Life with Ana Kate

i heart faces | A Touch of Sun

2011-09-20T12:48:00.000-05:00

This week the theme at i heart faces is 'a touch of sun'. When I heard the theme I immediately thought of a photo session I did for a sweet family in April. Oh a whim we decided to try and get a few shots in the trees before sunset and this shot ended up being my one of my favorites. To check out more great touch of sun photos go to http://www.iheartfaces.com/.

Happy 4th Birthday Ana Kate!!

2011-08-30T19:17:00.000-05:00

First thing this morning Ana Kate ran and got in bed with me and said, 'Mommy is it my birthday?' When I told her yes she kept saying, 'I can't believe I'm 4!' So cute!

We had a great day today. We made a quick trip to the store to pick up Ana Kate's cake and she was super excited. I let her open up a few presents this morning, but made her save a couple for when Daddy got home from work. We had a small family party and will have another one this weekend when Doug's parents get here.

I can't believe my baby girl is already 4. Time goes by so fast. She has grown so much and I love her more and more each and every day!

Here is a collage I put together of her 1st four birthdays.

More pictures to follow (as soon as I get them all edited...). : )

i heart faces | Pet Week

2011-08-23T10:56:00.001-05:00

This week at i heart faces the theme is pet week. I haven't entered the weekly photo contests for quite a while, but when I saw the theme a recent photo came to mind. In July I did a mini photo session for my daughter and her boyfriend along with their new puppy Meeko. Meeko is precious and I'm in love with his beautiful blue eyes. I had several to choose from, but this one is my favorite.

To see more pet photo entries head on over to http://www.iheartfaces.com/ and join the fun!

Busy Summer

2011-07-28T21:51:00.001-05:00

Wow...I said I wouldn't wait another two months to post, but it's been nearly that long. We've been busy this summer and I just haven't been into blogging or taking very many pictures. It's been SO hot here this summer that it's put a damper on a lot of Ana Kate's outdoor fun, so we've made the most of playing inside the past few weeks.

I've been doing a lot more sewing lately. I made several pillows for Whitney's new house. I also purchased a dress pattern from to make a knot apron dress for Ana Kate. I was a bit scared to attempt it, but the pattern was SO easy to follow. Check out the Little Lizard King shop on Etsy...she has lots of great patterns available for purchase. Here are the two dresses I made for Ana Kate.

I made another tiny one for baby Amelia and I'm working on another one for my cousin's daughter Piper. I didn't take a picture of the pillows I made for Whitney, I'll have to post them next time.

I also mentioned in one of my last posts that I had ordered a new camera bag/purse. I have been using it for over a month now and I love it! I can totally carry my camera AND my extra lenses along with my wallet, keys, lotion, lip balm, etc. I even carry it when I don't want to take my camera with me because I love it so much! If you are in the market for a camera bag that doesn't look like a camera bag, check out Kelly Moore bags...they are amazing! *

I haven't done many photo sessions lately, but a couple of weeks ago Whitney asked if I would take some photos of her and Josh and their new puppy Meeko. I got several great shots, but here are just a few of my favorites.

My beautiful girl.

Isn't Meeko adorable!

I just celebrated my birthday and couldn't decide what I wanted for a gift. Doug got me 18 red roses and they were beautiful! He said he never knows what to get me, so he went with flowers. I don't really ever tell him what I want and I definitely don't really need anything. But I recently have been looking at electronic cutting machines and decided I had to have one. : ) So as of today I'm the proud new owner of a silhouette! I just took it out of the box and got the software running, so I haven't played with it much. I'll do an update with some completed projects sometime soon. I'm excited to see what all it can do!

I took a few pictures of Ana Kate yesterday afternoon. She was being silly posing (as usual), but I managed to get a few good ones. She is such cutie!

Can you see the mischief in her eyes....

Giving me the pose I asked for, but somehow you can see she's not into it....

I'm thinking of starting up a new blog that focuses on sewing, knitting, photography, crafts, home decor, etc. I'm not really sure what I'm going to do, but I don't want to clutter up this blog with all of that stuff. I prefer to keep this as a journal primarily for Ana Kate (and our family)....so I'm still trying to figure out what I'll do. We'll see. : )

*Just a little disclaimer....I am in no way affiliated with Kelly Moore Bags and they have no idea who I am. I just happen to love their bags!

3 years today...

2011-06-15T20:35:00.000-05:00

Today we are celebrating our Forever Family Day! Three years ago we traveled to an orphanage in a small, remote province in Vietnam and held our baby girl for the first time. I can't believe its been three years....and Ana Kate has grown so much. I thought I'd include a video of our first meeting along with some other clips from our first 3 days in Vietnam. Please excuse the watermark on the video (I am testing out new editing software), and it is long....but SO precious. Ana Kate and I watched it today and it just amazes me how much she has changed and grown in the past 3 years.

I almost forgot how little she was when we first met. She started walking the 2nd day we had her and was such a smart girl. She learned so quickly and hasn't slowed down yet. She is such an amazing blessing!

We decided to go out to dinner to celebrate and we let Ana Kate choose where. She chose 'China Food' as she calls it. So we had a great dinner and then I took a few photos outside when we got home. Happy Forever Family Day Ana Kate...we love you!!

Where do I begin...

2011-06-09T18:55:00.000-05:00

It's been more than 2 months since my last post....definitely not my intention. Life has been busy and I have neglected the blog. I will attempt to do a recap of what's been going on around here the past couple of months. In April I did a couple of photo sessions. The first session was of my cousin's daughter, Piper. I took these when I kept her for a week in April. She is such a doll and we loved having her.

The other photo shoot was for a sweet family I met through my friend Amanda. We did the Siegler family session at a lake trail around sunset one evening and I love the way the pictures turned out.

This is one of my favorites....

We also celebrated my Mom's birthday, my Dad's birthday, our 7 year anniversary, and Doug's birthday! Lots of April birthdays around here. : ) I really didn't take photos of much since I was in full on editing mode at the time. I am trying to get better about taking personal photos more often, but I think last year's 365 burned me out a bit. I ordered a new camera bag/purse that I hope will make it easier to lug my camera around with me more often....we'll see if it works as I envisioned when it arrives sometime the end of this month. I have the Epiphanie Ginger bag, but it just doesn't work well for me. I really need to sell it since I have only used it once.

On to May....
First off another photo session. I did Amelia's 3 (almost 4) month photos and they turned out SO good! I am still keeping her on Fridays and I can't believe how much she's grown! She is the sweetest, happiest baby and is so easy to take care of. Ana Kate loves her and is always excited on Friday morning when I tell her Amelia is coming over.

I celebrated Mother's Day at home with my girls and it was wonderful! Whitney got me a gift certificate for a pedicure at her salon and I can't wait to use it!

I know I mentioned in my last post (which seems like ages ago) that my Aunt Sharlette had been diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer. The cancer progressed very quickly and the week after Mother's Day my uncle also went into the hospital (complications of advanced Alzheimer's). So my cousin called and asked if I could come and care for my Aunt while she was at the hospital with her Dad. Ana Kate and I packed up and made the 4 hours drive and ended up staying for 5-6 days. It was nice to visit with my Aunt and I had a wonderful time catching up with Taryn. Ana Kate and Piper loved playing together. It was a wonderful week and I'm SO thankful that I had that time with my Aunt Sharlette. She died the morning of May 31st and it was much sooner than we had originally expected. I will miss her greatly, but I am at peace knowing that she is no longer suffering and has gone home to be with the Lord. There is so much more I could say about my Aunt, but I think I will save that for her Memorial, which will be held later this month.

On Memorial Day weekend we planned a quick trip to Florida to visit the beach and Sea World. Ana Kate has been asking to go to both places for a while, so it just worked out that we got flights and Whitney got to come with us too! I can't remember the last time we had a family vacation with all of us. It was wonderful! We headed to the airport on Friday evening and didn't get to our hotel until late that night. Ana Kate was a little stinker in the airport....she thought she needed to ride on my carryon bag all through the airport, but at least I knew exactly where she was. : )

On Saturday, after breakfast we headed to Cocoa Beach. We were a bit disappointed at first because there were hundreds of little jellyfish in the water and on the beach. It even made national news. By the afternoon if was better, but Doug did get stung. Ana Kate managed to avoid the jellyfish and she LOVED the beach!
She was sad when we left. We got cleaned up and went to dinner and then did some shopping around town.
For some reason when we first got to the beach my camera fogged up. I assume it was because it was so hot outside and my camera had been in the air conditioned car.....but it's never happened before. It cleared up quickly though....and only showed in this first picture. I included some of the pictures that Whitney took as well....so I'm actually in some of them. : )

My little mermaid....

Me & Whitney at dinner Saturday night.

Ana Kate sorting her shells that she bought.

On Sunday we got up early and headed to Sea World. It was very hot, but we had a wonderful time. Ana Kate loves, loves, loves dophins. She has been talking about dolphins as long as she's been talking. We did the up close tour with the dolphins and she LOVED it! I have to say I thought the dophins were amazing as well, SO beautiful and intelligent! Whitney did the up close penguin tour and she enjoyed it too. The shows at SeaWorld were amazing...our favorite was Blue Horizons....Ana Kate's favorite things all combined, princess, dophins, and birds. : )

We went to Universal's city walk on Sunday night for dinner and then enjoyed some shopping on Monday before catching our flight home. It was a wonderful vacation and we plan to try doing this more often in the future.

It is so hot outside here that I think we skipped spring and went to straight to summer. We've been taking trips to the splash park and setting up Ana Kate's little pool on the back deck. She also started back to school for the summer session and she loves it! We will stay busy this summer and hopefully I will be posting more than every 2 months. : )

Happy Birthday Whitney!!

2011-04-01T00:01:00.027-05:00

My oldest 'baby' turned 20 today.....can you believe that! It seems like only yesterday she was starting junior high, now she's grown, out of the house, and starting her career. I only saw her for a few minutes when we took cake and flowers to her salon. She is such a blessing and I love her so much!

I've had a crazy busy week which has resulted in no posts, photography or otherwise. I kept baby Amelia on Wednesday and Friday for the last couple of weeks and she is SO sweet! She is a super easy baby, but it's definitely different have two little ones to look after instead of just one. I also went to meet my cousin Taryn on Thursday night to pick up her daughter Piper. Taryn needed some help while my Aunt Sharlette had surgery and was in the hospital, so I offered to take Piper for a few days. Piper is 18 months old and she and Ana Kate are having a blast together! Yesterday I had Amelia, Piper, and Ana Kate....it was a lot of work, but fun! Good thing I drive a suburban....the back seat was completely full of car seats! We went to MOPS and had a great time and then did some shopping. Doug was off work yesterday, so he went shopping with us, which helped a lot. It's definitely not easy loading and unloading the car with 3 kids age 3 and under. But we managed and everyone was happy. After Amelia went home I made dinner and Piper fell asleep in her high chair while she was eating....I guess we've worn her out!

We woke her up and took the girls to the park for a while so that Piper wouldn't be up all night. I didn't take many pictures, but hopefully I'll do better this weekend.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T16:09:00.001-05:00

I haven't posted in what seems like ages! It's been super busy around here and I have been really sick with a sinus infection as well. I am finally starting to feel normal again after a round of antibiotics. I'm hoping to post more often now and finally get another photography tutorial done soon.

Last week I started feeling terrible and finally went to the doctor and started medicine on Tuesday. On Friday my aunt was having a biopsy done in Mountain Home, so my Mom, Ana Kate, and I drove over that morning to see her and didn't get back home until Friday night. It was nice to see my Aunt Sharlette and my cousin Taryn, but the biopsy wasn't good news. My aunt was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer and is now waiting to see the oncologist and schedule surgery. It wasn't the news we wanted, but it was expected. We are praying every day and hoping for a good outcome and to accept God's will in this. Please pray for my aunt's healing and comfort and for peace for the family during this battle.

On Saturday we woke up to a beautiful day! It was warm and sunny so we decided to have a picnic and then hike around the lake in Fayetteville. We walked about 5 miles and some of it on a dirt bike trail, so it took us a couple of hours (of course we were lugging a stroller, roller skates, and a scooter with us). I think next time we'll pack a bit lighter. : ) Ana Kate had a great time and Doug and I even got a bit of a sunburn. I also lugged my camera around the trail, but only ended up taking a few pictures.

On Monday I went with my cousin Jennifer to the Fayetteville MOPS meeting because Michelle Duggar was the speaker. She has some wonderful advice and is SO sweet and nice. I even won one of the door prizes, a signed book! Some of her older girls were there as well and played music for everyone. They are an amazing family. I get stressed out with my two girls, I can't imagine 19! Amanda and her sister attended the meeting as well, so Amanda took my picture with Michelle. I look like an amazon in this picture, but I'm just 5'6"....Michelle is a lot shorter than she appears on tv. : )

Finally today Ana Kate had a program at school where each of the toddler and pre-school classes sang songs for the parents. I got Ana Kate all dressed up in her green for St. Patrick's Day and put her hair in pigtails....she looks SO cute! Before the program started they warned us that the kids might get stage fright because of the full auditorium, but I wasn't worried about Ana Kate. She LOVES to be on stage. She sang and danced and waved at me. In between songs she yelled, 'Hi Mommy!' I am so proud of my girl. I took these pictures before school this morning.

Not much else going on here. I have a busy day tomorrow and then next week we'll be keeping Amelia for a couple of days because Amanda is starting back to work. It will be SO much fun have a baby around....Ana Kate is excited too! I know Amanda is sad and anxious to leave her, but we will take the very best care of her. Hopefully I'll post a photography tutorial soon....being sick put me completely behind on everything, but I'm slowly catching back up.

Busy Week...

2011-03-02T10:27:00.000-06:00

I hardly posted at all this month we've been so busy. I can't believe it's already March....February flew by! We were super busy the past couple of weeks and I actually took a few pictures this week to post.

We had a cookout at the lake on Sunday (where Doug's parents are staying while they're in town). Ana Kate loved it and especially loved roasting the marshmallows over the campfire.

A couple of pictures of my pretty girl before school on Monday.

A sewing project I completed on Tuesday....a book bag for Ana Kate. She loves it! I plan on making a few more, they are super easy and so adorable.

Hopefully I'll do better at posting this month. I plan on taking more outdoor photos this week with the warmer weather.....and I have a couple more photography tutorials that I would like to post. So, check back later this week and next week!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T21:32:00.000-06:00

More Photography Tips

2011-02-10T14:56:00.001-06:00

First of all, I meant to get this post done last weekend, but I had a busy day with family and then two photo sessions this week and several snows days....so here it is finally....

I was all set to do a photoshop tutorial, but I decided do something a bit more in depth from my last photography tips post. I wanted to talk today specifically about shooting in manual mode for dslr's. It took me quite a while to start shooting exclusively in manual mode because I would forget to change my settings while chasing my toddler around. I would get quite frustrated and discouraged when half of my images were either over or under exposed, blurry, or grainy. It takes a while to get used to it, you just have to stick with it and practice! Now I really don't even think about it, I always shoot in manual. So, I thought I would go through the things I do to zero in on the correct exposure while shooting in manual mode.

1)First I set my ISO depending on light conditions. If I'm outside and it's sunny and fairly bright then I'll set my ISO to 200 or less. If I'm in the shade, then it might be 400, indoors it can go up to 1000 depending on available light. (Keep in mind I do manual, NO flash photography 99% of the time, so ISO is very important).
2) Once I've got my ISO determined I will set my aperture. A smaller aperture (high f-number) increases the depth of field and will bring the background and foreground into focus. A larger aperture (low f-number) decreases the depth of field which softens the background and focuses on the subject. For portraits you will want to work with a larger aperture or low f-number. I don't change this much, I usually shoot pretty wide open (lower f-stop), usually anywhere from 2.2 - 4.5.
3) Next I spot meter off the skin. I mentioned in my last post that you will need to determine the appropriate metering mode for the type of pictures you are taking. Since I do portraits I find that spot metering work best for me most of the time. I spot meter off the skin of the face primarily and it works very well in most situation. Next (while keeping the spot meter where I want it), I will adjust my shutter speed to achieve the correct exposure. I will spot meter and adjust the shutter speed for every shot.
4) Then I focus in and take a couple of shots. (I use single point focus and move my focus around where I want it to be manually....so that's another thing I adjust with every shot). I then check them to see if (a) the exposure looks correct (not too dark or too light)....{I will explain how a histogram works in a future post, but it would be worthwhile to read about it in your camera manual} , (b) my subject is in focus, and (c) the shot is sharp (not blurry). If my exposure is incorrect I will re-adjust my ISO, aperture, or shutter speed depending on the issue and take a few more shots. You could do these adjustments in a variety of ways and there is no exact formula....but the more you practice the easier it will get to find the right balance. I often find that if the picture is blurry then I need to bump up my ISO and increase my shutter speed. If the focus area is too small (like only on the eyes of my subject rather than the entire face) then I will check my aperture and adjust it to a higher f-stop number or possibly. If the pictures appear grainy (higher ISOs will produce more noise and result in a grainy image), then I don't have enough light and will have to supplement my natural light with indoor light, or move to a difference area (for me that would be outside) in order to lower my ISO value.
I realize this might not make a lot of sense to many, but if you get your dslr manual out and read through it, then this might make sense. : ) There is no one perfect formula....the correct exposure can be achieved in many ways, this is just how I do it. It took me a while to 'get' the way it all works to create the correct exposure. Also I have to put it out there that I am not an expert and I'm 100% self taught, so I may not explain everything correctly (technically or otherwise)....I have a degree in marketing, not photography....so keep that in mind. : )

I just hope that those of you who want to learn more about your dslr and are shooting in manual will get something out of this.

More snow & pigtails

2011-02-04T22:39:00.000-06:00

This morning we were up early to go pick-up Whitney and get her to work by 9:00. The roads are still so bad from our Tuesday snow that I just felt better taking her to and from work to keep her safe. As soon as I got home from dropping her off it started snowing again!!

After I took that picture we got at least 4-5 more inches because it snowed the rest of the day and night. Whitney soon called and said they were closing early, so we headed back to pick her up. We decided to do some shopping at target and then we took her home. I think the parking lot at her apartment was worse than the roads....they really need to clear it off! By the time Ana Kate and I got home the roads were getting even worse (if that's possible). I can still get out and get around, so it doesn't bother me too much, but if the roads don't clear they will continue to cancel school for Ana Kate....and she misses it. : ( I am also missing my bible study and MOPS....so hopefully we'll get back on schedule next week. According to the forecast we won't be back to 'normal' until next Friday! The snow is pretty, but I'm ready for it to melt.

Not much else going on here today. Ana Kate always wants her hair in a ponytail and braid, but I switched it up today and gave her pigtails. They were SO cute and made her hair look really long, I had to get some pictures of her, so she modeled for me.

I did not finish my photography post, so I will get it posted either tomorrow or Sunday. I would love to hear what type of tips tutorials that you would like to see. Photoshop tutorials, how to work in manual mode, backdrops and session set-ups?? Just let me know. I have tons of cool tricks in photoshop, but not sure how many will actually use photoshop for editing. Anyway....I'll get that out there this weekend.

Snow Days

2011-02-02T23:24:00.000-06:00

Not too much going on around here this week. We've been snowed in the past two days and I'm guessing we won't get out much until Friday or Saturday. Ana Kate doesn't have school tomorrow and my bible study is cancelled, so we'll have to figure out something fun to do together. I love staying home and it takes a really long time for me to get cabin fever....but we might venture out tomorrow to do some shopping while everyone else is staying home. I have a 4-wheel drive SUV, so I think we'll be fine. It's SO cold outside though...down to the single digits, I can't believe it was 70 degrees just 4 days ago...crazy!

Anyway, while we were snowed in I decided to try out some new photo set-ups in my studio and I love the pictures I captured of Ana Kate! She wasn't into posing, but I promised her a popsicle if she tried....so she gave in. I think she did a great job! : ) I am working on another photography post/tutorial for tomorrow or Friday, so come back and check it out.

Our Adoption Story

2011-01-28T00:54:00.000-06:00

I know I've told this story at least once on this blog, but I am posting it again to link up with 'Show Us Your Life - Adoption Stories' so that I can share our wonderful story with others that might be considering adoption. Without a doubt adopting Ana Kate has been one of the greatest blessings in our lives! I have such a heart for adoption and if there is any way that I can advocate for adoption I will....it is simply AMAZING! So here it is:

I have two beautiful girls…Whitney (who is 19) and Ana Kate who is 3. When Doug and I got married Whitney was 13, so he had quite the initiation into parenthood. After we had had been married for 2 years we decided it was time to have more children and we knew that we wanted at least 2 more. Whitney never missed an opportunity to let me know that she didn’t appreciate being an only child, so we took that into consideration.

I initially brought up adoption to my husband. At the time I wasn't really sure where my passion for adoption came from…I just had a weight on my heart for all the children in the world that needed a family and I believed this was the path to our child(ren). I now know this is something God put on my heart. We both prayed about it and did a lot of research on adoption and soon decided to move forward. One thing I want to be clear about is that we chose to add to our family through adoption. Many people think that adoption is for those who cannot get pregnant and the ‘last option’ after failed fertility treatments. That isn’t always the case. Adoption was our first choice...and that is true with many adoptions.

So then came all of the decisions…domestic (open or closed), international (which country)….we read a lot of books and finally decided on international adoption for a variety of reasons, but mainly it just ‘felt’ right.

We began searching for an agency and chose ours based on 3 main things:

1. Christian based
2. Small
3. Local
When we first talked to the couple that ran the agency we thought they were wonderful and we soon realized that not only did we attend the same church….but we attended the same Saturday night service! This was a wonderful 'coincidence' and gave us the feeling that we were on the right path.

Then came ALL the paperwork…

Once we made the decision to adopt internationally we reviewed the countries and decided on China mostly because of the stability and reliability of their program. The paperwork involved in international adoption is mind numbing! I embarked on a 3 month process to put every relevant detail of our lives into a huge dossier to send to China. This involved full physicals and blood tests, police background checks, financial statements, fingerprints for the state dept., etc. I really never knew before how complicated this process was.

As the dossier was nearing completion and there was nothing more left for me to ‘do’, I began to read obsessively about international adoption and specifically China adoption. I read every blog that I could find and I realized that while the current wait for referral was 14-18 months they were predicting that it would get longer. One day I stumbled onto a site that said for those just beginning the process, the wait for referral would most likely be 5 to 6 years! After hearing that I couldn’t stop thinking about it….could it really take that long? Shortly after that Doug and I went out to dinner one night and out of the blue I said to him. "We talked about adopting more than one child, right? What if we ask our agency if we can start a 2nd adoption now…from Vietnam?" He agreed with me, our agency agreed, and I quickly started compiling our 2nd dossier! I now know that that thought didn't come from 'out of the blue', that is was God's way of leading us to our daughter. Vietnam was a program we had originally talked about, but the process was not as structured and we knew that there could be a lot of changes along the way. This was very scary and why we had avoided it at first. Our agency had urged us to consider Vietnam (they have 3 daughters from Vietnam) and had a heart for that country. So again we felt that God was working to make sure we were on the right path. Once our Vietnam dossier was complete all we had left to do was wait...

And wait, and wait. Wow...this was the most excruciating part of the entire adoption process. There are just so many unknowns and it was a very stressful time for us (me in particular). I had stress on a level that I had never before experienced. I had heart palpitations and other classic symptoms of anxiety. I would pray and pray and try not to be anxious, but I couldn't seem to overcome it. I eventually had a mild case of shingles brought on by stress and I decided I needed to just calm down, but that was easy to say and hard to do! I convinced myself that once we had our referral I would finally be able to relax. Oh, how funny that sounds to me now.

Finally, on March 15th of 2008 we got our referral for a beautiful 6 month old baby girl. Her pictures were amazing…she had the biggest dimples and looked so happy and healthy. I couldn’t wait to hold her in my arms. Of course once I had those pictures my anxiety kicked into overdrive...there was no relaxing! I prayed for her daily and constantly worried....is she healthy, does she have enough to eat, and is someone holding her when she cries?! I continually worried for her and I knew that I would never really relax until I held her in my arms.

After almost 3 more months of waiting we finally got our travel approval on June 6th, then the very next week (June 13th) we were on a plane on our way to Hanoi. We finally held our baby girl on June 15th, 2008 which just happened to be Father’s Day…so that was really special for Doug. We had our adoption ceremony the next morning and Ana Kate was officially ours!

Looking back on our adoption I would have to say that year of waiting was one of the most difficult times in my life. But every minute was more than worth it because Ana Kate has been one of the biggest blessings in our lives! She is an amazing girl with an amazing spirit and I thank God for leading us to her! This is a poem I found during the wait and it fits so perfectly.

THE GIFT OF LIFE

I didn't give you the gift of life,
But in my heart I know.
The love I feel is deep and real,
As if it had been so.

For us to have each other
Is like a dream come true!
No, I didn't give you
The gift of life,
Life gave me the gift of you.

--- Unknown

So there it is...very long, but our wonderful, amazing adoption story. If you would like to read more about our adoption journey (and see tons of pictures) please look back over my June 2008 archive here on the blog. Our baby girl is amazing and we love her so much. A few months ago after spending an afternoon with my friend Amanda (who was expecting baby Amelia) Ana Kate and I had the most amazing conversation. We were in her bedroom and looking through her picture album of Vietnam. She was looking at her tiny baby pictures from when she was only a few days old and she said, 'Mommy, I wish I was in your belly before I was born.' It was one of the most precious things I've ever heard and absolutely amazing considering she is only 3. To think she grasped that concept blew me away! I just told her it didn't matter, that she was Mommy's girl and we found each other and that's all the really matters. We both said a prayer of thanks....and we do that often.

I took this picture of Ana Kate before school this morning....she is growing so fast!

I have to include that we are still waiting on our China adoption (it's been almost 4 years now). We are in the process of switching to the special needs program and I will update this blog as we proceed with that process.

Newborn Photo Session | Baby Amelia

2011-01-26T01:13:00.002-06:00

I did little miss Amelia's newborn photo session on Saturday. She was only 5 days old and she did great!! She barely cried at all and was super sleepy through the entire session. Here are just a few of my favorites.

Mommy Photography Tips & Tutorial

2011-01-21T19:25:00.001-06:00

I was trying to think of what I should do for a photography post and finally decided to just start with something simple. I wanted to give a few tips that mom's can use to take better photos of their kids. So here we go:

First and foremost take lots and lots of photos, especially when you are trying something new. I read somewhere that typically only about 30% of your photos are worth keeping from each shoot. I find that to be pretty accurate. If I take 200 photos at a session I will have at least 60-70 photos that are keepers. The problem when photographing your own kids is that it's hard to trash even the bad photos. : ) I have that problem too, but I've been trying to take a more technical eye to my photos of Ana Kate. And the more photos you take, the better you get.
Don't try to take the 'perfect' posed photos. Let your kids play and capture the natural movements, expressions, and smiles. I love the natural un-posed photos more than anything.
Remember to get down on your kids level when taking photos so they aren't always looking up at you. I often am down on my knees and even sometime on my stomach when taking pictures of Ana Kate.
When having difficulty taking photos with an active toddler, try giving them a toy as a photo prop. I am constantly chasing my 3 year-old and I find just giving her something to play with really helps. Bubbles, an umbrella, a guitar. It keeps them interested and you get your photos!
Don't worry about always having a smile on your child's face. Some of my favorite pictures are of my daughter with a serious or pensive expression on her face. I often have people ask me how I get her to do that. I just take lots of pictures and I don't always expect her to smile. When you continually ask them to smile, you will usually get really fake smiles. I find getting them to laugh is much better is you want a smiling picture.
When taking close up photos of the face always focus on the eyes (specifically the eye closest to you). This is especially important when using a wide open aperture on a dslr camera. I typically have my aperture (f-stop) set at 2.8 - 4.5 for close up shots.
Spot meter off the face. I always do this. I have read many other ways to do metering, and I've experimented greatly, but I find this to work the best 90% of the time. (Keep in mind this works 90% of the time for me because I mostly do portraits.)
Play around with editing. I often see great pictures of the subject, but the photos are too dark, or the eyes are shaded. You can fix these problems very easily with just a tiny bit of editing. I use photoshop for my editing, but there are some great free editing programs out there. (picnik, picasa, etc.) Even using your computers editing software is better than nothing and can make a huge difference.
Keep the background simple and free of distracting objects. This is mostly important indoors, but can also be a factor in outdoor photos. Just be aware of your background and try to keep it simple.

I have several other tips, but I think I'll leave those for future tutorials. Since my last point was about keeping backgrounds simple, I thought I would do a tutorial specifically on how to make a great professional looking background very easily.

Here are a couple of pictures I took today in my studio of Ana Kate:

Ok....so not necessarily the best pictures (check out her fake smile above), but they'll work for background demonstration purposes. Granted this background pattern is a bit busy....but I was trying it out for some Valentine's photos. I typically will use a a solid background. I do have stands for backdrops, but thought I would show you how to do it with everyday items around the house.

Here is how I set it up:

I just draped 3 yards of fabric over two bar stools and angled it towards the light. This wasn't quite tall enough to get a picture of Ana Kate standing, but worked great with her sitting and would be tall enough for a younger child. The fabric cost less than $15 and you could use any type of blanket, quilt, sheet, or throw.

I hope this helps out with your photography. Please leave a comment if you have specific tips and tutorials you would like to see.

Snow Days and New Hats!!

2011-01-21T15:10:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we woke up to snow on the ground and it was still steadily coming down. Ana Kate was super excited about playing in the snow, but we were both a little bummed because Ana Kate's school and my bible study were both cancelled. : ( There were only a few inches of snow in all, but the roads still had sheets of solid ice on them when I ran to Hobby Lobby around 5pm. So, today my MOPS meeting was cancelled as well. Hopefully we'll get back on track next week, but I here the forecast is calling for more snow on Sunday. Ana Kate did play in the snow with Doug when he got home from work. She had lots of fun making snow angels and throwing snow balls. She wanted to build a snowman, but the snow was too dry to hold together for that. I'm sure she'll be back out in the snow every day until it melts. She loves it!! I didn't take any pictures of them out in the snow yesterday because I was busy cooking dinner. I will try to get some snow photos today.

I have been knitting more since we've been stuck inside and found a couple of new patterns that are quicker. I finally finished Ana Kate's 2nd hat (which I started over a month ago). I love the way it turned out and I especially love the bright colors! She loves the flower too!

Last night I made a baby hat using one of my new patterns. I plan on using it for a photography prop and also making them for shower gifts. It was super easy to make and I finished it in about 4 hours. It turned out so darn cute...I just love the pom-pom 'ears'. I can't wait to try it out on Amelia when we do her photo session. I am also working on a baby cocoon for a photo prop and hope to get it done today or tomorrow.

I am also working on a photography post with lots of tips and a tutorial. Be looking for that later tonight or tomorrow. I have tons of tips, but I'm starting with a few simple things that Mom's can do to take better photos of their kids. Be sure to come back and check it out!

Baby Amelia

2011-01-18T16:13:00.000-06:00

Today Ana Kate and I went to visit my friend Amanda and her precious baby girl Amelia. She was born yesterday and is absolutely adorable!! Ana Kate loved her and actually held her for quite a while. She tried to tickle her and just kept talking about how tiny and cute she looked. : ) Amanda looked great and was up and around already! I can't wait to take newborn pictures of Amelia...she is the sweetest baby girl, she slept the entire time we were there and didn't cry once. Congratulations to Amanda and Deric!!

Proud mommy Amanda with her sweet baby girl.

So sleepy!

2011-01-17T10:16:00.000-06:00

I don't let Ana Kate play computer games very often, but yesterday afternoon after cleaning up her toys we let her play for a little while. I was watching a movie and she was behind me sitting at the counter playing. All of sudden I noticed the quiet (if it's quiet here that almost always means Ana Kate is asleep). I turned around to check on her and sure enough, she was sitting on the bar stool, leaning on the counter, completely asleep! It was so funny I had to grab the camera and take a few pictures. I know it looks like her eyes are part way open, but she was completely out....

She didn't sleep long though. In fact, as I was putting my camera away she almost fell off the chair, which scared her, and after that she was awake.

Back to school....

2011-01-13T19:36:00.000-06:00

Ana Kate went back to school today (actually it's Mother's Day Out, but we call it school). She's been out for over a month and I think we were both ready to get back on schedule! She was super excited and ran right into her class. I got a lot done while she was at school....so it was a good day! Since we are getting back into our routing I really need to start focusing on some of my projects. I really need to finish knitting my second hat and do some marketing stuff for my photography business. I also need to actually start exercising.....one of my new year's goals that I have yet to even begin yet....maybe this week??

Ana Kate hasn't been sleeping very well, so I'm hoping she does better tonight. I'm not sure if she's having bad dreams, or maybe I'm putting her in bed too early before she is actually tired. I have been making her take naps and that's causing more issues at bedtime, so maybe she doesn't actually need a nap anymore?? It's the ongoing debate around here. I think if I could consistently get her up early in the morning (at least by 7am) then naps would be ok. Maybe getting back into the school schedule will help.

I am thinking about doing some different posts each week that would be photography related....maybe even some tutorials or some fun photo projects. I kind of got in a rut with my photography lately and I think it would be fun to try some new things. I think I'll start that next week. As for today, I just have some pictures of my pretty girl before we left for school this morning. We only took a few pictures because it was only 15 degrees outside!!

Wow....a week without posting!

2011-01-09T15:28:00.000-06:00

I have so enjoyed the break from the 365 posting, but I find I already miss having the daily pictures of Ana Kate. I only took pictures of her twice this week, but it was a nice break. We had an eventful week. On Tuesday night we settled in from of the tv to watch the Razorbacks in the Sugar Bowl. Ana Kate was all dressed up and ready to cheer them on....unfortunately they didn't win. : ( But she looked super cute in her cheerleading uniform, so I took a few photos.

Thursday we met up with my cousin Jennifer and her daughter Sydney at chick-fil-a to let the girls play. They had a great time and it was nice to go for breakfast rather than lunch because it wasn't packed. I had a great time talking with Jennifer while the girls played and Ana Kate was actually tired enough for a nap when we got home. : ) After her nap we played with bubbles outside because it was such a beautiful day....chilly, but very sunny and quite comfortable out on our front porch.

Friday we were up early again for our first MOPS meeting of the semester. We switched the tables around to accommodate new Moms, so I got to meet some new ladies. We had fun chatting and as a bonus my cousin Jennifer is now at my table, so we were happy about that. Doug was traveling this week and didn't get home until 2am on Friday night...Ana Kate insisted on waiting up for him. I said fine because I didn't think she'd actually stay awake that long....but she did. I put her to bed as soon as he got home.

Saturday we took Ana Kate to Sydney's birthday party. It was a swim party and Ana Kate had a blast. I had to make her leave and she was so tired she crashed in the car. We ran home and changed and then had our long night at church. We had 10 toddler in class, but they were great! Ana Kate did great at church, but she was worn out when we got home. We both slept in late this morning and it was SO nice! We're enjoying a lazy day today. Ana Kate starts back to school tomorrow and it's supposed to snow. Ana Kate really wants snow, but I'm hoping the roads stay clear.

I Heart Faces 'Best Face Photo' -- Voting

2011-01-04T12:50:00.000-06:00

Vote for Ana Kate's photo!! This week at i heart faces you can actually vote for your favorite face pictures. So check it out here and vote for Ana Kate's photo (#338). Thanks!

I Heart Faces Photo Contest | 'Best Face Photo of 2010'

2011-01-03T12:46:00.002-06:00

This weeks theme at I Heart Faces is 'Best Face Photo of 2010'. That makes it very hard to choose since I did a 365 of my daughter in 2010. This is just one of my favorites. Head over to http://www.iheartfaces.com/ to enter your favorite face photo and check out all the beautiful entries!

365/365

2010-12-31T20:32:00.000-06:00

You have no idea how happy I was when typing the title to this blog post. Although I am dreading coming up with post titles for next year. : ) But, most importantly.....I made it.....I posted a picture of Ana Kate every single day of the year for 2010!! Yay! I am so happy to bring this project to a conclusion. I know I won't be doing it again next year, but will still post often as I've gotten in the habit. I'm just glad I won't feel like I 'have to' post every day. I'm not really sure that it improved my photography, but it does make me feel better about setting a goal and accomplishing it and keeping something going all year.

I don't typically make many New Year resolutions, but I do have a few things I would like to work on in the new year.

Exercise more (hoping to maintain at LEAST 3 times per week....but love to get in the habit of 5 days per week)
Eating healthier (mainly cutting out meats, cheeses, and processed/packaged foods).
Reading my Bible in a year.....I set that goal last year and made it to April, then stopped. I am going to try again and hopefully make it this time! I am also hoping to sign up for a Bible study every spring and fall.
Take the time to appreciate all my blessings and try not to worry about all the things I can't control.

There are lots of other things I want to work on, but those are the things that come to mind.

I also wanted to mention that a very close friend of mine (who is only 37) had a sudden cardiac arrest a few days before Christmas. She has 2 girls under the age of 3 and was in a post office (with her girls)when it happened. Thankfully a bystander performed CPR, the paramedics arrived within 3 minutes and were able to shock her back to life. They are not sure what caused it and cannot find a 'reason', but installed a pacemaker just 'in case' it were to happen again. I spoke with her yesterday and she is doing fine....she's recovering well and will be back to 100% soon. I am SO thankful that she is ok! What a Christmas blessing! I am hoping to be able to visit Robin this year as I have yet to meet either of her girls.

We have had an amazing 2010 and are hoping to have an even better 2011. I am praying for health, happiness, and to focus on the things that really matter. Hope you all have a Happy New Year!

364/365

2010-12-30T22:22:00.000-06:00

Today Michelle and I got up and did a tiny bit of shopping and then had lunch before she left. We had such a good time and Ana Kate LOVES her! I wish we'd had more time together because we always have so much to catch up on. I'm so happy she had a chance to come see me...even if it was only for a day.

After Michelle left I took a few pictures of Ana Kate and then browsed through Amazon to find more e-books to download. I love my kindle!! I really need to order a cover for it so I can throw it in my purse and take it everywhere with me. : )

I am so excited that my 365 project is coming to an end this week. I am so happy that I kept up with it, but I know I will not be doing it again. I will probably still post on New Years and quite frequently....once a week at the very least. It will be so strange not posting every day. Then again I might post more often than I am planning. Who knows.....but I'm definitely NOT doing another 365 project this year. Maybe every other year. : ) The best thing about doing it is that I have a picture of Ana Kate from everyday in 2010 (not to mention a pretty good log of our daily activities), which is pretty cool! I'm going to put together a little book and I think that will be a neat little keepsake for her.

I plan on doing nothing tomorrow but playing with Ana Kate, reading, and relaxing.....pretty boring New Year's Eve, but that's how I like it. : )

363/365

2010-12-30T00:01:00.000-06:00

Today my friend Michelle came into town and we hung out and visited and had a great time. We met up with Tiffany for dinner and had a great time catching up! We ate at Bonefish Grill and the bang bang shrimp were yummy! We ended up closing the place down.

Ana Kate was happy to see me when I got back home, she wasn't going to sleep very well for Doug. She is still up, so I need to get off of here and get her into bed!

362/365

2010-12-28T22:47:00.000-06:00

Not too much going on here this week, so not a lot to say. More cleaning today...thank goodness my headache was gone this morning! I did some laundry, we watched some tv and Ana Kate took a great nap. We made a quick trip to target and she was such a good girl while we were there. Doug worked late tonight and Ana Kate was so excited to see him when he got home.

One of my best friends from high school is coming to visit tomorrow night so I'm super excited to see her. We have so much to catch up on, so it should be lots of fun!

I am totally lazy with pictures this week....you can tell I'm ready to wind down this 365 project. I will try my best to do better for the last 3....I want to finish strong!

361/365

2010-12-27T23:17:00.000-06:00

I have had a migraine all day, so just a couple of pictures tonight.

360/365

2010-12-26T23:12:00.000-06:00

Not much going on around here today....besides cleaning. I really didn't get as much done as I wanted, so I'm so thankful that Doug helped me. I'm super tired, not much to say tonight. Hoping for more energy tomorrow, we're all feeling a little yucky here.

359/365 | Merry Christmas!!

2010-12-25T22:51:00.000-06:00

She took this picture herself using my new wireless remote for my camera.

We had a wonderful day today. Ana Kate was super excited about presents, we were surrounded by loved ones, but most importantly we celebrated the birth of our savior, Jesus, and the real reason for Christmas celebration.

Mimi, Whitney, and Josh all got here before Ana Kate woke up this morning. I heard her little feet coming down the stairs, so we were all watching for her. When she walked into the family room dragging her pillow she stopped, looked around at everyone, and said, 'What in the world?!' She was about to ask what they were all doing here when she either, a) remembered it was Christmas or b) saw her princess castle set up by the tree in the game room. She ran in there and was SO excited!

Next we opened up all the presents. She got tons of toy story toys and moon dough, and hungry hippos, and all kinds of fun stuff. Whitney brought everyone lots of presents and was so thoughtful....she is such a sweet girl. Doug and I knew most of what we were getting. I asked for a few things for my computer and camera, but he also surprised me with a kindle! We even got a little snow today...just flurries, but Ana Kate really wanted snow on Christmas, so she was excited.

We all had fun playing with our gifts until lunch time. I made a ham with a few side dishes and Whitney made deviled eggs. It was yummy! After Whitney had a nap and Doug and Josh played the wii, they headed home.

We were pretty lazy the rest of today. My house cleaning starts tomorrow!! We have moon dough everywhere and I'm not sure I'll ever find all the 'food' that goes with the hungry hippos game. ;)

358/365 - Happy Christmas Eve!

2010-12-24T22:11:00.000-06:00

Today was very laid back for me. I just hung out with Ana Kate, wrapped the last couple of presents, and made some treats. Doug was hard at work cleaning the bathroom, replacing a broken tile, and putting in a new toilet. He worked for hours upstairs and it looks really nice! I decided to do my cleaning on Sunday because I know I'll have a mess after tomorrow. : )

We let Ana Kate stay up a bit later than normal and she didn't have a nap today, so hopefully she won't be up super early tomorrow. I got a few pictures of her in the Santa hat like I do every year on Christmas Eve. I'm off to help Doug put her doll house together so it will be waiting under the tree tomorrow morning.

357/365

2010-12-23T22:43:00.000-06:00

We stayed home this morning and then decided to finish up our shopping when Doug got home from work. He worked a half day today, so we decided to go eat lunch when he got home. Our waitress really liked Ana Kate and was telling her how cute she was. Our waitress also happened to be asian and Ana Kate asked her if she spoke Vietnamese....it was cute! She met a couple of Vietnamese women a week or two ago and they were trying to speak to her in Vietnamese....so I guess she remembered that. She is SO talkative.....she talks to everyone all the time (if it's her idea of course). I don't know of any other 3 year old that orders for themselves at a restaurant, but Ana Kate does. She really doesn't like it when I try to order for her.

After lunch Doug had to do a few things for work, so I dropped him off at home with Ana Kate and did some of my shopping. I picked them up and we went to walmart....it was packed! But, we got our shopping done and back home before it was too late. Ana Kate posed in front of the Christmas tree tonight and was making some of her funny faces.

356/365

2010-12-22T22:22:00.000-06:00

Today Ana Kate was again running down to the Christmas tree as soon as she woke up. She is so excited and its adorable! I keep telling her how many days until Christmas, but anything beyond tomorrow is tough for a 3 year old. : )

We got ready and went to see Doug at work. She wasn't as talkative as she usually is, but she does like going. I typically only take her on Halloween, so today she kept asking everyone for candy. After our visit with Daddy we went to lunch with Whitney. Ana Kate was very good and so after lunch we did some shopping. I really had more stores to go to, but it was closely approaching nap time, so we headed home for a break. Ana Kate took such a good nap that I decided to finish up my shopping tomorrow rather than go back out tonight....it's so cold! Hoping to get everything done tomorrow and then start frantically cleaning house. : )

355/365

2010-12-21T23:00:00.000-06:00

I woke up this morning to little feet running down the stairs and to the Christmas tree. You see last night before bed I had explained to Ana Kate what we would do on Christmas morning and she thought that was today. : ) I told her to come back up to my room and she was a little disappointed to hear there would be no presents opened today. This is the child that never leaves her bed without first calling for me at least 10 times and usually requiring me or Doug to go get her out of bed. She is SO excited for Christmas. She has memorized who all the presents belong to and can't wait for everyone to open them.

I have a few more things to get done before Christmas, but we just relaxed at home and it was nice. We have a busy day tomorrow, so I'm off to bed.

354/365

2010-12-20T17:02:00.000-06:00

Always talking.....

We have been home all day today so far. I had planned to go shopping, but Ana Kate just wanted to watch movies. Whitney stopped by around 3 and I thought we'd leave after that but Ana Kate came and got in my lap and was soon asleep. So, she's taking a late nap and I'm hoping to get out and finish up my shopping tonight. Hopefully she'll be in a good mood when she wakes up. I took a few pictures of her just before Whitney came over. She had 2 braids today and loved showing them off.

353/365

2010-12-19T22:56:00.000-06:00

We spent this morning visiting with my Dad before he went home. He left around 11 and then we got ready and went shopping! I had a couple of things to return and a few more Christmas presents to buy. Ana Kate actually sat in her stroller pretty well and took a nap in the car while we drove to Fayetteville and back. After grocery shopping we headed home to eat dinner and relax. Ana Kate asks for a braid in her hair everyday (just like Jessie's from toy story). Her hair is super straight, so when we take the braid out and it's all crinkly and poofy she looks so different. She took her hair out right before pictures and after doing a few rolls in the floor it was really wild. She was having fun though.

Poofy hair and a silly face. : )

352/365

2010-12-18T22:38:00.001-06:00

My Dad came to visit for Christmas this weekend and Ana Kate was SO excited to see Papa. We went out to lunch when he got here and then just visited until time for church. Papa went over to see Whitney's apartment while we were at church and then we all met up for dinner. We had a good time and it was nice to catch up with my Dad. We haven't seen him in a long time.

Oh....I also wanted to mention that my friend Mer over at Beautiful Chicken is doing a 12 days of Christmas giveaway with some really nice Avon products. Check it out and leave her a comment.

351/365

2010-12-17T20:31:00.000-06:00

This morning I watched my cousin Jennifer's daughter, Sydney. She is a about 5 months younger than Ana Kate and they always have fun playing together. They both love Toy Story, so they watched at least two of the movies and played with Ana Kate's woody and bullseye toy for a while. Just before Sydney went home they decided to play dress up and they were SO cute. I took several pictures but couldn't get Ana Kate to look at me in any of them.

This afternoon while I was in the bathroom helping Sydney, Ana Kate came running in pushing the door open very hard. It hit Sydney in the head and then bounced back into Ana Kate's face. Sydney didn't even cry and said she was ok, but Ana Kate got scared and was crying. I was trying to tell her it was ok and just an accident when blood started dripping out of her nose! It bled for a while, but just out of one side and I think her nose was just dried out and it made a cut.....I don't think it was a typical nose bleed. I don't know, but it always scares me because Whitney never had any nose bleeds. She has had this happen one other time that I remember and it scared me then as well. She seemed fine after 10 minutes or so and went back to playing. She kept trying to pick the dried blood out tonight and would make it bleed again (although not as bad), so I really do think it's just a cut inside her nose.

After Sydney left Ana Kate was playing with her princess wand like it was a fishing pole. I remembered that we had a little fishing pole with a little rubber fish on it, so I got it for her and she LOVED it! That kept her entertained all afternoon....until it stopped working. I couldn't fix it and neither could Doug, so we bought her a new one at the store tonight. I am amazed at how long she plays with it, but it's super cute to watch her and hear her story of where she's fishing and what she's doing. She has such a vivid imagination!

350/365

2010-12-16T22:58:00.000-06:00

Today we finally got out of the house. All we really did was go grocery shopping, but Ana Kate enjoyed it. She is so social that she loves talking to everyone that will listen to her (actually she talks even to those that don't listen....). The rest of the day was spent cleaning house. I have never lived in a house that collects so much dust! It's never ending....I think I could spend an entire day just dusting. While Ana Kate napped I put up more Christmas decorations and she was so impressed when she woke up. Doug has been out of town all week, so when he got home tonight she was very happy!

Ana Kate kept telling me she found a wasp in my studio/office tonight and so I finally went to check it out and it was actually a cricket. So I promised her I would get it and tried to step on it, but it kept jumping....so I tried several times and it kept jumping. Ana Kate thought it was SO funny. She was laughing so hard she was almost crying. Her laugh is the sweetest thing ever!

349/365

2010-12-15T22:41:00.000-06:00

Not much different going on today. Ana Kate did take a nap this afternoon which made for a much better evening. We read all of her Christmas books tonight and she loved that. I didn't take any pictures until right before bedtime and most of them were a blur, but I did manage one that was ok. Hoping to get some outdoor pictures tomorrow.

348/365

2010-12-14T23:08:00.000-06:00

Another day spent at home and I'm thinking we definitely need to get out of the house tomorrow. Not a lot of activity other than laundry and cleaning....and knitting. I took pictures while Ana Kate was eating dinner.

347/365

2010-12-13T22:23:00.000-06:00

We stayed home all day today. We didn't even venture outside because it was so cold and Ana Kate had a bit of a runny nose and cough. I had planned to take her pictures after dinner, but no nap day made for a cranky girl tonight. So yet another picture of her sleeping.

I started knitting another hat for Ana Kate and this one is super cute and very girly....so I'm anxious to get it finished. I also got a photo book in the mail from a friend of mine. I took photos of her girls a few months ago, so she made a creative memories book with pictures of Ana Kate for me as a thank you. It is beautiful! I love it! I had planned to try and compile some of the pictures from my 365 project and she basically did it for me....thanks Melissa!

Hoping to get my Christmas shopping done this week as well as some cleaning/re-organizing.

346/365

2010-12-12T21:47:00.000-06:00

Today I slept in and then got ready for my friend Amanda's baby shower. I was one of the hostesses, so I had to get there a couple of hours early to set up. It was super cold and very windy outside....and with the shower starting right at nap time, I decided to leave Ana Kate at home with her Daddy. We had a great time at the shower and Amanda got some adorable things for little miss Amelia. By the time I got home it was almost 5, so that was pretty much my day. I had dinner and then played with Ana Kate until bed time. I totally forgot to get pictures again until after she was asleep. We'll have to venture outside tomorrow for some better photos.

345/365

2010-12-11T18:11:00.000-06:00

Today we took Ana Kate to her first movie at the theater. It was a reward for her (a couple of weeks ago she had some stomach issues so we had used pull ups for a couple of days....which caused her to start having potty accidents again). So, we told her if that stopped this week then we would take her to go see
Tangled. She had no accidents this week and so we went to the movies. She loved it, but had a hard time sitting still. I think it was because she wasn't really heavy enough to hold the seat down and it was bugging her. She actually told me twice that she had to go potty during the movie! Yay! So, I think we're back on track. The movie was really cute and Doug and I both enjoyed it.

After the movie she played at the play area with Doug while I did some shopping. We went to few other stores and then out to eat. It was a fun day, but it turned really cold! It was 60 degrees this morning and by the time we got home tonight it was 35! By the time we go to church it will probably be down in the 20s.

I took pictures before we left the house for the movies. I thought she looked adorable in her skinny jeans, sweater, and boots.

344/365

2010-12-10T22:28:00.000-06:00

Today we stayed home and just did what we wanted to do. It was nice! We decorated a gingerbread house and Ana Kate loved it. I had to keep telling her not to eat the candy. She decorated most of it by herself, I just put the icing on. She has continued picking candy off of it all day. : )

Ana Kate finally decided to take a nap this afternoon and I was able to finish the hat I've been knitting. It's not perfect, but I really like it. Ana Kate likes it too!

When Doug got home we went out to eat and Ana Kate was so funny. She insisted on ordering and she is so sassy. She ordered a big bowl of broccoli cheese soup and when they asked if she wanted a sandwich she said, 'No, sandwiches are yucky! I just want soup'. And she ate every bite. After dinner we went out to see Whitney & Josh for a while. Ana Kate was a bit wild while we were there, she loves playing with Josh. I did manage to get a couple of pictures of her while we were there. Then we spent the rest of the night playing wii and relaxing.

343/365

2010-12-09T23:12:00.001-06:00

Today Ana Kate had school and since it was their last day until January they had their Christmas party. Ana Kate was super excited and couldn't wait to give her teachers their gifts. I am so happy that she loves her teachers and is so excited to go to school each week.

While she was at school I ran errands and tried to get a few things done at home. When Doug got home he settled in with Ana Kate and I got ready and went to meet my friend Sue for dinner. We had a great time chatting and catching up. I had fun and Ana Kate was very happy to see me when I got home.

It was very cold this morning when I took pictures (which is why she had that look on her face)....she quickly retreated inside for the rest of the pictures.

One other thing....I have it on good authority that our newest niece was born yesterday, but I don't have any of the details....even her name. I'm sure Doug's Mom told him, but he didn't give me the details. In any case, congratulations to Jennifer, Eric, and big brother Owen!!

342/365

2010-12-08T22:46:00.000-06:00

Today we did lots of last minute things. Ana Kate was pretty good while we went shopping, but she would not let me do any work on editing pictures today. She wanted my full attention, so I didn't get much done until Doug got home. She didn't have a nap today either, so by 6:30 she was getting a bit cranky. But I finally got all of Amanda's maternity pictures edited! Yay!

I actually got some outside pictures of Ana Kate today....and she even looked at the camera a few times! Busy day tomorrow, so I'm off to bed.

341/365

2010-12-07T22:45:00.000-06:00

We stayed home all day today. I spent most of my time editing photos and knitting while Ana Kate watched some of her favorite movies. I was awful about pictures again today. We did them just before bed and Ana Kate tried, she just had a hard time sitting still. I will make a model out of her one of these day. : ) It was nice to be able to spend the entire day at home doing what we wanted to do. I even managed to get Ana Kate to nap.

340/365

2010-12-06T23:07:00.000-06:00

We had a great day today. Ana Kate had school and I did a bit of shopping after I dropped her off. It was only 17 degrees this morning when I got up!! It was up to 20 something when I dropped Ana Kate off, but still way too cold for me. I needed to get Ana Kate a winter coat for playing in....all she has that fits her right now is her dress coat and it doesn't have a hood. In fact, when I walked her in to school this morning she had on her hat and coat and she said...ooh, Mommy I need a scarf...my neck is cold! So I found her a coat, not exactly what I wanted, but it will work. I also finally used one of Ana Kate's gift cards from her birthday. I found an adorable little bathrobe and a sweater and Ana Kate loves them both! Thanks again for the gift card Uncle Matt & Aunt Kathy! I showed Ana Kate the robe and she had to put it on and wore it all night. She kept telling me she had to do karate in it. : )

When I got home I worked on editing more pictures from Amanda's maternity session. I took LOTS of photos, so it's going to take me a while to get them done. Whitney stopped by the house and I talked with her for a while and then went to pick up Ana Kate. She had a wonderful day at school and was so sweet all day....we had a nice afternoon. I got another headache this afternoon, so we just layed on the couch and Ana Kate watched movies. Doug got us dinner from sonic and now at 11pm I am finally starting to feel better! Must have been all that greasy food.

Ana Kate was not into pictures tonight and I really tried....but this is all I got.

339/365

2010-12-05T22:31:00.001-06:00

Today when Ana Kate and I woke up Doug was hard at work cleaning the house. And he even swept the floors and scrubbed the bathrooms! It was SO nice because I had planned on doing most of it today, but it was more than halfway done by the time I woke up. I have the best husband ever! : )

Ana Kate and I helped to finish cleaning and then we got ready. I then spent some time setting up in my office/studio for my photo session with Amanda today. We did her maternity pictures and it was so much fun! I've only edited a few so far, but they are beautiful! Of course it was easy working with such a beautiful mommy to be. We also went to a park and I took a few pictures of Amanda and her husband Deric while Doug played soccer with Ana Kate. It was SO cold outside that we didn't stay out for very long. As we were leaving Ana Kate had a huge meltdown....she skipped her nap and was very tired.

So I didn't take any pictures of Ana Kate until after she was in bed. We were running around and I just didn't even think about it. I guess it's a good thing I'm near the end of my 365 project because I am getting really lazy with my photos. : ( I will do my best to make a strong finish for the year though. : )

338/365

2010-12-04T22:25:00.000-06:00

I've had a headache all day and we had our long night at church tonight.....so not much to say today. I didn't even get pictures until after Ana Kate was asleep. I'm hoping to get some sleep tonight and feel better in the morning.

337/365

2010-12-03T23:04:00.000-06:00

Today we were up early again for my MOPS meeting. This was our only meeting for December, so we did our Christmas party and it was so much fun! Ana Kate did great in class as she always does....she loves that Mimi volunteers in her classroom.

After MOPS I came home and worked on getting my marketing stuff together for my photography business. I had a couple people ask about pictures at the meeting, so I think I'll have at least one more session next week. I am still setting up my business, so I'm really still in the portfolio building process and it's wearing me out! I have had a difficult time setting prices, and I read a great article about that today. It has helped me figure out to charge prices based on how much I value my time away from my family and how busy I really want to be. I don't want the business to take over my life and I still want to spend most of my time with Ana Kate. Ideally the only time I would work on photography would be when she's at school and maybe a bit on the weekends. I also don't want to think of it as work, which I know will happen if I get too busy. So, I scrapped my previous price list that I came up with and I'm starting all over again. I really planned to be in business by now, but I decided to put it off until the first of the year.

We really didn't do much else tonight. I need to clean tomorrow and finish up the game room organization....and Christmas decorations. Not sure I'll get it all done, but I'm going to try. : )

336/365

2010-12-02T22:59:00.000-06:00

Today was busy, busy, busy. I dropped Ana Kate off at school and then went to do some yarn shopping. I am really getting into knitting and almost have my first two projects done. The problem is I'm already starting a 3rd project, so it take longer to complete everything.

I met my friend Amanda for lunch and we had a great time catching up. I am doing a maternity photo session for her on Sunday....I think it will be so much fun! It was so funny when I was leaving the restaurant at lunch I noticed this older couple (not old...but older than me) walking in front of me towards my car. I thought maybe they were parked directly behind me, so I kept going and unlocked my car as I got closer. Then they both opened up the doors of my car and were about to get in. I knew it was my car because it was a very small parking lot and I could see Ana Kate's car seat clearly through the windshield. I kind of cleared my throat and said...ummm that's my car. They were SO embarrassed. I think the woman realized what she'd done as soon as she opened the door, but I think her husband was going to get in without realizing it! The funniest part is they were driving an extended cab truck and I drive a suburban....granted it was the same color....but didn't look anything alike. It was funny though.

Tonight I have been super busy. I was determined to get all the photos edited from my last session and I'm happy to say I am now done! I locked myself in my office all night and Ana Kate and Doug played video games. I am so tired and ready for bed. I really need to relax this weekend and get some sleep, but I already have things planned for both days. Maybe next week.....

Since I was working on editing all night my photos of Ana Kate today are kind of blah. I played around with the editing and like the rose tint in them. I'll have to try that on some other photos sometime.

335/365

2010-12-01T22:52:00.000-06:00

I can't believe it's already December 1st! Wow...where did this year go? Glad I have it all documented because it sure has flown by.

Today we stayed home again....all day. I love it when we can do that, but I didn't even get halfway done with all that I need to do. More editing, knitting, and Christmas decorating. I still have some cleaning and laundry to do, but that can wait until tomorrow. I did take pictures of Ana Kate's little tree that we put up in her room. It was originally Whitney's and the pink/blue went with her room decor a few years ago. Ana Kate's room is pink and her favorite color is blue....so its perfect for her! She again had to wear a hat all day long and pictures were no exception.

I heard some really sad news tonight and it's kind of stuck with me. Someone my daughter knows suffered the loss of her Marine husband today and it's just heartbreaking. I hear about the war in the news every day and it just doesn't seem real until you know someone that is personally affected by it. I'm so sad for his wife and family and will be praying for them.

334/365

2010-11-30T23:03:00.000-06:00

Today we stayed home and tried to get caught up on some things. Ana Kate played and watched movies while I edited pictures, cleaned, decorated the Christmas tree, and worked on my knitting projects. I didn't get anything completed, but made progress on all. We did get our tree decorated...even a little one in Ana Kate's room (I didn't get any pictures of that one tonight), but I still have lots of other decorations to put up. She helped me with all the ornaments that weren't breakable, but I still had to re-arrange sometimes. I am not really happy with how my ribbon looks, so I might readjust it tomorrow.

Today Ana Kate has been wearing a different hat every couple of hours. She started out with a sun hat that's way to small for her, then her winter hat with a pom pom on top, then when were decorating she found the Santa hat and wore it for most of the night. After putting some laundry in the drier I came downstairs to find Ana Kate putting her puzzle together and she has improvised another 'hat'. Too cute! So of course I had to get some pictures. She is getting so good at her puzzles. She can do the 48 piece with no problems and she gets mad if I even attempt to help.

333/365

2010-11-29T22:27:00.000-06:00

Today Ana Kate has school. It was a little strange after being off for a week. She was super excited about seeing her teachers. Thankfully her stomach issue appears to have passed, so we are back to normal around here. After I dropped Ana Kate off at school I ran to the store to pick up a few more things for our organization project. I am not quite finished yet, but it's getting there. I made zero progress on the Christmas tree today. I did drag out all the ornaments, I just haven't done anything with them yet. I have been working on a new project this week. I am teaching myself how to knit and it's actually a lot easier than I thought it would be. I am working on a scarf and a baby beanie and I'll hopefully have them both done pretty soon. Between that and editing my photo sessions from last week I have stayed pretty busy.

I thought I'd include a few photos from my session last Tuesday. I took photos of my friend Sue and her two children. We were racing to get them done before the sun went down and it was very chilly, but I love the way they turned out!

332/365

2010-11-28T22:13:00.000-06:00

Not much going on here today besides cleaning and organizing. We got most of the game room organized and I finally put the Christmas tree up. We haven't decorated it yet, but it's up! I was busy editing pictures today and tonight and realized I hadn't taken any of Ana Kate yet. She was in bed, but not quite asleep yet, so I managed to get one.

331/365

2010-11-27T22:40:00.000-06:00

We had a great day today....even though Ana Kate was not on her best behavior. I started out the day with a photo session for my friend Paula (she led the bible study I was a part of this this semester). Her family is great and it was a lot of fun. I got tons of great pictures, so it will fun to edit them. I came home and got Ana Kate ready and we headed out to even more shopping! She was so fussy at the store, but in her defense I don't think she felt well today. I thought her diarrhea was gone, but it returned out of nowhere again late this afternoon. I am really not sure if it's something she has eaten or maybe a virus. I'll give it a few more days and see how she's doing. If it doesn't get better we'll be going to the doctor again.

At one of the stores today as we got up to the cashier to checkout we notice that their back was turned, so Ana Kate says (very loudly), 'Excuse me lady'. When the cashier turned around it was a guy (a guy with long hair....that did look like a girl from behind). It was SO funny! I could barely look at him the entire time we were checking out. It was embarrassing and funny at the same time.

Tonight we worked on re-organizing our game room into more of a play room and hopefully I will get the Christmas tree up tomorrow. I'll have to post some after pictures when we get it finished.

330/365

2010-11-26T20:44:00.000-06:00

Today we picked Doug up from work and did some shopping in Fayetteville. We only got a few things, but I think we are pretty much done with our Christmas shopping. Yay! I started wrapping a few things tonight and Ana Kate got super excited. I still haven't put the Christmas tree up, but there is always tomorrow and Sunday. I have a photo session in the morning, so I think I'll be going to bed soon. Only one picture today and slightly blurry....but it's all I got.

329/365 | Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T21:17:00.000-06:00

Today I got up and cooked ALL day long!! But we had an amazing dinner and it was worth it. I actually didn't eat too much at dinner, but I definitely ate too much dessert. When I got up this morning Doug had already cleaned up Ana Kate's toys and he made a quick trip to the store and got flowers for both of us! They are really pretty and looked good on our table today. I am so thankful for my family, my amazing girls, my wonderful husband, and my Mom & Dad and brother. I am thankful for everything God has done in our lives and continues to do. I hope everyone took a moment today to reflect on all their blessings.

We had my Mom (Mimi) and Whitney & Josh over for dinner. Mimi helped me cook and I think everyone really enjoyed dinner. Whitney and Josh are planning to do the early black friday shopping, but we aren't going to do it this year. I might do some shopping tomorrow when Ana Kate and I get around, but we won't be getting up at 4am....or any time close to that. If they don't have what we want...oh well, I'm not too worried about it. I should have taken more pictures today....but I just stayed busy in the kitchen and didn't think about it until I got Ana Kate ready for bed. She wasn't too interested in pictures, so I only took a few.

Our weather turned unbelievably cold overnight. When I went to bed it was in the high 60's and right now it's only 25....and falling! We even has some sleet here today...crazy! I'm hoping it doesn't stay this cold all weekend, I had planned to do all my Christmas decorating this weekend and it won't be fun decorating the outside in these temperatures.

Happy Thanksgiving!

328/365

2010-11-24T23:40:00.000-06:00

I woke up with a horrible headache this morning that eventually became a full blown migraine. Ana Kate continued to have stomach issues, but she always made it to the bathroom and I think it might be getting better. Hoping tomorrow she will show more improvement. I am just now starting to feel normal again and hoping I'll be able to get a good night's sleep.

Despite the headache I did manage to get all my desserts baked for tomorrow. Ana Kate helped me make apple and pumpkin pies and I also made cherry delight. It looks SO good! I had to tell Ana Kate and Doug both that they couldn't have any until tomorrow. : ) I had planned to do some cleaning, but that will have to wait until tomorrow morning. It's really just Ana Kate's toys scattered throughout the family room and kitchen. And sweeping and vacuuming.....maybe I can get Doug to help me tomorrow since I'll be cooking all day. Pictures were a last minute thing. Doug let her pick out her outfit tonight after her bath and this is what she chose. I'm not sure I would have put those all together, but it actually looked ok.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving! We will miss all of our extended family and will be thinking of them tomorrow.

327/365

2010-11-23T22:44:00.000-06:00

Today was pretty quiet until Doug got home from work. I headed out the door for a photo session as soon as he got home. I did a small session for a friend of mine and her kids. We didn't take many photos because it was quite chilly. I haven't edited them yet....but there are several that I really like.

When I got home Doug was in the middle of cleaning up quite a mess. TMI warning!! Ana Kate was sick to her stomach and apparently it came out both ends....at the same time. So it appears my child has perfect timing....she waited on Daddy to make a mess! : ) She seemed to feel fine, but continued to have diarrhea all night. I hope her stomach settles by tomorrow....this is really awful now that she wears big girl underwear.

We got Ana Kate changed and headed up the street to vote (runoff election) and then picked up dinner. Ana Kate ate really well, but her stomach just isn't handling it well. Looks like we'll be eating lots of bananas tomorrow. That was pretty much it for our day. I completely forgot to take Ana Kate's picture until she was already asleep. (Yes she is asleep...even though her eyes are partially open). It was so cute when I went up to check on her she still had woody and jessie....she has been taking them everywhere lately.

326/365

2010-11-23T00:01:00.000-06:00

Not much going on here today....cloudy, rainy weather and we were feeling pretty lazy, so we spent the day at home. Of course we watched another toy story marathon, and Ana Kate loved it!

325/365

2010-11-21T22:56:00.000-06:00

We really didn't do a lot today. We attempted to go shopping at the mall this afternoon, but after the 2nd store we decided to head home because Ana Kate desperately needed a nap! She slept for almost 3 hours and was happy when she woke up. We headed back out to the store to pick up a couple of things....when we were at Target we found toy story 1 & 2, so of course we had to get them both. We had dinner and then sat down for a toy story marathon. She watched them back to back and wanted to watch them again, but it was bedtime. I'm sure they will be watched at least 2 more times tomorrow. : )

Pictures were pretty last minute tonight....so I only got a couple, she wasn't into posing for them...imagine that!

324/365

2010-11-20T23:04:00.000-06:00

Not a lot going on here today. Josh stopped by to help get my Christmas decorations out....so I suppose I will start working on those tomorrow. I never decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving...but I'd rather have it all up than have the boxes laying around. We'll see how much I actually get done before Thursday. We really didn't do much else until we went to church. Tonight was our long night and we only had 2 kids in our toddler class....it was super easy and they were fun! I enjoyed our service tonight and Ana Kate enjoyed her class. As we were walking to the car she said, 'I love church!' It makes me so happy to hear that!

323/365

2010-11-19T23:26:00.000-06:00

We had another early morning today....even earlier than yesterday, but it went so much more smoothly. Ana Kate woke up around 6am....so she was in a good mood by the time I got her ready. We headed out to my MOPS meeting and we had to be there earlier than normal because my table was bringing the food. We had a great meeting today and I got to meet several new Mom's. And I finally got to hold my cousin's new baby...he is precious!

After MOPS we came home and I put Ana Kate down for a nap. She slept for almost 3 hours....she was SO tired! When Doug got home we had dinner and then went shopping for a few things. That was pretty much it for our night (other than watching toy story 3 for the 500th time....good thing I like that movie so much). : )

322/365

2010-11-18T22:16:00.000-06:00

We had a rough start today. I had to wake Ana Kate up and she wasn't happy about that....add in rushing to get out the door and we were both a bit cranky. She was super once we got to her school and gave me a big kiss when I left. Today was the last day for my bible study. I loved the study we did and I'm sad to see it end. I learned so much from it and it has really helped me to grow and experience scripture in a new way. I have had such a great time with the ladies in the study group and I'm hoping to sign up for the next one in January.

After I picked Ana Kate up we went to the store and then picked Doug up from work. We relaxed and watched some tv, but I'm heading to bed early tonight....I am exhausted!

Pictures were quick because it was quite chilly outside, but Ana Kate had to have her candy cane ornament in them. She found it at Target and calls it her glitter cane.....she had glitter from head to toe tonight!

321/365

2010-11-17T23:12:00.000-06:00

Today we didn't have anything planned but a lunch time playdate with Annie and her Mom. We met up at chick-fil-a and let the girls play and had lunch. It was fun seeing them together again....so cute! Annie has been home from China for just 4 months and she is doing amazing, she is the sweetest girl! After lunch we made a quick trip to the store and then went to pick Doug up from work for the day. He is still pretty sore, so he got a ride to work and left a little early.

When we got home I worked non-stop in the kitchen until about 6pm. I had to make something for Ana Kate's school party and my bible study tomorrow....plus dinner. By the time I got Ana Kate to bed and cleaned up a little I was exhausted. But....I still have to do my bible study lessons before tomorrow! I have felt so behind this week and just haven't had enough time to get everything done.

The only pictures I took were of Ana Kate and Annie today. They really didn't want to cooperate with me....but I did manage to get a few.

320/365

2010-11-16T22:51:00.000-06:00

Today I woke up with a headache so we stayed home, but I really didn't get a lot accomplished. Around 12:30 Ana Kate was getting very cranky so I put her down for a nap. Shortly after that Doug called and told me he broke his collarbone. He was playing ultimate frisbee at lunch and somehow fell and broke it. He decided to have a co-worker take him to the emergency room so that I wouldn't have to wake Ana Kate up. He got home right after she woke up with his clavicle brace and a sling. He said it's still hurting, but they gave him some pain medicine....so hopefully it will feel better in the morning. Whitney broke her collarbone when she was 2, so I knew they wouldn't do much for it....it should heal in 4-6 weeks. So much for getting help with all my Christmas boxes....I might have to enlist help from Josh. : )

We didn't do pictures until it was almost dark.....and Ana Kate's hair is wet from her bath, but they were taken outside! She was making some very funny faces.

We're hoping to go to the park tomorrow for a play date, so hopefully it will be nice outside.

319/365

2010-11-15T23:00:00.000-06:00

We were up at 6 this morning and had a busy day all day. I dropped Ana Kate off at school and then headed over to Whitney's to help decorate her Christmas tree. We realized that we needed more lights about halfway through, so we decided to drive into town and get a few things. We went to Marketplace for lunch and had a good time. We don't typically have that much time to talk, so it was nice. We did a bit more shopping and then picked Ana Kate up. She was so excited to see Whitney there with me....and she had a great day at school. (Well she did choke on her food at lunch and throw-up....so she had to change clothes....but otherwise she has a great day.) We took Whitney home and finished up the decorations. I also did a horrible job taking pictures today. I lugged my camera everywhere I went and didn't take one single picture....not even one of the finished tree! I have to get better about capturing things....especially when we're with Whitney....I don't get too many pictures of her now that she's moved out. I am SO glad we have nothing planned for tomorrow because I am super tired! I hope Ana Kate lets me sleep in a little.

318/365

2010-11-14T22:06:00.000-06:00

Today we finally got out of the house. Ana Kate slept great last night....unfortunately I didn't. I couldn't fall asleep until 3am....no more coffee at night I guess. We hung out this morning and read the Sunday paper. Then we headed out to do some shopping. I'm not sure what was going on with Ana Kate, but she was in a terrible mood and so hard to deal with. She whined and cried every time we made her sit in a shopping cart, it was very frustrating. Hopefully she will have a better day tomorrow.

We found a dining room table for Whitney & Josh, so we bought that and took it out to them as an early Christmas present. We didn't stay long because Ana Kate was so cranky. We made a quick stop at the grocery store and then home for the night. I once again did not take any pictures outside....but I will do more this week. I have been so lazy with my pictures lately, partly because I have to chase Ana Kate around to get them. I made cookies for Ana Kate's school Thanksgiving feast tomorrow and then put her to bed early. I didn't clean out the refrigerator, but I did just clean out the pantry....so I made some progress today. : ) Now I need to get in bed because we have an early day tomorrow.

317/365

2010-11-13T22:47:00.001-06:00

Today was another day at home....I really have to get out of the house tomorrow! We didn't even go outside for pictures today because it was chilly outside and Ana Kate is just starting to feel better. We also skipped church because Ana Kate did not nap and was SO crabby...and I want to make sure that she's healthy before I have her around other kids. She should be ok to go back to school Monday. She got a card in the mail today from her teachers and class saying they missed her on Thursday....it was super cute. Ana Kate loved it....in fact she fell asleep tonight holding it.

Whitney came over today and watched a movie with Ana Kate and picked up my old Christmas tree and some ornaments. I think I might go help her decorate on Monday. Doug worked on projects around the house all day....he was very productive and I was not productive at all. I really need to clean out the pantry and refrigerator, so that might be my project for tomorrow....as well as some grocery shopping.

We did indoor pictures....again, but Ana Kate did actually pose for me tonight.

316/365

2010-11-12T23:06:00.000-06:00

We had very little activity again today....which was good for Ana Kate. She woke up with a fever again this morning, but she only had to have one dose of fever medicine and she was fine the rest of the day. I think she is finally starting to get better....yay! She took a 3 hour nap and I think that helped as well. She was also acting more like herself today. Hopefully tomorrow we can get out and hopefully she'll be well enough to go to church. I'm just afraid of doing too much too soon, she hasn't been this sick in a really long time. We may just try to stay home for the weekend until we're sure she's 100%.

Pictures were very last minute and both of us are bored with indoor pictures now....so nothing exciting. If nothing else I will attempt to get outdoor pictures tomorrow.

315/365

2010-11-11T23:26:00.000-06:00

Well it's becoming a theme this week....another rough night last night and it continued today. Ana Kate's fever was still hanging around today, but she finally took a great nap this afternoon and has been much better since then. Hopefully the fever is gone for good and the antibiotics are finally working. I haven't been feeling great today either, hoping I don't catch what she has.

Ana Kate stayed in her pj's all day (as you can tell in the pictures), but I'm giving her a bath before I put her to bed. I did get a shower this morning, but we didn't set foot outside of the house today. I feel like I am so behind on everything. Today was Ana Kate's first time to miss school and she asked if she could go tomorrow. : ) I will just be happy if she is well enough to go back on Monday.

314/365

2010-11-10T22:42:00.000-06:00

We had another rough night....and Ana Kate is still sick and feverish. She really struggled last night and was burning up! Thankfully this morning her temperature was back to normal, but after a couple of hours it went back up. I did get a prescription called in though, so she started her antibiotics today. She still isn't feeling great, so she won't be going to school tomorrow. Whitney is sick as well, but this is her 3rd day of medicine and she says she's feeling better. So hopefully Ana Kate's medicine will kick in tomorrow.

I am worn out....several nights of semi-sleep have started to take their toll. I will try to go to bed early tonight, but that just never happens. I always think of a hundred things to do once Ana Kate's asleep.

I didn't even attempt to take her pictures until tonight when she finally perked up a little. We recently bought her the Toy Story 3 movie and she LOVES it! So she now wants all things toy story. We got her a little woody and jessie action figure and she has been playing with them constantly. So, of course they had to be in her pictures. We also got her some toy story pajamas (they are boys....but she really wanted them....I couldn't find any for girls, oh well). She told me tonight that she really needs to collect all of the action figures. : ) She has also memorized every toy commercial that's on right now. We got several toy books in the paper Sunday and she can go through it and tell me what almost all the toys are and that she wants them. She is a marketers dream....every time she sees a commercial she says, 'Mommy I want that!' One other funny thing she started saying yesterday is 'seriously' and it's so cute because she always says it with just the right pitch and in perspective to whatever is going on. She is such a little stinker!

313/365

2010-11-09T22:29:00.000-06:00

We had a very busy and tiring day today. Ana Kate is definitely sick. She woke up at 4am not feeling well and she still had a fever. So, we went to the doctor today and they think she has a virus, so no medication...yet. If she is still running a fever tomorrow they will call something in for us. I took Brad with us to the doctor and they were both pretty good, so I took them to chick-fil-a for lunch when we were finished.

My brother and sister-in-law got back this afternoon and we visited until Doug got home and then they took us out for dinner. Ana Kate was starting to really look sick and she actually vomited at the restaurant (it wasn't that bad....I managed to keep it off the table, floor, and her). After that she perked back up a little. We had to run to the store for more ibuprofen and Ana Kate saw that they had all the toy story toys out....so we let her get a Woody doll. She played with him the rest of the evening and finally crashed on her bean bag. I didn't take any pictures until right before bed and you can tell she isn't feeling well. I pray my sweet baby feels better in the morning.

312/365

2010-11-08T21:16:00.000-06:00

We had a great night last night, not one cry and they both slept until 7 this morning! Yay! I got Brad dressed and ready to go this morning and went with Mimi to work. After they left I got Ana Kate ready and then took her to school. After I dropped her off my friend Kelda came over so I could help her with photography. I am 100% self taught (and I still have lots to learn), but I am more than happy to share the knowledge I do have with my friends that are interested.

After Kelda left I had some lunch and then my Mom brought Brad back and we went to pick up Ana Kate. She apparently didn't have a great day at school. Her teacher said every time things didn't go her way she had a meltdown. I had a talk with her and she said she would do better. After we'd been home for a couple of hours it became clear that she wasn't in the best mood, so I took her temperature and it was 101. So, maybe she was fussy at school because she was getting sick? I gave her some medicine and she seemed to feel better when I put her to bed. Hopefully she'll be recovered tomorrow....she does not want to go to the doctor.

I finally got both kids in bed around 8 and I am exhausted! I hope they both sleep well tonight!

311/365

2010-11-07T21:30:00.000-06:00

We had a really rough night last night again. Brad has been crying at night because he misses his Mom and Dad, so he was up around 2am and Ana Kate was awake soon after. I was still suffering from my migraine, so Doug went and calmed them down and they finally went back to sleep. Brad continued to cry off and on throughout the night, but thankfully it didn't wake Ana Kate up again. So even with that extra hour last night we were still dragging this morning. Thankfully after some coffee and medicine I started feeling better. We went to the park and the kids had lots of fun playing. Not much else today besides watching movies and scattering the toys all over the house. : ) I put them both to bed tonight at 7:30, so hopefully we will all rest better tonight.

310/365

2010-11-06T22:26:00.000-05:00

Today we were really lazy until time for church. Both Ana Kate and Brad were up around 5 this morning and even though they went back to sleep for a couple more hours, we were all pretty tired. So they watched cartoons and played while we relaxed. I had a really tough time getting Ana Kate down for her nap today, but finally succeeded! She was a bit cranky when she woke up, but by the time we got ready for church she was back to normal and excited to go.

We had our long night at church and the kids loved it. Brad was excited about how many toys they had there (and probably relieved to finally have some boys toys to play with). He's been playing with Ana Kate's toys and they are all pretty girly. I took a few pictures before we left for church and it was super bright outside, so they aren't great, but the kids were being cute.

Tonight on the way home from church Brad said something to Ana Kate and I didn't hear what he was saying, but I did hear Ana Kate's reply....she said, 'We'll see about that.' She is starting to sound a lot like her Daddy. : )

309/365

2010-11-05T22:53:00.000-05:00

We were super busy today and I am SO tired! We started off at my MOPS meeting and from there went straight to a lunch/play date with Ana Kate's newest friend. We met Annie (who is adopted from China) and her Mom at chick-fil-a and the girls had so much fun! Annie has only been home for 4 months, but she is doing amazing. I had such a great time and hope and we're hoping to try and meet regularly because the girls got along so well.

By the time we got home Ana Kate was very cranky, so she went down for a nap. We took a few pictures and I worked on editing some pictures while Ana Kate played. When Doug got home we headed to the grocery store and from there went to pick up my nephew Brad. He'll be staying with us until Tuesday and Ana Kate is super excited! They played so well together tonight and I'm hoping they sleep good tonight.

308/365

2010-11-04T22:57:00.000-05:00

We had a busy morning. Ana Kate had school and I had bible study. I've been struggling with a migraine all day, so we both took a nap when I picked her up from school. I'm still not feeling great, so not much to say tonight.

307/365

2010-11-03T22:24:00.000-05:00

We didn't do much today, but it sure felt busy. Ana Kate was going non-stop from the time we got up until I put her to bed tonight. She was super excited to see Will and Nicole this morning, but they left before noon, so she settled down just a bit. We really just stayed home, did some cleaning and I worked on my bible study lessons for the week. The next few days will be very busy, so I'm going to try to get in bed before midnight tonight.

306/365

2010-11-02T19:01:00.000-05:00

This was her smile today....

I so wanted to sleep in this morning, but we had lots to do. We got ready and headed out the door to go vote. Luckily our polling place is only about a block from our house....so I just put Ana Kate in the stroller and walked. She was so good while I was there (although it was very quick) and she got a sticker too! As we were leaving she said, 'Mommy, I voted....am I a good girl?' It was super cute!

When we got back home we did more cleaning and then drove over to Bella Vista to pick up my friend's kids from the bus stop. My friend was having surgery today, so Will and Nicole are spending the night with us. Ana Kate was so excited to have big kids around (Will is 7 and Nicole is 10)....she has been SO hyper tonight! She keeps telling me that they are her sister and brother. I don't know how I'm ever going to calm her down enough to go to bed tonight. : ) I am hoping they all go to sleep easily because I am tired!

305/365

2010-11-01T21:38:00.000-05:00

We were back to our normal schedule today. Ana Kate had school and I mostly cleaned house while she was gone. It was nice to actually see the living room floor again. Of course when she got home the first thing she said was....'Mommy you cleaned up my toys!' Then she immediately started to drag them all back out. I have been trying (mostly unsuccessfully) to get her to play with one toy at a time and put that toy away before getting out another toy. We did do that today, but it involved a lot of frustration on my part. Sometimes it's just easier to let her mess everything up and then clean it when she goes to bed. But...I do want to teach her that cleaning up after yourself is important.

After dinner we took some pumpkin and banana bread over to Mimi's then we watch tv and Ana Kate went to bed early. I am super tired tonight as well, so I'm heading that way soon.

304/365 - Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T22:45:00.000-05:00

Today I got to sleep in...yay! We didn't do much until after lunch, then we headed out to Sam's for a few things and stopped at a couple of other stores along the way. We also took Ana Kate to the pet store because she said that was 'on the schedule'. On our way home she fell asleep in her car seat and stayed asleep when I got her inside, so she had a nice nap. When she woke up we had dinner and then got her dressed up in her Halloween costume. We don't really do the traditional trick-or-treating because she always gets more than enough candy on Friday from going to Doug's workplace. We do sometimes take her by to see friends and family though, so that's what we did tonight. We went to see our neighbors and then stopped by Mimi's, then Doug's aunt's house, and finally we visited Whitney and Josh. Ana Kate had fun showing everyone her costume and I also got several pictures of her. She didn't last long when we got back home, so I think our day wore her out.

303/365

2010-10-30T22:35:00.001-05:00

We didn't have much activity around here, so I don't have much to say tonight. I just have a couple of pictures of Ana Kate running from the camera....enjoy.

302/365

2010-10-29T23:09:00.000-05:00

Another busy day today....we picked up some lunch for Whitney and then met her at her salon. She ate and then did Ana Kate's make-up for her Halloween costume. We always take Ana Kate to Doug's work the Friday before Halloween in costume and then I also take her to my friend Tammy's workplace as well. She always gets way too much candy and it's so much fun to see everyone. This year she is a butterfly and she LOVED her costume and make-up. I didn't really get many pictures....definitely not of her full costume. I plan on letting her dress up in it again this weekend, so I'll get some better pictures then. We spent a lot of time at Doug's work and it just so happens that Whitney's boyfriend Josh works there too....so he was our first stop. Whitney told me I had to get pictures, so those were basically the only pictures I got today. Ana Kate was excited to see Josh and then she realized there were bowls of candy everywhere. So we made our way across the building and talked to lots of people. It was nice to visit with everyone.

When we left there we made a quick stop at home and then headed over to Tammy's work. Again, she got lots of candy....and she got to walk through with Tammy's kids, Nicole and Will. Ana Kate really took up with Nicole and wanted to hold her hand the entire time....it was cute!

By the time we got home it was 4:30 and Ana Kate was snoring in her car seat. She was worn out. I actually weighed her candy to see exactly how much she had and it was 5 pounds!! I have no idea what we're going to do with it, but she definitely isn't going to eat it all.

Doug just got home this morning from traveling all week so we were both worn out by the end of the day. We went out for pizza and then came home to hang out....Ana Kate missed her Daddy this week.

301/365

2010-10-28T19:05:00.000-05:00

We woke up to some chilly fall weather this morning. It was in the 40's when I dropped Ana Kate off at school and it never made it past the 50's today. It is SO cold in our house, but I don't really want to turn the heat one because I think it's supposed to warm up again. I might just turn it on overnight, because I can't stand to be cold!

After I dropped Ana Kate off at school I went to bible study and then spent the rest of the day at home. When I picked Ana Kate up her teachers said she had a rough day, apparently she had a couple of tantrums. So with the one she had yesterday and then today I'm wondering what's going on. I just recently got her sleeping in her own big girl bed and have been stressing that she's a big girl now, so I wonder if the tantrums have something to do with this new found Independence?? I am not sure, but I'm hoping it was just a random thing.

We're just hanging out watching tv tonight and Ana Kate WILL have an early bedtime. We have yet another busy day again tomorrow.

300/365

2010-10-27T22:37:00.000-05:00

Yay...300 posts down and only 65 to go for Project 365 - 2010!! I will probably post at least once a week (if not more), but as of right now I don't plan on doing a 365 project next year. We'll see....I didn't decide to do this one until January 1st....so you never know. : )

Today was good. I got some cabinets cleaned out and re-organized and Ana Kate played very well while I worked. She even spread out her blanket on the floor and set up a picnic with all of her play food. It was cute! We did have to venture out the store this afternoon....I had to fill my car up with gas and I signed up to bring snacks to bible study tomorrow. So, after dinner I made some chocolate muffins and pumpkin bread. The pumpkin bread smells wonderful, but it looked a little darker than I wanted....I hope it tastes good.

Tonight we had a really rough bedtime. Typically I tuck Ana Kate in and she goes to sleep quickly or talks for a while and eventually falls asleep. Tonight she kept crying and wanting me to stay in there. It was hard not to give in, but I didn't. Thankfully once I told her that crying wasn't going to work, she calmed down and went to sleep.

Not much else going on here....we have a busy day tomorrow.

299/365

2010-10-26T22:35:00.000-05:00

Today was good....not a lot of activity. Ana Kate woke up fairly early, so I did make her nap today. We made a quick trip to Hobby Lobby to get a few things and then I started making a tutu for Whitney's costume. She has to dress up for work on Saturday and is going as a tinkerbell fairy. I think I will have it finished by tomorrow....I hope she likes it. Ana Kate saw me making it and said she needed one too, so I'll have to make a smaller version as well. : )

We had a pretty late dinner and then Ana Kate showed me all the things she wants from the catalog we got in the mail today. She pretty much wants everything! It was fun looking through it with her though.

She looked so cute today and I tried to get all of her outfit in at least one picture. Then tonight while editing the pictures I realized she had her boots on the wrong feet....but we were just at home, so no big deal.

298/365

2010-10-25T21:51:00.000-05:00

We had a great Monday. Ana Kate had school and she was super excited when we got there. She loves her teachers and everyone else there...she always has to give hugs to everyone when we leave. It makes me happy to know how much she enjoys her time there. I ran by the store after I dropped her off. I am thinking that I make way too many small trips to the grocery store and I need to start planning meals and doing only a couple of big shopping trips a month. Hmm...maybe that's my next project.

When I got home I decided to de-clutter the storage closet in Ana Kate's room. I worked on for about an hour and it looks SO much better! I also cleaned the shower in our bathroom and then ate lunch. I also worked on my bible study lessons before going to pick Ana Kate up.

We played for a bit when we got home and then I cleaned the floors downstairs. I then had to help Ana Kate pick up her toys because she really doesn't like to do it on her own. I so hope she becomes better at picking up and cleaning as she gets older. Not much else going on here. We had dinner and then watched dancing with the stars. Ana Kate was hilarious...I cannot believe how well she imitates some of the moves. I will have to get some video of her doing it....it's so cute!

She got a little silly while I was taking pictures this morning.

297/365

2010-10-24T21:49:00.000-05:00

Today was super busy for us...for a Sunday. Whitney and Josh came over around noon and we went out to eat and then headed to the pumpkin patch. We had a great time there, but it was much warmer outside than we expected. I had Ana Kate dressed in her overalls and they were so cute, but as soon as we got out in the middle of the pumpkin patch she had to got potty and she couldn't hold it. So....we had to head back to the car for a change of clothes. After that we just explored and picked out a couple more pumpkins....and took lots of pictures.

After the pumpkin patch we headed back home for about an hour and then we were on the go again. We went to a wedding shower and took Ana Kate with us. She was pretty wild, but she had a great time playing with everyone.

I am SO tired tonight....so I think that's it for this post!

296/365

2010-10-23T22:23:00.000-05:00

Today I woke up still feeling yucky....but we decided to go do something anyway. First I had to go by Gap to do some shopping because I had a 45% off coupon and I couldn't let it go to waste. I got Ana Kate some more jeans and a few other things that she 'needed'. She was so funny when we were in there, she kept picking up things and telling me how cute they were. After that we went to lunch at Applebee's and got there just in time to get out of the rain. Ana Kate ate really well and we got to watch part of the razorback game on tv while we were there. We then drove around looking at the fall colors while Ana Kate took a nap in the car seat. We stopped by Target on the way home to pick up a few other things. After that we just stayed at home until time for church. Ana Kate said she had a great time at church, and loved holding the umbrella on the way to the car. Everyone is in bed now except for me....I'll be heading that way soon.

295/365

2010-10-22T19:19:00.000-05:00

Not much to say today. I started having sinus issues last night and have felt yucky all day. Thankfully Ana Kate seems to feel fine. We did talk to grandma on skype for a few minutes tonight and Ana Kate loved it!

I tried to quickly take photos tonight before it got completely dark. I literally spent less than a minute on them....and you can tell. She was showing me the beautiful leaves on the trees....she loves how they are changing color right now. And of course the other picture I caught her mid-sentence....a regular occurence with my girl that LOVES to talk! : )

Hopefully I will be feeling better by tomorrow....we have plans to get out and see all the beautiful fall colors this weekend!

294/365

2010-10-21T22:35:00.001-05:00

We had a super busy day today. Ana Kate had school and we were later than normal getting out the door....I hate that feeling of being late...we are typically at least 5 minutes early. But, we made it there and she was very excited to see her teachers. I then headed to bible study and it was wonderful today. I love the fellowship with all the women and the Beth Moore study is amazing. I truly enjoyed the video today, she is so funny....it was so nice to laugh and also learn something at the same time.

After bible study I made a quick trip to the store and then went home. I actually got dinner prepped and then put it in the fridge and went to pick Ana Kate up. She did wonderful today, but didn't take a nap. We played for a bit and then went to visit Mimi for a while. While we were there my Mom's dog bit Ana Kate! We were shocked, Ana Kate wasn't doing anything wrong. She cried and got upset, but it mainly just scratched her skin....of course she won't let Mimi forget about it.

When we got home we skyped with my friend Claudia who lives in California. It was so nice to see her and talk to her. She is pregnant with twins and doing great! I am so excited for her! After that we had dinner...chicken and noodles, mashed potatoes, corn, and fresh bread. It was very good, but we started out with lots of drama at the dinner table. Ana Kate didn't want to sit there, so we told her she either sat at the dinner table or she had to sit in time out. She was so tired and cranky (due to the lack of a nap) that she fought it for a good 5 minutes. But....we stuck it out and she straightened up and ate her food. Sometimes its hard to hang in there....but it produces results.

I only took a few pictures today....I had grand plans, they just never materialized. : )

293/365

2010-10-20T21:49:00.000-05:00

I edited pictures from my photo session on Monday and worked on my bible study lessons today. Not much else got done around here. I left Ana Kate's pictures until the last minute and she was less than cooperative. It's just been one of those days....

292/365

2010-10-19T22:52:00.000-05:00

Today was rainy and cloudy, so we spent most of the day at home inside. I had a headache when I woke up, but thankfully it went away by the afternoon. Thankfully Ana Kate took a nice nap today. So after her nap we headed to Target to pick up a few things. She was such a good girl in the store! We bought her some new princess sheets for her big girl bed, so hopefully she will transition to it soon. She sleeps pretty wild though, so I will probably have to get a bed rail first so she doesn't fall out of bed.

When we got home we spent some time outside playing in the leaves and I got a few pictures. I love the fall colors and all the beautiful trees right now. I'm going to try to take lots of photographs this week and next week before they all disappear.

291/365

2010-10-18T22:02:00.000-05:00

I took Ana Kate to school this morning and then headed to Fayetteville to find a few items for her Halloween costume. I also stopped by the bookstore and picked up a couple of books. I really was lazy about pictures today, so I only got a couple this morning.

I picked Ana Kate up and she was in such a great mood...she told me she had a fun day. She has been saying her bible verse for the week over and over with sign language included....so I tried to get a video of her. She didn't fully cooperate, but she said it.

This evening I had a photo session. I took some family photos for a girl that I have bible study with. She is so sweet and her boys are adorable. The weather was perfect and I got lots of great pictures. I hope she likes them as much as I do.

When I got home Ana Kate was gearing up for dancing with the stars. She did dance some, but was pretty tired, so I put her in bed before it was over. Now I'm going to work on editing some pictures.

290/365

2010-10-17T23:13:00.000-05:00

This morning I slept in and then we hung out around the house and didn't do much of anything. Then this afternoon we met up with my friend Kelda and her family and headed to the pumpkin patch. The kids had a lot of fun....Ana Kate and Preston were running around and kind of hard to get still for pictures. And little miss Emeline was absolutely content the entire time...she is such a good baby.

On the way home we stopped and picked up some Chinese food. Ana Kate loves chicken broccoli, so she was really excited and she ate a lot! I attempted to get Ana Kate to bed early, but it was tough tonight....she fought me for over an hour. Hopefully she gets plenty of rest since she has school in the morning. I am off to bed as well.

Preston & Ana Kate

Hugs...

Sweet Emeline

289/365

2010-10-16T21:31:00.000-05:00

We didn't really do much today, just hung out around the house. We had our long night at church tonight and it was a great service. I got to go with Ana Kate for the kids worship and it was so much fun! I didn't take any pictures at all today until we got home tonight. She wanted one of her cupcakes and of course...only ate the icing.