Another Birthday Already!

I'm busy planning my baby's third birthday. THIRD! How can she be three already!?

Her favorite book these days is The Very Hungry Caterpillar so I thought that'd be the perfect party theme. I have found lots of cute ideas on Pinterest... from invites to crafts to food.



I'm thinking the kids can make their own caterpillars
and take them home in little baby food jars!?



How cute is this?

 

We'll have the party at a local playground which has picnic tables under a shelter (that came in handy for Lea's Lego party last year as it rained half the time!).

 

 

Here are some pics I just took of Emma this afternoon (I needed one for her invite). She is growing up so, so fast!

 

Sassy!
 



Photographer

Lea likes to take pictures....lots of pictures. It's pretty funny because her favorite thing to photograph is the toys. Our camera becomes filled with Craigslist photos! lol

Here's some of her work...

Compare

Here are two pictures of me at 3 months old and 6 months old...





Now, here are two pictures of Lea at the same ages...

 

And, finally, here are pictures of Emma at 3 & 6 months old...

 

 

I think it's safe to say we all come from the same gene pool. What do you think?!

Our Girls!

Have I mentioned that I LOVE having two girls?! It's so funny because when I was pregnant with my first, I was convinced she was a boy. I won't lie... I was a little disheartened to find out she was, in fact, a she.

It turned out to be the best thing to happen to me. And then I was lucky enough for it to happen again! ;)

I took my girls out, dressed in their matching outfits, in the hopes of getting one or two decent photos of them. Well, I got several great photos! M&M's certainly helped me coax Lea into cooperating and Lea helped me with Emma.

Here are some of the pictures...

 

And, for fun, here are some of the blooper shots!

This one just makes me giggle. Poor Emma!

And to stop Emma's crying fit, Lea ran circles around her....
Emma laughed so hard!

Playing with flowers. :)
 

Holiday Family Picture Time

It's that time of year... time to get dressed up, in coordinating outfits, of course, and pose for pictures. Since it's not in our budget to hire a professional photographer, I usually enlist a family member to take our pictures. This year, it was my brother because he lives here now!!! (he moved back from NM about 6 months ago)  :)

We went up to my brother & sister-in-laws for dinner last night. While we were there, we headed out to their back yard for some pictures. (they live on a golf course) So, here are some of the shots we got yesterday.

This is my favorite pose...however, since Lea was NOT cooperating for this photo shoot
and kept running off, this is the only shot we got like it. She ran away right after this pic was taken...
which is why she looks all blurry. :(

We have a couple other good pictures, too, but I am not going to post them because one of them will be in our Christmas card! I just need to decide which one.

Also, I really wanted to get some pictures of just the girls, but we were running out of day light, Lea wasn't happy and, well, I just forgot! So, I guess I'll dress up the girls again this week and try to get some pictures of them, again. :)

DIY Maternity Pics

I wanted to get a few more pictures of my big belly and Lea together so I had Kevin snap a few this afternoon. Here are a few of my favorites of what we got. (I think they turned out pretty well!)

Smoothies & Laptops Don't Mix

Obviously it's been awhile... sorry for that. Last week, Lea "cheersed" my large cup of berry smoothie while I wasn't looking and it spilled all over our laptop keyboard. Fun times! So, that's my excuse for not blogging recently (even though we also have a desk top computer...).

Anyway. I am still taking a photography course through the local community college. I love it! I have learned a ton. This Monday night we have our first field trip to photograph downtown at night. I can't wait!

Lea and I went to visit my old college roommate. She just had a beautiful baby girl and that was the perfect excuse to visit since we haven't seen each other in like 8 years! We had a blast catching up and bragging about our baby girls. :)

I finished another crochet project and have moved onto the next. (Pictures coming soon!) I am now working on a huge bunny for Lea's Easter basket. It's going to be about 21" long and I got a lovely pale purple yarn for it. I am about half way done.

Today we're spending the afternoon making Spiced Sugar cookies and decorating them in pretty pastels for Easter. Lea's little friend, Ryan, is coming over to help. 18 month olds helping to make cookies? Sure! Why not?! It should be a lot of fun with many opportunities for some nice pictures. :)

Joy of Luck - Day 4

Joy of Luck, Day 4 - Your 7 Favorite Material Things

"Prompt:  I am certain that if you think hard, you can find seven materials things that you LOVE.  What are they?  Capture these with your lens…..the sky is the limit for this lesson.  we are all so fortunate for what we have materially.  We’re lucky to have these material objects.  Let’s focus on our luck and blessings today – capture your favorite seven objects!"

At first, I thought to myself "I don't have any favorite material objects. Lea and Kevin are my favorite things and that's all I need!" But, the prompt said to think hard. So, after about a week of thinking, I did come up with a few things that I really do love (other than people... and dogs!).



We had this silhouette made just after Lea's first birthday. I LOVE it and stop to look at it
every single day. It's a real silhouette... hand cut by Karl Johnson.

 

My wedding band/engagement ring and the pearl ear rings
Kevin gave to me on our wedding day. Need I say more?

 

I got this little statue when my friend and I were in Florance, Italy seven years ago. I remember exactly where we were when 
I got it... a little open market with the buzz of people all around and cafe tables near by.
I had to haggle with a creepy man for awhile before I got a good price!



I wear this necklace always. Kevin gave it to me on my first Valentine's day as a mother.
The other side has Lea's birth stats engraved on it.

Joy of Luck - Day 3

Joy of Luck, Day 3 - "Prompt: What are some traditional lucky symbols that you can think of?  How has our culture created its own perception of what brings luck (and what brings bad luck?).  look around your surroundings….what lucky “token” can you find?"

I couldn't really think of any lucky "things" around the house. So... here's the lucky symbol that was on my calendar!

The Joy of Photography

Kelly Willette is a fab photographer in Virginia. I met her virtually when I was in marketing... she did some work for us. I'm so glad I did because through her site, she offers *free* photography classes. Well, their really more like inspirations with added tips than actual classes. I love having an actual "reason" to use my camera 24/7... other than just clicking away at Lea. She's bound to see a camera lens and call it "Mommy" one day! lol

Anyhow. In February, I participated in the Joy of Love... before that, I took a "real" class that she offered (which wasn't free, but I was able to participate for free) called Finding the Joy. All of her classes operate around the concept of photographing  for the joy of it. Currently, I am on Day 2 of the Joy of Luck.

Day 1: "Prompt: What inanimate object/thing/concept is something that you take for granted on a daily basis?  What would someone who is not as fortunate as you are say about your “luck” to have such a thing in  your life?"

My health... I am so grateful for my health and my families health. I don't ever want to take that for granted.

Day 2: "Prompt: Green is symbolically the color for newness, new beginnings, spring and life.  Today I want you to find the green – this can be ANYTHING that is either the literal color green OR something that brings newness, new beginnings, life, or hope to an otherwise dismal situation."

I LOVE this big bush/tree in our back yard. Every Spring I look forward to the bright pink, gorgeous blooms that fill it's branches. When they bloom, I know a new, nice & warm Summer is soon to come. :)



Where is the joy?

So I am taking this cool, on-line photography 'class' called finding the joy. I say 'class' because it's more about the artistic side of photography and less about the technical stuff. We're to focus on 'finding the joy' of photographing our kids. I love the inspiration and ideas it gives me for taking cool pics of Lea.

It's a lot of fun, however I am so intimidated because the other people in the class have AMAZING photos. I feel like I really have an eye for the composition and subject of my images but I have NO knowledge about the technical stuff... stuff like aperture, f-stop and ISO. I have to learn a little bit because I am getting more and more frustrated with myself. I get so frustrated, in fact, that joy is not what I am finding! I would have so many awesome pics if they were just focused correctly or had the right lighting. I ordered a book that several people have recommended (Understanding Exposure) so hopefully that will help me some.

In the meantime, here are some (potentially) cool pics that I have taken recently...