Back to January!

In a sad and pitiful attempt to go back to January and capture this year, here we go!  It's strange to be blogging photos of kids in long sleeves, and trees with no leaves--when it's 90 degrees outside!

These photos are from back in Jan when I was taking the photo class that FINALLY taught me to shoot manually.  So many lightbulbs went off in that class!  I love these b/c they capture our daily life.  LOTS of crafts around these parts!  They are the surefire way to get my three to actually sit down and be still for a few minutes.  Only until the craft is over!

 Those sweet baby chubby cheeks.  He's losing them more everyday, and getting that thin little boy face.  Momma is sad.

Summer Fun

I'm taking an eight week class to hopefully learn some more advanced photography skills.  This week was about capturing some summer shots, and focusing.  While I haven't taken the time to investigate my camera's alternative focusing abilities, I did capture these three stinkers having some sprinkler fun.

 This is where Eli was teasing me (and his sister), threatening to throw her boot in the water.  I guess he forgot they are rain boots, and neither of us cared.

 The sprinkler got him!

My heart!

June trip to Florence

You will all have to bare with me for a little while.  As I've become a little more advanced in my photography skills, it's required me to become more advanced in my computer skills.  See, 99% of the world take regular pictures in jpeg's.  I've started shooting in RAW, which gives me more control over my photos in post processing, but you can't put RAW files online.  They have to be jpeg.  I'm finishing up a class over at clickinmoms.com that has been super helpful- Lightroom 101.  It's a post processing program by Adobe, who also produces Photoshop.  LR has a lot of the same features of photoshop but it lets you organize your photos!!!  In any case, I am playing around while on vacation, and hopefully I'm going to develop a smooth workflow for shooting, editing, exporting, and blogging.    So, with that said, I hope to blog a lot in the next week as I figure things out.  

 Playing around with lowlight photography, with my new camera.  Got a Nikon 600 with a ROCKIN' Iso!

 Tell me you can't look at this without laughing.  Oh my.  My funny girl!

 Double rainbow.  Immediately thought of August and Rhiannon, the two little girls my friend has lost through a failed adoption and full term stillbirth.

 Attempting to get these three to take a picture is hysterically funny.  Grandma made their outfits!

MIA

I have no real reason for being MIA.  There is plenty I want to share and say, but the time just gets away from me.  I guess it's that business of raising three kids.  I hate doing anything during the day that takes my attention away from them, but I just crash when they do at 7:30 most nights.    I really am going to try and pick up the pace soon!

More I-phone

This is what happens during the exhausting Christmas season!  Drake falls asleep at the island at 5:30.

We did gingerbread men rather than houses!

Red velvet cupcakes- yum!

We took the firemen some cupcakes!  We have station right down the road, and Drake is obsessed with going slow past it.  So, we took them some treats.  They were SUPER nice and went above and beyond.  They wanted to take a picture with him, and let him try on their boots/pants/helmet, but Drake was too shy.

So, Drake is a massive Momma's boy.  He fell asleep in my office one night while I wrapped presents.  He would NOT go to sleep without me, and I had to get some stuff done!

They loved sprinkling these pretzels, and my coworkers loved them!

Christmas from I-phone

The kids LOVED the lights on our house, and thoroughly enjoyed turning them on each night.

This was the first night of Buddy's return.

I let them have total free reign with icing and decorating the upside down ice cream cones, also known as their "trees".

Before preschool one morning.  Drake did NOT want his picture taken, and I refused to leave the house until I got one of the three of them.

I actually put forth some effort and set the dining room table-all official.  My MIL gave me some adorable reindeer Christmas china last year, and my Mom gave me the red.  Love it all together!

Her grandma made her this dress when she was still in China, and gave it to me at the surprise shower my coworkers hosted.

Y'all.  I have a talented cousin.  Who happened to move to Charlotte a few months before Christmas.  So of course, I called her to come do the mantle.  And she certainly did!!!  Thanks Keli!

More Christmas 2012

We did Christmas with Oma and Opa this year while they were visiting in early December.  The kids loved their presents and have played a lot with a cupcake maker, and a dragon that shoots things.

They did Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa while they were visiting after the school Christmas program.  Here is a before:

 They did Christmas with their cousins McCall and Baylor the weekend before Christmas.

 And loved their matchbox cars the best!

 Fast forward to Christmas morning.  The first few photos are on my phone, because the camera was down in the playroom.  I couldn't get to it before the kids ran down there.  This is about 5-10 minutes into it!  Santa brought three presents to each child.  A bike, a soccer ball, and a hula hoop.

D and T had a blast dumping their stockings.

 But Daddy had to help Eli.  Eli quickly discovered there were new stamp pads in his stocking.  This made him a VERY happy boy.

 He knew just what do to, and ran over to the bin that has all the stampers in it.

 SO EXCITED!   I love how the little things in the stocking, like new stamp pads, make them the happiest.

 Daddy attempting to hula hoop.

After playing with the new Santa toys a while, we headed upstairs to open presents.  Here is my blurb on how we changed Christmas this year.  We went with the 4 gift rule:  Something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read.  We also decided on only 3 gifts from Santa, b/c Jesus only got three gifts.    I thought it wasn't enough, that the kids would feel deprived.  I quickly realized those were MY issues, not theirs.  I don't want their love language to be gifts.  I don't want them spoiled and entitled.  I struggle with this daily, because I feel torn between giving them everything they want, and actually making them decent human beings who are used to being told "No".  Parenting:  Not for the weak of heart.  I want them to remember the reason for the season, not just focus on how many presents they get.  We will never have to deal with children who count how many presents each get, b/c everyone will be equal.  The four gift rule is just as much for me as it is them.  It keeps my shopping in check.  I would frequently see things they would like, but didn't buy it because that category was already met.  Now, what will I change next year?  We will be opening presents individually.  When they all just rip in, I miss their reactions.  Their siblings have no idea what they got.  I want to experience that and savor it.  I took great care in picking out their four gifts each, and I want to watch them enjoy what they received.  For some gifts, they will open together.  Example:  All 3 got costumes for dress up as their wear.  I would have all 3 open those boxes at the same time.

Enough about that, here is Drake with his 4 gifts:

 And Tessa:

 T with her need:  and educational turtle for just her- she gets to keep it in her room.  That's a big deal, b/c we don't keep toys in their rooms.

 Drake's want:  A police station.  He loved it and is still obsessed with it.  All 3 kiddos love playing with it.

 Eli's read was  "Go Away Big Green Monster" and a puppet that goes along with it.  (Note the ink all over his face from the stamp pads.

 Even with "just" four gifts each,  the living room was a crazy mad zone after.

 Tessa's want was lincoln logs, and we all had a great time building.  She fell in love with them at Disney, when a restaurant we ate had at them in the waiting area.

 Ta-Da!

 When it got a little warmer, we headed outside on the bikes.  D got a big boy bike with legit training wheels.  He was a little unsure at first, since it wobbles between the two training wheels.  Once he was used to the wobble, and knew he wouldn't fall off, he loved it!

 Strawberry shortcake tricycle for the princess:-)

 Red radio flyer trike for this little guy!  Gma and Gpa arranged for Santa to add a horn to each bike.  They love those horn!  Me?  Not so much!

 In our neighbors driveway.  They like it better than ours!

I have a ton of other photos on my phone from the Christmas season, and hope to get to those today.