Everybody loves a show off!

We enjoyed our walk to the college creek with the girls on Grammy Day.  More pics of them to come.  We enjoyed feeding the geese and then this one showed off for us just as we were leaving.  When I asked Hannah what she most enjoyed about our walk, this was it...oh...and the plop the goose made when it jumped in the water.  lol

Everything tastes better with bacon...

This was shot for week 39 of the 52 week project, theme of "Raw".  The comical thing is that we nearly had to eat this raw.  As it was roasting in the oven, our power went out (for the third time in 2 weeks....so aggravating!).  Thankfully we have kind neighbors who let us use their oven.  This was a super tasty recipe and it was making me seriously hungry to smell it while I was shooting, even tho' it was raw.  lol.  (I don't know what's up with those tomatoes.  They don't look like that in PSE or even on Facebook, but here on blogger, the saturation and highlights are all messed up.  Guess who is too lazy to change it!

Even cowgirls like frills!

Playing around with some different editing techniques.  I usually prefer a cleaner style, but I really kinda like this rich, matte effect too.  And I love the depth of that background.

I'll take what I can get...

Oh...this one is hard to capture!  She's so much more strong willed than Hannah was, and a lot more mobile too.  She was so cute "reading" her little books that I thought I'd take a shot.  As you can see, the light is above her and to the left.  I tried several times, to scoot her so she was facing the light...and she was OK with that....until I sat on the floor to get the shot.  Then, she got up to sit in my lap so I could read to her.  And I did.  I'll take that affection any time I can get it, because if G-Pa is home, she would much rather sit in HIS lap.  :)

Flirting 101...

She had the best time with that hat!  It was not an ideal shooting situation with the window behind her, but she kept giving me the cute faces...so I kept on shooting.  What a hambone!

What do you do?

What do you do when it's a beautiful day and you have only 45 minutes of free time?  Hightail it down to Duck Creek and watch the ducks and geese.  Of course, it was middle of the day and the light was harsh, but we still had fun.  The geese are super entertaining...especially if someone brings bread.  lol. 

A beauty of its own...

Shot for week 38 of the 52 week project, them of "Seasonal."  With the exception of winter and its short days, I love each new season... the hopefulness and vibrance of spring, the welcome cooling of autumn, even the stifling heat of summer (as long as we can swim... lol).  Each season is my favorite... at least for a while.  And the best part is how welcome each new change is... which means I'm loving it right now. It's a little too early to call it fall here, but the temperature dropped this weekend.  My beloved acorns have come out to play and I'm doing my happy dance. 

Quote by Charles Dickens.

Teamwork...

I just love this pic...Such a sweet genuine moment of helpfulness...and Miss Independence accepted it willingly. 

Her own person...

Hello, my name is Abigail and I spend the first 15 minutes of every visit simply staring at you.  Eventually, I will laugh and play...but only on MY timetable.  lol

All done sitting....down peez.....

Cheap entertainment...

Abigail's not too big on sitting still and she RARELY looks at us when we call her name, so the best way to get snaps of her is just to give her something to do and follow her around.  Ha ha!  On this day, she was quite happy to walk around the yard and pick up leaves.  I know...it's early for leaves to be falling, but our beloved maple is sick and dying from the inside out.  SO SAD!  It has been dropping leaves for more than 6 weeks.  We lost two big branches in the last storm and we think it will meet its demise soon.  SAD...SAD...

Faces are like the Texas weather...

If you're not happy with one, just wait a few seconds...there will be another.  lol

The cat that swallowed the canary!

"Are we done yet?"  Yes, Hannah...we are done.  :)

Sunshine on his shoulder...

I know....corny title, and very similar to a shot I posted earlier.  I still love it.  And this is officially the end of the photos on the hill at Richland. 

Bliss...

Definitely the BEST part of making cookies.!  I only regret that I wasn't fast enough to catch Abigail in the shot.  She was standing beside Hannah, big eyes watching, and wondering why SHE wasn't eating too.  lol

Cookies!!!!

Hannah loves to bake with us!!  And check out my new cookie scoop. Tried this last week with a regular ice cream scoop and the cookies were GIGANTIC...way too big and spreading into each other.  Found a smaller one on Amazon, and it's perfect.  Cookies cook evenly because they're all the same size. 

Morning glory...

I've been admiring the morning glories peeking out of our neighbor's fence for a couple of weeks now, but I kept forgetting to get my camera.  By the time I remembered, they were already gone.  They have such a short life....blooming in the morning and falling off in the late afternoon.  lol.  At any rate, this is pretty much straight out of the camera...just warmed it up a little.  It was also hand held in quite a bit of wind.  Don't think I could have done that with my old cam.  

Good Morning, Nana...

Our theme for the 52 week project this week was "something old".  Most of these things belonged to my grandmothers.  One collected delft blue china and made her own strawberry jam, and the other collected antique silver and linens from estate sales.  Even tho' she lived alone, she ate every meal from her good china.  I love that she didn't wait for company to use her pretty things.  So this is for her...Good morning, Nana. 

I love it when...

the dimple comes out to play. 

It hardly ever happens...

...but once in a while this little one sits still long enough for me to get a super sharp shot of her eyes.  Love that teeny tiny self portrait reflected in them.  I've only ever gotten those in Abigail's eyes...never in Hannah's.  Doesn't seem right that the color would make any difference.  Will need to experiment now.  Could be because I take so many backlit photos of Hannah...clearly the light must be behind the photog for reflections like this.  Now I'm gonna need to see if I can do this with those deep baby blues.  (A's are still hazel, BTW...not brown yet, but I wonder if they will get darker). 

She's on the top of the world...

The view is always better from your daddy's shoulders!  Pure joy!

The duet...

Just a snap....these two love playing together.  Abigail was dancing up a storm, so it's a wonder this is even halfway in focus.  lol

I've said it before...

and I'll say it again...   I love candids!

A contradiction...

For one of my challenges we were asked to shoot a contradiction.  On first glance, this may not seem to fit.  But consider this:  It was 100 degrees...not exactly boot weather, but tell that to the 3 year old cowgirl who wanted to show off her new duds.  :)

Day's end...

We had a great time together on Labor Day.  Even went to the school playground after dinner.  Shot this on the way home...Two tired little girls, but I think they had fun.  I know I did!  Shot for week 36 of the 52 Week Project.  Theme was "After 5 p.m."

I is for Independent...

But once in a while, even stinkers cooperate!  We tried like crazy to get a photo of her with her daddy.  Once we got outside, all she wanted to do was "walk, walk, walk, walk".  Methinks Christmas photos might be a challenge this year!  lol.  Oh well...I brought out the hat just to see if it still fits, and Abigail was very happy about it.  She LOVES hats....so she played on the low windowsill putting it on and taking it off and I grabbed my shot in between.  Haven't processed them yet, but think I got a few cute ones of her playing too.  She was in rare form that day....BIG temper tantrum at dinner.  But you'd never believe it to look at that sweet face would you?

Be happy, be yourself...

Shot for week 36 of the 52 week project.  Theme was "Unconventional".  I love the smell of coffee, but really prefer tea (especially a good Chai).  A little unconventional in a world where there is a Starbucks on every corner. 

Serendipity...

She fell down in the grass and decided it felt soft, so she was content to lay there for a minute.  An angel in her fairy wings...

Fish in training...

Hannah loved her lessons with Miss Julia and seemed to really respond well to one on one.  We've decided that it's a lot for a 3 year old to process tho'....the multitasking of blowing bubbles, kicking legs, keeping face down in water, and pulling with arms.  She was only ever able to remember 2 things at once.  lol
  

The hardest part for her was closing her mouth to LISTEN.  Ha ha!  Miss Julia had to repeat several things, because Hannah was busy blowing bubbles or (ahem)...talking.  :)  Here Julia is explaining about how to push off the edge to float.
 

Hannah learned about blowing up a "balloon in her belly" and laying really still to float.  She even floated for a few seconds by herself, but still has a hard time remembering that floating means being still while tummy swimming means kicking and reaching.

Proof that she actually went under the water.  My favorite moment was after 2 weeks of refusing to jump off the steps without holding her teacher's hand.  She finally decided to do it and went all the way under water.  She came up saying, "I'm so proud, I'm going to do that again."  So we let her.  When Julia stood closeby with arms reached out, Hannah said "Back up a little."  Ha ha!  So Julia took one step back.  Then Hannah said, "No, go all the way to the other side of the pool."  Ha ha ha ha.....There were 4 adults out there who were quick to explain that she is not ready to swim all the way across the pool yet, but I love that her confidence is building.  Now we need to be extra vigilant when we watch her!

A spontaneous hug for her sweet teacher.  We hope Julia can teach her again at the beginning of next summer!

Busy...

Week 33 of the 52 week project...out of order and 2 weeks late.  Ha ha. Theme was "Busy".  This was her first time to cut with scissors.  We really thought she would get terribly frustrated.  In fact, we prepped her with all kinds of talk about how we don't always get the hang of new things the first time we try them.  She loves reading the Little Engine That Could...so we've been talking a lot about "I think I can, I think I can."  Well...guess what!  She really COULD and without too much coaching.  Granted, some of the paper was more torn than cut and she doesn't have too much control yet, but she was VERY proud of herself for her little scraps of paper.  And so were we!  I love watching her learn new things!

Raindrops were falling on her head...

Not sure exactly what was bothering her, but suspect it was the water in her eyes.  I finally showed her how to run under the arcs of water, trying not to get wet and she played happily after that. 

I had street clothes on and had to drive home soaking wet.  But I would do it again to help Hannah play and have a little fun.  We'll try again next year...  :)