We have been to Michael’s twice in the last 4 days (birthday presents), and will go again tonight or tomorrow for a science project. (Bad planning.) Seeing the pumpkin display, observant Isabel asked me, “What is in the orange paint that’s so special?” We HAD to Instagram that, of course. So we took a few... Read More →

Ryan is my candid subject. He doesn’t notice the camera. He doesn’t pose. I get my most natural shots when shooting him. Well, I used to. Seriously? That is NOT how you were raised. It took a “That’s okay. I’ll go take pictures of Isabel,” to get him to ignore me. Okay, not TOTALLY ignore... Read More →

By now, you’ve probably seen the #hashtag video with Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake. I’ve included it below for the 10 of you who haven’t yet. I debated showing the video to my kids and decided it was fine. The only bad word/part is bleeped. Isabel would probably figure it out. Ryan probably wouldn’t. My... Read More →

Here’s another snippet of our everyday life. I shot these the same day as these: http://mariloujaen.com/blog/2013/05/23/everyday-life-1/. I realized the kids have both gotten new bikes since I last photographed them biking. Plus, Ryan wanted to ride bike. Win-win. There was some biking. Some van climbing. And more biking. The kids usually bike on our street... Read More →

I love it when morning time is stay in bed time. I love morning snuggles and play. And geography lessons. And still-tired eyes. And sibling love. And, sometimes, I even love the ‘attitude.’ As long as it’s quickly forgotten. And we are back to geography lessons. (These shots were taken on August 11, 2012 and... Read More →

Almost 4 years ago, I dragged the kids to an animal rescue center up in North Miami. It was about a 45 minute drive, but they had posted on craigslist that they had golden-labrador retriever mix puppies. And I wanted one. {Mind you, that I had NEVER had a dog and knew NOTHING about dogs.... Read More →

I love it when… I walk into the living room and find my kids playing together. Even though they had to shove clutter out of their way to do so. Especially when what they are playing is something I’ve tried to get them to play countless times. Especially when they are doing it because they... Read More →

I walked by the bathroom Monday morning to find Ryan standing on the toilet, head in the sink… I started laughing (of course). “What?!” “Nothing. I just wish I had my camera right now.” “You can go get it.” “REALLY?! Okay, don’t move.”       Read More →