About the Author
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| Maternity shoot, 8/10. Painting by Jennifer Vessells; photo by Kate Wilhelmi |
It seems I've also become a blogger.
I'm part hippie-chick, part type-A career-woman, and (recently!) all mama. I guess that sort of makes me superwoman.
I moved to a large Mid-Atlantic city from a small farm town outside of Buffalo, New York to study digital media. After graduating and working for a couple years, I returned to school to earn my M.Ed. in urban education, and have been employed as a program evaluator at a local non-profit educational organization ever since. I guess that sort of makes me a social scientist.
I also occasionally write music; I'm a decent singer and passable enough at the guitar to play an open mic every so often. I was classically trained and used to be a choral singer, but those days have passed - at least, for now. I also sang with pop a'cappella groups both in college and after, but that's one for the history books, too. For everything, there is a season.
I've always loved to write and take photos, but it's only recently that I've taken either seriously. It's a great outlet for me, keeps my creative juices flowing, and helps me document moments in a life that seems to be passing by too quickly, lately. It helps me stop, reflect, and appreciate.
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| Commitment ceremony, 9/06. Photo by Jamie Moffett. |
We're happy as little clams in our charming 90 year-old Mid-Atlantic home. I've recently discovered a talent for interior decorating, and am looking forward to applying it to the rest of our house as we continue to lovingly renovate and restore.
Kate and I are - respectively - mommy and mama to two well-fed (read: fat) kitties and recently welcomed our first daughter, Cadence James, into the world. Cady was conceived via artificial insemination with donor sperm, and I carried and nurtured her for 42 weeks before she decided it was finally time to join us on the outside. Now we both carry and nurture her. Both Kate and I are listed on Cady's birth certificate, and our lawyer is helping us go through the process of Kate adopting her, so that we (hopefully) never have to worry about less-than-tolerant states legally recognizing our happy trio as a family.
We've adopted a modified version of the attachment parenting philosophy, and are proud to be of the baby-wearing, cloth diapering, breastfeeding ilk. We've realized that there's no one-size-fits-all method of parenting, and are just rolling with it and doing what seems to be coming naturally to us. So far, it's working.
This blog started as an attempt to keep a personal journal of my pregnancy. Shortly thereafter, it became a way for close family and friends - spread far and wide and coast to coast - to keep up with us. Since then, it seems to be growing in readership, and has become a place for me to share my experiences as a natural-minded mama and capture the precious moments of our daughter's life to date.
I hope that this blog will not only serve as sort of a "baby book" for Cady years from now, but also add to the community of "mommy bloggers" who share joys, adventures, and catastrophes so that others can laugh and learn.
Most importantly, this is my quiet form of activism. Some people march in parades, some wave flags, others hold signs in protest. But my most powerful contribution is being a good citizen, partner, and mother, and always striving to improve on all accounts. What's chronicled here is proof that families come in all shapes and sizes - and that there's a lot of ways to create one. Numbers and genders do not a family make. Love does. And we've got a surplus, these days.
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| Our amazing little family. Taken 1/8/11 by my awesome mother-in-law. |
About the Photos
Nearly all of the belly pics (with the exception of my maternity photo shoot) were taken with the camera on my Macbook.
Otherwise, we're a Canon family.*
For quick snapshots, we use the Canon SD 1200 ELPH. It is a great point-and-shoot, stick-it-in-your-pocket camera, and the quality is really very decent, both for screen and prints. I highly recommend the ELPH line of cameras for the casual user.
Our primary camera is the Canon EOS 40D. We LOVE LOVE LOVE this camera. It is pricey line of cameras, but Kate and I occasionally do some freelance photography work, so it's worth it the price tag. (See here, here, and here for some examples of our work). We primarily use a 50mm f/1.4 USM lens and a Canon 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 USM lens. The latter is more of a "walk around" lens, whereas the former is great for low light and portraiture. We're still looking to expand our lens artillery, but good glass doesn't come cheap. The 40D has really been good to us, and I highly recommend this line of Canons for "prosumer" photographers.
*Disclosure statement: I have not received goods or services from Canon in exchange for my glowing review of their products. Read more...
