Daddys Girl

This girl LOVES her daddy but he's pretty smitten with her too,I captured these after he got home from work,too sweet :)

More from Today

It was a gorgeous day out! The best one we've had in a couple weeks now. Hardly any wind and tons of sunshine, couldn't ask for better! The kids and I spent some time outside after Tanner got home from school,the sun did me some good I think!

Emma had fun playing with the pumpking and taking their tops off.lol Tanner was playing around with his BB gun so I had to snap a couple pictures of him with it. He's getting to be a pretty good aim with that thing!

Loving my 50mm!!

Ok I put my 50mm back on my camera. Why did I even take it off?! This lens ROCKS. If you have a Nikon get the 50mm 1.8..it's an inexpensive but GREAT lens. I had my 50-200 on for awhile,hard to chase down a toddler and get the pictures you want but having the clarity and abilities of my 50mm may be worth not being able to zoom! I opened it clear up to 1.8 and jumped the ISO clear up 1600 and thought "these are going to be so grainy and noisy!" but I was wrong and it looks like I have tons of light coming in my windows but I didn't,I had very little! Maybe I have mommy "goggles" on but I'm loving these pictures of Emma. I'm thinking of having the one of her laying down on the carpet blown up,I LOVE it! And no I didn't do a thing to her eyes,no adding color or anything,they really are that blue! LOL




This one is my favorite!!




ummm yeah putting something in her mouth she wasn't suppose too but mommy snatched it away right after this ;)

Light

I noticed some nice light was shining in our windows this afternoon. I sit on the couch ,cranked my ISO up and shot these without flash and manual focus. I'm jumping into the world of manual focus and OMG it's so hard! One tiny turn too much and you lose your focus..so trying to snap pictures of an active toddler is pretty near impossible. My easiest 'model' is Tanner. Anyway I was happy with how these turned out. Mastering focus and light are so tough! This weekend I hope to get them out to the lake. It's suppose to be nice and the colors in all the flowers and shrubs are beautiful,it's such a perfect spot for pictures!! I really need to work on my manual skills and outdoor lighting before it gets to the point we can't go outside anymore!

Ok here is Mr. Tanner :)

don't pay attention to any crusty food on his face. This was after school and he was eating a snack.lol






I snapped this one of miss Emma at the same time..but this one is with flash. She never holds still long enough and she wasn't in the nice light but it still turned out nice..even though she isn't looking at the camera!~

Miss E

Can you tell her hair has filled in a lot? I hadn't realized how much more hair she has until I look at past photos. I can actually put clips in it now but she won't leave them in,maybe one day she will! She takes them out and then wants me to put them back in..why can't she just leave them alone?!

Anyway here are a couple I snapped. She was moving so fast the day I took these,I'm surprised they were even in focus to be honest!!

Pumpkin Patch

We finally made it to the pumpkin patch yesterday. I thought it was going to be a nice day for it,I was wrong! The wind was howling over 30mph,it was horrible and it made it seem so much cooler than it really was. Needless to say we weren't there very long. I tried to take some decent shots but I didn't get many. We hurried through everything and with the wind it was miserable. I'm kind of bummed but I'll try to take pictures of the pumpkins we are going to carve tomorrow evening!








I think this was the only decent shot I got the whole time and then Pauls leg is behind her,I swear someone is always in the background!


Paul took this picture

Destruction!

Paul has finally gotten started on his long awaited project. He is knocking down most of the trees (mostly brush actually) from behind our house. He wants to eventually build a pond and put more fence in. It's a very slow process but the weather was decent for awhile so he got a good start on it. I thought I better take some pictures of the process before it looks completely different!


Equipment to get the job done!






you never use to be able to see through here,now you can see clear up into the field!


trying to get all the darn hedge knocked down..man we have more than our fair share!

#1 Reason

Why I have no time for taking more pictures..you guessed it! Emma! She keeps me on my toes! This girl is full of spunk,personality and ENERGY. Endless amounts of it!

My house is a constant disaster (or so I feel like it is) and on top of that she is a demanding little thing. Wanting what she wants and NOW. Is this a girl thing? I don't know. All I know is if this is any indication of what she'll be like as a teen..holy moly! She really isn't awful bad but compared to how my son was she's bad! If I tell her "no" she looks at me and smiles and then turns and RUNS for trouble as fast as she can and giggles all the way. My sister in law told me the other day "You know,Emma really is pretty social for you being a stay at home mom" ummm yeah ya think? LOL She gives cheesy grins to strangers and then tries to play peek a boo with them..oh and she has no problem running from me while we are in stores. Today at the mall we were at the play area. She thought it was quite hilarious to run out of the play area into the main part of the mall over and over again and each time she did it she laughed even harder..such a little stinker!
She obviously gets into anything she can. Her big deal right now is my waller so I got her her own wallet and put expired cards and pieces of paper in it..so far she loves it! Another thing she always wants to play with is my phone which has to come to an end but it keeps her occupied so well when she's in the shopping cart and of course a play phone just won't do!

Needless to say I'm tired at the end of the day. For those moms with twins,well I bow down to you,I can't imagine chasing two little toddlers going in two different directions,causing two seperate messes ALL day long..no way! whew! And to think some people have another kid at this point,now THAT I can't imagine (are those women crazy?! I sometimes wonder!) but she is also a joy at the same time,she's so full of personality you can't help but smile when she does something. Everyone around her lights up when they're around her,even complete strangers. Just something about her little spunky personality that attracts others and thats one of the main reaons her 'spunk' doesn't bother me in the least,it's all a part of who she is and I wouldn't change a thing about that! :)

So here are a few spontaneous snapshots I've taken in the past month. This week we're hoping to make it to the pumpkin patch weather permitting so I hope to have some fun pumpkin pictures soon!

Here is the scene I found in the bathroom one day when I knew it had gotten WAY too quiet..


with the evidence pasted to the bottom of her foot.lol


She insisted on putting her PJ bottoms back on after getting dressed one day,to my surprise it didn't look half bad! She definitely likes her clothes and dressing up!


sitting and playing with mommys phone.her favorite 'toy'


this is her cabinet that I let her play in,it's full of bottles,cup,lids,etc. One evening she decided to climb inside of it..I just shake my head at this child.lol


Hmmm how am I going to get out??


Playing in mommys clean and folded clothes!

All about Emma

While me and my friends were working on our MOPS project last week I got an idea (thanks to my friend!). We were making plates and she stamped her sons name and all the things he liked at his current age of 5. I thought "What a great idea,I should do something like that for Emma!". We all know we forget their little phases and quirks they have as they grow up. We think we'll remember but we don't. So I'm going to blog about Emmas Favorite things ,quirks and not-so-favorite things so it won't pass me by. Plus that way when I get around to scrapbooking her 1yr old pictures I can look back on this entry and write all these things down for safekeeping!

oh where do I start with this child? First off let me say what she has added to my life,our family and to my heart is something I can't even put into words. She is the happiest,headstrong and onriest little thing..

first off I'll do her favorites (at this very moment,tomorrow this last may change completely! lol)

Emmas favorites

1) Shoes! She loves to wear shoes around,even if she doesn't have clothes on,she wants her shoes on.

2) her jacket. I can't figure out if she just think it's fun or that she relates it to getting to go outside

3) scarves..she loves to drape scarves around her neck and walk around the house like she's the best thing since sliced bread,it's adorable and cracks me up even after all these months of her doing it.

4)DADDY..need I say anything more? He walks away or goes out of her sight and it's whining and tears. When I walk away? Eh who cares. She ADORES him. He's a great father though. So involved,plays with her and caters to her every whim. (which I'm convinced this is why she adores him..lol)

5) Tanner..when he's around her smiles are brighter and louder and lets just say her energy level goes up a notch or two. She showers him with hugs when he gets home from school and many times won't let anyone but him hold her after she wakes from her naps. He's such a great big brother though and does so many things with her!

6) puppies..they are her favorite! When she sees a dog wether on TV,in public or here at home she always has to go "woof!" and pat her chest to get them to come to her. It's the cutest thing,she doesn't act that way with any other animal but dogs.

7) books..that girl could read 100 books a day and still want to read more!

8)chocolate..imagine that,a female with a chocolate addiction!

9)swinging..her favorite activity to do outside and Tanner is so good about taking her out to swing in the evenings.

10) chase..it's her favorite game and tries to get us to chase her almost every single evening. She peeks around the corner of the chair ,wall,or table and gives us this look of "come and get me" and tries to walk/run and it's hilarious! We usually give in because we love to hear the giggles she lets out when we catch her!

11)french fries-- this girl has loved french fries since she started eating table food. If there is a fry around nothing else gets ate!

12) sleep..she is a spectacular (is there a piece of wood around I can knock on??) sleeper. She loves her naps and she likes her crib...how did I get so lucky??

13)binky-- it's her worst addiction. Doesn't care about a bottle,nor anything else but that darn binky. It's not going to be a fun time around here when I decide to take it away!

14) blankies-- She loves to rub blankies on her face and eyes when she goes to bed. She has to take one with her to bed nightly and I swear it's one of the reasons she sleeps so well,it's such a comfort to her!

15)stuffed animals and babies-- she loves to cuddle and kiss babies and any type of stuffed animal. She gives this "smack" sound when trying to kiss them. Even if we're in a store and she sees a baby in a picture she has to give the picture a kiss. She went down the diaper isle in Sams club yesterday giving each of the babies on the box a kiss :)

16)outside..she loves loves loves to go outside. Wethers it's just to wander around,play in rocks or swing she wants to be OUT!

17)music- She is a dancing machine! She sways back and forth and her new thing is to put her hands together and swing them back and forth. Wether we're in a store,restaurant or at home if she hears music,watch out,she's going to break out the moves! lol

18) Water..this child is a fish I swear! She loves bathtime,climbs in the shower with me on occasion and loved the pool this summer. She has no fear (not such a good thing) and could spend endless amounts of time playing in water no matter what form..mud puddle,faucet,bath,etc.


Ok for her not-so- favorite things..hmmm let me see what I can come up with!

1) orange foods like carrots,sweet potatoes,etc.

2)things in her hair (I'm working on that one though!)

3)daddy leaving or walking away from her

4) being restrained..she's a wild one!

5)having to come inside from playing outdoors

6) laying down to put on a diaper

7) sitting in the shopping cart

outside of that she's pretty agreeable and happy..we got lucky with this one,she's such a little joy to have around :)

One of these days I WILL post pictures again,I promise!! I feel so pathetic not having any uploaded. I took a few the other night but not sure how they turned out.

Busy Busy!

I feel like I've had zero time to take pictures or blog. I was just thinking today to myself "I haven't taken a picture of my kids in almost a week!!" I really need to do that SOON.

I've been busy..fun busy so thats good.

Went on my scrapbooking 'retreat' for almost 4 days. Had a wonderful time relaxing and having fun with the girls. We ate good food,stayed up late talking and laughing and I got a LOT done! 69 pages to be exact! woohoo! I'm so happy. The way I started out I wasn't sure I'd get much done or not,I wasn't exactly motivated but it started flowing and all was good. I got home Sunday afternoon and I came home to a clean house,can you believe it?! Emma did good,she had a snotty nose the whole time so poor dad had to wake in the night with her a couple times. Otherwise she did good. My best friend watched her one evening while Paul had a work dinner to go too but otherwise I think they hung out at home and went outside a LOT,that girl could be outside all day long if I let her!

Other than trying to get back into the routine of being home I had bunco last night (can't miss that,it's so fun!) and stayed up too late with the girls chatting. I thought I'd leave by 10 or so..11:30 I finally walked out the door.lol

So between scrapbooking,unpacking,housework, a snotty baby (who has her first ear infection by the way..wahhh. At least she is a happy baby when sick!) bunco,dentist and doc. appts and trying to help my friend prepare for our "once a month" cooking club (which I have to help shop for later tonight!) I've been busy. At some point this week I have to find time to cook 3lbs of hamburger and a few lbs of chicken for our cooking club on Saturday morning.

Tomorrow is MOPS. This morning we went to a friends house to finish up our MOPS project. It's a blank piece of round paper that you decorate however you want with marker,crayon,etc and then they take it and seal it onto a plate and they turn out SO neat! I can't wait to get mine back! I made a plate and a bowl.

Well thats where I've been..no picture time unfortunately ::::sniff::::: my poor camera has been neglected! I will have to put an end to that tomorrow evening,it's suppose to be beautiful outside! Ok off to get dinner on the table before I hit walmart with the girls to go shopping!

Terra

Beautiful Fall Evening..

Our evenings (and days) have been beautiful the past couple weeks. Perfect temps,very little wind and lots of sun. Couldn't ask for better!

I took these pictures while the kids were playing in the yard one night :)