Just Another Beautiful Day.

It's amazing how quickly you learn how to multi-task, particularly after you have a child. As I type this, I'm simultaneously generating a grocery list, editing images from a recent session, wiping down the counters from lunch, and telling our adorable little next door neighbor girl to please stop knocking on the door because Jacob is still napping and I promise to bring him out to play again when he awakes. And when a thought comes to me, I quickly click back to this screen and jot down a few words.

Yesterday evening, we headed out to watch Phil coach another game. A big win this time. Jacob loves the time before the game, as he can follow around Daddy and kick, kick, kick on the big field.

The Coach and his assistant.



We actually run into quite a dilemma when the game begins, as the little man doesn't quite grasp the fact that he can't go dashing for the balls. I attempt to keep him occupied with a few snacks and, for a good five minutes, he is content.

Today we have been enjoying the amazing weather outside. As Jacob has been walking for about four months now, Philip thinks it is time we let him try some more things on his own. Exhibit A... Jacob is successfully hanging from the monkey bars and sliding down the slide all by himself. Mom, before you call me about this, please notice Philip's hands right there. He is safe, we promise. :)

And who doesn't love a good swing session?

He did manage to sit still for a few minutes to let me take a couple of "I'm almost fourteen-months" shots.





I hear a little one stomping around in his crib. Momma duty is back on. We are off to enjoy the rest of our beautiful day. Cross your fingers that the Ice Cream Truck comes by for an afternoon popsicle treat. Enjoy your own sweet moments....

Flashback Friday

Where has the week gone? I told Phil last night that I had not taken any pictures of Jacob for the last two days. He asked me if I was feeling okay. Don't worry, I told him, I'll make up for it this weekend. For now, a little trip down memory lane.

Year: 1987. Not long after the newest addition arrived into the Williams Family.



I often wonder when a family really feels complete. Life is absolutely perfect for us right now, but we know there are more little ones that will enter into our life at some point. I'm thinking that picture of my parents with their four children... with the last and the littlest one to have just arrived... probably made them feel pretty complete. There are so many things I love about this image...

.... That my dad has his arms stretched out holding all of us, because even though there were four of us, we all always felt his love.
.... My dad's glasses. How could those ever have been in style!?
....The fact that Lindsay is drinking a bottle. She was two years old in that picture. It's good to know I'm not the only one who can't give up bottles yet (Jacob still has three a day).
.... The book in my mom's lap. She was always reading to us. Every night before we went to bed, we knew we would always have story time.
.... Our pj's. There is nothing cuter than watching Jacob toddle around our house, all clean after his bath, in a set of jammies. I can only imagine when there are four littles running around...
... How tight little Justin is swaddled. When Jacob was very little, I would call my mom if I couldn't get him to sleep. Is he swaddled tight enough, was always her first question. Babies like to feel secure, she would tell me. Hum to him, Stephanie. She would literally have me put the phone next to Jacob and she would start humming to him through the phone. Moms always know.
... The fact that my mom is probably not loving how she looks in this picture (love that eighties hair), but I always did and always will think she is gorgeous.

.... Can't you just feel the love? A perfectly complete family. Everyone should be so lucky.

Dreaming Big

Someone asked me today how I come up with the things I write about. When I was little, I would always write... stories, poems, fiction, and nonfiction... it didn't really matter. While I can sometimes find the words to make some story, some moment, sound just right, it doesn't always come quite so easily. And on these days, I play a little game. It only takes 120 seconds, because everything is more fun when you are being timed. I give myself 120 seconds to create something magical, sometimes about a moment from the day, sometimes about nothing at all

Here are my best 120 seconds today... wait.. I don't want to lie... I actually took 135.

There are so many things to be happy about today....

... About the fact that spring has literally overtaken everything around us. It's as if someone used my "Boost" action from photoshop and brightened up everything - the skies, the trees, the amazing flowers on my neighbor's front lawn.

.... About my mess of my desk, (also known as our kitchen table) that has my computer, notes, grocery lists, magazines, a new bubble stick, a few leftover jellybeans, and an ice cold glass of water atop it and how, while I could actually locate myself on my desk to work and photoshop and write, I feel more centrally located right where I am.

.... About the way Jacob has learned to blow a kiss and how Phil kisses Jacob goodbye in the morning, leaves the room, but always, always comes back for round two (for Jacob and me).

.... About having dreams and dreaming big and getting excited about the little achievements along the way, like going to sleep with only 21 fans on my new facebook Stephanie Cotta Photography fanpage and waking up with 44 .... and even more excited about the fact that my website went live yesterday.

It's the little things.

Time's up. And I'm smiling thinking about the unorganized mess of words I just created.

Try it. I dare you. 120 seconds. Ready, set, go... the magic awaits.

P.S. If you want to become a fan of Stephanie Cotta Photography, click here.

Easter Bunnies

I love holidays. I don't fall in that group that believes holidays are too commercialized and just Hallmark's way of making more money and I don't cringe when I walk past the grocery store displays of goodies for holidays two months away. Holidays provide reasons to celebrate, decorate, and spend time with good people in your life. When we were little, I loved when my mom would pull out the big box of decorations... the spiderw ebs for the front door on Halloween, the "Happy Hanukah" sign for the fireplace, or the Valentine's Day hearts and pink-colored rice krispie treats. And while most of the decorations don't surface now that we are all moved out of the house, a few still make an appearance. Now that we have our own little one, I feel it is one of my "mom" roles to decorate accordingly.

This past Sunday, we enjoyed an Easter celebration with Phil's family. Jacob had great fun scurrying through our yard scooping up eggs Phil had hidden... and Philip had great fun quickly consuming all of the chocolate and peeps in Jacob's basket.

And as we conclude our week of celebrations, both Passover and Easter, I can't help but thinking that, holiday or not, each day continues to bring us new moments to treasure.

4.3.2010

Celebrate the Moment.

What a perfect day we had today. Perfect weather and special moments. Linzaloo came along for a photo shoot today and, during the couple's outfit change time, she took advantage of the open ground.



When Lindsay and I were much younger, there was a day when we were riding our bikes around the neighborhood. Out of nowhere, Lindsay said to me, "You would be so lucky to have a bigger sister like you." I don't remember anything else about the conversation and I'm not even quite sure how I continue to remember this moment... perhaps because it was just the sweetest thing a (maybe) seven-year-old could say. It's quite funny that Lindsay said this as she (or my little brother) will look back on those years and tell you I was an annoying big sister. I was bossy. We played school and I was the teacher (go figure). We created plays and shows and I was the director. We played dress-up (and even put Justin in a purple leotard) and I got decide what to wear. Ugh... funny (or not) to look back and think of the roles you took on.

Regardless, I still today remember that comment. And Linzaloo is just as sweet today as she was that many years ago... not as shy as some might remember, but still free-spirited, kind, and the type of person you just want around.

It's That Time of Year...

The soccer season is upon us. More evenings alone for Jacob and me. A lingering smell of damp jerseys and soccer balls in Philip's car. Many conversations with Philip that involve me nodding my head in agreement to soccer terms and plays I still fail to fully grasp. More importantly, it means taking Jacob to watch the games he will undoubtedly learn to love and play, even more so than he already does.

Was it easier to watch these games last year when Jacob was only two months? Of course. With the beauty of a stroller and a pumpkin seat. While I saw more of the grass and the fences while toddling after Jacob to make sure he didn't fly down the bleachers, I could sense the excitement. I love watching Philip coach down below....rotate players on and off the field, strategize, lead them in half-time discussions that I know I will hear after the game.

And while last night was not a win, it certainly was magical watching Jacob down on the field before game time. He seemed so little down on the field, so different than watching him play around in our living room or backyard. Little he may be, but Jacob was ready to play with big kids. Your time will come, Little One....

Welcome April!

"I think that somehow we learn who we really are and then live with that decision."
[eleanor roosevelt]

Happy Passover to You.

Anytime is a good time to get together with our family and Monday evening for our Passover Seder was no exception. While our Seder was continually interrupted by babies crying, toddlers asking for food, and little ones running through the tables, I believe I can speak for everyone and say that the background noise was quite pleasant. I overheard my dad saying that "this is just how it was years ago" when we were little ones doing the same exact thing. Oh, how history repeats itself. My grandparents are in the same house as they were when we were growing up, the same house that my mom grew up in. Regarding this house, my mom has said to me, "If these walls could talk...." I have heard this simultaneously with "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree" (regarding my mom and I), so I can imagine what stories those walls could tell us.

In high school, I wrote an English paper on how special my grandparent's house really is. I spoke of how my grandparents put the house for sale and we were all sadded by this act. How could they sell this house that was our second home? Our place for big family dinners, for all-day swimming and barbequing during lazy summer days, for deep conversations with my grandparents about nothing at all. Soon after, my great-grandmother (my Grandma Rose) passed away and my grandparents had Grandpa Joe (who couldn't live in a place without his "little Rosie") come live with them. The house went off the market.

Everything happens for a reason.

My grandparent's house has been a home to many, many people... children, grandchildren, mothers, fathers, friends.... and Monday evening was no different. We celebrated the Hebrews' escape from enslavement in Egypt but, more importantly, we were celebrating together. And I couldn't help once again thinking how fortunate we truly are.

Rain, Rain...

I had this vision that our playtime in the rain today would result in these amazing pictures; that Jacob would be stomping barefoot in big puddles, giggling as the water splashed up on his little legs. You can imagine my surprise when things didn't exactly go as planned. He didn't like the cold water on his feet and didn't exactly think the rain dropping on his head was peachy. I've never seen the child demand to go inside quicker then he did at our five minute session outside.

Back inside, Jacob displayed a new trick he recently picked up. He lays on his belly and pushes himself backward using his arms; he literally slides across the entire kitchen floor. It's quite cute to watch a little twenty-four pound tot do this with such grace. It also makes me glad that I just steam cleaned our kitchen floor. That's right; I just opened our steam mop that we received as a wedding present. Philip was quite shocked that I initiated this cleaning session. To be honest, I wasn't driven to clean the floor by the fact that the floor really should be cleaned after however many weeks of acquiring dirt and dust and Jacob's food, but by the fact that I actually thought it would be fun to push around this little device. Regardless, the job got done and I was proud of my solid seven minutes of cleaning.

There's much more exciting things to do during my days then spend time worrying about cleaning the house (unless it's with fun cleaning objects and, if you know of anymore good ones, please send them my way).

Undy 5000

This morning we headed down to Forest Park to take part in the 2010 St. Louis Undy 5000. The race benefits the Colon Cancer Alliance. This event is very special to our family as our Uncle Steve fought (and won!) this horrible disease a few years ago. If you would like to donate to help the fight against colorectal cancer (the second leading cause of cancer death in the US), click here.

Parenthood.

Yesterday was one of those perfect, how-great-life-is-with-our-one-little-baby day. We didn't leave the house once all day, yet we were very busy doing nothing at all.

We woke up and smelled the flowers that Grandma brought over for Jacob the night before....

Daddy and Jacob played with blocks and created the following game that had Jacob doing this great belly laugh over and over.

And they ran around the house, stopping every so often to smile for Mommy.



And soon Jacob was very, very tired and we took the opportunity to watch three episodes of the new series, Parenthood. We were hooked within the first ten minutes and crying within the first fifteen. I don't think I would have fully appreciated this show before Jacob. I always envisioned that I would have a connection with my children, but you don't really get it until they arrive. And not even fully then. It really happens when you realize that this little perfect person is yours, all yours, and they need you as much as you need them now.

Building towers and making them crash to the floor....

And when we needed a break from our home, we headed over to our second favorite home at Yaya and Pops' house. And I don't know all of the secrets that these two share, but I can tell you from observation that it seems like a pretty special thing.