A Princess Photo Shoot

Just wanted to say a BIG thank you to all who have offered to be guinea pigs for me! I am SOO excited! I think I have enough now as far as families and kids, but could still use some help in the baby under 10 days old or pregnant picture area...if you are pregnant right now, you realize you could help me out with both of these at the appropriate time, right. ;)

And, I did a little photo shoot with Chloe this week in my "pseudo studio" I set up in my livingroom to practice different kinds of lighting. Here are my favorites.

Pictures are so fun...and she is just breathtaking...I might be a little biased though!

Want to be a Guniea Pig?

Okay...here goes...

I have a favor to ask of my blogging buddies...

and I do this with a little hesitation

(partly because I am worried no one will be willing

partly because I am worried too many people will be willing

and partly because this is a step toward something that is a little scary/exciting/new for me

and partly because asking for favors is pretty much waaay outside my comfort zone)

but, I'm going to do it anyway...

As I've mentioned I am taking a photography class.

It is awesome and I have learned so much.

And it has me pretty darn close to something that has been a dream of mine for a couple of years now.

But, I have a gajillion pictures of my kids in the last couple of weeks

and they are getting sick of being my subjects

as evidenced by their recent non-smiles in all my pictures.

Plus, I am really trying to get better at taking pictures in an actual "photo shoot" setting.

So, I'm wondering if anyone out there

(and by out there I mean out there in Salt Lake City)

would be willing to be guniea pig for me for a FREE photo shoot?

It could be Family...Kids...Maternity...Senior pictures...

or brand new baby (preferably under 10 days old).

I would GIVE you the best 10 edited digital files to do with what you want...

(and you could order professional prints through me

or purchase a CD of any/all of the additional digital files, but that is totally optional

- and I don't mean costco or shutterfly prints...I am talking about professional prints

from a professional printer that you can't order from without a business license)

So, wanna be a guinea pig?

Email me your name and phone number if you do!

THANKS!

8 GB in 5 days

I have completely filled an 8GB SD card with pictures in 5 days. I formatted it on Monday and today, I ran out of space and had to start deleting stuff. That is kind of sick, don't you think? That is why I have another 8GB card...if only it had been with me!

The most exciting part...I am shooting (pictures, that is) in full Manual Mode!

It is so exciting to be in full control and have the pictures turn out right every time!

And of course that means I am going to share,

'cause I'm pretty nice like that!

braving the cold today so I could do some homework for my photography class

Those eyes!

Must....grow...taller...

she loves to look in the mirror and make faces at herself

and pose for the camera

the dress ups they got for Christmas are getting some serious use! Arrrgh!

A few weeks ago I ran out of Dr. Pepper. If you know me, then you know this is a VERY bad thing. Since it has not been on sale and I am not a fan of paying $4.99 for a 12 pack, we made much more regular gas station runs and trips to Mom's house. When I finally restocked, this is what I saw every time I set my drink down. And in reality, this is always the case!

Sword=nose picker

Yay...Brynn can concentrate!

and be adoreable!

And walk!

Birthday Fun!

Here are some gazillions of pictures of Brynn's big day. We didn't make a very big deal of today because, well, she doesn't really care, and Seth had to work and Morgan had school, and we are having a little cupcake fest for her on Saturday. We let her open presents this morning before everyone headed out for the day and then after we picked Morgan up she got to open her present at Grandma Becky's. We took lunch to Seth at work, took naps (well, Brynn took a nap) and then after the big kids went to bed, Brynn got to stay up late to see Daddy. She also decided to walk all over the house! She would take 5 or 6 steps and then clap for herself and then turn and go the other direction and clap for herself. When Seth got home she walked across the room to him and leapt into his arms for a big hug! Adoreable! Then Grandma Becky brought over a cake and she got it all over...of course! What a fun day!

Brynn's Birthday Loot

Opening her first gift

The kids picked out this darling My Little Pony House for her

and they couldn't wait for her to rip it open...

and then show her how it works...

or just cut right in and start playing with it themselves!

Then Daddy helped open presents while Brynn sucked her thumb!

Then she decided to help...a little bit at a time!

Squishy blocks from Mom and Dad...her favorite!

The color coordinated remote control bot is so so cool, but after I accidentally ran it into her when I was showing her how to do it...she became terrified by it. Now if she hears it or sees you pushing buttons she bursts into tears...the big kids LOVE it though! You can just see the hesitation in her eyes!

And finally a Little People pink SUV.

Brynn was so nice to share her pony house with Chloe...aren't sisters the best!

Grandma gave her a rose petal cottage shop with cash register

(which is staying at Grandma's house, because we have nowhere to put it)

She knew just what to do with the cash register and credit card....hmmm...wonder where she learned that skill!

And Chloe kind of liked it too!

Cake, mmmm!

Standing up!

Could she possibly be any cuter?!

Happy Birthday Sis!

A Letter to the Birthday Girl

Little Miss B -

Well dearie you are one year old today! It is hard for me to accept this fact because I still think of you as my itty bitty baby girl! I cannot imagine what life around here would be like without you! You bring so much light and happiness to each of us and are a little bundle of joy! You have your brother and sister completely smitten...Morgan carries you around everywhere he goes, which sometimes freaks mommy out a little bit when it is up and down stairs, but he just wants you to be in on the fun all the time! Chloe loves to play ponies and petshop and babies and barbies with you while Morgan is at preschool and she loves sitting next to you in the car so she can share with you! You and Chloe share a room and you sit and giggle with each other every night before you go to sleep. You have Mom and Dad smitten too, which is just the way we like it!

Here is a little bit about you at age 1.

You are easy going

You love to smile and giggle and full-blown belly laugh

You are very intrigued by taking things in and out...my tupperware drawer is your favorite

You love to talk: you say mama, dada, thank you, here you go, Morgan, "nana" (banana), no no, more, peek a boo and the list goes on

You are dainty

You LOVE to suck your thumb...I mean you LOVE it!

You are sensitive: you don't like fast movements or sudden changes or loud noises...although you do love Callie, go figure :)

You can walk, and have taken as many as 10 steps in a row from the middle of the floor where you just stood up by yourself, but you would rather crawl, or get a ride with someone big!

You are ALWAYS thirsty

You love to play with barbies and ponies...I think you must like their hair.

Everything goes in your mouth...everything.

You love to play surprise games like peek-a-boo

You like books, but you aren't super patient when being read to...you take a very hands on/ mouth on approach

You think every time anyone laughs they are laughing at you and you get this proud look and start laughing as if to say "Yeah, I'm so funny!"

You have slept through the night forever! You go to bed around 6:30 PM and wake up happy happy happy at about 7:00 AM. You take 2 naps a day...sometimes 3. Mommy loves this!

You LOVE your daddy...you practically leap out of my arms whenever you can see dad close by...it is okay though because he LOVES you too!

When you get tired, we always know right away because it is the only time you are demanding (ok...you get pretty demanding when people eat in front of you too)...you want to be picked up and then you want to squirm down and then you want to be picked up again and then you want someone else to hold you.

You are still in your infant carrier - this is amazing because Morgan and Chloe were both less than 5 months when they passed the weight limit for this. We are moving you into a "big girl" forward facing car seat today so that you can watch the car movies with your brother and sister!

You like to feed Callie, but then you get mad when you no longer have anything left to eat.

You love to sing and always sing along with us!

You are so cuddly! You love to snuggle with Mom and Dad and Grandparents. Unfortunately we love it so much that sometimes you end up getting cuddled instead of getting sleep!

You have beautiful eyes...seriously...they are amazing!

You are such a sweet little thing and we love you so much! Thanks for being a part of our family...we are so excited to watch you grow from a beautiful baby into an amazing woman. LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU!

Mommy

In Case You Missed it in my Long Ranting Post

(because my Mom did and if she missed it, I imagine you could have too)

I am attempting a scrapbooking/photography/family history/etc. challenge this year. It is called project 365 (and if you like any of these hobbies or read blogs of people who do, you have probably already heard of it)and the challenge is to take a picture every single day for 365 days. Thus far, I am on track. So, I am doing it in blog format here and I usually (a loose term when you only have 3 weeks of evidence to support it) update it on Sundays, but you are welcome to check it out if you want to see more pictures of our life. It is also the reason I have not posted as many pictures here, because I post one a day there. Balancing act...still trying to figure it out. Do you care if I double up...even if you don't, I'll probably still double up sometimes, just sayin'.

The Rest of the Day Was Just as Good

Just an update from the other day, the rest of it was just as good...

We had a tea party lunch with homemade mac and cheese (mmm) and water "tea"

Brynn really likes homemade Mac and Cheese

so much that she licked her tray clean.

A Good Day

picture taken yesterday at Grandma's house...love these guys!

Today...

it might have snowed a little bit

and I might have mentioned to the kids that we could have a pajama day

and they might have gotten really excited

and Chloe might have put her sweats on backwards

and they might still be that way

and the kids might have watched Alphabet Zoo

and then, while I was downstairs doing laundry, put in "The Porter Movie"

(Yes...Banks fam...your Christmas card is a beloved movie around here)

and when I got back upstairs, instead of getting upset that a second movie was in,

I might have gotten a little teary thinking about how much I love these kids

and how much I love days like this

and I might be looking forward to the rest of the day

even if my house is a mess, and today is change the sheets day, and Seth is working,

and I have a two page to-do list...

Yep...that might be our day today...

but I'm too busy hanging out at home in my jammies to say!