Recap & arts 'n crafts...

This weekend, we had plans to go to my parents' house to watch the Steeler game. The girls wore matching Steelers tees:

Hannah had just woken up from her nap. I literally flung open her door and snapped this picture. She was waving to me. :)

Excuse the grain. I was pretty much maxing out settings in her dark room.

Sarah loves to sneak into Hannah's room. I went to grab a few things from my room across the hall and found the girls in Hannah's room peering into Hannah's bed:

It was a nail-biter. Unfortunately, it didn't end well for the Steelers.:( But we still had a good time!

Hannah spilled a bunch of water on her Steelers outfit right before we left, so she supported our team in spirit. ;)

Last week, I ordered Hannah some art supplies from Amazon so we'd have some activities to work on during the winter months. They came in the mail yesterday, but UPS delivered them and left them down by our garage. Unfortunately, by the time I realized that's where they were, it was too late. I made sure to open the box the minute I got home from work today so that Hannah could try out her new supplies. She LOVED everything.

She colored, painted, attempted to cut, and doodled for almost an hour.

We didn't even open the rubber stamp/colored pencil set. I'm so excited to do a little art project with her tomorrow. However, that being said, I'll make sure that no un-capped markers roll onto the floor, as there are consequences when you have a curious, mobile baby wandering around...

Maybe she thought it was a popsicle?
A quick wipe with a wet paper towel and few sips of juice later, and we were back to 100%. Lesson learned!

Until next time...

January Sun

Thank goodness for Saturdays when Daddy gets home from work hours earlier than during the week. When the day seems more relaxing just because you know it's the weekend.
We played all day today. We skipped, ran, jumped, crawled, laughed. It was fabulous.

Sarah modeled her new purse:

Pap and Gram stopped by for a bit this morning. It's always a party when they're here:

Hannah was awed by Pap's dance moves...

Sarah joined in on the fun:

The weather was beautiful today. The sun was perfectly golden, the temperatures were almost bearable, and one little girl was thrilled to get some fresh air.

She's been asking to blow bubbles for months, but the weather has not permitted us to venture outside for long. She was so excited when Daddy brought her bubbles out for her to enjoy.

We stayed out until it was just too cold...

...and the sun began to set.

:)

Total Random.

I have a whole mishmosh (like that word?) of pictures to share, and really no rhyme or reason to display them, so random it is. I'm going to just go with it.

Last night the girls got baths because Sarah had her one-year check up today and I like my babies to be squeaky clean when they visit the doctor. Hannah wouldn't look at the camera, but Sarah made excellent eye contact. ;)

This morning I realized I had left my camera on the dresser in our bedroom, so I snapped a quick self-portrait while my Mom had me on hold.

Hannah lounged in our bed and watched a "Dora" on my phone:

Today, Sarah braved the pediatricians office for her one year appointment. She's now 16lbs 12oz and 27 1/2 inches. She's petite, but still sporting some adorable rolls. They gave her a good bill of health, told us to start her on whole milk (which she hates), and ended the visit with three shots in her little, chubby arms. I hate to see them in pain, and I have to hold back tears myself as they cry. I hate when it's time for shots, but I know they have a good purpose, so we suck it up and do it. Sarah did really well and only cried for a few minutes.
I'm happy to report that she's doing really well and hasn't complained too much about her arms, which I'm sure are a bit sore. :(

This evening, my friend Jheimy stopped by with her four girls to pick up Ayla's pageant pictures I took a few weeks ago. Her youngest is just two months old, and I couldn't resist her cuteness, so I made Jheimy strip her down, slapped a bow on her head, and did an impromptu photo shoot, right there in the living room:

Then we had the idea to get all of the girls (minus baby Juliet) in a picture. I took like 20 shots, and this was the best that I got. I still laugh when I look at this. Hannah kept trying to kiss Sarah...

For the record, Hannah insisted she wear a bandaid on her arm like Sarah. Maybe she'll be excited to get shots in the future if I promise her a bandaid? Yeah, probably not. ;)

I'm eating a bowl of ice cream, lounging on the couch, and watching a few shows with Micah before we head to bed. I'm going to go enjoy the rest of my day with my husband. :)

*Almost* perfect day

I'm on a blogging roll lately! It feels good to actually take pictures, edit them that same night, get them uploaded, then blog shortly thereafter. It's so much easier to keep up with editing when I'm not days behind!
See my new blog banner ^? Yeah, it's not sized correctly, and I do plan on fixing that sometime in the near future, but I figured out how to do that! It may be a small feat for most, but I'm thrilled!

Today was my last day of Christmas break. I go back to work tomorrow, and although I've had a wonderful two weeks off, I could 100% go for at least another two weeks off! It's always harder to go back after a longer break.
I'm so glad our day went off without a hitch, for the most part. We were stuck indoors due to icy roads, below freezing temperatures, and lots of snow.

The girls didn't seem to mind the snow...

I pulled out the girls' Laugh and Learn house, Sarah's new purse and cooking pot, and we played "grocery store", where Hannah paid with play money and I bagged pretend groceries in leftover Christmas gift bags.

I also brought Hannah's new baby doll and doll bed down from her room so the girls could play. It melted my heart to see how loving Sarah was with that baby.

Excuse the food in her hair and on her shirt...teddy grahams...

I watched as she held the baby close, and then I caught this:

She gave that baby doll the sweetest kisses. Oh how I love her! ;)

After we played, I made lunch. Sarah had wandered off and I couldn't find her in any of her normal spots. On a whim, I peeked into the dining room. She had made herself comfortable on a misplaced chair cushion:

To top off an almost perfect morning, Sarah went down for a nap in her crib!!! The most miraculous part is that I put her in bed awake, she didn't make a peep, fell asleep on her own, and slept for an hour and twenty minutes! We're making progress!
Although Sarah did wonderfully, I can't say the same for Hannah. I decided to let her nap on the couch "with me" in case Sarah woke up and cried or vice versa. I put in a Dora, made her a little "bed" with her pillow pet and a blanket, and hoped she'd dose off during her show. Wrong.
After one Dora, she requested another. I told her we could watch one more, hoping that would be enough to help her fall asleep. She was getting nice and comfortable on the couch...until the episode was over. She grabbed all of her "bedding" and climbed up to sit with me...where she proceeded to tell stories and talk for the next half hour. Soon after, Sarah woke up and naptime for both girls was officially over.
Not having a nap started to show later in the day:

Stary eyed

She finally resorted back to the couch with her blanket and her "iPad"...er, umm, her Mobigo. We don't have the heart to tell her otherwise. ;)

I'm totally not ready for vacation to end, but I'm so glad we ended it on such a good note. I'm loving all of this time with my two girls. :)

Alphabet Challenge

I am doing a challenge along with several ladies from a photography board I'm a member of, so I thought I'd post my interpretations to my blog.
Each week, we will interpret a letter of the alphabet and post our pictures on facebook. We will complete the alphabet twice in one year.
I'm really excited about being a part of the challenge. I want to grow in creativity and I feel like this is the perfect way to do it!
This week is the letter "A". Hannah wanted an apple this morning, so I asked her to pose for a picture. She was a great sport about it and I love the shot I got! :)

Sorry about the size. I have got to remember not to size my photos this way when I plan to upload them online. :/

If you'd like to follow along or join in on the fun, "Like" Photo 52 on Facebook HERE.

CRAVE Photography: A Giveaway!

I am so excited about this giveaway hosted by CRAVE Photography!

She is giving away an 85mm lens (Nikon or Canon) to one lucky winner! I would love to own the Canon 85mm 1.2L, but who wouldn't?!

You can enter the giveaway HERE! Make sure to "LIKE" her on facebook HERE!

Sarah's 1st Birthday Party!

Come on in and join the fun, our little lady just turned ONE!

We did a ladybug theme for Sarah's party. My good friend and assistant party planner/cake decorator is away for the holidays visiting her sister in Scotland (sob), so I was left alone to decorate the cake. I almost threw it in the trash a few times, but I think it turned out okay in the end.

Sarah was thrilled for her party.

This is her new thing. I love it!

Just for fun, a comparison of Hannah at her first birthday party, and Sarah at hers:

:swoon:

We had such a wonderful time with family and friends. Sarah was showered with love and generosity.
Micah took the pics of Sarah opening her presents. Thanks, dear!

Thanks to Mark for manning the camcorder:

We had company until way past the girls' bedtimes, so they really didn't get a chance to play with all of Sarah's new toys. Saturday morning, my living room looked like this:

Thank you to my wonderful family and friends who made Sarah's first birthday party so special! We love you!