This is a hill around the corner from our house. I have had my eye on it ever since we moved here, six years ago. Why do I let things go for so long before I do them? I don’t know, but I am really glad I started this project, to give me the push to photograph all of the things in my area that I have wanted to for years.
It was a little tougher to get this shot compared to the past two. We had to shoot on a steep incline, so a tripod wouldn’t work and neither would my ghetto version of a tripod. (That is, put your camera on anything and use the self timer.) So I had to use some photoshop magic. (We weren’t all photographed together at once.)
I love the blue sky. I love how everyone is standing. Mostly, I love that I have these shots.
This month started off with a BANG! Drew broke his wrist in PE at school. He came home telling me he hurt his wrist, and I had this gut feeling it was broken, no matter how much my head tried to tell me it was just a bruise. The strange thing is, he has been obsessed with talking about broken bones all of this year. Asking questions of Jeff and I about the breaks of our childhoods, about what happened, and what the cast feels like. And then he goes ahead and does it himself.
Mckenna has worn St. Patrick’s day beads every day this entire month. The cheap, plastic, Mardi Gras type beads. They have become her signature look.
March is my favorite month of the year, because of the weather we have. EVERYTHING is in bloom. Any natural area that is not professionally landscaped (ie: with sprinklers) is filled in with lush tall green grass. The yellow flowers are starting to pop up. The trees are blossoming. The clouds are big and white and puffy against a blue sky. It is just PRECIOUS outside. There is really no better word. Soon it is going to get hot. And that green grass will die as it gets starved for water. And the heat of Summer will bake the pavement and the seats in my car. For now, I am reveling in Spring.
Anna decided to cut her hair, and has the cutest long bob, with side swept bangs. She chose the haircut completely on her own, based off this photo she found in a magazine of Katie Holmes.
The girls and I headed up to Los Angeles one Friday afternoon, for a live taping of the Hannah Montana show. A past client does hair on the show and was able to get tickets for us. I surprised Anna and Kenna by picking them up from school early and heading into LA without telling them what we were doing. We got to go into the hair/make-up trailer and see the actual Hannah Montana wig. Both of them had eyeballs big as saucers. It was classic. The taping took about four hours, and they sat enthralled the entire time. Mckenna would get irritated every time they had to repeat a scene, which surprised me, seeing as how she rewinds the same thirty seconds of television for five minutes straight until all of our heads explode. When the taping was over, she cried.
Our favorite dinner of March was probably these, which I served with mashed potatoes (clouds) and broccoli (trees). On Jeff’s recommendation we called the meal “cloudy with a chance of meatballs.” He is so good. (The photo does not look appetizing, but they were yummy.) If we were REALLY good, we would have had a viewing of the movie or at least read the book that night, but we didn’t.
We had to head back to the hospital for another scar/skin procedure. Mckenna is going through a series of steroid injections directly into the scars, meant to break down the scar tissue. It was outpatient surgery, but still hard on her to have to go through. Gratefully, we have seen a big improvement in the thickness and painfulness of her scars over this process and hope for continued improvement.
The community pool opened! You know where we will be on a hot day if we aren’t home in the afternoons. We are a family of fish.
Our favorite albums to listen to in the car have hands down been This is Ivy League and Weezer. Weezer was definitely Jeff’s introduction. I have never had much love for them, but my heart has opened. Our favorites are ‘The Richest Kids’, ‘Love is Impossible’, and ‘Til the Day’ off Ivy League and ‘If You’re Wondering If I Want You To’ and ‘Put Me Back Together’ off Raditude. Anna sings lyrics from all of those songs during the day, with no music on, and I sit as quiet as I can and listen to her without her finding out or else she will stop.
Mckenna has started expressing discontent over being left behind when the other kids go out to play. Up to this point, she has never even noticed. It is one of the saddest things to try and help her understand why she isn’t allowed to go outside without an adult when they are. And yet it is exciting, because for her to even notice or want to play with someone else is a major milestone for her. This is another step forward for her, another step we didn’t know she would ever be interested in making. Another step toward independence. And toward whatever she will become as she grows into an adult.
Anna is trying mightily to learn how to ride her bike without training wheels.
Nathan shared with us at dinner one night that in his circle of friends, the guys have all been given girl names as nicknames. We all thought it was so funny, we took turns coming up with what our names would be if we were the opposite sex. I don’t think we have all laughed so hard in a long time, trying to figure out what Jeff’s name would be if he were a girl. Here is what we came up with, and you probably had to be there, but we still laugh like crazy when we use them on each other.
Jeff: Christina
Tara: Miguel
Mckenna: Murray
Drew: Bridget
Nate: Melissa
Anna: Eduardo
Our photo this month was taken on the second weekend in March. I would like to thank Jeff for helping me kick procrastination in the face and get our photo done with no stress AND at a convenient time for everybody.
xo
Tara
PS: As always, if you joined in, leave a link in the comment section.
man, this is so darn cute. love the idea, but I have been so lame in execution. if I start now, it will be “six people ten times.” I guess later is better than never. loved hearing about your family over the past month. :)
I love reading your posts! You make me feel like I’ve known you for years. :) The opposite sex names are hysterical! I think if I were a boy, my name would be Jack. ;)
Will someone please tell me that it is okay to start this project late? The perfectionist in me can’t handle being a couple months short. I need someone to say “just do it.” And let me tell ya, the perfectionist in me only comes out at certain times and has absolutely nothing to do with my laundry skills.
IT IS ABSOLUTELY OKAY TO START THIS PROJECT LATE! :) JUST DO IT!
You can go April 2010-April 2011 – doesn’t matter when you start it!
Wow. You are the Photoshop Empress! It came out great! Love, love, love your project!
I love the tidbits of information. It totally makes me feel like I know you. You’ve totally inspired me to get a photo of my son and I together this weekend. :)
I am by no means a photographer (and I started late!) but I loved your idea and am grateful for the inspiration! Here is mine: http://beautyandjoy.blogspot.com/2010/03/four-people-ten-times-331.html
YOU my friend have some serious mad photoshopping skills…..like CRAZY AWESOME….cant even tell that top photo is not one frame….WOW.
I think *maybe* your favorite yellow flowers should be your april family photo ;) i loved those pics so much from last time!!! :)
as always….you totally rock tara whitney!
i just love you, tara. you should head up some national campaign on FAMILY AWARENESS. seriously, i’ll start calling washington right now if you think you might want to do it. i love how you champion your family and remind all of us to do the same. it’s a beautiful, beautiful thing. {and i can not believe you are not all standing together at the top of that hill!!!}
I love your posts Tara! And I totally love the photo concept. I might have to get started with my own little family.
I have feb. and march’s photo! I didn’t get to do jan, but I hope to do april. lOving this! I love how you are doing all the journaling to go with though. I really need to do that, but I seem to write some stuff either in the journals I keep for them or on my blog daily, so that will have to do>! I love how your month is all summed up though! LOVE IT!
tara
god i love this. and you and your family. not in a weird way, just completely good, happy, family centered inspirational way:)
Love this! Even if it is a cheater! Very smooth, very smooth. Love the yellow flowers and blue clothes. Sky is unbelievably HUGE. Gorgeous pic.
I did mine yesterday. http://therinrins.typepad.com/our_little_life/2010/03/family-portrait-project-0310.html March photo posted at the end of March, to satisfy my organizational tendencies.
you have a beautiful family and a beautiful project! do you prints these photos ? i hope so… it would be fun to hang them somewhere in your house = )
I have another word to describe Spring in So Cal. I think “Glorious” every time I try to describe the day. Love your blog, Tara. Thanks for keeping it real.
I have only found you recently (I’d heard so much about your work) but after this post, I nearly felt like I was sitting at your dinner table listening to you guys pick out names for each other! This was a great post – love the detail and LOVE the family photo! Beautiful job!
You’re good, Tara!!
FABulous <3 :)))
LOVED this post so very much!! I feel as though we’re sitting on your couch just yakking away and I love the glorious details of your family life. You care and it shows ;-)
drew’s name rocks.
that’s all I am sayin.
Lovely! Here’s mine for this month:
http://basic-joy.com/basic-joy/marched.html
I’m so glad you sparked this, Tara. It’s going to be fantastic to have these monthly entries documenting our family life. (And I love getting the little glimpse into your world, too.)
What a great family shot! I too love how you are all standing. On that awesome hill. There is a ‘togetherness’ of you all against that big blue sky that I am just drawn to. The name thing is funny…just a couple weeks ago we were talking about what the kids would have been named if they were the opposite sex as birth…and I joking told them Laurence (Lauren); Leonard (Lyndsey) and Kieriana (Kieren)…these are NOT at all what we even considered. You should have seen the look on their faces when I told them these names….we haven’t laughed that hard in a while either!! Thanks for sharing!!
BEAU-TI-FUL all of you! Thank you Tara for sharing your March life with us!
I don’t have words to explain how thankful I am to you for starting this project! It really motivated me to get out from behind the camera and the family really seems to be having fun with it! thank you again! http://nccoatesfamily.blogspot.com/2010/03/tara-whitneys-challenge.html
Love these posts from you. You are such an inspiration as a photographer, as a person, and as a mother. Thanks for introducing me to This Is Ivy League (love them) and for the meatball recipe. Gonna try it very soon. Thanks for just being you.
so beautiful – and thanks for the permission to start late. april will be my starting point.
and may i say you’re looking amazing – and very slim. you are a lovely soul whose beauty comes thru in all photos i have seen of you but this one makes you look trim as a teenager. if this is just a natural happening, thats awesome. but most women folk in my world have to work hard to make it happen.
I love this one! Love the expanse of the hill and sky. The names cracks me up too. I love when kids come up with simple little things that are so funny. When I taught some of my 5th grade boys used to sit at lunch and say things for the others’ to imagine like “a grandma riding a bike.” I used to crack up along with them.
I started this project this month too. Thank you for inspiring me!
I posted it on March 28th. Here’s my link…
http://whatamigoingtobewhenigrowup.blogspot.com/2010/03/slide-show-sunday_28.html
B-E-A-UTIFUL! Love it! Love the update on your family! LOVE LOVE LOVE the pic! XO
The name thing is a riot…some time ago, we had nicknamed our boys based on their initials. Nicholas is N.C., so he became Nancy. Benjamin is B.C., so he became Betsy.
This photo series is awesome. I might have to borrow the idea! PS…I couldn’t even tell that the first shot was photoshopped, so I guess it was a success!
We remembered, but the writing is a bit lame this time. Gotta get my brain working better for April’s! Love your picture – that sky!!!
Love this project! Thanks for the “okay” to start late!!!
Hello from France,
Really, really love your project. Perhaps, i will make one a day!!!
I forget: If you miss so much the green grass you can come here we have green grass all the year…!!!
how cool that you continue this project. I love all the photos you came up with. I also love reading the updates on your kids and the compliciy that we can feel between you all as i read. Take care. Can’t wait for the April photo !
I’ve been so excited about this project. I think this may have to be a permanent part of our family. March isn’t very glamorous, but it’s oh-so-definitely us right now :) http://sarahstepan.squarespace.com/home/2010/3/30/us-march.html
I love your once-a-month photo shoots! The stories of your month are just fabulous – you’ll cherish these memories forever & so will your kids!! Your gender-switch name game reminded me of what my brothers & I did when we were kids – we renamed ourselves with our names backwards – Here’s how we pronounced them: I became ah-Naahj, my oldest brother was Yer-roc & my “little” brother was Nairb… of course we then had to do my parents – Eus & Tra…. lots of kid giggles for sure!!
so excited every month for your family post. :)
I don’t think I’ve actually commented before on your blog…but wanted you to know that I love your posts, your photography, your style, your whole attitude towards life! Keep doing what you are doing!
Well you mad photoshop skills fooled me!! Love it! and Love the names.. made me laugh out loud! Murray is my favorite!! hahahaha
We are still in the very brown stage here in VT, so your weather sounds dreamy and yes, PRECIOUS! The porcupine balls SO reminded me of my childhood! I had forgot about them! My mom made them and while I’m not much of a red meat fan now, I’m thinking that a certain few in my family might really like them!
I’ve told you before that I work with the developmentally disabled. For 18 years, and I’ve been a home provider for nearly 11 of those years providing 24/7 care to an individual with a developmental disability.. someone my children have never not known because she moved in 6 weeks before my first child was born. I love reading everything you write about McKenna. My heart is always nudged a bit. She has and continues to grow SO much! Today we have the most beautiful New England spring day. Unusually warm and full of sunshine. My girl came downstairs before the fog had a chance to clear (and after watching several forecasts where she knew the weather was going to be super) and said, “it’s going to snow today”. Oh crap. Hurry up, sunshine! ;)
Yep, I started this in February – thank you for the inspiration to photograph my own family once a month!
The love you have for your family is so strong and deep and comes across so beautiful in text and photos. Reading your family posts always brings tears to my eyes. Thank you for inviting us in.
oH, wOw– just look at that blue, blue sky. so jealous here in our stormy rain. such fabulous photos of your family- you knock it out of the ballpark every time. thank you for the inspiration. i’m trying to complete this project too. we gathered on the bed for our group shot as you all did last month. so glad to have the moment captured.
so love this. i really hope to start this with my own family…one of these months. i’m thinking it would be neat to start NOW b/c then it would start in KS and end in FL. maybe i can kick procrastination’s ass and get started.
xo!
deb
p.s. love your little photoshop magic.
p.s.s we have all kinds of magical little hills here that i’ve been dreaming about shooting on.
Hey Tara! Love this idea! I’m a big fan of self portrait projects. I think at the end of my 52 weeks project this year, I’ll do this! Thank you! And I LOVE your first three months. L-O-V-E. (ALL CAPS, SISTER!)
I started in March. . .thanks for reminding me I need to do April! We could so have a long talk over a cup of coffee, Tara! My 8 year old on the spectrum is starting to notice that he is different from his peers and it is hard to watch, although I am also glad that his self-awareness is increasing. Hopefully, we can help him love and accept himself for who he is and encourage him to see his differences as something special, not something bad.
You are going to have the best book at the end of this year! Complete with wonderful family photos and words . . . those dear memories you put into type so that your children can read them years from now.
And porcupine meatballs were one of my favorite meals as a kid! My mom is a rockin’ cook!
love this project. love these photos. as always.
and Tara… you LOOK FANTASTIC!!!!! Absolutely beautiful and SVELT. :o) I would so love if you would share about your weightloss because you are totally inspiring me!!!
Beyond inspiring.
Thanks for this! Here’s mine…http://wandercraft.blogspot.com/2010/04/just-betogether.html