RoyalMom

Working on some photos for a local dog kennel, and got this cute pup today. He's going out for a "romp and rassle" in the play yard.

Just kidding!

I finally got something to put over my flash, to soften the blow, so-to-speak and it does a decent job. In a pinch, I can use my flash now without capturing a bunch of ghosts against a black background.

This was one of the first test shots, in the dining room with the light off and evening daylight through the window. Xander is giving me his usual face. He's got a rebellious streak, like his mama!

And the kids went bowling tonight. I tried another black and white on this one of Isaac, chilling at the table. He actually got a few good shots in! No flash allowed in the alley, so it was a bit tricky.

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I needed fill flash to compensate for the bright lanes behind the bowlers, but I still wanted to show how my two year old carried the six pound ball all by himself! Threw it ****slowly***down the lane. My brother Casey helped him quite a bit. Thanks, bro.

Three brothers today. Maybe I'll graduate from head shots soon, lol!

My friend's son (shown below, with the silly face) is having a brain tumor taken out in the morning, and she wanted to get some photos at the hospital before he goes.

He has a website here.

Here he is with his mama. He's seven.

Hopefully, I can get away without using the flash, but I'll have it just in case. He goes in at 5am and should be out of surgery by noon. :(

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However, this was a nice change from the toilet paper flushing. Gotta love this creativity!

I downloaded Google Earth and this program is a blast!!! Its a satellite image taken two years ago, and I'm not sure how often they update it.

It gives the kids a nice perspective on the world, and how it looks from space. We zoomed out, we zoomed in. We found our house and "drove" around town.

Then we got a little crazy, and zoomed over to check out the capital and the White House, NYC and Lady Liberty. We flew over to SF and looked at the Golden Gate Bridge.

Then we got a little MORE crazy, and flew over to Europe and Asia. We zoomed in on the Eiffel Tower, cruised over the Great Wall of China.

Some areas are more detailed than others, and the accuracy is not 100%. When we entered our address, we were directed to the house two doors down...but still very cool!

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Dang! This was hard! Nothing fancy...just my mug today.

This little cutie let me practice on him today. I hope he lets me practice again, when the rain stops!

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Thanks to pbskids.org. And check out my "retro" bar stool, acquired for a few dollars from my friends at Goodwill. Sooooo comfy! LOL

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Xander! He is developing quite a personality in his second year.

I wouldn't define our parenting style as "passive" but we are dedicated non-spankers, aspiring to maintain a positive, loving environment. Regardless of our position and role modeling, Xander has a passionate personality, that responds with immediate squeals of excitement or angry hitting; nothing in between.

I've had to pull him off his older brother, in a fight over a toy. His tiny hands were slapping away at Isaac's head, and then he tried to go in for some biting.

Trying to be so big...

Now, wherever we go, a shroud of loud screeching accompanies us.

We walked through the grocery store tonight, and from the time we arrived to well after we left, Xander was making his presence known. It seems he has entered into this new phase of squealing, yelling and screaming his protest all day long. Most likely testing out his ability to make things happen?

For example, he starts out in the carrier, screaming to get out of it and into the cart. Then he quickly screams to get back in the carrier. When I try to avoid the game by sticking with a firm "no," I get screamed out very loudly for a long time. His focus and commitment to his cause is impressive!

In public, as people start staring our way, I find myself "checking out" a little. My brain fogs over and I start to tune out his noise and ignore the on-lookers. I guess its time for another bout of parenting books, because I am at a complete loss for what to do.

Where is the volume button on these kids? Another reason I love photographs...they look so serene here, don't they? My little lovies.