The Kett Files: January Dump

I've fallen out of the habit of just capturing snapshots of life. That seems a little odd coming from a photographer, but really sometimes I just forget or I can't get out of "photog mode" and want a picture with good lighting and I take too long and miss the real moment. Our phone is not the best as far as cameras go, so I haven't been using it often either. But, I'm trying to change all that. 

I always loved going to Grandma's house and pulling out the family photo albums and looking through page after page of candid memories of my family. There were a few professional photos in there, but mostly the pages were filled with snapshots of memories. And that is what made it so fun to look through. 

I want to be able to print out memories and to be able to look back over them with my kids and my grandkids, and maybe if I'm lucky my great grandkids. But to do that, I need to start taking more memory saving photos, and not just the nice pictures. 

It can feel so easy to think there's nothing about normal life that's worth taking pictures of, but think how fun it would be to see pictures from just a normal day of your great grandparents. I'm starting to look at photos not just as nice items for the here and now for our walls or facebook, but as a way of preserving family history and passing on stories and details. 

Last night I went through my phone, my computer, and my facebook feed and gathered all the snapshots from the month into one folder on my computer. It was fun to look through the memories just from the month! I thought I'd share some of the "Behind the Scenes" of our January through a "January Dump" post. There aren't any temper-tantrum shots or messy house pictures...but trust me, those were all there too!

 Before we had Darrow, Cameron would come along on many of my shoots to help out, but lately he's been so good to watch Darrow while I go. On January 1st I had a family session and we were able to leave Darrow with Cameron's parents and go together to do the pictures. It was so fun to have him there again to help me pick locations, set lighting, visit, and bounce ideas off of.

And then on the way home he was so sweet to not make fun of me for wanting to stop at Starbucks for a White Hot Cocoa.

 Darrow got his first haircut of 2016 while at Cameron's parents house. At first I didn't know what I'd done and hated his haircut (I really don't know what I'm doing and sometimes I give him a decent cut, and sometimes it's wonky...this time was wonky). The above photo is his before and the below is an after. Somehow I totally missed that I got the right side way longer than the left side and his bangs aren't even straight. But luckily his curly hair hides most of my mistakes.

 Leaving for our 2 weeks of Christmas Vacation in a hurry, the house got left in a bit of a mess. So when we got home we found a compromise we both liked. I got to unpack the car while Cameron cleaned the kitchen (with Darrow's supervision and help). It usually takes us days to finally face unloading the car all the way and cleaning everything up, but not that day! It was great! I need to remember this everytime we go somewhere!

The new style called "Post-Dressing Room Shag". Really, I don't know why I fix my hair to go try on clothes.

One night I took too long blogging and editing and Cameron conked out on the couch. Apparently the pillow was easier than turning out the lights.

We went through our box of toys to put some toys away and pull out "new" ones. In the various purges and decluttering spurts, Cameron has insisted this little electronic keyboard stay. He played with it as a kid, and now Darrow LOVES it. I'll admit, some days it "disappears" because I can't listen to 90's synthesizer Twinkle Twinkle one more time. Speaking of, maybe I should go pull it out of hiding again...I forgot I disappeared it a week ago and forgot to pull it back out.

We took a short drive/walk one evening at a local park. I was grumpy and didn't want to go, but went to be a good sport and found out I really did need the fresh air and it cheered me up. Darrow discovered the joy of running downhill, and had to "taste the wind" as he ran everywhere with his tongue out. Details like the tongue sticking out when it's cold or windy outside are things I want to remember. Right now I think "Oh! I'll always remember that, it's so cute!" but I know I probably won't. So it's captured in a photo and I can print it out and write down the memory of him running feeling the wind on his tongue, and then that memory is preserved!

Found another Starbucks after another photo session for another White Hot Cocoa. I'm starting to think this White Hot Cocoa obsession is getting out of hand. But, uh...the baby loves it. Yeah, that's what it is.

 This picture isn't much, but it holds the memories of a fun day in Tucson with my Mom and Darrow. A picture doesn't have to speak to everyone that looks at it to be worth taking and printing. This was a day I loved, and so the photo speaks to me. Take photos that speak to you! Take photos that help you relive memories!

I really don't know how toddlers sleep in half the positions they do. One night while at my Mom's house for a visit Darrow apparently wanted to sleep on my bed, not his. So he hauled his pillow, sheep, and blankets on the bed and then for some reason wedged his arms and face into the wall. From the very beginning this boy has wanted to sleep with his head snuggled into things. Elbows when he was tiny, under pillows, smushed into the railing of his crib, and apparently the wall of Grandma's house.

I think the thing I miss the most about living in Silver City is living close to so many family members. I love having a sister right on the route down to my parents house at just about the half way mark. I have so many memories of time with my cousins growing up, I want the same thing for my kids. Darrow and Sharli are just a few months apart and sure have a fun little connection between the two of them. They sure are funny little creatures! 

Our mattress has begun to make my hips hurt (it did when I was in the last 2 months of my pregnancy with Darrow too), so I've started sleeping on the couch where I get better sleep and am more comfortable. Once Darrow wakes up he just wants to "huggle" (as he calls it) and usually I'm pretty happy to oblige. He's as in love with orange as I am and so we normally snuggle up under the afghan my grandma made me as a little kid. It's fun to get to wrap my babies in a blanket that I loved as a kid. It just makes me happy and I feel more connected to the family that we miss being away from!

 With 3 new baby cousins and a sister on the way, we talk a lot about babies in the house. Darrow is fascinated by the idea. Let's hope he still likes the idea of babies in March! I know boys don't normally have dolls, but he's really been interested in babies and holding them, so a while back we got him a cheap doll (with as non girly colors as we could find) and he'll talk to it and rock it and play with it (they play trucks together...it's hilarious). I'm sure hoping this is a good sign for when Wee Baby Mower makes her appearance sometime around St. Patrick's Day.


Most of these aren't photos I'd print and hang on the wall, but they are all memories I love, things I giggle at, and shots that help me remember the details. It's a great reminder to myself that the photos don't have to be perfect or "beautiful" for them to be meaningful and worth saving. I don't need every second of every day documented, but having some snapshots of our life, just our normal and very unperfect life, is important. These photos will help give our family photo albums character and life! These are the memories and glimpses into the past that we can show our future family.