I ♥ Faces - Sweet Dreams

The theme for Week 48 at I ♥ Faces is "Sweet Dreams".  When I read about the theme for this week, all I could envision was perusing picture after picture of tiny little scrunched up newborns. 

I didn't really take any creative shots of the kiddo when she was a newborn.  (Heck, I was lucky I knew where to find the camera in those days.)  And I have not been fortunate enough yet to take newborn shots of any of my friends' little ones.  Oh, and my daughter is a super, super light sleeper, so trying to get a picture of her sleeping nowadays is a feat in itself.  So I'm pretty proud I was able to capture this one.  (And call me crazy, but I love that she still sucks her thumb.)

Oh how I can't wait to check out all those sleeping baby pictures that I'm sure will be popping up throughout the entries this week!  Check them out here.

Her First Ballet

On Saturday I took Temperance to the "tiny tot" version of The Nutcracker with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.  Just a mommy/daughter date.  And what I hope is to become a yearly tradition. 

The DSO puts on an abbreviated version of The Nutcracker for ages 3 - 5.  The audience was filled with non-stop chatter from toddlers!  (I won the tickets via Twitter from @detroitmommies).  It was so nice to be somewhere and not worry whether she would make a scene or not, because all the other parents were dealing with the same thing.

So Temperance and I got dressed up and headed downtown.  She kept saying "We're going to the ballet!" on your drive.  We had front row seats in the balcony, and she rotated between sitting on my lap (her seat remained empty) and standing at the edge of the wall looking out.  She often broke out in her own version of dance, trying to mimic what the ballerinas were doing.  And she kept asking so many "Why?" questions the entire performance.  She was so well-behaved (all little candy bribery helped too), and I could tell that she genuinely had a good time.

And call me a sap, because I admit I did get a little teary-eyed.  As she was sitting on my lap, starring in amazement at the dancers on the stage, I was overjoyed to be sharing that moment with her.  It was her first ballet. It was her first time to see The Nutcracker.  And I was able to share it with her.  (I still remember when my mom took my sisters and I to see The Nutcracker for the first time.)

Thanks Auntie Lisa for coming over, nice and sweaty, after aerobics class to capture a picture of us before we left the house.

Almost Wordless Wednesday

Waiting for Santa and the Mayor to light the Christmas tree

Photo Walk with Boka Studios - Part II

If you missed Part I in this installment, you will forever be lost.  {Just teasing} Click here for a quick description of the Boka Studios Photo Walk in participated in on Saturday at the Eastern Market in Detroit, as well as some of the non-model pictures I snapped along the way. 

In Part II, I'm simply going to share some of my favorite pictures of the models.  The models either belonged to the professional photographers or were friends of the professional photographers.  And they were all very comfortable in front of a camera!

Really, how cool were our locations in Detroit?  The colors and textures were rockin'!

Ready for Christmas

On Thanksgiving evening, my brother helped hubby pull all the Christmas decorations from the attic. My brother reminded me that he put all of those boxes in the attic when we moved home at the end of June. And hubby continued to jab at me that I have more Christmas decorations than Bronners.

I failed to have the heart to count just how many boxes there where. I know they filled up the spare bedroom (turned sister Amy’s bedroom, who was off in Chicago). And I knew that more than half of the decorations hadn’t been displayed in several Christmases.

I promised hubby that I would cut the amount of decorations in half. And I’m pretty close to fulfilling that promise. Anything I hadn’t used in a while and anything I no longer liked made it to a large pile on the dining room table. My oldest sister and my mom took a few things. The remainder I plan to take to a local home consignment store and the local outreach center.

We usually don’t put up a tree until mid-December, as we always get a fresh tree for Christmas. We usually cut down our tree as well. Well, last year it was not feasible since there aren’t really Christmas tree farms in the Dallas area. And this year, with Matt only home for a few days, we opted to just buy a tree from a lot and put it up this past weekend. Thankfully, it wasn’t the traditional lot of my childhood. Greenfield Village had imported balsam firs from Nova Scotia – trees that are a rich, deep green with a lithe, willowy shape and a luscious smell, too.

Temperance helped decorate the tree. And I was happy that we were able to pull out my glass German Christmas ornaments again. She did pretty well with listening and not touching the ornaments too much. She only broke one! (There is a kiddo-safe tree up in the basement too). When my sister asked her if she helped decorate the tree, she replied “No, because I broke an ornament”. Poor thing.

This is the earliest the house has ever been decorated. I’m happy everything is up. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the tree stays alive until Christmas. And I’m loving watching Temperance “investigate” all the decorations. When we set out the special Santa plate and cup, she wanted to put milk and cookies out for him “right now”.

Oh, and seeing that today is December 1st, Elf on the Shelf has made his first every appearance.  (I wanted one for her last year, but they were sold out everywhere.  This year I bought one in July!)  When I ask Temperance what we should name him, she says "Elf".  And she opened her first window on her Advent calender too.

Now, maybe I should start on my Christmas shopping?

Photo Walk with Boka Studios - Part I

This past Saturday, I participated in a {free} photo walk with Travis & Jean Smith of Boka Studios.   We met down at the Eastern Market in Detroit.  There was a group of maybe thirty or so photographers, from beginners to professionals, some just loving photography as a hobby, others loving it as a profession.

We walked the outskirts of the Eastern Market, and Travis scoped out some awesome spots for us. There were several kid models and young adult models too.  It was a fun afternoon.  Did I mention it was free, too?

Below are some pictures I snapped while walking around.  There is a history to each of these pictures, and I like to let my mind wander and think about the details of their stories.  Looking at these, it makes me wonder how someone lost a shoe. Or about the grafitti artist with a sense of humor. Or about the person who decided they no longer need green peppers for dinner.  Or about the person who thought it was okay to dump a mattress in an alley near a church.

I'm looking forward to persuading a few friends to go back downtown with me to the same location so I can practice some more.  The colors and textures were awesome! 

Check back tomorrow for Part II - pictures with actual models! 

I ♥ Faces - Tooshies - Pictures I Chose Not To Enter

The theme for Week 47 at I ♥ Faces is "We ♥ Tooshies".  I love tooshies too.  And I had lots of old tooshie pictures to choose from this week, so I thought I would share the ones I decided not to enter.  Just because they are fun! 

(To see the one I did enter in the weekly photo challenge, click here.)

I ♥ Faces - We ♥ Tooshies

UPDATE: My entry placed 3rd during the "Tooshie" theme week on I ♥ Faces! Nothing makes my day more than getting to add a little "Honorable Mention" badge to my sidebar. The guest judge was Patti Schmidt, who said "..the top three I wish I could have given a three way tie."  How cool is that?  Check out all the other fabulous winners here.

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The theme for Week 47 at I ♥ Faces is "We ♥ Tooshies".  And in my family, there is no shortage of tooshies to share! 

I know I sound a bit like a broken record, but I had a tough time deciding which picture to feature. (If you want to see a few that didn't make the cut, check them out here).  It may not be of professional quality, but you gotta love a picture with a cranky bum!  The picture was taken a little over a year ago.  (I was just smitten with the kiddo's monster booty from Crankypants.)

Check out the other entries this week here - I'm sure they will provide a good chuckle.

Thanksgiving Family Picture

Last year I posted a little flashback with pictures of my siblings and I over the past few Thanksgivings.  If you missed it, you can check it out here. 

These are just a few pictures from this year that I get to add to our collection.

Even though the holiday this year was sad without someone special, we still managed to have a very nice Thanksgiving.  Everyone helped make dinner a success.  My mom and my hubby work as a great team in front of the stove and the oven.  And my mom-in-law helped me speed through all the dishes. The rest of the family helped entertain the {cranky} kiddo all afternoon.
 

Happy Thanksgiving!

The turkey is in the oven.  Nana is playing with the kiddo.  Hubby is jamming to some music and drinking a bloody mary.  And me, I'm surprisingly calm this year.  Normally, when hosting any get together at our house, I'm a ball of stress.  Worried we won't have enough food.  Or that the food will not be ready in time.  Or that the house is a mess.  This year though, I think I'm just so thankful to be back in Michigan with my family that I'm excited to be hosting Thanksgiving. 

We will be feeding fourteen people today!  As we were getting the dining room table ready and pulling out the vintage silver (wedding gift from my mom) and the Wedgewood china (wedding gift from friends), it made me realize I need to scour eBay for a few more sets of my china.  (We got six settings for our wedding ten years ago, and it has since been discontinued.  Matt got me four additional settings one year as well).

Matt jokingly said that each year we've "lost" someone around the dinner table.  My sister and her husband divorced, and he moved out of state, so he no longer is at our dinner table.  And then my grandma was ill and living in a nursing home.  Then we spent last Thanksgiving in Dallas.  And this year we are missing Matt's dad at our table.  Matt, in his typical joking fashioned, wondered who might not be with us next year.  I quickly hushed him and said "three and done".  No more subtracting from our table, please!

We are keeping our dinner pretty simple.  The menu this year is as follows:
Cocktail Shrimp
Cheese and Meat Tray
Blue Cheese Spread & Crackers
Turkey Breast (we brine it for 24 hours, then cook)
Ham
Mashed Potatoes (we made them the night before, and then put them in the crock pot today)
Sweet Potatoes
Green Beans with almonds
Cranberry Sauce
Vegetable Risotto
Two different types of stuffing
Rolls
Pumpkin Pies with homemade whipped cream
Caramel Apple Pie
Chocolate Pumpkin Truffles
Gourmet Sugar Cookies

My sister has been begging me to toss the gourd on the front porch out.  But hey, squirrels need to feast and enjoy Thanksgiving too!

If I'm not in a turkey coma later today, I'm hoping to post a few family pictures of everying stuffing their faces!

Temperance at 2 Years + 9 Months

You are 2 years and 9 months old today.  So close to three we can taste it!  Let's check in and see what you've been doing the past month.

Tooth Watch 2009: You only have one new tooth this month. Your top right cuspid has poked through, but just barely.  We can see the left cuspid trying to make an appearance, and maybe next month we will get to count it.  Your two-year molars are no where to be found.  Your total tooth count this month is 15 teeth!

You got on the scale this month, and tried to convince me to step on it too.  I wasn't having any of it, but I did notice that the scale said you weighed a mere 27 pounds.  Not sure how so much attitude can fit into such a tiny little body.

You know your address.  Thanks to Auntie Lisa, she put your address to song, and now you can sing it.  (It worked for your name too).  Not that you have the spelling of your name and your street address down, we need to work on our phone number next.

We moved you to a big girl bed (twin size) this past month.  We even got you a small table lamp for your dresser, and a special turtle night light for your nightstand that puts stars on the ceiling.  The going to bed thing has been a bit of a challenge.  We've tried tough love. And we've tried lying down in bed with you.  Some nights you are asleep in ten minutes, other nights it's more like two hours.  Now that you are no longer in your crib, you wake at least once every night, usually between 2:00 and 4:00 a.m. with a "Mama!  I have to go pee pee!"  Thankfully, you fall right back to sleep after I take you potty. The transition to a big girl bed has been a bit trying for all of us!  Here's hoping next month we can say it's all a thing of the past.

Since moving to the big girl bed, you've all together given up your naps.  We are still trying to convince you to take them. And thankfully you do have some quite time in the afternoons. 

When we can get you to say your prayers, you say some of the cutest things!  There is one children's prayer that has a line that says "bless all those who love me too".  You insist that the line is "Bless all those who love my tooth".  And of course, our favorite is that at the end of prayers, instead of saying "Amen", you say "Oh-man". 

When you are getting into something you shouldn't be, you say "I'm just lookin' at somethin'."

If you want something you can't have (i.e. like candy before dinner), you get very dramatic and say "Please!  I want it!" in a drawn out, whiny tone, as if you couldn't live without it.

As always, you are so quick to repeat anything you hear, even if the words are new to your vocabulary.  Yesterday you told Auntie Amy that "Mama needed a new alternator for her car today."  Of course you would know what repairs needed to be made to my car, because you listened to everything that your Daddy said.

It's not unusual for us to hear you say that you need "something to entertain me".  Whether it be while you are sitting on the potty, or sitting at the dinner table, you seem to think that you need an object in your hands to keep you entertained!  And you will often hand something over to one of us to "keep you entertained".

You love to play "I Spy".  You are really starting to catch on to it, and before long you will be looking at less obvious objects to use as your "I Spy" item.

You do a combination growl/scream when you get upset/frustrated/angry.  It sounds something like "arrhhhhhhh!"

You get extremely upset about your wardrobe choices.  Some days I let it go, but other days I will not let you wear a short sleeve summer shirt with a pair of Halloween socks and just your underwear.

You are famous for saying you want something, but once you have it, yelling and crying and saying that's not what you want.  And once we take it away, you decide that is what you want after all.

You love to go to Starbucks and ask for, in your own words, a "cold hot chocolate and a petite scone".

Whenever we drop you off at Nana's house to play, you immediately turn to us and say "leave!"  Makes a mom really feel loved, I tell ya!

You are the pickiest eater I've ever encountered.  If it weren't for your daily Pedisure drinks, I don't think you would consume any calories.  You are constantly trying to convince me that candy is a suitable item for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

The one thing you do enjoy eating is "sushi".  When we go to our favorite sushi restaurant, you love to have little tiny pieces of ginger placed on top of little tiny pieces of tofu.  You eat it faster than I can assemble it for you.  And you are pretty good with chopsticks too. 

If I want to get pictures of you, I usually have to bribe you with candy.

You are more attached to your "night, night" (blanket) than ever before.  We can no longer just leave it in the car when we go places.  It now goes with us to music class and gymnastics.  You rub it so hard against your nose.  And your favorite pink corner with the hole is starting to fray more and more, but you won't let me attempt to fix it.  Please just promise me you won't take it with you to kindergarten!

And you show no signs of wanting to give up your thumb.  I think you will continue to suck it for quite some time.

I ♥ Faces - Sun Flare

The theme for Week 46 at I ♥ Faces this week is "Sun Flare".   (The picture can contain sun flare, sun burst, or sun wash). And the guest judge is Becker!  No pressure here.  I have not mastered the art of capturing sun flare on purpose, and the thought of having one of my photos appear before Becker makes the butterflies swarm in my belly!

I had a difficult time choosing between two photos (yeah, I know, it's the story of my life....I'm not good with decisions like this sometimes).  I opted to not post the picture of my kiddo with a sun flare (gasp, the horror!), but you can check it out here.  I did choose to post a picture of the beautiful model Liz who was our "bride" for our day at the Arboretum during the I ♥ Faces Workshop.  Pete Lacker kept giving me tips, like to take my UV filter off my lens.  And I think I let out a little girlie scream when I captured this small sun burst.

Check out the other entries this week here.

I ♥ Faces - Sun Flare - Picture I Choose Not To Enter

The theme for Week 46 at I ♥ Faces is "Sun Flare".  It's always so hard for me to decide which picture to use each week.  Not that I have a plethora of excellent photos.  It's just that I have a hard time making decisions sometimes.  I usually have DH weigh in on what picture I should use.

So this week I went against his choice, and decided not to use a picture of the kiddo as my entry. {gasp} But I thought I would share the one I was considering.  (And you can boo me if you want).  It's also a nice little flash back of her. She was 19 months old and we were playing at a park near our place in Dallas.  She was having a blast running up and down this little hill. 

Oh, and my sun flare was not intentional. (I have no clue how I captured it )