Missing in action...

If you have ever wondered why Wesley seems horribly under-represented in the 5,372,804 pictures I have taken over the past year, this is why...

La, la, la - Just taking some everyday pictures of Ella - nothing going on here.



Hmm... Wesley's watching her, maybe I can sneak in a picture of him.

Okay, that first one wasn't so great, but maybe I can get another without him noticing. (#1 & 2 below - click to see it larger).
Well, stink! I'm caught.
And, this is what ensues from that point on - an elaborate attempt to escape without being photographed successfully.



He did give up this one, and it would have been pretty good if it hadn't turned out blurry.



Oh, well, the mamarazzi lives to stalk her son another day. At least now you know what I'm up against.

Three Reasons...

Three Reasons
1. You need to have a reason to get up in the morning.
2. You need to have a reason to be proud of what you do each day.
3. You need to have a reason to go home at night.

What are your reasons?

I saw this on Carrie Colbert’s blog (something one of her professors said in class) & it got me thinking. I’ve been considering my future a lot lately – looking at some possible changes to be made & praying God would show me His will & guide my decisions. Just wanted to share this little tidbit & ask you – What are your reasons? You don’t have to tell me, just think about them.

A very obvious one for me is no. 3. I have three very good reasons to go home at night (a place I love to be, in spite of its tendency to look like a tornado has ravaged it) – they are a boy, a girl & a man – three people that I love more than I could have ever imagined possible. Three people who I strive to love more fully & unselfishly each day for the rest of my life.

Crawling queen...

This first video is from Dec. 4th (she had been crawling for exactly a week)



And, this one is from Tuesday.



She can really cover some ground these days. Oh, and that slapping noise, that's her hands hitting the floor. It sounds like a duck walking through our house when she's crawling around. Anthony thinks it's so funny that she does that.

Baby picture comparison...

I get asked a lot who I think Ella looks more like, me or Anthony. I don't have any pictures handy of Anthony when he was a baby - I think he's about two or so in this one. The back of mine has my age as one in this pic. The picture of Ella was taken this past fall at seven months. Sorry for the bad scan - I was too tired to find a dust rag to clean the scanner (shhh... don't tell anyone or I might lose my good housekeeping award). Anyways, the point to this is - you decide who she looks more like (as always, click on the picture to see it larger). Feel free to leave a comment & let me know what you think.

Photo shoot progression...

Sometimes people ask me how I get such good pictures of Ella (not trying to brag on myself) & I have to tell them the truth...I take a Lahaaaattt (translation: LOT) of photos to get one good one. Case in point: I wanted a picture of her in her ultra-cute Christmas dress that my sweet friend, Sunny, sent for her, so I started shooting (click on the pictures to see my little comments)

Awww....now that's the smile & the well-behaved girl I'm looking for. Then...

It can take lots more shots than just ten to get a good one, but I thought you might enjoy the progression of a typical shoot with Ella.