the kids are still off school, so we’ve been busy, busy!  it would be so nice if they were home-schooled – we could do so many more things.  i’m really looking forward to summer.

we had our six week visit with the midwives.  this will be the last time we seem them for a while.  they were really great, and we were really lucky to have a great team with us for charlotte’s pregnancy & birth.  i will miss them!  :)  i alos cut my hair yesterday.  i’ll try and get a picture later after i attempt to “style” it …. i’m not really a hairstyle kind of girl, but i did not like the cut the hairdresser gave me last week, so i took matters into my own hands!  i also found a few GRAY HAIRS! while playing around with the camera in the car.  i hope they stay away just a bit longer.  i’m not ready to start coloring my haiar!

my van-full!

when we got home charlotte let me play for a little again.  of course she woke up again when i tried “the pose.”  i will not give up, even if she’s six by the time i get it!  ;)

and this just cracks me up.  i have no idea where she comes up with this stuff, lol.  she played with the ice cream maker a good 30 minutes.  i’m sure she would have played even longer if i pluged it in, lol.

i ♥ faces is having a hilarious outtake contest this week, & i HAD to enter this picture.  the “big thing” in newborn photography is “the pose”  or “the new pose”  john HATES it.  he says it’s mean & unnatural.  i guess it is, but i’m determined to master it anyway!  charlotte was nice & sleepy for other poses & positions, but woke up as soon as i propped her up in “the pose.” and this is what she thought of my feeble attempt!  :)

and of course, got to love christmas card (that never made it to print anyway!), outtakes!  :)

annnd … she’s off!

check out more funny outtakes by clicking the image below:

i asked the kids the other day, if as my christmas present from them, they’d all sit nice for a picture together …. and yay!  they did!  :)

hope everyone had a great holiday!  john worked on christmas!  the nerve.  :)  he was able to come home for a few hours, though – so it wasn’t so bad!  the kids had a great day.  infact we had TWO days of christmas.  after we got everything wrapped & under the tree that our family sent, we knew we couldn’t do that plus all santa’s gifts in one day.   what lucky kids!  john works the rest of the weekend, so we’re going to just hang out, clean up, & have fun with all our new stuff!  john got me a really cute necklace – i’ll have to take a picture of it later.  i’m going to attempt to cut my own hair today … be afraid, be very afraid!

not christmas related, but look at these smiles we’ve been getting!  so sweet!  she’s getting such a personality & really waking up.

things have been so crazy busy.  like, i don’t know when i’ll get to shower next, busy.  okay … well, maybe not THAT busy.  the kids are officially on winter break!  no more school until 2010!  yesteday was exausting, but super fun.  first up was ethan’s class party.  there was so much yummy food.  i’m going to miss pigging out soon when i start back on weight watchers.  santa even made an appearance, but ethan was not interested & hid behind me as well as he could.  poor kid.  i somehow don’t think he’s alone in his fear of the big guy.

next up was kayleigh’s class party!  there were tons of un crafts to do, and i think i finally found a cure for the dry skin issue out here in colorado.  shortening.  man, i had this stuff all over me helping kids ice their cupcakes, and today my hands are so soft!  would it be gross to rub it all over me every day? lol!  and poor norah.  i think she’s going through a growth spurt.  she’s eating a TON, and back to taking a nap most days.  when she’s tired, there is NO mistaking it.

the difference between me hand holding & using the tripod.  shaky much?  in my defense, this was a super long shutter speed.

i did get to take some more pictures of charlotte yesterday.  she’s not such a great day-sleeper, but she was really out cold late in the afternoon as john was getting ready for work.  the light was fading fast, but i had a go at it anyway.

as john was leaving for work, he assisted in getting lar-lar (norah’s name for charlotte) to smile when i mentioned how she was frowning in the first frame.  ha!   i would have been able to get some better shots if john was home.  that sweet little butterfly princess there on the right was climbing on my ladder and kept moving charlotte when i would get her juuuust right in position.  maybe today i’ll be able to get to take some more.  john’s off until monday – woot!

my little scorpio.

that’s it for today!  i’m so tired, i am not doing much of anything today!  last night i was ready for bed at 10, and charlotte decided to wake up & party until 2am.  and then around 3, norah woke up screaming & i realized the power had gone out!  i looked out the window & the whole street was out, but i had nothing but an ipod to light my way through the house.  i finally got norah back to sleep & passed out at 4 with the power still out.  judging by the time blinking on the clock i think it was out until about 4:30.  i wonder what happened, the weather was fine.  it totally freaked me out, though, so i’ll be putting some flashlights up stairs today, that is for sure!

and just a quick “pullback” share from the above photos.  this is just to show you don’t need a fancy set up to take decent pictures.  i have a backdrop stand, photo paper, lights, ect … but hate pulling it all out.  plus, i prefer natutral light.  here charlotte is (safely sunken down) on a beanbag in a glider propped up with blankets.  the ikea ofelia blanket is just pinned to the wall.  ladder for shots from above.

FAIL!

(and yes, i already know we’re way late in the game here!)

run, norah, run! (hey – when was the last time you heard a forest gump reference?!)

and how funny would this one (cropped for content) be on our card?  ethan did that one  all by himself.  and look how happy charlotte is!

are those not the cutest little chubby baby fingers?!

i can’t believe it’s ben almost a month since charlotte was born.  she’s such a sweet little thing, but boy, is she demanding!  after norah, who was such an easy going baby, i forgot what it’s like to have one that demands my attention and holding 24/7.  it makes for quite the messy house, especially with three other kids!  norah is doing well with her, but has to be watched like a hawk.  she tried feeding charlotte an ornament a few days ago.  :/

yesterday we met up with friends at a playplace.  kayleigh was so excited to go, since she usually misses the fun stuff while she’s at school.   and as you can see, norah dressed herself, lol.

the day i was packing the 105mm macro up to return, we also had 10 other things to do.  apparently when i put my 50mm 1.8 lens back on my camera, i didn’t click in into place.  later on when we got home, i picked my camera up, and the 50mm when crashing down on the kitchen tile.  it’s dead.  my mom was here, and saw how upset i was, and offered to buy me a new lens for christmas.  her & my grandmom went in together and bought me the 50mm 1.4.  i am in love, adn it was SUCH a kind gift.  i feel naked without my camera.   shooting at 1.4 will definitely take some practice, but i’m really enjoying it.  i was shocked to see, though, that it only closes down to f/16.   i didn’t know if i could get the starburst light shots only at f/16 (last year i used f/22) … but it worked!  i can’t wait to take our “real” in front of the tree pics.  :)

settings:  f/16  iso: 800  ss: 10 full seconds! (i used the timer and propped it up to avoid shake).

3 weeks old, and already starting trouble.  ;)