A Different Kind of Tiger Momma||Arlington,MA Family Photography

And I’d choose you; in a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, I’d find you and I’d choose you. 

-Kiersten White, The Chaos of Stars 

For the past two weeks, my lil' dude has been really into this tiger costume.

Last week he wore it to school on three different occasions, and I had to talk him out of wearing it to a doctor's appointment (logistically, not the most practical idea).

But, I love that he has taken such a liking to wearing it. I love observing his funny quirks and preferences. I love how he builds lego ships specially for lego legs (no torsos or heads), how he's developed a fondness for a particular plant hook (more on that below) and how recently, while eating pizza, he said to me, "Momma, no one ever does this but....." and then leaned down and gave his slice a kiss.

Hook story: he started fiddling around with a nondescript silver hook that had been used to suspend a hanging plant from the ceiling. He ended up choosing it as the toy (!!) he wanted to bring to daddy's house one weekend, and the following Monday his dad told me that Finn had started calling it "Hooky". And at one point over the weekend Finn said, "Daddy, Hooky is my best friend that isn't a person".

Yeah. So this guy. I find him so. very. endearing. He is clever, and bizarre, and getting big and so independent, and yet also still my little boy, who needs hugs and comforting. This whole parenting journey continues to be filled with daily challenges, and also abundant in these adorable, affirming moments - I feel so much gratitude that I get to be a momma, especially a momma to this silly little tiger.

I hope your Monday is filled with your version of endearing tiger quirks!

Love,

Ceilidh

Postscript for you all: 

Do you need beautiful photos of your little tigers? I would love to take them!  It's never too early to contact me about a future session - I often schedule a few months out - 617-480-0387 or cwy@willowbabystudios.com  

And, for daily cuteness, please jump on over to Instagram and follow me there for daily adorableness!  #willowbabydaily

The Magic of Flying||Arlington, MA family photography

what if I fall?

oh, but my darling, what if you fly?  

                                                                                                         - Erin HansonI remember the feeling of swinging as a child - like I really might suddenly become a winged creature and take off in flight. The magic of swings doesn't feel as potent now as it did then, but it is still a little adventure, the back and forth rhythm as soothing as a rocking chair, but with that amazing floaty feeling. Like so many of the magical feelings from childhood, I can't quite get back that sensation. But photographing this amazing little girl in her 5th birthday wings brought me big feelings of gratitude for being an adult, and observing her as she experienced the swinging magic.Here's to your day, my dear ones, and the hope that you see at least a glimpse of that old familiar magic.

There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again. ~Elizabeth Lawrence

Postscript for you all: 

Do you need beautiful photos of your small people? I would love to take them!  It's never too early to contact me about a future session - I often schedule a few months out - 617-480-0387 or cwy@willowbabystudios.com  

Also, for more daily cuteness, please jump on over to Instagram and follow me there for daily adorableness!  #willowbabydaily

One last note - this post is in honor of Sophie & her family - wonderful neighbors and friends who are moving away soon. Sophie & my Finn started kindergarten together, and her mom and I have spent many mornings corralling and coercing our kiddos on the walk to school. Finn and Sophie have developed a quintessential kid-neighbor relationship - yelling to one another from porches, planning spontaneous get togethers and adventures, running back and forth between houses way more times than is logical. We have been so lucky to have them next door, and we will miss them dearly. 

My Sleeping Child||Arlington,MA family photography

"It's time to sleep, little bird, little bird, so close your eyes not another word...." 

-Mem Fox, from Time for Bed

Is there anything more amazingly sweet then your little one sleeping? My heart feels so big and full when I gaze at my boy's freckles, his absurdly long lashes, his kissable little lips. The love feels so big that it aches sometimes, needing to burst out as an energy to share with the world. When I was pregnant with my darling boy, I read a quote by Elizabeth Stone that struck me hard, and has remained lodged as a jewel of truth throughout my momma journey: "Making the decision to have a child... is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body."Watching my little one sleep restores so much goodness - it refills some of the energy that has waned after a day of arguments over putting on shoes, clearing his place at the table, or negotiating for more screen time, more treats. Loving my child awake is often joyful - he is hilarious and creative and fun, but it also pushes me to new levels of patience, and doubt and questioning: parenting is so hard. Of course the love never falters, but it's not the same as when he sleeps - loving my sleeping child is sweet, and quiet, and easy.

One of my favorite writers and momma bloggers, Glennon Melton, writes about the struggles of parenting with so much humor and wisdom. Her viral post, Don't Carpe Diem, is a read I can't encourage strongly enough. She writes, "I think parenting children is a little like climbing Mount Everest. Brave, adventurous souls try it because they’ve heard there’s magic in the climb...They try because even though it hurts and it’s hard, there are moments that make it worth the hard...[but] I think that if there were people stationed, say, every thirty feet along Mount Everest yelling to the climbers – 'ARE YOU ENJOYING YOURSELF!? IF NOT, YOU SHOULD BE! ONE DAY YOU’LL BE SORRY YOU DIDN’T!” TRUST US!! IT’LL BE OVER TOO SOON! CARPE DIEM!' those well-meaning, nostalgic cheerleaders might be physically thrown from the mountain."For any weary mommas or daddies out there, definitely check out the post. It has helped to ground me many a'time, offering much needed reassurance that I'm doing the parenting job-thing alright.

And for mommas and daddies that are still at the pre-toddler stage, that magical era* before our tiny humans become so disagreeable?  I'd love to suggest the gorgeous little book- Time for Bed by Mem Fox & paintings by Jane Dyer - that I quoted at the beginning of this post. Of course you can find it many places, but since I'm a huge fan of supporting our independent peeps, I'm linking my local readers to the fabulous Porter Square Books.

With love and many glimpses of your tiny one sleeping,

Ceilidh

Postscript for you all: 

Do you need beautiful sleepy photos of your little one? I would love to take heirloom photos of your family!  It's never too early to contact me about a future session - booking is usually done months in advance - 617-480-0387 or cwy@willowbabystudios.com  

Also, for more daily cuteness, please jump on over to Instagram and follow me there for daily adorableness!  #willowbabydaily

Chilly winds, warm bath....

With enough snow to rival what I remember from wild winters of my childhood in Vermont, and a wind chill in the negatives, there was really only one reasonable place to take photographs today (indoors).  And only one logical subject: My sweet little guy, almost five, who always protests his bath time and yet never wants to get out once he's started...

One of his favorite tub games is "Pizza shop", wherein he fills a little cup with water, and then one of those tiny sponges that you get in a set of 6 dissolvable capsules - in this case, trains and common creatures - and then hands me a "box" of pizza.

I take one cup off the top of another, and see my "pizza" (water) and then act shocked and dismayed that there is a spongey squirrel or caboose in it. This cracks him up beyond reason, and we do it over, and over, and over again.  Until one time I call to order my pizza and he informs me "the phone isn't working because the electricity is out" after which he flips the drain switch up and down a few times and declares it fixed.

Here's to bath time joy, and after-bath snuggles.... to five year old silliness and imagination.... to dreading more snow days, yet knowing when they come I will find plenty of goodness in another day with my little guy.