The Joy of Love- Day 01

THE JOY OF LOVE

I really enjoy taking pictures but I have no clue what I am doing. Through a blog that I follow I saw an opportunity to learn a little for free through Willette Photography. I will be participating in a free e-class to learn new things about taking pictures. My beautiful subjects, will of course, be my girls! I hope to learn a few things but mainly have fun taking pictures of the girls. Please do not expect much but know that I am trying, hopefully I can keep up and have a pictures posted every day. Here is an overview of the class.

suggested class materials:
*someone(s) you love
*a camera
*a desire to stretch your photographic skills

what you can expect from this willette JOY class:
*a daily email during the month of february
the email will contain a photo idea and occasional tips
*a public flickr gallery to share photos
*an album template download at the end for all of your photos you take during the class
a journey to help you document your loved one(s)

Classes began February 1, 2011 via email. But you can still sign up...I am doing 2 days today. Be sure to sign up HERE to be included on the JOY!

DAY 01

What They Do...

(Photograph your loved ones "doing" something)

Q. playing with her toys.

C. having fun gluing artwork.

Today's camera tip: Lighting

Snow Day #2

We attempted to play in the snow today. It took 10 minutes to get everyone dressed, the girls crying the entire time. (Mommy wanted to cry too by the time we were ready!) Claire said snow and cold a few times before we tried letting them down to play. Play....they did not. We were outside for all of about 5 minutes. It took another 10 minutes to get everyone undressed and then it was time for naps. They wore themselves out just getting dressed and undressed!!! Maybe next year they will like it a little better. I am perfectly fine with waiting.

Blizzard 2011

Today was the day of the big blizzard of 2011. Record snow fell here in Tulsa. A whopping 14" was the final total.

I had Jared run to the store yesterday before he came home from work to get a few things in case we got snowed in. He said the isles were bare and that it was so busy that there were no carts and he had to park at the back of the parking lot. He deserves kudos for walking through the store with a case of water and a super size box of baby wipes. (along with english muffins because they were completely out of bread)

Jared was off work today, the city offices and his lab were closed. I was very thankful for this because I would have been a nervous wreck with him driving. The girls loved having their daddy home in the middle of the week. He will be home tomorrow too, which made it easier to get Claire to bed tonight, we told her when she wakes up daddy will be here to play. We had fun watching it snow practically all day, we also enjoyed Samson frolicking, as I called it, in the snow as well. The girls and I didn't have plans to go out today but just knowing that we were stranded made today feel like a snow day to us too. I took lots of pictures and we had fun playing inside. We are hoping the wind chill won't be as bad tomorrow so we can let Claire play outside. It will be her first official time to play in the snow. Rest assure that I will have plenty of pictures to post. ;)

Jared was bound and determined to get both vehicles in the garage, which we have never done and never thought possible. But where there's a will there's a way!!!!!!!
The girls loved daddy time!

Samson in the snow. (backyard)

Samson frolicking!

The snow drift outside our front door.

The snow up against our garage.

He looks so cute in his Bah Humbug hat!

He got one side cleared.

The front of our house, the snow is beautiful!

While daddy was outside working we were inside learning about snowflakes. While Claire painted her snowflakes she learned that God made the snow and that every snowflake is different. (I am sure if asked she will not remember anything I told her. She just kept wanting more paint.)

Claire loves to smile for the camera when the timer is on, she liked to watch the red blinky light.

Quinn wanted to help Claire with her snowflake, Claire did not take to the idea...

So we moved back to the big table. Poor Quinn!!!

I love this girl!

Quinn was pretending to paint.

I guess she decided it was better to just eat the brush rather than pretend paint. Don't worry, there is no paint on the end of that brush...it was brand new.

Looking forward to snow day number two!!! I will "try" not to post so many pictures.

*Picture(s) of the week*

Samson becomes a beast in the winter time. His fur gets so puffy and he looks so huge! Sam is 5 years old.

French Fry Tea

Claire got a play kitchen for her birthday from Jared and I. She got all of the play food for Christmas. She loves to cook! She puts things in the oven and then pretends to press the timer and says "beep, beep, beep". She serves us some very interesting meals. Today I got a banana, pickle, donut, and hot dog between two hamburger buns. She called it my samich. (sandwich) It was a little difficult to keep all of those things balanced inside the buns but she managed. I also was given french fry tea to drink. It was quite the treat! Quinn likes to suck and chew on the play ketchup bottles and the chicken leg. It was the perfect gift, we have so much fun playing with it.

Music Class playdate with MOPS

We had a play date with MOPS today. It was a music class demonstration. Claire and Quinn loved it! We did a Kindermusik session this past summer with Claire, she liked it but I think this year she would really enjoy it. She has come out of her shell more and I think would participate a little better now. She did today anyway. It is too expensive for me to take both girls and to sign up for a class but we had a good time today. Here are some pictures of the girls playing instruments and having fun.

Quinny Q

It is hard to believe that Quinn is almost 11 months old. It makes me sad....I really need my baby to stay a baby. She crawls faster than any baby I have seen...she has fast and turbo fast. She is still pulling up to everything and walking the couch. She still has not tried walking yet. That is fine with me. :) She has this crouching on one knee and on one foot thing that's she does all the time, it looks like she is going to stand right up. (See picture) We have started to give her more table foods. She has 8 teeth so I figure why not. She seems to like just about everything we have given her so far. She loves music and has this cute little jumping dance that she does. She claps a lot and will try singing when music is on. Her newest word is UH OH and it is so cute to hear her say it. She likes to drop things on purpose and then say uh oh. It is almost worth playing the pick up game with her just to hear her say it over and over. I am excited about her 1 year appt. I can't wait to see how much she has grown. I am really hoping she weighs 20 pounds so we can turn her around in her car seat. That will be so fun! (I am weird I know) She is now wearing 12 months clothes, the coolest thing is that I saved Claire's clothes and they are in the right size and season. Quinn's wardrobe doubled!!! It is fun to see her in outfits that were Claire's. I am very thankful that it finally worked out that they can share clothes. Quinn's hair is finally getting long enough that it doesn't stick straight up anymore. It still sticks out a little but not by much. (Tear, sniffle sniffle) She is growing up and there is nothing I can do about it.