Fashionista...

I love the way she's playing here and her head to toe color coordination! :).

Even Jenny matches! :) It's a little chaotic, but 'm diggin' all the geometric shapes in this shot...circles and lines/stripes going every direction...They're everywhere! :)

Who needs toys...

...when you can play with Grammy's lens cap?

Makes a pretty good hockey puck too! She shoots, she scores!

Look ma....FOUR teeth!

Tickled pink...

Getting really backed up on pics with all the fun Christmas pics lately. Almost forgot to post these, which would have made me sad. I love them ALL. This was one of those days when everything worked so easily...the lighting, Hannah's mood, the adorable hat, and even the brown leather chair which held Hannah captive :) and made the perfect backdrop. Pure luck, but it sure was fun.... our own little baby fashion shoot. :)

She started out thoughtful...

Warmed up a little...
Then, Jenny had her giggling....

So dainty...

Hannah is so cautious and dainty when she explores new things. This little angel plays electronic music and its wings move back and forth (noisily!). Typical Hannah:

First she watches....

Then she aims....

Then she touches (ever so delicately).

Love her face...the raffia texture surprised her! :) Jenny said it took her a week of staring at their Christmas tree before she finally ventured out to touch it (like this...with 2 fingers...). Proud to say she actually pulled an ornament off this week....again very gently...She tried to hang it again too, but couldn't figure out how...so she just laid it on the branch before playing with something else. Sweet girl!

New Life Symphony...

OK Kim and Lisa, this is our family's version of a sports pic! :) Performers from this group traveled to Russia with Kara last summer. This particular Dallas concert featured American composers...really nice works, including one of my favorites...Copland's Appalachian Spring. I was sitting on the side balcony for the first 2 shots and moved closer to the center for the last. Not thrilled with any of these, but it was another opportunity to learn.
And, in case you didn't notice, that's my "baby" sitting principle cellist. Proud mama!

Welcome to our world...

Tears are falling, hearts are breaking, How we need to hear from God.
You've been promised, We've been waiting, Welcome Holy Child...Welcome Holy Child.

Hope that You don't mind our manger, How I wish I would have known,
But long awaited Holy Stranger, Make Yourself at home...Make yourself at home.

Bring Your peace into our violence, Bid our hungry souls be filled,
Word now breaking heaven's silence, Welcome to our world....Welcome to our world.

Fragile finger sent to heal us, Tender brow prepared for thorn,
Tiny heart whose blood will save us, Unto us is born....Unto us is born.

So wrap our injured flesh around You, Breathe our air and walk our sod,
Rob our sin and make us holy, Perfect Son of God....Perfect Son of God.

Welcome to our world. (Chris Rice)

From our family to yours...

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a joyous New Year!

And just for a laugh...our funniest outtake...

Yeah....it's a good idea to count so people know when you're going to push the shutter release....and you might want to hide the remote too. :)

Family shoot....

More from our Christmas card shoot...Love the warm colors!

Dress up...

Jenny wanted a dress up pic for her Christmas cards. I love this shot while she was getting ready...

Jenny's choice ...

This one cracks me up! You should see all our antics to capture an engaged, happy pic! We were singing "Clap your hands, all ye people, shout to the Lord with a voice of triumph"...Hannah's learned the motion for "hosannah" and usually does it on time too! Sweet girl! :)
She would clap her hands too, but when she caught a glimpse of the fur on her sleeve she was totally distracted....she kept turning her hands over and over staring at it. Pretty cute! :)

The stockings were hung...

I loved that we have 6 this year! Hannah's is the one in front with the nativity. So sweet.

Favorite things...

Lisa inspired me to haul out the tripod to see what I could get with only the tree as a light source. Have to say how much I love these compared to years past pics using flash.
I made these in the early 70's...still remember sitting at my sister's kitchen table to paint them. :)
My aunt made this nativity for us the year we first met her. I think she made 6 sets that year for my brother and sisters and mom/dad. Each one was unique. My mom and dad bought the stable in the Holy Land a few years after that.
OK Lisa, I tried getting the starburst on the lights too...not so hot....

Letters to Santa...

Couldn't decide which pic/letter I like better...

Both make me laugh!

Strange that they're not the same color...looks like a white balance change, but I think it was just the difference in the light. Colors are more true in the first shot when she looked up and caught the light. I know I could play with it in editing...just haven't.

Real men...

...are not afraid to nurture and comfort.

Hannah is blessed!

Take it off!!!

We knew it couldn't last... Love the wild eyes and swinging jingle bell! :)

Noel...

The winner for Jenny's project...think it was the only time we got her to look. :)

Remember when your kids were happier with the box than the gift inside?

Little drummer girl...

Jenny wanted some posed shots for a Christmas project and asked me to dig out props. Hannah was NOT happy about the little tree! :) But, true to form, our little maestro was easily distracted with some music "therapy". A few pats on her "drum" and she was happy again.
BTW, the antlers belong to our cat. :) She was surprisingly uninterested in them...probably thought they were just another hairbow. And that little jingle bell was swinging to and fro the whole time! :)

Baking day...

Kara is our resident foodie, so she naturally decided to bake for her friends for Christmas. These buttery almond flavored cookies are something my mom has made for years. She calls them S cookies, because she uses the press with a star tip to make an S shape. Kara opted for the flower tho', in hopes that they wouldn't break so easily. You have to find the magic temperature to work with this dough. Too warm and your shapes won't hold...too cold and the flowers break apart when you lift the press. It can be annoying, but totally worth it....a pound of butter in each batch! :)

Cranberry orange nut bread....my favorite!

House smelled great all day!

Monkey outtakes...

What a time we had! Poor Jenny was trying to capture Hannah's attention AND hold my makeshift reflector (foam board with silver cardstock stapled to it). Meanwhile, Hannah was pulling her bow out every few seconds or precariously crawling to the edge of the sofa. It was pretty hilarious! We really needed a 3rd person! We finally gave her a snack to help her stay put, but then all she wanted to do was sign "more". :)

Chillin' and munchin'...

Already with the attitude? Cracks me up!

Oh yeah...it's still a love/hate relationship!

Nearly dropped my camera to catch her before she fell. :)

And we're done! .....till next year, that is!

Happy Birthday Hannah!

One year ago today we welcomed precious Hannah into our world! How did it pass so quickly??? She's already brought us tons of joy and laughter! In honor of her special day, I'm posting her final monthly monkey pic. I think you'll see him on her birthday each year, but we're ending this tradition just in time (as evidenced in the outtakes I'll post tomorrow). I'm afraid we tried her patience yesterday (and she tried ours). She had things to do and places to go and sitting with monkey was not "on her list". :) This was the one lucky shot where she was at least engaged...

Happy birthday, sweet girl! You are such a wonderful gift to our family!!!

Cozy up together...

...cause it's COLD outside! Shot these on Thanksgiving Day (b-r-r) for their Christmas card.

Which do you prefer?

Jazzy toes...

Temptation...

Irresistible...

Exercise in reflections...

Decided to play with reflections and dim light of Christmas tree. Too lazy to break out the tripod, so we won't talk about how many shots I had to dump. :) Don't care for this first shot... posting just to make a point. I'm learning how important it is to experiment with different angles, lighting, and composition. My original thought was to shoot a reflection of our tree...The ball is sitting beneath my violets and there's a table lamp on above that. Dislike almost everything about this...the composition, the dinky Christmas tree, and myself trying to create a makeshift tripod with arms/legs. :) The only thing I like is that "canopy" of violet leaves at the top of the reflection.
I thought it was magical when I turned off the lamp, added extra ornaments and shot with the tree in the background instead. Here's my original with my reflection in the image (could not figure how to avoid that)....

...and after editing myself out.

It took a while since I was in front of the french door...had to figure out how to re-create the panes since reflections on this round surface have a fish eye distortion. Oh yes...be impressed with my cloning skills....just don't look too closely! :) I definitely like the "cleaned up" reflection better. How about you? If I get a chance, I'd like to try this idea in daylight. Just curious...