Softball and other stuff

Do you like the smaller photos better then the large ones that fall out of the frame a little? Please let me know!

What's wrong with outfield anyway? NOTHING! I am totally in love with playing outfield. The last two games I played in left and had a blast fielding all the balls. Yesterday I had a really fun catch too. It was really low and short so I had to run hard to get up to it and at an angle. My teammate was going behind me though in case I didn't get it so I went for the catch instead of the bounce. It hit my glove about two inches above the ground! Yay, me. There is also another fabulous benefit. It takes a lot of running just to get out there and back every inning. We had a lot of innings on this game too. My friend Lisa and I are hoping to find another league to play on when this one is done in a couple of weeks. Maybe Guy can make one of my last two games and take some photos. Because he is working nights right now this week and next weeks games are not ones I could play. A few nice ladies who came to watch and want the team to win watched the kids last night and will come next week for me to play. Sweet! Last night Blake had an excalating needs list of distractions to keep the mama's boy from melting down copletely. Fisrt was a sippy of milk, second was getting out of the stroller, third was getting back in with a used soda bottle with some rocks (maraca? lol), fourth was his passy, fifth was keep the passy add a soccer ball, sixth was keep the passy add a softball, and the seventh distraction was goldfish! All this needed for one hours worth of entertainment! He's such a mama's boy.

Here's the mama's boy at a church game night a few weeks ago. He's got just a hint of a cleft in his chin like me.


What a difference a year makes!

Here we are with the kids June 22nd last year at the Washington DC temple.


This year. Madison decided she didn't want her photo taken. Blake was just hollering happily because she was hollering. They look so big now. It's amazing what the first year does for kids in growth and maturity. They are no longer little blobs of feed and change me.


She's a little calmer here.


We finally decided to just turn around for at least one good shot... I think it's time to start wearing my big girl shoes again. Guy is making me look short!


Next Saturday is the Millbrook Music & Art Faire in downtown Clayton. I'm going to have a booth to sell my fine art pictures for the first time in my life! What a huge step. So I'm super busily working to get everything together ordered and put together by next Saturday! Luckily I'll have electricity and can bring my computer for hosting a catalogue of prints not readily for sale and special orders of large sizes. The event is from 10am to 6pm. For more information click on the photo or here. The link is to a specific town blog post. There should be other posts with info too. I'd love to see all of you local people there! They are supposed to have quite a few interactive things for the kiddos. Either just before of after I will have all of the prints available online too! Look for the link soon.

Birthday cake fun

Madison is officially a two step wonder. Oh wait, I meant to say lunger! She will completely get her balance before attempting to walk then lunge forward after the first step or two. This is causing the majority of her forehead bruises. I hope she gets it soon, but she is probably going to be one of those kids who take a few months longer to walk.






This photo apeals to me for so many reasons. A couple are it's so my mom and Blake has a little boy look to him.


Maddy loves her grandma.


We waited until my moms (grandma) visit to have the kids birthday cake smash and photos. Their first birthday was on April 18th, and we ended up giving them their cakes on May 13th. This also happened to be their grammy's birthday AND their original due date! Pretty cool coincidence. The week was so packed with stuff and when Maria could do the cakes it just happened to be on that day.

The kids are as adorable as usual. I with I hadn't been such a mess that day. When I take pictures of other people I am calm, collected and work with whatever situation is presented to me. Not so with my own family. UGHHHH. It is pretty hard to be the parent when behind the camera and in photographer mode. My kids did not have the, "Oh wow, this cake stuff is sooooo cool" reaction we (Me) were hoping for. Guy gets edgy and short when my camera comes out. I think it's because he knows I generally have secret expectations. So then we start being grumpy with each other. The next thing that happens is what always happens when parents get edgy... The kids get grumpy. What a great attitude to start out with. No wonder they didn't take to the cakes!

Nanny (Guy's mom) will love the cakes. The Australian animals were for her. They were made by my friend Maria who is a rock star cake maker. She cranked out these babies after her family went to bed and still had to go to her full time job the next morning.




We have four colors of diapers the babies wear so we just happened to have matching ones!
This is what happened when we first set them down. Madison, as usual, hated the cakes on site wanting nothing to do with them. Blake, our adventurer, went right in to play.


She pushed the cake away with all her might. He just watches her pitch a fit.




He wanted to share his one with grandma while Maddy continued her fit.


Then Guy offered her a magical taste of frosting. Like the true girl she is (so unlike her mama) she loved the sugary sweetness.


Then we had the not so bright idea of giving Blake a taste of it too. He is just like his mama (yay son!!!) with NO love for such delights.


Madison was now a happy little girl.




While Blake decided it was now a horrid experience.




Some daddy time helped a bit.


Madison is very happily eating her cake (frosting) now.


I love this shot of Blake hating the cake


Oh look how much he soooo doesn't want it!


But mama can make it all better. For those who didn't know it, Guy is a great photographer. Thanks honey!!


Love this one! It was also the last shot with my really long hair. Speaking of my hair it was cut about 4-6 inches shorter Thursday last week. I flat ironed it to make it look nice when Guy got home. He didn't notice. Not the next day or even the next. I finally had to tell him it had been cut. Really only one person noticed. It was Dianna from church who also just cut quite a bit off her length. The kids still pull my hair, but not quite as often as before.


My baby girl and sugar. Hopefully she wont be getting any more of this stuff anytime soon. Guy and I definitely agree it was a one time thing.


She's such a big girl, but she is remarkably fit and lean.


She moved onto Blake's cake when he vacated for the cuddles.


His tastes just as good!


Then she wanted to spend time with her daddy. This face she's making cracks me up.


We put him in to try again. Same reaction. But...


When he figured out he could just play without tasting all was well again.




Love the foot with the rest of him out of focus.


Blake playing with the hair paste.


Madison loves to move hands to do what she wants them to do. Here she is making Guy clap.


Just in case he didn't understand she clapped for him.


Those cute cubby fingers with all the frosting on them.

Yo yo yo!

When your family prayer has 'please help our bodies heal from the injuries sustained though out the day' you know it has been a pretty interesting day.

To begin with poor Madison is not having nearly as easy a time of learning to walk as Blake did. She is now taking 2-3 steps several times a day with at least one head crack each day. I feel like I'm constantly on concussion watch. I'm not taking any photos of the oft repeated goose eggs out of fear. I think you know what I mean. She bit it once again right on the forehead. Poor girl. Even when a big goose egg shows up she only cries for a minute or two.

We picked up a glass storm door and a small big wheel from a fellow Freecycler. He did not take off all the door frame pieces and the little things to hold in the glass were missing. Guy had some stuff to temporarily put around the glass to hold it on and installed the door with the one frame piece. The rest of the pieces we'll order for about $35-40. It looks fantastic. However we really need to invest in better tools before we do another thing with the ones we have. As guy was drilling the pilot hole for the frame piece the drill bit broke. The remaining spinning piece skewered Guy's finger! Blood immediately spurted out, and he yelled, "blood!" to me across the house. I grabbed a towel meeting him in the kitchen. Luckily the wound was on the edge of his thumb. He has an entrance and an exit wound. We've been putting Bacitracin on it in hopes he will not develop an infection.

Blake is pretty rough and gets banged up a bit in his adventures.

I'm just plain out of shape after two plus years of little to no exercise, and prone to little injuries all the time now. My softball team is doing a great job of helping me be more inspired to work on my fitness. Now all I need to do is find a workout partner who would like to work out with me 3-5 days a week. Some support, nudging and inspiration are sorely needed. It would be nice to be in good condition when we try to have another kiddo.

While my mom was here we went to Marbles Kids Museum. It was a lot of fun. We only explored a bit of the first floor and one courtyard. Man there is so much to do and see. Some of the stuff is too advanced for them, but hopefully this year they will grow into much of the stuff since we got a membership.


But wouldn't you know it, the only place one of my kids got hurt was in the little baby area!


This is a shot catching him falling off the ledge, only I didn't know he was falling at the time. He cracked his chin on the ledge causing him to bleed from his lip.


Both of them loved watching the downtown traffic out this window as much as the water later.


The water had to be their favorite! Another little girl was playing in the second big bowl of water.




Just outside there were a couple of water features. This one was perfect for them to play in.


Blake wanted to cuddle with Grandma more then play in the water with Madison. Grandma surely did not mind!


She would have stayed out there for a long time... But when I pulled out the food to feed the ravenous Blake she scooted right over to demand her (smaller) share.


Little baby/toddler hands are soooo cute.


Until next time!