Picture Perfect ... Almost!

One of D and S's favorite things to do is walk around the house in mine of B's shoes.  I have no idea why.  But I do remember doing the same things with my parents' shoes when I was little.  It must be something about walking in the "big people" shoes and feeling grown up. Today I wore some black boots with a heel on them.  S quickly grabbed them and tried to put them on.  I was afraid he'd hurt himself, not to mention he was upset he couldn't stand up.  So I got out my Crocs for him to play with. It took a little bit of work and determination to get both shoes on! But it got done!

It's no secret that it's been a LOOOOONG winter around here!  The weather has been cold, windy, rainy, and snowy since the end of November.  Our times outside have been scarce to say the least.  Everyone is suffering some serious cabin fever and needs to run around. I took S to an open gym time at the rec center today.  Unfortunately they only have this time while D is in school.  It was the first time he's been and he loved it.  He rode in a police car you make go by walking.  He threw and kicked balls.  He played with hula hoops and went down slides.  Mostly he just ran from one end of the gym to the other.   I took some pictures to practice catching motion inside then put my camera away and played with him!  

I've noticed I'm not in very many pictures with my family.  It's not that I dislike being in photos.  Rather, I'm the one who usually takes the photos.  For Christmas I got a remote timer and tripod with the intention to be in photos.  However, I haven't gotten it out very often.   Today I decided to set things up to take pictures playing with D and S on the floor.  The pictures aren't perfect but they capture the fun we had!

If you build it ... they will come! (And knock it down!)

B took D to a birthday party today.  I had planned on taking her but my voice is gone for some reason and she wanted him to take her.  This gave S and I some time to play.  I asked him what he wanted to play with and he immediately said "Trucks!" and headed to the shelf where they all are.   First he looked longingly out the front door for Daddy and D. Then he remembered we had the trucks out.  These trucks move on their own when you push the button.  They sing and make music too.  The small one (in the top picture) wiggles side to side as it moves!  S loves them. Finally, he decided to figure out how they worked. It was fun to play with S and do what he wanted.  He's getting more verbal every day and is better able to tell you what he wants to do.  Sometimes this is done in a calm way and other times not so calm.  But at least he's learning to get his wants and needs out.

Project 52, Week 35 - Motion This was another easy week for taking a photo to match the subject!  My kids are constantly in motion.  We even got to go outside and move freely this week! Throwing snow on the driveway! Project 365, Days 108-114 I continued using the Capture Your 365 prompts to help me figure out what to photograph.  I also ventured outside with the kids since the weather cooperated a bit.  This gave me a chance to practice getting clear motion in my photos! Day 108 - Visiting Lego trains going through the tunnel to visit the Imaginext Rescue Center Day 109 - Where I Stand Day 110 - In the Front Yard Day 111 - Two Day 112 - Escape A bike ride to escape from the house Day 113 - Notice The joy as S plays with Daddy Day 114 - Oh Boy My 2 year old!

Just another morning hanging around with Daddy.

This week's lesson in Momtographie 2.0 is to get into the photos instead of just stand behind the camera.  We've been challenged to take photos where we feel comfortable and show our true selves.  They don't have to be of our faces, just part of us.  Because it's important for our kids to see US in photos too! So today I got out my tripod and remote from Christmas.  Then I found some good light throughout the house and set-up the tripod.  I tried to get the settings right in the camera and snapped away.  Here are the results from the first set of selfies. What I learned today ... The kids look truly happy in these photos!!  I must be doing something right :) I need to focus a bit lower to avoid cutting off the top of my head. S loves the remote and says "BEEP" whenever I get it out I should turn off the light in the tv room before shooting I'll have to remember these things when I take more photos this week!

So what do you do when you get 12 inches of snow then it starts to melt?  What do you do when you have huge piles of snow and the temperature for the day is 60 degrees?  What do you do when you have 2 kids (and 2 parents) who have serious cabin fever? You head outside with the camera of course! Stomp! Drop! Climb! Throw!