More Olives please!

Its so nice to have a variety of beautiful subjects to photograph so close by.  Laura asked me to take a few of Olive recently and she was the perfect little model.  What a beautiful baby!  She reminds me so much of Laura when Laura was a baby.

Its fall and we're happy!

Fall is my most favorite time of year.  I love the cloudy days and the mild temperatures and the beautiful colors.  I love sleeping with my window open so I can snuggle into my honey and my down comforter and how the room is cool in the morning and it's more cozy to burrow into your bed. 

My kids give me the opportunity to do more festive things during this time of year and to do them with childlike excitement.  Here are some of the things we've been doing around here:

Last week we went to Pumpkin Land with Jonah's preschool.  Sophie and I tagged along and we all had so much fun.  We walked through the corn maze, saw the pumpkin patch, played on the playground, visited the animals, and picked out pumpkins!  I let the kids get a baby pumpkin since I knew we'd be getting big pumpkins later.

I forgot my camera for the Pumpkin Land trip but I did capture them painting their pumpkins.

Jonah always has his tongue out for concentration.

Just a few days later, we made another trip to Hee Haw Farms with the cousins.  I threw a cardigan over my outfit and dressed the kids in long-sleeved shirts but the day ended up being like summer (which I wasn't happy about) so we were hot and tired by the time we left.  The kids had a lot of fun, though, and were completely exhausted by the time we left.

Trusting the Tripod

A student's budget doesn't support a lot of extras.  So in lieu of having our pictures taken by someone else, I gathered the family and we headed up to South Fork to admire the fall foliage and to attempt a family picture.  I knew this would be difficult and it gave me some anxiety but we did mange to get one picture that turned out alright.  Then I coaxed the kids into a few pictures.

Jonah was pretty grouchy the entire time, hence the face.

Dolly came with us on the hike.  Sophie is a good mommy.

Someday I'll be able to pay for family pictures, until then, we'll make due!

Evening Activities

We've really enjoyed the cool evenings lately and have been spending them outside while the kids play and ride bikes.  We also love our evening walks--pulling Sophie in the wagon while Jonah rides his bike or scooter along side us.

Jonah is a master at riding a bike.

Riding with Daddy. It looks so uncomfortable but she loves it!

Nice. Why can't kids give a real smile when you tell them to smile?

Bundled for our walk in the chilly, fall weather.

Last Days of Summer

Just playing at the park.

Love Potion Number 9

Jonah broke into song on our way home from dinner tonight.  He loves when Grandpa Bush plays this song for him on the piano and was happy to perform when I wanted to get it on video.

Photo Op

It only took me three years to finally take my kids to have their pictures taken in a real studio.  I like to fancy myself an OK photographer (for a mommy) and just haven't ever had anyone else do them.  I stumbled by a new studio in our mall the other day and I thought I might as well have them done.  I just didn't want to regret it.

Jonah was quite the model and posed happily for each shot. Sophie, on the other hand, was quite a nightmare.  We got to the shoot and I pulled the hairspray out of my bag for some last minute touch-ups (reminding myself of one of those pageant moms--in a very small way).  Sophie was immediately apprehensive about the red-headed guy behind the camera.  We got Jonah's done and then had to wait while they shot another family's so Sophie could calm down enough to get a couple shots.

Luckily, we got a few.

Potty Training: Part 2

Well its looking like there will definitely be more parts to this story.  I was hoping Soph would grasp the idea a little faster, as Jonah did, but she hasn't.  She has gone pee pee in the potty but doesn't tell us when she needs to and for the most part, it all ends up in her pants and on the floor.  I caved yesterday and put a diaper on her after about half the day went by with NO success at all.

Maybe she's not ready yet.  I'm just not sure.  I think potty training is the hardest thing about raising young kids.  My mom says we were all potty trained by 18 months.  If this is true, she was one patient mother.

Here are a few fun pictures I captured over the weekend.

I call this one "Bare-back".

"What?"

Don't you love her outfit? She HAD to wear the shoes.

I'm thinking, "Don't you dare."

It's Potty Time: Part 1

Hopefully there are only 2 parts to this post.  That will be decided after tomorrow--when we start potty training Sophie.  My plan is to go "cold turkey" like we did with Jonah.  I think she's ready.  She talks about the potty and likes to sit on it.  She also loves her new undies.

She picked Hello Kitty and I picked some of the beefy Gerber ones with extra layers to soak up the accidents.

We're going to have to work on the mechanics.

So many options!  Let's just wear them all at once!