Sam & The Fat Man

We had a very magical, and wildly successful, trip to see Santa yesterday. We arrived just at the same time as Santa and avoided the lines, which was magical for the adults, and all three kids sat on his lap and no one cried, which was magical for them! But overall, Sam was the one that really got me right in the solar plexus. He was excited and terrified all at the same time. After his sisters jumped down, he stayed put to have a little chat with the man in charge, but he would not look him in the eye! It was hysterical.

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The Only Thing That Separates Us From the Animals is Our Ability to Accessorize

Maggie's hair has finally gotten to the point where it is interfering with her face. She kind of reminds of me of Sam right before we decided to get his hair cut. Since she's a girl, instead of getting a haircut she got a hairdo!

She seems to dig the new look, and I'm digging the fact that all of those hair clips Lucy outgrew now have new use!

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My Black Friday Best Shot Monday

A few weeks ago I noticed that my near-constant companion, AKA my camera, was acting a little funny. Many of my photos were coming out over exposed, and there was an odd color cast to most of my shots, despite constant tinkering with my settings. I shoot in manual mode or aperture priority mode, and I'm pretty stuck in my ways, so I was kind of dumbfounded that my tried-and-true settings were failing me so. At first I thought it was my environment. I've been shooting at the kids' school lately and the lighting there is difficult at best. But then photos I took in my own home started coming out all wonky. I was so excited about the photos I took when my friends were visiting (including this one) and when I sat down to review them I was overwhelmingly disappointed.

As it turns out cameras are a little like cars, in that they are designed with a certain number of expected shutter releases, and I had exceeded mine by approximately four times.

The timing on the wonky-ness couldn't have been worse, either. I've kind of been itching for a new camera for a while, but knew that a big electronics purchase for myself wasn't exactly the best idea with all of the moving/new house/new baby expenditures in our past/present/near future.

However, this girl cannot live without a camera. I had done some homework and knew which camera was a dream come true, and also which camera I would be perfectly happy with despite the non-fulfilment of dreams. When black Friday rolled around I started scanning the web to find out if any of my coveted cameras were being discounted. Then SOB got involved, and before I knew it we were at best buy picking up my new 7D!

So I guess dreams really do come true! This is the best shot I could get of it with the old boy, who is headed to the shop to see if there is anything to be done. I'm hoping that it can be repaired so that my budding shutterbug can get some more practice!

My shot and his...

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Guilty as Charged

I just can't seem to help myself lately with the nostalgia. These sunglasses have been in the family since Sam's infancy, and while we have done absolutely nothing to make sure they stick around, they always seem to turn up. Here's Sam in them:

And here is Miss Lu doing her best Elton John impersonation:

So when Maggie pulled them from the depths of the toy box the other day, I ran to grab the camera. I guess we'll have to keep them handy for little Freddy/Charlie/Henry. Of course, when he's old enough to wear them, I bet we won't be able to find them.

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May the Force Be With You

Trick-or-treating is over, and we woke to a hard frost and below freezing temperatures this morning. Time to settle in for a long winter!

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First Haircut

Well, it took three years, one month and twenty-five days, but we finally got Lucy a haircut.

Her ends had gotten pretty ratty, so she was getting lots of knots and tangles. It doesn't help matters that she twists her hair at night. Technically she got her first haircut last week when I had to snip out a giant knot she had created sometime in the wee hours of the morning. But that was an unofficial mom salvage job, not a full fledged trip to the salon.

There aren't many (or any) kids' salons here in Mo-town like there were back in Philly, so I was nervous. She was expecting a place with an indoor playground, televisions at every station and balloons at the end. I asked around and got a recommendation for a place that does well with kids, but it was definitely a regular old grown up salon. Luckily she did pretty well. She refused the hair washing before and blow drying afterwards, but sat stock still for the actual cutting.

In the end, she doesn't look any different. If I hadn't told my husband and parents they wouldn't have noticed. But we had a fun big girl afternoon together, just me and my Lulu, getting our hairs cut. And I think we both look smashing!

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One of these has to be my best shot Monday, but I just can't quite decide. It's either the first or the last. For more BSM fun, visit Tracey Clark at Mother May I.

Middle Child

She's been such a handful since she was born lately that I occasionally need shots like this to remind me of how lovely and darling she really is.

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Fall?

The past few days have been cool and rainy, and all around we're surrounded by the sights, sounds, and smells of autumn. But during a break in the wet weather I went exploring in my grandparents' yard and came across this young sunflower. Sammy thought it was the giant flower from The Tiny Seed. During the first week of October, it was quite a pleasant surprise!

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Happy (Almost) Birthday!

We had a huge party for Maggie's birthday this past weekend. She did remarkably well considering that there were 65 people singing to her. As you can see, she was unimpressed with the cake.

She was equally unimpressed with the cupcake she was given to eat. But she was delighted when I gave her some goldfish crackers!

Everyone had a great time, including us grown ups, and Maggie got more presents than I've ever seen. I can't believe she's almost one, almost walking. Luckily she still loves to cuddle up to her mama.

If I bribe her with goldfish crackers, that is.

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Monday Memories

The butterfly bush is quickly fading, but I came across this image that I forgot about, and it made me smile.

We spent the weekend in Philly, and I didn't take a single photo, so this will have to do! For more Best Shot Monday, visit Mother May I.

Front Yard Nature Show

One of the previous owners of this house planted several flowering plants around the property. In the front, next to the driveway, is a big, purple buddleja. Every time we have visitors they are amazed with just how many butterflies (and bees) are sipping at the nectar. I've taken out my camera a few times and managed to snap some reasonably good photos, though with the availability I'm betting (hoping) there will be better ones in the future!

For more Best Shot Monday, visit Tracey at Mother May I.

Birthday Treats

It's no secret that I love little hands and feet. Add some first birthday celebration and those tiny fingers become just that more delicious!

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Gems of West Virginia

It's wild berry season here, and you can't really mind that, can you? I wish I could say I picked these glistening treats myself, but being a new resident I don't really know all of the good berry picking spots yet. Maybe next year, but until then I'll happily pay for these beauties at the farmers' market!

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Beautiful Misconceptions

One of my many hopes for our new house was that I would have a huge, spectacular garden. Sadly, those hopes have been smashed to smithereens by my neighbors. I guess that I should have figured that since a large percentage of the street names around here contain the word 'deer' that the four legged beasts might be a little more pervasive than in Philly. Turns out that the only way to keep the deer from eating everything you grow is to put up an eight foot fence. Which? Is not really an option, according to our HOA. So after picking our neighbors' brains, I decided to put some plants on our deck, which is twelve feet off of the ground.

Since we were so late in getting set up, we only have four tomato plants and three pepper plants. I know I won't get the bounty we've had in the past, but even if we only get a few tomatoes warmed by the sun, I'll be satisfied!

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For more Best Shot Monday, visit Tracey at Mother May I.

Doo Doo Doo Looking Out My Backdoor

I'm exhausted today, but I wanted to share with you this vision. When I wake up in the morning, this is what I see as I drink my coffee:

It's only blurry until after my second cup.

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For more Best Shot Monday, visit Tracey Clark at Mother May I.

Send Off

Today is my first Monday in our new house. I'm eating lemon scones our neighbor baked for us and looking out over the hazy green hills and feeling pretty good. The move went smoothly, we made a huge dent in the unpacking, and our new furniture is arriving on Thursday.

Before we left, things were going pretty well, too. One thing that made me so happy was that all of my flowers blossomed before the move. I didn't think I was going to see any of the rose of Sharon flowers, but on Wednesday morning I found a single bloom at the very top of one branch. It was like they had all come out to say goodbye.

It was the perfect send-off.

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For more Best Shot Monday, visit Tracey Clark at Mother May I.

Mah Beautiful Babee

I was shooting my lovely baby this weekend, and got some pretty sweet shots.

Here she is demonstrating her sitting prowess.

And here she is gazing up adoringly at her mother.

But this was my favorite shot, hands down. I love those ornery little squishy in between faces. LOVE! Definitely my best shot from last week!

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For more best shot Monday, visit Tracey at Mother May I.

Kissing

Sometimes the best part of a photo is seeing what happened one second later. Just after Sam kissed his sister, she squealed with delight and he wiped his face. Priceless!

For more best shot Monday, visit Tracey at Mother May I.

Happy Distractions

On Saturday afternoon I went into the city to do some engagement photos for my cousin and her fiancee. It was a bit windy but I think we managed to get some good ones!

It was nice to have something so happy to occupy my mind.

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For more best shot Monday visit Tracey at Mother May I.

Wishes

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