Still Learning

Before I became a stay at home mom, I was a teacher. I LOVED teaching. One of the things I loved was that I was constantly learning. Whether it was learning new curriculum, learning how a student learns best, or learning new teaching techniques, I was always learning.

So, while I am not still teaching in a classroom, I am still learning new things everyday. Photography became my passion a while back and I started learning. The learning just keeps on going and it never ceases to amaze me the amount of information out there.

I am busy learning a lot over these next few weeks while taking an online course. I can't begin to tell you all the things I learned this week but that picture up there shows you a few. From learning how to nail exposure with natural light, to faking a studio look ( that picture up there was actually shot in my bedroom!), to converting images to a great looking black and white- I have been learning! And that makes me happy :-)

Where's My Baby??

My days of babies are dwindling down. I can't believe it. How have all my babies gotten so big? We have been used to watching Louisa "walk" around on her knees for the past few months. Seems she has had absolutely no need to use her feet. And you should see this girl! She is fast- feet or no feet, this girl can move!

But recently, our little Louisa has discovered that she can actually walk on her feet. She is really encouraged to get up on those feet when one of her siblings beckons her. Look at big sis back there cheering her on.

I think Liza may just well be Louisa's biggest cheerleader. I don't know who was happier that she was walking- Louisa or Liza.

And it is so sweet when little sis makes it to big sis. I love that my girls love each other. Look at this hug :-)! I know, as they get older they will have their spats but I do believe that they won't forget these little moments that they share.

I am so thankful that my kiddos have each other to cheer them on. And I am thankful that when these little milestones happen I have some little people around here who share my joy. I just can't believe that my babies are all getting bigger. Now that she is walking I guess she is officially a toddler. Oh my!

Ahead of the Game- Planning Valentines!

I just finished posting these on my photography blog and couldn't resist sharing them here as well. I am so excited about Valentine's Day this year. I have found the cutest card templates. Now if I can just decide which to use!

How Cute Are These Girls?

So, I am playing around with my camera this afternoon and my girls actually cooperated and let me take some pictures while they played. Occasionally, I could get Liza to look at me. You should see the number of pictures I have of her looking down. This one was cuter though.

After a while, these are the looks I got from Liza. Can't you just hear her, "Seriously... M-om."

And here is my littlest cutie. I tell you, I have more blurry shots of this child then any of the others as babies. She is all over the place. Sometimes I managed to catch her, like for this one brief moment.

And here is the little one with one of her favorite toys to steal from her big sister- the Leapster. Thank goodness Leapsters are tough. As you can see Louisa likes the taste of Leapsters :-0!

And finally, this image just cracks me up. Na- nanny-boo-boo!

Not much else to share tonight other than my sweet little girls!

A Few From the Birthday Gathering

Liza's birthday party is not for a few more weekends. The holidays got the best of her mommy and the slacker didn't book her party early enough :-0! Oh well, gives us something to look forward too.

The night was still special though. Our best buddies came over to eat cake with us and a pretty cake it was. Check it out! Liza picked out the colors. ( And no- I didn't make it. )

Liza enjoyed opening presents. She loved her leapster game that got. She inherited the leapster once Harrison got a DS. Now that she has a "girl game" I am thinking it will be pulled out a lot more often. Her favorite thing so far about it? There is a sing along! Now she can sing with the princesses!

This picture just cracks me up. Look at the crowd at her little psuedo party- ALL boys ( except Louisa). How cute is that? My girl is a girly girl. She loves to wear dresses, insists on wearing dresses, loves dolls and makeup BUT she can hang with the boys. She is no push over. On any other day you may catch her wielding a light saber, yelling and chasing these boys. But, for today she was a little birthday princess.

Clapping at the singing. Remember, this girls loves to sing and I guess she loves to be serenaded too.

And a wish!

We had a lot of fun for such an impromptu party. Maybe this birthday planning stuff isn't needed after all. Give us cake and our awesome neighbors and that is party enough!

The Birthday Girl

Liza's 4th birthday was yesterday. Hard to believe, but my big girl is now 4! We let her open one present in the morning- this pretty pink jumper. It had an adorable polka dot cardigan to accompany it. The cheery little cardigan is what made me buy the outfit as a birthday present. It just screamed birthday dress to me. But, 4 year old girls are quite particular about what they wear. So, sorry. Liza wanted the whole dress to show in her picture which meant no cardigan.

Here is my little birthday girl looking like she just might eat that lollipop before I tell her she can.

And this shot made me think she must have been dreaming of her valentine. Such a funny little thing she is!

And this one, I processed a little different with a Florabella Action. I just love the cool and dreamy look of it.

And this one is just my sweet little LuLu.

Happy Birthday my sweet girl. You are mommy's angel girl, sent straight from heaven.

Wow-Za!

I can't stand to post without pictures. And, I have been so busy doing pictures for other people and trying to keep up with my kiddos that I have not been taking many pictures for me. However, yesterday I received a nice little package in the mail. In the package was my "new to me" lens that I have been wanting for a while. I found one for sale on one of my photography forums and had a little money from my business to reinvest so I bought it.

And oh my goodness! I LOVE it! I don't think I will take this lens off for a while. Well, I take that back. I told Ed that we could wrap it up for me for my Christmas present. Sad, I know but hey Christmas is really about the kids.

So, here are few test shots with my new baby:

Check out Liza's dismount from the rings. Lovely, huh?

And look how sharp she is here!

And, not only does this little baby take nice pics outside, it does well inside too. I surprised Louisa. Look at her cute little mouth.

Liza was not so surprised. She knows mommy can be crazy with a camera sometimes. I love how she cut her eyes at me.

And here I cracked the little lady up. I guess mommy taking pictures of you trying to take a bath can be pretty funny.

So, there you have it. A few shots with my new lens. Wow-za it is sharp! I just can't even stand it. Yes, I am a geek. I love a new toy that works well. Perhaps after I unwrap it at Christmas you will see some more pictures!