always been in the past. I guess he's grown up a bit.
