Embracing the soft

The theme over at Shutter Sisters on Tuesday was A Softer Side. The idea was to take a second glance at those blurry/out of focus/not quite right pictures instead of just deleting them or throwing them away and seeing if maybe, just maybe they hold something beautiful. Or even better yet, making a photo soft (read out of focus) on purpose to see just what turns out. I actually did this on purpose several weeks ago. Libby had taken the cushions off the couch (a regular occurrence) and was jumping back and forth between them on the floor. I wanted to get a shot of her that showed her movement from one cushion to another (although a still shot of her in mid-air would have been cool, too). Here is how it turned out. Once I looked at these I thought, "Hmmm, I wonder if this is how people get those 'there's a ghost in my house!' pictures."

And, just for smiles, I thought I'd show you how Libby was helping me vacuum the floor yesterday evening. She gets out her popper and goes throughout the room with me, popping right along. My little helper =) And don't miss the little guy, peeking over my shoulder!

Have a wonderful day, friends!

Random goodness

Here are some random pictures from the last few weeks. I took some pictures for my in-laws of them with Libby and Hudson and my nephews for my in-laws to use for their Christmas card this year. It was a beautiful day, so I took advantage of the great lighting. Hudson's face had varying degrees of this same expression in all of the pictures.

Hudson enjoyed checking out his very first Christmas tree, though he didn't enjoy the million pictures that Mama had to take to get a good one (hence the tear in his eye)

We got some snow the last few days, and Libby just had to go out and help Daddy shovel the walkway. Her cheeks were red as can be when she came back in. Oh, the biting cold goodness of winter.

And this was Libby's creation the other day when I was nursing Hudson to sleep. I heard her talking about it being her (imaginary) friend Dah Dah's birthday, and when I went in to check on her she had made this birthday cake.
Have a great week, friends!

Finally...

After a brief hiatus, I am back. I appologize that I have not posted anything new for over a week. This has been a week of many things, for me and my family. It has been a week of filling up the love tank of my little girl by saying, "Yes, sweetheart" when she asks if I can play with her (instead of doing other things, like blogging). A week of discussions about how we can take a step back as a family and rediscover living naturally, both as a way of saving money and taking ourselves out of the fast paced life of a take-all-give-nothing consumer. It has also been a week of amazing weather, beckoning Libby to come outside and play with the neighbor boys, and demanding that we leave the windows open. And finally, it has been a last several days of sinus infections as a result of open windows and chilly nights. But, now here I am. I have lots to post about, but I will begin with these.





Here is Libby, almost 2 years ago at 6 months old.















And here is Hudson, a few days ago and almost at the end of his 6th month (already!!). There were a lot of pictures, and I may post some more because I love them so much, but these were the ones I liked a lot.





Oh, the wonderful itchy scratchiness of grass!
And check out that belly hanging over his dipe!


















A quick stolen kiss from someone who loves him almost as much as mama does.
















And a peek and a smile from underneath the thing he loves almost as much as he loves mama.

I love my city

If you have never been to Marietta, Ohio before, I suggest you come to visit. It is beautiful, historic, comfortable, family friendly, and did I mention beautiful? Scott and I took our babies for an afternoon and evening having fun outside, and it just made me remember why I love this place. The storefront-lined streets beckon you, and the rivers that line the town will entrance you (just don't swim in them, or you'll grow a third arm). This is a place where people live because they want to. Where at any time of day you will see people walking along looking in stores; or running, walking, or biking along the bike trail and through the park. Where you can go and have a picnic at the gazebo and watch the squirrels run. Where you complain about the intense humidity of a river town, but know you love living here anyway. This is not a hot spot beachy ocean town. It is not a lake town with multiple canals and river-front multi-million dollar houses lining them. It is a historic, river lined, sleepy cozy friendly town. Here was our fun time in pictures. First, if you look past the big cars, you can see a small snippet of the store fronts that line the streets.



After playing in the park (which I will post pictures of later, in order to keep this post semi-short), we came downtown to walk around. Libby couldn't resist playing in the fountain, trying to touch the water. Inevitable, every summer, someone will put soap in this fountain and it will overflow with bubbles.

Next, we went down to the water to get a closer look at the geese. Libby has a love-hate relationship with those things. She got as close as she was comfortable with, and didn't go any further.

There is something about watching the water that is so relaxing. There is almost always a person or two sitting down here, just watching the boats and birds on the water.

When we were ready to eat, we ordered a couple of burgers from a new little bar and grill on the river. Libby decided to sit in the grass while we waited for out food. Once we sat down and started eating, the birds came and hounded up for scraps. I couldn't believe how bold these little guys were! They even snuck up under the bench we were sitting at and got a fry or two that had fallen.

Just as we were finishing up with our food, a couple came up in full Scottish garb and starting playing music. The guy was wonderful with the bagpipes, and the lady did alright with the drum. It seemed that she was more interested in swinging her sticks around than keeping a beat. Still it was nice to listen to, and immediately drew a crowd. But, the very best part, and the part that made Scott say, "Boy, this is quite a town.", was right before we left. A muslim looking family (I don't know their exact origin, but they looked Muslim) came up to listen to the music. One of the guys went up and stood in between the kilt wearers and had another guy in his family take a picture. We had a chuckle as I snapped a quick shot and we headed back to our car. I love this place!

What about you? Tell me what you love about where you live.

Check these out

I was messing around with the settings on my camera after a great friend and fellow photography junky told me a few tips. Most of the pictures came out normal, like the first picture here.

But then I got a few of these. Pretty cool, huh?

snotty slimy baby

Here are some pictures of my slimy snotty teething boy. When he doesn't have a shirt on (in case you haven't noticed by now, my children spend most of the time with very little clothes on) he just gets so slimy. He needs to get a tooth, and soon!!

Check out the snot.

Here he's looking at the big tree outside.


This is actually Libby's blanky that he getting all snotty and wet. That's what happens when she brings hers over to him.

Playing music

Here are some pictures of my babes playing music in the sunshine coming through the window. I saw them playing and just couldn't not take some photos. Unfortunately, Libby was in her usual attire of nothing but panties, so I can't post any of her. I loved the sun shining on their skin! They had a blast, and I had a blast watching them.

Another passion

Photography!! I just love capturing amazing things on my camera. Here are some pictures that I have taken.

These are pictures of Libby. I could add a lot more, but we'll just do these.

And here are some scene pictures.

I also do pregnancy and birth pictures, but I am waiting until I get permission before I post some examples of those.