Cute as a Bunny

Eh - What's up Wascawy Wabbit!

How cute is he?



Please tell me if there is a single person out there who does NOT want to squeeze those cheeks?
Can I pull this off? What if I learn to turn the pink to blue in photo shop? Dare me to try it? Anyone else want to borrow it or have one that's a little more gender neutral? ;)

more

Here are a few more options. This first one is just creepy. ;)

preferences?

Here's a little sample of some post processing. I loved this shot, but it didn't "pop" like I wanted it to... So, which one do you like best? Here's the original. Andy is so sweet, just like Sugar!
This one is super edited. I like it best, but Rob said it was too obvious.
I toned it down a bit here.
Which one do you like best?

Big Sister / Little Brother

Will someone please give me permission to stop taking these T-Shirt pictures!? It's my fourth attempt. I just really want them to be "perfect" since I know this time won't last long. Isn't that the worst part about taking photos of your kids? I feel like there's such pressure. If you miss it, it will be totally different the next time you try. Especially when they are babies. Hence, why I'm taking this photography class now when I seem to have absolutely NO time to do it! Thanks again, Rob for giving up all these Saturdays so I can go play.

Anyhow, we made another attempt with these shirts this morning in the front yard since the clouds were all cloudy and such. Each time I do these, I learn something. My instructor says if you want to eliminate camera shake, your shutter speed needs to be faster than your lens length. So, to get the focus length I wanted, I brought it all the way down to 1/50 and used my nifty fifty lens. Well, this time around I learned that you also have to take into account that children "shake". So, if my shutter was slower than 1/125, I got a blurry child. Granted, the backdrop looked fantastic... ;) So, I learned yet more today. And, I lost more great expressions. Oh well. I'm somewhat happy with these below....

I added a prop this time in hopes of keeping the interest. After all, my kids are about as sick of this little T-Shirt game as I am. :) Plus, how cute is it to have a photo of Big Sister Suzy ready the bible stories to her Little Brother?

Oh, who am I kidding, Andy is Rob's "mini me". He's already reading them to himself.

But, just in case he misses a few of the words...
I love this one, but you can't see the writing on the shirts.
Again, no "big sister"

Hey... come back here! Mom says we aren't done and I WANT MORE JELLY BELLIES (Suzy's latest bribe for sitting through this mess.)
Here we have "big sister" but lost "little brother". Maybe I just need to frame them as a series? Can I be done then?
I love you Suzy and Andy! I hope you continue to be great friends and encourage each other through God's Word.

Teaser

We did a little impromptu photo shoot today. Suzy wanted to take some photos as well. How cute is this? I'm still working on getting the speeds to everything correct, etc. So, I'll have to see if I got any good shots later. I'm STILL trying to get that danged "Big Sister / Little Brother" shot.....

Suzy's Preschool Co-op

I wasn't sure if I was going to continue the two day morning preschool with Suzy or not next year. So, I started to toss around the idea of a preschool co-op. Three other moms were immediately on board and I'm so glad we went through with it. I'm still most likely going to continue with the program next year, but I'm really enjoying doing more things at my own home with Suzy and her friends. There are four main members and if another friend wants to join us, the mommy just stays around as a classroom helper. So far, it's been a blast - for the moms and the kids. We schedule it just like the preschools I used to teach. We have social time, circle time, motor time, craft time, etc. What fun!


Gross Motor play time. Whoever is in charge for the week makes the curriculum, etc. The other mommies are free to drop and go. Sometimes we use stuff at my house. Other times, like these big construction pads, Suzy gets to try out some fun new games and toys.
Don't you think Ayden and Suzy could be siblings? He's a trooper. Being the only boy, he puts up with a lot. :)
We try and do crafts and have lessens that center around bible stories or passages. Since we knew we had a zoo trip coming up, Gwyneth did an animal (Noah's Ark) lessen. Head on over to Gwyneth's blog soon for a post on how Adeline did her picture. I don't want to spoil it here. ;)

Making Valentine crafts

A playdough Center activity
If one of the Mommies is sick or has something else going on, we try and schedule a field trip on that week. Our goal is to maybe have at least one field trip a month. This month, we headed down to the zoo. It's not much of a zoo. More of an animal rescue center. But, it's the perfect size for three year olds.

I love this deer. Can you see his tongue?
Andy was a good sport from the stroller.
The bear was a favorite for Suzy. It was her actual highlight after he pooped in front of us. Oy Vey!
The tiger was ultra impressive.
I hope the friendships they are developing last a long time.

It was a lot of fun to have our first field trip with all the siblings and mommies! Love you co-op!

Blue Bonnets

The Blue Bonnets in my front yard are in full bloom.

Anyone want to meet up for some photos?
Anyone know where there is a larger patch that is blooming? I've heard they may be sparse this year, since we are having such a drought.

lighting practice with Suzy Bear

One of my fellow photography students, Tina, came over today for a play date with her adorable little boy. (She doesn't blog, so you will have to take my word that he is adorable. I didn't want to post pictures here in case she's not comfortable with it.)

Anyhow, we were playing around with my light kit since we had our lighting lessen a few weeks ago. Suzy woke up really grumpy from a nap so the first few shots weren't so great. Or so I thought. This is actually the true Suzy. It's kind of fun to capture different emotions, not just all the happy ones. Since we were trading off cameras back and forth, I'm not sure who took each photo. So, I want to be sure and give Tina credit. She's amazing with a lens. :)

I like this look from Suzy. It takes her a while to warm up after a sleep.
She can even be a bit grumpy.


But, once she warms up, she's my sweet Suzy once again. It probably didn't hurt that the jelly beans came out about the same time. ;) I think this may be one of my favorites and I'm pretty sure I was behind the lens.

This shot was so cute. We just had the shutter speed set too slow for my little whirlwind. However, I do like the effect of being able to "see" the movement.

We had a lot of fun today. I hope you enjoy the pictures!

Kisses

So, my friend Debbie did this with her little boy for Valentine's Day and I thought it was precious. I asked her if I could duplicate it and she even helped me take the photos. I turned the third from last shot in as my window portrait assignment for class and it was named "The Molested Baby". Apparently, my instructor thought I should have stopped at one. I disagree. What do you think?







Suzy was very envious of all the attention it got Andy and she wanted in on the action as well. More kisses. Why, yes, yes I will!
XO XO XO to all of you and happy belated Valentine's Day!