Goodnight...

Love their cute family affection of touching noses.  And later a goodnight kiss...or rather an ALMOST kiss.  lol.  There are no good words to express how much I love these two silly girls! 

Sweetness...

I took a shot almost exactly like this last year.  Can't get over how much bigger they look this year. 

Sister secret...

A decided she was going to tell H a secret.   These shots are two of my favorites...The innocent moment with that secret and H's reaction of giggles.  I believe the secret was something like "Minions wear banana underpants".  Ha ha!

Litttle sister...

I ask them not to look at me when we're doing these pics and just to have fun with each other and enjoy the decorations...but it's hard to always follow directions when you're not quite four.  Little stinker.  She is our Sassyfrass!

Big sister...

This year we tried a few individual pictures.  When both girls are in the shot, it's super challenging to see both of their faces in a limited space with limited light.  And getting them to do the same thing at the same time is next to impossible too.  Look how tall H is getting!  I see a BIG difference from last year!

The tradition continues...

Since we've done the jammies around the Christmas tree pics for two years already, I didn't think it would be a big deal to repeat the tradition this year.  Ha!  We tried the same night as H's birthday celebration and I guess it was too much for them at one time.  They just weren't "feelin' it"...especially the little one.  So we did a do-over a couple night's later.  The above pic was my one and only usable shot from the first night, which explains why their hair is different in both shots.  lol.  I love comparing pics from past years and seeing how much they've grown!  Merry Christmas from our home to yours.  (and be forewarned...many more Christmas tree pics to follow so my mom can see them)

Candle light family...

She blew them out all by herself and this year we actually remembered to sing Happy Birthday while she did it.  lol

Pinkalicious birthday!

  

One of her favorite book characters now is Pinkalicious.  So it was an easy choice for a cake design.  A friend of Kara's made it for her.  So cute!  And I love that missing tooth!

Happy Birthday! SIX years old!

Guess who turned SIX years old today!

She's looking SO grown up with that missing tooth.  Sniff.  In case you can't read the favorite things list, here it is by itself.  Love her so much!  Really thankful God blessed us with her!

I don't know that it matters, but I shot these on the most dark and dreary day ever!  Absolutely no available light indoors.  We put a string of Christmas lights in a laundry basket and aimed them at her.  It sort of worked, but my ISO is sky high.  Sad.

I've actually been shooting quite a bit lately, but not too many family shots (other than our Christmas card pics which will be posted later).  I'll probably post some of my session shots to "fill the gap" for a while.

Happy Birthday, H!  We love you!

The one and only...

Yep, I only took one flower shot all day, but I do think it came out pretty well.  Love it when I can catch them right after they've watered.

To find a secluded spot...

It was BEYOND crowded at the pumpkin patch, so we looked for a secluded area for a walk.  Love these.

This is hard...

OK...I still really hate being on this side of the lens, but I want the girls to know their Grammy was there and enjoyed being with them.  A is looking super suspicious in the first pic.  I had to grab her hands and do "if you're happy and you know it, clap your hands" for the second pic...which explains why she looks like a happy prisoner!  lol.

How old is she anyway?

Looking super grown up lately...but she won't be four until January.

Pumpkin posers....

Heave Ho...

We have a picture of H at this age hugging one of the huge pumpkins.  But this year, we thought it would be fun instead to ask A if she could lift one.  Love this!

Pumpkin Girl...

Fall trip to the Arboretum.  She said she had fun!  I didn't realize it was her first time to go since she'd been a baby (at least for the pumpkin patch).  

Headed home...

Love watching them walk together...

Turtle watching...

We always enjoy looking for turtles...and we usually find some!

C is for Canadian...and CRANKY!

We love that there is a flock of Canadian geese at the creek now.  Two families were hatched last spring and they returned again this year.  A did some good bread throwing!

This guy was super CRANKY!  Bossing every one around...and it wasn't just about the food.  He clearly had territorial issues!

And a close up...check out that tongue!

Boo-ti-ful!

She was cooperative enough to let me take a quick photo on our way to the college.  A shady rock always works well!

First fall day...

Finally cooler weather so we could walk to the college.  A loves walking with G-pa and carrying old bread to feed to the creek critters.

"See...there are geese just over there!"

White girls can't jump...

When K visited the beach with her friend earlier this summer, she told me about a jump shot she took of her friend.  It turned out so cute!  But when her friend took a shot of K jumping, it just looked silly...hair covering her face...clothing that was too loose and legs and arms flying everywhere.  She told me she wanted me to try sometime for a better jump shot, so we gave it a whirl after the other silhouettes.  Definitely better than the beach jump shot, but K says she wishes she could do the splits.  Ha ha!  I guess we cannot put jumping on our resume!  But I still think it makes a good "Thank Goodness it's Friday" photo for a tired teacher! And the sky was awfully pretty too!

Sunset "beach"...

This one was my clear favorite of the evening!  I just LOVE how it turned out with the little practicing their twirling in the background.  Funny unintentional things I see...the sky looks like a beach in the distance.  And I see a letter M between mom and dad and the littles...Guess M is for McCartney. 

Sunset kiss...

Also love the shapes here and the sky...but still with the missing feet!

Family...

We headed to the nearby hill at the end of the day recently to see if I could practice a few silhouettes.  Practice is definitely the operative word, because I learned a few things.  For instance, I SHOULD have laid down in the grass.  If you don't shoot from a low enough angle, you "cut off" people's legs and feet.  I love this idea and for the most part I love the shot, but I'm mad at myself for the missing legs and feet.  Grrrrr.  Maybe we can try again sometime and I shall bring a blanket so I don't have to worry about chigger bites!

Fly girl...

H really loved jumping off the board this year. It's a good thing, because you know I can't get a decent action shot the first time.  Several retakes to even get this much focus.  Ha!

Mommy love...

But sometimes Mommies just relax and enjoy the water (and kisses) too.

Time to work...

Now, when Mommy is in the pool it's more about swim practice than play time.  LOL

Zerbets and hugs...

Daddy's give great raspberry "zerbets" and are also great for hugging.  A really only enjoyed the pool without her puddle jumper all summer.  She panicked any time we tried to get her to swim independently even tho that life vest is completely secure.  It wasn't until this LAST swim of the season that H coaxed her out with some noodle play.  I didn't get any pics of them together, but A said she had a lot of fun swimming this time.