Texture

I have been trying out some new texture techniques with some of my niece's recent basketball photos!

When it's cold outside...

... what is one to do for entertainment? Well, if you are 3 or 4-years-old and you are stuck in the house because of the frigid temperatures, there is nothing better than step sledding. If you ask the boys, they would tell you it is better than the real thing! The rules are very simple: start at the top of the steps, lay on your belly, and crawl like crazy to be the first to reach the bottom.


If the tummy isn't working so well, you can try going down on your bottom!

If that doesn't work, use your brother as a sled!

If you've tried all of that and you still can't make it to the bottom of the stairs first, throw your brother into an ankle lock and he's guaranteed to submit within the first round!

Personal Disclaimer - UFC techniques are compliments of Rob's parenting!!

Polar Golf

Well, the temps have finally risen above zero and the boys couldn't wait to get outside while it was nice today. They were looking forward to playing with all of their summer toys and I was looking forward to some peace and quiet. :-) They had a great time trying to play golf with the snowballs!

Chapped Lips

With the temperatures dipping as low as they have been, it is no wonder that the boys have severely chapped lips. Course it wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that they are constantly licking them! Check out their red faces!

Mason's face is the worst. We have to keep a constant supply of ointment on his face. Rob says he looks like the Joker and Mason replies, "No, I'm Batman." Notice the nice red dot on his nose? When I asked him what happened he told me, "Spencer made me Rudolph!"

Carter's face isn't looking too bad. Just a slight hint of irritation.

Spencer is somewhere in between. If you are wondering how he gets his lips/face chapped just look at what he is doing in the picture.

Milestones

It never ceases to amaze me how fast children grow. Everything from birth on is measured by milestones and percentiles. Some children are always ahead or ranking in the 90-100th percentile, while others seem to just get there when they get there. As a parent you cannot compare your child to others, no matter how hard it may seem. When your child doesn't seem to have the ability to sit and listen during Sunday School when everyone else is, you may ask yourself why not? When it seems as though everyone your child's age is potty trained and they are not, you may wonder what's going on or why are they behind. As I spoke with a co-worker yesterday, we decided that every child is different and will grow and develop at their own pace. We just need to remember to be thankful that they are healthy and that they continue to make progress. Praise God for the baby steps!!

And just when you are feeling a little down that your child seems "behind", they may just turn around and surprise you by reaching yet another milestone.


Spencer was pretty proud of himself when he realized how the buttons on his pj's worked! Do you remember when you learned how to button? I had a snoopy stuffed animal with a zipper, shoelace, velcro, and a button and that is how I learned. :-)

Scenes from the Backyard

So what does it look like when a Canadian cold front sweeps down into the Midwest? Well... it looks like this!


It is a cold, blustery day and I am glad to be stuck indoors!

Wedding Pics

My good friend Audrey and I finished our first wedding shoot this past Saturday. I must say that things went rather well. It was a lot of fun working with the bride and groom, and we were able to capture some great shots from their memorable day. Here is one of my favorites from the day... I will try to post more at a later time.

Christmas $$

So what does a 3-year-old buy with his Christmas money?? A quick trip through the local Toys 'R Us and you will see that the only item a 3-year-old has in mind is that of his favorite neighborhood super hero: Spiderman! Carter loves Spiderman and is often found mimicking his spider-like reflexes. We tease him that his real name is "Carter Parker".



Credits: Pictures in this post were created with the Action Hero set from Scrap Girls, and Scrap Frames 8 from Cottage Arts