Purple people eater...

"Help it's eating me and I don't WANT to be a ballerina anymore!"

First costume...

I made this tutu for her when she was 6 weeks old for her first pro pics. It swallowed her up then....Fits now, but she doesn't love it. Had to keep her happy with a music toy while she danced along. Then, she would clap her hands, feel all that tulle and get upset again. It was pretty entertaining!

(And you thought she was just practicing Thomas' cheesy smile!) :)

Hayride...

Hannah loved this...the sound of the tractor, the breeze in her face, and especially the older children!

Mission Impossible...

It's challenging to get her to engage with me behind the camera as she becomes more interested in the world around her...Methinks it will get worse before it gets better. :)

Play time...

Clapping hands with an ulterior motive...to keep her from tearing the bow off her head. :)
I need to practice these kinds of shots, but Jenny could only lift her a few times before her arms got tired! :)

Stink face...

Cracks me up! She started making this face a few weeks ago. She crinkles her nose and sniffs air in and out, then she gets really tickled if we copy her! :)

Feeding the kids...

....the 4 legged and 2 legged variety! LOL... Thankfully, they had running water to wash up in between. Hannah wasn't wild about goats! She's going through her fearful stage and whined a lot. She was super alert and watchful as Jenny fed them, just insecure. :)
She enjoyed her first picnic tho'!...and she was more patient and polite than a few of the goats. :)

Owen Farm...

We're enjoying the fall weather/colors so much that we decided to visit another pumpkin patch with Hannah. Owen Farm wouldn't be too entertaining for older kids, but it was perfect for preschoolers and babies...and we practically had the place to ourselves!

Don't do THAT...

Hey little girl...you don't have enough hair yet that you can afford to pull any of it out!
Finally getting a few little curly wisps around the ears tho'. :)

Flying high...

Well...high for a baby. I was the only grandmother lying down in the gravel to get a shot. :) Glad I tried, 'cause the ones I took standing up weren't too hot with the concrete embankment in the background (sunken playground at Jenny's park). I like how her feet are curled in this one. :)
She doesn't do her "lounge act" in the park swings like she does in ours. She really sits up and pays attention to everything around her...especially the kids on the playground!

Black and yellow Argiope...

I've been watching her for months...She builds a new web every day..always with that zig zag in the middle! Hoped to shoot this with water on the web, but she ran away after I used my squirt bottle. Bummer! (Thanks to Bob for his research on the name...have to love Google!)

Outtakes...

Lovin' the eye right off his face! :)

Both praying Grammy will put the camera away?

When you can't beat 'em...join 'em and make your best monkey face too!

"I'm a big kid now!"

Ten months...can't believe how quickly time's passing! She looks suddenly older in this pic and I'm not sure why....maybe it's the big kid shoes and the way she's sitting with her legs straight out...or the laid back smile.
Her shirt says "How did I get this cute?" and her expression says "beats me!" Cracks me up!
Wonder how long we'll be able to put her into a "set" like this.....she's beginning to crawl a little...won't go very far yet, but she can do it!

He loves me...He loves me LOTS...

Have you ever noticed how insecure we are as women? We worry about everything from our looks to our relationships and most things in between. I want to stop looking for affirmation from other people and learn to rest securely in the One who loves me, not because of anything I might do, but because of who He is.

"Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die, but God demonstrates His love for us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:7-8 NIV)

Who, then, can separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble do it, or hardship or persecution or hunger or poverty or danger or death? ... No, in all these things we have complete victory through Him who loved us! For I am certain that nothing can separate us from His love: neither death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers or powers, neither the present nor the future, neither the world above nor the world below - there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35-39 GNT)

Pumpkin patch, pt. 2...

I was going to call this "2 old crows and a baby" until I learned that old crow is apparently a term for whiskey. LOL!

Pumpkin Patch...

What a great place to take pictures with all the vibrant colors, tho' Hannah was a little tired and SOOOO serious!

Our little punkin'...

First time to the pumpkin patch! No smiles tho'. Too busy checkin' things out...

wondering about that hay...

and trying to figure out how to lift that heavy thing to her mouth! :)

Love that she never turned loose of her pumpkin!

Do I smell chicken???

Love her "mouse face", cheeks pads poofed out and every whisker standing at attention! It means she's super excited about something....generally food! :)

Happy birthday to Judy!!

A sweet friend celebrated her birthday a couple weeks ago and her husband (who planned the whole thing) asked me to take pics. Thought I'd post a few faves...

LOVED the 60 glasses, Judy! You look like cat woman! :)

Rolfe asked Kara's quartet to play. They usually do weddings (classics), so a party gig was a blast. They got to play "Daytripper","Eleanor Rigby", "Yellow submarine", "La Bamba", show tunes, etc. Really fun! They played for a long time and we thought it was cute (and thoughtful) that the restaurant staff brought them sippy cups!

Great job, Rolfe! Ladies, this guy even made place holders (prescription bottles with custom m&m's) and centerpieces. Happy birthday, Judy! What a cute couple...

Lookin' loopy...

Yep, we got her good and "drunk" before nap time. :)

Snappy ≠ happy!

Only moments after yesterday's shots...

Snappy dresser...

My girls...

Love my girls and the soft light under our trees out front...
I like different things about each of these...Jenny's natural smile and Hannah's daydreamy posture in the 1st, the movement of Jenny's hair and Hannah's sparkly eyes in the 2nd... Hannah's impish expression and the fact that they're both engaged with the camera in the 3rd. I think it's my favorite, but ask me again tomorrow and I might pick a different one! How about you?

A girl's gotta primp!

Now that it's cooler, I wanted some outdoor shots of the girls. Will post the real portraits tomorrow, but thought Hannah's fascination with the lipstick was cute. :)

Gentle giants...

And finally, my favorite animal... It was awesome to hand feed them and so cool that they had babies! An interesting fact from our guide: the giraffe is the only animal that gives birth standing up. The baby's 6 foot fall stimulates breathing. Also, the males are much darker than females (as you can see here).
I don't think wildlife photography is really my thing. I prefer people, but we sure had a fun day. It was good to get out of the city and enjoy God's creation.

Cheetah...

Best attempt to make the chain link fence disappear. Would so love to see this guy in action!

Random...

The addox are critically endangered. I was diggin' the shadow.
Blackbuck, then kudu...both near threatened.
(Don't be too impressed with my knowledge. Bob brought a little info booklet.)
Can't resist a pic of one of the adorable little boys we rode with. He was 2 and spent the whole two hours just like this. :) Won't it be fun when Hannah's a little older?