Is there anything particularly poignant which I have missed in my absence about which I should know? Tell me!

Otherwise, how is your day?

Just thought I'd mention! I have been neglecting you, dear lj readers. It's been a long time since I've known what I should (or what was safe) to write about. Needless to say there is a lot of shaking out left to go in the whole life department but I think despite the mighty mighty speed bumps things are moving in a healthier direction.

I feel like myself again. I'm loving watching, and hopefully helping, Ewan grow up. I think my work is improving and there is a lot of it coming up. I've been spending a lot of time in the last year soul searching and rediscovering myself. Turns out I actually do like me, and have missed me a lot. I've lost a ton of weight and still going (emotional baggage much?), and thinkin' I look pretty good! That's a big deal for me and I hope it keeps up.

I participated in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training program and raised over $3,000 for cancer research and patient support, produced my first concert (as a fundraiser), have made some great friends through the hiking, and am definitely feeling healthier. I also cleared a 3,200 ft gain in pretty decent time and am looking forward to climbing some mountains in the future. I'm off my training schedule now that I'm done with the actual program but still keeping active and health conscious.

Ewan and I go hiking (egads, is he heavy, though!) on a regular basis. He really seems to enjoy it. He says, "Go in backpack. Waterfall. Road." We sing and bounce and point out big rocks while hiking. I think he likes seeing the snow everytime (yes I go up at least a 1,000 ft with him every time, though haven't cleared 1,500 with him yet). He's so with it, smart, and really funny! He makes me melt. I wish he'd get back to sleeping through the night, but childhood development literature seems to suggest that should be happening again soon. I've been taking a class (last one tonight) which has been pretty interesting and thought provoking on that front. I can get quite impassioned! :p But it's great debate and great to get some further perspective on parenting. I know this is definitely the biggest thing I will ever do.

Otherwise, I'm ever working on the balance between trying to work as much as I need to and make it, and making sure Ewan gets as much time with me and enrichment as possible. It's a tough one. I'm not sure what direction things will go, but I'm still hoping to keep him out of day care as long as possible. Preschool is just around the corner though! Oh. my. gawds. How did that happen? He'll be 2 years old in less than two months! Where did my baby go?!

Anyway... for all of your facebooky types that aren't on there with me yet please check out my photography page and fan me up! I'm hoping to hit 1,000 and get a username for it (nerd much?). Either way - I always appreciate the support, referrals, and general art love. I will be posting more of the art and less of the "paid gig" stuff soon. I'm a little buried in Photoshop at present but catching up!

I'm also now an Area Coordinator for Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, and have been for a few months. So, definitely no shortage of volunteering going on and I'm constantly amazed by the people/photographers/families/hospital staff that I meet through this work. I'm working on a documentary project focusing on public education - reteaching our backward, avoidant western culture and hopefully making the world a better place. I hope to do a lot more of that in big and little ways during my life time. How lofty am I?! I think we all should - heal the world (as the late MJ would say), love your neighbor, love the planet, love the love. I'm all about the love these days - it makes everything else a learning experience instead of a tragedy and there is something to be said for that.

Anyway - peace and love to all of your around the world. I hope you're well even if I haven't done a good job of keeping in touch. Now feel free to scrape off the hippie and say hi. I miss ya'll. :)

Big things on the horizon, I'm sure.

Nicole Raine Photography on Facebook

Am not dead. Am far too friendly with Facebook and having major life... stuff.

Done with uni for the summer. Happily booking and shooting - Wedding Season! - and am generally spending all energy on Ewan and photography.

Poggs coming soon. Wooo!

Perhaps I should update more? Hmm...

Ciao ciao.

I haven't been updating. I mean to but just haven't. I wouldn't even know where to begin, but I can assure that shameless plugging is on the way.

In the meantime... you get a shameless plug. For me. Watch. Love. Enjoy. Fan me up on Facebook.



Don't worry- there is no sound and I'm pretty sure it's WS.

Tell me what you think. This was made for someone specific but that's what you get today. Ta-Da!

I've been a bad updater again. Life seems to be in the way, these days. However, as a proper update is forthcoming, I will win the meantime leave you with this:

Whining and screaming: If your 15-month-old has started sounding like a hyena or worse, you're experiencing his intense desire to interact with you.

He's actually just ridiculously adorable, but these things do creep into the mix occasionally.

Today Ewan had his first tractor ride of 2009 and got to drive.

I've just noticed that my website says recently and 2007 in the same sentence!

Argh... time for major updating again. Hope someone is feeling nice enough to help me access my site... and you know who you are. *bats eyes* I know that doesn't work, but something will have to.

The ghosts of Christmas past are just crawling out of the woodwork today!

I wonder who will be next...

Peter [Poggs] says:
YO SUP HOMESLICE

If I had to choose I'd choose ocean. However, seeing as I've grown up in the Pacific Northwest, I never want to have to choose because I love living with both of them together. This is one of the number one reasons I loved Alaska, why I love Fjords, why I love the Outter Hebrides, and any other place with a bit of both. Perhaps for this reason I would likely fancy Hawaii as well. Maybe some day I'll even have the opportunity to find out.

But! As I have the option of going NO WHERE right now, not without Ewan anyway which means I go nowhere, I will just have to bask in the beauty of the land in which I live and try to get the rest of the world to come to me. :)

Thank you, blackfaerie for being photographer the day this was taken back in August. She did a lovely shoot for us which resulted in proof that I exist as Ewan's mama... So we have pictures of us!

Woo!

There are even some of him without his hand in his mouth, but this is what you get for now. :)

Isn't he the most adorable little monkey ever?! I think he has my eyes.

Approximately 19,000 miles. Runs beautifully. Mostly stock. Great, reliable bike, and a lot of fun.

Contact Me for more info.

More to be posted soon.

I would not sell it if I didn't have to.

I just got a thank you email from my state Senator! How awesome is that?!

Ewan did actually wear a Bee costume for about 10 minutes (maybe 15?) on Halloween... sans trousers. His little stinger wiggled behind him and it really was quite cute. No, I did not get proper pictures as everything was dismantled, but I think Mom may have gotten some fuzzy phone-pics.

Sadly no trick-or-treating this year. It's a bit nippy to be toddling without ones trousers at this time of the year so we decided to stay in. Maybe next year when he's a bit bigger for it, but we have a fun little midget, albeit short, stay-in-Halloween-party after going out.

... I shocked all by wearing NO EYELINER at all and looking resoundingly normal in blue jeans and hiking shoes. There you have it. Couldn't get to the corsets this year, sadly.

My sweet Babboo and I, and Darryl and Alice, all went to pumpkin patch today.
( Photography Nerding, Food Sharing, Vroom Vroom Sounds, Hay Rids, Pumpkins, Bouncy Castles, and More! )

Other things of note today:
- Today is the first day that Ewan his tried to actually comb his own hair instead of trying to eat the comb!

- He has figured out how to push the button on his bus to make it go, and also wanted to put people in to the bus.

- When Alice took the bus he put the driver in his truck.

- He has taken to screaming bloody murder, like he's being killed, when you take away things he wants to have. Oh boy.



See more photos here.

These are the best sounds in the world! I keep grinning like an idiot every time I play this again.



Video compliments of Mr. and Mrs. Vish

I'm at work tonight so I had to find a live stream in order to see this - and I'm sharing it with you, interwebs:

Happy Birfday deeteeuk!!!

Have a few pints for me!

My friends have been gracious enough to model for me and my homework again this weekend. Traci (to_rei_shi) was first in line, daringly wearing her least favorite lip color like a pro. Get over it girl, you're freakin' gorgeous.

Next in line was hatefulerin. It's been a while since I've photographed Erin. We've decided we have a lot of work to do. I did some shots of her years ago that I really loved but unfortunately they were not shot in the proper file format, and could have been better set up. Therefore we will be redoing them as time allows.

I have so many projects I want to work on. I want to get some paint and paint bodies... and then photograph the painted bodies. That would be awesome. I just need more nudies. :)

I would really like to spend some time with a studio space experimenting. So, add to the list Place to Live with studio space. I think we can manage that eventually ... Enjoy.

Ewan is 1 whole year old! We had a lovely little party for him with many fine people in attendance. Ewan received some amazing gifts today - and thoroughly enjoyed road testing them.

Fortunately, he went down for an nap about an hour and a half before his party as so was able to get some rest before the fun began. This meant that he did not scream through his first birthday! In fact, he was well behaved and a little charmer, as usual.

His little friend, Alice, was in attendance and between the two of them we had cuteness overload. She's 17 months old and about his size. I'm so glad he had a friend to play with today!

In proper photography nerd-mom fashion I set up lights for his cake annihilation so as to get some keepsake shots. I'm so excited to have the squashing of his cake captured forever. I was so impressed at how he totally destroyed it! He just poked it at first, but before long he was in there with both hands tearing it apart. He didn't eat much of it, fortunately. I was a little disappointed that he didn't rub it all over his head or anything of that nature, but he still made enough of a mess to earn himself his second birthday bath of the day. He got a bath and a costume change... and I got a costume change as well.

I can't believe it went so quickly. I can never seem to get around to everyone to chat. However, I think the party was a success. Ewan certainly seemed to enjoy himself and that's really all that matters.

Today Ewan got his first hair cut!

We took him to Kelsi at Rivendell Hair - where I get mine done.

He squirmed quite a bit - but no one got hurt. Ewan got to meet Switch, Kelsi's little chihuahua/Maltese mix who is just Ewan's size. Switch is very full of energy and I think perhaps a little overwhelming for Ewan. However, he managed to get through his hair cut and Kelsi cut like a pro. The cut isn't too dramatic but I see a difference. It makes his head look rounder.

More than anything he looks more like a boy than a baby all the time.

As much as I am sad to say goodbye to babydom, I'm really looking forward to watching him demolish a cake tomorrow.

Watch this space.

I have been taking in the lamest of lame media creations in the last few days.

It is coming at me from all directions and yet I have not just hit the off button.

I just watch Night at the Roxbury and I think my brain may have shriveled slightly.

I'm definitely feeling the need to go out and meditate in the woods somewhere - somewhere free of Will Ferrel and Bon Jovi. I want to be somewhere free of money and politics for a change - and definitely free of loud televisions I cannot silence.

OH yeah, and somewhere with a really lovely Swedish masseuse who will fix my back which has been excruciatingly painful this week and isn't getting better. That would be nice.

Bed.

Hey guys... it's that time again where I need warm bodies for my university assignments. I'm only shooting people I know, or personal referrals from people I know, given the sad 50% average of last semester.

So... if you would like to be nice and model for me, I'd be ever so thankful! Let me know if you're interested.

FANKOO.

Did I mention that the Steampunk party/shoot happened?

Oh, it did. I'm looking forward to doing more of these. Follow the pic back to flickr for more.

model: ironsepeku/event organizer

Just a quick hi-hello.

Mr Ewan is really enjoying the great outdoors. He is now playing the little boy and getting filthy, covered in dirt everyday. It's a really good thing he enjoys his bath time so much as he's getting a lot of it in the utility sink these days.

I can't believe how much he's growing up.

I had a friend over for a chat earlier. While we were yammering away, Ewan got up from his puzzle box to dig around in his diaper bag quickly producing his bottle from which he tried to suck the last few drops. He was right on schedule - looking for his pre-bedtime, 9:30pm bottle and right around 9:26pm. (We're on a really good schedule now.) I was so impressed with just how grown up he's becoming that I just stared at him, halting the conversation momentarily as I sat in awe.

I'm so proud of him.

Happy 11 Months Old, Ewan!

Wow, only one month to go until he's one whole year old! And I still have his first birthday party to plan!

Ewan is 10 1/2 months old... rapidly approaching 11 months, actually. How on earth did that happen?

Little Man is practically running everywhere. Yeah, you heard me. Running. He loves to run around things to play hide and seek. He likes to chase and find me. I say "come on Ewan!" or "come on little duckling!" and he does! It's so weird. He's constantly clinging to my leg, often putting both of us in danger of tripping. It's kinda crazy, but pretty cool that he just follows me all over the house while I'm carrying things to the kitchen, doing laundry, or whatever else.

He LOVES to run around outside in the grass. Grumpa got a little push-mower for him which he seems to enjoy for short periods of time. One of his favorite out door activities is going on tractor rides with Grumpa. [This really did mean tractors when I was a kid, but now it's just riding lawn mowers.] When you sit him on the seat alone (mower is parked and off) he will bounce on the seat like it's moving and try to use the steering wheel. He loves to try and drive things - just like Mama.

He knows where to find birds and airplanes. You guessed it! Up! He points with his whole hand, but he'll show you where they are!

I'm really excited about all of these things. I know I say he's changed so much all of the time, but he really does change so much and constantly. He looks like a little boy. He plays much more like a little boy. He know where to find people and where they usually should be.

He says his own versions of "gramma" now and "grumpa." He says "where" and "cat" (which is more like DAT DAT). He is mimicking sounds like "quack" and many other things. I think he says something for bottle but it's a little inconsistent at this point.

He still loves ceiling fans and really loves keys.

He is currently experiencing his first, nasty, diaper rash. Poor baby - it looks painful.

He's also a diaper Houdini. He was running around the other day and his diaper fell off and out his little, baby trousers. The trousers remained intact. Ewan was confused... as were we all. He managed to pee on the floor while fully diapered today. He repeatedly did the splits slipping around in it.

He still loves music, strumming whatever looks like strings to him (rubber bands are great for this), banging pots and pans together, jingling keys, and singing along with whomever will sing with him, and with the radio. I'm pretty sure he's going to be a rock star. He's all over it.

Great Gramma Violet broke her wrist a couple of weeks ago and so I've been spending even more time with him lately, which has been a lot of fun, but also tiring. He really wears me out! We're buddies, he and I.

I think I enjoy him more everyday, and I'm pretty sure he likes me, too. :)

My mobile has been soaked in hot tea and will therefore be out of commission for the duration of the day while it is set out to dry.

I have been a bad mama blogger. I haven't updated anything about Ewan in months. I compose these things in my head and then do not post anything. Shame on me. I think I said the same thing last time I actually posted.

So...
Little dude popped out 4 teeth at once just after he turned 9 months old. He also took his first steps and now walks all over the place very proficiently. It's actually becoming difficult to keep up with him - you can't take your eyes off of him for a second. He's definitely a toddler now. My little baby is growing up. He's so inquisitive and bright. He's very social and such a flirt! Sometimes he seems so big, but he's still my little baby when he falls asleep in my arms.

I definitely need to post new pics of him. It's been a long time, I know.

I'm very proud of my little man. I can't believe we're approaching a year.

Well, this is a first.

I think my trip to Starbucks has ruined my afternoon.

I just thought I'd share an image of Erin (hatefulerin)from high in the North Cascades.

My caption was:
I forgot to post the pics from my little jaunt over the mountains to the Sasquatch music festival on Memorial Day weekend... probably because it ended in the death of a small, stupid, furry creature. "Them stupid critters should know better..." said the toothless, mullet sporting local.

I have been meaning to post about Ewan for some time... months? perhaps? I don't have as much time I'd like, so in place I've posted about a hundred pictures, or something... I think more like 80.

I need to take and post more still.

My little peanut is less peanutty all the time. He's turning in to a little boy before our very eyes. He's trying to walk, he says some words, he's trying to crawl. He's quite the little dude... and obviously he has a touch of the maniacal, complements of his parents I'm sure.

Just a brief hi-hello to say that I'm still kickin'. This is Cody - shot last Thursday down by the waterfront in Everett. He was pretty quiet for most of the shoot, but you'd never guess that here!

A few more that I like especially:



P.S. There are plenty of images of him smiling... I just like these.

I haven't written about Ewan in months. Even though I've started updates in my head I've been bad and not actually posted anything... at all. I'm even behind on my picture posting. Bad Mama.

Ewan is pushing 8 months old... 8! He's been sitting up since he was 6 months old. He somewhat magically went from kind of sitting up to a pro up-sittinger. This image was taken just about that time.

He got his first tooth on a Thursday- the 17th of April, I think, and then got another one right next to it the following Thursday! And we haven't seen anymore since. However, those two little teeth are sharp enough to make up for only being two of them. Ewan... well, Ewan likes to bite things. He makes me yelp with pain. Little bugger.

He has grown so much. He was 16.5lbs at his 6 month doctor visit. I haven't weighed him since, but he's definitely grown. I would be surprised if he's pushing 19lbs. He's getting harder to carry around iin some ways. He's wearing everything from 6-9month clothes to 9-12 month clothes.

Ewan is getting really close to crawling. He's rolling all over the place and pushing up really well. He does the scoot thing and rocks back and forth on his hands and knees. I think he's also getting some of the walking concept. He loves to stand and be pulled up onto his feet. We seriously need to get on the child proofing thing. He already grabs everything and does the turn it over and over to look at it thing. His dexterity has really increased. He hasn't really gotten the hang of feeding himself with a spoon, but he's all over the bottle.

He's had more of the bottle than I'd really like. I haven't been taking very good care of myself and am having a really hard time keeping up with him. I basically can't at this point in time. So, he gets some of me, then some solids, and/or gets supplemented with a bottle. I think he may eat too much sometimes. This isn't really going as I had hoped.

Ewan is such a joy. He's hilarious. He does all sorts of funny things and I love his laugh. Dad has the market cornered on that one. He and Dad get along pretty well these days (when they're having fun). He says mama and dada sounds. He talks to the cats (which still scares them). He definitely remembers people. He's just one cool little dude and I love watching people light up when they meet him. And of course I love watching him light up when he sees me. I just wish I had things worked out a little better so that I could spend more time with that- but I think things are about to change pretty soon here. I always feel guilty when I'm away from him.

I will have to post some pictures soon... actual recent ones... with him covered in carrots.

Post# 010
Subject: 01:13 PM 05-16-08


I am going to critique Raineâ??s portfolio. I have always notice really great work from Raine, and I was very impressed with her portfolio. Being a graphic designer, I donâ??t have the eye for photography myself, but I do know when I see great work. All of Raineâ??s images are strong and very powerful, and evoke a lot of emotion from her portraits. She has a very strong visual sense, and does a great job of composing her subjects. Her black and whites are equally impressive as her color images, and her lighting is just fantastic. My favorite images from Raine would most definitely be her portraits, and I believe that is where she shines. Her weakest areas where I donâ??t get a lot from would probably be abstract shots. Overall, Raine is well rounded and has produced awesome work in this class so far. Great job!


A review of a not so great final portfolio submitted for my Visualization class.

Ewan has his first sick. He has a cold. He has boogers... and continually wipes them all over his face. I had to retrieve a really big one from his eyebrow not long ago.

He's been a little trooper this weekend. He went over the mountains for the first time and experienced the popping of the ears (which he didn't like). He hung out with Grammy while I shot a wedding and got to watch snow mobiles go by, which he apparently liked. However, I heard he screamed the rest of the time. The poor little dude hasn't gotten enough Mom time this weekend, but I'll have to talk about that another time.

Ewan is nearing 6 months old, and my Lansinoh emails are a couple weeks ahead of the game. However... the next one says:
Dear Raine,
You have just joined the elite group of 36% of mothers who are still breastfeeding at six months. And although you should be given a special award for the tremendous effort that is required to reach this milestone, you are more likely to hear comments such as “Are you still breastfeeding?”. For people who aren’t aware of the tremendous benefits of extended breastfeeding, the thought of nursing a baby beyond 6 months is mind-boggling. In fact, the thought of breastfeeding at all still shocks and amazes some people. And some may question its value after 6 months. Rest assured-- breastmilk does not stop being nutritionally beneficial. It still contains vitamins, protein and fats that growing babies need and it actually adapts to the needs of your child at their age. Your milk contains special growth components that help the immune system to mature which helps the brain, gut and other organs to develop. The psychological benefits of breastfeeding are incalculable. You have made it through six months that were probably the most difficult and rewarding time of your life. You are to be commended for your commitment to breastfeeding your precious baby. You are probably a real breastfeeding supporter now and able to give lots of encouragement to other moms with new nurslings. Because your baby had nothing but your own milk until very recently, the exciting time has come to begin introducing other foods. Take it slow and easy, trying a tiny bit of each new food at a time. Your milk is still the most important part of baby’s diet
FACT:
Researchers have found that women who breastfeed for a continuous six month period or more are less likely to develop diabetes than women who don’t breastfeed. The longer a woman breastfeeds, the stronger the protection. Breastfeeding makes the body’s metabolism more sensitive to insulin, and tends to stabilize glucose levels.

It's been hailing all afternoon (for a couple of hours, I think), and now it's snowing... and it's almost April. The some of the local roads (hills) are being shut and apparently the motorway is a mess.

So, hear this G Dubaya, maybe you should get to environmentalizin' and globalahedjamicatin'. Or whatever you do when you pretend to be from Texas.

This picture doesn't show Ewan's room, but know this: I've spent all weekend making sure he has one. What does this mean? This means that aside from the filing cabinet and a few things on the high shelf in the closet I've gotten my stuff out of his room. It's not longer Ewan's room/my leftover junk. This morning Papa Joe (my dad) came over and helped me move two bookshelves down into the garage where I've made a work space and framing area... and mostly organized that half of the garage. After that Grammy Tammy (my mom) came over and played with Ewan while Stephen put together the nice wooden bookcase that Grammy Tammy (my mom) bought for Ewan. Ewan giggled and squealed with her for quite a while... and then they took a nap together. Stephen may think a lot of this stuff is 'my stuff' but I'm really doing it for Ewan.

Ewan is nearing 5 1/2 months old. He's changing every week and every day. Every day his eyes are a little brighter, everyday he's a little more with it. He says his own version of 'I love you' which sounds something like "I uuh ooooo" or some variation. He says mama when when he wants me (especially when he's with someone else) and 'meh' still means that he's hungry.

He's remembering things better now. I think that long term memory might be kicking in. It's not just motor skill development now. He's learning how things work. Last week he learned how to make the frog on his car seat toy play music. Yesterday I was showing him which buttons on his mobile make the music and today he tried to push them.

He wants our food. He really wants our cups. He knows how to drink out of cups even though he can't hold big ones on his own really. We need to get the little dude a sippie cup and every day it's getting harder to hold off from feeding him solids and things.

He's practicing sitting up on his own and can for some seconds, sometimes nearly a minute, before listing over to one side or another... or heading face first for his toes which he likes to suck on when he's on his back. He's pushing up when he's on his tummy but hasn't figured out what to do with his legs. However, he does try very hard to propel himself in whatever direction he likes to go. He'll be on the move in no time. This, coupled with Spring Break, fueled the urgency to give him his own room. Beyond this, I hope it will be more comfortable for whoever comes over to watch him at any given time as it's easy to get and feel displaced in our house.

His sleeping patterns are all off and crazy. He doesn't want to be nursed to sleep as much anymore or even rocked to sleep many nights. He wants to be flat and so I've been letting him go to sleep on his own in the crib. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. One thing I do know is that for some ridiculous reason he won't sleep through the night if he goes to bed before 11pm, but he will if goes to sleep after 11. I don't get it. Tonight he fell asleep around 9 and I couldn't wake him up. I sat him up several times and he rolled his head around and flopped his arms... but wouldn't wake up. And so he's in his crib even though I know it means punishment for me later.

Ewan is an amazing little dude. I am constantly battling with my overdeveloped ambition and being his mother. It's a struggle everyday, but he always comes first. I always want to be everywhere yesterday, but he reminds me to slow down and not stress out so much. Doing uni and trying to do the business thing has really been a challenge for me in the last few months. I don't really know where things are going. I think it about it constantly... when I'm laying in bed at night and should be sleeping... and the only answer I have is that he is the most important thing there can be. I may not always know the right answers or exactly what the right thing is, but I try to do the right things for him. I really hope I can do a good job.

He's such a sweet, inquisitive boy. He has a sensitive soul- he feels everything, you can tell. He loves music and singing. He likes looking at pictures. He's bashful and yet such a flirt. Despite all my secret hopes, he's definitely into pretty girls. I hope that I can help him grow and nurture all of these wonderful qualities.



( +9 images )

I haven't updated regarding Ewan in over a month. Shame on me.

He's grown so much. This week he's a screech monkey. He's making all sorts of crazy noises at an incredible volume, and I think he really enjoys it. He's grabbing things with pretty good precision and is able to pass them from hand to hand... even though he's not completely proficient yet.

He's really growing up already. He's bigger, he's brighter, he's broadening his emotional spectrum which now includes more laughing, tantrums, and a definite preference for certain people over others. He says his own versions of 'mama' and 'hi' as well of a host of other sounds that definitely mean things. He's drinking out of cups and wants to be eating our food.

He's also, I think, less satisfied with just breastmilk and I think we're getting to the verge of solid food eating, and the adventures therein. He hasn't quite sprouted a tooth yet so we'll have to hold him off a little longer... and I would really like to try to make it to six months before we give him solids. However, unfortunately, there has been some formula added in to the mix due to me being so busy and, sadly, away from him more than I was. I don't produce well when I'm stressed and that seems to be part of the norm these days. There area lot of times where I feel like a bad mother for not being with him every second of the day, but on the other hand I just get depressed if I don't embrace my ambitions. And right now I'm reminding myself that this is an investment for our futures. I don't think Stephen sees it that way. I don't think he believes in me at all (I'm pretty sure he's just humouring me). However, I figure if I can be even mildly successful, even if I'm just teaching, it will almost double our household income. That has to be good.

Either way, I want Ewan to be proud of me for getting my degree and producing something good. I don't want that to be at the cost our relationship or his well being, but I do think this will benefit us all in the long run.

Anyway... Ewan is amazing. He makes me really happy. I love it when he laughs and giggles. He's such a sweet little dude. He has a good little heart and an inquisitive mind. I think he and I are going to have wonderful adventures together. As much as I love him being a baby and will miss that when he gets older, I'm really looking forward to doing little kid things with him and helping him grow into a capible, independent guy.

It really bothers me to be able to see the nipples of aging men, with man tits, through their shirts.

In the upcoming weeks and months I am/will be in need of models for some specific photographic projects. So, if you would like some free photography- this is your lucky day. Anyone looking to build a modeling portfolio is especially welcome. If our needs line up, or if you are just happy to play around in front of a camera then I would like to schedule a shoot asap and as far in advance as possible. All work must be model released and I will trade some prints for time. Anyone under 18 must also have their model release signed by a parent or guardian.

I'm not opposed to doing nudes, but would never ask that of someone underaged or uncomfortable. All of my work is tasteful, professional and artistic. However, I'm happy to try new and different things - which is the point of this project. Some of my previous work is available at NicoleRaine.com and on flickr.

Please Email Me or leave a comment if you're interested and include your name, location, and indicate when you would be available. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays are best for me. I need at least one person every week now through mid May - that's at least 12 people. Please plan to have 1 - 2 hours available for the shoot.
( Specific Shoots and Deadlines )
Thank you for your interest and your help!

I have now partnered with Collages.net to bring customers a wider range of print, product, and album options. Contact me for more information.

Nicole Raine Photography supports several charities and causes. I invite you to check out our affiliates and make a donation to a good cause.

The Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep (NILMDTS) Foundation - NILMDTS is an organization which works with photographers nationwide (myself included) to donate photography services to parents with babies who will likely never leave the hospital giving them something to treasure and remember when their little angels are gone.
Blue Earth Alliance - The Blue Earth Alliance raises funds for photographers to create documentaries which raise awareness of ecological and social issues world wide.
Unicef - Unicef works worldwide to provide aid, education, and relief to impoverished and afflicted populations of all sizes.

The little man is 4 months old and growing everyday. He's very talky, teething, rolling around, grabbing his toes, trying to sit up, enjoying his exersaucer, really liking dad, and so much fun.

Today he had his 4 Month Doctor visit with Dr. Mark. The rundown:
Weight: 12.15 lbs
Height: 25 inches
Head: 16 inches
Immunizations: Pneumococcal Vaccine

Ewan got to rock his snow suit today! Look at that awesomeness that is Mr. Baby.

He's so stinkin' adorable. His hair is constantly defying gravity and he's learned to make gurgle sounds while smiling and likes it best when we make ridiculous noises.

P.S. Do note Stephen's work attire... i.e. Pajamas.