More Photography

First things first - went for another bike ride tonight after dinner. I heard that ninety degree temps are coming our way, so I thought it may be a good idea to take advantage of this gorgeous weather we have been having. As you can see, Paige is still not loving the bike trailer...at least this time she didn't cry DURING the ride. Only before and after.

More photography experiments from this morning. Look at that sky. What snow? What winter?


My favorite of the day (above)


Checking out those rocks again.....And didn't i see that same look on Emily's face yesterday? Annoyed with me already and she's only eleven and a half months.



And finally, Paige's new best friend - her sippy cup. You can see it in the bike trailer pictures above. It's like her pacifier. Since we have pretty much taken away her bottle, she has befriended the sippy cup. And, oh my goodness, she drinks a lot of watered down juice (95% water, 5% apple juice). At least three full sippy cups a day, but sometimes four. She still doesn't like milk in her sippy cup - and I am working on that one. Anyone have any suggestions???

Photography

I don't know if any of you know this about me, but I know pretty much nothing about photography. I know bits and pieces of stuff, but for the most part, I just turn my camera on the automatic mode, point it at my subject matter, and click away. Digital photography was designed for me. Now I know if the picture I took is blurry, or just not right.

It's pretty bad because our family business is all about photography. People who know plenty about aperture, f-stops, ISO's and all that jazz buy stuff from us everyday. So, it's time. I must learn - and most of all....RETAIN.

The first thing I wanted to know is how do you do that thing where the subject is in focus, but the background is all blurry. So, Eric showed me. Pretty cool.....The only thing is that my models are not exactly the most cooperative. I had to bribe Emily with a cookie - and Paige, I am just lucky if she's not crying....

This one is my favorite - and it's really hard to get this shot. The moving swing adds quite the degree of difficulty.

Yeah - she was OVER it. I can picture this exact same face on her in about eight years.......

These next ones were taken this morning with my little Canon point and shoot. No real great photography here - just a very cute little almost one year old enjoying a beautiful morning.

She loves those rocks. She picks them up and will hand them to you - but if you aren't paying attention...right into the mouth. As if we don't feed her enough.

Blueberry Pancakes on Sunday

Costco has the big, huge blueberry clamshell right now for eight bucks. So, I have been on a blueberry kick. We have had blueberry pancakes for the past few weekends. They are so yummy. I even like them cold - right out of the refrigerator for a snack...we always have a few left over. Paige and Emily love them as well. Paige ate one and a half pancakes all by herself. I think she may have wanted more, but I am not sure if she just thought they tasted good, or she was really hungry.



Emily has been staying up pretty late the last few nights. She is not real good at sleeping in, so I think her fatigue has finally caught up with her. She was ULTRA crabby at breakfast this morning. She was crabby at dinner time too. She went to bed at eight tonight - and I think she was sleeping by 8:15.



Since Paige's birthday party is next weekend, I have been on the hunt for the perfect gift. What do you get a one year old who doesn't really need any toys because her older sister had every toy known to man? Well, I decided that since she doesn't really know or care too much about gifts, we would get a bike trailer that is on sale at Target this week. Of course, it's already put together, and had it's maiden voyage this afternoon....we couldn't wait - and it was a BEAUTIFUL day, so why not? Paige was strapped in beside her sister, and was fine for the first twenty minutes, then she was over it. I was riding my bike with a trailer containing two children who were not very happy for at least half a mile. Paige wanted OUT, and Emily wanted silence. Oh, Family Fun. (no picture yet...it's hard to take one when you are riding a bike)

Some good news - it looks like Emily's old school may not be closing. We ran into Emily's teacher, Ms. Pfeiffer, at Panera this afternoon. She told us that the owner bought the school building and they plan to have it up and running for the fall. They did cancel summer camp because of low enrollment. Not a perfect situation - but at least those teachers and staff still have their jobs. And that's GOOD news.


Yes, this little thing will be turning one in eleven days. My, how time flies. Have a great week everyone.

Week End - I so need you

So, I don't know why - maybe I like a challenge - but I decided to change Paige to one mid-day nap AND remove two of her beloved bottles - all in one week. I am crazy. I am also VERY TIRED. Add to that a very massive, and strange allergy attack, and you have my week in a nutshell.

I don't know if Paige is crabby because she misses her bottles, is screwed up with the whole sleeping thing, or is teething. Whatever the case, she is running me ragged. She is not happy with the idea of milk in her sippy cup - she keeps throwing it on the floor every time I give it to her. Fortunately, she loves yogurt and cheese, so she is definitely getting enough dairy - add that to her one remaining bottle that she gets at nighttime....which is going away in a few days.....I told you - I like a challenge. Poor Paige. Poor Mommy.

The allergy thing - I am not even sure that it is what I have, but it seems to be the only likely answer. I have been getting these little pin prick pains all over my body - like little annoying itches. They are EVERYWHERE. It is driving me crazy. I took some allergy medicine, and it did seem to make it a little better, but it's still there. Anyone ever have this?

Pictures from the week:




Two crazy Tiger fans all the way at the top of Comerica Park. Yes, all the way at the top. It was a GREAT game. We went with my cousin, Kelly. The Tigers were losing for the first seven innings, and then they started hitting. They ended the ninth with a two run homer by Cabrera. Very exciting. Oh, and the orange Detroit hat is new - you like it? Went to the store right before the game and I got two t-shirts (this gray one, and a blue one with Pudge's name and number on the back) and the hat - twenty percent off. Yay me. I so should have switched places with Eric for this picture...not a very good angle.

View from out seats. With all the bad press Detroit gets - it looks so cool and pretty from up here.


Emily and Paige at a Lemonade Tea Party with Jenna and Noah.


Before the tea party. They were told to wear dresses. I guess I was supposed to wear one as well.....ummm, not happening.


First picture: Paige after dinner on Tuesday night - Rigatoni a la Vodka. She loved it. It was everywhere. In her hair, mushed in her hands. I even found some in her diaper right before her bath...how did it get there?
Second picture: Paging Dr. Paige. She loves to wear Emily's Dr. cap. She brought it to me and asked in her very Paigey way to put it on her. So I did. Too cute.

A Sad Day

Today in the mail we received a letter stating that Emily's old school - old, as of last Thursday - is closing on Friday. Closing for good. Their enrollment for Summer and Fall was not very good, and their lease on the building was just too expensive. So, they are closing as of July 11th. Somehow, I feel like we have lost a good friend.

We had not planned on sending Emily there for Kindergarten - a decision that both Eric and I struggled with. And we only sent her to Summer Camp for three weeks. I am sure that I am not responsible for the closing, but I sure do feel guilty. And Paige, who would be going there in a couple of years, will not get to go at all. That just stinks.

I try to not watch the news at night, so I don't have to be reminded of how bad the economy of our country has become. But when you get something like this in the mail, it's just a BIG reminder of what's going on out there.

So, here's to two wonderful years at Schoolhouse Montessori. Here's to wonderful teachers - Ms. Pfiffer and Mrs. MacMillan, who were so kind, and patient. To Mrs. Thomas in the front office who always had a smile for everyone. To the director, Mrs. Partyka, who always has such a positive attitude, and a great love for all her students. And to all the other aides and staff - thank you for taking such good care of my Emily. From all of you she received such great tools for learning and achieving academic success. We will miss you greatly.

Emily with her teacher for this year - Ms. Pfiffer

Just another Manic Monday

This is our first official day of summer vacation. No summer camp, no swim lessons. Just us, hanging out at home. It was pretty cool. And I would have been much more fun if I hadn't gotten completely sucked in to this book that I started a couple days ago. I was on a mission, I had to finish it. So, I read while the girls played on Paige's room. That worked out for about three minutes. Paige kept pestering me to read her Baby Einstein Baby book, or the Dog book, or any other book she has. She literally grabs your hand, and places the book in it. What could I do? So, I finished after she went to bed. It was good.

In case you are wondering, it's "Itty, Bitty Lies" by Mary Kay Andrews. It's been on my shelf for quite some time, so I decided to pick it up on Saturday, and whammo, I was hooked. If you like chick lit with a little bit of John Grisham intrigue thrown in - you should read it. I am going out tomorrow to get her other two books.

Emily decided that she was going to put on all her necklaces, bracelets and her coolest sunglasses so that she could be a SuperStar. Paige was in awe of her. It was really quite adorable.

One more thing.....she picked Jesse? Is she for real? Those of you who watch know what I am talking about. Poor Jason. I am shocked.

The three B's of the fourth of July

I know that I said that Thanksgiving is my "new" favorite holiday, and it still is, but I think the fourth of July comes in at a close second. Especially this year. After a long, cold winter, a crappy cold spring, and a very SLOW start to summer - the fourth up here in these parts was pretty darn near perfect. The temperature almost got to eighty, the sky was blue, blue, blue, and there was the most perfect cool breeze.

Last year because of some crappy weather, we had Patriotic Meatloaf....no grilling, no fun. Our theme for this year was: Burgers, Beans and Bocce Ball. The burgers and beans were awesome - we also had pasta salad. We played girls against guys in Bocce Ball - and the guys won: 7-3.

Just like last year, we hung outside with our neighbors to watch some pretty spectacular fireworks going on around our neighborhood. The people that live around here spare no expense and go all out. Very cool. The kids did some sparklers, and had a blast just running around being crazy. The temperature dipped into the low 60's - so no mosquitoes - perfect. We put Emily to bed around midnight, and she slept in until almost 10am - a record for her.

Some pictures from the day:














Just also wanted to share a cute little Emily story:

Last week I was informed by my Mom that Emily was expecting an invitation for her sister's first birthday party to be coming any day. She saw that my Mom had one, and wondered where hers was......Luckily, I had a couple extra. I left one on her nightstand after she went to bed that night. She let me know the next day that she would be able to attend.

Oh sweet, adorable daughter of mine. You entertain me so. Love you munchkin.