Zaniya's Birthday Party

I was invited to shoot a birthday party by Amanda. It was for her niece, Zaniya. She invited Ariel and Cailin and I was concerned about Cailin being clingy and not being able to take pictures. The truth was Ariel took care of her little sister. She kept Cailin busy sliding down the slide with her. I was pleasantly surprised.

Cailin didn't mind the pictures but Ariel said she gets enough pictures taken at home and that she didn't need to take any while at the party :0)! It made me think (only briefly) that maybe I take too many pictures!

Cailin was up first for the pinata, because she was the one of the smallest there. Ariel never got a chance because the little guy in front of her burst the pinata.

Story hour

We've been going and trying out different libraries. This one was near Ariel's school and was the perfect spot to kill an hour until school let out. There was a story book hour broken up with dancing and singing different songs. Cailin didn't know what to think at first.

However, it didn't take long before she was singing and dancing right along.

She sat down most of the time to listen to the stories.

And she participated as well.

But more than once, I had to get her back to the floor. She wanted to stand in front of the story teller and point at the book while she was reading.

Or she forgot the story all together and played under the table.

Arts and Crafts

After the stories were over, next it was arts and crafts. It was supposed to be fingerpainting.

You can see she is really in to it.

She was messy up to her arms with paint, but it all was washable. We had a good time.

7 1/2 months

I took this picture at 30 weeks. I had an ultrasound done the week before and you weighed in at 2lb. 11oz. I always want to know how you were laying and you were head down with your butt up and your legs clear across the belly. It was a really cool ultrasound in that we got to see you yawning and then opening your mouth repeatedly and licking your tongue out. The ultrasound tech said she felt like you had yawned and then got a taste of something that you thought was good and it had you coming back for more. It must be all the pancakes I eat every morning. It if had to say I ate one thing consistently it would be pancakes! At this point you're probably swimming around in syrup. You still kick and hit like crazy and at this point it's pretty cool to see you move my whole belly. You also have been poking different body parts for me to feel and try to decide what I am feeling.

I had to go to the hospital last week as well. I was contracting every 2-3 minutes which scared me to death. Although, it's not really new, I still expected this pregnancy to be different because everything had been going pretty smoothly so far. It did make me start to take things way more seriously, so I am off work and home on bedrest until you come. I am also trying my best to take it easy and not do much. That does get me out of chores around the house, while Dad picks up the slack :0)!

The biggest thing I have noticed this month is that the maternity shirts I brought, don't really fit me anymore. The end of the shirt doesn't quite make it entirely over my belly. I have a little bit of belly peeking out at the end of the shirt in the front. It was literally I could wear the shirts one week and I couldn't wear the shirts this week. I looked in the mirror and check it out, but I guess it's hard to see when you see yourself daily. I have gained 27lbs so far, which was a little concerning for me because that's how much I had gained by the end of pregnancy with Cailin. But seeing this is the time for you to pack on the pounds, I guess I can count on me packing on the pounds as well!

You have 9 more weeks (at the point of this post) to cook but 6 more weeks and you will be alright to make your arrival. So feel free to wait a little more than 6 weeks but don't go the full 9. We can't wait to meet you!

28 months old (or since that sounds odd 2 years 4 months)

You are getting to be such a big girl. You say so many things I can hardly keep track anymore. You definitely know what you do and don't like. You have to be in the mood for having your picture made.

And clearly today you are not!

You like to explore and love going to the park. I feel a little bad because we haven't been outdoors nearly as much as we should because pregnancy and heat do not mix for me!

You are really expressive and perfectly capable of telling me what you do and don't want. Pouting is what I usually get when you don't like what I ask you to do. You also say, "What Momma!" repeatedly when I ask you to do something that you don't want to do. It's kind of funny because it's your way of delaying doing the task.

You love the park and are definitely a dare devil. On this picture you are, at least six feet in the air and are contemplating whether you can jump or not. This is in stark contrast with Ariel who was always so careful to keep from falling or hurting herself.

You are very friendly and make friends everywhere we go. All it has to be is a little person around the same size as you and you will go up and grab their hand or say, "Hi". I love you so much my little toddler. I can't believe that it has been two years!

Sleepy Time

Jerry took these pictures of Cailin. He says she was up laughing, playing and making faces at him one minute. Then literally within the next few minutes she was asleep!

Next he went in to bother Ariel. Poor thing just wanted her light off so she could go to bed.

Jerry took this picture as well. I've been meaning to take pictures of her playing with them. I found this teapot set at IKEA and she loves it. She pretends to pour cofffee and tea. She will bring me a cup and ask would I like some coffee, tea or even soda. She also brings me a "snack" as well on the saucer. She asks would I like some cookies or potatoes. It's so cute and I have been noticing that she plays pretend more and more.

Back-to-School

I am so late blogging this, but this picture was taken on August 28, the first week of school. Usually I get a picture of her and the teacher, but I didn't dare try that this year. After all, she is in middle school. I did have my sights set on taking the pictures by the lake of the school. However, Ariel had other ideas. She led me to this far off corner and she actually told me that this was embarassing. Sheesh, I don't know what to think about that.

Anyway this is Ariel's first year in Middle School. I think she got into a great school and is settling in rather nicely. She is in Advanced Placement classes this year and I am rather happy about that for her. She was concerned about the work load. I like to call that Jerry's half coming out :0)!

She has started playing the Oboe this year. She says her favorite subject is Language Arts, because the teacher is pretty funny and he doesn't yell. She doesn't like Math, because it's confusing and the teacher yells alot (funny)!

This was the 2nd shot that morning. Yes! I only got to take two pictures of her before she was off and headed to school. I am excited for her and we wish you the best this year, as you begin a new journey.

6 months

Your kicks are getting stronger and stronger and it seems you are on the move constantly. We still don't know whether you are a boy or a girl, but I think that you will be a girl. We are not even close to picking a name for you. I have gained 24 pounds so far and can no longer fit most of my clothes. The official countdown has begun as we can't wait to meet you.