Today

So, I have a really long post about some beautiful rock formations we went to see the other week, but I had so much fun with my camera today, I couldn't help but post these first. (For other camera geeks: I figured out how to capture the natural light in my apartment today by shooting in S mode and adjusting the shutter speed to the light situation. I have never gotten such light pictures with such a great shutter speed. I think most of my success was in 1/80. The camera kept the aperture lower (about 5.6) which made me happy as well).

Today was a sweet, but tough day as both the kids were really grumpy. No one wanted to share and my two that play so well together were getting really frustrated with each other. Henry went to time out multiple times today for hitting and pulling hair; Margaret Mary was just tired, refusing to wear a shirt and refusing to sleep. But amidst the chaos, there was sweetness. Coloring on the kitchen floor, making paper airplanes and trying to fly them; looking back over my pictures while my kids are sleeping, I'm realizing that maybe it wasn't such a bad day after all.

(yes, that IS leftover oatmeal on her face. I swear I wiped it all off...)

Looking back over my post, I realize that all my great pictures with natural light weren't posted (because MM was half naked). But I promise to show them to you when you come to visit!

Using Katie's tricks...

for better black and white photos. (see below post about her giveaway!).

Man would I LOVE to win this!

Katie Evans Photography Class in Denver!

Thanks Brittany for the heads up!

Poor kids

Henry got sick after I got better. He was so pitiful. My kids don't seem to know how to take it easy when they are sick; he would throw up and then beg for more food, then play hard with a toy and then come running to me fussing, and then throw up, only to begin the cycle again. By the time Henry got sick, Margaret Mary was really stressed. She had been stuck in the house for three days, and was the only one not feeling sick. She didn't understand why Henry got the big sippy cup and why she couldn't have any special juice (pedilite). She was crying at everything and really needed some personal attention. We decided she needed a special date with Papa. She was so excited about going out and asked to wear her special hat and to bring her special purse. She ended up not taking any of it with her, but it was sweet to see her getting all dressed up by herself for her date with Papa. What made the date extra special was that she got to ride in Papa's cool black rental car (we wrecked our car in the last snow storm). They went to a local bakery and split a cinnamon roll. She was only gone for about thirty minutes, but it helped her mood GREATLY. Margaret Mary loves her Papa!

All dressed up and ready to go.

It is finished.

We closed on our house last Friday and have a lot of mixed feelings about it. We hope Mr. G (the man who bought the house) loves it as much as we did.

Sick

Yesterday, I was pretty sick with a stomach bug and spent most of the day on the couch. Praise the Lord it was just a 24 hour thing, being sick with small children to take care of is terrible! Today I felt better, but still weak, and spent a lot of the day on the couch as well. Being sick, however, allowed me sit back and get some sweet photographs of my children doing what they do best...

Margaret Mary dancing dancing dancing...


I promise, she only wears this dress every OTHER day. It's her favorite right now; I think because it spins so well. She calls it her "polka dot dress."

Wallowing on Mama...
Using the imagination... (the tunnel is a train and the toys she has stacked on top are the engines)

Here she is counting her engines... She is doing really well with her numbers! The only thing is that after she gets to twelve, she starts over again at 9, only to get to twelve, to start back over at 9, etc...

Henry begging me to sing him songs out of his favorite book. He LOVES songs that have hand motions to them. Today when I was putting him down for his nap, he wouldn't stop singing and doing little hand motions; both frustrating and super sweet!

Just me taking pictures

We love it here. So many places to go and explore! And now, an obsessive mom trying to take pictures of it all! :)

Sweet Feet

For as long as I can remember, Henry has rubbed his feet together in moments of satisfaction: nursing, sleeping, reading books, bath time, etc. To prove my point, this first picture was taken when Henry was seven days old after his baptism by a dear friend Lisa.

Now, 16 months later, I love seeing him do it and how hard he works to balance his body sitting down so that he will be able to rub his feet together. It's not an obsessive thing, just a sweet, slow movement of the feet.

The bottom two pics were taken while Henry and Margaret Mary were watching Dora eating apples and has a funny story to it. Margaret Mary and Henry LOVE each other and want to do exactly what the other is doing. Margaret Mary is in tears each night if we can't find pjs that match Henrys. If he is wearing plaid pjs, she wants plaid pjs. If he is wearing footed pjs, she wants footed pjs. Hence, in the picture, they are both in plaid pjs. In fact, Margaret Mary is wearing a set of Henry's pjs that are way too small for her. If MM is sitting in a chair, Henry wants to sit in the chair with her. If she is eating apples out of a small container, he wants to eat apples out of a small container too. Jason and I have a joke that if you get one child something, you might as well get two, because the other one will want one soon after seeing the first child with that object (sippy cup, snack, etc). Although this picture is my header right now, I'm posting it here as well so that once I change my header down the road, this pic will still be stored to the blog.

Love my little ones and how they love each other.

"Beautiful"

Margaret Mary is talking A LOT these days, and one of her favorite adjectives to describe things is the word "beautiful." The other day we were in Dollar General and we walked by the candy isle. She looked at all the glittery gold and silver wrappers and gasped "Oh Mama, its beautiful!" :)

MM's quote of the day today was pretty darn sweet. When I told MM that we were about to go see Papa, she got very excited and said "Oh!" (BIG SIGH), "he is going to be so handsome! I'm excited! Papa makes me soooo happy!" My heart melted...

Another funny Margaret Maryism is that she loves being a "big girl." She loves talking about how she is "bigger bigger bigger" and all the big things she can do. Today we were at the library and we walked past a couple who looked at her and said "aw, look at that little girl." She turned to me with fire in her eyes and exclaimed "I'm NOT a little girl. I'm a big girl! That lady called me a little girl!" Don't grow up too fast love...

Henry's Awesome Hair Day

We love this little Alfalfa look on Henry. We didn't wash his hair for two days so we could laugh at it and enjoy it.

As you can see, Henry was not amused. I think he kinda looks like the Grinch in this picture.

Singing the Blues...

In case you can't tell, that's a tambourine in his hand

Playing, Playing, Playing

and lots of lessons on sharing...

I didn't know Jason was taking the picture and was trying to get Margaret Mary to apologize to Henry. Their faces and precious and I wish I wouldn't have had my head right there. Margaret Mary likes to hoard toys and then yell "Henry's grabbing" if he touches anything. On MM's behalf, Henry is a little terror to her. He grabs her toys, knocks over her towers, pulls her hair, hits her, etc. He is the ultimate little brother. Even with all the drama, they still love each other and want to be around each other constantly. When I take Henry to a different room so MM can have some "big girl" time, she calls for him, wanting him to come back.

Christmas Memories- Part Five: Finding the Nutcracker

Margaret Mary found our nutcracker in a box of Christmas decorations yet to be put up and fell in love! She had just gone to see the ballet a couple of days earlier and had a great time. When the nutcracker dancer would leave the stage, she would ask Jason where he went and when he was coming back. Jason said she would stand against the balcony and watch with great interest. Her foot would then start tapping and she would break away from the balcony as if she couldn't take it anymore and twirl on her tiptoes for a few minutes before coming back to watch more, and start this cycle all over again. When MM found the nutcracker in our house, she immediately asked us to put on "ballet music" because "she wanted to dance with her nutcracker." She danced and twirled, and it was so very beautiful. I love my little girl's heart! What a precious memory.

Christmas memories- Part Four: Presents!

Opening up presents was extremely chaotic this year. There was a lot to balance: trying to get one child to sit still (or to keep them from ransacking the Christmas tree) while the other opened up a present, taking pictures, trying to see who each present was from before a child ripped the paper, storing the camera in a safe place in between present openings, trying to keep hungry Henry fed before the breakfast casserole was ready, picking up trash, trying to keep presents in a different pile than trash, etc, etc. We had our hands full! It was great fun and we were so amazed at everyone's generosity at giving to our family. The kids loved all their presents; unfortunetly only two of my pictures turned out, so if you don't see a picture of your present, don't think it wasn't appreciated or liked. :)

Too cute not to post...

Dancing with Papa. Just took these minutes ago and had to upload them because my card is full and I want to take more pictures! But aren't these sweet. How my children love their Papa! It has been so sweet having him home on Christmas vacation. I really love pictures taken in natural light with little or no flash; I feel like they capture things the way I want to remember them.

Also, these were taken yesterday when Henry fell asleep after Mass. I LOVE sleeping baby pictures. Esp with Henry because he is so crazy when he is awake! He's started a new tantrum routine lately where he gets mad, storms out of the room for a second and then returns and starts hitting the person or thing he is mad at. What a little temper for such a little boy! But here he is, peaceful and quiet...




Will finish my Christmas series later...

Christmas Memories- Part Three: The Best Gift of All

On Christmas morning, the first thing we open is our baby Jesus. We wrap him up and put him on the altar for the kids to find in the morning time. The kids love finding baby Jesus and take turns kissing him and singing to him. We then enthrone him in our advent wreath. We love how this sets the stage for Christmas morning. BECAUSE God loved us so much, he gave us the ultimate gift, the gift of his son. On Christmas morning, we imitate this giving of gifts to show our love for each other. (PS - Henry is puckering up for a big wet one in his picture.)