Hello Again Easter

We spent Easter with family and friends gathered at my mother-in-law’s house. I arrived early to help prepare food and Brandon was set to the task of hiding eggs outside for all the kids. We were very fortunate that the rain they’d been calling for all week held off until after nightfall so the kids got to play outside, have an egg hunt and the ‘big kids’ flew kites for a few hours. Then as is tradition, we closed out the day playing a game around the patio table. The game of choice was Catch Phrase and it turned out to be a ton of fun for everyone who played and even for those who preferred to observe.

It was a nice day. We had some excellent food and the kids got a lot of good candy which all the parents will be pilfering I’m sure.

Easter Egg Drop 1 year ago - April 3, 2010

Who dresses this child?! Oh right, she does.

Tilting and Shifting

I’m playing with a technique called tilt-shift which uses selective focus to create the impression of a miniature world. The below photos were accomplished through layer masks in Photoshop because I don’t have a couple thousand dollars just laying around to go spend on an actual tilt-shift lens. This effect is pretty intoxicating though I don’t know if I could justify buying the lens when I can do the same thing through Photoshop. Though if I did have the lens, it would be really fun to create a video! There are some amazing videos on YouTube using tilt-shift lenses. It’s worth a look.

A princess through 50mm

I spent last night playing with an EF 50mm f/1.2 L. I realize that’s probably gibberish to most people but to me it’s enough to get me all drooly and twitterpated. Luckily I had a willing subject to point it at. Prehaps someday I’ll actually spring for one of my own, but until then the lovely folks at Borrowlenses.com have lent me one to fall in love with.

Welcoming Spring

It was such a beautiful weekend that Aubrey and I couldn’t resist a trip to the park. The gorgeous weather combined with her new affinity for picking out her own outfits mandated the camera join us for some fun.

 

I have a Three Year Old!

Aubrey turned 3 on Monday. I can’t believe it’s been three years already! She is such a blessing in my life and a complete joy every single day. She has one of the sweetest and funniest personalities and makes me laugh constantly.

She is becoming even more independent these days which is both fun to watch and saddens me at the same time. She woke me up yesterday morning around 4:30 AM to tell me that she was hungry. I asked if she could wait until “morningtime” and she responded with, “You do that [meaning get chocolate milk] and I go poddy, otay? That be idea?”

That is one of my favorite sayings of hers. “That be idea?” A friend suggested I get that on a t-shirt which sounds so fun but will also be one of those things I never follow up on because life gets in the way. I still make sure I make time for Aubrey though. She is growing up so fast these days I can hardly keep up with her. I don’t want to miss a moment of it. Last night she helped me cook dinner and she actually helped!

We celebrated her birthday on Sunday so family could take part. She woke up Sunday morning and saw a pile of presents from family in Iowa on the kitchen table and was so excited. She ran back and forth down the hall trying to get her dad out of bed and get some pep in his step since I told her she needed to wait for him before she could open anything. She hadn’t had breakfast or let me do her hair yet. Presents were the priority. When I made the comment, “Your hair…” she answered what she perceived as my unasked question with, “Is it kinda beautiful?” See for yourself.

Sunday morning

She got SO excited about getting new clothes from Great G'ma Gieseman!

The aftermath

At her birthday party later that afternoon...dressed as Minnie Mouse

She still hates when people sing "Happy Birthday"

Yup, hates enough to cry

She may hate our singing but she loves icing

On an unrelated note, the fog this morning was insane. I took this while at a stop light that you can’t even see.

A few more recent pictures

An update through photos

I don’t seem to have much to say these days. Or perhaps I don’t have much time to say it. Either way here are some photos.

Snow on the back porch Jan 19, 2011

It snowed for another few hours after this was taken

Sometimes being in focus is overrated

A visit to the neighborhood park April 2, 2010

She has grown so much since then!!

Taken April 3, 2010

Watching the Easter Bunny approaching in a helicopter ready to drop eggs on the crowd

Easter Bunny dropping eggs for the "egg hunt"

Auby and Gramma

Life Updated in Photos

I started a new job on September 20th and life had taken off at full speed down a winding road! We’re nearing the closing date on our new house (December 16th), I’m working to meet a deadline of December 1st at my job on the biggest project I’ve ever worked on (launching an entirely new department for my company), and keeping up with all of life’s other to-dos.

I have also been keeping quite busy lately with photography so I’ve had to keep on top of picture processing for all my clients. I thought as I was going through my memory cards today that I would pull out the smattering of pictures of Aubrey and load them up.

Aubrey shooting me with silly string at her cousin Gavin's 5th birthday party.

Such a beauty

She found something concerning while watching Mickey Mouse.

All's better in the Clubhouse.

Hugging a pillow.

Aubrey and her cousin Gavin

I wonder if they like each other...

Auby and Inny

Gavin drawing on the garage floor

Aubrey on the unfinished hardwood floors with her ghost hunting flashlight

 

A Day at the Zoo

Last weekend my dad and Dezzi took Brandon, Aubrey and I to the zoo. It was pretty hot and Aubrey started to get tired and a little volatile so we decided to call it a day before we made it all the way through the continent themed exhibits but we had a blast anyway. Aubrey loved seeing the giant polar bear swimming and doing flips in his pool, the kangaroos that were free roaming, and the exotic birds that kept walking up to inspect her. Ironically though her favorite part of the entire zoo was the playground and the merry-go-round as is evident on her face. Pa-pa and Nana had so much fun taking her on the merry-go-round that they stayed on for consecutive rides. It was so nice to get the three of them together for an entire day for some quality bonding.

It’s all happening so fast!

On Wednesday, August 11th our house was still just a garage floor, foundation walls and a dirt basement. One week later I was astonished to pull on to our street and see a framed house! It’s even farther along now but I haven’t taken any pictures. Maybe tonight…

Looking down the hall from the garage to the master bedroom.

View from the master bedroom windows.

Looking from the master bedroom across where the porch will be toward the kitchen.

Standing in the living room.

Breakfast nook next to the living room.

The basement has been walled in since this picture was taken.

What I wake up to in the mornings. I’m so lucky. Sorry it’s so grainy, took it with my phone in very low light.