Some Ethan Love

WOW- two posts in one day! "It's a mother's Day miracle!"(have you seen that cell phone commercial? pretty funny! if not, I am sure that made no sense) Ethan needed some love here on the blog and I have had these photos edited for quite a while now (they were taken during General Conference earlier this month). Sweet little Ethan- he is at such a fun stage right now. He just waddles around, smiles and babbles all day (and eats- my GOODNESS this boy loves to eat!) And doesn't that first shot make you laugh out loud? Those HUGE eyes are so very Ethan- now I understand why that guy in the grocery store made the 'eyes popping out of his head' comment. But in a good way, of course. This is such a typical Ethan expression- I love it! Though I have to admit, there is something about his big eyes and expression in that shot that reminds me a tiny bit of the Chucky doll. But I googled 'Chucky doll' and after seeing a few pictures that totally FREAKED me out(big mistake- what was I thinking googling 'Chucky doll'?), I have concluded that no, he looks nothing like Chucky. Phew... So sorry, Ethan.

Don't you love the pose he struck in #3? He is a little poser- it must be something in the genes. And the last shot is totally out of focus, but just look at those toofers! I love his teeth- or Chiclets as I like to call them. He looks like an adorable little Roger Rabbit. (Did I actually compare Ethan to Chucky, Chiclets's and Roger Rabbit in one blog post? Sheesh... some mother I am!) Seriously though, this kid is a cutie pie.

Enjoy!

Li'l GQ

Jace is overdue for a haircut, but I thought before I cut it I would take advantage of his luscious locks in some photos. I love Jace's hair this long- he looks so handsome! But it seems that every time we get out of the car or when he gets up from a nap, he has this wild sprout of hair in the back right side that nothing but a full out drenching in the bath will take care of. So before I cut it, I wanted to get some shots of him with wet, long hair because I think it looks so very GQ-ish. Poor Jace- he is such a good sport with my picture taking and primping. I am sure that it won't be too long before he really puts his foot down and getting good shots of him will be virtually impossible.

So here is my little model- don't you just love those brown eyes? He definitely got Tim's gorgeous eyes.

And for those photogs or photo enthusiasts, here is some tech info:
35mm 2.0 lens at f2.5, ss 1/80(gosh, I love this lens for that reason!), ISO 200, window to subjects left. Ran a few photoshop actions, curves layer, burning on the right side.

I know Ethan has been a little left out lately- I will post some shots of him soon.

Out Of Hand

For the last several months, Jace has developed a pretty serious obsession with all things Superhero, and although I think it is pretty hilarious, I will admit that it does worry me a bit and wear me out a lot. It all began after he read a few books about Spiderman. Then suddenly his Spiderman shirt that he got as a hand-me-down became his prized possession. He would insist on wearing that shirt every day, but, the mean mom that I am, I refused to let him. On those days when it was either in the dirty hamper or freshly laundered and hung up in the closet, he would constantly take inventory and 'check' on his shirt. I would find him just staring into his closet, where he had pushed all the shirts hanging up in front of it to the far right so he could see his beloved shirt. I am sure he was just dreaming of wearing it again.

A few weeks later he discovered the Batman (also from a library book... Hmmmmm...) And to make up for my cruelty over the spiderman shirt, I decided to make him a little homemade Batman costume using some old black material that I had laying around. Oh boy... as if he wasn't obsessed enough already! Well now this is what he runs around in all day- everyday. The other day I found him out on our back porch just like you see him below- yelling at the top of his lungs: "I.....AM.....BATMAN!!!!! " I thought it was hilarious, but I am sure some of our neighbors did not! I love watching his imagination at work- it is so fun! But after having a conversation about Batman and Spiderman not being real (which he was in tears over, because he wanted to be a REAL superhero), I am wondering if it is possible for a kids imagination to get out of hand? Am I crazy to wonder that? I am all for encouraging kids to develop their imaginations, but have just been thinking about this lately. I am probably just a worried because his tendency to obsess over things so much reminds me of myself and my own tendency to obsess (which can be both good and bad, I think). Anyways, here is my little Caped Crusader in action. He definitely makes a cute Batman!
"I....AM.....BATMAN!!!!"

"Is that the Joker I hear?"

His wall climbing skills

I think this picture illustrates the extent of the obsession: This is an empty can of hot cocoa that had a spot of chocolate stuck to the bottom. Jace dropped something in it and it made these funny eye markings. Now Jace is convinced that that is Spiderman's face and he refuses to let me throw this thing away. I have tried to put it by the garbage a few times, but Jace rescues it every time. Silly kid...

By the way, I got lots of comments from people about our date night post, so here is an update. Last night was my turn and we did Karaoke in our office. It was a BLAST!!! We even took some video footage of our solos and a duet we did together- it has got to be the funniest thing I have ever seen. I was thinking about posting it up here to give everyone a good laugh, but I am not sure I am ready to put myself that far out there. You all would never look at us the same... it really reveals what total GOOFBALLS we are! Maybe I will get up the nerve after I come to terms with my singing voice and the fact that I will never be an American Idol contender... So sad...

Take care everyone!

Letter to my boys...

My dearest Jace and Ethan,

Looking at this photo, I can't help but feel so grateful for you two little boys! This is what my life is really all about- being a mom. Being your mom. I am so blessed to have you both in my life and to be able to spend each day with you. I get so easily distracted by life sometimes that I forget how precious and fleeting this time is that I have with you. And my biggest fear is that I will blink and realize that I did not cherish it enough or that I spent more time complaining about the frustrations than enjoying all the great things about watching you just be kids. I know that someday, Jace, you are going to stop asking me to help you build and knock over your big circle of dominoes or 'check out' your latest cool trick again. And you, Ethan, will stop doing your cute little toddler dance or bringing your shoes to me asking me, in grunts, finger points, and eyebrow furrows, to put them on your feet. It is all those little pieces of your unique personalities mixed into everyday life that make being a mom so special. And so, instead of complaining about messes or yelling at your sassiness or growling in frustration over some of the very frustrating things you do sometimes, I am determined to try a little harder to just enjoy being a mom. To play with you while you still want to play with me. And to spend less time worrying about myself and my 'to do' list and more time just enjoying being with you. I love you both so much! You are my everything!

Mom

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

No, I am not talking about Christmas, you sillies. I am talking about spring in Virginia! It seems that there is so much fuss about fall being so beautiful out here (and it is beautiful), but in my opinion Spring is even more beautiful. Somehow over the course of the winter I forget that Virginia really is an incredibly beautiful place to live. I think it may have something to do with the millions of dead trees you see everywhere and grounds covered in dead, crunchy, yucky-dull-brown-colored decomposing leaves. But all the yuck makes spring seem even more amazing. Blossoms of purple, pink, red, yellow, and white are everywhere right now. And the air is crisp and the skies are so blue. And the birds are chirping (I love opening my windows in the morning when I clean up my kitchen- it makes me feel like Cinderella.) Ahh... I love it.

Well there is this one tree in particular that I love out here. I heard recently from a client of mine (who happened to have one of these trees in her yard) that they are called red bud trees. In the spring their buds turn this beautiful magentaish, plumb-colored purple. It is the most beautiful color- I wish I could make a shirt out of that color. Anyways, I really wanted to take a picture of one of these trees, but they ended up being a bit harder to come by than I anticipated. I was worried that their color would change soon, so I knew I didn't have much time. So one Thursday evening on our way to mutual I brought my camera along to get some shots. There are a bunch of these trees down by Monticello off of rt53. Of course it had to be raining that day, but did that stop me? NEVER! So I got a plastic baggie to protect my camera, and bundled up in my winter coat. Well the only tree that seemed to be accessible was right off of the road and it was right during rush hour, so after a few minutes of standing out there in the rain and having very little light and feeling like a complete MORON snuggled up against a tree in the rain with a big lens sticking out of a plastic bag, I called it quits. But I did manage this shot that I liked. The color is much more beautiful in real life, though.

I was a little bummed that I didn't get many shots, so I decided that the next day I would hunt down one of these trees on our way to the library and I would take a branch home with me for a little photoshoot. It took me FOREVER to find one of these trees that was not on someones personal property, but I finally did. And the garbage man drove by right as I broke the little branch off and I felt so stupid and nervous and guilty, like I had done something really bad. I had to keep telling myself on the way home "it is just a tree branch... BREATH". But me and my tree branch had a great photo session together. I finally got to use some of the fabric squares I bought months ago as a backdrop for florals. Aren't they pretty?

Ooops, I forgot to mention this other blossom. Borrowed from the tree by the Fluvanna Library. Who am I kidding- STOLEN. Sheesh, no wonder I was feeling guilty! It is a wonder that I can sleep at night! Perhaps I need to go talk to my bishop...

More of the stolen blossom. It doesn't look quite so beautiful now that I think of the level I stooped to in order to obtain it. That drop represents a tear- a tear from this poor blossom, longing for it's mother tree, thinking of the great leaf it would never become. I am a monster...

These are the tears of grief from all his brother and sister blossoms, back on the tree at the library. So sad...

But doesn't the texture look nice?

And here are a few shots taken of my beloved Pleasant Grove truck. Before I found and stole the blossoms.

Have you ever seen a more beautiful, rusted hinge? I think not!

I have often wondered why Tim's old Tercel does not have a passenger side-view mirror, but I think at long last I have discovered where it went! Haha, just kidding honey!

Hope you enjoyed these! I have lots of pictures of the boys that I will post soon, but I will likely get to it next week. I am swamped this week, which might explain the goofy ramblings above...

Take care everyone!