Day 81

I love it when Kayleigh just passes out in the middle of the floor. That is the only way I get sharp pictures of her lately because she moves around SO much now!

Thanks for all of the teething ideas! We will try them out. I love seeing who is out there reading my blog other than my mom (HI MOM!).

I figured I would answer some of the questions that people have asked me about camera stuff lately. If you could care less about photography, stop reading now....

*For my speedlight set-up yesterday, I used a SB-600, Softlighter, cheap umbrella stand, and most importantly e-bay triggers. To read more, check this out (Nerdy Light Stuff).

*Until recently, I have been using a 50mm 1.8 lens. It is a great (read: cheap) starting lens. One day with this lens and you will want to throw the kit lens out the window.

*Some great reading material to start with is a book called Understanding Exposure. Then head on over to www.ilovephotography.com. This is your warning, if you are anything like me.... you will be on that website until 3AM. I mean it is seriously addicting.... there is so much to learn there!

Ok, I wil finish questions later. Thanks for reading. Don't forget to say hi in the comments!

We are for sure getting a tooth! Does anyone have some little tricks to survive this time? This afternoon I gave her frozen peas in her self feeder, she really enjoyed it. Any other ideas?

Day 90

Today I decided to set up the Softliter and my flash and see how it works. I must say, I am pretty impressed in the way these turned out. They would have been even better had Kayleigh not been so worried about the big umbrella in her play area. She didn't want to sit still, she wanted to go study this big flashing thing. Here are the 3 that came out ok. I am not crazy about them. I have decided from now on that I really need someone else around when I try to photograph her.


The Bear keeps looking skinnier by the day. She is very busy now and burning alot more calories. I really wanted some pictures to remember her baby chub before it all just disappears.

My "knight in shining armor (or stupid Napoleon Dynamite shirt)" spent his day fixing my car. Yes, that means I was stuck with the baby with the fever, bad attitude, and budding tooth ALL DAY LONG! I really appreciate that Sean can do this kind of stuff, reminds me alot of my dad. All I can say is that I am glad that shirt got demoted from the "go to the mall" to the "work outside" shirt stack!

Isn't it neat how pretty weeds can be?

Day 89

Is it finally time for us to go through teething? I do believe so! Kayleigh has been a GRUMP today. It started at 2:00 this morning when she woke us up crying. She has been fussy all day. She has just wanted to cuddle with me and suck her thumb, so we have watched aLOT of TV together and taken aLOT of Motrin. She also has a 101 fever, I assume from the tiny toothe kinda sorta poking out at me.

We had to run an errand this afternoon and the Bear finally passed out in her carseat. I seriously considered reading a book in the car so I could have some peace and quiet for a while. Insead, I took this picture and woke her up. Check out the cute curl on the top of her head!

I got a new lens today! I am beyond excited. I was actually giddy all day. It is a Tamron 17-50 2.8 for anyone who cares. These were the first couple of pics I took at Starbucks where we met up with its previous owner. Nothing special, but I would say that it is a sharp lens!

(Photo courtesy of Sean and pop-up flash)

I get really tired of hearing "Your CAMERA takes such great pictures." Well, this picture is your proof. I have studied and practiced my hiney off. I have read and practiced on Cosmo and read some more (just ask Sean). What's so funny is that my camera isn't even that nice. I bought it refurbished, Nikon does not even manufacture it any more.

Stepping down from my soap box now.

Day 88

It gets old hauling all this stuff and a baby upstairs. UGHHHH

Day 87

My little grease monkey....

We have been fighting cradle cap like crazy. Sean is not able to get all of the baby oil out of her hair during her bath, so the Bear looks like Danny from Grease. I tried to wash it out in the sinklast night beauty parlor style, but it is still there. It is funny, I am kinda upset out it. I don't want the other moms at daycare thinking that Kayleigh is dirty, IT JUST WON'T COME OUT!

Day 86

Today was windy.

Oops!

Somehow, I completely forgot to share some pictures from the Arboretum last week! I spent a few hours there with some old friends. They were so nice to let me bother them with my camera. I took a bizillion pictures of flowers that I won't bore you with. Here are some of my favorites from the day.


Anne, I adore this picture. It is SO you!
Kayleigh thought Lindsey's sunglasses were pretty.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day here today! After we got home, we spent a little time with Tara and Bailey enjoying the weather. We tortured this cute little lady bug for quite a while, Kayleigh even wanted in on the action. Hummm... now that I look at it, it kinda looks like a red mole, but I promise it was a lady bug!

So much for my favorite curtains...... I guess those will have to come down too. Soon there will be nothing left pretty in my house because : A - there is no more room B - Kayleigh will eat it or C - Kayleigh could hurt herself on it. Oh the joys of having a mobile baby!

This child studies EVERYTHING! I secretly hope that means that she is really smart, not like her mommy.

Day 85

Cosmo is such a bad influence on Kayleigh.

Day 84

I just can't believe that my baby bear is 8 months old already! She is growing up more each day. She babbles, pulls up to standing, crawls everywhere, eats "puffs", and chases Cosmo. Her favorite toys are her kitchen, singing stage, Cosmo, and wobbly penguin. She sleep with her hiney straight up in the air and her thumb in her mouth. When she gets excited she bounces up and down and will even "dance" when you sing to her. Sometimes she will even read to herself (with the book upside down). GOSH! Time is flying by!

Day 83

Happy Easter!

Sean and I thought the way Kayleigh was sleep was pretty funny last night. Shot at 1600, no tripod. I am proud of how sharp it turned out!

Day 82

Breakfast with Mimi.

Day 81

Kayleigh went to the Kappa Kappa Gamma Easter Egg Hunt today with Grammy. Grammy loved showing her off. As we were taking this picture, a little girl came out of no where and ripped this pretty purple off off of Kayleigh and ran off. So, we left empty handed, I guess we at least got one egg!

My mom adores Kayleigh, but really.... can you blame her?

Day 80

Cosmo is quite possibly the best dog in the world. We feel so bad leaving him in the apartment all day. I think we need another dog to keep him company..... what do you think?


This picture was a complete accident. I was testing out my exposure and accidentally caught this gem. I love my Mimi so much. From the looks of this picture, she feels the same way about my bear.

Day 79

B.F.F.


The bear has figured out that she can see out of her bed when she sits up. When I go in her room in the mornings, this is what I see.


We got to hang out with Kristy, Price, and Macy this week while I was off from school. This picture makes my heart happy. This is about how things are now when we get together. What happened to those little babies that would just sleep and let us talk?

Day 78

It is storming big time today and our lights went out for a few hours..... what a fun way to spend Spring Break! Just look at what my baby is up to now. After this, we sat down and had a serious talk about how sad it makes mommy that she is growing up too fast. She just looked at me and pulled all the way up on the ottoman. I don't think she gets it yet.


Ok, I am cheating and posting 2 pictures, I know. Yesterday I was on the phone with Kristy and she was telling me about how Price fell asleep in his bouncer. I thought it was cute, then 2 hours later.... this is how I found Kayleigh!!! I thought it was kinda weird since she hadn't done this before.

Day 77

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Check out this potatoe I found this morning! He must have fallen out of the bag..... 6 months ago! I don't know why, but I thought it was really cool, and very fitting for the holiday!

Day 76

Day 75

Kayleigh's new face.

Day 74

Linda and Jennifer,
Thank you for watching The Bear today, we appreciate it so much!

Day 73

Kayleigh is trying to pull up on everything! She can only get to her knees, but she is trying SO HARD to stand up (EEEK!). We are AMAZED at everthing she has figure out how to do in just the last few days!

On that note, here is a video of our little crawling machine. This is when she crawled for the second time. Please excuse the cheesy commentary.