It's Been Awhile...

...since I've posted and a lot has happened! While we're anxiously awaiting our "Baby Sissy", she's seemed a little anxious to make her appearance lately! But all is well and we're doing great! Just taking things easy for sure! Here's a few cute shots of Avery playing at the beach and the park last week (while I was still able to take her to do fun things....) :):)

Afternoon at the Beach!

Avery and Daddy playing at the water.
What a beautiful day! I couldn't wait for Avery to wake up from her nap this afternoon so we could head to the beach. I was sooooo excited to have the opportunity to take some pictures outstide in the beautiful, natural sunlight, at the beach on a warm day. I caught a few cute shots of Avery and Mark and Avery and her friend Addie before I realized there was lint and dust in my camera that I couldn't clean out. I was devestated to say the least. But thankful for the shots I was able to catch. So tomorrow, camera is going in for a cleaning!!

Avery and Addie playing at the water's edge.

We're still here.....

.....just busy moving!! Although it's stressfull and busy and crazy and exciting all at once, we really are getting somewhere with it. We'll be out of our house next week and I can't wait!! While Avery and I were getting ready this morning, she thought she'd put some make-up on too. I've been dreaming of getting shots of her "doing her make-up" for so long... although it's not in front of a big mirror and posed how I'd like with lipstick all over everything, it's a start!! Enjoy!!

Cross-processing!!

I really feeling like I'm diving in lately! I love photography...I love the creative post-processing process, but I've felt so limited. It's just a matter of jumping in and trying things. You can't screw ANYTHING up!! What's really been throwing me is Cross-processing. I've seen some images I really love, but just can't seem to make it happen with mine... until today! I took this shot of Avery yesterday at the Children's Museum, it's just a plain shot... not much going on and converting it to black and white seemed to make it more boring. So I tried my hand at cross-processing. I love this shot so much more now! It just has an "edgier" feel to it, don't ya think? I love how her little eyes and lips pop, and her sassy little side pony tail screams girly-girl!! I love how the light is accentuated through the processing too! I just might be getting somewhere, ya'll!!! I'm motivated to snap away and play again and it's a great feeling! Maybe I'll try my hand at some belly shots!! Ha ha ha!!

Favorites

Things are kinda slow around here lately. Weather's been icky, except for yesterday it was abnormally beautiful for this time of year. Anyways... I haven't been taking a lot of pictures but it's all the more reason for me to get some good practice shooting indoors. Yep... working on it. :) Anyways, I haven't posted in a while so I thought I'd show you a few shots of Avery that I LOVE. We have to keep in mind that not every picture we take has to be technically perfect. As a mommy, I never want to miss anything Avery says, does, tries... etc. Part of the reason why I've fallen in love with photography is because it allows me to "document" Avery's life. Not just the cute smiles in a beautiful environment. I want to capture the essence of Avery. Not all of my pictures are what some would see as "frameable", "scrapbookable" or "need -to -show- the -world-able" but they are pictures of Avery's true spirit; exactly what I want to catch while documenting her life. Of course, I'm biased... practically EVERY picture I have of Avery is "frameable", "scrapbookable", and yes, absolutely "need-to-show-the-world-able" but I'm her mother!! Ha ha ha! So here's a few of Avery that I cherish. With one glance of these pictures I know exactly how she was feeling, I can here her giggle or hear the word she was saying, I'm taken back to the moment!

This is one of Avery's favorite things to do!

If you ask her to play 'Peekaboo' this is what you get!

I love this picture because Avery now says, "Idnknoooow" which translates to, "I don't know" and it is so cute to hear her say it. She puts her hands up too. This shot is not perfectly focused, but look at her beautiful blue eyes and her priceless expression with a cheerio in mouth to boot! Ha ha ha!

And this last shot is very close to my heart. This is something Avery's done since she was soooo little. When she's tired or just relaxed, she snuggles her blankey right over or under her nose and just breathes her blankey in. She loves it so much and this soft, fuzzy piece of brown and pink fabric bring so much security and comfort to her. It just melts my heart! When you ask if you can have some blankey too, she puts it right under your nose and rubs it. Just the way she likes it! Such a precious little bugaboo!

That's it for now! Remember, not every shot is going to be perfect (I always have to keep that in mind)! Just know that some of those not-so-perfect shots may turn out to be the ones that really speak to you and mean the world to you.