The thinker....

Shot at Robin's house while she was just thinking.  LOVE that swing and it is surrounded by honeysuckle.  The fragrance was heavenly! 

On shooting in continuous shutter release mode...

Still more to come from our babysitting day, but it's time to post week 21 from the 52 week project.  The theme was "changes".  Yep, big changes from one frame to the next when you're shooting in continuous release.  And yes, these really were two consecutive frames (a fraction of a second apart).  I love those two goofballs!

Who let the dogs out?

First stop after lunch was to visit Robin and her dogs.  Abigail wasn't too sure about that!

Hannah got a kiss from Cal.

 

And I think they had some sort of telepathy going here.  :)

 What a couple of posers!

Beautiful!

I got a kick out of Hannah's conversation with Robin.  She was asking some pretty mature questions for a 3 year old.! And when she clasped her hands behind her back, that totally did it for me!

If they won't sit still...

...strap 'em in a chair and give 'm some food.  That's one way to get a shot of this little mover and shaker!

One last look...

What a great morning we had!  More fun to come in the afternoon, but for now...one last look at the playground.  Don't you love how Jenny thinks to dress them in coordinating clothes every time she brings them down?  Even when we're babysitting...thinkin' like a photographer!

Pit stop...

 And after all that swingin' and slidin', there was a pit stop to clean wood chips out of her shoes.  :)

Ahh...that feels better!

Swingin' and slidin'...

Ok...I have tried a few times to get a good swinging pic.  Don't think I'm really "there" yet, but this was better.  I need to close down more.

And this one is very soft on the focus, but I wanted you to see that everyone got to swing.  lol

 ...and slide....

And swing some more.

I know it was overkill on the playground pics, but we had such a good time.  I wanted lots of memories. 

Classic...

Hannah might be growing in confidence and independence, but she is STILL an observer!  Somehow, I don't think that is going to change!  lol

Independence...

 It had been a while since we'd been to the playground together.  We were amazed at how much more confident and independent Hannah was!

 

She did ask for my help at the top of this ladder, but only because her legs weren't quite long enough to reach the platform.

 

 And she scrambled up to the really high slide almost before I knew it!

But she didn't neglect the little slide.

 In fact, G-Pa taught her a new trick...going UP the slide.  Her elementary school teacher mommy was less than thrilled about that one...after years of repeating the teacher's litany at school:  "We go up the ladder and down the slide.  Up the ladder, down the slide."  lol.  What can I say?  This is surely what grandparents are for!  :)

I just love this shot...her tilted head in the sunlight as she got ready to go down.  Something about it feels so innocent and nostalgic.

"Ta-da, Grammy!  I did it!"

Way to GO, Hannah!  We love seeing you grow in confidence!  (And I love the big fat flare in that last shot!)

Games girls play...

So many fun things to play at the playground, like drums...

...and tic tac toe...

...and Abigail's favorite game..."Copy whatever my big sister is doing".  lol

Again, none of these are particularly good quality.  This was a day about having fun and trying to capture their experiences for their memory books.  I just followed them around and let them do their thing...which means I had framing and exposure and focus issues.  But it was good practice for me.  Somehow I think these girls are always going to be on the run. 

Big girl walking...

A couple of weeks ago, we got to babysit the girls from 7 a.m. till their bedtime while Jenny and Nathan went to Six Flags as chaperones for Kara's orchestra kids.  What a fun day!  First stop...the playground at school.  Abigail LOVES to walk...I mean...LOVES it.  And I love this pic, even tho' it's not great quality.  What's to love? For starters, the scale of it...big tall man, tiny little girl...and I love that rim light around their bodies and in their hair, as well as the long shadows.  I love how the light in certain photos can make you feel as though you're there... you can feel the early morning sun just by looking at it.  

This is one seriously happy kid!

So much cuteness!  Can you believe she walked ALL the way to school and ALL the way home?  She would usually prefer to walk instead of being held and we regularly hear "down peez".  Sweet baby girl!  But wow...she was TIRED when we got home.  Definitely ready for her nap!

She gets by with a little help from her friends...

Shot for week 20 of the 52 week project.  Theme was "black and white".  Our photo is supposed to represent our week somehow to give us 52 memories at the end of the year.  Well, this is the week Hannah learned to ride her tricycle.  Yay! Just in time for summer!  Nathan has been on vacation this week and practiced with her.  She is not too good at steering yet, but she can get around!  At any rate, Jenny brought her trike down yesterday so she could practice with G Pa.  How sweet is it that it has a place to carry friends???  This tricycle was a gift from 2 of my piano students.  The girls are in high school and college, so this trike has been around the block a few times.  I love it, because it's built so much better than today's bikes.  Thank you, Charlotte and Caroline!


 
Loved the color on this one, so I had to post it too!  lol.  Many more cycling pics to come after I've had a chance to process them.  Bob and I got to babysit the girls all day last Saturday, so I have a whole slew of pics to go through from that day before I get to more of these pics.  :)

She will be your shield....

Nothin' fancy...just a couple of snaps.  We had a new lawn put in a few weeks ago on one side of the yard.  Bob has worked like crazy for the last several years and that side just never would grow.  We  had someone till up the old, lay new soil and then sod.  Looks great and we hope it takes off.   The guys' machine made quite a bit of noise, so Hannah and Abigail were curious.

You can see who the brave one was.  lol.  Love them!

Fashion advice...

Now THAT'S the kind of fashion advice I like!

Shot for the challenge of "blue".  I just happened to have blue polish on.  Really think I'm too old for that, but did it on a whim.  Later, I learned it was the challenge for the day.  Serendipity!

It helps to bring a prop!

Without a doubt, my fave of all the bluebonnet shots.  I love that yellow background, that little bit of rim light on her hair and how natural this feels.  Hannah is only good for a few sitting down pictures and then she's asking to get up.  Better to just give her a prop and let her do her thing.

My one and ONLY close up. 

You can't stage this, folks!

 More often than not, my favorite shots are the ones that are a surprise.  I asked Hannah to kiss Abigail on the cheek and she was very willing.  But Abigail's face definitely shows that she would have preferred to be left alone.  That grimace absolutely MAKES the shot! 

I asked Hannah to kiss her again to see if I could time things for when she actually made contact and this is what I got:

"But she's CRYING, Grammy!"  Genuine sympathy.  Love them!

Ooops...

Ha Ha....try to tell Abigail not to pick things!  Just try....I dare you!  (BTW, after posting this on Facebook, I learned that it actually is NOT against the law to pick a few bluebonnets.  Always thought it was!  I googled it after a friend told me that was a myth.  Sure enough, it is OK.  And you know, if I read it on the Internet, it must be true...right?)

Finally...

Finally found a better bluebonnet field.  Not like the ones in Ellis, mind you...but certainly better than what we found a couple weeks ago.  Since we planned this on a Saturday afternoon, Nathan was able to be with us.  Of course, these were the only "posed" shots I got that were halfway decent.  Can't seem to shoot anything that I'm happy with lately, but I'm just gonna keep going and hope to get out of my slump.  :/

A girl can dream....

Shot for week 19 of the 52 weeks project.  Theme was "Refreshing".  Still waiting for the pool to warm up enough to swim.  Plenty of refreshing rain around here lately, but who wants to see that?  So, I hung out the flip flops and dreamed of summer. 

Good neighbor...

I love that Jenny's neighbor lets us wander through her garden anytime we want.  She had these lovely Clematis blooming today. And Hannah got to shoot some bluebonnets just like Grammy!  LOVE that!

BTW...Better bluebonnet pics comin' up in a few days.  Well...the bluebonnets are better...don't know that the photos are!  We finally found better field.  :)

When all else fails...

When all else fails, let your models go for a walk.  Hannah was MUCH happier and Abigail was too.  Abigail would have walked all through that trail if we'd let her.  lol   Sure wish this day had been overcast though.  I don't really care for shooting in full sun.