Babies

I'm not particularly a photographer of babies and children, although I've had lots of practice with Ellie over the last five and a half years and a bit on her younger cousin Audrey in Michigan. My first grandson is due any day up north. We will go to Michigan in late March to meet him. The plan is to wear out my shutter button.

There were a few little ones at the Creatives Pot Luck event. I enjoy photographing them but the damn kids won't stay still and I prefer alert pictures to sleepy ones. This turned out pretty well. Might be some more tykes as I run through the shots.       

Audrey Crowe

Greetings from Chicago, where a local baseball team lost to the St. Louis Cardinals last night by the score of 4 to 0. But more importantly, this is the reason for the trip: Audrey Crowe, our second grandchild, born August 30, 2015. 

She has lots of dark hair, deep blue eyes, and looks just great wearing a goofy winter hat and corralling a toy moose we bought her in Alaska. Still a little trouble with that eye focus thing. More to come.           

Why Not Make It Babies And Toddlers Week?

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Well, I may or may not have enough images. However, there were small children all over the place when we saw my wife's family last weekend, so maybe.

This is Cedric, niece Lisa's youngest child. The photo was taken at Elvira, my mother-in-law's, old home, where she lived for 30 years before moving into new seniors' housing, seen here a few days ago. It was just full of stuff. She took all that she wanted to her new apartment. The rest of it was set out at the old house; the family bid on anything of interest, the proceeds going to Elvira.

There were several shelves of 1940s and 50s women's hats. Someone put one on Cedric. I thought it looked like Rembrandt's beret in some of his self-portraits, an impression reinforced by the angle of the head and shoulders. Behold the young artist.

I bought a perfectly good banjo for $10. I do not play the banjo and have no idea what I'm going to do with it. But it was way cool and I couldn't resist.

If You Are Low On Material...

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... you can always post pictures of babies. A hit every time. This is niece-in-law, for want of a better term, Dr. Kristin Kruse, with daughter Marin, 1 year old. This was taken at a get-together on the old family farm.

STL CDPB On the Road: Kansas City (Portrait of Cameron)

The nomenclature gets confusing. This young man is my wife's brother's grandson. How do you define his relationship to me? Grand nephew-in-law? Anyway, Cameron here is nine weeks old and the hit of the show. Most of my wife's family in the KC area got together Friday night at Cafe Trio. Cate, you were right. It was terrific.

WHAT WAS, UH, A BIT EXCITING: I don't eat much red meat but, heck, I was in Kansas City so I ordered a Kansas City strip steak. Talking too much, eating too fast, and - oops - I got an inadequately chewed chunk of steak stuck at the junction of my trachea and esophagus. Oh oh!. My nephew Tom did the Heimlich on me and up it came. Cameron's mother, a doctor, looked horrified. I had another swig of wine, no worse for the crisis.
TOMORROW: Likely something from Marshall or Washington County, Kansas, but I haven't shot it yet.

Yet Another Dose of Gratuitous Cuteness

What is wrong with me? My self-image (hmmm, a little vain, perhaps?) is urbane and ironic. I go to contemporary art museums. I speak a little Japanese (Ikaga desu ka? Genki desu, okagesamade.) Sometimes I dress all in black. And lately I keep posting pictures of babies, with the odd dog thrown in. You'd think I took a job working for Gerber. Can I dare show my face in New York City? Anyway, this is Faith, daughter of a co-worker (that's mom's smile in the upper left) at our law firm's country party. Heaven help me if I ever have grandchildren.

TOMORROW: The Rapture

Stare Down

Dalton vs. Bella. Who will possess the chip in the end?

TOMORROW: What's happening to me?