Day 101

Well, anyone that knows me knows that I am deathly afraid of tornadoes or "the T word" as my daddy calls it. Well, last night (4 AM) we had a T word warning here. We hung out in the bathroom for a while. Kayleigh thought it was a party! Who knew that sitting in a tub full of pillows could cause such enjoyment! Well thankfully we didn't have a T word, but there were some around the metroplex.

Oh, and I am growing up a little bit because instead of curling up the the fetal position and crying, I was able to get everything together quickly AND even take a snapshot without freaking out.

Please ignore my messy house!

Day 100

WAHOO 100 days!!!! I am so proud! Seriosuly though, blogging is one of the things I look forward to doing every day.

Kayleigh, QUIT GRABBING MOMMY'S CAMERA!!!!!


Kayleigh figured out that she can pull up on the couch. She thinks it is really fun!

Day 99

I am SO glad that I found photography. I am one of those people that needs a creative outlet. I have had SO many of them come and go. Knitting, sewing, scrapbooking, digital scrapbooking, decorating, frame making..... seriously, I could go on and on. None of them, until now have lasted this long. I am consumed with photography. I go to recess with my kids and while they are trying to tell me about who pushed them down the slide, all I can see is how the light is hitting their face. When I drive down the road, I imagine how I could compose a picture with that old falling down apartment complex. I can make just a moment stand still forever. Over the past 8 months, I have started to understand fleeting moments. Moments that I can not have back, but can document through pictures.

Sorry that was so long, I just watched that "Last Lecture" show on TV and am feeling a little sentimental.

Day 98

Sean informed me today that he felt that he looked "awkward" in the picture I posted on Day 90 of him fixing my car. I promised him that I would post some better pictures.


I just love to watch these 2 play together. Kayleigh looks at Sean unlike anyone else. Her face just lights up as soon as he walks into the room.

This is the love of my life. The most supportive, loving, cute man in the world.

"Studious Sean"

Have you been wondering where I have been? I have been here, sick on the couch. Just a stuffy head, sore throat, and cough. But, I am back now..... so let the blogging begin.

Someone did NOT want to go to sleep tonight!

Sean washes Kayleigh every night. When he finishes, he wraps her up in a towel and brings her to me. Everytime he says "look, clean baby," and every time she she smiles all wrapped up. When she takes a bath now, it is big time fun. She loves to splash and play with her bath toys.

Day 97

This is the Bear's favorite hangout lately. She love to stand there and watch me do the dishes. The other day, I dropped a plate and she grabbed it through the bars! We knew it would happen, but not this soon... Kayleigh figured out how to open her gate! Sean turned it around so it is alot harder now. She is such a (cute) mess!

Day 95

Between a new tooth, an ear infection, and a cold, this has become a common scene at our house. Kayleigh has taken all of her naps on us, we LOVE it. She is generally not a very cuddly baby, she is always on the move. This is a much welcomed change of pace.

Day 95

The diaper bag.

It's here! I LOVE this time of year. Shorts make me so happy, especially on chubby legs (and no I don't mean mine!) . I opened up my sun roof today on the way home. There is a very short span of time where that is an acceptable temperature in Texas. This weekend I want to just go have a picnic and enjoy being outside. Summer is coming soon!

Day 94

No more pictures, please.


Kayleigh decided to make her escape tonight. Don't worry, she didn't get far.

As you can tell, I am still working on consistent skin tones.

Day 93

We are on ear infection #2. Once again, we took Kayleigh to the doctor today because she had a bad cough and all that jazz, and once again we have an unexpected ear infection. Ughh. I am letting her sleep with us in the pack and play tonight while she is sick. I like to keep her close just incase, I think she likes it too!


This is what the silly bear was doing before bed tonight. Sean and I were cracking up, so she just kept smushing her face even more. Silly girl......

Day 92

I decided to let the desktop calendars make a come back. They were a big hit on the old blog. So get that boring background off and replace it with this cutie!

Remember:
1. Click on the picture
2. Right click and choose "Set As Desktop Background"

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.