Long time gone...

So, I'm back. Or trying to be. It's kind of funny that I haven't been posting on here now that I am constantly taking classes on photography and taking more pictures than ever. 

 My goal is to add a picture every day for a year. A 365. It's gonna be tough, and I am sure some of my photos will not be great, but it a neat way to try and document our lives, using my pictures to tell the story, rather than my feeble attempts at using words. Definitely not a strong point of mine. Here are my Monday and Tuesday, (even though they're from October and November is my "official" start date.)

October 29, 2012

October 30, 2012

An Obsession

I got my new camera in August, and I had been having fun with it, trying to figure everything out. I have been trying to use it in Manual mode since November, and I was gradually learning a little at a time. But ever since I was able to take the wedding photos for Jack and Zuly, I have been obsessed. I'm reading every bit of information I can find on it. I could read photography forums all day long if the kids would let me. If I'm not doing that, all I want to do is be out shooting something, trying new things that I have read about.

I am having such a blast, and really loving some of the pictures I have taken, that I'm sure I will just have random posts of pictures of my pretty babies. I am so excited to have found such a fun, interesting hobby. It's fun to be stretching and growing and learning again. I missed that, although I hadn't even realized until now.

I know the format of some of these is the same, but the layout was free and I don't want to spend the money yet on fancier ones right now. All I need now is to get Sienna to be willing to just go out and let me take a bunch of pictures of her too!

My little girls...and a tree

I received a new lens for my camera the day before Christmas Eve. It was a Christmas present, but Spencer wanted me to be able to play around with it before I used it to take my shots of the Christmas Eve pajamas. I still have a lot to learn, especially about lighting, but it is really fun to play around with everything and see how it changes the pictures!

This little bug has been obsessed with the tree. She just won't leave it alone, as I am sure you can tell with all the ornaments up at the top! It's so fun to see the wonder in her eyes while watching it. Lucy and Madelyn had such a blast constantly playing in front of the tree.

Madelyn's pierced ears

Madelyn has been asking for pierced ears for about a year now, but I kept putting it off. I finally told her that if she was a good girl for her 4 yr. shots, I would let her get her ears pierced while we were in Texas. She was so excited, but after they did the first ear, she was not going to let us do the next one. Spencer finally just held her and the silly thing was that instead of crying harder, she stopped as soon as they pierced it. It was like she was crying from being scared, but the actual stab was no big deal. She's in love with her earrings and is very glad she has them.

Madelyn turned 4!

Have I mentioned that if Spencer gets a flight, that it pretty much happens at the worst time possible for that day? Well, it does. We decided to celebrate Mad's birthday even though Spencer was on call, because that was pretty much the only time we could do it. The party started at 6, the flight came in at 5:20ish. He literally came back home right after almost everyone had left.  Oh well, such is life!

We had a great turn out, with our friends the Wysowskis, the Jenkins, the Clarks, and the Prados. We had 3 cakes; the All-American Chocolate cake, from Costco (which Mad requested as "the black cake"), my home-made vanilla bean cheesecake, and a yellow, chocolate chip with chocolate frosting. I was worried we wouldn't have enough for everyone, but of course there was extra. Madelyn was ecstatic and loved it all!

The birthday banner I made for Mad

 Wysowski Family

 The "big" girls

 The boys

 little girls

 Lucy slept on Holly the entire time!

A few quick pictures...

Mad was building prisons for her princesses

I just love that face. What more can I say?

Straightening Madelyn's Hair

Madelyn's curls are so adorable, but I wanted to see what she would look like with her hair straightened for once. It is crazy how much older she looked and how long it really is. It was a fun little change, but it doesn't last long here with all the humidity.

Madelyn's 3rd Birthday

Madelyn's birthday was celebrated a little early because Spencer was going to be working and things just aren't as fun if he's not able to be around. I posted late though because I was late with Sienna's birthday post and didn't want her to feel overshadowed. Don't ask how I plan to keep up when I have this new baby!

We had our good friends the Clarks and the Jenkins over. They're like our family here and we are so lucky to have them! Madelyn is all about dolls, dress-up, princess and pink. Seriously, she's so funny. I love seeing my children grow and their own little personalities develop. She is just her little self and we didn't really do anything to make her that way. It's just who Mad is and I love it! We are so blessed to have her in our lives. Happy Birthday Baby Girl! We love you!

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My sleepers

I know I'm not the only one with little ones falling asleep all over, but we can't help but take pictures every time and then I have to post them. They just look so sweet while they're sleeping.

Star Wars fans

Aidan is in love with Star Wars, all of them (except episode 3 which he has only seen through the Lego Star Wars video game because I think it's too dark). At Disneyland he was picked to do the Jedi Training (which will be posted as soon as I find it!) and while we were there he got a double sided light saber light like Darth Maul's. He loves to play with Madelyn. It's always cute, but she was making all these faces while she was fighting him while using the extra big light saber. It was hilarious, especially since she will only wear dresses but was making all these mean faces. I mean, she really will only wear a dress, and occasionally a skirt. She wakes up in the morning and says "I wanna wear a pretty dress", but in a grumpy, angry sort of voice. So funny!

Shirley Temple

Madelyn has amazing curls and I took some pictures while they were still perfect. She tends to mess them up! I remember my mom wrapping my hair around the pink styrofoam curlers and she would call me Shirley Temple the next day. I have my own little Shirley, but all she needs is a little leave-in conditioner and it's perfect.