Monthly Archives: January 2009

The gift – JANUARY 6TH 2009

Santa purchased presents for Thomas months before Christmas – way back in August. So of course he didn’t really know what Thomas wanted for Christmas. Until December when Santa met Thomas and he clearly said he wanted Slinky dog for Christmas. And then he repeated that wish over and over and over again.

So it was clear that if Thomas was a good boy then Santa should bring him Slinky Dog. And Santa definitely planned to get a Slinky Dog for Thomas in time for a Christmas delivery. On Christmas eve Thomas reinforced his excitement about Santa’s imminent arrival as well as that of his very own slinky dog.

Unfortunately a winter snowstorm in Portland and a sudden rush on slinky dogs in city made that goal difficult to achieve. So Thomas woke up on Christmas morning to a letter from Santa with a picture of slinky dog, saying that the elves were disorganized this year and a special package was due to arrive in a couple of weeks.

Finally that package from Santa arrived and Slinky Dog meets all expectations. The only problem is that Samuel likes it just as much as Thomas. We have witnessed the early onset of sibling rivalry.

LIGHT – JANUARY 5TH 2009

In the middle of a long, dark NW winter, when the sun goes down at 4pm, and you need to take a photo of the day – sometimes you just need to find some light.

Just like Daddy – JANUARY 4th 2009

A little story

Kei was putting Thomas to bed a couple of nights ago and they were reading a book about space.
At the end of the book Thomas said “I would like to go into space one day.” and Kei said “Thomas, if you work hard enough, you can do anything you want to do, including becoming an astronaut.”
Thomas: “I think I would like to be Santa when I grow up.”
Kei: “If you work hard and you’re a good person then you can even be Santa if you want to be.”
Kei turned off the light and Thomas lay in the dark until his eyes adjusted.
Thomas: “Dad? Dad?”
Kei: “Yes Thomas?”
Thomas reached out and took Kei’s face in his hands and said “I want to be you when I grow up.”

And a photo of some bubbles – because I like photos of bubbles.

Top 8 of 2008

Last year I chose my top seven photos of 2007 and I though I would continue the tradition to close off 2008. It’s difficult to choose just eight photos but it was a fun process looking back over the past year and I finally managed to narrow it down.

My very first photo of the year and still one of my favourites.

Love the colour in this one and I how I got the composition just right – and completely by accident.

A quick self portrait.

I just love the emotion that comes from this image. A great reminder from one of our many days at the zoo this year.

This one looks like an album cover – appropriate since we were attending a concert (Ok, it was the Wiggles but still…)

And of course the big addition to our family in 2008.

Our trip home to Australia

And this one – my all time favourite. I used it for the cover of my scrapbook for the year.

I could have included so many more, like this one for example.

But that would be cheating. 😉

Enough Already – January 2nd 2009

It’s snowing again as I type this. Seriously. Yes, it’s beautiful and fun and all that and I’m sure there is someone living right near the equator somewhere who wishes they had just one cold snowy day they could enjoy, but I am now officially over it.

Not that you would know from these photos. We had some fun walking around in the snow on Saturday. And I have to admit that it was just the right amount of snow. Not so much that it would prevent us from driving or walking, and just enough that it looked pretty and we could scrape together enough to build a decent snowman (well Thomas and Kei did anyway. I am not really into getting my hands cold and wet).

I collected the acorn pods for the eyes.

And of course took a LOT of photos.

And dodged flying snowballs

The light was also very good – nice and soft and not too grey. Is it weird that I now take notice of the light everywhere we go?

And the melting snow also made for lots of puddles to jump in.

And just take a casual stroll through.

I even managed to get a family portrait to help fulfill my 2009 goal to take more photos of myself.

A New Year – January 1st 2009

It’s 2009. Really.

2008 was a big year for The Ishidas. A major house renovation (that is still not completely painted), a brand new addition to the family (welcome Samuel), a trip to Australia and a bunch of other events that have quickly become a blur amongst the business of the year.

So into 2009 we go.

Why not start it with a party? A low key event with friends from the neighbourhood (trans. daycare) and a number of blurry photos thanks to low light and insufficient Christmas lights. I’ll only subject you to a couple.

I think I counted 7 kids and about 16 adults.

It was fun, and a great way to see in the new year.

And when everyone left I took a photo of myself to make sure I have a place in the photo albums this year. It’s an unofficial new year’s resolution. I don’t really believe in New Years Resolutions. I mean you forget them after a month and then feel guilty for the remaining 11 months of the year. I would rather spare myself the trauma and instead eat all the leftover Christmas chocolate guilt-free.

Happy New Year.

P365: The Adventure Continues…

New Years Eve 2008 – and the last post in my photo a day journey for the year. I have been thinking about how I am going to continue this project in 2009. I love the fact that I have a record of every day from the past year and that my family is able to read about our daily adventures over the other side of the world. I love the fact that I have made an effort to take out my camera each day and record our lives. And even on those days when I don’t think I have a photo to take, I have always found a subject.

In 2009 I will continue this project but will be make some changes.

  • No more numbering the days – the date will be enough and sometimes even just a title. (I ended up with 365 days instead of 366 somehow anyway). 
  • If I have more than one photo for each day I will post more than one photo. I started doing this toward the end of the project and found it much more rewarding.
  • I will continue to tell stories with the photos but won’t be afraid to post photos alone if that’s all I need for that day.
  • I will take more photos of “things” and more self portraits. Although I’m sure the boys will continue to be the main source of inspiration.

So there you have it. This project is just too valuable to give up. In fact I’m afriad that if I stop I will lose the motivation to continue with my photos and stories.

My goal this year is also to learn how to use my camera prperly, starting with a photography weekend course in January. Can’t wait.

P365 DAY 365 – DECEMBER 31st 2008


New Years Eve – just like any other day. Thomas made banana soup in his new kitchen and proceeded to feed it Samuel. Seriously – that kid will try to eat anything.

I hung out with the boys for a while until they both napped for three hours (at the same time!) during which I cleaned up the house.

And then we joined our friends Corey and Jen to check out the Christmas lights at the Portland International Raceway. A little disappointing but at least we can say we’ve done it now. I managed to take a bunch of blurry unimpressive photos.

We then ended up back at our house for a dinner of lasagne and a glass of champagne before Jen and Corey headed home and Kei and settled in to watch the Extra special season finale of Extras. We both managed to stay up until midnight to watch the ball drop and then went to bed. Party animals.

Happy 2009!

P365 DAY 364 – DECEMBER 30TH 2008

I spent the day looking after this sick little boy. I knew he really wasn’t feeling well when I looked over at him while he was eating lunch and found him staring at the wall. Just staring. Then I felt it his head and it was obvious he had a fever. So Thomas spent most of the day like this – lying on the couch watching TV.

By Wednesday he seemed to be feeling better but continued to play the sick card to watch more TV. I’m wondering how a three year old learns that “sick” means talking in a low, pathetic voice and looking at me with big puppy dog eyes. Must be from watching his father.