Picture Crazy Again

I thought I would share some of the pictures that I have been taking, but didn't turn in for my class. I've had a few little photo shoots and have gotten lots of pictures that I love!

A couple from the mini shoot at school.

Little Man.

Me and my sleepy baby.

Home

Mama, help me write. Something I hear a lot these days. Little piggies.
Cute little profile.

The "after" of a kiss.

Photo shoot at Carbonton.

Daddy and his boys. Daddy's got me.

Shy grin.

Daddy...what are you doing?

Oh. This isn't so bad.

My Little Model

I see you!

Holy Eyelashes! Check 'em out!

The face that melts our hearts!

Our sneaky grins. Good shot Daddy!

Assignment 3

The next assignment was taking pictures of babies and children. I may have a little practice with that. Here are the ones I turned in yesterday. Thank you to Ronnie for allowing me to have a mini photo shoot at the old mill in Carbonton. I've been wanting to stop for a while and yesterday worked out very well.

Ethan making his new silly face. At least he's learning something at day care.

One of my favorites of Ethan. I love this kid so much!

Who couldn't love this face?!And I got one of Elijah loving his daddy.

Can't you see the love in his eyes?

Assignment 2

The assignment for my photography class this past Wednesday was hands, feet and faces. Here's what I got.

Ethan working on his preschool stuff.

Ethan's big 'ol feet enjoying a lazy afternoon.And my personal favorite...

Ronnie holding Elijah so he could stand up.

I. Just. Love. It.

Learning a New Skill

Well, I'm trying to learn a new skill anyways. I have enrolled in an online photography course throught the community college. Just thought I wouls share the first three pictures that I shared with the class for review. I hope they aren't too cruel. I'll let you know what they say....

My crazy life...

Things are crazy around here. That's all there is to it. School started for me and the students return this week. But life at home has been a little less normal than lately. Allow me to share.


Ethan loves blowing up balloons. That's not too crazy, but he's driving me there with the constant, "Mommy, I can't do it!" whiny talk. And the weird feeling I get after blowing up a balloon fifty times is going to make me pass out one day.
Elijah is exploring all kinds of food. He wants EVERYTHING that any of us have to eat. And I mean every single thing. So meal time is a battle of wills to see who wants my food more...me or him. Like this banana I wanted, but he had to have. Even wanted to eat the peel. He acts as though we starve him, but I can assure you that is far from the truth.

And we're getting closer to having a mobile child. Panic has set in. I find myself picking up small items all the time, afraid that he'll be able to get to it and swallow it. Note to self: baby proof the house...ASAP!

And the proud Daddy encourages his young to become a mobile being. He doesn't even know what we're in for.

And along with the food deal. Ethan is compelled to share all that he has. Even things I would prefer Elijah to not have. Like Oreo cookies. This occurred while I was driving home one afternoon. These boys are something else.

Speaking of being something else. Check out this face. Look guilty to you? Me thinks so.

Yes. Guilty indeed. I have this pound cake pan that has a separate bottom resulting in a huge bottomless bowl. Ethan loves to play with it. Sometimes he wears it on his head. I guess he thought Elijah needed a bowl hat too! I almost called the fire department, but sensible lady beat out crazy mommy and I got it off rather quickly with relatively few tears.

So, yeah, life is crazy around here. But we're loving it.

Farewell Summer...

Today is my last day before going back to work.

Sniff, sniff...

I am sad, but I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with my boys this summer. They are growing so fast. I loved being able to be with them 24/7 for two whole months. I will miss them when I'm back at work, but Mama's got to have some grown up time.

Hopefully, this will be a good school year. Maybe my classes won't be too big. Maybe discipline will be handled well. Maybe the kiddos will want to learn. A girl can dream.

I know there will be fun times in D Building. We will make sure of it. Hopefully there won't be any snakes. And maybe the copier will run smoothly. There will be brownies. And chocolate pie. And inside jokes galore.

Although I complain about my job, I know its a good one. No one bothers me in my little world. And I have some of the best friends/colleagues one could ask for. I just hate leaving my babies. But maybe by being away from them for a little bit will make me more appreciative of the time I do have with them.

And maybe this little pep talk will get me a little more cheery by the time the alarm goes off in the morning.

One thing that excites me is that my photography class starts tomorrow. I'm taking it online and hope that I can really improve on my skills. I would absolutely LOVE to turn pictures into a career. At least a side job anyways.

And I may be starting grad school in January. I take the GRE on September 18. Other than that all I have to do is finish the application and get all my transcripts turned in. Hopefully that will turn out well.

There's a lot going on, but life is good. And even though summer is fading into a memory, there are lots of good things to look forward to. Especially watching my boys grow!

My Big Boy

I have such a big boy! Ethan started preschool this year! He has been so excited and has looked forward to it all summer. We have talked about how big boys act at daycare and he was more than ready to go. More ready than I was anyway. We even found a cute Elmo back pack that he wanted and he was set. Here are some pictures of him getting ready to go to "big boy school."

A wink!

Showing off his back pack.

Mama, can we just go already?

And we're taking Bryson too!

And my bad mommy confession. We left the back pack in the car when we went in. I felt so bad, but Martha said he only mentioned it one time. And he was ready to go again this morning. My baby is growing. up!

Picture Crazy

Since I got my new camera on Wednesday, I have been a picture taking fool! I have always had a passion for taking pictures and this camera can actually keep up with me! I am having SO much fun! These are some that I like of Elijah....Some of his funny faces. I couldn't get these with my other camera because it was so slow, but I can get 'em now! These are on the dark side, but I love the expressions!

Happy!

I have been wanting a new camera for a LONG time.

The one I have has been well loved for every occasion since Ethan's birth. It took good pictures, but for at least six months we have to position it just right so that the huge scratch that Ethan put on the lens doesn't show in all of our pictures. Like I said, its well-loved.

I had my heart set on a Canon Rebel. I've been window shopping for weeks. I just knew what I wanted. I scoured craigslist and when I found one that would work, Ronnie decided he wanted to buy me a brand spankin' new one. No complaints here! I'll take new anyday! But they cost SO much! So I've been bargain hunting for over a week. Then I decided that maybe I would lower my standards a little. I had made up my mind that Wal-Mart was going to get some business yesterday, if the price was one I liked. Note: sometimes their big ticket items are cheaper online so check if you're looking at something expensive. But before going to Wally World we went to the mall. Ronnie made me look in Sears and Radio Shack to see if they had a camera that may satisfy me. :) He knows how picky I am. At Sears the Canon was more expensive than WM, but they had a Nikon that was outrageously cheap! But I wouldn't give in that quickly. We shopped some more then headed back to Sears. Dang it! The tag said that it was used. Why would I buy used from Sears when I could buy used on craigslist. I went by Radio Shack. Then we took Ethan to play for a bit. I asked Ronnie to "pretty please" go find out what the definition of "used" was at Sears. He was gone forever. But this is Ronnie. He could have been talking to the tile floor for all I know. (Seriously...the guy talks a LOT! But that's part of his charm!) When he returned he didn't mince his words. He had talked with the sales associates (people he knew...of course...he knows everybody) and looked online on his phone and made up his mind. "Go buy that camera. You're stupid if you don't. If you don't like it, we'll sale it on ebay or something." I love this man! So I am now the proud owner of a Nikon D3000 that was supposed to be the display model for OVER $100 cheaper than regular price. But wait. They had a brand new one in a never opened box for the same price as the display. So yay! I got it so cheap I feel almost like I stole it! I just LOVE a good deal!

Here are some pictures we've taken since we got it:

Good deal Mama!

Stud!Ethan plaing in the box to the cooler we bought for Ronnie's truck so he won't spend his entire check on fast food and Mountain Dew.Elijah wants the camera!Such a cutie sitting up on his own now!No toy stands a chance!And playing around with the special effects.