Best Shot Monday

For more Best Shot Monday pics, head over to Tracey's.

Campfire

The last two afternoons have been in the 40's until just before the sun goes down. Ella has been asking me for days to go outside and play, but I recently caught her cold and have not felt like bundling up to sit outside. So when Keith got home from work yesterday and again this afternoon, the two of them went outside to play and have a fire.


Here's whats left of the pumpkin Ella and Keith were watching the squirrels eat.


I spied Keith and Ella outside. These next few shots are from my kitchen window. Keith later told me that they were looking at the sky because they found the first star of the evening. They were also looking at all of the squirrels nests at the top of the trees in our woods. You know what I get a kick out of? How the last time he raked up the leaves with the tractor, he made horrible lines through the yard that almost frame them in. Good thing the snow is coming.....





I eventually went outside for a little bit. They looked like they were having too much fun without me. ;0) Since Ella always magnitizes towards me when I come around, I wanted her to still pay attention to Daddy so I told her to pretend like I wasnt there. She found a place in the grass where she pretended I was and brought me some dirt and had a pretend conversation with me over there. Atleast she did her own thing.


Here's hubby, showing off his wonderful beer drinking skills......Men.....

I Am Thankful for Bubbles

On our way to my parents for Thanksgiving, I explained what day today was. TURKEY DAY! Ella gets a kick out of that for some reason. But really, I explained that today we give thanks for the things in our life. I asked Ella what she was thankful for.

"I am thankful for bubbles. I am also thankful for toys, and Santa Claus who will bring me lots of presents. And also.....yummy, sweet apple sauce."

While trying to keep busy before sitting down to eat, I asked Ella if she saw any birds on the deck (in order for her to look my way). I didnt expect it to throw her into excitement the way it did. Like she's never seen birds before!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Could it be the End of an Era?

We have been struggling with the whole #2 potty training thing....But we have decided to push along anyways in getting rid of the diapers, since she does so good with the whole #1 thing. She has actually been waking up in the morning dry, which as anyone knows is a huge progress.

Ella and I made a 'Potty Board'. You've probably heard of this tactic. It is a calendar of sorts that Ella and I decorated and hung in the bathroom. Every time she does pee pee's in the toilet, she gets to pick a sticker. And when she does poopies, she gets a big Tinkerbell sticker. Plus, when she does poopies she calls my mom and my mom will give her a little surprise next time we see her (which we usually see her daily and its something small from the dollar store). She is really responding well to the whole sticker thing. As a matter of fact, she has been going into the bathroom to do pee pee's without even telling us!

She still doesn't like to do #2's.....I think it is one of those childhood fear things about losing something of herself or the way it makes her feel, but we have gotten rid of the diapers (hopefully once and for all, unless we have another baby that is).

This morning, she woke up, peeked into my room and said, "Good morning Mama!", then she went directly to the bathroom. Its such a wonderful noise to hear her go to the bathroom and flush the toilet all by herself. Sounds silly, I know. But there are alot of silly accomplishments we get excited about when we are Mommy's.


This is Ella just out of her room after nap time

BSM - Quiet Moments

Keith and Ella smashed her pumpkins the other day and threw them in the woods in our back yard. Although Ella was a little distraught over her pumpkins being smashed, she eventually got over it when Keith told her that it was to feed the deer and squirrels. To get it through to her, he used Bob the Builders motto.....Reduce, Reuse, Recycle....Whatever works, right?

The other night he told Ella that when she wakes up in the morning, she should come into our room to wake Daddy up. They would then look out the back window to see if they could find any deer or squirrels eating the pumpkin.


Thank goodness for the squirrels! No deer came by, but there were squirrels neck deep in the pumpkins.


Although it may not be my best shot, I am so taken with the moment in this last shot. There's something about it where when I look at it, the rest of the world seems to fade out and all I see and remember is that moment. Maybe its Ella's hand on his shoulder, or her direct look into the camera....I don't know. I just love the way I feel when I see it.



To see more Best Shot Monday's, head over to Tracey's.





On another note.....Jen at New Green Mama has just opened a new Etsy shop called Second Chance Studio. I wish I had the crafting talent like she does. She has lots of cool items up for sale, gadget pouches, coffee sleeves, magnets and pendants. She is also having a giveaway to celebrate her new store. So pop on over and give her a visit! Better yet, head over to her new store.....Christmas is just around the corner!!

Theme Thursday - Thankful

Everyday I try to be thankful for a different thing. I have said before that I have never noticed nature as much as I have this year. Whether it was because of my new camera or through Ella's eyes....I notice everyday how beautiful nature is. It snowed the other day but was gone by the afternoon. Never the less, Ella wanted to enjoy it while it lasted. So we did.

Innocence, hope, beauty, creativity, imagination.....I am thankful to see all of that in my daughter.

To have a house to keep us warm and safe....to have two steady paychecks coming in....Love.....to have found love. To be so close to my parents. To have my health. To have gas prices drop everyday. To be able to need nothing (even if there is a list of things I want). ;P

To just be. Sometimes I am happy to just be me.




To see what others are thankful for, head on over to Stacy's.

First Sleepover

Last Friday, Ella had her first sleepover at her house. She has slept over at the grandparents house many time, but we have never had anyone sleep over at our house before.

We kept my nephews, Jack and Everett so that my sister in law and her husband could go to the hospital early Saturday morning and get induced. We had pizza for dinner, played legos and watched movies. Jack and Ella even slept in a tent in her room. They were so excited. When we put them to bed around 8:45pm, they whispered to each other for the next hour and half. It was so cute to hear it on the monitor. When we would go in and tell them to go to sleep, they said they were just telling each other stories. The funny thing is, they stayed in the tent the whole time. I totally thought they would get out, turn the light on and play in her room. We finally gave up and figured they would fall asleep eventually. They did.

Everett is a human garbage disposal and so damn cute. If he hears a bag of something opening, its like his ears perk up and he follows the sound. Need him to follow you to go do something....give the boy food. While he was eating his pizza, I said to him, "Is Everett hungry?" He throws his head back and rolls it (think Stevie Wonder) and in this little tiny voice with his mouth open wide and smiling says, "Yessssssss!" I wish I could have gotten that on video. It was soooo cute.


Jack and Ella got to pick a movie to watch before bed. They both agreed on Shrek 2. Ella kept trying to cuddle up to Jack. She's such a girl. Jack inched away so many times that within 15 minutes he was sitting on the arm of the couch. He's such a boy.

Best Shot Monday - Brianna

Over the weekend, we welcomed our new niece into the world. Brianna. It is my sister in law's 3rd baby....and she got the girl!





I am calling this last one my best shot because of the moment that was captured. I just love the feeling I get when I look at the whole family together. Happy.



For more BSM's head over to Tracey's.

Theme Thursday - Home

With winter already at our front steps (we woke up to an inch of snow on the ground), I have been practicing my photography indoors. Thank goodness for windows! That's all I have to say. Although it is still a tricky recipe for me, trying to figure out the shutter and aperture, I am starting to get more comfortable with my manual skills.

This is Ella and I at home. My content little girl....quiet (very rare)...watching some toons....and allowing me to photograph her beautiful little face.







For more Theme Thursday shots, head over to The Land of K.A.

Mushy Mommy

I dont have much to say today....Im in the middle of doing some work for my job and my brain feels pretty mushy. I am sure ALL of you know what that feels like. Am I right? So I just thought I would post a few pictures today and then see what everyone else is up to.......

Best Shot Monday

"Mommy I need you." She says it to me all the time. Although it may frustrate me when I know she is capable of doing something by herself.....I hope she never stops needing me.



For more BSM's, head over to Tracey's.

Look What Landed by our House.....

What could all of these kids be walking towards?


What could make Ella drop her jaw in amazement?


This helicopter! One afternoon last week, we heard this loud noise outside so we ran to the window and saw this helicopter landing behind our house. It was SO LOUD! Ella was amazed. We sat and watched it for minute and I noticed that the propellers were stopping. So I told Ella, if we hurry up and get our shoes and coat on, we could run out there and see what was going on.


We live a couple of doors down from an elementary school and apparently this helicopter came to visit the kids at the school. So we walked up to the school and over to the helicopter that landed in the baseball field. It was so cool.


It was a really neat thing to happen in the middle of the day when nothing was going on. Not only was it a treat for the kids at the school, but it was a treat for Ella and I.

Six Random Things

I was tagged by Jen over at New Green Mama (like over a week ago...SORRY Jen!) To name 6 random things about me. So here goes....

1. I was supposed to go to the Celine Dion concert on October 30, but Celine postponed the concert (the day before) because she was sick. It was rescheduled to sometime in February and then I just heard it was rescheduled for December 18, 2008. So since we bought tickets over a year ago now, we were really excited to go, but in the end this will all work out for the best. My sister in law is pregnant and ready to pop any day now, so by December, she will be feeling better and we will all have a great time.

2. I am mesmerized every time I listen to James Blunt. I was totally taken with him the first time I heard his music, but so much more so when I see him perform. Although I have yet to go to one of his concerts, I have a DVD of a live concert he did and he gives the most emotional expressions when he sings. I just love him!

3. I am very much a Sci-Fi Geek! Stargate SG-1 is my most favorite show of all time. The series ended after its tenth season, but is in reruns like crazy. I am now addicted to Stargate Atlantis, and for any geeks out there like me.....Hubby and I used to have a Friday Sci Fi night years ago when the lineup was Farscape, SG-1 and Atlantis. Gosh I miss those days!

4. I enjoy reading books about the Middle East, history, woman's studies and culture. One of my favorite books of all time is Stolen Lives by Malika Oufkir.

5. I can not just sit and watch tv or a movie without doing something else at the same time. Whether it be reading a magazine, a paper or sitting on the laptop. I just can not get myself to sit there and stare at the tv without something else to keep me busy. It drives Keith nuts!

6. I watch all of the ABC soaps, All My Children, One Life to Live and General Hospital. And since I just got a DVR (like a Tivo), I do not have to miss one episode!

To end this post, I will share a photo of two of my favorite people in the world, sharing a campfire. There is nothing better to me than seeing Ella spend time with her Daddy.

TIMBER!

These two trees have been the bain of my husbands existence ever since we built our house almost 8 years ago. When we were clearing the lot, I told them to leave as many trees as possible. Since we live in an older neighborhood, there are many tall and old trees around, which I love. Well, come fall time, these two trees drop not only leaves all over the place, but sticks and full branches that make it a pain in the butt to have to pick up before mowing the lawn. And when a storm comes in, these trees sway all over the place. It wouldn't be far fetched to think that one could fall right onto our garage. It never fails that at least one large branch comes off this tree into our driveway when the winds are just right.

So after years of begging, Keith finally got his way. Not on my giving in though. These trees are like 90 feet tall and cost a pretty penny for someone to take them down. Without going into too many details, we are planning on building an addition on the house in the next year or two and would need for these trees to come down to extend our driveway when the addition goes up. So down they came!





You wouldn't think so, but the way this guy took them down was quite an art in itself. He did not just drop them. They would have fallen into the road and over to the neighbors yards causing lost of damage. Each time he lopped the trunk down, the ground shook. I could feel it in my house. I thought for sure that one time he hit the house, but it was the ground.....On the top of the tree, he wraps the rope around the tree so that it makes a pulley system and his little helper (just a teenage kid, and Keith) would catch the piece and slowly bring it down.




Ella loves the wood pile that has been left over. She wants to climb on it all the time. The other day after painting pumpkins, she told me she wanted to dance and make funny faces. Then she said, "Take pictures of me Mama!" What Mama could resist that? :)