last week

it rained and rained and rained. the girls got to wear their rain coats, jack got to splash in the puddles and scott got to blow up his toy. making some fun childhood memories here :)

one and a half

or 19 months....yes my baby boy is now 19 months! i missed his half birthday post since we were in chicago for my grandfathers funeral. so here's to making up for lost time.

my baby boy:
looks like daddy
still loves his mommy most
is sometimes shy
quite the charmer
loves the rain
gallops
jumps and lands on his butt
fights to get in the car but doesn't want to get out
sings everything
sleeps with buzz lightyear
wears elmo slippers all nigh and sometimes all day
does not fit in pants, they all fall off
has now thrown a lay on the floor tantrum
gives kisses, knuckles and head butts
calls on a sister if mommy doesn't come
the light of our lives, we can't imagine our family without him

ugh...

i'm finding it really hard to blog these days. maybe it's the post holiday crash or i'm just really enjoying my free time :) well jackie boy is sick this week, fever, cough and now a bugger nose. he is high maintenance when he's sick. i don't blame him but all he wants is his mama. another reason for not blogging. maybe next week i can start reflecting on our fun and exciting fall!

7/365 the only shot of the day. after bath, i seem to run out of time everyday and end up with night shots. bouncing the big flash...wants it...grabs it...we're done.
8/365 although he'd probably love to turn around, he still faces backwards. only four more months buddy.

9/365 her birdies. ava's had them since her first christmas. they followed her from her crib. she watches them every night.

10/365 just a day at the park. 11/365 he's so miserable. he's got his own thermometer right between his eyes.

12/365 one of our fish had babies. there are two, not sure if there were more but the two remain. night shot again so the little guys were to small and quick to focus.

week one

already a week into to the new year. it feels good. i am a creature of habit and need a little routine in my day. the girls are happy to be back at school and i am happy to be back at the gym.

resolutions...you bet.

1. dress up. i'm a casual girl. most days you'll find me in gym cloths...all day. if not, it's a tee and flip flops, which i love. but i also love how excited the girls get when i wear a little make-up and some heals. this year i'm going to apply make-up more often and upgrade my closet.

2. shine my sink every night (see below). so far it makes me happy :)

3. photograph more of what i love. it's why i am doing it in the first place right!

4. be positive, i will see the brighter side of things. it also make me happy :)

it's a good start i think. but now back to the 365. i'm on a roll! jack in the tub washing his mouth. he loves to wash himself and name his body parts.
she is the night owl. bedtime is often a struggle. she come out 5-10 times with some excuse not to be in bed. sometimes i get so frustrated. usually it's because i'm working. but then i see this and melt.

yep, eating rocks...he's a boy, so it's ok right?

this week i started to shine my sink. somehow this house was turned upside down over the past few months. now is the time to get it back in order.

the above image was shot with the below image! woot! woot! i've been coveting this baby for years, so after 3.5 years i did it...i purchased my first l lens. i think this guy is going to make me very happy at my next family session. too bad its baby season :)

2010

now what...

the past few months have been quite a blur. jam packed with action. we've been running nonstop over here. this month i'm looking forward to some relaxation, family time, and taking time to enjoy the things i love.

i will definitely be back to share all the happenings but for now its the start of another 365. i am going to attempt to document everyday of the year in some form...camera, video, phone. i did pretty wall last year. so here's the start...

1/365 lunch, this was a first for him

2/365 this pretty much sums up our week...jammies, wii, family

an orphan and a ballerina

saturday the girls both had performances at the surprise party (a holiday festival in surprise, az). ava has been taking ballet though the city and loves it. she got right up on the stage and gave us big waves and smiles, pretty much the entire performance :) she's so darn cute!

each season they pick one activity, lily also does dasies(girl scouts) all school year. this season lily chose musical theater. they are doing the musical annie and lily was cast as molly. she is the cutest molly ever, and quite the little actress. i never had a doubt. she is confident and loves being on stage. imagine that :) Here are a couple shots from saturday. they performed a few songs here but the musical is on friday.

here she is singing her little solo in "it's a hard knocks life".

Well, ya comin?

Where?
To the North Pole, of course! This is the Polar Express!

Friday was out third trip to the north pole. I procrastinated this year and ended up getting the tickets last minute on Craig's list. So now that we have a few trips under our belt I wanted to share some tips to help you out.

1. For best available dates purchase your tickets early. I'm talking like May early. By the end of summer all weekend are booked up. Seats C and D are best. They are on the side where you will see the north pole.
2. To stay or not to stay the night. We ended up doing a quick turn around since the girls had performances the next morning. We lucked out on the weather. The past two years there were snow storms. So.....if you don't stay your gambling on the weather. If you stay, we enjoy the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel. It's not fancy but it's nice to walk right over after get off the train.
3. The food...in my opinion, not so good. I would never do the package with the food again. It's not advertised, but you can get the hotel/train package without the food and it will save you $100, that just for diner and breakfast! We like to eat in flag on the way up. We haven't found anything great in town.
4. 6:30pm or 8pm departure. Depends on your kids. We have done both. There was no way Lily could have made it that late three years ago, but now they can all do it. If you want early you better book early.
5. Dress in layers! It's cold outside, but the train gets pretty warm. Don't forget to wear your jammies :)
6. Bring ribbon for the bells. Santa will board the train after you reach the north pole. He passes out bells to all the kiddos. Make a necklace with the ribbon to keep you from fetching the bell out from under the seats all the way back.
7. Bring your book. They will read the story on the way to the north pole. The girls love to have their own copy to follow along.
8. If it's snowing there are some great recreations areas around town. Did you know Williams has a Ski Area! They offer family tubing also.
9. For all you Canon Rebel users, bring along your point and shoot for night shots. Canon DSLR's are terrible at focusing in the dark. Did you ever try to get a shot at night and the on camera flash just keeps flickering, it's a Canon downfall (Nikon is superior in this area). You'll miss the shot or it may be blurry. I always take my p&s along.

I hope this helps someone! The kids love it every year and talk about it for months. Next year I'm getting my tickets early! We'll stay and hopefully it will snow! Please add a comment if you can think of anything else!

november

where on earth did it go? i have no idea...it was a complete blur for me. auntie lynne said she always knows when i am busy by my number of blog posts...well have you checked out my photography blog! and i'm still behind over there. this season was very good to me...20 sessions in a month. never again people...unless i have a nanny and an assistant. my friends, your holiday photos will now take place in september so plan early!

jack is 17 months. less than a month until a half birthday. well lets see...at 17 months i can officially say my son is crazy! there is no peace in this house. if he's awake, he's moving. running, climbing, stealing things from his sisters and running away. i find him in lily's top bunk, on the table, and in the bathroom sink. thank goodness he's over the dog water and toilets!

he needs a hair cut but i'm not quite ready for him to look like a boy. maybe next month :)

i call him my spider monkey because when i pick him up he wraps himself around me and doesn't let go. he still attached to his mommy. he sometimes calls me mom.

he now repeats everything you say and it's become quite the game with the girls. ava "jack say barbecue"...jack "b b cue". and they all laugh.

i love watching the relationship he has with his sisters. it's entirely different than the girls had with each other. he looks at them like little mommies. he reaches for them to get him up or down. he brings them the remote. he tells them to get him food or juice. he trusts and adores them.

he has the stinkiest feet! mostly because he doesn't wear socks, but i'm not exaggerating...they stink! i've always smelled his little tootsies, since he was a baby, kissed them too. he even smells his own feet and shoes and says"pee-eww." recently i caught him smelling my shoes :0

he points to his picture on the wall and says "buddy"...he's my little buddy.

16 months

busy
crazy
exhausting
independent
screamer
hugger
kisser
talker
singer
elmo lover


some words to describe my son a t 16 months. he now says mommy and daddy...no more mama and dada. he climbs on the table at least three times a day. he pulled the playroom tv off the stand. the pushes every button he can touch...loves the light switches. he recognizes and love's elmo but doesn't really watch anything. i think he may have some musical talent...no kidding! now he doesn't really sing all the words, some words but more like the notes and tune. he sings the climb (he knows the long notes), abc's, happy birthday (the "cha cha cha "part but it's "da da da"), it's a hard knocks life (the last verse), phineas and ferb, gitchi gitchi goo (the baby, baby part). i'll get some video up soon . it's hilarious!

my pixie

so here's the after courtesy of my friend michelle. i think it's going to be really cute when the short bangs and sides grow out a bit :) i think i had the same hair cut back in '78! one of her school mates said it looked like a boy :( she said "no it doesn't! i'm a girl!" i so remember being told what a cute little boy i was back then. today she said she hates her head :( oh my girlie...i love you so. xxoo

how much can one mommy take?

and why does it all happen at once? i don't have the answer...but i need a vacation!

two friday's ago lily has 104.4 and a sore throat. i'm pretty good at diagnosing her now...strep throat or uti. strep - uti + but since she's had three cases in less than a year she was referred to an ent. saw him last week. no tonsillectomy yet :) but one more case this year they're coming out.

i start feeling a cold coming on that weekend. really knocks me down for a few days. not good since i am crazy busy with work and have a 5k and triathlon sprint coming up.

last friday jack comes down with a fever. he is miserable for the weekend. sunday afternoon it reaches 105.2 for the second time. off to the er. i'm starting to feel a little nauseous as we wait. as the nurse is taking blood from jack i can't hold it back any longer. i run to the bathroom and puke. now scott is sitting with his sick baby and sick wife at the er. jack's ok. his fever finally broke on tuesday with a rash following.

i spent the day in bed on monday, scott on tuesday and ava on wednesday. phew...that was rough.

tuesday while jack and scott were napping i was trying to catchup on some work. ava comes into my office and said "mommy, look what lily did!" i turn and see this....

"OMG! where is your sister!!!!!" i cant' believe it! what was she thinking! i'm frantically running around the house searching for lily. "ava why in the world did you let her do this to you? you have no hair left!" i finally find lily, asleep on the couch. "ava, did you cut your own hair?" "yes" as she bursts into tears. "it's ok honey, you look beautiful."

so i guess she went into her room, sat a the vanity, looked in the mirror and cut all the hair she could reach. at least she put it in the trash :) stay tuned for the new do!

my boy and his rash...he really doesn't have a butt!

so then.....

friday night the girls are playing and i hear a scream. lily grabs her mouth and yells that ava pulled both her teeth out. apparently she was biting a scarf and ava pulled it. then voila...

my toothless wonder! i woke her up to take these. she thinks she looks like a vampire. i love that she has a lisp! my girl will never look the same. i'm going to miss my little gap tooth girl and her little chicklets!

diy halloween costumes

love these costumes from martha stewart.
i love this one for jack and i
wouldn't he make the perfect lobster!

ava wants me to be a buzzy bee with her so i may do this

cute!
fun!

easy!

my helper

ava's been in a helper phase lately. she's always cleaning her room and bathroom. last week i found her changing the laundry. ..

stop.drop.roll

the truth is i don't think i'll ever catch up so i'll start with today! scott spent yesterday at lily's class but i forgot my memory card for the camera! luckily my great friend amanda lives around the corner and brought me her rebel! I can't believe it...i've never been so careless with my gear. thanks for coming to the rescue amanda! i don't have those images off her camera yet but i did have all my gear this morning at ava's school. these guys were so funny. some wanting to tell you everything and some very careful to not make eye contact. they love it when he crawls around and lets them touch his gear.

i was taking a quick class shot when one of the girls yelled "silly face!" gotta love those 4 year olds!