May the Force Be With You

Jay has decided to begin showing Maddox the Star Wars films. He started last week with Episode IV and tonight's movie night was The Empire Strikes Back.



Last week after watching the first film Maddox was yelling in his sleep that he wanted a "man dress." I think he means the robe-like thing that Obe-Wan wears. I enjoy his interpretation of the robe as a man dress. And his strong desire to have one. Pretty funny for sleep talk.

Maddox is definitely fascinated by the movies.







While Maddox couldn't take his eyes off of the tv screen, little Evey couldn't take her eyes off of Maddox and his yummy looking popcorn!



Have a great weekend!

Little Bully

So my once sweet and innocent daughter has begun abusing me. It's true. I don't mind the punches to the chest...they can be a little startling but otherwise not too painful. It's the fists to the face, especially my eye that I could really do without. I'm sure you're thinking I'm overreacting here. But even Jay has noticed that she puts her entire shoulder into these punches. She swings the arm from behind her and you never see it coming...she gets that fist flying at maximum velocity to achieve maximum force. Then POW! Right in the eye. It really hurts! I'm a little on edge while holding her these days. ;-)

Well, the little bully is 6 months old today! Six whole months! Unbelievable. She is really becoming quite active. In fact, diaper/clothing changes seem more like some sort of rodeo competition these days. I tried to get her to sit for her monthly photo shoot today...but we were on the bed and she sits better on harder surfaces. This was by far the most challenging shoot...she was all over the place. She wanted to chew on the blanket and/or her toes more than she wanted to sit for pictures. But here are a few favorites of my little half-year old...





Still has quite a few rolls...



This one is a little abstract but I couldn't resist once I saw her diaper/britches had worked their way down just a tad...



Big eyes...



If you look close you should be able to spot her crazy hairs that stand up on top of her head...

Margaret & Vin

I adore this couple! I really can't say enough about them. They are so kindhearted...and so in love! They are newlyweds...just married last year. I love how Vin kept making Margaret laugh. It's so important to share your life with someone who makes everything FUN!

I have so many pictures of Margaret laughing at something Vin said to her...but this is definitely one of my favorites.



They were totally up for anything...willing to try anything I suggested. Gotta love that!



Have I mentioned that I love this couple?!





My favorite shot of Margaret & Vin...

Nancy

Yesterday I met Nancy who is a very sweet, wonderful lady. Nancy is also a photographer! So we had a nice time talking photography while we roamed around getting some portraits. Like most photographers, I think Nancy prefers being behind the camera. But after she got warmed up we got some lovely relaxed shots!

A couple of my favorites in color...





And a couple of my favorites in black & white...

Tom, Becca, Mia & Taylor

Mia arrived full of energy and ready to have fun...so long as it did not involve having your picture taken! haha

I think we managed to get some great shots nonetheless. I like how Mia is so sweetly resting her head on Becca in this one...



But this one is my favorite family shot...all smiles!



A couple of my favorites with just Tom & Becca...





And I LOVE LOVE LOVE this shot of Taylor and Mia. Too cute! Taylor and Mia love each other so much...I adore seeing that kind of love between siblings.

Tummy Time

Now that she is rolling - Evey finds herself on her tummy more often these days. Here she is inspecting a couple of her toys.



Fun!



A quick little taste...



and maybe just a nibble or two.

Fun with Cameras

From not too long ago...just messing around one day in Maddox's room.



What's this? Smiling and not hiding from the camera?!



Maddox was even inspired to bust out his own camera.



He took a couple pictures of me.





Then he took a picture of Evey.



Unfortunately he has convinced himself that the erase button on his camera is for emailing pictures...so he keeps announcing that he is going to email a certain picture and then deletes it. The Evey picture was among those emailed/deleted.

Old Man

Jay noticed that our handsome dog, Cash, is getting some gray hairs around his mouth. I think it was 7 years ago that we found him running wild around our old neighborhood. He is still pretty frisky at times...but definitely tires more easily these days.





In other news, I think we are all finally on the mend. Jay tried to go to work yesterday but ended up coming home after only a few hours. He's back at it today and appears noticeably healthier. Poor guy, I've been treating him like a leper. He hasn't been allowed near the rest of us and I've followed his trail around the house with a can of lysol. While I feel a teensy bit mean about this...so far the rest of us are flu free and I have my fingers crossed that we will escape it's evil grasp. If you haven't noticed, I can be a bit dramatic about viruses. Nasty little buggers.

Hopefully I can get cracking on photos...though now I am distracted by a towering pile of laundry :-(
...and some new photography toys! :-)

House of Sick

Ugh. So Maddox gave me his cold and he and I have been sniffling and coughing for about a week now. Then Saturday Jay came down with the flu. Fantastic! Just what we need. We have been trying to keep our distance from poor Jay in the hopes that we too will not fall victim to the awful flu virus. Jay has pretty much been sleeping on the couch downstairs for the past 2 days straight. Which has left me busy trying to keep up with the kids and entertain Maddox since he is missing out on his daddy time. I have some pics to post...hopefully I can get to them in the next day or so.

One quick one...Maddox drew this and I find it interesting. He calls it "Monster Baby." I'm wondering if there is any connection to his feelings about his little sister... ;-)



Hope this finds you healthy...Happy Monday to you!

Jumperoo

We dusted off Maddox's old jumperoo...and Evey is quite pleased with it. She seems pretty happy to just chill in it. She hasn't really started jumping around at all yet. Maddox was a mad man...he was in the jumperoo before his feet touched the floor. We stacked a couple of big books underneath and he would bounce all around in the thing. Of course he would lock his legs and try to stand practically since birth. Evey is just concerned with being upright at all times. She hates lying down now unless she is sleeping. She is even sitting by herself for several minutes at a time...but eventually tips over. And then lays there in a permanent crunch (legs and head up) until you help her sit back up. Here she is enjoying her favorite new toy.









The lip biting amuses me...





She is having some saliva containment issues these days...you may or may not be able to see in this photo...



I actually got some pictures of Maddox - I'll try to post them tomorrow!

No Pictures Please!

Here is how Maddox responds the majority of the time when he spots me with a camera.



And of course little Evey wants to be just like her big brother!



Happy Friday!

Drumroll Please...

LOVE Photo Contest Results -
Wow! This ended up being really close! I have tallied the votes left in the comments section and combined those with the votes I received by email. The winning photo won by one vote! And three photos tied for second place!

And the winner is...



Andrea created this image on the beach of the Pacific Ocean in San Francisco. Very nice. Congratulations Andrea! Andrea will receive a $20 gift certificate to Amazon.com! Yeah!

I would like to include a late entry in the LOVE photo contest! Andrea's photo reminded me of a photo taken by my husband many many years ago when we were first dating. I had a point & shoot camera that I took with me pretty much everywhere even way back then. I accidentally left it at his apartment. When I ended up getting my roll of film developed...there was one image on my roll that I did not take. Here it is:



HAHA! And it was sooooooo romantic! That's hilarious. Nothing says I love you like a bunch of beer bottles...Happy Valentines Day honey! :-)

Okay, back to business. Here are the remaining entries - now including the identities of the mystery photographers. ;-)

Photo #1 by Anita Giese (tied for 2nd place!)



Photo #2 by Misty Black (tied for 2nd place!)



Photo #3 by Rebecca Gomez



Photo #4 by Andrea Biagioli



Photo #5 by Christine Blegen



Photo #6 by Stephanie Alexander



Photo #7 by Anita Giese



Photo #8 by Misty Black (tied for 2nd place!)



Photo #9 by Rebecca Gomez



Photo #10 by Christine Blegen



THANK YOU all so much for participating - this was a lot of fun! I have a little somethin' somethin' for all of you!

And thanks to all of the voters as well!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY! Don't forget to take some pictures of your loved ones today!