a sampling of mom-of-7-month-old-twins thoughts

// This age is seriously light years better and more fun than when they were sleepy newborns. The giggles! The personalities!

// The poops though. Jesus Christ, the poops.

// This photo, for the rest of my life:

// It's like I have twin parent radar now. If we see each other out in public, we smile and acknowledge each other like motorcycle guys do on the road.

// Trying to feed Hazel pureed food = SHITSHOW.

// Hearing them laugh at each other warms my cold, cynical heart.

// Me on the floor = human fort for Vince to climb.

// Just saw the word "Mom-iform" in an article, and I wanna throw up a little.

// Vincent's relationship with the cat is pretty much this:

// I hate baby-proofing. Can I just super-glue everything down and put a helmet on them?

photoshoot flashback // specimen

Photography: Lisa Kimberly // Fashion design: Annalynn Luu // Jewelry: Sweet1985 // Hair: Badri Kermani // Makeup: Danielle Henry // Model: Mio White // Assistance: Kristina Yamamoto

Once upon a time, before the twins came along, I collaborated on a really fun photo shoot with some talented women. And then I never got around to blogging it, until now. So here goes! 

I worked with two very different designers and a sculptor, not to mention a fantastic creative team. It still blows my mind what can happen when all sorts of creative types input their skills and talents for a shoot, and how lucky I feel that I get to photograph the magic. Looking at this image humbles me, because I know that I am just a slice of this image; it takes more than one person to make a great shoot happen, and this is proof of that.

This dress was designed by Annalynn Luu, and it's made out of....wait for it....trash bags. Unfreakingbelievable. Our mood board for this shoot was a little bit Victorian, a little dark, with some insect imagery thrown in....so while editing this, I decided to add the moth, and it seemed to fit pretty well. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't also partly inspired by Miss Aniela and her ongoing surreal fashion series. She often incorporates animals or objects into her fashion images, so this is a bit of a homage to that.

Those beautiful elk sculpture were made by the uber-talented Zynada, and they fit in so perfectly with this shoot. Not too long after this shoot, I photographed more of her sculpture work individually, which you can see on her website. Sweet 1985 also provided some of her rad jewelry for these looks, which was another bonus.

Photography: Lisa Kimberly // Fashion design: Jaqueline Hazel // Hair: Badri Kermani // Makeup: Danielle Henry // Model: Mio White // Assistance: Kristina Yamamoto

This amazing cardboard dress was made by the second designer I worked with on the shoot, Jaqueline Hazel. Another creative soul who makes her garments out of unconventional materials. She was inspired by sort of an underwater vibe, and to me, Mio looked like this beautiful, ethereal mermaid.

I wanted to play around with some in-camera motion blur for this garment, which is harder than it looks to capture. But out of dozens of images, this one spoke to me the most.

This was probably my favorite look/shot of the day! Another amazing cardboard dress design by Jaqeuline.

And here's some behind-the-scenes from that day!

Badri Kermani did her hair magic for the shoot, and I've worked with her before, so it was great to see her and collaborate with her again.

My good friend Danielle graciously lent her makeup skills, and she really nailed it with all the different looks. So many creative women working together under one roof = my heaven :)

From left to right: Zynada, Annalynn, and Jaqueline.

This was seriously such a fun shoot, and I'm glad that I was a part of it. Hopefully I'll be doing more artsy fartsy things in the near future :)

life lately because I'm awful at blogging

1// Something that rarely happens: a photo of me with my babes in which I'm showered, looking mostly presentable, and not taking a half-assed selfie with my phone. A mom-of-twins miracle! (super thanks to my husband who shot this for me!)

2// Another shameless photo of my nuggets because look at those faces! They'll be six months this week, and I can't believe it's already been half a year. Vince is trying to crawl so bad, and Hazel is such a master roller that every time I turn my back, she's in a new spot. I've also decided that I'll continue to share their monthly photos on my instagram rather than here on the blog. It's just easier for my life right now.

3// I've started taking barre classes at a local studio, and it is giving me LIFE. It's something I've been wanting to try for ages, and after taking the first class, I was all, "Yep. This is exactly what I need." The studio also offers different types of yoga and cardio classes, so I get to try those things as well. So stoked that I'm being active again. Even though the babes definitely keep me active in a different way, sometimes I just need to be in a room where a toned woman is instructing me to do plié squats until my quads burn.

4// A friend let me know about a tapestry weaving workshop at West Elm that I could sign up for, and I'm so glad I did! I was just writing in my last post that I wanted to learn this particular craft, and the class was so good! It was taught by Anna of Prissage Studio, and she set us up with our very own wooden loom and tools to start weaving. She taught us a few basic weaving techniques, the importance of a good warp, and how to finish off the piece once we're done. She even gave us a bunch of extra yarn so we could finish our work at home. I finished mine a few days later, and I'm already thinking ahead to the next few I want to do! The creative possibilities seem endless, and I've been getting lots of weaving inspiration from instagram. I smell a visit to Michael's coming up very soon, so I can stock up on all the yarn :)

personal & family goals for 2016

Most people make a bunch of new year resolutions during the first month of the year, but I'm gonna be the weird one and wait until nearly the end of February to think about what I want to achieve this year. Last year was nuts in the best way possible. It was the year of starting a round of IVF for the first time, and successfully getting pregnant with not one, but  TWO babies. It was the year of being pregnant for most of the year, which, I'm not gonna lie, was pretty miserable physically. It was the year that my boy/girl twin babes were born two weeks early, and my life changed forever.

Now that my babies are nearly five months old, I feel that my husband and I are finally getting in the swing of this new family life. We have routines that work for us, and we're staying relatively sane. We still go out with friends occasionally, and we allow each other to have our respective and much-needed "me time." It's great, but I don't want it to end there. There's still so much I want to do and try as a family of four. And personal goals too.

1// Go on at least one roadtrip/weekend getaway with the twins. Even if it's just to Palm Springs for two nights, I really want to try. Before the babies, Vince and I took so many great little getaways, not just here in California, but in Europe too, where we lived before. We both love traveling so much, and I don't want that to end just because we have two little ones. Sure, they're not going to remember if we take them to Cabazon or Yosemite, but it will still be FUN. And years later, they can look at the photos and know that we didn't keep them cooped up inside ALL the time :)

2// Meet and socialize with more moms of twins. This is gonna be hard for me. I'm an introvert by nature, so it's not always easy for me to meet/make new friends. And even though I have some amazing friends here, I don't have very many mom friends, let alone mom-of-twins friends. So I want to work on that. I've joined a Mom of Multiples meetup group on Meetup.com, but I've yet to attend a playdate/meeting. It was easy to put off in the beginning, when the twins were just born and I was in the trenches of just trying to survive, but now I feel like it's time to muster my courage and just go to a meetup. I also know there's a San Diego Twins Club that I can join and use as a support system/socialization tool, so I need to take advantage of that too.

3// Start reading again. Books, I miss you. That was one of the few great things about being pregnant...I had time to read A LOT of books. Now, not so much. Must. Remedy. Even if it's just ten minutes a day while the babes are napping.

4// Start some easy photography projects. So at the beginning of the year, I was all, "Hey! I'm gonna do a film photography project where I take one photo a day for the entire year on my dad's old camera!" Yeah, that lasted about two weeks. Obviously, I need a photo project that's a bit more do-able and less pressure. Or even just continuing my blended portraits series. That would make me happy.

5// Learn a new craft, like tapestry weaving. I actually wanted to start trying this last year while I was pregnant, but I just never got started. Lately, I've been really drawn to woven wall hangings like this one and this one, and I'd love to try making my own, either through a macrame workshop here in San Diego, or just buying a simple starter kit.

life lately...

1// Getting some brunch time with girlfriends at yummy places like Great Maple.

2// Taking advantage of some gorgeous weather and checking out the Botanical Gardens at Balboa Park with the babes. East coast, I miss you, but you just can't beat 70 degree weather in February.

3// Celebrating my friend Raina's first art show with her rad botanical watercolor paintings and handmade ceramic planters at Te Mana Cafe.

4// I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

5// Checking out the Downtown at Sundown event at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego with a good friend.

6// Getting out of the house at least once a week sans babies has been my sanity. It's funny how "normal" I feel just by putting on real pants and walking around Target for an hour. It's the little things :)

fox & wren // four months

Both twins are napping at the same time right now (usually it's like a game of whack-a-mole around here), so I'm gonna take advantage and blog their four month photos from a few weeks ago. Four months! The babes are getting more fun and interactive every day. They're both babbling and cooing like crazy, and sometimes I wonder how I get anything else done in the house, because talking and playing with my babies is such a fun part of my day that I lose track of time sometimes. The mornings are the best. Right after they're both fed, they're in the best moods they'll be in all day, so I'll plop them on the playmat and watch them reaching and grabbing for their hanging toys. I'll talk to them, and they babble and smile right back, and it's all ridiculously cute, and I immediately forget how tired I am.

Hazel is a lot more observant these days. She loves to watch her brother while he bats at all the things, and she's getting much better at grabbing toys. She's definitely the more laid back twin. The laid back twin who loves to wear pineapple shorts.

Food is still his favorite thing. In fact, in this photo, he's counting down the days until he can eat a real donut. Annnnnd, just a few days ago, he rolled over for the first time, and he hasn't stopped since! I knew it would be coming soon, but I still wasn't ready. Milestones, man. They're crazy.

fox & wren // three months

The babes turned three months old at the beginning of the month, and holy cherries on a stick, weren't they just in my body a few months ago kicking my ribs and making me waddle?? The transition from newborn-who-sleeps-all-day to writhing-cooing-loinfruit is so fun to watch and experience. Their individual personalities are really coming out, and they're waay more interested in their surroundings. Like the ceiling fan. They're obsessed with the ceiling fan.

Vincent is still my impressive little eater. You'd think we were starving him though, by the sounds of his tortured cries when he's hungry. This man does NOT like waiting for his bottle to be made. He wants his food, and he wants it NOW. But he's starting to smile more, which makes my whole day better. And he's reaching out and trying to grab things, which makes it fun to pretend he's a tiny drunk man who can't grip a toy that's two inches in front of his face.

Hazel is a morning person. She starts cooing and smiling as soon as I un-swaddle her in the mornings, and it's freaking adorable. She's not really trying to grab things yet, but she'll stare down a toy something fierce, studying it, plotting things in her three month old brain. My little observer.

They've just barely started noticing each other too, which is awesome. Not interacting yet, cause that's way too early, but definitely noticing. For instance, I'll have Hazel on my lap and playing with her, while my husband has Vince on his lap, and he'll just look over and study her intently,  as if to say, "Who's that small squirming thing? She looks like someone I used to kick occasionally back when I lived in that warm bag of water. Hope she's cool."