Pretty in Pink

Pin It I have vowed to join a few more photo challenges. When I saw this week's pink theme at I Heart Faces, I had a photo in the vault that I felt was perfect.

G is for...

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I celebrated my birthday this weekend and my sweet husband signed me up for Barb's online photo class as part of my birthday gift. Since having my girls, I have developed a new interested in photography and I can't wait to learn more about how to use my camera. Check out this link and consider joining me as I start the adventure of learning: photo basics course. Also, join us in the ABC photo challenge fun! It's a great way to look at the world around you in a different light each week with a new letter.

Gourd

Morning Glory

Glow

Different as Black and White

Pin It My girls are as different as night and day, sugar and salt, black and white. When we found out we were expecting again, I was secretly hoping for a boy. I loved my little girl and couldn't imagine another one filling my heart the way Elena did. My husband's words of wisdom from the day we discovered our second child would be a girl, ring true in my ears each day: "I have a feeling each one will fulfill different needs that you may have as a mother."

How right he was! I don't write this to compare the two, just to highlight how my sweet Kate has expanded my heart to love in a way I never thought possible.

Elena slept through the night from 3 weeks old...Kate rarely sleeps through the night.

Elena ate solid foods at four months...Kate has yet to keep down anything other than breast milk.


Elena didn't have a problem going to people...Kate often gets scared or unhappy if we aren't close at hand.

Elena would stare at HERSELF in the mirror for hours...Kate will stare at MOMMY or DADDY for hours.

Elena didn't smile or interact with people much...Kate laughs, smiles, kicks and gets excited for people.

Elena never got the hang of breast feeding...Kate was a pro after the first couple of weeks.

Elena did NOT like to be cuddled...Kate LOVES to be cuddled.

My mother-in-law and I talk often about how we don't understand how two babies from the same mom and dad can be so different, but I wouldn't have it any other way. God knew what he was doing when he entrusted to us these two precious girls. I am so happy HE knew what was best for me and gave me my sweet Katie-Bug. You have filled my heart to overflowing!

SOOC Photo Challenge

Pin It I've decided to enter some photo challenges this week. This is an older photo but when I saw this week's theme at Simplicity, SOOC (Straight Out Of the Camera) I immediately thought of this shot. It is a sweet capture of my little girl getting her first dip in the ocean guided by the loving hands of her daddy.

F is for...

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Fog

This is the Beautiful picture I get to wake up to each morning

Feet

Me and the Girls

Fingers

My Grandmother & my baby Kate

Fly

Proud of my un-edited fly capture

Shutter Love Tuesday

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Like my friend at Schrockters Live, I couldn't resist participating in this week's Shutter Love photo challenge. A mama always likes to show off her babies. When my first child came along, I did not have the interest in photography that I now have. Since her birth, I saw so many precious photographs of newborns and when I had my second, I was ready and armed. I did a fun little photo shoot with my baby Kate at 1 week old. I found an adorable cocoon & hat set made by Tricity Hokes Creations (she makes the most adorable photo props for babies at such affordable prices) You can see this photo on her blog as well. It was so hard for me to choose my favorite, but here it is:

E is for...

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Elena's Eyes

The Girls

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Another shot of my girls. It is so rare to get good pictures of the two of them together and yesterday I was blessed to get quiet a few. I love this shot because it highlights the fact that as of right now we have the fair-haired child and the dark-haired child. Here's another of my favorites for my first participation in Sweet Shot Tuesdays!

D is for...

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...Daughters

It has been on my list for a long time to take some better pictures of my girls with the two of them together. As you can probably imagine, getting a two-year-old to stay still long enough to look at a camera is hard enough, but put a 5-month-old in the mix and that RARELY happens. The letter D challenge was just what I needed to get me going. After only 3 shots, I got this one. It's just what I've been hoping to capture and so typical of the two of them: Elena with her crooked little grin that says, "I'm up to something" and Kate with her sweet little open-mouth grin that says, "what'cha doing, Mommy". This one is for my darling daughters. Your mommy loves and cherishes you both!

Why did I keep all that junk?

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This is why...

When I was a little girl, I remember my mother and I going through my toys each summer to see what I was willing to part with at our annual family yard sale. I loved my "stuff." My mom always had the toughest time getting me to part with anything. I don't know if I got it from my grandfather and my dad who carted home anything and everything from their construction remodels, or my grandmother who buys things at flea-markets just because they are in a pretty fabric. My mom only kept her first Barbie doll, and I remember thinking as a child, how special it was to play with something my mom played with when she was my age. Maybe in the back of my little child brain, I was already planning to have girls and I wanted them to experience that same joy. Whatever the case, I held onto a lot of my childhood toys. Tucked away in the beautiful oak toy box fashioned by my dad, were my treasured "My Little Ponies." A few weeks ago, I unearthed them and presented them to my daughter. The results were more rewarding than I could have ever imagined.

I can't help but think of the Toy Story movies and smile. My old toys have found a new life with my little girl (and they even get played with by their original owner again, too). See their smiles? It's like their eyes are saying, "Thank you for keeping us." All those years of storage has finally paid off for them.

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

Morning with Kate

Pin It I was blessed to have one of those mornings where my two-year-old wakes up early but willingly goes back down. Rarely does she sleep past 7, but this morning she slept until 8:30. I get to spend a lot of bonding time with my five-month-old during the night, but there's just something about a happy baby in the morning (much better than a fussy baby in the middle of the night). Since Elena decided to sleep in this morning, my little Katie-bug and I had sweet mommy-baby time. Here's my not-so-wordless-Wednesday shot of her; my sweet little love!

for more Wordless Wednesday posts go to 5 minutes for Mom

C is for...

Pin It I'm getting on board with some friends of mine and joining the "Alphabet Photo Challenge" sponsored by Barb Phillips Photography at bobrann.blogspot.com This week's letter is C and I promise I am not cheating by posting this picture from a previous post this week. I actually had this challenge in mind when I took this shot. Looking forward to seeing the great shots from other photographers out there during this challenge!

C is for Cookies

Morning at the Apple Orchard

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Since my husband had the day off Monday, we decided to take advantage of the extra family time (and beautiful weather) by visiting our local apple orchard. It is only a few miles from our house and I can't believe it has taken us this long to discover it! We had never been before and were very impressed with the operation. Though we didn't pick our own apples, we took a stroll by the orchard, played in the children's play area, visited with the animals, and of course, tasted the yummy cider. We couldn't leave empty handed so we purchased a gallon of the cider and a bag of apples to take with us. What a special way to spend a little time with family!

yummy cider & gala apples

Grandpa would be proud!