Week 4: Mourning

This week I am in mourning.  No, not because they killed off a main character in Downton Abbey last night (but seriously!  How could they?!!)  I am mourning the loss of that marvelous morning nap:

"Not sleepy!"

"Keep trying mom, still not sleepy!"

Our son has suddenly decided that he no longer needs a morning nap.  Instead of promptly going to sleep like he used to, he will lay in his crib playing and talking to himself for a good hour without ever closing his eyes.  While this is a good thing because it means he is maturing, it also means I can pretty much say adios to my morning nap from here on out. . .sad, sad days!

To add to that gloomy prospect, the weather has been horrid.  I love living in Utah but I despise Utah winters.  Living in the Salt Lake Valley definitely has it's downsides.  As the smog builds and temperatures drop, I feel the need to hold my breath every time I walk outside.  I hate it.  I hate the cold.  I hate the dirty air.  I hate having to wait for the next storm to come and clear out the air.  I hate not being able to see the sun and blue sky.  I hate not even being able to see the mountains at times.  

This week we had a couple days of fog, which is even worse, but at least it made for some interesting pictures.

Matt and I wanted to escape the cruddy air and go snowshoeing this weekend.  Unfortunately I got sick and wasn't up to it, but we still managed to go on a little hike in the hills above Bountiful.  We didn't get up above the fog, but it was still nice to get out.   

Thankfully today the air is clean and the sun is shinning!  Halleluiah!  Here's to hoping that it will stick around for a little bit!

Happy photographing! 

Week 3: Toddlers

Look at this face

He is darling, with his spitty shirt, messy hair and all, isn't he?

But don't let that sweet innocent face fool you.  Our cute son had just finished dumping the contents of my makeup bag down the stairs when I took this picture.

He has officially entered the toddler phase.

. . . .

and I don't really know what else to say about that.  But a picture is worth a thousand words, right?

Why yes that was a brand new toilet paper roll. . .

Silly parents! All of the toys and DVDs are SUPPOSED to go on the floor. . .

Caught red handed. . .yet another reason to not buy dryer sheets in bulk. . .

It has become our son's main goal in life to create chaos wherever he goes, and he takes this calling seriously.  There are books on the bookshelf that need to be pulled out, DVDs that need to be scattered,  pan lids that need to be spread across the floor, and don't forget about that cup of Cheerios and Goldfish.  When you are full and don't want to eat the remaining food on your tray, it must be flung on the floor.  And heaven forbid the heat register covers be in their holes.

I spend a large amount of time picking up after my little guy.  It can sometimes be exhausting.  And very frustrating.

Someone pointed out this week that I could (or rather should) teach my son to not empty out the cupboards and tear the house apart.  I've thought a lot about that comment, and yes, I suppose I could.  However, I have no intention of doing so yet.  Perhaps some would call me a bad mom, but I don't care.  

Before I go any further, let me make a couple things clear.  We do have rules at our house (don't play with knives, don't stand on the table, don't put things in electrical outlets, etc.) and as our son gets bigger, we will definitely have some serious talks about putting toys away and such things.  I am a big fan of disciplining your children and not letting them turn into spoiled brats who do whatever they want.  I also PROMISE I will not let my child destroy your house.

So why do I let him empty the Tupperware drawer every day?  There are two good reasons:

1.  It keeps him occupied.  If I'm in the middle of cooking dinner and our son wants to play, I am practically giddy if he can entertain himself for 10 minutes by emptying a drawer and leave me to finish dinner.

2.  It's good for him.  The most mundane things can make the most amusing toys.  Who wants to play with the firetruck that has buttons and plays music when you could get into cupboards and play with a cereal box and measuring cups?  While it may not actually be his mission to destroy everything in sight (even if it feels that way sometimes), it is his mission as a toddler to understand this world.  Everything is new, so therefore everything must be handled, must be examined, must be tasted, must be understood.  This process is important, so yes I will continue to let him explore and create a mess.

One day my house will be clean.  One day.  But the mean time we will continue to make messes, enjoy ourselves, and hopefully take some interesting pictures along the way. :)

Happy photographing!      

Week 2: Packages

I LOVE GETTING MAIL.  Good mail that is.  Not the crappy bills or advertisements that usually go straight into the recycling bin. I'm talking about the good stuff, like Christmas cards and wedding invitations.  The type of mail that has a return address from a real person in the corner.  The best is when you come home and there's a package sitting on your front step.  A PACKAGE!!  Getting a package ranks up there with Tillamook ice cream and new episodes of Downton Abbey.  Even though I was the one that probably bought something online, I tend to have a terrible memory and usually can't remember exactly what I bought, and so it's EXCITING!

This week I came home from the grocery store and there it was.

Anticipation

Matt recently ordered an additional controller and the new Nike Training game for the XBox Connect.  I was pretty excited about it.  I've been looking for some new exercise program to do, and this one seemed pretty good.  It had been a couple weeks, so maybe this was it!  Obviously the box was too large for a game, but maybe the game and the controller had come in the same box?  Maybe?  Maybe?

It is disappointing to open a piece of mail that appears to be a letter from someone and find it is just another bank wanting you to refinance your house.  It is also disappointing to open an envelope and discover it's only an invitation to a Scentsy party (I really hate those types of things, no offense).  Even worse is the disappointment that comes from thinking that the game has finally come in the mail, only to find out it's your husband's ridiculously large Professional Engineering Study Guide. Guhhhhh.
  

Disappointment. . .

Oh well.  At least it's not me that has to study that hideous looking book. 

The game came a few days later, but in the mean time I entertained myself with light painting.  Which, yeah, ok it's not great photography, but come on, it still is pretty cool, isn't it? 

I also started a new project.  I found sheer curtain panels for $5 each, and lined them with a $5 bed sheet.  So far I only have one of four or possibly six panels done, but what do you think? 

(All thanks to your sewing machine Emily! :) )

This picture was actually quite hard to take.  The window is huge and with the snow on the ground and the sun shining, there is way too much light coming in.  If I have most of the window in the frame, the curtains and walls are underexposed and you can't see the detail on the curtains.  If I adjust exposure to the wall, too much light comes through and the curtains appear as a white blotch.  I tried to balance the exposure in the middle.  Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do in these types of situations?

That is all for this week.  Happy photographing!
  

Week 1

Happy New Year!!  Hopefully everyone had a fantastic holiday.

I have to be honest, I'm not a fan of New Year's.  I always feel like New Year's should be spent partying with friends while wearing a cocktail dress, sipping champagne and there's that magical moment at the strike of twelve where everything is right in the world as you embrace the one you love. . . But since I don't actually own a cocktail dress, nor do I drink, and I can't stay awake much past 10 pm, New Year's is usually spent watching several movies, eating absurd amounts of junk food, falling asleep on the couch, waking up for the countdown, kissing Matt and then collapsing into bed.  So unromatic.  Oh well.  Maybe next year.

It was my initial intention to take a picture at the stroke of midnight - what better way to start off this project, right?  Yeah, that didn't happen.  I was far too sleepy and the half a bag of Cheetos and several glasses of diet Dr. Pepper I consumed earlier were doing a tango in my stomach by midnight.  So no cool midnight picture.  But it was still fun to hang out with family, and despite falling asleep, we did have a good time.

So, pictures for the week.  I must admit I was so excited about Downton Abbey Season 3 starting yesterday that I forgot to take a picture.  I will improve.  I'm not sure that any of my pictures are amazing, or even good.  But that's the point of all of this, to practice and get better right?  If anyone ever has any comments on how to improve, I would welcome your suggestions!  Also, judging by how this week went, I fear that there will be a lot of pictures of Alex on here.  I'm sorry if I turn into one of those people who constantly refer to their children, but seriously, it is way too cold to go outside and he is the most exciting thing to photograph around our house.  Without further ado, here are the top pictures of the week.

Breakfast time.

You know it's cold when you have 4 foot icicles hanging off your house.

Never ending home improvement projects.

And yes I did tear down that sheetrock all by myself.  And yes there was something very satisfying about it.  If anyone has never done any sort of demolition in their house, I highly recommend it.  

One additional note: I have absolutely no idea what to entitle each post.  I feel like I should come up with some cool name for each week, but I'm not feeling nearly that creative today.  Suggestions would be appreciated. :)

Happy photographing!