Fun with the new lens

Last week I got a new lens, and I've been having a lot of fun with it. It's a prime lens (so it can't zoom in and out) but the largest aperture it can have is 1.8 as compared to the 4.0 I'm used to (meaning it can open up more and let more light in, thus allowing me to use faster shutter speeds, thereby allowing for indoor photography in the lighting dungeon that is my house) so it's very exciting.

Here are some of the pictures I've taken over the last week:

One sleepy baby. Eli has started rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand when he's really tired. It's cute, except for when it knocks his soother out.

I love this shot of Pippin! He was stretching and showing off for the camera, and I happened to take this photo at just the right time.

Beautiful, beautiful girl! I mostly have sleeping photos of Terrah, as it's all she does! It was like that with Elijah too; it took so long to get a photo with his eyes open.

All I can think of when I see this photo is that song where the only words are, "Da da da..." OH! Or maybe the song that goes, "I'm just mad about saffron..."

Proof that Elijah has been focusing on his hands a lot lately.

What do you mean, there's no such thing as cooties? And even if there isn't, she's still wearing pink. And she's touching me.

Eli getting some tips on being a cousin to a dainty girl rather than a rough-and-tumble boy.

He's got the weight of the world on his shoulders. Until he falls over, that is.

Anyway, I'm loving the lens because I can blur out the background more easily with it. Fun times.

Another thing that I've been up to lately is I wrote a list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. I'm having a lot of fun trying to get it done, and it's helped me be more task-oriented (even if they're little tasks!) I'm such a list person, and I find it fun to check things off on my list, even if it's something as small as going on a picnic. So here's the link to my list, check it out! And if you decide to make a list too, let me know. I'll keep tabs and encourage when needed.

The cool thing about the website is that you can go see other peoples' lists to get ideas. I had a fun time reading the funny things that people write on their lists. Here were some of my favourites:

Pick up Matildas poop with out complaining

Practice my multiplication every monday for 2 months

Play wii fit at least once a month (not very ambitious, huh?)

Read 50 english books not including Archie comic books (LOVE IT!)

Get my Facebook Scrabble win/loss ratio back to 3:1 (meaning find more sucky players to play against)(I didn't write that in brackets, the person wrote that...hahaha)

Go on 8 hikes. (Hike is defined as a 2 hour nature walk involving sweating and gasping for breath at least once.)(same as above, totally not my brackets!)

Try 3 new drugs (hmm...use much? To think this is on someone's goal list...)

One thing I thought was interesting was how 90% of the people who made lists appeared to be female. I wonder why that is.

Anyway, I've got to run, we were supposed to start our movie 1/2 an hour ago. Oops! Sorry Matt.

Elijah, car accident, new baby

It feels like there are so many things to update on, although there are really only a few big things that have been taking up my life lately.

First of all is Elijah. He is doing SO well! Last Thursday he laughed for the first time and I could feel my love for him increase, just listening to it. He was sitting on Matt's lap, perfectly happy, and Matt kept kissing his eyes, and then out came the cutest little giggle! Then today I made him laugh again by getting him all good and happy with kisses, and then getting him to clap his fists together. Also, Saturday he rolled over for the first time, and then did it one more time for good measure! And today we noticed 3 times that he had his hands held together a few inches from his face and he was looking at them, but then he'd get distracted, or they'd move too much, and he'd lose focus and move on. But I'm thinking the discovery of his hands is just around the corner and that soon he'll realize that he's the one who's been snatching his soother, scratching his face and pushing himself away from me and breaking the latch when he's feeding. He always cries like it's my fault! Oh, and soon he'll be able to hold toys in those hands and play with things! I'm way too excited.

I've realized that I'm a bad judge of how big he is, he's just growing so fast. There are so many things that I really thought would be too big for him, but when I go to put him in it anyway, they fit perfectly, if not snugly, and soon they'll be too small. Sad!

Today we had our consult at McMaster for his bum dimple. I was SO thankful to talk to a doctor I understood (his pediatrician is more than a little confusing...) and I finally have the low-down on it all.

So. Bum dimples are very common, and most are benign (don't affect the baby at all) although some are related to nerve problems and spinal cord problems like Spina Bifida. Everything about Elijah seems to put him into the benign category. He doesn't have trouble going to the bathroom on his own, he wakes himself for feedings, he kicks his legs a lot (like he's running a marathon, seriously. But then, I knew he was a hard kicker since the womb.) and even his reflexes are normal, according to the doctor today. He had the ultrasound that said there might be this connection somewhere (I'll explain that in a moment) but then, he was moving around A LOT during the u/s and it was hard to get a good picture. The only way to be sure is to have an MRI, so that's what we're doing.

So sometime in the next 3 months we'll go back to McMaster, Eli will be knocked out, and they'll take a good look at the dimple and how deep it goes.

Here's why the dimple is important. If it goes downward it's not a big deal, but if it goes upward it could connect with the bottom of the spinal column, which would leave Eli susceptible to infections, and we all know that your bum is not the most bacteria-free place on our bodies. The doctor today said it looks like it goes downward, but if it goes upward and IS connected, then they'd operate on him and remove/close off the tract so that it's not connected any more. Either way though, it doesn't look like he has Spina Bifida at all, so that's a relief.

So there, that's my Elijah update.

Now for my car update.

Friday I got into my first-ever car accident! I'd like to say it was exciting, but it was really just annoying, frustrating and upsetting. I'm working on forgiveness right now, so I won't vent about it, I'll just give you the facts straight up.

I was turning left on a green light onto a 4-lane street. I was turning into the left lane, and there was a stream of cars turning right at the same light into the right lane. Totally fine, right? Right. Except for the one car that decides to turn into my lane instead of hers, hitting my passenger door with the corner of her fender, leaving just a few spots of paint on her fender and a nice-sized dent and scratches on my door. I tried very (VERY) hard to be nice about it although I completely had no idea what to do and was standing out in the rain for at least 10 minutes, humming and hawing about it. When I realized that it was fruitless to stand there and be accused by an old lady who wasn't even remembering it right 10 minutes later, I left after saying we'd talk later that evening after I'd talked to Matt. He called her at dinner time, and offered to pay for her repair (because she was so sure I was to blame that I really thought she'd try to give me a ticket) but in the end we're just going to pay for our own and go our own separate ways.

But what a bummer! The ironic thing is that not 1/2 an hour before, I had been thinking about how we hadn't had any collisions since 6 years ago, and that our record would soon be completely clear. It still WILL be clear but the collision part is now no longer true. Oh well. Luckily we know a guy who does body work for a really good price. My guess is $750 to fix it, but I'm hoping less.

So there. Not completely impartial and emotionally detached from the experience, but I think I'm on my way.

And now for the best part of my update! Well, maybe not the best completely (because I think Elijah laughing, rolling over, discovering his hands, and not having Spina Bifida is pretty darn wonderful) but still, this is the most exciting to more than one person.

Rachelle and Aaron had their little girl! She was born yesterday (April 18th) in the early morning, and everyone is doing really well. They're not 100% decided on a name yet (I wonder what that feels like???) but let me tell you, she is just beautiful!!! She's SO teeny too. She's only 1.5 lbs smaller than Eli was, but when I held her it felt like I was holding a 6 pounder, not a baby over 8 lb's.

So, without further ado, here are some pictures! Oh, and just as a warning, I kind of went overboard in the amount I decided to post because I had so many that I liked. I didn't think anyone would complain if I posted too many photos, but if they totally bore you, skip to the end. ;)

The little girl of the perfect ruby red lips.

The tired, relieved, and exquisitely happy parents.

The beautiful new mom who keeps her looks despite the total amount of 3.5 hours sleep in the last 50 some-odd hours.

The bonding of momma and baby.

The burping of baby.

Isn't she just beautiful??? She felt so teeny, floppy and downright squishy in my arms! I didn't notice when Elijah started carrying his own weight, but I guess with the head-holding thing, he's not as much a dead-weight in my arms, and he's definitely not as squishy. I think he's always been a rather solid baby, but then, he was 9 lb 7 oz.

Here are the two cousins in all their comparative glory. It's really not the greatest shot, but that's 2.5 months of difference for you to enjoy.

Rob is so excited to be an Uncle!

Here's a nice big yawn done up all grayscale.

And the rest of the pictures are of Elijah, because I think he's pretty much the best thing ever, and he was rocking the house in a new green sleeper with dinosaurs on it. I wish I could wear green sleepers with dinosaurs on them.

I love this laughing photo.

"What are you laughing at, Nana?"

"Put me down NOW!!!!"

"You'll pay for that later mom. I promise."

Aaron is so tender with the babies.

"Why does everyone cheer when I lift my head like this?"

"Seriously. Until this results in voluntary rolls, I'm not impressed."

My boys!!! Oh how I love them.

And there you have it, folks.

Today I got a prime lens and I'm really excited to start using it and taking wickedly amazing photos with it, so expect another photo post later in the week!

What whining gets you

Some people might say whining gets you nowhere. But those people probably don't have husbands who run their own businesses!

Okay, okay, so I didn't whine. But I was feeling pretty lonely and glum yesterday, so I convinced Matthew to spend the afternoon with me (there might have been over-the-phone pouting involved...), and we went drive aimlessly around the region in search of somewhere to walk, things to take pictures of, and things to get my mind off of my thoughts which were driving me insane (don't ask why, it's better that way ;)

I did manage to take some pictures, and that's pretty much all this post will be, as I'm tired and want to go to bed before I miss the well-fed baby boat, and need to stay up until 11 for another feed.

So here we go.

My champion, who takes my moods in stride and always tries to humour me.

Me and my mini-champ, who lights up my life with one of his gummy smiles.

A sweet father-son moment that I just had to capture on camera. Unbeknownst to them, because I'm afraid of confrontation. Even if it's totally legal to take pictures of all and sundry on public property. I felt a little sneaky.

A bold little aquatic bird who thought, "that lady over there looks friendly enough, and that black thing in her hand just might be edible. I'd better go check it out, in case it's food," and so he paddled his way over and swam practically underneath my nose. Then I could zoom in nice and close, and voila! A picture without any cropping whatsoever.

I just had to take a picture of this explosion of pink and girlishness.

So there. That was our afternoon of sight-seeing, driving, take-out pizza, mid-afternoon feedings in the car, walking along a nearly deserted beach, dropping by a rickety 2-story candy store, and enjoying our area off-season when the weather is beautiful and the tourists haven't realized it yet. My only wish is that the carousel was running so I could take a picture of that too.

And now for bed.

Wonderful weekends

Well we have had a pretty busy and family/friend/fun filled weekend! I even have some pictures to prove it (though I haven't done my imitation photo for the week yet.)

On Friday we went to a family dinner in honour of Matthew's Papa's 80th birthday. The food was wonderful, the company better, and we had a good time (even if Elijah was really fussy for more than half of it!) Here are some of the cute photos I managed to take, between the fuss-episodes:

I can totally imagine Eli saying, "Mmm hmm!" or "Oh no you didn't!" in that black woman's voice. All Queen Latifah-style.

Don't you ever wish you could blow as awesome bubbles as babies do? I don't even know where to begin trying to do it. Maybe if someone held ME up like that, I would figure it out in a hurry.

A four-generation photo, with Matt and Eli in the middle, Matt's mum on the left, and his Papa on the right. And doesn't Papa look great for 80-years old???

Then Saturday morning we were invited over to Matt's parents for breakfast with this old missionary from the area and his family who were visiting. We had originally declined, because breakfast was for 8am, and I'm just falling back asleep around then usually, except that day Elijah slept through the night, got up and fed at 6:45am, and we were both so awake and ready to go that I decided we should go! It made for a very very tired me later, but it was worth it. I ate too much, and totally kaiboshed (how DO you spell that anyway?) our diet plans for the day, but whatev. It was great.

The family is so darn cute and picture perfect, I couldn't help but take some photos.

She is so pretty, and talented. She was showing off her piano skills, and Matthew was playing chords along with her, all duet-style. It made me really excited for our kids to learn piano so they can play with their daddy.

Matt is so good with kids, except when he's laughing at when they cry.

Check out the killer smile and eyelashes this one-year old already has. I'm so jealous. Of a baby.

Group photo! It's pretty much the first photo I've approved of myself in since...August I believe. Everyone else looks pretty good too, I think. Even Rachelle, who is tired and oh so pregnant in this photo, looks like a star.

Aaaaand this photo will do. Because it's criminal that I don't really have any of myself with Elijah. I understand the whole behind-the-camera thing, but I'm pretty sure that it's actually because I feel that I look so terrible in photos right now. That's why you haven't seen any.

Other than that, I went for lunch and shopping yesterday with my friend Naomi and Matthew played in a warhammer tournament which he won. The ironic thing is, he hadn't even won one single game with this 'army' yet, and then he goes and wins them all. I'm so proud. ;)

Nothing else is really new or happening with us. The most exciting thing going on right now is the fact that Rachelle is 2 1/2 hours away from being overdue. So her bun is baked, and we're all waiting with baited breath to meet this fresh new little one. And to finally hear what her name will be! Because I love names.

Oh, speaking of names, does anyone think it's crazy that I already know beyond doubt what my next baby's name will be? I've decided on Edmund for a boy (a la that dream I mentioned a few weeks ago) and Abigail for a girl.

Oh and best moment of the weekend? When Elijah was crying in someone else's arms, and stopped crying when I held him. Then I passed him back, he started crying again (like, a lot) and when I took him back he stopped instantly. I felt a little bad for Matt's mum but I loved that he wanted me. Even if my shoulder was killing me and I was feeling frazzled.

Anyway, I hope your weekend has been as wonderful as mine!!

Jack of All Trades

I always thought it'd be cool to be a "Jack of all trades," and be able to do just about anything. I mean, sure the phrase is usually followed with, "Master of none," but who cares? Isn't it enough to be able to do everything, even if it's not as well as the next guy?

I guess, when I think about it, I get why the Jack-of-all-trades mentality works for me, why it fits so very well. It's nice to be useful to everyone, to be the Go-to Girl, to be willing and capable and to have skills that someone else doesn't possess. And I want that. I mean, who doesn't? Who doesn't want to be needed and appreciated, even if only in some small way?

But, as I said before, a Jack-of-all-trades must also inherently be a Master-of-none, and that's the part of the concept that really speaks to (or of) me. I'm not really a Jack-of-all-trades. I can't do everything. I can't even do most things. But there are some things I can do, and I like doing those some things. I just wish (ohh how much I wish) that I could do them better.

I'm not a Jack-of-all-trades on purpose. I didn't even realize until the other day that I had fallen into Jack's trap. I'd go as far as to say that it's not someone's fault if they're a Jack-of-all-trades. It IS, however, their (my) fault if they are (I am) a Master-of-none.

I know this all too well. It means taking on too much. It means not enough follow-through. It means only a mild level of diligence in each task that makes you somewhat experienced but woefully inadequate in each field of interest you undertake. It means jobs undone.

And you know what?

I am SICK of it!

Most days I like myself, flaws and all. But today I'm mad at myself. Disgusted even. I feel so lost and it's my own (insert curse-word of choice here) fault. And before you think I'm being too hard on myself, let me explain a little further, so that you know the full extent of my Master-of-none expertise (hmm, interesting concept. Apparently I AM really good at something! I'm good at being good at nothing. HA. I've had lots of practice.)

So. I cross-stitch. I have a heap of supplies for 3 cross-stitches that I would like to do, and it all sits untouched in the cabinet beside me. Also, I had a big cross-stitch that is nearly done (it's taken me over 200 hours of work) but the beads need to be sewn on and I don't know how to do that/am afraid of pricking myself with the needle I need to use, so it has sat for a year just waiting. Also, I have a Christmas stocking for myself that I decided to leave unfinished before starting Matt's.

I took up scrapbooking a while back but I take so long to get one stinking page done that I kindof gave up and all the supplies are sitting in a cupboard in my basement.

We have a treadmill that I've jogged on maybe 10 times. And a yoga mat that is a year old and still untouched. And an exercise ball that I really only bought for a fun chair, and I haven't even used it as that.

I have a journal where I haven't finished writing the last 3 entries and I keep starting over needing to update the update.

I'm learning to play the piano, but I haven't taken lessons since September, and even then I decided to drop it for a bit. I got to grade 5 and found the pieces really difficult, was told that I wouldn't be able to fly through the next grade in 4 months, lost motivation, stopped practicing, realized that I was wasting money showing up for lessons without practicing, and dropped it. Just when I was starting to be able to play the Children's Songbook pieces.

I have a new sewing machine (NEW I tell you!) and I've pulled it out all of twice. I'm excited about it, true, but how far will the excitement carry me? Will it carry me through a difficult pattern, or will I just get frustrated and give up on that, too?

I have a camera and (I think) am half-way good at photography but I feel awkward talking pictures of other people because I don't know good poses and I get intimidated by needing to lead and direct (it's the non-confrontational aspect of me shining through.) I WANT to make something of it, but I don't feel I'm good enough to charge people and I'm scared stiff of someone wanting one thing and me producing another and wasting their time. I keep feeling like once I do X then I'll be good enough. Like, after this course, once I have Elijah and get some more experience, etc etc. But I never actually feel good enough.

If I learned photoshop I'd be able to make my pictures look cooler and fix them up. So I bought book at Chapters to teach me photoshop. And I've put it down 1 1/2 chapters in.

If I really sat down and learned flash I'd be a much more versatile photographer, but beyond what Matthew has showed me, that all I can really do and I have yet to read online how to do more.

I LOVE to read and sometimes get books that excite and make me stay up until all hours reading. But often, when it's 2am and I simply must put it down so I can go to bed, I feel the need to just skim ahead so I can know what is happening next. I convince myself I'd sleep better knowing than anticipating. And I end up skimming through the rest of the book. And when the next day comes, I already know what's going to happen, so I don't bother finishing the book, making me feel very incomplete. Also, I buy lots of books intending to read them, but I read other books first, then re-read old favourites, then lose motivation to read the books I bought, thus adding to the pile of books that still need to be read. I believe my current total is around 20 new books to be read.

Aaaaaaand worst of all, my schooling. I can't even feel good about that! I am 1/2 a credit shy of graduating from my 3-year degree and I've been going to school 6 years. Sad, huh?

I'm sure there are other things that I have a hard time following through on, I just don't have the energy to list them all (ironic, isn't it? I'm not even following through on my list of things I don't follow-through on!!)

My patriarchal blessing says at one point, "There are many things you wish to accomplish in your life," and that's it. It moves on to some other point, after merely acknowledging the fact that I'm ambitious.

I don't know if anyone else out there is like this, but if you are, then you understand how damaging this incompletion-syndrome (as I will now call it) can be for your psyche.

I feel frustrated because I don't have anything to show for the hours and hours I've spent doing all of these pursuits.

I feel overwhelmed because there is just too much to do.

I feel lost because I don't know where to start, or where to focus my attention.

I feel like a failure, and I'm worried. What will I teach Elijah? What will I fail to follow through on, in raising him? How can I make sure I give this, the most important task given to me in this life, my all, and become a Master of at least one thing?

I don't entirely know the answers to all of these questions, and when I think too much about how BIG this task is, I feel like I'll never be able to accomplish it.

But I can, and I will.

I think I just need to narrow-down the playing field, and focus my efforts a little more.



So I just ate brunch with Matthew, and he had a lot to say on this topic of self-defacement and incompletion-syndrome. He pointed out that it's not the end of the world if I decide to put down cross-stitching or piano or scrapbooking or any other hobby of mine, because they aren't things that I HAVE to do in life. I'm not expected to do any of these things well, or at all for that matter. They are all good things, but I shouldn't worry so much that leaving such things undone will mean I'm going to be a bad mother. Following through with my children is much more important than taking nice photos and I'll be much more motivated to do that, so I need to stop being so dramatic.

Done.

Also, he agrees that I'm spreading myself too thin, with everything that I want to do. I can now recall the phrase, "You can't do everything, but you can do something. Whatever you do, do it well." That's what my focus needs to be. Matthew also reminded me of what Dieter F. Uchtdorf said in a talk during the Priesthood session this past conference. He spoke on patience and said that our goals can only be achieved through consistent effort over an extended period of time.

So no more taking one photography course and expecting to be a pro at it. No more completing grade 4 piano and feeling deflated when my piano teacher tells me that it might take me longer than 4 months to complete grade 5 piano. No more giving up on a cross-stitching project because it is taking a long time. No more being a quitter.

Also, no more wasting my valuable free time with useless things that do not build me up and increase my overall happiness.

I only have so many hours of free time in a day, and I've decided to focus on a few things from now on, instead of many things. Here are my new goals:

-pick one picture that someone else took that I like, and try to duplicate it. Do this once a week, and post on my efforts (so keep after me if I haven't been doing it!)
-go to Fabricland today and find a pattern for a cape. Buy the material. Make it already. In other words, stop TALKING about what I want to do and go out and DO it.
-learn the song called The Meadow (from New Moon.) I can play through the first page on the piano, but nothing beyond that. I have a month to do this (because I thrive on deadlines!)
-read my scriptures every day, because I really do feel better when I remember to do this, and make my life a little less centred on my day-to-day distractions and a little more centred on spiritual things.

And with all of this comes taking care of Eli, playing with him, feeding him, giving him attention and making sure we do tummy time (because the doctor thinks his head is getting too flat.)

So there. Those are my mid-year resolutions. Because, really, I can do anything. I don't say that to be arrogant, I say it to be optimistic. There is so much potential in me, in EVERYONE, and I just want to tap a little bit of it.

And now I'm reminded of not just a quote, but an entire talk given by President Uchtdorf at a General Relief society meeting a couple years ago. Here's the link to the talk, but to keep it short, here are some quotes:

"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before.

Everyone can create. You don’t need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty.

Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty—and I am not talking about the process of cleaning the rooms of your teenage children.

You might say, “I’m not the creative type. When I sing, I’m always half a tone above or below the note. I cannot draw a line without a ruler. And the only practical use for my homemade bread is as a paperweight or as a doorstop.”

If that is how you feel, think again, and remember that you are spirit daughters of the most creative Being in the universe. Isn’t it remarkable to think that your very spirits are fashioned by an endlessly creative and eternally compassionate God? Think about it—your spirit body is a masterpiece, created with a beauty, function, and capacity beyond imagination."

"The more you trust and rely upon the Spirit, the greater your capacity to create. That is your opportunity in this life and your destiny in the life to come. Sisters, trust and rely on the Spirit. As you take the normal opportunities of your daily life and create something of beauty and helpfulness, you improve not only the world around you but also the world within you."

Anyway, this post is getting awfully long. AND there are no pictures! My deepest apologies. Today I turned to the blog to vent and let some frustrating thoughts out, rather than to update and show pictures.

But I do have a little bit of updating to do, so I'll do it now.

Last week at the doctor's Elijah weighed in at 13 lb's 2 oz and was 25.5" long. That means he gained a pound and added 1.25" in a matter of 2 weeks! He has almost grown out of his 0-6mos. Robeez, his feet are so big. He had his 2-month immunizations at the same time, and while the screaming then was very sad, the hardest part came later around 5pm when he cried until he was bright red in the face every time he so much as moved his little legs. I'm not sure if that reaction is normal, but we gave him some Tempra and by 7 he was fine again. It was hard though, he couldn't be held, couldn't be fed, couldn't move an inch or else he'd cry and cry.

On a much happier note, he has started sleeping through the night! Not all the time, but 4 times in the last week he has slept for between 6 and 6.25 hours at night before waking up wanting to feed, and then he'll go back down for another 2-3 hours. What would make it even nicer is if I could manage to fall back asleep after the 6-hr run. Sometimes I lie awake for another 1-1.5 hrs, so that sucks.

This past weekend was Easter and General Conference and it was great. We watched the broadcasts from home (except for the Sunday morning one, which we'll totally watch from home next time, it's so much comfier.)

Not that anyone but me cares, but today marks one year since I got my period and then got pregnant with Elijah. I think the day only sticks out so much because it determined my due date (add 9 months and one week and you get January 14th.) It's still crazy to me to think where we were last year. Waiting to adopt any day, plans to get my 4-year degree (because going to school with a toddler would be much easier than with a breastfeeding infant) etc. etc.

I'm getting excited to do some more photography classes, but I think I'll have to wait until September to do anything. One month from now is just too soon for me to be having a weekly commitment without Elijah there, mostly because I don't want to pump and bottlefeed him. In September he'll be 8 1/2 months and can manage an evening of baby food and cereal, especially if the course turns out to be in town and not 1/2 an hour away.

Aaaand not that this is a big update, but yesterday I heard thunder again for the first time in 6 months. Excitement ensued and now I'm watching the weather like a hawk, cursing the dishwasher for being too noisy, and thanking Matthew for waking me up this morning because I was sleeping through a really good thunderstorm. Elijah seems to be completely unphased, which is good. I'm going to try to teach him to relish every thunderclap, but I realize in the end that I have little control over a little one's fears.

Speaking of little ones, I'm going to go feed my little one so that I can get going to fabricland.

But first, photo to imitate for the week:

Because I absolutely love this woman's work and wish I could take pictures like her. I really don't know if I'm doing something illegal posting it, but is it okay if I give someone else total credit for it? It was taken by Kelle Hampton, and my goal is to imitate it by analyzing how I think she took it, and then getting the circumstances just right so that my photo looks as close as possible to hers. Minus the exact baby model of course.

So there you have it! And I really need to go because I told Matt I would be done "in a second" about 10 minutes ago!

Portraiture attempt

When Elijah was 6 weeks old we had a photographer from Canadian Baby Photographer come by and take some pictures of him. I was watching him do it and decided that I could do what he was doing. He was even using my stuff to do it! My baby, my blankets, my couch pillow, my towels. Sure he had his own camera, flash and backdrop, but still. I could do it.

So today I pulled out the trusty cam, engaged Matthew's help, and took Easter pictures of my dressed-up boy. I cropped them all to 5X5 because that's the size of my own Canadian Baby photographs from when I was a little girl, and I want to get a similar booklet for Elijah for when he's older.

For the record, we did end up ordering photos from the photographer, they were ridiculously expensive and I'm ridiculously excited about it, even if I could have done them myself. We'll be getting the digital copy of the photos so I'll post those when we get them, but in the meantime, I'm pretty proud of my first-ever-portrait attempt. Granted, my ability to take good photos was completely dependent on this adorable little munchkin I call Eli, but still.









The last photo kills me. He was getting so angry by this point, and it definitely shows. It looks like he's either trying to point at or punch the camera, or like he's doing an imitation of the "Uncle Sam wants YOU" campaign.

Anyway, I'm sure I'll improve over time, but I'm happy with how they turned out, as it gives me hope that I'll be able to do my own family photos and portraits of my kids as they get older, rather than paying some over-priced company to do it. That being said, though, it's pretty cool that Matthew and I both have the same pictures from the same company that did our son's photos.

I was going to post the baby photos of Matt and I, but it'll have to wait until tomorrow because my boys are sleepy and just a teensy bit cranky and I think we all should go to bed. It's been a long, but wonderful, weekend and we need to recuperate.

So Happy Easter from my family to yours!

New BBQ

Matthew and I have been saving our Canadian Tire money for a while in hopes of getting a new barbeque. We had our sights set high for a $250 one, but got a little bit impatient in our desire to grill, and so decided this past week that we could definitely settle for the $190 one instead. I mean, a free barbeque is a free barbeque. Do we really need a shiny one? (which, by the way, was totally the only reason I wanted the other one. Don't tell Matt. I fed him some story about how important it was that the side grill had a cover and that that was absolutely worth the extra $60.)

So we bought it Tuesday, Matthew set it up on Wednesday, and Thursday we were grilling grilling grilling! Thursday we had hamburgers, Friday we cooked up some ribs and had Dave and Farrah over for ribs and wings, Saturday was more hamburgers, and Matthew is cooking up some steaks right now as we speak. Or rather, as I write. Type. Whatever.

I had to document our first grilling adventure, because it was just that exciting.

Our new bbq, in all its black glory. I think I'll call it Blacky, so that it doesn't feel sad that it's not Shiny. It needs to know I love it.

Insert an, "Arrrrrrg!" and you have Matthew: the lean, mean, grilling machine!

Chef Master or Master Chef? I'm not too sure. It doesn't matter either way though. He'll always be Blacky to me.

Matt says this shot is overexposed and that I shouldn't post it, but I just don't feel like altering a shot of ketchup in photoshop. Nothing spells waste-of-time better than fixing a shot of condiments. Besides, I like the exposure. And the shot. So let him eat cake.

We already knew that cheese went well with burgers, but I'd like to personally thank and shake the hand of the person who thought to put the cheese IN the burger!

You're hungry just looking at it, right? And yes, I artistically arranged the lettuce and onions on my burger, and squished it down a little to let the mustard and ketchup ooze out the side just so. What you can't see in this photo is Matthew's nearly empty plate, as he unartistically but very practically went ahead and ate his burger without any attention to detail and every attention to taste.

We are very happy with our barbeque and so glad we decided to buy it when we did. Thursday, Friday and Saturday were days straight out of summer, with the temperature getting as high as 28º C at one point (which is around 86º F for you American-minded Canadians and what-not!)

The weather has cooled off again (only up t0 18º today. Wah.) but I don't mind so much when I think of what it could be like. The following is a photo of almost this exact date 5 years ago, when we had a big snowstorm the first weekend in April, causing power outages and the like. That's unpredictable Canadian spring weather for you, though. It could be sweltering hot. It could be frigidly cold and blizzarding. Or it could just be plain old Spring.

I'm so glad this year, when we bought our barbeque, that the first weekend in April (which also happened to be Easter) turned out to be so gorgeous and conducive to grilling. Because we'd have been outside in the snow anyway, we're that jazzed.