Yet another catch up post......

I feel like lately all I do is catch up. I have been very busy with newborn sessions and sessions period. Besides that it has been soo nice outside we have been spending a lot of time outside. The last thing I really want to do is sit at the computer and edit on these beautiful days. Now, the mosquitoes are out and I will go back to hibernating. They are TERRIBLE right now and they love me. 

In the past week the trees and flowers have just popped. It has been my favorite time of year which is Magnolia time. Yes, I am going to post all of these. I know I am lame but I love them all for some reason. I also love my 85 mm lens even more and my camera. Regardless they turned out wonderful and I do believe I will be turning some of these into Kitchen Art. I also realized half are watermarked half are not....its been a long day. Regardless they can't be downloaded so I shouldn't worry too much. If you click on them you can see them full version on my website and they look even better!

 

 

Here is my sweet girl with them. She loved looking at them. They have since fallen off the tree. 

 

 

I don't remember if I said anything, but I hired a "nanny" for one day a week so I can edit sessions. She has been perfect for the kids and a huge help for me. They made pinecone bird feeders on a rainy day that she was here. They loved making them. 

 

Ari caused trouble per the usual while they did this. 

 

The day we made those I took them out to dinner and ice cream as Anthony was working nights. They kept asking all night if when they got home the bird seed would be all eaten. Much to their dismay that did not happen. 

 

In fact all we have seen that has eaten the bird seed has been a squirrel...I figured that would happen, a chickadee and cardinal. 

 

The kids love being outside lately. The park, garden area, sandbox and just walks are what they want to do. 

 

If you look really close you can tell Lilliana's shorts are on backwards....LOL Silly girl likes to get dressed on her own. 

  With the warmer weather the kids have also wanted popsicles. The funny thing is Eli hated popsicles last year. So this year as they were eating them I asked him why he didn't like them last year but this year he does. This is what he told me........

"Last year they were different and just not quite ripe. This year the purple ones are ripe enough and I like them because they are ripe." He is a character.

  

We also had a playdate for Eli with another little boy who is a year older. I am so happy. They got along so well! They are both silly, fun, and love to wrestle and it worked well. His mom is wonderful too. We spent the evening at Play. and everybody was exhausted when we left. It was nice to have some mom time and let the kids play. We look forward to more playdates. 

Ari turned 10 months in the past couple weeks. Wow it has actually almost been two weeks since it happened. I did take his photos. They didn't go so smoothly. He just wants to be on the go. I did get him to sit still when I began to sing pat-a-cake. He loves to play that and did. The group photos were just hilarious.

 

 

 He is a cranky mess due to teeth. He can now stand. He will only do it for second. These photos are literally in a second. I can thank my amazing camera capabilities because he was not standing for but two seconds.....5.5 frames per second comes in handy frequently with little kids.

 

This week the carnival trucks made their way into town. I have to say the Carnival has been a good incentive for Eli to be good. Eli of course remembered watching them set up last year so he was adamant we do the same this year. We made a trip down to watch them set up. He is beyond excited for going to ride the rides this weekend. It looks like rain for a lot of the weekend and I have sessions so I am not sure when we will make it, but Eli and Lilliana will get to ride rides this year together.

 

 We  will have a wonderful Mother's day weekend with a Parade and Carnival fun. I would have loved to make it to the Tulip Festival. I "know" my kids really wanted to go to the carnival though so for them I will skip that this weekend. I think sacrificing certain things is just what Mom's do so it is very fitting. Happy Mother's Day to my wonderful Mom. I can't wait to see her this summer! Have a wonderful weekend.

 

Embrace the Camera....Girl Style

It has been several months maybe since I have done an official "Embrace The Camera" post. I have been getting in pictures just not making an announcement about it. I thought I would today. 

This past weekend I got out my old American Girl things and played them with Lilliana. For weeks I had been thinking about doing it. She of course is still too young to really appreciate all the details and understand but she LOVED the idea that there were clothes, and shoes, and chairs to play with. 

I forgot how extremely well made these dolls are. I also forgot how well they paid attention to detail. They never leave out anything ncluding a tiny eraser for the pencil case. It brought me back to many childhood memories.....

My Grandma Jenny bought all the dolls and almost all of their accessories for the time. It was when Samantha, Felicity, Addy, Kirsten, and Molly ruled the American Doll world. Many of these dolls are now no longer available. Felicity was always my favorite. I loved her clothes. Samantha was my favorite for her stories. I also loved Molly because I loved the WW2 time period.  Kirsten and Addy I did not really care for. 

My Grandma decided to give us each a doll. She was downsizing and so we got to choose. She kept Samantha. I really wanted Felicity but so did my sister. We ended up compromising and I got Molly. It really worked out well because I like that I have her now.  I also started reading a series called the Magic Attic Club with my sister Kim. We both got one of those dolls one year for Christmas. So now Lilliana has plenty of these type of dolls and their clothes. I am so glad I have one girl to share them with.

 

She loved this wagon the most! I can't wait to watch her grow with these. I have lots of work to get done and we are enjoying this beautiful weather. Take time to Embrace the Camera!