Pretty Light

A few weeks ago while Addilyn and I were both sick, Bryan put up Christmas lights. In a serious effort to be supportive and festive (since Bryan is lacking a Christmas gene) we came outside and sat on the grass while he worked away. The light was absolutely beautiful. So clear but not too harsh... it was just yummy. So, I went inside and grabbed my camera. (You know it was pretty if I powered through my temp of 103 and my light headedness to go get it.) These pictures are rather pointless but since I've been a slacker on my blog and my poor Grandma is probably about to kill me because I'm not really posting much, I figured I'd put some on here. So, enjoy Addilyn being forced to play in the pretty light while sick. She was a good sport. :)

Jolly Ol' Saint Nick

On Tuesday we went and visited Santa Claus. It was great because there were NO lines! (One nice thing about Bryan having a random day in the middle of the week off.) Anyways, Carter was BEYOND excited to sit on Santa's lap. He was shy but told Santa that he wants a race car for Christmas... (oops.) Addi on the other hand... not so excited. Would not get NEAR the jolly fellow. Oh well, maybe next year.
Bryan was telling Carter a few weeks ago about how Santa brings you coal if you're naughty. Carter thought for a second and said, "What's coal? Garbage?" Stifling a laugh, Bryan told him that was exactly what it was. Now whenever Carter is being unreasonable we kindly remind him that Santa is watching, to which Carter will reply (and I don't want him to bring me garbage." LOVE that kid!

The closest we could get her to him.

Santa gave all the kids books. Carter loved it.

Not Dead, Just Sick...

Nope, just a flu. Sorry to disappoint. Addilyn was sick and so am I. I swear I'll post soon. My other excuse is that I have been too busy working on other people's pictures to work on my own. Lame, I know.

Scottsdale Train Park

Carter LOVES trains. He LOVES them. (I guess all little boys do.) So, last week we took the kids to a train park. It was really cool. We got to ride around on a train and see a few model trains. We even got to go in a train that a few Presidents have traveled in. I wish we had brought lunch because there were some awesome playgrounds. But, since we went on a holiday there were also a thousand kids. I want to take them back some time when there won't be so many kids. At any rate, here are some pictures from the day.


This is the model train. Carter seriously watched it FOREVER! It got to the point that I told him I was going to leave him if he didn't come with me.
In the Presidents' train.

It's FINALLY cool enough for Addilyn to wear this super cute jacket. It's nearly too small. :(

Riding the Carousel. Carter wasn't real sure about it. He ended up liking it but Addiyln freaked. Very opposite their personalities...

Heading out on the train ride.

I Love Them...

So, here's a picture. She, however, does not love them... to which I say, "Tough wazoozies, Lady!"

I know this just looks like a picture of Carter sleeping (and it is) but it's a milestone for me. I just finished a flash course this weekend from my AWESOME photography teacher. It opened me to a whole new world. Seriously. So, even if Carter had had his eyes wide open (that would have been a little creepy) he wouldn't have had any red eye or anything. It was PITCH black in his room when I took this picture! YEAH!

The New Blanket

I have a friend, Beth, who has an Etsy store. She is such a talented, amazing person. She is the one who made Addilyn's DARLING tutu for Halloween. Anyways, I had her make me this blanket for Carter. It's made of all of my favorite pieces of clothing from the first 2 years of his life. It turned out SO cute!! She finished it really quickly and made sure to talk to me about what I wanted in the middle of the blanket (thus his "Mommy" shirt is in the middle) and I am beyond impressed with it. I am so excited to some day pass it along to his wife and kids. She even included some pockets and things from his clothes so it's also entertaining for him to play with.
When I showed it to him and told him what it was he was SO excited. He absolutely LOVES it. It has replaced his quilt. Seriously, he makes us pull his quilt down and sleep with this. I also love that it's not TOO big. He can drag it around with him without tripping all over it. Anyways, I wanted to share this with all of you because if you're like me, you still have a few of those old outfits that you can't bring yourself to give away. Well, call Beth. She'll make you one of these puppies!!! Thanks, Beth! We love it.

Beth's website is: www.loveseptember.etsy.com

Halloween

A few days late but better late than never, right? Carter begged us to be a ghost. Yep. A ghost... so a can of white hair spray, black and white face paint, and one pillowcase later we have a ghost. He loved it and even scared himself when he looked in the mirror the first time. He loved trick-or-treating and loved passing out the candy even more. Addilyn was the cutest little bumble bee around. It was a great evening that was followed up by two baths to get all the crap off Carter. :)

Pumpkin Patch

The Tuesday before Halloween we went to the Pumpkin Patch with Bryan's family. It was really fun. They have a little section where the kids can ride on this little "train" and jump in a bouncy and pet some animals. The kids had a blast... with the exception of Addilyn's little meltdown. :) Then we went back and carved pumpkins at Grammie's house. (My camera battery died or else you would be seeing pictures of that as well.) :)

What a GIRL!

Addilyn LOVES wearing my bracelets... LOVES them. Every morning while I am getting ready for the day and Carter is running around like a maniac she just sits down in front of my sink, opens up the cupboard, and gets out every last bracelet in there. Those are my older bracelets I don't really wear anymore. Good thing because she has a bad habit of breaking them. (We're up to at least 5.) I love the way she stacks them on her arm. From wrist to elbow. Then she'll walk around with her arm in the air so they don't fall off. So cute.

Family Pictures: Take One

One of the great things about being a photographer is that you have photographer friends... photographer friends who want to trade family pictures... for free. Nice, huh? So, I traded with TWO friends this fall. Here are some pictures from when I went out with Ashley. She did a great job but Addilyn was BEYOND cranky and it was REALLY REALLY windy so both mine and Addi's hair was all over the place. Seriously, I looked like Medusa. So, when we went out with my other friend (pictures from that shoot coming soon) it was luckily much better weather and a much happier Addilyn. So, without further adieu, my family:

And a few that I took while Ash was shooting Addilyn: