Just a Little Video...

Just thought this was funny...Olivia is so adept at putting the balls in the holes and seems to really enjoy this toy.  It used to be Owen's and although he also liked it, I think he used it more to pull himself into a standing position than for it's actual intended use...However, since filming, Olivia has decided it's actually more fun to empty the garbage can and dump the balls in it instead (it's just the office garbage with paper and receipts).  So frustrating!  She's really getting active and finding all kinds of things to keep herself entertained these days now that she can move herself around!!

Today she pretended to talk on the phone for the first time.  It was hilarious...Owen too enjoyed doing that, but, not until he was about 18 months.  It's funny what the random things she'll do that seem so advanced...crawling definitely was not on that list! ;O)

Last of the Vday Shoot Pics...

So, I always take a ridiculous amount of pictures and didn't get through them all last night.  Owen woke-up with a 103 degree temp, so, that explains why he was so lethargic last night.  Poor guy!!  Wish now I hadn't put him through the photo shoot!!!  But, now you know why I don't have more of him...

I finally pulled the white blanket up and let her crawl around, but, that flooring, especially without any natural light (I did these around 6pm), really effects the colors as you can see.

I don't know why, but, I absolutely love these last two out of all of them.  So true to Olivia I think.

I'm really digging the B&W lately, so, even though this one was great in color, I altered it for fun.

Happy Valentines Day!

O.k., so, I'm a day early...well, technically 2 hours early in Alaska and probably right on time everywhere else! ;O)  A friend asked me to do her daughter's 1st birthday pics and I'd seen this idea for a background of balloons on Pinterest and wanted to try it out.  I'm not 100% happy with it, but, think it will be great for the birthday pics with a few tweaks!  I think I need to start by removing the reflected light off of each of the balloons...yikes, that might take a while!!

Alright, it's been 2 days and I'm already regretting that Olivia learned to crawl! ;O)  She won't hold still and was too interested in the balloons to face forward.  Plus, every chance she got she'd wad up the blanket on the floor and play peek-a-boo!!!!  I didn't think I'd ever get the shot I wanted...not sure I did, but, this is what we're going with...

One more of our handsome man.  Just now noticing how dark his eyes look, he crashed hard tonight, he's been fighting a cold, but, never really got it.  Guess it finally wore him down.  Hope you all have a wonderful V-day and give lots of love to those you care about!

January and February (So Far) Pics!

So, life has been pretty hectic lately and I just can't seem to get my feet under me.  This is the busiest time of year for me at work and to add insult to injury, the company I contract out to just acquired all of Marathon's Alaskan assets.  It's only a few permitted facilities, but, their idea of environmental field training was basically non-existant and to make it more exciting, they chose not to keep ANY environmental staff.  So, there's no knowledge base to draw from and reports still to submit.  

More importantly though, our Little Miss has been sick now for almost an entire month.  It started out that she was just whiney and didn't look right...I took her into the pediatrician and they were sure it was a bladder infection...so, one catheter and $500 later, they confirmed she was fine.  But, before we got the results back, she came down with the stomach flue...there's a stain in the lobby of my grandmother's cardiologist's office to prove it, SO embarrassing!!!  Since then, her color has been better, but, she's had two different head colds or one that gets better and than comes back worse the next day...not sure which!!

On top of all of that, we've had the winter from hell.  It pours rain and is in the 40s one day, that night it's in 20's and snows.  It's driving me insane (today's been a fine example of that...), I'm ready for spring at this point!!!  However, my cousin is in the Iron Dog this year, so, I'm torn because I want snow for his race...guess I can wait two more weeks for snow! :O)

All of this hasn't kept me from my camera however...it's just kept me from posting!  Owen's taken to his snowmachine like a fish to water this winter.  He would be on it every day if the backyard wasn't a mud pit!!  He's been hesitant to ride the last few winters, but, those days are gone! 

Olivia has her own way of doing EVERYTHING these days!  Including sitting at the counter.  Her leg is forever stuck through the side of her chair...how is this even comfortable!!  She's such a goofball.  She is saying "thank you" every now and then, but, absolutely refuses to use sign language or say "please" when she wants something and instead just grunts...I'm so thrilled with that!

Her great-grandma was by for a visit while I still had my camera out available.  Olivia decided to teach her a thing or two about the Ipad.  Olivia LOVES to kiss the baby on the screen when you have it in camera mode...which reminds me, today she was waving at the baby in the freezer windows at the grocery store.  She's such a nut!

Our furry "kids" are getting cabin fever with this crazy weather.  But, when they're not whining to be let outside, they are snuggling one another.  Aren't they cute, they're such great friends...Dave and I could take some lessons from them, they are with one another 24/7, but, still panic when they get separated.  So sweet!!

This was just cute, I was trying to get a shot of Olivia snuggling with her dad, but, she sat up when the camera came out...so shocking! ;o)

This is a TERRIBLE photo, I'm going to have to try to recreate it, but, how cute is it with both kids reading with their dad!  Olivia wants to do everything brother does...what you don't see is her pulling his hair just seconds later.  She drives him nuts, she just needs to touch him, if she isn't pulling hair, she's poking him, which kind of cracks me up for some reason.

Owen lost his first tooth on 1/6...he didn't give the tooth fairy any warning though!!  He complained about it for the first time to his dad while they were out ice fishing and just a few hours later it fell out while he was brushing his teeth for bed!!  Give a fairy a break why don't ya!! 

Olivia in the jump-a-roo...I've been reading my camera manual and trying to learn everything there is about the camera.  So, I'm taking a lot of random shots lately.  Owen used to love this thing, but, Olivia only lasts in it for a few minutes at a time...she's not happy anywhere but at the table eating or in your lap!

Exhibit A...back in her chair at the table having a snack of some sort! ;O)  

I've never been able to get good photos downstairs in our house except when it's extra light outside and I can set-up backgrounds and such.  So, I've been working in "manual" mode and messing with my shutter speed and ISO.  I think I'm starting to get it...well, its still hit or miss....but, I did get a bunch of cute ones of Miss Olivia...

This one was slightly out of focus, so, I converted it to black/white, not sure which I prefer so you had to see both! ;O)   You can see the dark circles under her eyes from when she wasn't "right"in the color version, breaks my heart to see it even now!!  It makes me feel a little better about dragging her in to the pediatrician now that I see it again though!!

I got some new "backdrops" at JoAnn's during their most recent sale and had to try them out.  I keep meaning to get black and always get sidetracked by a color when I get there!!  I have a black sheet, but, sheets are such a pain to keep wrinkle free!!!

Sneek peak of our V-day prop...as you can see, Olivia's "thrilled".  I'm hoping with her brother in the picture, it will be a different story.

This was done with that same pink back drop, but, was also slightly out of focus.  B&W is a little more forgiving and I just loved the expression on her face for some reason, so, I converted it.

How cute is our little monkey sleeping...she's SO opinionated and dramatic all the time, sometimes I forget she's still just a baby...until I see her like this....

This is Olivia's zebra...who doesn't ride a zebra these days! ;O)  My mom bought this for Owen way back when, but, he never really liked it, it kind of scared him.  Olivia can't touch on both sides yet and often falls off and bonks her head, but, she's still a fan and takes it very seriously as you can see!