avablog

Testing out a new lens yesterday as Ava prepared to go over to her friend Mac’s house in her new raincoat.

Certainly not the sharpest image ever taken, but I like the color and the look on Ava’s face. Not to mention those curls….

Ava brought this home from kindergarten today:

I do love the kid’s use of color, but I’m a little dismayed that someone’s already turned her on to the little dots at the intersections and ends of the lines on her letters. I guess she’ll be ready to join a sorority one day.

Uncle Scott was over for dinner last Friday evening and took a few moments to toss Ava up in the air as high as he could. Which was high.

I felt like a bit of a failure as we pulled away from Willowwind this morning after dropping Ava off for her first day of kindergarten; I didn’t get nearly as many shots as I wanted, and because I was toting the boy around in his car seat, I couldn’t even get out my Vado for some video footage. But I guess the most important thing is that the dropoff went well, and Ava was eager to get into her room with her friends and new teacher as she waved goodbye and wiped her mother’s tears off of her dress. [Read more →]

Leah’s been struggling with how and whether to wear Emmett around. He’s balked — loudly, I’ll add — at all conveyances up until recently. The trouble, it seems, was that he was facing in rather than out. Baby wearers claim that wearing a child Em’s age facing out provides too much stimulation, but I’ll tell ya, this kid loves to look around.

That being said, I have to admit now on further reflection that Emmett does seem to have that “My God, it’s full of stars!” look to him in this shot. Meh. All the better to see his eyes, I say.

Not a political blog, remember? Frank knocks this out of the park. Can this woman possibly have any friends?

Subtitle: Moment of cuteness

My mom got this picture of Ava last evening at their picnic in City Park. I don’t know how much my mom pays attention to framing or composition when she takes a picture, but this shot turned out about as great as you could hope for.

Between Kevin’s shots and my mom’s, mine seem almost superfluous. “Someone” asked me recently what I’d buy if I were to get new camera gear. Right now? Today? Had I the money? Well. You have to know it’d be the insane Canon 5D MKII body and the venerable EF 70-200mm f/2.8L lens. What, I wonder, is to stop one from taking over the world once they’re so equipped?

Uncle Kevin posted his Grand Marais pictures today (they’re awesome, of course), and I wanted to put up one in particular that I’d been looking forward to.
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“Interesting” story today in the WSJ about the consequences of broad spectrum antibiotic use. My favorite bit? I’m so glad you asked.
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Leah just sent this along. I know it’s an issue close to her heart. Maybe a NOSSA membership would make a good anniversary present?

Short People Debunk New Study on Height
Short Men and Women Say They Are Butt of Jokes and Ridiculed Well Beyond Childhood

But a new University of Michigan study published this week in the journal Pediatrics suggests short people are not victimized at any higher rate than their taller peers — at least not in the sixth grade, the period covered by the researchers.

Contradicting earlier studies, the study of 712 boys and girls of all heights found these children do just as well socially when it comes to “exclusion, social support, popularity, victimization, depressive symptoms, optimism or behavioral problems.”

It seems worthwhile to reproduce this list here, if for no other reason than it demonstrates good old fashioned stick-to-itveness.

FOOD ON-A-STICK

The Iowa State Fair boasts nearly 200 food stands and more than 50 delectable items available on-a-stick. Search our Food Directory for more delicious Fair food!

Here’s the list as of August 2009:
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I took the shot below purely by chance during a shoot with Em the other day. He was sitting on the couch in a really well lit spot, so I was clicking away, just waiting for him to do something cute. Or anything at all. So, natch, the minute I take my camera away from my face, he launches into this awesome yawn. Have you ever thought about how long a yawn lasts? I can tell you, it’s about the time it takes to get your camera from your lap to your eye and frame a shot. Which is how we got what we have here, a picture taken on the fly. I really like it. My only wish would’ve been to include a little more of his chin / neck, but being the beggar I am….

Or maybe it just looks like that many. Could be. It’d be difficult to count. Instead, I think I’ll just enjoy the view:

Ava got a new headband. Big news? Maybe not. But our friend Mindy tells us that feathers are “in” these days. Leah says this new adornment makes Ava look like a little flapper.

I was uploading the pictures from our recent vacation last night and noticed there were precious few of Emmett in the mix. At only two months old, he wasn’t going on any hikes or skipping rocks or drinking hot chocolate down at the harbor…nothing, really, except sitting in the shade of his car seat or stroller and napping. Come to think of it, that’s not a bad way to spend a vacation. This being northern Minnesota, and all, we still had to take precautions against the bugs:

One of the neatest things about the vacation this year was that there was a real sense that Ava was making it her own. She’s at the age now where she’ll start having lasting memories of the things we do, and it’s clear that Ava has her favorite activities (let’s face it, she has a short list to choose from). I’m eager for the day she can start going on longer hikes, maybe even on her dad’s and Uncle Kevin’s “Hiking Madness Day.”
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Remember me? Anyway, we’re back from the annual trip to Grand Marais, MN. It was nice and quiet. Emmett slept the whole way up, pretty much, and was awake the whole way back, pretty much. Ava did a great job in the car both ways, thanks in large part to the Magic Treehouse audiobooks I loaded up for her prior to our departure and the bag full of art supplies Leah packed. We drove 14 hours on Sunday and made it as far as Cedar Falls before I finally gave up. Note to readers: Those Holiday Inns with the “Holidomes” with the indoor pools? Yeah. The rooms are ALWAYS super humid and the bedding damp on the main floor. That’s just how it is, and the Cedar Falls location is no exception.

I haven’t had much chance to go through the pictures and video from the trip yet, but I’m hoping Leah will cut me loose for an uploading session soon; there’s a video of Ava doing her loon call that is not to be missed. The pictures, at least, will be here when I’m done with them. Maybe a couple of the videos, too.

The more attentive among you may have noticed that my infant photography predilections run counter to current trends. Not that I don’t love sleeping babies curled up in pea pods as much as the next guy. I just think there are so many ways these little humans are visually interesting; there are so many avenues of appreciation. Here are two of my recent favorites of the boy. I should note that the vast majority of his pictures to date have been taken as he stretches out or otherwise lounges about on our bed. This first one reminds me of a moonscape:

And this one I love because of all those great wrinkles. Not cute baby face required here, methinks:

Gotta get in as many shots as I possibly can before Emmett is off to college!

Ava’s friends Aaron and Claire came over to play yesterday, and eventually things turned to dress up. I love this shot of Ava in her finery standing amidst the detritus of our damaged tree in the side yard.

If someone rents a movie* from your fancy iTunes store and then, while about 30 minutes into it, goes into labor, do you think you could cut that person a break on re-renting the same flick when they finally have time to watch it again? Even 50% off? What if we sent a copy of the birth certificate?

Get back to me. And thanks.

*”Taken,” FYI. I felt Liam barely pulled off that role but was still pretty good.