For this photo, I tried black and white with selective color for the first time. I watched a tutorial on how to do it and this is my first attempt. I'm pretty happy with the result. What do you think?
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Critique This
I'm excited about this new blog hop of Monica's from Pixel Perfect. I welcome any one who wants to critique my work and give me tips so I can improve my photography. If you came from Monica's blog, welcome!! Thank you for stopping by!
For this photo, I tried black and white with selective color for the first time. I watched a tutorial on how to do it and this is my first attempt. I'm pretty happy with the result. What do you think?
For this photo, I tried black and white with selective color for the first time. I watched a tutorial on how to do it and this is my first attempt. I'm pretty happy with the result. What do you think?
Monday, February 14, 2011
Belated Birthday Pics
I finally took Laura Anne outside to take her 5-year pictures! I decided that we will not be going to a studio anymore because 1--it will save us money, and 2--I'm perfectly capable of taking at least halfway decent photos. :)
I love this next picture although it is a tad fuzzy. The camera focused on the grass behind Laura Anne. But it turned out okay after sharpening it in Photoshop.
For the following picture, I told her to look off to the side at another tree because I wanted to get a profile shot.
Then she saw Chris walking up behind me, getting ready to surprise me, but she was trying not to turn her head.
After he surprised me, I snapped this one:
I think Chris must've been making her laugh:
Squinting from the brightness:
One of my favorites from the day:
Funny story: She was telling me how cold she was here, but I really wanted to get this shot:
I was trying to get a natural smile, so instead of saying "smile!" I told her "picture Daddy wearing a tutu!" I didn't get the look I was going for:
We did get some good ones, though. She is beautiful and growing up way too fast.
Then she saw Chris walking up behind me, getting ready to surprise me, but she was trying not to turn her head.
After he surprised me, I snapped this one:
I think Chris must've been making her laugh:
Squinting from the brightness:
One of my favorites from the day:
Funny story: She was telling me how cold she was here, but I really wanted to get this shot:
I was trying to get a natural smile, so instead of saying "smile!" I told her "picture Daddy wearing a tutu!" I didn't get the look I was going for:
We did get some good ones, though. She is beautiful and growing up way too fast. And now if you'll excuse me, I just received a package I've been waiting for for a loooong time. You'll see soon!!!!!! :D
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Touch A Truck
A couple weekends ago we went to a local event called Touch A Truck. Trucks, service vehicles and construction vehicles of all types were there for kids to climb in and, well, touch!
It turned out to be a very windy and cold day, but I'm glad we went.
Laura Anne loved "touching" the trucks.
Caleb, on the other hand, surprised Chris and me by being very timid and shy about the whole thing. He didn't want to do anything, especially without Daddy.
I think we all enjoyed ourselves though. Stellan slept in the stroller the whole time we were there so you won't be seeing him in this post!
Hehe, I got sneaky snapping a picture of Caleb.
Checking out the police PT Cruiser:
I thought this was amusing. This was on the police car:
Aw, a lovely shot of Caleb refusing to look at the camera.
This is for Grammy and Pops:
There were lots of scary clowns, too. Sorry, but I despise clowns. That's why Caleb surprised us again by wanting to have his face painted by one.
Laura Anne, too!
True story: Caleb wanted Lightning McQueen painted on his face. Miss Clown did not have Lightning McQueen in her book of face paintings. So she did the best she could. (Click on the picture to make it larger so you can see) Caleb was satisfied. The End.
This was Laura Anne's--a crown with a unicorn in the center. She's into unicorns right now.
Oh yes, and Laura Anne and I explored a school bus. She loved that. 
Then we had lunch with Uncle Red!! It was a fun day. Half Birthday
I won't even say "I can't believe how fast my baby is growing" because everyone says that. We all know too well how quickly our babies grow. So anyway.
Stellan!! He just turned 6 months old! His newest trick is learning how to sit up without support. He's not quite there yet, but he's oh so close!
Here he is displaying the little cuddle blanket I finally finished for him! It only took me 6 months to complete!
At his 6 month checkup he weighed 19 lbs (75%) and he measured 28 inches (95%)
He currently loves his exersaucer, is outgrowing his 6-9 month clothes, and is slowly trying solid foods!
You know we can't do a little photo shoot without big brother and sister joining in.
Happy half birthday Little Mister!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Pixel Perfect Blog Hop
Yay! 2011 is going to be a great year! And now, here is my first before/after for this year! It's actually a picture from 2009 of my little chalk-faced, dimpled darling. But it needed fixing. So here ya go!
Before:
After:
Sigh. I love her. And I didn't touch those blueberry eyes. Gorgeous.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
2010 In Review
Yes, I steal people's ideas. My creativity only goes so far. :) (Thanks Jackie!) So, following is a brief rundown of the events from each month last year. It's kinda cool to see what all we've survived experienced together and to see where we are now. I wish I would have done this for previous years because we sure have gone through a lot. Maybe I will at some other time.
January
*I started the year only 11 weeks pregnant.
*Chris had started his job in St. Petersburg already, but the kids and I were still living in central Florida.
*We got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time.
*Felt the baby move for the first time at 14 weeks.
*We moved to an apartment in the Tampa Bay area on January 30th.
February
*Laura Anne upgraded to a twin bed
* We toured the birth center and 2 weeks later, had my first appointment
*Chris felt the baby move.
*One year since we moved from North Carolina!
March
*20 weeks pregnant and we had our first ultrasound!
*The kids and I visited my family in Jacksonville but we all had the stomach bug while we were there. :(
*We saw the Blue Angels fly at the air show.
*Caleb turned 2!
April
*The kids visited with both sets of grandparents for a week and they got to go to the fair, while Mommy and Daddy had some quiet time and a few dates. :)
*We all went to our first professional baseball game! So much fun!
*We bought our new family vehicle: a Toyota Sienna!
May
*Chris and I celebrated our 7th anniversary.
*We visited Jerry and Ellen in North Carolina
*We discovered how beautiful the beaches are here; and the sunsets!!
*Due to a pest problem at our apartment, we had to find a new place to live. :/
June
*3D ultrasound!
*Baby had been in a breech position from (at least) 32 weeks to 34 weeks. But doing some tricky maneuvers, I coaxed him to flip and it worked! At 35 weeks, baby was head down. :)
July
*Second weekend in July, just a few days before my 38th week of pregnancy, we moved in to our new new apartment with the help of friends and family.
*And of course, Baby Stellan arrived on his due date, July 26th, at 10:13 PM. He was our biggest baby yet, weighing 9 lbs 3 oz.
*We had Chanda, a local professional photographer I met through the birth center, present for the birth. She did a fantastic job capturing it and we will cherish the photos forever. (I would post some here, but the copies I have don't have her watermark and I wouldn't want to get in trouble. But she does have some on her website! Go HERE to see!) :D
August
*We had a photo shoot at home with Chanda for newborn pictures. She has some of those on her website too. Click HERE to see if you can spot Stellan. (Hint: at the time I posted this, he was pictures 3, 10 and 15)
*When my Mom went home after visiting us, she took the 2 big kids with her so I could have a little more time to recover and get to know Stellan. :)
*I had a "surprise" baby shower in Jax.
*Caleb quit using his plug! (Thanks for the help, Mom!)
*On the 24th, the kids weighed in at 42 lbs, 29 lbs and 11 lbs 14 oz.
*Chris turned 31.
September
*I started running again.
*Another Rays baseball game
*My sis-in-law, Jennifer, came to visit with her 2 boys for a few days.
*Chris and I started attending Dave Ramsay's Financial Peace University at church.
*Caleb used the potty for the first time, but we are definitely not in full potty-training mode yet.
October
*Adding to our other little homeschool activities, I started teaching Laura Anne how to read.
*Visit to Jax for our annual pumpkin patch visit.
*Discovered Stellan is ticklish on his feet because he laughed when I put his socks on. :)
*Halloween festival at the Y with a friend, then trunk or treat at church.
November
*Stellan blows raspberries. (I document this because our other 2 didn't really do this and it's super adorable!)
*I got sick right before Thanksgiving and couldn't run the Thanksgiving day race with my Mom and brother. :(
*At Stellan's 4 month appointment he weighed 17.5 lbs and we discovered he had a sinus infection. He was prescribed an antibiotic which he reacted to with diarrhea which caused a severe diaper rash resulting in a prescription for that. Whew! That couple of weeks was no fun!
December
*Caleb started sleeping in his big boy fire engine bed!
*We hosted our first sleepover with 2 of Laura Anne's friends.
*Me, Chris and Stellan had an almost free day at Busch Gardens
*Laura Anne turned 5, had a sleepover party, but got sick during it.
*We spent Christmas Eve and part of Christmas day with Chris' family.
*We stayed in Jax for the following week (except Chris), but first Caleb got sick, then Stellan got sick. All while Chris was sick at home. I got it the day we went home. (New Years' Day)
And that was 2010 for us!! Here's hoping 2011 doesn't have quite as much sickness or moving...or babies! Ha!
January
*I started the year only 11 weeks pregnant.
*Chris had started his job in St. Petersburg already, but the kids and I were still living in central Florida.
*We got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time.
*Felt the baby move for the first time at 14 weeks.
*We moved to an apartment in the Tampa Bay area on January 30th.
February
*Laura Anne upgraded to a twin bed
* We toured the birth center and 2 weeks later, had my first appointment
*Chris felt the baby move.
*One year since we moved from North Carolina!
March
*20 weeks pregnant and we had our first ultrasound!
*The kids and I visited my family in Jacksonville but we all had the stomach bug while we were there. :(
*We saw the Blue Angels fly at the air show.
*Caleb turned 2!
April
*The kids visited with both sets of grandparents for a week and they got to go to the fair, while Mommy and Daddy had some quiet time and a few dates. :)
*We all went to our first professional baseball game! So much fun!
*We bought our new family vehicle: a Toyota Sienna!
May
*Chris and I celebrated our 7th anniversary.
*We visited Jerry and Ellen in North Carolina
*We discovered how beautiful the beaches are here; and the sunsets!!
*Due to a pest problem at our apartment, we had to find a new place to live. :/
June
*3D ultrasound!
*Baby had been in a breech position from (at least) 32 weeks to 34 weeks. But doing some tricky maneuvers, I coaxed him to flip and it worked! At 35 weeks, baby was head down. :)
July
*Second weekend in July, just a few days before my 38th week of pregnancy, we moved in to our new new apartment with the help of friends and family.
*And of course, Baby Stellan arrived on his due date, July 26th, at 10:13 PM. He was our biggest baby yet, weighing 9 lbs 3 oz.
*We had Chanda, a local professional photographer I met through the birth center, present for the birth. She did a fantastic job capturing it and we will cherish the photos forever. (I would post some here, but the copies I have don't have her watermark and I wouldn't want to get in trouble. But she does have some on her website! Go HERE to see!) :D
August
*We had a photo shoot at home with Chanda for newborn pictures. She has some of those on her website too. Click HERE to see if you can spot Stellan. (Hint: at the time I posted this, he was pictures 3, 10 and 15)
*When my Mom went home after visiting us, she took the 2 big kids with her so I could have a little more time to recover and get to know Stellan. :)
*I had a "surprise" baby shower in Jax.
*Caleb quit using his plug! (Thanks for the help, Mom!)
*On the 24th, the kids weighed in at 42 lbs, 29 lbs and 11 lbs 14 oz.
*Chris turned 31.
September
*I started running again.
*Another Rays baseball game
*My sis-in-law, Jennifer, came to visit with her 2 boys for a few days.
*Chris and I started attending Dave Ramsay's Financial Peace University at church.
*Caleb used the potty for the first time, but we are definitely not in full potty-training mode yet.
October
*Adding to our other little homeschool activities, I started teaching Laura Anne how to read.
*Visit to Jax for our annual pumpkin patch visit.
*Discovered Stellan is ticklish on his feet because he laughed when I put his socks on. :)
*Halloween festival at the Y with a friend, then trunk or treat at church.
November
*Stellan blows raspberries. (I document this because our other 2 didn't really do this and it's super adorable!)
*I got sick right before Thanksgiving and couldn't run the Thanksgiving day race with my Mom and brother. :(
*At Stellan's 4 month appointment he weighed 17.5 lbs and we discovered he had a sinus infection. He was prescribed an antibiotic which he reacted to with diarrhea which caused a severe diaper rash resulting in a prescription for that. Whew! That couple of weeks was no fun!
December
*Caleb started sleeping in his big boy fire engine bed!
*We hosted our first sleepover with 2 of Laura Anne's friends.
*Me, Chris and Stellan had an almost free day at Busch Gardens
*Laura Anne turned 5, had a sleepover party, but got sick during it.
*We spent Christmas Eve and part of Christmas day with Chris' family.
*We stayed in Jax for the following week (except Chris), but first Caleb got sick, then Stellan got sick. All while Chris was sick at home. I got it the day we went home. (New Years' Day)
And that was 2010 for us!! Here's hoping 2011 doesn't have quite as much sickness or moving...or babies! Ha!
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