Natalia - 4 days new

This little doll is the niece of my longest childhood friend.  It was just fate for me to have the opportunity to photograph her.  She gave me a run for my money the first hour and half.  She was so awake for being only 4 days old.  But then she gave up and turned into a sack of potatoes and let me move and pose her to my heart's content.  She's half Polish which is funny because little Iris, who I've been photographing is also half Polish :o)

Here are way too many of my favorites.

We're here!

Sorry for disappearing without warning.  Thursday, the day after Peyton got her tubes we went off to Jacksonville.  It was a busy 4 days while we were there.  We shopped, Hunter spent a couple nights at Uncle Ronnie's, I had dinner with some friends, and also squeezed in two photo shoots.  Can't wait to share some pics.  And then when we got home Hunter got hit with the stomach bug that Peyton had 2 days before.  He missed his first soccer practice and we're missing a day at Sea World today :o(

No post is complete with pictures so here are a couple phone pics while I try to edit the rest.

Peyton managed to screw the top off my mascara and then use it as lipstick when I wasn't looking.

I let Hunter play on the iPad as much as he wanted one day.  Peyton was sick and sleeping a lot and mommy just wanted to rest.  It was a great babysitter :o)

Tubes *UPDATED*

This morning I'm with my girl and she's getting tubes put in her ears.

I'm not really scared.  It's very routine and such a quick procedure.

She'll get a little gas and go to sleep.

I'm more worried about the 3 hours after I pluck her out of bed 

before the sun comes up when she can't have ANYTHING to eat or drink.  

She's not gonna be happy.

I can hear her repeated requests for something to drink already.

And I'll be alone in trying to entertain her while we wait her turn.

But these tubes will be worth it.

The ear infections that won't quit will be all gone.

And I didn't realize it before, but her hearing is not so great either.

It was kinda sad to watch her during the hearing test the other day.

That will surely improve.

She actually talks quite a bit for not hearing so well.

I can't imagine how much she'll be talking after this.

Updated to add:

Peyton did GREAT this morning.  She never once asked for food or drink in the 3 hours she was awake before the procedure.


About 15 minutes after they took her the doctor came out to give me the report.  Then 15 minutes later they called me back to see her.  She was awake, alert, and someone was holding her.  She had no clue what just happened.  She sucked down a juice box and the promptly flipped out once it was empty.


Popsicle to the rescue.  After that was gone we were on our way home.
She's been sleeping for 3 hours now as I type this.
So proud of her!

Yee Haw!!

Saturday was a big day!  A stadium concert featuring the Zac Brown Band and Kenny Chesney.  Megan and I along with our friends Chad & Kristin bought tickets together back in December.  This was before I found out that Megan is moving far away.  She's been my country concert buddy for a while so needless to say, I'm so glad we were able to do this before she leaves.

These stadium concerts feature 4 acts so it starts early and last all evening.  So fun!  I've been to several, but it's been years.  Such a different experience when you're outside.  We decided to leave in plenty of time to walk around a bit before the concert.  It's a good thing we did because the traffic was awful and took us twice as long to get there.

We committed to wearing our boots for the event.  Not the most comfortable shoes, but it seems as though we girls are willing to pay a price for cuteness.

We kind of matched :)

We didn't meet up with Chad & Kristin until we got to our seats.

Our seats weren't bad.  I would really love to be front row at a concert one day.

Everyone was good, but Kenny puts on a the best show.  He sang forever!

And Zac Brown came back out at the end and played quite a few songs with him.

Kenny and Uncle Kracker played Darlin'.  This video is horrible quality, but hopefully you can hear it okay.  This is for Nic, Carrie, and Lisa Rossi :)

Big Brother

 Hunter is such a great big brother.  I always knew he would be.  He's such a sweet kid.  He always says hello to Peyton when he first sees her in the morning.  Most of the time he's willing to share whatever toy she's trying to take from him.  He helps her up onto the couch.  He brings her cup if she's looking for it.  He shares his snack if she wants some.  He kisses her goodnight before bed.  She's finally at an age where I find them playing together in another room for several minutes that don't require my supervision.  It's fun to hear...and watch.

This seems like such a typical big brother photo....making silly faces in the background.

Happy Weekend!!

Embrace the Camera: March 17

I think I've skipped a couple weeks of Embrace the Camera, but I'm back!

This was a first.  Peyton sat with us during story time before bed.  I yelled across the house for Daddy to bring the camera.  Had to capture it!

We thought she was on the mend, but the morning after this was taken we were right back at the doctor. We'll be seeing an ENT next week.

Kids watching Daddy mow.
We've missed Daddy.  He's been gone for work all week, but returned last night.  So glad he's home!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

A great GAP/Banana Republic/Old Navy coupon starts today.  30% your entire purchase and it's good at the outlets!  GET IT HERE.  Happy shopping!

Hair

I don't know what to do with Peyton's hair lately.  It's growing in the back, but the bangs just hang in her face.  I want them to grow and I don't want to give her real bangs.  The only thing she'll tolerate are ponytails.  Clips and bows get ripped out at some point and many times when I'm not looking and then it's goodbye to another bow.  Forget headbands, that's not happening.  So sad because I have so many.

So, we have 80's hair.  This bow didn't last very long.

And we ended up with this very sad looking 80's ponytail. (Outfit #2 for the day.)

Pigtails just stick straight up into the air.  She's like a little who.

Boys

How many ways can you ride a toddler toy down the driveway?  You're about to find out!  The creativity of little boys is so funny.