Caa Caa

These two make me so happy. "Anna" has been gone the last few days at her Aunt's house. She returned today and "E" is all about getting her attention. Did I mention he calls her "Caa Caa"? I have no idea how he gets Caa Caa from her name, but I love it. I told her today how much I loved that he calls her that and she asked me, "What, you mean poop?" No, silly lady, that he messes up your name and it is so cute and I hope he always calls her "Caa Caa". All day long, "Caa Caa, Caa Caa". I sure do love these two.

On a side note, we are going to start homeschooling for next year. 7th grade for "Anna" and tot school for "E". I am getting excited and have been researching curriculum, which I will post when we get it all together. Finally, I am to the more excited and less nerves phase of this new journey.

Also, I am going to start doing my weekly meal plan again. My friend and I will be posting them to our blogs so we can be held accountable. I am struggling staying within my grocery budget, so it is time to get on the ball.  With homeschooling, "Anna" will be planning a meal one day a week and cooking it (with needed supervision of course), so this is another reason I have to get with it on the meal plan. Looking forward to it.
It has been a fun filled 4th of July, with the band playing at church and the fireworks, I am exhausted. Until the next post!!

Here come the words

 

Tuesday the words just started flowing. I have been waiting for 20 month old E. to start saying words and it is finally happening. We were at Lowes on Tuesday and he found the confidence to say all kinds of animal sounds. A duck says "Ack Ack". A dog says, "Ooof Ooof". This includes a lot of bouncing up and down. A cow says, "Mooooooooo" and I love how his mouth forms this one. A Bear says, "Wrarrrrrrr". So does a lion and dinosoar, in case you were wondering.

We are working on B this week in tot school. He says air (bear), ubbles (bubbles) and all (ball). Mama and addy (daddy) are being said all the time now, along with Anna (sister).

I was so young with "Anna" and had so much going on that I just didnt stop to really remember this time with her. I know I enjoyed the things that she said, but remembering them is another thing. Thank goodness that we have blogs now, so I can capture these moments along with photos.

I adore these two kiddos. This picture was taken on the day that he clearly said Anna for the first time. He also likes to copy everything she does. She dances, he dances. She lies on the floor and he lies on the floor. How fun. I just wanted to capture these few moments before they went away. I love my monkeys!!!!

Faith

This weeks photo challenge at jillsamterphotography is on  Faith!  What does it mean to have faith?  I think to be like a child.  My sweet son trusts me completely.  He trusts that I will be there to kiss his boo boos, to make sure his needs are cared for, to provide comfort and love.  There is no question about his faith, no doubt.  To have a child like faith in God, that is true faith to me. To never question who He is, why He does what He does.  To always listen and follow, no need to know why or where we are going.
He will always know that I love him. 


I taught him how to point to the sky when I ask him who loves him the most.  Then I say Jesus in a fun way.  He will just trust that Jesus loves him the most, because that is childlike faith. 

I heart faces "People's Choice"

This week at i heart faces the people get to choose the winner.  This by far is one of my absolute favorite photos.  I adore the imagination of children!!!  Little girls playing dress up and boys that can make anything a train track, even daddy's arm. 
He drove the train all over his daddy that night.  I looked on with a smile.  The imagination of a child, it is priceless. 

A little slice of life

The photo challenge this week at I heart faces is "A slice of life". 

This is what I face anytime I head out to water the garden.  A sweet boy who cant stay away from the water and a dog that loves the water as well.  He loves helping playing so much that he cries if I go out without him.  I love this kiddo to pieces.  Everyone enjoy your week. 

More editing fun

It has been a wonderful day today.  I got to enjoy a walk with a friend that I love talking the bible with and serve in the nursery at church.  I also was able to find time to play around in adobe photoshop.  I absolutely love Pioneer Woman's blog, I am so happy that I have finally been able to find a site that does a step by step on adobe photoshop.  Thank you Pioneer Woman!!!!  She also has some great recipes too!!.  So, here is what I have been playing with, the hard light layer.  Lucky for us, here in Texas we had a great snow fall this year and I was able to take great pictures (to edit :)).  Here they are.




What do you think?? My handsome husband says that the "hard light" layer makes them look too bright and my daughter says that it takes from the snow, i.e. the footsteps and markings in the snow. I am digging it.

"Anything but a face"

What will I do for this photo challenge?  The photo challenge at i heart faces is to post anything but a face.  So, the picture has to have a body part of some kind in it, but no face.  Lucky for me, I just got done babysitting my nephew, so I was able to snap a lot of photo's.  I took the kids outside in the back yard and my 12 year old daughter has been raving about the "moss" that is growing out there.  If it is even that?  It is growing in the shady areas where there is more dampness.  So, I took a picture of it in her hand.  It really is pretty stuff.  She then proceeded to get as much as she can so she can transplant it into a moss garden.  I do love her imagination and love for all things furry and alive.
 


I sure do love my little lady (she is almost as tall as me).

Photoshop edits-the beginning

So, my boy has had some stomach bug thingy since Sunday night.  It involves a lot of cuddles from mom, since he doesn't want anyone else to touch him.  I did get to play around in Adobe Photoshop CS5 today while he slept in my arms, I finally figured something out, with the help of Pioneer Woman.  So, I tried it and am posting the results.  I enhanced a picture of the boy's eyes.  I then proceeded to ask my husband what he thought when he got home and he couldn't tell a difference.  Haha.  I am so excited about learning how to use Photoshop.  It is nice to have a little sick cuddly time to give me a chance to play around and learn.  Here they are, the original is first.




Hopefully, baby boy is on the mend. Maybe tonight will consist of better sleep for us both and no yuckies to clean up or sheets to change.

Instagram IPhone App-I Heart Faces

As I sit here rocking a sick baby in the wee hours of the morning, I thought why not check out the photo challenge at




My picture for the challenge isn't brand spanking new, because I dont know what free time the next few days will allow.  The first thing I did was to upload the instagram app to my phone.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE this app.   I love that a phone can do pictures like this and that the app is FREE. 
Here is the photo I chose to use
Leaves and toddlers, what a mix of wonder and fun.  I delight in watching my boy explore, especially when I can take pictures and edit them in such cool ways.  I hope you all are resting well, I am off to get a few hours sleep before the alarm wakes me up.

I Heart Faces-RED

This weeks photo challenge in I heart faces is RED.  It took me a while to figure out what to do, being so new at all this photography stuff.  I am still learning how to edit and use my Adobe Photoshop, but I am loving the challenge. I think the bigger challenge for me is being able to figure it all out while constantly being interrupted by little man's cuteness.

How can I not stop just to play with him.  At this rate, I will never figure any of this blogging, posting pictures, camera settings, adobe editing stuff out.  SIGH :)