Pet Faces

The latest photo challenge at I Heart Faces is the theme "Pet Faces."  Although we are all animal lovers, we do not have a pet.  We attempted owning a dog, but that didn't last very long.  The sweet dog we adopted did not like our cramped yard, and she became seriously overprotective while I was pregnant (really, a two year walking along the sidewalk did not pose a threat to me).  Thankfully, she found a good home at my parents' house.

Since we are pet lovers and need a "furry face fix" quite frequently, we are on first-name basis with dogs from our neighborhood, we explore the woods in search of birds, squirrels, bugs, frogs, turtles, worms, deer, and foxes, and we go to the local farm.

Peanut was nervous around the very large horses at the farm, but when she was finally feeling brave, I was able to snap this picture.

Enjoying Life

I've decided to enter a photo contest.  I haven't entered one since I was taking photography classes while in college.  I Heart Faces hosts many photography contests, as well as offers tutorials, inspiration, and interviews of other photographers.  Their theme for this contest, "enjoying life," seemed just right for me to get my "contest feet" wet again.  Here's my entry.

Click on the picture to see it larger.

The girls had been swinging in the backyard, but Popper suddenly decided she wanted to build a sandcastle.  With her messy hair and serious look, I couldn't resist snapping a picture.

Germs

It looks like Peanut has picked up a nasty virus somewhere.  My poor dear has had a fever for the past two days.  It's sad to see my sprite so limp.  Hopefully the baby will not catch this, and it would be pretty swell if I'm able to avoid it as well. 

I managed to snap a quick picture of Popper looking out the window. 

Need to take a breath

I wouldn't mind if life wanted to slow down a little and give me a chance to breathe.  Besides the fact that my precious, little bundle of joy is just as needy as her oldest sister (translation:  I can't put her down unless I want to listen to her scream like a banshee), I had attended two major family functions.  One was a funeral and one was my baby's baptism.  The funeral was for one of my husband's brothers, who died quiet suddenly from a heart attack.  This was 3 weeks after Little One was born. 

Little One's baptism took place last weekend, and all my siblings, their spouses, their children, my parents, a set of in-laws, and my grandfather all came out.  My youngest brother and his wife (you can see their pregnancy in a previous post) are the Godparents of Little One, and they had their baby baptized the same day, and I was the Godmother for their little girl.  It was pretty awesome.  My family rocks!

We had an amazing cake made by the valedictorian of my class from college.  http://blueridgebuttercream.wordpress.com/ is her website.  Not only was the cake delicious, but it was BEAUTIFUL!

Thankfully, this past Saturday gave us an opportunity to enjoy nature and have fun as a family.  On June 9th, all National Parks waived their entrance fees, so we made use of this and had a family picnic.  Little One didn't cry too much, and the older two had a great time running around.  It was very rejuvenating.


I think it looks like the cousins are doing some fancy, synchronized footwork here.


Our picnic

Been Busy

I haven't been able to do much photography, let alone type a blog or post anything on Facebook. Why? Let me show you:



My sweet little girl finally made her arrival, 11 days past her due date. Also, I just had to show you, we got to see the space shuttle from our neighborhood. Very cool. My daughters were thrilled that they got to see a "spaceship."
 


I'll post again when I get to type with both hands. Who know when that will happen.

Bluebell Hunting

The girls and I went bluebell hunting with a neighbor last week. The girls had a great time picking bluebells. Too bad the flowers got crushed in the wagon on the way home. We'll have to take a container with water next time, that way the flowers might actually last at least until we get home.

I really like Peanut's pose in this picture, but the lighting was a bit harsh. I had to really play with this image and give it a vintage feel in order to make her stand out from the background.

Look, I'm posting a new picture!

Ah, I've been so exhausted lately, and the warm weather has finally hit. What does that mean? Flowers are blooming, birds are singing, my children are wearing fun dresses, and my feet have swollen. Eww. I will be 37 weeks pregnant on Friday!! So exciting!

Here is Popper enjoying the amazing spring weather. The basket is so she can collect "treasures." These treasures usually consist of flowers, rocks, and sticks. Just the other day I found three rocks in the washing machine and another four in the dryer. See, it isn't just boys. :)