A Whole Latte Love

It's Back

2012-01-31T12:57:00.000-06:00

but not for long!! So after anxiously, impatiently waiting for my camera to return to me it finally did... and still doesn't work. I pulled it out of it's box and it looked so beautiful. Nice and clean and seriously like new shiny! But then I tried it out... and it's still front focusing! Uggh, so back it goes. I had been putting off getting Oliver's hair cut for quite a while. One, because he had the cutest little fly aways and curls and I knew they would be long gone forever once they were chopped off... and two, because I didn't have my camera and I wanted to capture the moment. Since it was back I decided we should take him in. Abriella did so well her first time so it really didn't cross my mind that Oliver would be any different. Boy was I wrong! We decided to take him to and old old old barber shop in our cute little downtown area and that may have been our first mistake.

We walked in and the place was so cute... old soda machine, antique barber chairs... old men getting their head and beard shaved, lol. But Oliver lost his little mind. He refused to sit in the chair and as soon as Eric sat down with him he proceeded to scream the.whole.time... until he finally gave up and then just kept up with the big tearful sighs and hiccups. It was probably mean to snap these pictures but he'll probably look back on them and smile (I hope). I felt so bad for him and really would have stopped the whole thing if he wouldn't have looked like he had given himself a haircut. The women there was so nice and really did a wonderful job

Here is the sad little boy with his big boy haircut. Finally getting to eat his sucker, since he just held on to the first two which became covered with hair.

To help him get over the trauma we also treated him to a nice lunch at Applebee's. I can't get over how grown up my baby looks now. In all the drama I didn't get a chance to really think about it, but even looking at this picture make me tear up a bit. He's too big, but oh, I love him so.

Still Here

2012-01-13T09:43:00.001-06:00

We're all still here and doing well. My camera has not been. It really never was perfect but had been getting worse and worse lately so I finally sent it in for repairs. I've been enjoying a bit of a break with the snapping, editing and such. It's all been driving me a bit crazy since nothing was working correctly (including our computer), but hopefully having the camera working well will inspire me once again :) We had a wonderful Christmas and I am just starting to go through those pictures so there should be something on that sometime soon. But we're still here and enjoying our time together. We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and your New Year is off to a wonderful start!And since I can't post without at least one picture... here is my favorite from our Christmas morning!

It's actually a terrible picture, out of focus, crazy colors and all... but it's Abriella hug/tackling Oliver because he gave her a My Princess Adventures book where they have you and your friends names in it. They were so happy! Christmas is so fun at this age. Be back soon!

Reindeer Food, a Gingerbread House and a Rappelling Santa

2011-12-24T20:27:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas Eve! We're ready for Christmas. Our Act of Kindness tree is looking a little bare. Mostly in part to Oliver, who pulled some of the numbers off and lost them.

I wish I could say that it went perfectly.... it didn't (aside from the loss of numbers)... but I do think that it achieved its purpose. Abriella now walks around stores asking what she can do for other people there. She gave up 9 quarters (1 of which she had really wanted to use for candy) to give to a group feeding children downtown. We didn't manage to do everything we had on the tree, although we tried... but we did do a lot of extras. Abriella's favorite was finding places we could leave quarters, gumball machines, the newspaper machine, pennies for the horse at Meijer's. I am so proud of her. I love that we don't have to end this now, I can see her leaving random acts of kindness all over; the whole year round.We finished our Gingerbread house the other day and Oliver has been using whatever he can to try to climb up to it and steal candy.

Last night we went and drove through a huge light display and the kids went crazy over driving while out of their carseats with faces plastered up against the window. Oliver squeals... it's wonderful.

George brought us our magic reindeer food and it has been liberally sprinkled so that Santa doesn't miss our house.

We had a lot of fun the other day on a visit downtown to watch Santa rappel down the side of a building. Eric and Oliver missed it since we were running late, of course, and had to go park the car. But Abriella loved it.

This was the face of pure joy the whole time Santa, his Elf and reindeer danced their way down the building.

It lasted until this...

That's the one terrible picture of the fireworks that I got since the little one started bawling as soon as they went off. They were close and they were loud, and she'd never seen them before. All she kept yelling was "they are hurting my ears" in the midst of her sobs... poor thing.

She perked back up though once we went inside and saw Mrs. Claus.

We wandered around for awhile and enjoyed the sights. I always enjoy visits downtown, especially winter ones.

We have enjoyed a wonderful holiday season and are all excited for tomorrow. From our family to your, we wish you a Wonderful, Very Merry Christmas!

Our Visit with Santa

2011-12-15T18:31:00.001-06:00

We tried out a new Santa this year. If you remember I was not impressed with my choice last year... especially the cost for the terrible pictures. So this year we decided to try The Bass Pro shop. We were not disappointed.

Oliver did really well sitting up there by himself. Somehow I didn't get a picture of the Little Miss up there alone.

Since I didn't get her picture, and there was no line, I decided to try the two of them together... that's when Oliver lost it. Looks about right!

Abriella went right from Santa to the pink gun. Lovely. You'll shoot your eye out kid!

There were trains to run.

And even toys for the big kids!

After playing with all the toys, we made our way over to write Santa a letter. Abriella wrote about a dozen, and Oliver colored on the table.

We put a bunch in his mailbox too, and are still waiting on that reply email that was promised.

This little stink is smitten with anything sweet. He talked Santa into two candy canes and immediately after finishing up his second he hightailed it right back up to the jolly old fellow and tried to nab himself some more loot... naughty list? maybe!

I cannot believe that the little boy in these pictures was the same little baby last year.

Trimming the Tree

2011-12-13T19:50:00.000-06:00

I know, it's taken me long enough to post this... but we have a beautiful Christmas tree. There may only be ornaments on the top half... and possible only on one side, that is, if they are there at all... but I love it!

This is how we roll, pen on the face (and shirt), eating something we shouldn't have, sister running, toys e.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e!!

Also, George has been up to some silliness lately as well! As Abriella would say, "Oh George!"

Oh Christmas Tree

2011-12-07T20:29:00.001-06:00

With all the rain and gloomy weather we've had it's kind of a miracle that we made it out to cut down our Christmas tree. I love going out to chop down our tree from a tree farm. It's such a special tradition to me and I look forward to it every year.

I always have these hopes of finding the absolutely perfect one, and getting pictures of the kids running through the rows of trees hunting along with me for the right one. Well as usual things didn't go quite as I had in my mind. We had one kid running through the rows of trees, but with no mind to where we were... and we almost lost her more than one. The other spent most of the time in my arms or screaming... and that was it. We had planned on going on the weekend but with the chance of rain likely, we jumped in the car and hit the road... right at someone's naptime. It didn't bode well for us! We found the "perfect" tree though, after looking through them all, right back up at the front. And we got a few pictures with it before our hero chopped it down :)

We saw some reindeer.

Fed some goats.

And got dirty... of course.

Then we ventured inside while they got our tree all ready... saw the nativity

had some cocoa and watched the train

got in trouble with all the sparkly ornaments

and made it home

Now decorating... that's a whole other story!

Day 3

2011-12-03T20:18:00.000-06:00

It's only the 3rd day of December and George is already getting silly. Yesterday he was found in a bowl of marshmallows, and today he was found trying on Rapunzel's dress. Abriella doesn't know what to do with him!

We did our first "random" act of Christmas kindness today. Abriella talked about it the whole way home and was so excited to tell her daddy when he woke up. We're looking forward to completing some more!

The tag (and idea) came from here!

December

2011-12-02T19:06:00.001-06:00

I love December! There are so many wonderful things that happen in December. First off, a certain special someone's birthday. Happy Big 30 Honey! I'm so happy you were born :) I love all the red, the sparkle, the excitement of Christmas. I love the activities and spending time cuddled up with the little ones! We kicked our December off with a return visit from George the elf, a book advent and a RACK tree counterdowner. That would be a Random Act of Christmas Kindness.... one per day, more if we're really ambitious. More on that in a bit. First we sat down to open our first Christmas book. 25 neatly wrapped Christmas books, some old, some new... all fun to unwrap and read together. Please don't mind the crazy grain in the pictures... these kids get up way too early (no light).

We started off with our Elf on the Shelf book and a reminder that George is watching. Abriella wrote him about a dozen notes to deliver to Santa and even put some out the kitty door for Santa to pick up himself.

George brought her and Oliver a note from Santa himself.

We ended the morning picking Day 1 off our Counterdowner. Our first mission was to drop off toys at the Toys for Tots location. I thought it might be difficult for Abriella to not keep toys for herself but she was so proud to go drop them off and make sure that other kids have toys for Christmas too.

I've seen a lot of different Acts of Kindness Advent Calendars floating around but wanted to really tailor this to something suitable for a 3 year old. Most of them involve going out and doing something everyday but I knew that that would be setting myself up for failure and would be a lot to ask of Abriella. So we mixed doing things for others and doing things for her family. The first day was others and today was simply setting and clearing the table. We'll also be:
- taking hot chocolate to the bell ringers
- taking cookies to the librarians
- collecting canned goods and dropping them off at the food pantry
- have a happy helper day
- help do a chore
- open the door for someone
- tape quarters to vending/toy machines
- send a soldier a Christmas card
- draw a picture and give it away
- make Christmas cards for an assisted living home
- and my favorite... pick up toys!!
there are so many more things that you can do, for me... the point is to get out and do something. I'm so bad at following through with things but this holds a greater weight for me since I really want my little ones to realize that Christmas is not all about getting and more about giving. I hope they will learn something from this and I can already see that I will! Go bless someone!

Twinkle Twinkle

2011-11-19T12:51:00.001-06:00

The weather is getting colder and the days are getting shorter... so it's about that time that I think that I can figure out "studio" set-ups. It's kind of laughable because there is hardly any room here and the kids are less than cooperative. But at least they can't run completely away from me. We set up some twinkle lights and Abriella gave me a few... but she really hates the camera and Oliver just wanted to climb up and fall off the setup. We did it twice because the first time I didn't have the right kinds of light they are much more muted. I like both kinds... but wish I hadn't gotten the super brights for the second set of photos :)

I wish this one was all the way in focus, because...

This is what it was really like!

2011-11-06T20:44:00.003-06:00

Abriella decided she wanted me to take her picture the other night. Who am I to argue even though the sun was all but set and the temperature was dropping by the minute. I grabbed a crate and took her out in the field. The sun was almost gone so my lighting leaves a lot to be desired but her desire for some picture time with me won out by a long shot! Here's what we got in the ten minutes we had.

swoon!!

She is such a sweet silly girl... and I truly love her :)

Halloween

2011-11-02T20:08:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween and now are enjoying the bounty of candy :) The kiddos had a lot of fun trick-o-treating this year. Well, at least Abriella did... Oliver did not know what was going on but was a trooper. We kept up the tradition of going along with some friends and it's amazing how many little kiddos we had running around! They were all so cute and it was so funny to see how much they had changed from last year... knew just what to do and all we had to do was keep up with them :)Yep, there's my kid already breaking out the candy. She had put a piece from home in her bag the other day and I had told her she had to wait until trick-or-treat to eat it... well she didn't forget and definitely didn't waste any time :)

Love the Woody and Jessie... see that bit of mask in the upper right corner... that's what Abriella is staring at with a look of horror

The obligatory picture together on the chair...

I think it was a success!

The Farm

2011-10-26T08:37:00.000-05:00

When we were up visiting my parents we went out to Amish Country and found a new "farm" to visit. We have been out to Rolling Ridge Ranch a few times but it was closed so we decided to try a new one called "The Farm". It was amazing. You basically load up into a horse drawn wagon and go out into their acres and acres of land where they have all kinds of amazing animals roaming free.... and you get to feed them. I was worried the kids would be scared but they loved it. Almost all the animals were really gentle and even Oliver was able to feed some of them. I'm going to apologize for the insanely extreme amount of pictures I'm about to post... but it was just so much fun :)

This baby water buffalo had just been born that morning!

I didn't get a good picture of it, but there was a baby zebra that had been born the day before too!

And again with the over sharing!! Here comes a bunch of picture of the best part... giraffes!! But really... how often do you get to see giraffes this close up... so close that one slimed my camera lense :)

Not only did they have this amazing wagon ride but they had a mini zoo there too. They had kangaroos, monkeys, an aviary, and even lemurs.

They also had beautiful Amish homes that you could walk through with free cookies! If you ever happen to be out in the middle of nowhere in Amish Country you should really pay these places a visit... you won't be disappointed :)

Family

2011-10-23T19:47:00.000-05:00

I had the pleasure of photographing a wonderful family last night. Wonderful parents to a sweet little boy... he gave me quite a workout, but I think we captured some wonderful images. L family is was so nice meeting up with you and I hope you enjoy your sneak peek!

Baby J

2011-10-20T20:10:00.004-05:00

This baby boy was so sweet and tiny. I was so excited to meet him since the plan was for me to be there for his birth. He complicated things a bit, so here he is at just over 2 weeks old.

Enjoy your perfect little addition D family!

Photo Swap

2011-10-18T21:24:00.002-05:00

I had the opportunity recently to do a photo swap with a friend and fellow photographer. I was super excited because she does awesome work and I hope that she enjoys her pictures. Here are a few of my favorites of her beautiful family...

Together

2011-10-13T08:43:00.000-05:00

They were outside playing... the light was pretty... all I asked for was one picture of them together. This is what I got...

Well, I happen to like their idea better :)

Birthdays

2011-10-11T20:06:00.000-05:00

Two posts in one day... I know, unheard of. I wanted to post this sneak peek before we headed north tomorrow. Here are two sweet little boys (cousins) who are about to be one and a big brother who is about to turn 3 and is in an arranged marriage to my little one, lol. They sure are smitten with each other though. We got everyone together to let our kiddos play and to snap a few pictures of the birthday boys. I hope you enjoy your peek and hopefully I'll have them all to you soon.

At the Park

2011-10-11T07:32:00.001-05:00

It has been so nice here lately that we've been taking advantage of the weather and visiting the park and/or the farm almost every day. It is so fun to watch Oliver at the park now because he can really play... and he is fearless.

Abriella always makes friends with the people who actually remember to bring bread to feed the ducks.

and Oliver was so interested in the ducks...

until they got up in his business.

chasing after this boy is the best workout I could ask for!

Oliver cracks me up how he won't sit back in the swing. He's not much of a swingin' kid though... but this just looks uncomfortable.

Leia

2011-10-05T19:43:00.000-05:00

I had the privilege of photographing the birth of my dear friends second little girl. She was a rockstar and her baby is absolutely precious... and looks just like big sis! I had a lot of comments from friends about what I was going to be shooting and why. People asked "Do you think you're not going to remember it?"... and you don't. It is such a long awaited, highly anticipated day filled with so many mixed emotions that you get lost in it all and don't have a clue what it was really like... at least I didn't. But to look back... or even better, to look back with your children when they are grown... and to say this is the day... the day that we met you...

with that... here is beautiful baby Leia's entrance into the world

The Little Things

2011-10-04T20:24:00.001-05:00

I fell in love with photography because it gave me the opportunity to capture the little things... the things that I know I will forget but I want to always remember... Like...

When Oliver ate the blue marker tip. I want to remember how his favorite game was to find all the crayons and markers that his sister left lying around, snatch them up, look at us to make sure we saw him being naughty... and then high tail it out of there to see if he could get away. How if he was sneaky enough he was able to enjoy a few nibbles of yummy wax... or simply stain his mouth completely blue. I want to remember how Abriella loves go out and jump in puddles... big or little it doesn't matter.

I want to remember that as a 3 year old she always has her own idea of how to do everything (she decided she needed to wear her socks on her hands to keep them dry so she could hold the umbrella) ... though I'm not sure this attitude will changehow she would bend down so far and try with all her might...

to make the biggest splash she possibly could...

I want to remember her love for books and writing. How you could give her a stack of papers and she would be content for... well a long time for a 3 yr. old.

how she makes her E... with as many horizontal lines as she can fit on the vertical one... why do three when you can fit at least five

her concentration when she's "busy"

and her little hands when they are oh so busy making the book for you to read... and then to scatter all over the house.

I want to remember how Oliver throws such a fit when he wants to go outside. How it was pouring down rain and he just couldn't be contained and had to run out and play.

and then smeared sand all over the screen and the door.

These are the moments that fill my memory card, hard drive and photo books and I absolutely love that I have them. They are my favorite memories and I can't wait to make more of them!

The Farm

2011-10-01T20:10:00.003-05:00

We made our first visit out to the farm this fall. I was trying to find something fun for the kiddos and I since Eric was taking his morning nap and we have a hard time keeping quiet in the house. It was a beautiful day so we decided to venture to the farm. We hadn't visited earlier because they didn't have their U-pick apples this year, which was a huge disappointment. We managed to have some fun there though feeding the goat, checking out the biggest pigs ever, going on the first hayride of the season, getting some apple cider, donuts, and playing on the playground... and just plain running all around which is what farms are really good for.

I'm already itching to go back to get our pumpkins... oh, and maybe some warm apple fritters :)

Pretty Pretty Princess

2011-09-26T14:10:00.000-05:00

This is what we look like around the house nowadays.

I found the game Pretty Pretty Princess at the thrift store the other day and it has been a hit like I couldn't even imagine. We have to play it at least once a day and most days I have to cut her off because I am all pretty pretty princessed out! It is hard to say no to her though... she's just too cute. No matter who wins the game... she is the prettiest princess in my book!

The Festival

2011-09-24T20:05:00.002-05:00

I am finally getting around to posting about the fun festival that we went two weeks ago. My computer has been acting funny and running r.e.a.l.l.y s.l.o.w so the last thing that I have wanted to do was sit down and edit pictures for hours. I've done one here and one there and now they are finally done. I have also been trying to clean up the computer too since I think part of the problem is that I am clogging the hard drive with all these pictures. Anyways, I hope to get it all up and running better soon so it's not weeks between posts and also I have hundreds of pictures now to edit... just when I had started to get caught up. This festival is put on every year by a local church and I have wanted to go ever since we moved here. It is usually around 90+ degrees and I've either been pregnant, had a newborn, or just plain not wanted to walk around with thousands of people in 90 degree heat so we have never gone. This year it was a beautiful 60 degree partly sunny day and we went shortly after it started on the first night and it was fun fun. Abriella just loves things and places like that. She had a blast using up her all her tickets for the kids games where you always win and got the best prizes (at least the best to a 3 year old)... rode a few rides... played in some sort of climber/ball pit/slide... and had some awesome funnel cake. We also won a pineapple upside down cake at the cake walk for a quarter! We walked away happy and content. I love nights like that!

Preschool

2011-09-11T20:27:00.001-05:00

I started preschool at home with Abriella (and Oliver) a few weeks ago and I can't even tell you how much she has been enjoying it. I'd like to say it is really engaging and creative, but really we just do circle time and one project a day. She loves it though and always asks at bedtime what we are going to do for preschool the next day. We decided to keep her at home this year because I am able to stay home with them right now and I really want to take advantage of that time we have together. It goes so fast! We started out our preschool with lessons on "All About Me". We learned about our 5 senses and what they are and what they help us do. Touch was by far the best day because we got to play with Goop (just cornstarch, water and food coloring). It was great because it was an activity that Oliver could do too. There was some tasting (as you will see) involved but at least I know what he's eating and it's not going to hurt him! To say this activity was a hit would be an understatement. They played out there for almost an hour. First it was just with the goop, and then after Oliver had dumped most of it out on Abriella, she started to mix it with water and continued to play until she ran out of things to play with!

We'll have to break this activity out again because it was a great activity for all ages, good for touch, color mixing, textures, liquid/solid, and probably more.... it will have to be on one of those days when I'm feeling brave though, because boy was it a mess!!p.s. sorry for the quality of the photos, I'm not sure what the best way to load the pictures in a collage like this is, they keep turning out pixelated... any hints?

The Pictures

2011-09-10T19:54:00.000-05:00

I thought I would share Oliver's first birthday pictures. I had this grand idea of having his pictures with our gumball machine and some birthday balloons, and while we did get a few of those, Oliver was mostly grumpy and non-cooperative. So I decided to try again, and while he was still not very cooperative I at least love the pictures. They are my oh so serious little boy and I do love him. (sorry for the overload :)

and we can't forget the Little Miss

she was so excited to find this bird's nest and collected rocks to be the eggs and a pine cone to be the momma birdie :)

Round 2

Taking pictures of these kiddos is the reason that I don't want to go into business. I know that it is supposed to be the most difficult to get good pictures of your own children because they are programmed not to listen to us... but since they are my only real practice they make me so frustrated!! I'm so glad that I have these but I can't even tell you how much fun it was trying to get them, lol! That's why I think I'll stick to these "formal" pictures once a year!

The Party

2011-09-06T20:09:00.001-05:00

We had a nice, relatively small party for the Little Mister. I love having the kiddos parties here at the house so it seems more like visiting than a party where I have to actually be a hostess. Parties are not really my thing but I do love small get togethers, so this works out well for me. We had a red, white and blue train birthday party for the big boy and he loved it. Especially the balloons. I love how little kids are so easy to please. Give them a balloon, a hanger and a box and they think you gave them the world :) I think Mister Oliver had a good time and really seemed to know that something special was going on for him and that is what is most important.

Abriella could not be left out and received several half birthday presents :) She also helped Oliver quite a bit with his unwrapping!

Eric insisted on Red Velvet cupcakes. They were really good, but what a gross mess, lol!

Happy First Birthday!

2011-09-04T08:03:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that today is Oliver's birthday!! One year has already passed. One year ago I was sitting at home with Abriella trying to decide if I was really in labor or not, since I had been sent home from the hospital the day before. They said I was too early and not having strong enough contractions to be in real labor. They always seem to tell me that. Well we welcomed him into our family at 7:04pm and he just fit. Perfectly. It has been quite a year and really has flown by. I have watched this little boy roll over, reach for things, sit up, push up, crawl, pull up, walk and grow grow grow. My "little" 8 lb. 10 oz. baby has grown into a 28ish? lb. boy!

We had a nice little party for him yesterday and he loved having everyone there for him. He loved his balloons and all of the new train gear he received. His new toys are now starting to balance out the pink. I had his first birthday book ready for people to look at and to write him a little note and wanted to wait to share his first video. I hope you enjoy a quick glimpse at his first year... and yes, this is how fast his year went by!

We can't wait to see what the next year brings and we are so blessed to have this other little miracle in our life. You are such a blessing, little boy, and we are so lucky to be your parents.

Kings Island

2011-08-24T15:07:00.006-05:00

We took the kiddos on an impromptu trip to Kings Island last Friday. They had so much fun at both the water park and Camp Snoopy. It was nice that they did have things that both of them could do (more for Abriella) but Oliver got to go on a few rides as well. I only have a few pictures because I didn't want to deal with my camera at the water park. Abriella was afraid of most of the water slides but did have fun with Oliver at the baby pool with the tiny slide and the fountains. Feeling the water from the fountains was Oliver's favorite part of the day. Abriella said her favorite part was the Peanuts Pirate show but she loved the swings too.

It was a fun fun day and I really hope we can get a pass next year.

A Walking Boy

2011-08-23T15:50:00.002-05:00

Oliver has finally started walking. And I only say finally because he just got so heavy so quickly that my arms have been ready for the break. He actually took his first steps on July 30th but has been getting better and better these last couple weeks. Everytime I tried to capture him on camera he would refuse to do it... I finally managed a few seconds of baby toddles.

And here is the standing man. He's just learned how to stand up on his own without pulling up. He's so big!

Secret Treasures

2011-08-21T19:50:00.005-05:00

I'm sure I'm not the only one with a treasure collector. Everything she finds is a treasure and must be kept forever... I'm going to use that as the excuse as to why the house is never clean :) Abriella is so cute collecting flowers, fuzzy wuzzies, rocks, her mail, her paintings, drawings... the list goes on an on. While she loves collecting and finding treasures she loves presents even more. When I saw this idea I knew I had to let Abriella try it out... it was just the hit I thought it would be.

She was so excited to find the "treasure" inside. I should have added more layers though because she is becoming quite the expert unwrapper. I'll have to make it more of a challenge next time!

Mr. Postman

2011-08-12T20:37:00.003-05:00

Abriella has been very interested in the mail lately. She loves to go out to the mailbox and get the mail as well as show off how big she is by slipping the mail into the slot to mail letters (and bills). She can't wait to see if the mailman has brought anything good for her when her daddy brings it in and she has been talking and talking about mailing letters to her friends. So yesterday we set up a "mailbox" for her to write letters to her friends. I gave her an old set of envelopes I found and let her go to town... I didn't realize quite how into it she would get and she has used almost all of the envelopes in the 50 set pack! Not only is she mailing "letters" she is mailing her friends toys and treasures that she thinks they would like. It got lots of use today as well and I see it being a hit for awhile. The only problem is she keeps trying to steal my stamps to use them for "stickers".

Joys of a Self Feeder

2011-08-07T20:26:00.003-05:00

Oliver has been 100% self fed for awhile now. We only did baby food with him every once in a while and it took him no time at all to realize that he really liked the control he had over eating... and decided he wanted total control... spoon and all! It makes life so much fun...

And just a little bit messy!

Dollhouse

2011-08-06T15:22:00.004-05:00

Abriella found some adorable dollhouses at the thrift store not to long ago. She adores them. They came with several people and quite a bit of furniture. I need to take pictures of the other ones as well because I think they are just too cute. There is the Pet Shop, the Beauty Salon, a house and a school. She has been quite busy playing with them... intently...

Until Oliver comes along...

And then all the fun (and quiet) is over!

Little Miss

2011-08-03T21:01:00.005-05:00

I realized that I haven't taken many photos of the little miss lately. I've taken a lot of pictures but just not real photos... mostly because she doesn't want to and isn't cooperative (and I have Oliver who will just sit there and smile... for at least 30 seconds) :) Oliver was taking a nap and the stars aligned and Abriella gave me 5 minutes... these are my favorites.

Not that I'm biased or anything... but she's stinkin' cute :)

Baptism

2011-07-29T19:51:00.004-05:00

Last weekend we made the trip up to Cleveland for a good friends wedding and then to have Oliver baptized. It was a good but busy weekend and it makes me so happy to have made the outward commitment to raise Oliver in a Christ centered home. He did so well and the Deacon was wonderful; it was a nice private ceremony... and he looked silly but so stinkin' cute :)

Abriella was helping bless the water.

The proud Godparents.

Ice Breakers

2011-07-20T19:51:00.004-05:00

On Sunday I got to go and visit Eric's new place of work. It wasn't quite how I had hoped to go and see him there; since it ended up being a visit to the E.R. But the people he works with were happy to meet the kiddos. I had been having some severe chest pain and left arm pain since Tues. and didn't think I should keep putting it off (since I realized that morning that I didn't think I would be able to get the kids into church by myself)... so it was church or the E.R... to the hospital we went. They did all kinds of tests on my heart and found that it all checked out ok!! which is great. They concluded it was musculoskeletal and I had injured the cartilage or muscles in my chest around my heart and could take up to 6 weeks to heal. The cause... most likely lugging around my 27 lb. 10 month old all.day.long, ha! Well he's worth it I guess, but he needs to start walking soon! Since breathing and having my heart beat hurt I tried to come up with something for the kids to do that would keep them occupied and out of my hands for more than 1 minute. So we took a bunch of little objects, froze them, and then gave them a bunch of "tools" to get them out. I also made a chart for Abriella so that each time she got something out she could go check it off. They loved it and quite possibly should have worn safety goggles because they both really took turns giving the ice a good beating.

They thoroughly enjoyed this and sat out there for quite sometime whacking and rubbing and "cutting" away at the ice to get their little treasures out. We did have to take a break in the middle though because it was taking a bit too long to melt. (If I did this over again I would probably make the ice about half this size) Oliver enjoyed the hammer but was happier chipping away at it with his spatula... he's a weird little kiddo, lol.

I am so happy to say that after a couple of days of Aleve, heating pads and rest I am feeling almost 100% again. Hopefully no more issues and no more emergency visits to the hospital!!

Raspberries cont.

2011-07-14T20:43:00.003-05:00

I almost forgot my two favorite pictures from the day...

I had wanted to take some pictures of them up there when we came for the strawberries but there were too many people around. I was glad that that area was deserted between the red and black raspberries so we stopped for a quick pic. I love getting pictures of the kiddos together! They never come out perfect but it is always them :)

One Berry, Two Berry...

2011-07-13T14:50:00.006-05:00

pick me a blueberry. We have been wanting to go blueberry picking ever since we went strawberry picking and had been waiting patiently for them to ripen. We called twice and they kept telling us maybe the next week... well Eric started his training and was too busy to go so before we knew it we called and they said they were all done! I was so disappointed but we just decided to go pick raspberries instead (we got lucky because we went on the last day of the summer season for picking). We went back to the farm where we picked strawberries, early in the morning, and came home with 5 lbs. of red and black raspberries. Yum!

Oliver was a grump at the red raspberries. I didn't really get to pick them because I had to take him back to the car and feed him. He was a happier camper after that.

Abriella's didn't care much about the berries (as usual)... she has just been a bouquet picking machine :) She would pick every single "flower" on the entire farm if we let her.

See... much happier camper.

Yum.

Oliver is already taking after his sister... the refusal for pictures has begun :( Time to go home.

Not sure if anyone knew it or not but the title of the post was from the book "Jamberry" if you haven't read it to a little one you really should. It's one of Abriella and my favorite books to read and couldn't be more fitting.

Snap Painting

2011-07-09T19:55:00.004-05:00

I saw an idea for mini snap painting the other day and thought I would let Abriella give it a try. She has been asking for craft projects nearly every day but sometimes it's hard to manage much more than watercolors and white paper so I've been trying to come up with some quick, easy and relatively mess free projects. This one got a thumbs up!
All you do is put some rubber bands around a box (our's was not mini snap painting because this was already our painting box :) Paint the rubber bands.
Give them a little *snap*

And watch it splatter
It was mostly mess free... although she did manage to get splatters and smears of paint on her face. This kid can get messy with a sheet of paper!

It was also a fun project because each snap made music... so after she was done painting the box became a guitar :)

Books and Braids

2011-07-03T20:44:00.003-05:00

Abriella has been having so much fun with her books on cd.

We started getting them for her because we decided to take a tv break. She had been watching what I would call too much tv and it got to the point that it was all she would ask for... tv, movies, computer games! And when the answer was no... oh the tears...uggh! Plus it's summer, she should be playing. So we decided to see how a tv break went... and the answer is amazingly well. There were no tantrums, no tears, and no more whining!! Ahhh. In exchange I tried to find something that would keep her busy that was more educational and still "electronic" since she is a plugged in kid, but would hopefully not cause fits. She loves it and will listen to book after book. We still have fun reading, but now if I have to go put Oliver down for a nap or clean up the kitchen she is so happy to pick a book and sit down to follow along with her cd. I hope we can find more good ones to check out of the library.

Also, I'm so excited that I can finally find out what it's like to have a little girl who will let me fix her hair! I know it may seem silly, but I was so happy that she sat down and let me french braid her hair. Now it is her new favorite thing and she gets to pretend she is "Tangled" :) She's so cute.

I'm not sure what we will be doing tomorrow for the 4th but I wish everyone a safe and happy holiday!

Blueberry Pancakes

2011-07-01T15:47:00.004-05:00

We are a blueberry pancake lovin' family... although I don't think anyone could love them as much as this guy here...

and yes, his hands were stained blue the rest of the day!

Bubble Bath

2011-06-30T09:00:00.003-05:00

Lately Abriella's favorite activity has been playing with shaving cream. It's a great sensory activity and she has been having fun with it ever since she stopped putting everything in her mouth, probably around a year (Oliver is not ready for this). I usually let her come up with her own ideas of what she wants to do with it and this time she decided to let Princess Aurora take a bubble bath.

I thought it was too funny and had to snap some pics. This activity is also good for practicing writing letters, drawing shapes and so much more. She comes up with new things to do every time but it is always finished up by her second favorite activity... playing with water in the sink. She gave Aurora a bath and scrub and got her all cleaned up (along with herself ;)

At the Car Wash

2011-06-28T20:24:00.005-05:00

Since we hadn't washed our cars in well... years probably we decided it would be a fun family activity while Eric was "unemployed" :) Abriella had such a fun time washing the car and her wagon... which was covered in strawberries.

Then Abriella got a hold of the hose...

What is it with 3 year olds and going from ecstatic to meltdown in 0.06 seconds?

And in case you were wondering what Oliver was doing...

We did let him out for a bit... you know... so he could eat some more grass :)

It's so hard to get a good picture of him now that he's on the move!

My First Quilt

2011-06-24T14:26:00.002-05:00

Since Eric has been done with school it has been nice to have a few minutes of sewing time here and there without too much pestering from the kiddos. I managed to make my first quilt and now have been bitten by the bug with the desire to sew more and more :) I am so happy with how this first one came out. It is just the right size for Abriella (although I wish I had made a throw size one so that I could use it too). The pattern is Strawberry Fields by Moda and I adore each and every print. I used this tutorial and was so impressed with how easy it was to follow. Here are a few pics with my lovely helper and model...

that's the best full shot you are going to get with a 3 yr. old helper

I think she's happy, and that always makes me happy! Have a Happy Friday!

Little Miss Muffet

2011-06-21T20:09:00.010-05:00

On the day we went strawberry picking, the weather was just too nice to be inside so the kiddos and I packed up a picnic dinner and headed to the park.

Abriella panicked because she heard a bullfrog. I thought she would think it was funny, but she was undone.

Oliver would not sit still for even a second... he kept crawling over to steal Abriella's food even though he had the same stuff right in front of him.

Once he finished his dinner he decided to move on to grass for dessert.

And then he tackled his sister and that was the end of dinner.

Sound like it was a good plan so far?

So, since things were going so well, I thought that before we went back over to the playground I could take some pictures (Abriella was picking flowers and is usually somewhat cooperative when partially occupied ;) and I asked her to lay down....

here....

and she almost did... until I saw him freaked out, snatched the blanket, shook it out like a wild woman... and off we ran. He may not look all that big here... but he was. I promise!

We moved on to another area... much prettier lighting wise, with flowers for Abriella and no spiders for me :)

for me?!?

what a stink!

boy oh boy does he want to get out there and run around with his sister

And then Abriella decided that it was her turn to make up the poses.

Gosh I love that kid :) Despite the trauma of dinner it was a beautiful evening and Abriella brought home many "flowers" and had a good time at the playground. I guess we'll call it a success.

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-19T08:00:00.000-05:00

Wishing a Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there! With an extra special one to my dad, my father-in-law... and this guy here...

What a truly amazing dad he is :) We love you and are so happy you put up with all of us!

Siblings - Friends

2011-06-18T14:49:00.005-05:00

These two love each other! Oliver idolizes his big sister and his big sister loves playing mommy to her little brother. She is always there to help him and she tries to keep him out of trouble. Oliver's new favorite thing is to harass his sister :) He loves to get into all of her things and do whatever she is doing. It is too fun to watch but has been causing some tears. Despite the fact that they are starting to drive each other crazy they do get along so well and you can just tell that they are friends. I pray with all my heart that it stays that way.

Like I said though, it's not all hugs and kisses... as soon as Abriella was done with the love she literally kicked her brother out of her way *sigh*

One thing will never change though... how much I love them both!

disclaimer: in no way where these kids dressed for pictures, lol... they clash a bit but we were out having fun playing baseball and then they sat still for me and that is all that matters :)

Berry Picking

2011-06-16T09:17:00.006-05:00

We had the most beautiful day to go strawberry picking. We set out early to beat the heat and it was a perfectly sunny and cool Tuesday morning and just right for berry picking. We had to take a little bit of a trip north to find a field this year, since the place we usually go to didn't have a successful crop this year. The trip was definitely worthwhile and we will be going back in the next week or two to get raspberries and then blackberries. What a wonderful farm with an adorable house, beautifully kept berry fields and sweet deliciously red strawberries.

Oliver kept watch of everything.
This is all this kid did... run up and down the field... oh and eat all the strawberries she picked... and stained her cute shirt :(

Found one (guess what she did with it)
Oliver even attempted to get in on the picking too... although he just picked the leaves and tried to eat them.

Found one!
"Abriella, what are you doing?"
"Eatin' another strawberry." *grin*
Yum!

I can't really blame her though. I can't think of many things better than berries fresh from the field. We managed to bring home just over 7 lbs. of strawberries and have made two batches of fruit leather, 2 pints of freezer jam, froze some and have eaten them until are fingers turned red :)

Abriella and Prince Charming

2011-06-14T13:40:00.003-05:00

Well, she wouldn't find out if he was Prince Charming or not because she declared that she would never kiss a frog :) She was really proud of herself for holding the teeny tiny itty bitty frog since she is so scared of bugs and other critters. We found quite a few of these little guys hopping around her pool out in the backyard. They were so cute and tiny and just the perfect size for her little hands to hold!

It's too bad I didn't catch his jump in focus... but how funny is he ;)

Train Ride

2011-06-11T07:01:00.003-05:00

Two Saturdays ago I took the kiddos up to visit my parents and take a ride on Thomas the Train. Both of the kids love trains and they had such a good time seeing Thomas and participating in the activities that they had there. Despite all the rain that we had had it turned out to be a really nice day and made for a good ride!

As you can see, Abriella is still in her anti-photo taking phase *sigh*

Bye Bye Thomas!

Mr. Big Stuff

2011-06-02T20:50:00.002-05:00

All it took was that first push forward on his hands and knees and now he thinks he's Mr. Big Stuff. He went straight to hyperspeed crawling, to pulling up... and now he's thinking about cruising!! I'm not ready for it all....

but on the flip side he's sleeping a whole lot better :)

Memorial Day

2011-05-31T10:06:00.003-05:00

I hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day. We had a beautiful one here. It was hot, but the perfect day to relax and remember those who have served and are serving our country, especially those who paid the ultimate sacrifice... for us! We didn't do much, just enjoyed the time together and watched the kiddos splash around in the pool. We had a super yummy dinner that Eric grilled for us and everyone enjoyed it... especially Oliver :)

I cannot believe what a good eater he is and how my not even 9 month old is almost exclusive self fed... but boy what a mess he makes :) So nice to eat outside!!

Splish Splashin'

2011-05-22T19:45:00.005-05:00

We've had some hot hot weather here the last two days so we decided to break out the new pool. Last years pool sprung a leak sometime over the winter... and now this year we needed a pool for two :) so after pursuing Amazon for awhile I settled on this and it looks like I might have bought the last one with my Swagbucks (shameless plug). It is huge and takes up our entire backyard... but so far it seems like it was a wonderful purchase. Abriella loves the slide and enjoys the ring toss and the water filled starfish. Oliver loves the balls!! He sat there for over 30 min. just playing with the balls! I can see lots of fun be had out here in the pool this summer... I really hope it holds up.

She managed to tip the slide over her second time down... it's tied down now!

He is such a little stink :)

Getting watered by his sister... trust me, he needs no help growing

Is he not just a miniature version of his daddy!!

Bye Bye Butterflies

2011-05-17T19:27:00.003-05:00

We said goodbye to our butterflies the other day...

She was so proud of herself for holding the butterfly... she has an irrational fear of anything tiny that moves (I wonder where she got this from)

Bye Bye Butterfly!

And now I'm sitting here wrapped in my pink snuggi feeling like a bad butterfly keeper for letting them go in such horrible weather... when we let them go it was almost 80 and now it's in the lower 50's any rainy... I hope they are making it out there :(

Finally Some Sun

2011-05-14T20:23:00.006-05:00

I was so glad to see the sun peeking through the clouds for a few minutes the last few days. Although I wasn't too happy with the 80+ degree weather. Today of course it was 65 but rainy, uggh! Is it too much to ask for a few nice spring days? Anyways, we were out front playing before bedtime and the sun was so pretty I just had to run in and grab the camera. There are so many things wrong with these pictures... most of all I wish Oliver had pants on, ha... but I just adore how much these two love each other.

The Dentist

2011-05-13T13:36:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was Abriella's first visit to the dentist. She did wonderful. I've heard so many stories of kids kicking and screaming and just plain being terrified at the dentist but she didn't even bat an eye. She choose her daddy to take her so I didn't get to see it first hand, but of course... you know me... I had to send him in with the camera.

The dentist said that her teeth are perfect... she told me he said they sparkled :) I was really glad to hear that and sure hope that we can keep them that way!!

In other news... all of our butterflies have made it out of their cocoon.

I have to say, I'm really kind of surprised but very relieved. Out of the five of them I didn't get to see a single one come out. I thought that part would be neat to watch but we never were able to catch one. They must come out a lot faster than you think. Hopefully the weather will be nice in the next 2 days so we can let them go outside.

Big News

2011-05-08T15:01:00.006-05:00

First off I want to send out a Happy Mother's Day! I am so thankful for my Mom and for my kiddos who are making my day such a good one!

The first big news is that Eric finally graduated.

I think we are just as surprised as he is :) It still seems surreal and he still has to get a job... but it is so exciting that he is done! We are so proud of him and know that all his hard work has been worth it. I wish I had gotten some better pictures of his graduation, but I had a bouncing baby boy on my lap and couldn't get a steady shot the whole night, lol... It will be so nice to have him home so much more (I think)

In other big news...

Someone is so close to being on the move. He can get himself around by getting up and then lunging forward on his belly. It's not really crawling but he's starting to get into trouble...
Yep, that's what I think about it too!

Surgery

2011-05-06T12:10:00.004-05:00

Oliver's surgery went really well. It was so quick and he woke up (that is the scariest part) even before they got him back to the recovery room. He was so happy to see mom and I was so happy to see him. He already is doing so much better sleeping. We still have a ways to go but... he actually put himself down for nap today!!!!

He's back to his happy self!

(This picture was taken quite a few days ago... you know... one of those minutes it was sunny. I'm so ready for nice warm sunny weather.)

Also, all of our caterpillars formed crysalids. I'm not sure all of them are going to make it though since one of them decided to make his crysalid lying down not hanging upside down. We should see soon enough.

Guests

2011-05-03T07:12:00.004-05:00

Meet our new guests.

There is Ernie, Bert, Belle, Minnie and Six.

They will be staying with us the next week or so. Abriella was so excited for them to come and can't wait to see them become Beautiful Butterflies!

The actually came to us a few days ago but I still am not getting any time to edit pictures. Oliver is scheduled to have ear surgery tomorrow to put bilateral tubes in because the poor boy just can't get over his ear infections. With Abriella up all day and Oliver waking up 30 min. after he's laid down at night means I can't get anything done! I really really hope the tubes help him sleep better otherwise I don't know what I'm going to do. I really don't want to let him cry it out but he has developed some really bad habits since he's been sick. I need to find some gentler ways to get him to stay in bed... any suggestions?

With that said, I hope to have some pictures of the crysilids soon (before they are actual butterflies)... they are already starting to make them! And if you could say a quick prayer that the surgery goes quickly and easily, that would be very much appreciated!

If You're Happy and You Know It

2011-04-13T11:53:00.003-05:00

Clap Your Hands

He thinks he's pretty big stuff :)

6 Months

2011-04-10T18:34:00.002-05:00

It's amazing what a difference six months can make...

What do you think my chances are of a repeat at one year?

Mr. Oliver

2011-04-07T19:12:00.004-05:00

Oliver is at that fun age right now where he can sit really well but still can't really get away from me... he makes a good model. The Little Miss wants to get in on the photo action but still can't seem to sit still or actually follow my directions. Despite that, I love this picture...

He's been taking some pretty good naps lately (probably because he doesn't sleep at night) and he's been waking up so happy I've been taking advantage and setting him up for some pictures :)

This is what I like to affectionately refer to as "the Cabbage Patch face"... Abriella made this face all the time too... and I love it :)

And my absolute favorite... it's just about impossible to get him to look at the camera and smile... he's king of the serious face! This one needs to get put up somewhere - big ;)

Birthday Party

2011-04-05T14:56:00.003-05:00

I've been asked by a few people where the 3rd birthday pictures are. It's sad to say that I just opened them today and realized that I hardly took any at all. We worked so hard on favors for her friends and I made pennant banners to hang in the room and I didn't take pictures of any of it. I was recovering from a sinus infection (uggh... never had one before and hope to never ever ever have one again) and guess I should be glad I picked up the camera at all... but still I wish I had those memories in pictures! Anyways I thought I'd post the few that I do have and hopefully I'll be more frequent in posting now that I'm fully recovered and Oliver seems to be on the mend too. He's just finished his meds for his 2nd ear infection and those two bottom teeth are trying so hard to poke through. I've been spending most of my time keeping Abriella busy with Oliver in my arms... poor boy (and poor Mommy... he's heavy ;)

MIA

2011-03-21T13:13:00.005-05:00

I know I've been pretty much MIA at the moment. We all been passing around sicknesses so the only free time I get is after 8:00pm... and by that point I'm ready for bed myself. We've still been busy... and I've still been taking lots of pictures... I just haven't put them on the computer or edited them. I'm so far behind I'm not sure how I'll catch up... maybe after Eric finishes school and is home a bit more! I do have a few to share of Abriella's 3rd birthday pictures and Oliver's 6 month pictures... but that's about it for now... hopefully we'll all be better (and I'll have napping kiddos) soon!!

And my 6 month, 21 lb. chunky monkey!

Happy 3rd Birthday!

2011-03-04T10:31:00.003-06:00

I cannot believe that 3 years has already passed since our sweet little girl came into our lives. Abriella, you are such a wonderful little girl! You are so smart and funny and quite a little spitfire. You have such an attitude... usually a good one, but when it's bad it's really really bad. You love to have fun and play with your brother. You can count to 13, know all your ABC's, can spell your name, can add and subtract, can sing dozens of songs, can make demands, can listen to directions (when you want to), you love fruits, like veggies, love your blankie... and your Mommy and Daddy (Daddy a little bit more right now), could eat pizza or macaroni and cheese everyday, love to correct people when they mess up reading stories (even the ladies at storytime), you love princesses, Thomas the Train, and everything Toy Story, you can get yourself dressed with very little help, you can now just reach the lights, you hate to see people sad, you have tiny feet, brown eyes, and a big heart! We love you bunches and bunches... and bunches.

And I can't forget to mention Oliver... Happy 6 Month Birthday Little Man! You are such a sweet little boy. You hate to sleep, love your Mommy and Daddy (but Mommy the most), you can roll over, love to eat your toes, speak Alien, eat like nobodies business, sit up, love trains and anything that goes, you have brown eyes, a big chubby belly and adore your sister! We are so happy to have you in our lives and can't wait to see the bigger little man you are growing to be!

Valentines

2011-02-22T14:15:00.004-06:00

I know that Valentine's Day is way over.. but I wasn't really feeling in the Valentine mood at that time and really didn't feel like posting. So I thought I'd write about it now :) Abriella's new favorite things to play with are beads (and marbles... basically anything small and round). She loves to string them to make necklaces, stick her hand into the container and let them run through her fingers... oh and dump them all out. We had to put them away! But before we did we made some Valentine hearts to hang around the house. She loved them and sat there for a good 20 minutes putting the beads onto the pipe cleaner. I'd call that a good project!

She was so proud of her heart... can you tell which one is hers?

Oliver just loves to hang out and watch what's going on!

I'm itching to get outside and take pictures. Well really to just get outside. We had a few teaser days but couldn't get out because Oliver has had a terrible cold. Now we all have terrible colds, but it's freezing again and a good time to lay around and snuggle :) Come on spring we're ready for ya!

And Then There Was One

2011-02-18T13:41:00.004-06:00

I really don't want to write this. I still don't think I believe it's true. We had to say goodbye to Monica last Friday. It was the hardest decision I've ever had to make and one that I really don't ever wish to repeat. We took her to the dr. because she had been getting sick every once in a while and we were not prepared for how quickly she would deteriorate after that visit. It turned out that she had liver cancer and there really wasn't much we could do for her. I am so sad. She was such a wonderful kitty and I still remember the day that she just decided she was going to come live with us. Well, she was wonderful but rotten. I already miss the way she would chew up everything (my shoes, electrical cords, the $200 monitor antenna), the way she would mooch for food at every meal, the way she was always under your feet when you were in the kitchen, the way she brought home live bunnies, snakes, chipmunks, birds, moles, mice... (ok I don't really miss that part, but it won't be the same without her), the way she always begged to be petted and would then bite you. She was definitely a personality and I can't believe that she is gone. She did live a good long life but we didn't get enough time with her. We love you so much Monica and you are already so missed!

Lately

2011-02-10T14:32:00.005-06:00

A lot has been going on lately... some good, some bad. I'll share the good :)

Oliver started eating... I was trying really hard to hold him off until closer to 6 months but this kid was trying to lunge off my lap to get to the food on the table. He could not be happier that he gets to gnaw on carrots, pears, bananas and cucumber. We decided to skip the pureed mess and give him large pieces of things to gum. He is doing wonderfully and already starting to learn to "chew and swallow".

Abriella's been silly lately. She thought she was so funny taking one of her socks off at naptime.

And she's been getting into lots of trouble while I've been busy feeding Oliver...
those are tissues in my water... I should have taken a picture of my basket of yarn that's behind the couch... that's where she likes to hide while I'm preoccupied!

Oliver has been getting so big. He's sitting really well and starting to scoot backwards on his belly. I am so not ready for him to start moving!

He is such a handsome little man :)

Look Who's...

2011-02-01T19:36:00.002-06:00

Sitting!

So that means that moving is next... uh oh!

Also, I was trying to capture the little man's favorite game... airplane. I obviously was having a hard time flying him with my legs and taking a picture so this is the best that I got. I still think it's kind of cute :)

Sweet Baby C

2011-01-30T13:24:00.005-06:00

Yesterday I had the privilege of photographing my cousin's baby boy. He was such a cute tiny little thing and simply the perfect model. I had the two kiddos with me and mister Oliver wasn't a huge fan of me focusing all my attention on another baby boy. He is my momma's boy for sure :)

Here is a quick sneak peek of baby Caleb...

It was so good catching up with you H family. I hope you enjoy these and I can't wait to show you the rest!

Marbles

2011-01-28T20:27:00.004-06:00

I had been looking everywhere for marbles. I wanted them for Abriella to play with and for an art project I had in mind. It took me months to finally find a bag of marbles at Toys R' Us in the dollar section. Not where I would have expected to find them but I am glad that I did. Abriella got them for Christmas and we finally got to use them for our project the other day. I'm so glad that she loved it as much as I thought she would. I think it is going on our list of favorite projects!!

First you have to put all the marbles in the paint...

Then you have to get them out... and put them in the box on the paper

and shake it all around (her favorite part)

It's a bit messy...

some more shaking...

the second after this picture was snapped all the marbles rolled out onto the floor (the only time though)

then since she wasn't messy enough she decided to start fingerpainting...

time to clean up...

She loved it so much that she made 3 paintings. Cleaning up was even fun. We filled up the bathroom sink and she cleaned her marbles (and her hands, and her princesses, and ...) and poured water from measuring cup to measuring cup to her hearts content. In fact the sink full of water has been requested several times already since then! A great activity for a cold snowy day!

Choo Choo

2011-01-21T19:39:00.003-06:00

For Christmas Abriella received a Thomas the Train set from her Great Grandparents. She loves it... but I think Oliver loves it more. He could watch that train go around and around for hours. I thought it was just the motion of it that drew him in but he loves to play with just the train too. I love watching him in his train trance :)

I think I'm interrupting.

He has to be storing nuts in those cheeks for the winter.

4 Months

2011-01-17T15:58:00.005-06:00

I can't believe it's already been 4 months (well almost 4 and a half months now, but who's counting) since baby Oliver came into our lives. He is getting such a personality now and is too cute. Most of the time he is Mister Serious but when he does crack a smile or give a belly laugh it can make a bad day instantly happy! He is doing so well with this tummy time and loves to watch the world go by. He just really discovered his toes last night (at 2am mind you) and can't get enough of them. He loves to chew on anything and we think there might be some teeth popping through any day. He is adored by his big sister and you can just tell that he adores her. We did his "official" shoot yesterday and I know I always say this but these are my new favorite pictures ever! :) But really how could you not say that with a model this cute!!

Here his sister was trying to help... help with what I do not know.

And my absolute favorite...

Sorry there are so many of the same type of shot. I just couldn't narrow them down. I am going to put one in a frame in the living room and I have no idea how to choose. Any opinions!!

The Little Things

2011-01-16T13:39:00.010-06:00

Lately a lot of people have been asking me how I enjoy not working and being home full time with the kiddos. Usually I say that I love it most of the time... which is very true. There are the days when no one will sleep, or let me sit down, or eat, or send an email. There are days when the whining and crying seem like they will never end. But most days are filled with hugs, and kisses and imagination... and love. It's these little things that I love the most and make it all so worthwhile...

It's watching the Little Mister learn how to use his hands and squeal with pride for himself...

It's making a felt snowman family... (and then finding the pieces all.over.the.house)

It's a hug...

It's rounding up the entire (tiny) roundup gang before every nap and bedtime...

It's staying in our pj's as long as we want and eating "snow cream" for breakfast...

It's making (and eating) marshmallow sculptures and drinking hot chocolate when it's too cold to go outside...

It's the joy of building a snowman...

It's some tears...

But mostly love!

Ice Skating

2011-01-06T14:05:00.008-06:00

I'm not sure if you caught the pictures or not in the video, but Eric took Abriella ice skating New Year's Eve. We had been talking about it for a while and she was so excited to go. It was the perfect evening (it actually sprinkled a bit but was 50+ degrees) which was wonderful because then Oliver and I got to tag along too. Here they turn the waterpark into an ice skating rink with toboggan slide, petting zoo, pony ride and train display. Abriella loved it all!!

The train display mesmerized both Oliver and Abriella.

I wasn't quite sure about sending my firstborn careening down the huge toboggan slide... and I don't think she was quite sure about it either! But after the initial shock she declared that she loved it :)

I also made a little video of them skating. She thinks her daddy is a superhero, I couldn't love them more... oh and please don't mind my wonderful videography skills (I really need to get the focus down). Enjoy!

Happy New Year

2011-01-01T22:11:00.002-06:00

So I've severely been neglecting my blog. The holiday was so busy. I haven't stopped taking pictures... I've just stopped editing them. I think I have about 500 or so that need edited now, so I better get back on the ball.

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! It was the first year that we spent Christmas day at our house and it was a wonderful relaxed day. I hope to have some catch up pictures soon, but for now I thought I'd share our 2010 in pictures :) Here's to another year full of blessings!

Projects

2010-12-17T20:33:00.004-06:00

We've been really busy lately. I've been trying hard to get some handmade presents finished, wrapped and under the tree as well as wrap all the other presents. I've fallen behind with editing pictures, doing laundry, cleaning the kitchen and just about everything else. I really need to get these presents wrapped so I can get back on the ball. While Oliver has been napping, Abriella and I have been taking advantage of the time and keeping ourselves busy with art projects. She loves anything little, that she can glue, decorate and/or paint. So we decided to make salt dough ornaments and she loved the whole process so much. We made the ornaments the night before and let them cool so we could decorate them in the morning. The recipe was super easy and they turned out really well for having a 2 (and three quarters) year old doing the measuring. Her favorite part of making them was using the cookie cutters to make the shapes.

But really, the most fun part was decorating them.

We broke out the glitter glue and it was a huge hit.

I love her concentration on things and I really hope that that continues and rubs off into other areas of her life.

Legos

2010-12-08T19:13:00.007-06:00

The next best toy to puzzles lately have been the legos. When up at my parents for Thanksgiving Abriella and I broke into the giant tubs of legos in their basement and brought home a few to try out and see how she liked them (and also to see how much we hated picking them up from random places all around the house). Well she loves them, and honestly so do I. They were my favorite toy as a kid and some things just don't really change. We were having some fun making a house for the scads of lego people that Abriella had picked out, when she lined them all up and started giving them names.

Is everyone accounted for?

Oh no, not Grandpa... lets take a minute and focus on him...

First of all, I wonder why this lego guy was even made... and then I wonder why she picked him to be Grandpa... I'll let you decide :)

Oh. and I'm missing too. That's because I'm in the front...
taking pictures of everyone :)

And here's one more... this guy is in jail.

He's a stranger... do you think we gave her the wrong idea with the stranger talk?
And that's how she sees it...

And here's Oliver...

just hanging out waiting for the day he can really play

Christmas Cards

2010-12-07T20:09:00.005-06:00

I hadn't planned on doing Christmas cards this year but after hearing about Shutterfly's Holiday Card promotion I may rethink that idea. How cool are 50 free card! Hurry, offer ends December 10th.

I am really liking these

I love simple cards and always like using lots of pictures. Even better that they are on cardstock. If I'm going to do any sort of cards though I really need to get working on the pictures. My plan was to have them done in the fall with the beautiful fall colors. Well it's a bit too late for that. Maybe this time I'll start with the card and plan my pictures around it. We'll see... better get a move on it if I want them to go out before Christmas!! I don't normally order these kinds of things from Shutterfly but have been really really impressed with their photo books. I have gotten quite a few from many different places and Shutterfly is by far the best. I can't wait to see what these look like and think that I'll be pleasantly impressed :) We'll see how it goes with the tripod and two little kiddos this year. Wish me luck!

I also love the look of these desk calendars

I think they would be fun to display a few pictures from each month of the previous year. How neat to have that reminder of what the kiddos looked like last year at the same time. They could be really nice gifts as well.

Oh my gosh... and notepads... you can never have too many notepads.

What a fun gift for teachers... or neighbors... or just for yourself.

If you haven't ordered your cards yet I suggest you take a look at Shutterfly and possible look into the 50 free card promotion. You won't be disappointed :)

oh and yes. I will receive compensation for this! ;)

Puzzles

2010-12-06T20:23:00.005-06:00

Abriella is just like me. At least in the fact that she loves puzzles (I guess Eric likes them too). It makes me so happy to see her work on one. She just took off when them. These are 24 piece puzzles and it took her a bit to work through the four puzzles that came in this set and now she can do them in a matter of minutes. I love watching her mind work while she complete them. It's these kinds of things that I want to remember :)

I want to remember her little fingers and the way she always sits with her legs folded back.

Oliver loves napping in his swings (it's second to my arms :) I love being able to watch him snooze away while Abriella and I have some time together.

I love how tiny little fingers can be so precise.

Visit With Santa

2010-12-05T13:45:00.004-06:00

This was the first year that we haven't had Santa to visit at Abriella's school. I have to say that I never expected the mall Santa to be so expensive. We're going to have to find an alternative next year. I wanted to take my own pictures so I had to pay for something they were selling. I got the cd hoping that I could do something with their pictures (I could not... they were terrible) and shot away while one child pouted, and the other squirmed in my arms. Santa was not very comfortable holding Oliver at all. So all in all my pictures turned out terrible and theirs were a waste of money. It's all about the memories though right?

Oh, and Santa had a very scary smile... hopefully next year will be better. Abriella was still super happy to have seen him, although she thought she was going to walk away from meeting Santa with a Jessie doll!

Family Photos

2010-12-03T08:15:00.000-06:00

Nope, not our family. Still haven't gotten around to those!! But I had the privileged of taking some family photos for our second family. They are all such good friends of ours and we love getting together with them (and have shared quite a few holidays with them as well :) We had the perfect day to do them as well. Who would have thought that the Sunday before Thanksgiving would have been 65 and sunny! It was a bit of chaos with 6 kids 4 and under but I hope they like the pictures that we were able to get. Here are just a few of them.

Sorry it has taken me so long to post these. Apparently I never published it the first time! I hope you enjoy them!!

Happy Birthday

2010-12-02T22:04:00.006-06:00

The first present under the tree...
Except it's for Eric's birthday. He always complains that I wrap his presents in Christmas wrapping paper so I opted for grocery bags :) I hope he had a good day and enjoys his presents.... even though Abrie told him yesterday that we got him Toodles for his birthday.

This cake looks infinitely better than the one I made him last year. By request, Strawberry cake... Abriella's request was for the sprinkles.

George the Elf went back to talk to Santa and found a new place in the house. Abriella was amazed and kept asking what he was doing up there :)

And a few more from our Christmas tree adventure.

After finding the perfect tree we went inside and got some free hot chocolate...

Watched the train for awhile...

Saw the reindeer...

And sat in Santa's sleigh.

Then we went home and decorated the tree... Oliver helped untangle the beads Abriella tangled up last year.

Abriella put the finishing touch of the star on top.

I'd say that's our tree for this year... but someone keeps changing it throughout the day :)

George the Elf

2010-12-01T18:29:00.005-06:00

George the Elf came to visit us last night. He perched himself on a picture frame for Abriella to find this morning. She gave him the name George after Curious George and he will be going back to the North Pole tonight to tell Santa how the kiddos have been behaving. Tomorrow he'll be back and in a new spot... I'll try to keep you updated on his whereabouts :)

We also braved the cold and went out to get our Christmas tree. It was so cold but I loved the fact that it was snowing while we were out there. It really makes it feel like Christmas. Here are a few pics and hopefully tomorrow I'll have some more! I hope everyone is enjoying the start of the Christmas season :)

Eating snow of course... she kept scooping it off the cut stumps of the trees... I don't really want to think about what she ingested while out there!

He was so bundled up he just drifted off to sleep.

This is the one...

Waiting for the truck to carry it back for us. (They pretty much do everything for you at this tree farm... it is sooo nice!)

Cuties

2010-11-30T21:08:00.004-06:00

I don't have any real reason to post today. Well, I'm sure I do... I keep taking pictures with an idea for a post and then they just sit on the computer and never get edited... let alone uploaded to the blog. I'm working on it. Anyways, I don't have a real reason to post except to show off these cuties. Oliver is almost 3 months old and is such a wonderful boy. He's really starting to show personality and I love it. He's so ready for a bedtime but I just can't seem to want to put him down at night. After the business of the day I just want to sit and hold him while he sleeps. He's growing too fast...in more ways than one :)

I wanted to try to get a picture similar to his newborn shots. He was sleeping so soundly and woke up as soon as I got him in position. I was so lucky he stayed still for a second. Look at that chubby bub :)

One of the other perks of having a new little one in the house is that when I set up to take pictures of him, the Little Miss doesn't want to be left out (this is much different from the child who would run the opposite direction when I got my camera out before he was born) although she tries to cooperate... this is what I usually get.

although I do love this one :)

On another note, I am so excited to go get our Christmas tree tomorrow... except that it's only supposed to be 36 degrees!! We better find the right one quick!

Oliver

2010-11-28T21:08:00.003-06:00

His favorite place to be right now is up at the table with everyone. I had to snap a few pictures because he was just too cute up there thinking he was such a big boy :)

and just one more because he's too cute :)

I hope everyone had a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving. I have a lot to be thankful for!!

The Firehouse

2010-11-17T10:07:00.004-06:00

Abriella is fascinated with all things rescue lately. We were both so excited to see that our church was going to have a family play date at the fire station headquarters. You can't tell her anything in advance though because then she is all ready to go there "now!" even if it is 8:00 at night. So needless to say she was so ready to go there in the morning and couldn't contain her excitement when we got there (read: was running around like crazy!)!!

She was all ready to start the truck and go to a rescue.

After our tour, which was really just the kids running around... we had a snack with the firemen. How cute are these cookies.

I think all the kids had a lot of fun, even if all they wanted to do was play on the big fire trucks :) I'm so happy that I get to be at home and am able to do these kids of things with the kiddos.

Fall & the Park

2010-11-11T14:22:00.006-06:00

I love love fall. It is by far my favorite season. I'm sure I've said it before, and I'm sure I'll say it again.. but it is very true. So far it has been a wonderful fall. I mean who can complain about the beautiful leaves, the smell in the air... and the 70 degree sunny days. I can't believe it's November and we've had picnics everyday this week and have visited the playground 3 times with nothing more than a light jacket (not even needed today) and a hat. Add the beautiful setting sun into the mix and you get some pretty amazing pics... although please excuse the mess of a Little Miss... she's all about dressing herself these days.

I didn't realize her "shoes" until I took this picture... I did make sure we fixed them... I was wondering why she kept falling down!

I have no idea where this big girl came from though. Last time I think I was able to take her to the park she barely would go down the slide... now all I have to do is walk around the perimeter and keep an eye on her... she can do it all by herself... and she lets me know it too.

And here's the beautiful light... the sun seems to set so fast now.

After a bit we went for a walk and found this "secret" spot, which apparently was frequently visited by this family. They come to feed the ducks and it was as if the ducks knew it... as soon as they came over to the bench dozens of ducks came flying over. Abriella took it upon herself to make friends with this family and they didn't seem to mind that she took half of their bread... it sure made her day :)

She even sat still for me for a few seconds :)

Every time we leave she says "Bye playground, have a good day/night, see you tomorrow" it's just about the cutest thing ever.

Oh and in case you were curious Oliver was hanging out in the SleepyWrap the whole time, cuddled up and sleeping through pretty much the whole thing. I look forward to watching him play around with his big sister here too.

Our Halloween

2010-11-06T20:22:00.003-05:00

Just getting to our Halloween photos. Abrie had a good time but it was so cold. Oliver only made it about 20 minutes and he was done... at least we got two days worth of use out of his costume.

Here are all the superheros (of course I only got the back of Abriella's head)

This was the first year we didn't go up to the door with the kiddos. They are getting so big.

I think this is the closest Eric will get to babywearing :)

Super girl power!

I don't have anything to say about this, except that we pretended he wasn't with us :)

The only way we got the kids to sit still for more than a second; give them each a sucker and promise them hot chocolate.

On another note... I am a bit anxious to hear what the Dr. has to say about Oliver at his 2 month check up on Tues. He has a 2 month face on a 6 month body, lol. But he sure is a handsome little man.

How Do You Know...

2010-11-03T21:40:00.002-05:00

She loves him?

I think it's by the look on her face :) I'm so sad I wasn't faster at catching this so that I could have gotten Abrie in focus too... but it almost doesn't matter because I love the slight blur to her little smirk of a smile! She really loves him. And oh I do love them both.

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T09:49:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone has a safe and Happy Halloween! We went trick-or-treating at the outdoor shopping area the other night just to get warmed up for the big event today. Abriella had so much fun and was very excited about her candy "collection". Here's a few pics to get you in the spirit :)

She insisted she wear her pink dragon costume even though we bought her one for this year. I really hope we can get her to wear it today.

Oliver was The Hulk and had fun people watching for a bit before he hit the sack. Apparently he really is The Hulk since his 0-6 month costume was a bit too small!

So much fun... so much candy. Do you think it's wrong to put out the candy she got for the trick-or-treaters tonight?

Chores

2010-10-30T21:18:00.004-05:00

One day, maybe, Abriella will be old enough to do chores. Right now it is still a huge struggle to get her to pick up a few of her toys, let alone the room that looks like a tornado went through it. The closest thing that I can get in terms of her helping clean is this...

Give the kid a spray bottle and she'll stay busy for at least 20 minutes :) I'll call that a success.

6 Weeks

2010-10-25T15:33:00.003-05:00

I'm a week late in posting these too. I was trying yet again to get one of the poses I wanted of the Little Mister. I still didn't get it (and don't think I'm going to - he's too strong and fights me every inch), but I did get these two that I love...

he's such a chunky monkey.

Chuck E Cheese

2010-10-24T14:20:00.006-05:00

It's been two weeks now since we went up to visit my family and I'm just getting around to posting the pictures. Little Mister already has had his first cold (lovingly given to him by his big sister) so I have been spending a lot of time cuddling (which I can't really complain about).

I took the kiddos up to my parents for a quick visit and we hit up the newly remolded Chuck E Cheese for the Little Miss because she had been taking about it for months. To say she loved it would be an understatement and she keeps asking when she gets to go back :)

This is what the Little Mister did the entire time (it was sooo loud in there)... only to wake up and start crying the moment we walked out the door.

And just a few with some of the family...

Sister & Brother

2010-10-17T15:19:00.003-05:00

I finally attempted the pose I had in my head since before Oliver was born. I didn't want to try this one by myself because... well if you saw some of the other pictures I'm sure you'd know why ;) Oliver was actually a bit to big for this pose too. What should have been 20 seconds of shooting turned out to be 20 minutes of chaos and quite a few bad pictures; I managed to get these out of the two. Still not what I was going for, but I think I'd just better get used to that!

Don't you love his face in this one, lol...

And the closest thing to what I wanted to get...
It's not perfect but I sure do love them.

High Maintenance

2010-10-16T13:36:00.003-05:00

I haven't been able to edit any of the pictures I've taken of our adventures lately because of two high maintenance kiddos at the moment. I'm getting way behind... here's a few snaps of high maintenance no. 1... I wouldn't change a thing about her :)

and just one of the mister... floating on a cloud in his handmade (not by me) booties :)