Bray the Couch Potato

This is one of the first times that I have ever put on a show "just for Bray". He wanders in and out while Ben and Delia are watching TV, but he is never interested for long. Much like Delia at that age. So, first I turned on a baby Einstein show. I think it was Galileo. He loves balls and of course the planets look like balls, so needless to say, Bray was impressed.

Ben's First Day of School!

I can't believe my Bennie is old enough for Kindergarten! I really think that Kindergarten is going to be great for him. I hope he gains confidence in himself. I know he is a good, sweet boy and I hope everyone at Mt. Vernon can see that as well. We all got up this morning to take him for his first day. It was kinda crazy there! Cars were parked everywhere; traffic was backed up. The Kindergarten students were to meet in the gym before school started, then, instead of the parents leaving the kids at school, the kids left us in the gym. I'm not sure if it really cuts down on trauma or not, but it sure ruined the photos I had in my head. I ended up forgetting the camera in the car, and that was okay. I don't think I missed "the shot" in the crowded gym. A very quick picture before we left this morning at about 7:10 a.m. This is REALLY early for me to be awake and talking to people....Ben on the other hand seemed happy to be up and moving. He is our early bird of the family (other than Brent, and he isn't an early bird by choice). After a full day at school, Ben rode the bus home with a friend that lives in the school district, so that we don't have to sit in carpool for an hour. It is a win, win situation. Ben loves to ride the bus and I love not sitting in the car. Here comes the big cheese!

     The official first day of school was on Friday. Then Monday kicked off the regular school week. I just can't believe that this is another first crossed off of the list. What is next? He has 5 loose teeth, so one of those is bound to come out eventually. After that? Driving? I hope he doesn't still hang his head out the window looking at the back tires when he has a real car to drive :) Because I didn't feel like I got any real keepers from earlier today, I took Ben out after dinner to take a few more pictures of my big guy on his first day of school. He has the sarcastic "Are we done yet?" face down pat. And I had to chase him for 15 minutes in return for posing for a few pictures. I'm definitely faster, but he has the better endurance, for sure! 

 

Choo-Choo! and a Hair-Do

I have not been taking pictures like I need to be! And blogging (or even editing) the ones I do take are another story. Today the kids were playing in the playroom and the light was pretty, so I thought I would attempt to get a picture of all of them doing their daily thing. These are the pictures that I cherish most. And of course ones without strange facial expressions are my favorite, so I chopped all of their heads off. Ben and Delia wanted to build a train track. Bray wants to do anything that Ben is doing. So we made a quick track (that Ben said was boring) so they could all play for a bit. And just so you know, everyone picked out their own train without arguing over who got Percy or the "Train Without a Face", or the Truck. The track was built without any negative outbursts of who was "breaking the track" or "taking apart the track" or just plain "messing up the track". They continued to all play happily and used only kind words between one another. Everyone was smiling and laughing and "Choo-Choo'ing" in the most perfect way imaginable. Heehee. Or so it would appear. ;) Bray reminds me so much of Ben when he plays! Big Giant Baby! When Delia was over playing trains, she wanted to play with my hair. I remember playing with my mom's hair. So, I tried to take a picture. An at arms length, hope for the best kinda picture. What did she do to my hair that was so funny?

Homemade Bubbles!!!!

At the beginning of the summer, Ben helped me make a "Summer Bucket List". Recently, it struck me that we are running out of Summer! School begins on August 10 and is going to ROCK my world...and not in a good way! 

Today had been pretty rainy most of the day, so this was a good day to make bubbles. WE bought all of the ingredients the other day at Wal-mart (blech!). The concoction calls for curing for 24 hours, so hopefully it will be ready enough by tomorrow afternoon to give it a whirl. 

There are a million different recipes on Pinterest, but I read through a bunch and then just made my own. Hopefully it will work! 

2 Cups of Water (Some of the recipes called for distilled water, I used tap)

2 oz Glycerin (much cheaper at Wal-mart)

2 oz Dawn liquid dishwashing soap (I used concentrate) 

So, I let the kids pour the ingredients into the jar and stir gently. It is now "curing" overnight in the kitchen!

Katydid

I love bugs. Well, I don't luuuuuuv bugs, but I think that they are interesting. This is a katydid. Ben was all about it. Bray was alllll about it. I thought he was going to smash it with his little pudgy fingers. I don't have very many pictures of Bray with it because I was too worried about saving it from his grasp. Delia likes the idea of holding it, but when it comes down to it, she is scared of bugs. This one is on its way out, I think. It hung out on the porch all day long. The brown area on it's back should be green, I think. Ben and the Katydid Ben with Bray trying to grab the Katydid It is just amazing how much these look like leaves! What an awesome little creature! Offered it some water....it wasn't interested.

Going Tubing!!!!

I ordered a towable earlier this week and it was supposed to come late next week, but it got here today!!!! Yay! Can't beat FAST, FREE shipping! So, after nap/quiet time, the kids were soooooooo excited to get to tubing! There aren't many things that make me as happy as seeing the kids laugh and smile. There is a musical quality to children laughing. So, here are a few pictures from our boat ride this evening. Bray was along too, but didn't get to join in the tubing fun. He seemed to enjoy watching the big kids have fun though. At first they wanted to wear their goggles to keep the water from spraying in their eyes. By the time we had the tube pumped and ready to go, they had forgotten all about them. Let the fun begin! I promise they weren't in the air the whole time. Just as fraction, actually, but these were the most fun photos. Delia was literally bounced off TWO times. When we came back around to pick her up, she would cry and then say, "I want to do it again". heehee. That's my girl! And little Bray, content. He is such a sweet little guy. I had to do a little shopping for this tube. I had seen it all over the lake, but we couldn't find it locally. Someone must have it locally...but anyway, here is a link to the one we have from Overton's and and a similar one .

Open Wide!!!! And a Workshop Review

This kid is sooo funny! And he knows he is funny! I love it. This little man can make me smile just about anytime. Even when he is being bad, he is still cute (and funny). I was feeding him his oatmeal the other morning and he was doing this.... Then some of this: And more of this: Then some more of this: I'm so happy that out of all the different combination of genes that could have been our third kid's destiny that this is the combination we got. My little Bray Bray! We all love him....even Ben admits to it! And one more thing! Recently I signed up for a seminar by Sarah Wilkerson of Clickin' Moms. It is called Flawless: The Secrets of Skin. It is a huge PDF filled with tons of information on how to achieve beautiful skin tones in photographs, specifically in post processing. The PDF is really amazing. The images are beautiful, the content is fully comprehensive. I can't think of enough good things to say about it. I would buy it again in a heartbeat. While I can't say that I have "finished" the seminar, I am fully aware that the information provided will take more than just the allotted time of the seminar to really sink in. It is a LOT of information. I feel as if the content is for intermediate photographers (or advanced) who have a working knowledge of PS or LR. There is a closed forum for peers to discuss the content of the seminar, ask each other questions, share images, etc. And I have noticed plenty of CMPros around answering questions as well. For anyone who reads this and has taken any other course by Sarah Wilkerson, this seminar does not disappoint. It is as well pulled together and informative as if she were sitting with you teaching it in person. Thanks CM, and thanks Sarah for such a great seminar!