Lots and Lots of Photos!

Well.. if you've been on Facebook lately, than you know I've been taking WAY too many photos! Especially since I upgraded cameras, I have been doing a lot of learning and practicing in the way of photography. It's something I have always had a lot of interest and passion in. I started learning the basics in High School in a photography class, on both an SLR (film) camera and a Digital SLR. It's also where I started learning Photoshop. These things have come a long way since then. I've been off and on playing with our Canon SLR since before the girls were born.. but things get busy and then it takes a back seat. Though, I'm finally getting to a point where I have more time and I have little built in models to practice on. Of course, Addy has an agenda of her own that does not often entail sitting still and smiling pretty. Ainsley however, doesn't mind so much.

I was recently asked to take a few Maternity photos for a friend. Jessica is pregnant with her second child and wanted to capture the occasion and the sweet baby bump. I was thrilled to have some new subjects and a semi-official photo session. It was great practice and I really enjoyed doing it! It definitely makes me want to work toward a professional status even more! Here are some of my favorite images from the shoot.












They are such a cute family, it wasn't too difficult to get some nice images of them. Jessica likes black & white, as do I. And most of the edits ended up looking very nice in black and white, with their black attire. Though the color ones look nice too!

If anyone needs some updated family photos, let me know! I'd love to practice on you too! No charge. I just reserve the right to use the photos to showcase my work in the future. Just sayin'..... :)

Keeping Busy

We've been keeping busy with little things. I can't believe how quickly the time is passing with two little ones. I don't feel like we are doing a whole lot, but the days are flying by. This last weekend we attended the annual Czech Picnic. There aren't any other kids Addy's age, but she always seems to do well. Plenty of people to give her attention and feed her fruit and goodies. She enjoyed playing at the park and snacking throughout the day. Of course, I snapped some photos.






Today we got the cutest little tee-ball stuff from Target and Addy was very exited to come home and play catch with me. I am in love with the miniature pink Easton gear. I dug out my old beat up glove and she couldn't get me outside fast enough. She is actually very good at catch. She has a great arm for a little tyke and great aim too. I'll definitely be signing her up for tee-ball soon.

Springtime Stuff

The girls are both finally back to good health and Addy went back to school yesterday. I have my fingers crossed that we can avoid sickness until it warms up and these pesky colds and viruses stop spreading.

Ainsley is working hard to accomplish some big milestones. Her two bottom teeth have slowly been working there way to the surface and she spends much time gnawing on anything she can in hopes that they'll just pop through already. I myself like the gummy baby smile and wouldn't mind some more time without the teeth. However, I do not wish for her to endure any more discomfort any longer than necessary. She is also working on sitting and crawling, simultaneously. She is much more interested in the ability to get moving. It wont be long until she figures it out, she's getting awfully close. Some recent pictures of her scooting around the house:




Tasting the floor..

Addy has recovered from her ear infection and the nasty virus she caught and has been doing her best to keep me on my toes. She refuses to let me get any nice pictures of her, which is why I have none to post. She is extremely sassy lately and I figure I will wait it out, rather than try to force her to cooperate in regard to photos.

I've also been working on a big project myself. Amongst spring cleaning the entire house and simplifying everywhere possible.. I finally got to work on my messy office! We need it to double as a guest room and have been working on ideas to maximize the space.. Although some final touches are lacking, the room is near complete. I am so excited and relieved that it is finally clean and organized. When it's complete I can take pictures of the whole room. For now, here is a peek at my new happy place:







On a more sad note..my grandmother passed away yesterday. Ainsley and I were able to go to Tucson a few weeks ago to celebrate her 85th birthday! It's quite sad but I am really glad we got to see her and I'm glad her pain and suffering is over.

Update: Addy

I'm almost in disbelief.. Addy has an ear infection...amongst other things. Somehow, both my girls are lucky enough to be among the very few who's (sinus/ear) infections are resistant against the antibiotic they were put on. After spending $80 for each of their antibiotics, they both end up being switched to something else to treat the infections. Poor kids.. Addy has had a rough week for sure but we hope she will be feeling better very soon. This is Addy's first ear infection. I also hope Ainsley will not be prone to having them, seeing as she has had two already, one of which was a double.

Just a little update for those of you who were wondering.. lucky bunch, here. Let's hope March brings us better days!

Again...and again..

I cannot believe we are fighting yet another battle of SICKNESS in this house. Addy has had the worst of it (so far) and it is by far the worst illness the poor child has suffered. She spent the ENTIRE day on the couch and at least half that time was spend sleeping.. (This kind of thing is completely unheard of for her.. she can't sit still for 10 minutes, on a good day.) She has been running a fever of 103-something all day, despite the constant doses of Tylenol. She is coughing terribly and looks completely and utterly awful! I just hope it passes-- and soon.



I am doing everything I can not to catch this terrible thing or spread it to the baby who may or may not have already had it.. As some of you know, Ainsley came down with something pretty bad, in addition to her second ear infection not clearing up from the antibiotics that were prescribed. UGH.. I'm exhausted from caring for sick people.. I feel like we may never all be healthy again. I hope I am wrong.

I am really not looking forward to the heat..but for the sake of all our health, I welcome the summer months and wish the virus bearing winter season farewell! And boo to these rainy weekends.. I want to enjoy the "nice" weather outdoors while it lasts.. Soon enough it will be too scolding hot outside to enjoy the park or zoo. Though, I have plenty of projects to keep me busy indoors too. Maybe one day I'll have something more interesting to share! :)

My Valentine's

We had a pretty nice Valentine's Day. Addy got some Valentine's treats this morning from Mommy and Daddy and we all exchanged cards before Rob left for work. Ainsley slept in, trying to recover from her ear infection and we ate a little breakfast. We had plans to attend a Valentine's Day party with friends.

As we were getting ready and I was changing Ainsley I noticed that her little ear was full of goo! After a call to the pediatrician I was told that she had ruptured her ear drum, and needed to be checked out. I'm not sure at what point it happened. Apparently it was during the night and just didn't ooze out until later in the morning, which would explain the sleep we were able to get the second half of the night. Poor girl was miserable all day Sunday and part of the night too. This morning, she woke up smiling! It was good to see her enjoying life again. We went ahead and went to the party and scheduled the appointment for the afternoon, so we could get a prescription for ear drops.

The party was nice. Addy entertained us ladies momentarily, mimicking me and repeating words I repeat often at home. She complained of the mess all the children were making and proceeded to tell them how it made her mad. :) I often tell her that it makes me mad or angry that she makes messes and doesn't clean them up.. Then, as we laughed.. she said in a very stern tone "it's not funny!". I still hear the scene replaying in my head. It really was quite funny. I have never seen Addy take any kind of authoritative role in a group. It makes me wonder how she acts at school. Even more so, how she makes ME look at school! I can only hope she is honest!

Ainsley's appointment went quickly and smoothly. We headed off to get her prescription filled and get home to relax. Ainsley was a trooper all day and smiled plenty. She is exhausted and will hopefully rest well tonight. We will enjoy having some quiet time tomorrow while Addy is at school!

While we waited for Rob to get home from work and the usual evening events, we went out back to play and I snapped some V-Day photos of my two favorite little Valentine's.










Rob came home and cooked a very nice surf & turf meal for the two of us. We actually got through the meal uninterrupted by the sleeping baby or Addy! It's quite a miracle!



It was a nice day.. A little like every other day, but with a cherry on top! :)

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Birthday Fun!

We celebrated Addy's 3rd birthday this weekend. We started with a small party on Friday, where Addy and two of her close friends visited a place called Girly Girlz. They got their nails painted, a little make-up, and their hair done. It was pretty cute, except for the fact that Addy was having an emotional breakdown throughout the entire process. I was looking forward to the event for weeks and was quite disappointed that it didn't go as planned. They took a group photo at the end, which was pretty much the best part..but Addy insisted upon sobbing on the edge of her seat and spoiled the picture. In addition, my camera had a smudge on the lens and the pictures I got are messed up.




I actually managed to get 1 picture where she looks happy. Too bad it's foggy from my dirty lens. :(

We took the girls to get ice cream afterward, and the birthday girl sure perked up there. I cleaned my lens (thanks Jess!) and got a few pictures of her chocolate princess face.





Things went better on Sunday at her official birthday party. It was a nice day and so many of our friends and family made it to the party. It was really great. Thank you to everyone who came and celebrated with us!









I made my first ever fondant cake, for the party. Though I made cupcakes for everyone to eat.. I'm sure they tasted better. :)






Ainsley made her rounds at the party. It's a good thing she got a nice long morning nap in.. The poor girl was still suffering from our ongoing cold symptoms but seemed to enjoy all the lovin' and slept quite well last night.







It was a really great day and we are so glad so many people were able to come and join us. Addy's REAL Birthday is on Wednesday and I plan to do something special with her..just not entirely sure what yet. We will have a girls day of sorts. I'll be sure to get some pictures and post about it. If Ellen Degeneres can celebrate her birthday all week....so can Addy! :)