Balloon Blowout!

What happens when a bunch of children who've been stuck inside due to the long, cold days of winter get together at a birthday party? Balloon mania! Last night we were having a good time at a friend's b-day party when a spontaneous balloon frenzy erupted. The still pictures can not convey the excitement, energy, and hilarity of the moment :) I'm not sure what was funnier. The kids going crazy with the crinkle french fry balloons or all the crazy, static hair at the end. Enjoy!

fun photography tip

I'm planning on taking some photography classes online in March. Untill then, I've been rereading some scrapbooking and photography books that I have. I read about one suggestion to purchase a piece of black velvet to use as background when you are taking portrait shots. So when the kids and I were out at JoAnn's I decided to purchase some. According to the saleswoman at JoAnn's, velvet rarely goes on sale. I decided to purchase a medium quality and get 3 yards. It cost me about $20.00. We took it home and Lily asked if I could take some pictures of her in a dress that she received as a Christmas gift. I've always loved taking pictures of Lily and she has learned on her own how to pose for the camera. I'm very pleased at how her pictures turned out.







Then when Andrew got up from his nap, I tried placing him on the black velvet. Well, let me tell you. At 2, he has no time for letting his mommy take portraits of him. This look says it all.



All in all, I'm pleased with the purchase. I think I'm simply a mom with one child who is super easy to photograph and one who isn't. I did finally catch a good shot of Andrew with a natural smile and it's the one I used in the header.

Hatching Dinosaurs at Home

My parents brought back "Magic Growing Pet Hatch'em" dinasaur eggs from Las Vegas because every kid needs a pet dinosaur, right?. You put these little eggs in a cup of water and 48 hours later, your dinasaur is supposed to hatch and will continue to grow bigger over the next few days. Lily has been waaaaaay into this and Andrew has picked up on her excitement. I will say that it's been a fun thing to watch and the dinosaur really does get bigger and crack the shell. I thought the shell would just disolve in the water. Here's the progression of Lily's dinosaur. Both kids are excited to watch Andrew's dinosaur hatch next!

New boots, more snow and more fun

Well, I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since I last posted. Time does continue to fly by. We're all doing well. After lots and lots of yucky weather and indoor time, I could just see the kids craving to get outside. Honestly, Andrew and Lily are such outdoor kids and I figured we should go out and purchase some good snowsuits and boots for them both. Well, apparently shopping for such items in January is too late. Go figure :) So we made due with what we could find. The only boots in Lily's size were ones that looked a little too grown up to me. Naturally, she loooooves them. The only snowsuit for Andrew was a 24 month size and it's way too big. So as I was taking the kids out in their new get up I felt like I was hanging out with a Model and a Teddy Bear. Take a look!

Here's Lily striking a pose all on her own. I swear she's 6 going on 16.



and here's my little Teddy Bear. At least he has room to grow in that snow suit!


In either case, I've got two precious little ones and I'm one lucky mama!

Happy New Year!

Ok, so he's not Baby New Year. He's still pretty cute, right? Hope everyone had a wonderful New Year's Eve and is enjoying their holiday weekend. We took the kids to an indoor water park for a night and then came back home to have our own party of appetizers and games at home. It was a far cry from the days of shopping for a new dress, getting your hair done, going out to a fancy restaurant, attending a party and staying up way past midnight. But everything has a season, and I wouldn't trade places. Wishing everyone a fabulous 2010. May it be a year of good health, prosperity, joy and much love!

Fun in the Snow

With the bright sunshine and a backyard of fluffy snow, we just had to get outside today. Both Lily and Andrew are outside, wide open spaces kind of kids and they had a blast romping around in the snow. Andrew has this weird facination of doing snow angels face first in the snow. Guess some kids just march to their own beat, eh? I had fun snapping these pictures of them.

Merry Christmas!!!!

Keeping it simple........

Martha Stewart would be appalled. After realizing our schedule was going to be busy today, I totally simplified our Santa cookies. Last night we rolled pre-bought cookie dough in green and red sugar sprinkles. Decorated them with some mini M & M's and popped them in the oven. Easy for both kids to do, no real mess and the kids had a blast. Sometimes simple is best!

It's begining to look a lot like Christmas...........

How sweet is this?

We're enjoying a quiet morning here. A cup of hot tea, Christmas lights are on and there's snow on the ground. Lily is making a story in an old notebook. I just read the story with pictures and it says this:

The night before Christmas Daddy, Mommy, Lily and Andrew are sleeping.
There are Christmas lights on the house.
We wake up in the morning and open our prezents.
My favrit prezent is my brother Andew
Merry Christmas.

I'm keeping this book and will look at it fondly (esp. when the get into their next power struggle :)

December is flying by!

Wow! So much time has passed since my last post. What can I say? Between work, managing a home, raising 2 children and all the additional preparations, I've been busy. Things have been going well around our household. Lily has learned how to read at such a fast rate, it's amazing. Her kindergarten teacher is known for getting kids reading at the second grade level by the end of the year and I can believe it. She's almost there now! Andrew is learning new words at the rate of one per day. It's fun to see. The other day I didn't realize he knew the word for Zebra and asked if he was playing with a horse. He looked at me as if I were the one who needs help with my vocabulary and said "No horse Momma. Zebra!"

We're gearing up for Christmas here and I think it's going to be a good one. Fortunately for me, I was able to get my shopping done pretty early and with the help of my family, I got some of those "hard to find" toys. Thanks Dad! Shopping is done, everything is wrapped and the cards are all out. Lily and I are on our Christmas break now. Yipee!! Sixteen days of freedom. Our schedule this week should be fun. We're going to take Andrew to his first movie, Disney's Frog Princess. We are going to bake, drive and see some lights and go to the train display downtown and visit Daddy's office. I'm so looking forward to it and ofcouse celebrating Christmas Eve and Day with the family. I hope everyone is able to enjoy a healthy, relaxing and wonderful holiday!


Here are some pictures of the kids last night out at our favorite Chinese restaurant.