On a blogging roll...

I think it is me trying to take a picture a day, I want to get them posted right away so they don't just sit on the computer. Plus, I am having fun with the new lens...have I mentioned that I love it? :) Aislynn got these blocks 2 Christmases ago and she still plays with them:) Took these when I was snapping pictures of the layouts below...

Love this one above...

I had the blinds up, but it was foggy and gray outside, but I kinda like the light here. I had the ISO set at 400 and was shooting on Aperture Priority mode.

I got some scrapping done last night, it felt good to scrap. I feel like time is in short supply these days. This page I made with the December Kraft Girl Kits: This page I am REALLY happy with, made it with the January Kraft Girl Kits. This is my favorite kit so far:)

details... That's all for now:)

So far...

I have kept up with my goal of taking a picture everyday:)

Last night I caught the "tickle monkey," a new game, in action.Aislynn got new paintbrushes in her stocking, but we have been out of that big white paper, so we got some yesterday. Today she had been begging me to paint, so while Shaun and I cooked dinner, she painted. Love how serious she is;)

These pictures are a little grainy b/c I wasn't using the flash.

Goals for 2009...

No, not do more laundry, ha ha. One of them is to take more pictures. Which may not be necessary since we took 8, 503 pictures in 2008-WOW. That is a lot. I know it isn't realistic to take a picture every single day, but I can try right? So the laundry picture I took late last night after realizing I had taken no pictures yesterday...and since laundry is pretty much all I did (that is 5 loads there), I decided to capture the moment, hee hee.

Anyways, I did better today, LOVE this lens. Love, love love it. This picture has a shadow in the background, but how could you not love those big blue eyes and smile?Another one of my goals is to really LEARN my camera and everything it can do and improve me photography skills. This picture is a little out of focus, but I do love how the pillow and futon in the background are blurred. This shot is my favorite...she seems to be thinking, "When will Mom stop taking pictures of me and give me the popcorn she promised me if I let her take pictures of me?" :) More goals...to eat less packaged foods, which is why I made a big pot of soup for lunch instead of buying cans. Less $$ and more healthy. We also really need to curb our spending. We are saving all of our receipts for a month and seeing where we can cut back. Our goal is to be in a better financial position at the end of the year then where we are now. Another goal is to get Kraft Girl Kits rockin'...which I am optimistic about, especially since the website is done (THANKS SO MUCH PHILLIP!!!!). Check it out here! That is it for now...we are getting back in the swing of things here and will hopefully get our Christmas stuff taken down tomorrow.

See you next year:)

We just got back earlier from visiting Shaun's family up in Atlanta. Fun times! I played a little bit with my new lens...I had been shooting on the auto modes for awhile, but I took these all in Aperture priority mode, for some reason I had the ISO set at 200, so this one is a little washed out, but still a cute picture. Shaun and his Dad and Sister

I still need to get used to the manual focus on the lens...a LOT of the pictures came out really blurry, so I need to practice some more, but so far, I am loving the lens! I took this picture of one of Ashley's sweet little kitty's with no flash. I had the ISO set at 1600.

Today I am 17 weeks. I am definitely feel the baby moving a little more, Shaun has felt it a couple times. My belly is definitely growing!!! In less than 2 weeks, we will know if the baby is a he or a she! For this picture I adjusted the white balance, looks a lot less yellow than the previous belly pictures:)

Happy New Year to everyone! Here is to a safe, prosperous, and happy 2009!!!!

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, we did! One of Shaun's tradition's when he was little was that they could open one present on Christmas Eve. I KNEW this would be the one Aislynn would pick:)She got her "shower thing," this little baby bath. She was so excited about it:) I got a new lens-woo hoo!!! I am going to try it out sometime today hopefully!Leaving milk and cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer. Aislynn and I made this plate at one of those paint your own pottery places.

Christmas morning...Santa came and left Aislynn a little note;)

We all must have been good this year!

Opening stockings...

Opening her present from Santa...a doll house! This was everyone minus Brynne's Sean on Christmas Day... Our little family on Christmas Day, it's weird to think that we will have a 6 month old next year at Christmas!!! Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

We made sugar cookies yesterday for Santa...it was fun! I only got a few pictures because at one point, the mess got so big and I was trying to contain the mess.

Today I am 16 weeks. I have totally been taking advantage of being pregnant and eating sooooo many goodies this holiday season and not even worrying about it. But my belly is definitely getting bigger:)

The past few days I have been feeling little movements in my belly...little taps inside, not really strong enough to feel from the outside, but this is one of my favorite things about being pregnant! I can't wait until they get stronger and Aislynn and Shaun can feel them:)

We are going to have a very full house this year: My Mom (Grandma), James, Brynne, Sean, Phillip, Josh, and Andrew will all get here at some point tonight. A is SUPER excited about it being Christmas Eve:) We want to wish all of you a VERY Merry Christmas and I should have lots of pictures after tomorrow!

Early Christmas...

Sunday Shaun's family came over to exchange gifts since we won't see them on Christmas. Aislynn, Aunt Ashley and I made Peppermint Bark, and here is A crushing up the peppermints...She got this Princess Aurora doll from Mimi and Papa and she ADORES it. It sings the "Once Upon a Dream" song from Sleeping Beauty and she sings along to it...it is so cute. This is definitely a favorite toy! Aunt Ashley, Aislynn, and Mimi

Aunt Ashley and Aislynn

Shaun with his Dad and Sister Papa and AislynnA and I are making cookies for Santa today:)

Big Girl Aislynn Ush Princess Ensen...

The title of the post is what Aislynn calls herself lately. If you say she is a baby, she says, "No, I'm Big Girl Aislynn Ush Princess Ensen." I have NO idea where she came up with that, but she is creative!!!

We took her to see Santa on Saturday, she was kinda shy...all her answers were one word, and she told him she wanted a dollhouse. The best thing about seeing him to her was that she got a candy cane, lol.Yesterday we made Russian Tea Cakes and it was fun! I love baking with Aislynn she is so enthusiastic about it, lol!Today I am 15 weeks. We had a doctor's appointment on Monday,and everything looks good! I have gained 1 lb and we were able to hear the baby's heartbeat-nice and strong! My next appointment is Jan. 12th and that is when we will be able to find out the sex...can't wait!!! I have 1 pair of drawstring maternity pants, but for the most part, I am still in normal pants, but the belly is definitely getting a little bigger!!!

Aislynn snuggling my belly... and "baby sister," formerly known as Ba Ba.

Christmas is in a week-YAY! Aislynn is so excited! Is it just me or has December gone by super fast?