I’ve Moved!!!

 

My forwarding address:  www.nataliadotto.com

Come and visit.

 

 

6 weeks later

Six weeks into the new year and it’s the first blog post of 2011. I’ve been working on a new website and it’s taking me a little  lot longer than I expected. It must have something to do with the fact that I really am not website savvy. So I’ll continue to blog here for a bit longer, but I hope to move over to the other site soon.

Here’s a little of what’s been going on in these early weeks of 2011: lots of walks (with sticks and rocks and dogs), lots of soccer, and lots of reading. I loved reading “James and the Giant Peach” to the girls. Now we are all reading it to O. I caught him intently listening to his sister read to him over breakfast one recent morning.

Hopefully we’ll be moving soon. Stay tuned.

A Moment

Sometimes at a photo session … this happens: 

And then this:

That smile, that laughter. Those are the moments that I love to capture.

Snow Days

This morning it’s gray and raining. A typical November in the Northwest. But just a week ago we had a beautiful snowy blanket covering the ground. It was wonderful. We live on a hill. Good for sledding, not so good for driving. The cars stay parked and we walked and walked and walked.

Those walks in the snow are the best. Except for the cold toes part and the meltdowns a mile from home where no amount of bribing with hot cocoa won’t stop the flow of tears. I even promised marshmallows and whipped cream.  In the walks that followed I got a little smarter and we would drag the four year old in a sled. Oh, did you think it was me having the meltdown?

Unfortunately it meant a couple of photo sessions had to be postponed. It also meant the teenagers only had a half day of school last week. How sweet is that… we’ll think about those make-up days next summer.

But for now it’s the memories of snowball fights and snow angels.

Don’t know about you but we are hoping for a repeat snow performance over the Christmas hols.

The K Family. A Foggy Morning Session.

There’s nothing like taking the photograph that’s supposed to be on the family holiday card in the fog. This stuff was thick I tell you. I thought maybe the K. family would want to reschedule. But the K family was not deterred. Not by the fog, not even by the soggy, muddy grass at Parson’s Gardens on Seattle’s Queen Anne Hill.

Mum came prepared with a super waterproof blanket (I need one of those) … and we were able to get some shots of big brother hugging little brother, but I had to be fast to catch a kiss.

And of course there was some running. And stopping. And looking.

And I love these moments with Mum and her littlest one.

And this next photograph cracks me up. We were almost done … treats were promised just for one more pose … okay maybe a couple more… but it seems like baby J just wanted to reach out and touch his big brother. Come on, look at the look on his face… I just love it.

Thank you K family for spending a little time with me in the fog. 

P.S. Happy Thanksgiving.

On sharing Halloween candy …

“It says allergic for moms (slight pause) and dads … and girls … not boys, and Scout”

Boo

So last month I wound up with a freelance gig at NorthWest Cable News… the station that actually brought me out to Seattle 15 years ago. (really? it’s been that long?) I produced a nightly election show for more than three weeks… every night, as in Monday through Friday every. single. night. Did I mention it was nightly? Truth be told, I enjoyed it. What I didn’t enjoy was the snowball effect of chaos (more chaos than is normal) that happened in the house. One of the main casualties ended up being Halloween. My darling little boy, who was the cutest of cute- O-Bot’s last year, complete with flashing lights and a special jetpack for candy … this year was a sheet  a ghost. And the really sad part is that the ‘costume’ was something that his now 16 year old sister wore when she was five… umm, I think I might qualify for one of those “hoarder” shows on TLC.

Channeling Gene Simmons

Causing a ruckus with a friend on Queen Anne Avenue in the midst of a crowd.

And then the trudge home, courtesy of his big sister, only to start the trick or treating around the neighborhood.