St Patrick's Day

This is what you get when a leprechaun visits your kids school....

Her mind is blown:-)

There is the leprechaun the kids caught, 'frozen' in the jar. 


After such excitement (she could not stop talking about it all day) on Friday I could not resist creating a little leprechaun mischief of my own.  So that night I turned over our dinning room chairs and displaced Elsie's bouncy seat.  Katya was the first one downstairs and was so surprised and excited!  She was tearing up as she laughed, it was amazing.  Totally worth duping my child.

Happy Birthday Grandpa Al!

This wonderful man celebrated his 88th birthday today! We feel very blessed to celebrate the occasion with him.

I love, love, love Grandpa's sun room and his beautiful orchids. 

Love

I love this photo.

Why do I love it so? Because it was a deliberate success; just what I was after. Because it captured a moment. So often when snuggling and feeding Elsie I see her in a way I would love to capture. But to put down a baby and pick up a camera...or to have someone else try, it loses everything I want. Because it was taken with my new prime lens that arrived in the mail on Tuesday. Without that lens, this photo would not be. Because it was tricky. That is my arm holding Elsie's bottle (she has little interest in learning to hold it herself), so one handed I had to meter, adjust aperture and shutter speed, focus and click. Because it is so close up and has a super shallow depth of field. I love macro shots (someday I will own a macro lens, drool) and I love how you can spot the focal plane in just a few areas...her eyelash of course but also the hint of eyeball, the eyelid and even a bit of her left cheek. This photo came at a time when I was feeling especially frustrated with my photography skills. Not have any natural talent for such things, it is my love for the art and desire to learn that propels me forward.  That and my beautiful kids:-)  The photo is not perfect.  The focus could have been sharper and it was underdeveloped by a stop or two.  But I love it because it speaks to me and because it is my creation.

My phone!

Elsie girl loves this phone. Of course the rope pull is her favortie part:-)

Our sweet baby is miserable sick with a cold. Today I played her favortie game and she did give me a good laugh which immediatly turned into an "I am miserable" cry. Poor girl:(

Almost three!!!

Our gorgeous little Reagan is going to be three in less than one month! Such a big girl! She has changed so much this past year. Recently she has developed quite the toddler belly which causes her pant to really droop. Only a little one can get away with plumber crack and still be adorable. She is moving slowly into 3T sizes.

Reagan told me a few weeks ago that "I don't need Bunny and Bear anymore."   Oh!   Of course I thought to myself, "sure kid" and did find them in her bed after putting her down with them on the floor.   But she is not nearly as attached as she once was.   She still loves to play with her "stuffed friends" and involve them in her pretend senarios.   She is really loving to play "family," in which she is the mommy.   She has such a great imagination and sense of hummor.  Reagan is looking forward to her party and has been helping me plan it.  Invitations will be going out soon!

Oh Reagan

I came across these photos of Reagan today. It was taken several months ago and I never got around to posting them. I was making pizza and had to leave the kitchen for a while (probably to change Els). This is what I found when I returned....

Homework