Preschool - we laughed, we cried, but it's all good!

It's hard to believe that not only is Liam now in preschool (these photos were of him leaving the house for his first day) but he's on his first spring break! Not that there's been a lot of toddler partying unfortunately... Liam caught a cold and has been pretty miserable, and now I have it!

The preschool transition itself took me by surprise. It was much harder for me than I expected. Liam handled it well, probably better than I did. The morning drop-offs were definitely a little anxiety ridden for him in the beginning, but he didn't cry on the first day and has only cried a couple of times since. His teachers say that he's doing great, and I can see that he's a lot more comfortable there now.

I was a wreck the first week. I knew the first drop-offs would be hard but I honestly thought I would come home and get some work done. Wrong! We've had babysitters two or three times a week for over a year now so I didn't think the separation would be hard. However, leaving him somewhere new as opposed to having him in the house with a sitter but with me mostly around was different, as is the fact that it's school, play based though it may be. It feels like a big change.

It's all good though, and I'm proud of Liam for handling the change so well. Already he's been demonstrating his new preschool acquired skills, such as covering his mouth when he coughs (which unfortunately has been a lot), and taking his own shoes and pants off. It's so cute, he concentrates so hard to do those last two things, parroting back the instructions he's been given, and looks so proud of himself when he succeeds! He already has new friends that he talks about, new songs that he sings... I look forward to seeing him continue to blossom at school and at home.

In other news, I have now added facebook comments to the blog! I know not everyone likes facebook or is on it but I love the easy sharing and interaction it enables - already the facebook comments as well as the regular comments have been ON FIRE for the last two blog posts and the comment contest so I'm pretty excited! I'm still trying to figure out exactly how this all works but I'm hoping this will encourage more interaction on the blog - so please do leave a comment below or even just hit "like"! Thank you!

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!

The day before preschool

Liam starts preschool tomorrow. It's three days/week and actually, I'll get to spend slightly more time with him than I did when we had a sitter three days/week and yet, well, it will be a big change not to have him around the house. I'm going to miss him so much!

Today was a perfect quiet rainy day at home. We went outside several times to watch the digger working on our street (basically Liam's idea of heaven), we moved the car across the street for street cleaning and then moved it back, I got the dishes done while Liam drew multiple buses and... there was a lot of cuddling.

Liam has already practiced going up the preschool steps and he knows they have an A-train... which is really all he needs to know. I have a feeling he is going to be just fine, and so am I, but I will be happy to have a smooth drop off tomorrow and a few days under our belt instead of weeks of anticipation. I'm ready!

Today I took out my camera to capture some beautiful window light in our bedroom, and Liam's last day before preschool. He played happily in the window with one of his favorite toys "New York City Bus." Luckily, they have a New York City Bus exactly the same at preschool and not only the A-train but the C and G-train too.

Yeah, he's going to be just fine.

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!

What a week - mom friends, photosanity and the start of the portrait season

Wow what a week!

What a year so far in fact!

After a really busy holiday season, I had been looking forward to a quiet couple of months at the beginning of the year, a chance to catch up on a lot of behind the scenes aspects of my business, and to spend more time with and focusing on Liam.

All of that happened... except for the part where it would be "quiet." I guess I just don't do quiet - it's not in my nature!

Pre-school tours and applications took up a lot more time than I was expecting, and I'm glad the flexibility of my business allowed me time to spend that time. Liam starts pre-school in a couple of weeks, which I'm a little heartbroken about, to be honest, even though we were so excited to find him an elusive mid-year spot at a place near us with the schedule we wanted. I think it's going to be great for him - he's ready and I think he will love it. After touring schools, I'm kind of jealous - I want to go to pre-school!

However, I'm going to miss him so much. As I work out of our home, even when he's not with me he is still mostly at home with a babysitter (or with my parents who have been here for the past couple of months) and I can hear him laughing and having a good time, or I can look on the video monitor and see him napping. It's going to be a big change, a good one, but a change nonetheless.

I've also been able to spend a lot more time with Liam at playgroups and playdates and that has been GREAT for both Liam and I. I see a big change with how Liam interacts with other children. He's still more social with adults, older kids or, lately, with babies (he loves babies!) which I gather is normal at this age, but he's starting to interact with kids his own age too... and when they do it is so utterly adorable!

It's been great for me too, to spend more time with my "old" mom friends and to meet new mom friends too. I've been meeting so many great people and we've even started hosting a weekly playgroup at our house which will continue even after pre-school - I love it! And I also feel very lucky to be part of such a wonderful community of families in our neighborhood.

Business wise I've also been connecting with a lot of new people - other business owners, other photographers, and other moms and dads. The response to photosanity has been amazing - the workshop sold really well and there's a great group of participants gathering and introducing themselves in the private facebook group. I'm so gratified by the number of people who are saying "this workshop is exactly what I need" - I've worked hard to figure out what format and content will most help parents who are frustrated with their photography and after several months of planning, I'm really excited to get going with the workshop!

And then on the portrait side, with spring around the corner, things are starting to get busy again, you know, now that it's no longer 25F out! Snow makes for a great natural reflector - I love these photos from a fluke warm day early last month - but it's hard to plan around. I'm doing several sessions at the High Line next weekend (weather permitting) which is going to be a lot of fun and my schedule is actually booked until May. I'm taking on a limited number of clients this year so if you're interested in working with me, even if it's not for a while, give me a call (718-395-9358) and let's chat about what you have in mind!

So, that's what has been going on with me! And wow, now that I write it all out, no wonder the last thing it has felt like is quiet! With all this going on, I took a little bit of an impromptu break from the blog, but I'm back now, and I look forward to writing and sharing here more again.

Thanks for being here and for all your support and feedback - if I can help you with anything, let me know!

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!

My husband actually picked up my camera!

I know that Christmas is old news at this point, but I did want to share an image that my husband managed to capture of Liam and I opening a present. Yes, my husband actually picked up my camera (unsolicited, even!) and yes, those are stripy pajamas - aren't they great?

The holidays already seem far away as we jump head first into a new year... how is January already so far along and how do I have so much planned for this month already?! But first, I still have to get our holiday cards out, both business and personal. Yes I know, it's getting a little late for holiday cards... but they're new year cards! Yes, it's getting a bit late for those too, but they are going out on Monday so if you'd like a nestingNYC new year card, send me an e-mail with your address and I will add you to the list!

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!

Happy new year!

No flash? Click here for slideshow.

Liam and I finally made it out into the snow yesterday, further than just our block. It was a beautiful day and totally worth picking our way over giant piles of snow to get to our local (totally unshovelled) playground for some sunshine, fresh air, time on the swings and, of course, some final photos for 2010.

We also met another mom who, completely unsolicited, offered to take some photos of Liam and me together... which, for a photographer mom who rarely gets to be in the photos, was absolute gold. (And of course I took some photos of her and her daughter - a teeny tiny mini impromptu photo session!)

We celebrated New Year's Eve quietly, on the couch, sleeping toddler upstairs, nice bottle of Johnny Walker Blue Label close at hand. Life is good, and I hope that however you celebrated, and whatever you have coming up for the year ahead, you have a wonderful and happy 2011!

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!