the nestingNYC blog | photography, kids, life

Siblings | Glimpes Week 25

alethea cheng fitzpatrick — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 03:21:48 +0000

(This blog post is part of the Glimpses 52 project over at the Chic Critique Forum.)

Sometimes photographing your own kids is easier than photographing someone else's... and sometimes it isn't. Trying to corale a rambunctious three year old with his six month old baby brother to capture both of them smiling sweetly and looking at the camera definitely falls under the category of "isn't"!

Last Friday, a last minute sitter cancellation and 98F weather meant I was unexpectedly at home in the morning with the two boys. Liam wanted to hold Jack, which I have become increasingly more comfortable with as Jack becomes more robust and self-supporting, so I thought, hey, why not try for that quintessential sibling portrait?

To be honest, my efforts have been somewhat weak in this area to date, Friday being my first semi-serious attempt at a more "formal" portrait of the two of them together, and, well, it was total chaos! Hilarious chaos, but basically, it was a complete disaster. Liam would barely cooperate and when he did, Jack wouldn't.

But then I captured this photo and it was all worth it. It wasn't what I had in mind, it wasn't the quintessential sibling portrait... but it's even better! To me, this photo captures their personalities, the reality of parenting a toddler and a baby, and what was going on at the time. It's cute, it's real, and as a mom, I couldn't have hoped for a better outcome and it's now the cover photo for my personal facebook profile!

Plus the "outtakes" from the session are hilarious and PURE GOLD! I will definitely be using them as material for The Photosanity Workshop!

nyc baby, child and family photographer & architect alethea cheng fitzpatrick is based in brooklyn. she specializes in baby photography as interior design & interior design for babies. view her portfolio of babies, children or families or send her an e-mail here!

Smiles from Jack | Glimpses Week 22

alethea cheng fitzpatrick — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 02:16:00 +0000

(This blog post is part of the Glimpses 52 project over at the Chic Critique Forum.)

Jack is five months old. Actually he's almost six months old but let's just say he's five months old because the time is starting to pass so quickly!

Things are definitely getting so much easier than those first few newborn months. In fact, although every age is the perfect age in some way, this age might just be the most perfect perfect age. Pay Jack just a little bit of attention and he will reward you with lovely smiles that make you feel like you're the greatest thing since sliced bread. Put just a little bit more effort into it and he will giggle and laugh like you are the most hilarious thing in the world. He barely cries these days (I think Liam cries more) and he's not yet crawling or getting into things or having tantrums.

Jack, you are amazing. Thank your for brightening my days with your own special brand of sunshine and joy! You are delicious and adorable!

Museum of Natural History | Glimpses Week 21

alethea cheng fitzpatrick — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 17:43:26 +0000

(This blog post is part of the Glimpses 52 project over at the Chic Critique Forum.)

I've lived in New York City for over twenty years and I'm embarrassed to admit that I don't think I've actually ever been to the American Museum of Natural History before!

I took Liam last week on our now hopefully regular adventures into the city, and his college aged cousin Carolyn met us there. We started off with the Creatures of Light special exhibit and I have to say, it was pretty cool, especially as it features some of the fish we have seen in one of Liam's current favorite book The Pout-Pout Fish in the Big-Big Dark (you know, the one we only read EVERY SINGLE NIGHT! Good thing I like it too!)

That exhibit could pretty much have been the whole trip, except of course we had to then go and visit all the classics - the elephants, the whale, and of course the dinosaurs.

I think Liam was already in overload by the time we made it to the dinosaurs and Carolyn and I were more in awe than he was, but he's been talking about the museum all week and asking to go again, so I would say the visit was a big hit!

Three Twins ice cream | Glimpses Week 20

alethea cheng fitzpatrick — Sun, 20 May 2012 12:22:00 +0000

(This blog post is part of the Glimpses 52 project over at the Chic Critique Forum.)

Anyone who knows me knows that I am rather partial to chocolate. Liam has apparently inherited this preference from me, whether genetically or by osmosis or both, who knows.

In fact, he recently informed me: "Mama, lemonade doesn't have chocolate, so it's not a treat" meaning "I will only accept bribes that contain chocolate."

Now, I happen to also be rather partial to lemonade but I can't really fault his philosophy!

Friday was a very special day. Liam and I had our first adventure into the city in almost two years (I was pregnant last year and didn't want to risk being stranded on the subway due to a broken elevator and having to carry him up or down the stairs).

We went to the New York City Fire Museum first, then headed to Moomah Cafe for lunch and a special treat - Three Twins Bittersweet Chocolate Ice cream.

Fortunately for Liam, I was so busy taking photos of him eating it that I didn't have time for more than a few bites myself.

Definitely delish though and I would say that Liam was one happy customer!

Happy Mother's Day | Glimpses Week 19

alethea cheng fitzpatrick — Sun, 13 May 2012 14:34:52 +0000

(This photo is part of the Glimpses 52 project over at the Chic Critique Forum.)

Thank you Liam and Jack for making me a mother.

To all of you mothers out there, Happy Mother's Day!

Nutso for solids | Glimpses Week 18

alethea cheng fitzpatrick — Sun, 13 May 2012 00:45:11 +0000

(This photo is part of the Glimpses 52 project over at the Chic Critique Forum.)

In the last few weeks, Jack has transformed from "still kind of a newborn" to "definitely not a newborn." In fact, he's become the quintessential "Gerber baby" - he's sitting (in a wobbly, propped up kind of fashion but still, sitting) and smiling and grabbing things and even starting to rotate and push backwards when you put him on his tummy.

He's out of our room and into a crib, mostly sleeping through the night, and we also started him on solids. He goes nutso for the solids! I thought the high chair might be a good place for him to hang out while I do things like prepare meals, feed Liam, eat and clean up, but once you put him in there, he expects to be fed! And pretty much doesn't want to stop until you take him out of there. This is his mouth open where's-the-spoon look I get all the time!

I must say, it's a nice change from Liam, who right now often needs to be cajoled into every mouthful. Mind you, he was more like Jack at Jack's age too, and ultimately, I'm glad they're both good eaters. I have lots of fond memories of trying different foods on Liam and I'm looking forward to doing the same with Jack!

Jack in the bumbo | Glimpses Week 17

alethea cheng fitzpatrick — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 17:36:44 +0000

(This photo is part of the Glimpses 52 project over at the Chic Critique Forum.)

I figured it's high time Jack got a Glimpses blog entry... this is a true glimpse into our life right now, cluttered kitchen counters and all.

And yes, Jack is sitting in a bumbo on our kitchen table! Don't worry, he is closely supervised at all times, and no, this wasn't my idea!

Liam and the beam again | Glimpses Week 16

alethea cheng fitzpatrick — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 03:50:00 +0000

(This photo is part of the Glimpses 52 project over at the Chic Critique Forum.)

With a three year old and a four month old, there can be a lot of drama leaving the house. Today was one of those days... but it was worth it.

(Remember the beam?)

Help, these people are crazy! (Jack)

alethea cheng fitzpatrick — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 12:13:29 +0000

Well, I figure Jack needs a blog post too, right?!

Jack is... well, what can I say about Jack? It's amazing to think that we've added a whole entire person to our family just like that.

Of course, it wasn't exactly "just like that" but it does seem a little bit like all of a sudden he's here and just sort of good naturedly going with the flow. Except when he's mad. When he lets you know. Just like his brother (and his father).

Jack is that age now when he's really starting to communicate. Pay him a little bit of attention and he will more than likely reward you with smiles that make you feel like you're the Best Thing Ever. So often in photos though he has this look as though to say "help, these people are crazy!"

Cheeks, eyelashes, lips | Glimpses Week 15

alethea cheng fitzpatrick — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 20:16:10 +0000

(This photo is part of the Glimpses 52 project over at the Chic Critique Forum.)

So my "maternity leave" is over... in so much as there ever was a maternity leave. Turns out giving an online workshop for 267 participants a month after having a second baby does not really constitute maternity leave. Who knew?!

Having a toddler, a baby and a business and figuring out how to juggle all three of these things (not to mention, husband, house and life in general) has definitely been a process, and is most definitely a work in progress. Some days it feels like I'm getting somewhere, other days it's overwhelming.

I always planned on scaling back on the time I spend on my business this year, but that has been easier said than done, especially as I still want to continue to not just maintain but grow the business. You might be wondering, how is that even possible? We shall find out!

One big step for me in the direction of making this possible has been hiring a Program Coordinator for Photosanity to handle all the administrative and technical aspects of the workshop, and we've been working on handing off and also automating as much of the behind the scenes work as possible (there's more than you would think). I'm also making some changes about how I offer the workshop and starting an alumni program for past participants - stay tuned for more details.

Finally, at least for right now, I'm holding off on booking portrait sessions, at least for the next few months. It's been hard to turn down inquiries, and I get tempted each time I get one, but I need to focus on the workshop and on spending the time that I want, while I can, with my babies. (As Liam likes to say "there are TWO babies!" even though he's really not a baby any more. We indulge him.)

One thing I am determined to do is to try and get a better handle on my own photosanity as far as keeping up with editing and sharing my own personal photos goes. To that end, I've decided to participate in the Glimpses 52 project over at the Chic Critique Forum.

This project resonated with me right away as the idea here is to motivate busy photographers to document and share the details of their own lives, one photo per week at a time, on their own blog. I share a lot of my iphone photos on facebook, but it's harder to find the time to sit at my computer and sort and edit my own DSLR photos. I'm hoping that the Glimpses 52 project will inspire me not just to share one photo a week but in the process, keep more up to date with my own editing.

I took this photo of Liam earlier this week and I love how it shows off those still chubby cheeks, the long eyelashes and sweet little lips. I look forward to sharing more photos weekly!