i got really nervous when my SIL asked me to take pictures of my niece for a baptism book she's putting together. because there're expectations......you know? and i haven't really been taking that many pictures since nora was born. well, that's partly true. i've been taking pictures, but i haven't taken the time to process them so they just sit on my hard drive. sad. caring for two little people makes me want to be in bed vegetating the second they're in bed. and editing photos is not vegetating. watching netflix is vegetating. anyways, the point is i was nervous. here's what i discovered though. and it's a happy discovery! i've been paying attention. and i've been learning. even though i haven't been practicing a lot, i've been looking at others' photo work and thinking about it and noticing light and analyzing processing. i know this is so cheesy, but i feel like i've matured a little. (geez, i'm laughing at myself just typing it) and i think the photos reflect it. at least they show it to me. i used to only feel comfortable sitting someone in open shade and snapping......but i think i'm feeling more adventurous now. it was a fun discovery for me, so i wanted to document the feelings. oh, and i also learned i need to use my lens hood. sometimes. maybe. every picture doesn't need crazy lens flare i guess, though i do love it so!

creepily lit baby SOOC.

a few photo's from the latest photo pupil. props to jenelle!

caillou. ugh.

it's 82 degrees outside but feels like summer is over for some reason. maybe it's because school has started, though we are in no way affected by that. nora turned a year old july 23rd. the day came and went without much to-do. hopefully she wont ask to see pictures of her 1st birthday when she's older. i don't think i've ever asked to see pictures of mine. nora. she's got opinions. she knows what she wants and has feelings if she doesn't get it. she walks. she runs. she jumps. she dances. she did a summersault(sp?) a few days ago. she waves goodbye and never refuses a high five. she can climb to the top of the bunk bed. she doesn't care about tv. it's kind of a bummer. she'll maybe watch ten minutes of yo gabba gabba, but that's the end of it. she likes to move around, chase her sis, be outside. she says, "abba" which i believe is 'elizabeth', "amma" which i think is "momma," "bye" and "baba" which is bottle. she's getting better with strangers. someday she'll let a stranger hold her, i swear. i used to get nervous about it....not wanting people to feel rejected, but i've quit that. my kids are shy. i might actually prefer it that way. they are awesome. i'm lucky. she calls. gotta go. a picture of elizabeth and a paragraph about nora. we watched true grit last night. at one point the guy says something like "you do not varnish your words." i liked it. i guess i don't varnish my blog.

had to be documented.  this is how the man-doud loads the dishwasher.  impressive!

nora made her first friend.  thanks ash:)

so......elizabeth gave up the pacifier when she was like 18 months old......as far as you know.  in the darker reaches of our home we've been secretly allowing gratuitous pacifier use during night time and naps.  there, it's out.  judge me, i deserve it.

anyways.

i was brushing her teeth the other night and noticed there's a big gap between her top and bottom teeth.  i decided then and there that the pacifier was to be no more.  let's just say sleep times have been less than pleasant since the buck-teeth inducer was removed.  we're now doing that thing every parent does when they feel nap time slipping through their desperate little fingers.  nap time is now called "quiet time" in hopes that she'll just play in there nicely and fall asleep when she's not paying attention.  the first half hour of it is spent with our sweet formerly sleep-embracing child throwing things around her room and screaming like she's possessed by the devil, and the second half hour she quiets down and just makes a big mess in there.

oh well.  even now, i can hear her in there...singing happy birthday to curious george.....not sleeping. maybe tomorrow.

i'll say it. i love this picture.

it perfectly depicts life around here. elizabeth is a child who appreciates order, and nora is one who appreciates entropy. this bunny's "train ride" is about to get rudely interrupted, despite bets' protests:)

Wherever you are, whenever it is........she will find you. my bed is no longer a hiding place:)

this is what we did pretty much every day this week. how is it that adding water to any activity increases it's duration by at least an hour? we're excited for summer:)

dad got a new job and is around for breakfast now. in other news, new kicks!

irreverent.

uncensored.

censored.

they play together now. it's one of my favorite things.

grandma checking out a stubbed toe/getting a foot in the mouth. notice elizabeth's face...such a faker.

a rogue gardener.

there's a spot in our house where the light will always make you look like a babe....not that this girl needs help. brat.

Easter.

pretty light on an ugly bottle.

straight out of the camera:


a warm, feel-good edit:

these girls are starting to love each other and it melts me.

A cheerio sharing moment.

she inherited this expression from her father. it has a name: doudface.

this post is purely informational - because sticking it straight onto facebook seemed too......impersonal? yeah, the obvious answer was to put a link to this blog post on facebook. er...whatever.

anyways, we went to the allergist today. elizabeth is indeed very allergic to peanuts, so just in case i forget to tell you, or fumble the epi-pen handoff....don't slip my kiddo a pb and j. let's not talk about potential consequences.

the doc told me 20% of kids grow out of a peanut allergy and wikipedia says it's 25%.

just another one of life's little it-could-be-way-worse-so-get-over-it-and-stop-picturing-your-kid-eating-alone-every-day-at-the-lunch-table moments. we can deal:)