Me

Written by Jessica on Friday, January 29, 2010
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Written by Jessica on Sunday, January 24, 2010

Written by Jessica on Tuesday, January 19, 2010
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This can't end well... Tucker is learning, and patiently waiting his turn.


Wade came home this weekend and we went to get some much needed haircuts on Friday.


This was Brayden's FIRST haircut and he did great!


This was Tucker and Carter's 3rd haircut. Think Tuck needed one?


Obviously these pictures aren't in chronological order, these are from before the weekend and the haircut...

When I took the boys in for their 18 month check up the doctor was asking me all the normal questions and giving me all the normal advice and instruction. Then he told me to continue to go behind the boys after the brush their teeth. This struck me because I'd never even let them hold their own tooth brush, I always put them in my lap and did it then let them go on their merry way. Now, I let them brush their own teeth and they love the new freedom. They don't, however, like me taking their tooth brushes away. Major meltdowns...




These pictures are from Friday as we waited on big bubba to get out of school so we could get haircuts.

Look at Brayden's hair!


We love when Daddy comes home!





After haircuts.


Last week I took Carter and Tucker's paci's away. They did pretty good for the most part. Carter started throwing awful fits and would become inconsolable at times, mostly out of anger when things wouldn't go his way. Wade felt so bad for him that he gave the paci's back. We talked about it, and maybe now isn't a good time to take something else away. They've already lost their Daddy, only seeing him a handful of days a month. We waited until Taylor was 2 and he didn't have any sort of speech problems or anything; just a little bit of a late talker... Our boys are all already talking and telling us what they want so much more than Taylor did at their age. So, we'll let them keep the paci until we are all under 1 roof again, which hopefully will be SOON!

Look at this sweet face.

you wouldn't believe the fit he just threw!





As for other updates, Carter is climbing out of his crib, into his crib, and into his brother's cribs. So we've decided to go the crib tent route. We still have another 15-16 months in the crib, so we definely have to keep them from breaking a leg or neck from falling out. Taylor stayed in his crib until he was 3, without a crib tent, and when we swapped to a 'big boy' bed he was so excited and he never got out of his bed at night. Never. Not once. So, we'll take our cues from the boys, they may even be older before they graduate from the crib; they have to earn them and prove to us they can handle them.

Our house is still on the market. No bites yet. We SO need this house to hurry and sell! I'm killing myself trying to keep it in 'showing' condition. Wade has traveled a little here and there since we were married. I jokingly tell him that he missed my best 3 months of pregnancy. He was home when I was sick during the first 3 months, gone for months 4, 5, and 6, then came back when I was 40 pounds heavier, miserable and ready to pop. He was gone for a few months when Taylor was just a little older than the boys now. When he came back, Taylor didn't even remember him at first. He was scared of him and had to warm back up to him. We're "used to" him traveling. But this time there are so many other variables thrown into the equation, and so much going on, it's been really hard. And the hardest part is not knowing when it will end. Or even how it will end. I'm a planner. I like to plan things. Unknowns are not good for neurotic planners like me. We're all just ready to be under one roof and be together again.

Written by Jessica on Thursday, January 14, 2010
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Written by Jessica on Monday, January 11, 2010



I am 3 for 3 on my 365 project! Go me! Now, if I can just keep it up for 362 more days...

I have followed this blog, i heart faces, for some time now. I'm a facebook fan and used to get weekly messages about the weekly contests they have, but hundreds and hundreds of photographers (many professionals) enter the contest, so I never would do it. I mean these people are GOOD and they know how to edit photos to make them a.m.a.z.i.n.g. I always just stop by the blog and admire their art from afar. But tonight, for some unknown reason, I've decided to throw my meager little picture in the mix too.

Maybe oneday I'll win something like photo editing lessons from them! ha!

If you've never vistiting the site, grab a cup of coffee and enjoy! Happy 1st Birthday i heart faces!




Written by Jessica on Saturday, January 09, 2010
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I've decided to take the plunge. I'm going to begin a 365 day project. A photo a day for 365 days.

I may not post everyday. But the photos will be from each day and will be in chronological order starting on January 9, 2010.

To see the first photo, click here.

Hopefully just as we watch the kids grow, my photography will improve as well! It's a dual purposed mission!

Written by Jessica on Thursday, January 07, 2010
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Written by Jessica on Thursday, January 07, 2010
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I hinted towards the love/hate relationship Olivia and I have. You see, she can do quite amazing things. But I'm afraid she's not living up to her potential though. It's not her fault, it's mine. Which makes it all that much more frustrating. I've got a lot to learn, but I'm making progress.

At first, most of my pictures looked something like this:




No matter how still I tried to hold my hand, that's what I got. Then I got frustrated and determined to figure it out. So I skipped over to Amanda's then to The Pioneer Woman's sites for some lessons in DSLR Photography. LOVE THEM! And I learned about things like Aperture and ISO, and the various uses of lenses and the best way to use light, including my Speedlite (Thanks to Amanda's tip I knew to point the Speedlite at the ceiling instead of directly at the subject). Then I pulled Olivia out again and just like that - they're not great photos by any means, but a marked improvement!






This is one of my favorites, because I was practicing manually adjusting my focal point (thanks again to Amanda) on the object Brayden was trying to give me.







These images are right off the camera, no editing whatsoever. You see, I know how to use Photoshop to make bad pictures okay. Like, if there's a section that needs to be cropped out, I'm your woman. If it's way too dark (underexposed - see I'm learning) and you need the picture brightened, I can hook you up. However, if it's an already pretty good picture and you need to take it to great, you know the pictures you look at in awe and amazement... well, I can't help you. I need to learn more about how to use the layers and whatnot in photoshop. Currently if the "auto adjustment" or a little "cropping" won't take care of it, I'm out.of.luck.

On that note, if anyone knows of any great tutorials or tips (aside from Amanda's and The Pioneer Woman's) I'd love to know about them. In the meantime, you will have to look at my mediocre (at best) pictures.

Now that I have Olivia, I'm thinking of doing the 365 thing, a picture a day for 365 days.... Can I do it??

BTW- Brayden isn't my favorite child or anything, just my most willing participant lately.