So, It's 2010, What's New With Us?

Personal blogging has fallen by the wayside. I thought that over the holiday and early part of January I would have just tons of free time and be able to kick back a little bit. That has not been the case. I've been busy shooting, editing, and communicating. I click on my homepage and keep seeing a Christmas post, thinking about how I have to fill in my friends on what has been happening around here for the past few weeks!

First of all, we spent New Year's Eve with our good friends Eric and Jen. For the past few years we've been taking turns with, hosting a low-key NYE and this year was our turn to host. We played Texas Hold'em, watched Dick Clark's Rockin' New Years Eve, and ate snacks. I like that kind of party. I am not sure whether or not I want to go back to the days of overindulging on food, drinks, and staying up so late that the next day is all about "recovering" from the night before! Good thing in this case, because New Year's Day we got up and took the kids to my parents' house, so we could drive to Wisconsin...
Ron's friend Chad from high school was married on 01-02-2010 (which is a cool date, same forward as backward!) and I was the photographer! We went to the rehearsal dinner with the family and wedding party, and the wedding day was really nice. When we left the reception, the temperature on our car's digital thermometer read -4. Eek.

The following weekend Kelly and Heath came to MI to visit and celebrate Christmas.
I have to update our Smugmug galleries - I have more great pictures from that weekend :)

The other cool thing that has happened over the past couple of months is Lucy has become officially potty trained. She started using the potty chair several times a day around 18 months - I guess some people consider that potty trained, but I did not. We thought starting her early would be a good idea, and those successes reinforced that belief. In hindsight I think we started her too soon and she wasn't really ready even if she could technically do it. She is smart as a whip and we thought, 'oh she'll get this no problem!' She had fewer and fewer accidents each day and we thought we were in good shape - around age 2, I thought we were right on track and in no time we'd be done with diapers and/or accidents! Not so fast, eager Mom and Dad! When she started to get less attention than she was used to (partly because of her baby bro, and partly because of my work), she started having more and more "accidents", and not seeming to even care if she was wet or dirty! She knew how to undress, get on the toilet, wipe, flush, and do everything all by herself, and yet she seemed to be using potty training to prove to me that I couldn't make her do anything, and she was in charge. Grrr. I guess in that respect, she is right. You can't make a kid go to the bathroom on command, and you can't really know when they need to go (and harassing them 100 times a day only makes then say "NO!" even if they do need to go).

I was so discouraged, and felt that we had tried everything - rewards, bribes, punishment, other incentives, throwing away panties, encouraging with clapping, singing, dancing, hugs, kisses, high-fives, charts, promises... it really didn't matter. I read blogs, and was tempted by boot-camp-like programs that promised to potty train your kid in 3 days. Although from age 2 to age 3, when we were in the midst of the worst potty training times, I knew in my heart that she was too young to be considered for any kind of drastic program, and she'd get it eventually. I just had it in my head that I wanted it to happen right around age 2, because my sister was around age 2 and I was around 2.5, so that was what I considered "normal" (but that's not necessarily normal at all, and furthermore, so what?!). For Lucy, it was only going to happen when she decided she wanted it to. Of course, when I kind of "gave up" and backed off, and stopped trying to make it happen, she stopped digging in her heels and just became potty trained, and she gave up the battle. Now accidents are very rare (and if there is one, she's just a tiny bit damp and gets to the toilet for the rest), and life is a lot less stressful! Hooray!
We have registered her for preschool (Hudsonville), where she will go three mornings a week. I am so excited for her to get out and learn and play with other kids. She graduated from her toddler bed into a big twin sized bed with drawers underneath, and she has more space to sprawl.

Henry is saying more and more words - and is getting cuter every day. Here is what I can think of off the top of my head:

Uh-Oh
Ba (ball)
Ca (car)
[he makes car noises when playing with cars]
Mama, Dada
Oooooh
Mmmmm (if something is yummy)
Bear (sounds like baieh)
Cup
Up! Up!
Ruff (whenever he holds a stuffed animal he makes little high-pitched "ruff! ruff"!)
Bird
Santa
Hiiiii

...And he still has a super high-pitched loud scream. True story: his food ran out a night or two ago, and his scream literally made my ears ring. I'm not even kidding, and I get to sit right next to him! Adorable, right?! I would love to measure the decibels he can kick out.

Here are some more Henry tidbits, since I feel like I haven't talked about him much lately... even though he is a charming, loving, sweet little boy and growing and changing so much!

He loves to get into cabinets and pull everything out, particularly the one with big mixing bowls, or cookie sheets and trays.
He carries large pieces of chalk around (sometimes likes to chew on them),
He bangs things together, bangs toy piano,
or bangs his head on the back of his highchair for attention, so hard the high-chair scoots across the floor.
He climbs up onto the couch, ottoman, or soon-to-be-his toddler bed.
He always picks red cars out of the basket of cars.
He screams when his food is gone, loves to eat anything, drinks all his milk in one gulp.
He is starting to learn how to feed himself with a spoon (like applesauce),
He dances to anything making music (he bounces up and down bending his knees, or he twists)
He claps and looks back at you smiling when he puts something into a container,
He can stack a few blocks,
He climbs steps quickly (but can't go down safely).
Gets mad and chases after Lucy if she takes his toy, but...
if she chases after him he runs terrified.
He throws a tantrum by sitting down, then slamming himself face down on the floor sobbing, then rolls his head to the side to see if you are paying attention to how upset he is.

So, life is typical, busy, sometimes monotonous, and I think we are getting a bit of cabin fever around here. Looking forward to spring! Meanwhile, the kids keep things always entertaining.

Merry Christmas!

We had a really nice Christmas around here! Relatively stress-free and completely drama free, and it was just what the holidays should be like in my opinion - the only thing missing was getting to see my sister and her husband, who celebrated with his side this year and will be coming up to MI in a couple weeks to celebrate with us! Christmas Eve we went (as we always do) to my grandparents' house (my dad's parents) to eat and open gifts.
It was nice and the kids were both really happy and well-behaved. They were pretty exhausted by the time we left, but still did not fall asleep in the car as we had expected. We had to make a stop at Walgreens for some last-minute things (yes, 9:30 PM on Christmas Eve). We finally got home and put them to bed, and got things ready for the next morning...
Christmas morning Lucy announced that Santa came! And he ate the cookies! She woke Henry up by screaming all this information at him, and then the kids opened a few presents :).
Before too long it was time to start getting the house ready for Ron's family, who came over around noon. Because one family on his side lives in Texas, and weren't able to come to MI for the holidays this year, there were (counting our two) seven kids under 10 years old (otherwise there would have been nine), and of course lots of great food (we just did appetizers and snacks) and lots of presents under the tree.
It was really nice to have our basement finished and furnished to provide a little extra room for all the people, and another place for the kids to play and watch a couple movies. After this party was over, we basically threw some things together and were out the door to the next party - my grandparents' on my mom's side. Everyone gathers on Christmas night to open gifts and have more food, but I was already so full I didn't really feel like eating anything else! I have some videos I need to upload and add to this post. Busy busy.... Hope everyone had a great holiday!

I have many more photos posted to Smugmug. CLICK HERE to check them out!

Snow Day

As everyone knows, this morning we woke up to a winter wonderland! The phone call at 6:20 AM woke us up to inform us that Ron had a snow day, so he was home to help me take the kids outside for a little while, and they could get their first chance to play outside in the snow. I won't lie, I dressed them in super fun bright colors and grabbed my camera with hopes of capturing a few shots that would work for our Christmas card. I always wanted to do a Christmas card that actually looked wintery, without having to wait till the last minute.

While Lucy ran around and trudged through the snow, Henry was not so enthusiastic about all the cold and wet stuff we were surrounded by. We do realize that he needs proper snow pants and boots, and we can't keep thinking fall is going to last forever! He wasn't outside for very long (and normally I would dress him more for warmth and less for fashion, but really how cute is that hat and vest?!). He was happy to go back in and change into a flannel sleep-n-play and eat some pepperoni pizza. Now if that doesn't sound heavenly... ;)

I managed to take enough pictures that the Christmas card task is completed, pictures put into the cute template (we went with one through Smugmug) and ordered! Christmas cards, check! Now we just have to tackle that shopping...

I do love fall, but I think we were ready for this day to come. It was truly beautiful outside, and this morning it was lovely to see the world blanketed in white, peaceful, and the sun glowing through the hazy sky (it didn't hurt that it also happened to be the start of a 3-day weekend for Ron). And he got to clear the driveway for the first time this season... so it begins. ;) Happy winter!

Mommy + Me

Last week Tuesday I brought Lucy to Mommy + Me Soccer at the SoccerZone in Jenison.

Week 1: We had played it up big time, telling her all about how she is going to get to kick the soccer ball, run around, and make friends. We were both excited that Lucy would have a lot of fun. However, due to some goofed-up field scheduling and an overabundance of walk-ins, they had to combine the 3 year olds with 4 and 5 year olds... I mentioned this all on Facebook last week. It was diastrous (for me) because Lucy didn't want to sit and listen to instructions about kicking technique, while there were soccer balls scattered all around. She kept running off and kicking the ball, and I'd usher her back and tell her to listen... she'd wrestle away from me, and we'd repeat this until I was sweating and wondering what all the other parents thought. I was also conscious about the probability that they figured she was one of the 4 or 5 year olds, since she was about the same size, yet acting like a... three year old! Ugh. Why can't that mother control her child!? I was wondering the same thing.

Week 2: They ironed out the kinks and had the 3-year-olds together and the instructor was a young woman (high school or college age) who knew how to talk to preschoolers, and was very understanding when they kicked the ball any which way, or picked it up with their hands. The whole idea was to have fun and remember to only use your feet, pass the ball back and forth, and make some friends. Lucy laughed and ran so much that she was red-faced and breathing hard, and was very good at listening to the "coach", after I spent part of the day explaining it to her more, and reiterating the importance of following directions. She really did great. They got plenty of ball-kicking time, which to a 3 year old, is what soccer is all about. Ron and Henry came too, just to watch (and for him to step in for me if we had a repeat of last week's shenanigans). Next week I might be more apt to bring a video camera or something to catch her in action, but I didn't want to worry about it this time around. While she ran and kicked her kid-sized soccer ball down the length of the field, squealing (into big-kid territory while I called for her to turn around and come back) she looked like a natural. I was pretty impressed, actually.

Halloween!

Sorry for the delay... but I did take some pictures of our kids in their costumes on Halloween - Lucy was Hydrant, her favorite stuffed dalmatian (it rarely leaves her sight), and Henry was Yoda! He walks like Yoda too... and the hat snapped on so he couldn't pull it off (hehehe)!

Here are the kids at Grandma and Grandpa Hiddema's

in front of the painted slider (it's tradition).

Back at our house, dressed and ready to go trick-or-treating!

We took the kids up and down the cul-de-sac and that was about enough for both of them. We asked Lucy if she wanted to keep going, and she said, "I think I have enough." She was ready to get back in the warm house and start eating candy. I wasn't complaining about going back inside either... it was a chilly Halloween this year!

You Are What You Wear...

If this rain keeps up today and my session is rescheduled, I have a shopping trip planned for myself. My business paid me a few times and now I have a little bit of money that is just for me! Instead of finding some excuse to avoid "wasting" it on myself, I am going to buy some clothes that I actually like. I am looking for something that doesn't fall into the following two categories:

1) yard work apparel
2) preppy office style clothes

I do like those kinds of clothes sometimes, but I am tired of not dressing appropriately for my lifestyle. I am a mom, so I need something comfortable that I can move in, crawl on the floor, pick up kids, and not need to dry-clean. I also feel the need to dress in a put-together, but fun way that reflects how I feel inside. I've just never taken the time to figure out who that is, and for my own weird personal reasons, never bothered trying until the last year or so. Not that I always feel put-together and fun, but I just don't feel like a black slacks and turtleneck sweater person right now, at least not as my only choice when it comes time to leave the house.

Most days if I don't have anything going on, I stay in comfy clothes (i.e. sweat pants, long-sleeved t-shirts, maybe jeans), and wouldn't you know, it actually makes me feel down in the dumps! I can't put on my black dress pants just for hanging out at the house, but I would love to find that middle ground, if there is one out there. Maybe dressing better would have the opposite, and positive effect on how I feel every day, even if I am just hanging out at home! I'm just not sure exactly where to start looking, so if you have a suggestion, feel free to leave a comment, or contact Stacy and Clinton from What Not To Wear, I think I would qualify!

Pumpkins

More photos (as I work on them) HERE.

Baking and Hobbling

So, the new stove is in place and we love it! It's so clean and has all kind of features our last oven/stove lacked. So far the only thing we have baked are Pizza Rolls, but I am actually inspired to make some muffins today or tomorrow. We can even lock the oven door by holding one button down for 3 seconds... is this something everyone has? I think it is amazing and so great with kids. That faint gas smell that constantly leaked from our last stove (not from the line hookup, from the stove itself) is no longer here! A few minor finishing touches need to be done with the tiling and sliding the stove back into position a little bit further and we will be all set.

I've been busy with sessions, and I've been trying to edit and keep everyone pretty happy... but ironically it is during this really busy time for me that I also made a decision to try to balance my time better. I was getting sessions edited within a few days and that meant staying up well past midnight, editing in all my "down time" during the day, and for the remainder of every night. I started doing photography professionally because I love it so much, and it would be ideal for me as a stay-at-home-mom because of the flexibility I would have in my schedule. Like almost all other photographers I have gotten to know, it can easily take over your life and all your free time. I think I mentioned this issue before, but my point now is that I rarely work on anything photography related after 10 PM, and I think that is a good thing for me! As long as clients are aware of a general time-line, and there is some good communication, they are very understanding.

Last Saturday I shot a wedding at Dimnent Memorial Chapel at Hope College, and about a half hour before the wedding started, I was carrying all my bags and camera gear down to the basement so it would be out of the way. I also wanted to get some ring shots and maybe a couple of the dress before the bride put it on (it was a very easy-on dress, so no need to put it on much earlier!). I missed the last step from the back of the church down to the north foyer, and rolled my ankle out, and it made 2 loud popping sounds with the accompanying sensation that is rather unpleasant. I can't even think about it without cringing, sorry to put you through that too. They made me sit while I waited for EMT, who checked my ankle and foot (the places they were pressing resulted in zero pain), I assured them I didn't think it was broken, walked on it okay, and was cleared to keep shooting. Of course that wasted the half hour that I needed, but I had Sandy there to help cover some of the getting-ready details. Although I do think she was a little terrified for a few minutes, thinking she might be on her own for the rest of the day. I crouched and walked and hurried around for the rest of the day, kind of just pushing through my injury. Later Saturday night and Sunday it hurt worse, but I think it is getting better quickly now. I felt so ridiculous but everybody was so nice and concerned for me. Unfortunately someone out there got a shot of me sitting at the base of the steps with their point-and-shoot, so I'm just dreading that showing up on Facebook eventually. Ugh!

In other news - honeycrisp apples are being eaten, Henry got another haircut (I did a pretty good job, I think!), a trip to Post (or some other pumpkin patch place with donuts and cider) is planned for tomorrow, and Ron has conferences again tonight, which means a long day on my own with these two kids and my bad ankle (and lots of work to do)! Back to it...

Now We're Cookin'

When we moved into this house we also inherited an original (circa 1986) Tappan stove/oven, a nice off-white version with fluorescent stove light that flickers on if you hold the button down long enough ;)... All four burners ignite, the oven bakes things... generally speaking, it has served us well. Are you at all surprised that I took photos of our oven and made collages? I didn't think so.

Other notable characteristics include the peeling "wood" veneer (sticker), charred burners, an oven door that is sealed by a now ineffective, flimsy gasket (if you stand in front of the oven while it is on, you will feel the actual temperature it is set to, shooting up toward your face). Speaking of the oven door, despite hours (I'm not kidding) of scouring and scrubbing with every kind of solvent (chemical and natural), I can not get the grime off the door to see through the window, so I can't really see in, and it always looks dirty. The "digital" clock, which may or may not work, we really don't care, has been set to 7:14, probably since the first Bush administration.

I know some people cook on even older, rougher looking appliances and they aren't complaining... well, I'm not complaining either (although I will say our oven has a lot of "character" compared to most others' we know), but I just think it is nice to be able to upgrade! We wanted to replace this appliance for a couple years now, and patiently waited until we could buy with cash, and put in one that was nice enough to last a long time, just like I am sure this one was back in the era of roller-skates and Rubik's Cubes, when it was brand new along with the house (built in 1986).

After over 20 years of service, this old girl is ready to retire. Our new stove is being delivered sometime tomorrow (although I'll be shooting a wedding, so when I come home it should be all hooked up and ready for action!). We love cooking with gas burners. The stove surface is cast-iron, and recessed down to almost countertop level, so it will still look pretty streamlined on our island. I also like being able to see through the oven door! It has a great safety feature that locks out the controls so kids can't accidentally turn on the stove or oven, which was important to me, since we needed a slide-in (due to the height of the taller part of our island/bar, we can't have to drop-in with the controls in the back). I am really easy to please... but we are excited because this is basically the first new big-ticket item we have ever purchased for our home, besides our vacuum cleaner, TV, and our Ikea bedroom dressers (our other furniture, and appliances are all second-hand) - probably because so much of our resources were put into remodeling and updating the house itself. We went with a Kenmore. Over the next couple of years we hope to replace our other appliances with Kenmore stainless steel as well. Anyway, here's a look at what we're getting:

Party!

Saturday we celebrated the kids' birthdays with a party at our house. The house was pretty full of family and a few friends. It gave us a reason to get the garage cleaned out, and the rest of the house picked up, at least for a few minutes before everyone arrived! There are still balloons all over the floor and a bunch of new toys, but Saturday night it was overwhelming looking at the aftermath! I guess that's a sign of a good party. Anyway, we let Henry have his cake early on, because he was so tired already....poor kid. He hadn't napped all afternoon. After this he got cleaned up and had a little more party time before I put him down for a nap....
He ended up eating most of that little cake, seriously!

While Henry napped, the party continued.... Here is a photo of Lucy I took while everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to her. Henry was napping at the time. I love the picture, but check out the video, too, it's even better (thanks for taking it Kelly)! :)

The kids painted little pumpkins... which I think actually settled them down a little bit...


Later this morning I am taking the kids to see the pediatrician for the regular check-up.... we'll see how big they've gotten!

Many more photos are here, but I still have to add some more.

Birthday Girl!

Today Lucy turned three years old... my memories of that day are a little hazier, and I have to wonder what I'll be left with as the years go by, to remember that experience. I was anxious and excited, fairly well-prepared for the technical aspect of having a baby, but the pain was something else! It was late, dark, and I wanted Mr. Anesthesiologist to stop by but they kept telling me he was doing this or that, while I progressed to 10 cm. I can just imagine the nurses at their station saying, "let's just see if she can make it to 10 without the epidural, she's doing great and she doesn't have far to go...". Of course I have no idea if they actually said anything like that, but I have to wonder why my repeated requests for the epidural hadn't actually been met. They let me go long enough that eventually I got crabby and was insisting that Ron contact a nurse and make this thing happen... I could not muster the will to press the button and talk to someone myself, I was too busy trying to rip my pillow in half. Finally I got it, just before my last check, only to find that it was time to push! Good thing we have great insurance - because it was too late to help me anyway, but darn it, I got that epidural!!! I believe there were at least 10 people in there. My OB-GYN was there, but hanging back much of the time, while my LD nurse did most of the work (things went relatively smoothly). I think someone ordered a party sub. I didn't really care, I was a little preoccupied and apparently it was a slow night on that floor, so I figured hey, come on in! It seemed like they were all as anxious as we were to find out if it was a boy or a girl (could be my perception was skewed by hormones, but they really did seem genuinely excited as they cheered me on). Maybe Ron can remember better! I don't remember much, other than Lucy being put on my chest in the dark delivery room, her dark eyes wide open and looking at me!

Fast-forward three years and I'm even more proud - not of that event - but our amazing daughter and how she has developed her unique personality, her moods, her intelligence, and all her abilities. She's so healthy and smart, and we couldn't feel more blessed. As she gets a little bit older, and shows her own imperfections, it is just a reminder that we created a real person who is no longer that clean slate of an infant. She will continue to grow and change, and meet challenges, struggle, win, lose, get hurt, make mistakes, triumph, and all those complexities of life and living. Sometimes I miss cuddling with a tiny newborn who can't squirm out of your arms, but who she is becoming is so much more exciting than who she was.

Birthday Boy!

So one year ago tonight I was hanging out in our swanky hospital room, IV needle still stuck in my hand... probably about ready to send Henry off to the nursery for our one night of "rest." Post-delivery, without getting into too much detail, makes it hard to get really comfy in that bed and sleep well, but at least I was on a bed, which is more than Ron can say... then again he wasn't the one who just delivered a 9 pound baby. Not that I'm complaining, it was one of the two most exhilarating events of my life.

Anyway, Henry was born at 4:19 PM. Contractions started late-morning (at least that's when I started feeling them with a pattern), and I still remember the walks we took the night before, and the morning of his birth. I was relatively calm and excited (if those two things don't contradict each other), and the delivery experience seemed so much brighter than Lucy's. The fact that he was born during business hours (as opposed to 2 AM) might have been part of that, but the epidural that got me through the last couple hours of labor probably made a difference as well ;). We stayed for the minimal amount of time (the required 24 hours after his birth), being sure to blog, watching Evan Almighty and snapping photos, packing up our stuff, and making a few more phone calls. I couldn't wait to get home. Just like when Lucy was born, we drove home on a rainy fall day and put him in the bassinet my dad made, wondering what it was going to be like now that we were home, "on our own" with two kids to take care of! Some blurry days and nights followed, but we got through it gracefully and confidently, only crashing into the bedroom door jamb in the dark a couple times. Now when I hold my big 1 year old son (who is following in his sister's footsteps along the growth chart), I can barely remember how tiny he was.

Looking back at those photos I took at the hospital of him, he has changed so much! Lucy has too, she wasn't even 2 years old (quite yet). Our daily life seems a bit chaotic at this stage, but at the same time I feel like everything is going according to plan! Tonight we went to the Rainbow Grill for dinner, and Lucy was extra chatty and inquisitive, and had her volume turned up to 11. Henry sat nicely and looked cute, but spliced in random shrieks that definitely turned some heads, while we both scrambled to give him another spoonful of mashed potatoes or applesauce, while Lucy started getting extra upset at how messy our table was! And Where did that lady go? I need to tell you something! My fork keeps sliding off the bowl! What's that? Barbeque sauce? I like barbeque sauce. Look at me (drinks milk then spits it into water)! Is that guy happy? Is she your friend? (because I had been talking to Katie's mom; she and Katie's dad sat in the booth across from us!) [Henry whips sippy cup to the floor]. We were both cracking up - they weren't being bad, but it was just... how can I put it?

I know I ate my meal, but I don't remember it.

Anyway, Henry has a personality not unlike Lucy's, but for now it's dialed down just a bit. I'm sure he will turn it up soon enough. He has been taking more steps on his own, but still prefers to crawl - he's super quick and disappears into Lucy's room, usually to try to climb onto her bed, which isn't the best thing because he will fall off, so that means I have to go get him, and that means he gets angry. He loves food of all kinds, especially PB&J sandwiches, and tends to hit and shove more than Lucy ever did at that age (uh-oh). He's just so cute and happy, and I won't even attempt to explain the love we have for him and his big sister. I think Lucy is even starting to think he's pretty cool too.

Happy 1st Birthday Buddy!!!

Wild Thing

Last night we had one of our regularly scheduled birthday/anniversary parties at my grandparents' house in Grandville. My parents took the motorcycle there since it was a nice day, and my grandma Myrt had mentioned she wanted a ride... so after dinner she put on some shades and climbed on)...
Meanwhile we all hung out in the front lawn and driveway waiting for them to come back. The wrong motorcycle drove by (with a man and a woman) and we were so ready that we all started shouting and taking pictures and video.. only to realize as they came into focus we had the wrong people. The confused look on the guy's face, and then awkward smile and wave, was pretty unforgettable, and we all had a pretty good laugh about it. Maybe we're easily amused, or maybe you "had to be there," but it was hilarious.

Lucy took it upon herself to lay in the grass and look at the sky. She's trying to find shapes in the clouds, so Ron joined her. Since I had my camera out already I took a couple snapshots...They came back (eventually) and Grandma was all smiles :) Love it. Well, this isn't really that surprising - the fact that she's 80 and did this - because she is blessed with health and vitality and definitely does not act like an old lady at all.

More photos here!

Zoo!

Sunday we visited John Ball Zoo, which we hadn't done yet this summer. The crowds weren't bad, either. The Siberian Tiger roared a lot, and we actually got to see the snow leopard, which is usually hiding - this time it was sleeping in the front corner of it's area, only about 6 feet from us. Lucy rode the camel, and loved it! Henry looked at animals, and seemed to be pretty interested in many of them, but for the most part he was along for the ride in the stroller. It was the most fun we've had at the zoo with the kids (well, last year one of our kids was still in the oven, and we went during a major heat wave - at least that's how I remember it). Lucy walked a lot, and asked a lot of questions, and was saying "hi" to all the animals. We stopped at the bear and she looked at it for a while - it was standing right there in front, being all awesome and bear-like, and then she said, "Okay, let's go look at some different animals." She'd repeat that phrase several more times when something wasn't exciting to her.Of course monkeys were a big hit, and frogs and snakes. She pet stingrays (although as soon as one would swim up under her hand she'd pull her hand out and giggle) and the pygmy goats. She fed a parakeet with a stick with bird seed stuck to the end of it. When I purchased the food-stick for a buck, and handed it to her, she immediately put it in her mouth. No! Then on the 5 foot walk to the door of the giant bird cage, she picked off half of the food! Stop! Some was still on it though, and a birdie came right away and perched on her stick for quite a while, eating what was left, so she thought that was pretty amazing. Then she chased other floor-scavenging birds around with her seedless stick for a minute, until I could no longer stand the smell of the bird droppings-slash-disinfectant and got us out of there, straight to the Purell dispenser! Phew! Good times!

Much of the time I was doing the zoo activities with her, while Ron handled the photography and stroller pushing duties (we brought along the somewhat less extravagant camera with us for this trip).

I got these ones of her on the camel, however, while he took a video clip...
I'll admit I was slightly nervous that she'd freak out and launch herself off the camel, but she held on tight and smiled the whole time... I've never ridden a camel. Pretty cool.

Stop and Hear the Music

This is interesting - from a forward I received that was actually worth reading. The video clip is really well done too.

Washington , DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007.

The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approximately 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

After 3 minutes, a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.

4 minutes later:
The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

6 minutes:
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

10 minutes:
A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.

45 minutes:
The musician played continuously.. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money, but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

1 hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

Findings:
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

Joshua Bell playing incognito in the Metro Station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste, and people's priorities. The questions raised: "In a common place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?"

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made.... How many other things are we
missing?

It's the First Day of School...

Saw this posted on Facebook by a relative - I thought it was pretty funny. I'm not so sure if the boy in the video would agree!

3 Year Blogiversary

I can't believe I forgot my own 3 year Blogiversary: It was September 5. Here is what I had to say back in 2006 (and a glimpse of a tiny little Lucy still a bun in the oven). In three years, I have posted 621 times, more if you count posts that I've gone back and deleted. I even had a blog before this one, but it was deleted entirely. Anyway, thank you to all my loyal and occasional stumble-upon readers. Here's to another great year talking about nothing in particular.

Here's to Fall

Today is the last "official" day of summer vacation for Ron. Tomorrow he reports back to work, and I know everyone is rolling their eyes a little thinking of how good he has it as a teacher, regarding the 3 month vacation he gets every year. Yeah, well, it is pretty nice. I could say something like, "well, the price he has to pay for the 3 month break is the fact that he deals with 150 teenagers every day.." etc. etc. but he actually loves his job and is good at it. I am glad I married a high school teacher. True story: part of me thought that someday I might marry a teacher. You think I am making that up in hindsight? Nope. And now that I have, I realize that either I must be subconsciously psychic or just knew at a young age what I wanted. Or I just got lucky. The fact that he is a teacher is a huge contributing factor in my photography business being possible too.

Anyway, this cooler summer weather is a welcome treat in my book. I even wore a sweater for part of the day yesterday! Usually our fall is so short you can barely enjoy it before we're buried under 4 feet of snow... maybe this year we will get an extended version. I'm okay with that. Bring on the pretty leaves!!!

Little Helper

I have been so busy these days with sessions and editing, I feel like I constantly need to be working on pictures... and to be honest, I am excited to be going into a week-long stretch of no sessions! I can get caught up on editing at night (and a little during the day, I can't help it), and spend some more time doing "normal" things... or things that I don't usually give myself time to do!

Today started out a little rainy, so I decided that I would bake chocolate chip cookies with Lucy. Ron had to run to the store and pick up some ingredients that we were out of (he can throw a hat on and run to Family Fare more easily than I can make myself look presentable!). Eventually I got a good stopping point in my editing that I could get baking! I tied an apron around Lucy and she helped dump ingredients into the big bowl and stir them... later she helped drop the balls of dough onto the cookie sheet... she was really having a lot of fun. Of course she was more interested in eating the cookies...

Shocking sidenote: I quickly wiped off my hands and snapped a few pictures... then I had to get back to the task at hand: keeping her from eating all the chocolate chips out of the bowl, " 'cause they're yummy! " Apron, ponytail, how could I not take a few photos!

Kelly and Heath visited a couple times in the past month, and made a good point that we need to take more videos of Lucy (and Henry) to share online... so I decided this would be a perfect opportunity... Our daily life is full of zany moments like this (and the truth comes out, our house often looks like a tornado hit. This is what happens when I neglect cleaning for a few hours):

Ron's good friend from high school (in the U.P.) and his fiance are coming down for the weekend... we haven't seen Chad in 3 years - the last time was at their 10 year high school reunion, and I was 7 months pregnant with Lucy! I have never met Carrie, but I'm really looking forward to their visit and getting a chance to know her a little bit...

Reception

Last Saturday we celebrated Kelly and Heath's wedding with a hometown reception in our parents' back yard. Lots of friends and family members stopped by, we had great food, drinks, music, and stayed up talking and laughing after putting the kids to bed there...

Tiece made the cupcakes and everyone loved them! My parents did the rest of the food, other than the fabulous pasta salad brought by our good family friend Lori - she and her husband Dave were friends with our parents back when they were all first married...

As usual it was just nice to get another chance to hang out with Kelly and Heath - the kids know them well despite the fact they live in Evanston :). Everything went really smoothly, and with minimal stress getting things ready, the back yard looked great, and people were happy, and all to celebrate two people we love. Congrats (again) guys!