To get this cute picture I used 100% natural light and when I edited it, I added two gradient maps a B&W and a pink & white blended with soft light. They gave the photo a bit more contrast and a bit more light.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
An Explosion Of Sorts
Cadence has done three big things in the last week or so.
First of all, she dances. Well, sorta. She sways from side to side or from front to back when there's any type of music... but not necessarily to the beat. She'll get there someday. It's so dang cute! The other day as we were leaving home to run some errands, I turned the car on and "Dancing Queen" was playing on the radio. I turned around to back out of the drive-way and saw Cadence bopping along to the music with a HUGE grin on her face! Looks like we've got a disco fan on our hands...
And she's learned how to climb up on and down off things. She's been able to get on and off our bed for a while. It's just a mattress on the floor. And again she was so cute! Until recently, she didn't know that there was any other way to get down off something other than face first. She'd crawl to the end or side of our mattress and dive face first onto the (carpeted) floor. We'd just see two adorable chubby feet sticking up in the air for a couple seconds and then she'd pull her self back into a crawling position. She never complained so I guess it wasn't painful! But now she's a pro at climbing up onto things--not much higher than 18 in. or so, thank goodness--and then turning around to get down feet first. Big improvement! Unfortunately every time she has exemplified this new skill I have neither my camera or camcorder at my fingertips. :)
She's also learned how to clap her hands! Just before dinner tonight she was super excited to have Derek pick her up, she's a total daddy's girl, and clapped once. It made noise so she clapped again. It still made noise so she clapped again and again! I clapped and she clapped. She clapped and I clapped more (I think I ended up doing a lot more clapping than she did). I could see her brain wrapping itself around the new skill. Totally cute!
And she slept through the entire night Monday night. From 9pm-9am. She hasn't done anything like that since Christmas Eve last year and that was only from 7pm-4am! I'm not anticipating this becoming a habit, but it's improvement.
First of all, she dances. Well, sorta. She sways from side to side or from front to back when there's any type of music... but not necessarily to the beat. She'll get there someday. It's so dang cute! The other day as we were leaving home to run some errands, I turned the car on and "Dancing Queen" was playing on the radio. I turned around to back out of the drive-way and saw Cadence bopping along to the music with a HUGE grin on her face! Looks like we've got a disco fan on our hands...
And she's learned how to climb up on and down off things. She's been able to get on and off our bed for a while. It's just a mattress on the floor. And again she was so cute! Until recently, she didn't know that there was any other way to get down off something other than face first. She'd crawl to the end or side of our mattress and dive face first onto the (carpeted) floor. We'd just see two adorable chubby feet sticking up in the air for a couple seconds and then she'd pull her self back into a crawling position. She never complained so I guess it wasn't painful! But now she's a pro at climbing up onto things--not much higher than 18 in. or so, thank goodness--and then turning around to get down feet first. Big improvement! Unfortunately every time she has exemplified this new skill I have neither my camera or camcorder at my fingertips. :)
She's also learned how to clap her hands! Just before dinner tonight she was super excited to have Derek pick her up, she's a total daddy's girl, and clapped once. It made noise so she clapped again. It still made noise so she clapped again and again! I clapped and she clapped. She clapped and I clapped more (I think I ended up doing a lot more clapping than she did). I could see her brain wrapping itself around the new skill. Totally cute!
And she slept through the entire night Monday night. From 9pm-9am. She hasn't done anything like that since Christmas Eve last year and that was only from 7pm-4am! I'm not anticipating this becoming a habit, but it's improvement.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Sunday Funnies
Derek: There isn't anything I can't do!
Rachel: You can't have babies.
Derek: I can make you have babies!
Rachel: Oh, that is so going on Facebook!
Rachel: You can't have babies.
Derek: I can make you have babies!
Rachel: Oh, that is so going on Facebook!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Day 365
As I edited my last P365 photo this evening, I felt a weird combination of feelings. First, I felt a little sad because it's a definite end to a stage in my life. I'm probably not going to be taking daily photos of my baby girl anymore. That doesn't mean that I'll stop taking daily pictures but I don't have to.
It's an odd feeling of relief because taking a daily photo wasn't always a burden. Sometimes it was, but usually not. I have loved taking pictures and I'll keep doing it. I guess I just won't have the pressure on me anymore.
I also felt so proud of myself! I am notorious for starting lengthy projects and then not really finishing them. When I started my P365, I was so worried that I would become overwhelmed with a new camera and new baby and quit. But I didn't! I accomplished my goal and even though I missed a few days here and there, I have a great book full of great pictures of our Cadence that I took starting from day 1 and ending on day 365!
It's an odd feeling of relief because taking a daily photo wasn't always a burden. Sometimes it was, but usually not. I have loved taking pictures and I'll keep doing it. I guess I just won't have the pressure on me anymore.
I also felt so proud of myself! I am notorious for starting lengthy projects and then not really finishing them. When I started my P365, I was so worried that I would become overwhelmed with a new camera and new baby and quit. But I didn't! I accomplished my goal and even though I missed a few days here and there, I have a great book full of great pictures of our Cadence that I took starting from day 1 and ending on day 365!
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Fingerprint
As my girl turns 1 this week, I've been having fun remembering what she's been like over the last year; how much she's changed! This picture I took of Cadence when she was 5 months old has always been one of my favorites! It's one of the first times she played with her feet and arms up in the air.
I can't believe my baby will be 1 in just a few short days!!!
Monday, September 13, 2010
Bear Blanket
Cadence has a bear blanket. Well, she actually has three, but they're all the same Pooh bear head with a blanket attached, just in different colors. She LOVES them! I started giving her one to sleep with as soon as I felt confident that she wouldn't suffocate herself with it.
Before today, I thought they were only a sleep time love. Cadence had a rough time napping this afternoon so I thought I'd take her and a bear blanket to snuggle in the living room. Snuggling with me did not last very long but snuggling with the bear blanket lasted off and on while she played for nearly an hour! It seemed like every time I looked over to see what she was doing she was carrying it around with her as she crawled, scooted along the couch, or played with toys!
I'm hoping that this outside her crib bear blanket attachment won't continue. I'm guessing it was just because she was sleepy from not napping very well. It would be a pain to have one with us at all times...
Before today, I thought they were only a sleep time love. Cadence had a rough time napping this afternoon so I thought I'd take her and a bear blanket to snuggle in the living room. Snuggling with me did not last very long but snuggling with the bear blanket lasted off and on while she played for nearly an hour! It seemed like every time I looked over to see what she was doing she was carrying it around with her as she crawled, scooted along the couch, or played with toys!
I'm hoping that this outside her crib bear blanket attachment won't continue. I'm guessing it was just because she was sleepy from not napping very well. It would be a pain to have one with us at all times...
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Diana's
In preparation for a great Korean feast we'll be enjoying soon, Derek and I recently went on a quest for some very specific ingredients. Like frozen rice flower, dried skinned mung beans, and mugwort. We went to four different Asian markets in Boise and eventually found everything we were looking for... except for the mugwort!
As we were checking out at the fourth market, I remembered that when I had searched for Asian markets months ago, I had come across one that was specifically Korean. At the time I was skeptical. Boise isn't known for Korean-ness and I was afraid it would be a total bust, so I decided to try a market that wasn't nation specific. If they didn't have what I wanted, then I'd try the Korean one. But that time they did, so I didn't look further.
But this time, I really needed the mugwort that was listed in my very Korean rice cake recipe so I called my dad to look up the info. You see, I'm too cheap/poor to have web access or even texting on my cell. And luckily enough Diana's Korean Market was still there and just down the road!
It looked like a little hole-in-the-wall place, but as soon as we stepped in the store, I did a little happy dance. They had Aloe! In the big bottles! And the good ramyun, and gim, and red pepper paste, and spicy tuna, and choco pies! I'm sure we looked like big, white idiots jumping up and down in the store, pumping our fists in the air and cheering.
But I still didn't see any mugwort. By this time I was worried that with my luck I missed it at the four other stores we went to because I didn't exactly know what it was. I approached the counter and asked the lady if she had any mugwort.
"What is that?" She asked me. I could really describe it to her because I didn't know myself, but I had written it down in Korean--쑥--so I pointed to that (Yes, I can read and pronounce Korean, but from my experience, Koreans don't usually understand when I say Korean words in the middle of an English conversation.).
She immediately recognized it in Korean and led me straight to a small packet of the fuzzy, green powder. Sounds gross now that I'm typing it out. Think more like dry moss rather than mold...
Hooray! I finally crossed off the last item on my list and we decided that we would never go to another Asian market again!
As we were checking out at the fourth market, I remembered that when I had searched for Asian markets months ago, I had come across one that was specifically Korean. At the time I was skeptical. Boise isn't known for Korean-ness and I was afraid it would be a total bust, so I decided to try a market that wasn't nation specific. If they didn't have what I wanted, then I'd try the Korean one. But that time they did, so I didn't look further.
But this time, I really needed the mugwort that was listed in my very Korean rice cake recipe so I called my dad to look up the info. You see, I'm too cheap/poor to have web access or even texting on my cell. And luckily enough Diana's Korean Market was still there and just down the road!
It looked like a little hole-in-the-wall place, but as soon as we stepped in the store, I did a little happy dance. They had Aloe! In the big bottles! And the good ramyun, and gim, and red pepper paste, and spicy tuna, and choco pies! I'm sure we looked like big, white idiots jumping up and down in the store, pumping our fists in the air and cheering.
But I still didn't see any mugwort. By this time I was worried that with my luck I missed it at the four other stores we went to because I didn't exactly know what it was. I approached the counter and asked the lady if she had any mugwort.
"What is that?" She asked me. I could really describe it to her because I didn't know myself, but I had written it down in Korean--쑥--so I pointed to that (Yes, I can read and pronounce Korean, but from my experience, Koreans don't usually understand when I say Korean words in the middle of an English conversation.).
She immediately recognized it in Korean and led me straight to a small packet of the fuzzy, green powder. Sounds gross now that I'm typing it out. Think more like dry moss rather than mold...
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| Photo courtesy of Maangchi.com. She's got awesome recipes! Check her out! |
I Heart Faces - Vroom, Vroom Photo Challenge
This week over at I Heart Faces, the photo challenge is "Vroom, Vroom" Which is so exciting for me because I just did a fun family photo shoot of some good friends of ours, and one of the (many) pictures I took is perfect! It's like they made this challenge just for me! :)
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| Yes, that is a car in his hand and a bicycle in the background. How much more "Vroom, Vroom" can you get! |
I think I'm liking this photography thing!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Snapshot
So here's my life in a snapshot...
A too cute baby girl that can't/won't hold still for a good, in focus picture,
Baby toys and books scattered about the living room,
And unfinished shelving.
This situation is repeated pretty much throughout our house.
We have big plans for built-ins but no money! :(
Someday!
This situation is repeated pretty much throughout our house.
We have big plans for built-ins but no money! :(
Someday!
Monday, September 6, 2010
The Paper Mama's Photo Challenge - Excitement!
It was really hard to choose the perfect photo for The Paper Mama's photo challenge this week, excitement! My daughter always seems to be excited! But I felt like this picture is perfect because she's always excited about seeing our cat Willow, no matter how many times she's seen her!
Even though I posted two pictures, I'm only officially entering the first one. I just included the second picture so you all could see what she's so excited about! She'd chase Willow all day if I'd let her!! :)
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| My official entry. Cadence's super excited face! |
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| Watch out Willow! Here she comes! |
The cutest part of Cadence's excited face can not be seen in a photo. It's her cute little squeal/shriek!
Precious memories I never want to forget!!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Another Vintage Photo Restored!!
I think I love my new hobby!! It's so fun to take an old photo that doesn't look so stellar and make is something really beautiful. Plus, I feel like I'm honoring my ancestors' memories... My kind of family history!
Here's my latest photo.
I'm not exactly sure if the man in this photo is my grandfather, but it sure does look like him! He died when I was about 6 years old so my memories of him are fuzzy. If it isn't my grandfather, it's got to be someone closely related!
And PS: Everything I learned about vintage photo editing, I learned through Jessica Sprague's class, This Old Photo: Restoring Vintage Snapshots
Here's my latest photo.
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| The original |
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| And the edited version! |
I'm not exactly sure if the man in this photo is my grandfather, but it sure does look like him! He died when I was about 6 years old so my memories of him are fuzzy. If it isn't my grandfather, it's got to be someone closely related!
And PS: Everything I learned about vintage photo editing, I learned through Jessica Sprague's class, This Old Photo: Restoring Vintage Snapshots
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Cheese High
I'm on a cheese high this afternoon! Between my dad and I we spent just over $5 and saved over $200 on bags of Kraft shredded cheese! I couldn't believe it when I added up our savings!!
Thank you A Thrifty Mom!!
PS: I went to the other Albertson's. They had plenty of cheese left at 4:00pm
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
While she's "walking" this isn't her actually walking...
So yesterday Cadence and I visited a friend who had these really cool push carts for her twins. Cadence LOVED them and walked all around her living room with them (I promise I didn't go there just for the push carts!)!
Afterwords, I stopped by Other Mothers to see if by chance they had one--and they did, so I bought it. She's been walking all over our house with it!
And then later yesterday afternoon, she took her first steps to me from the couch! They were the cutest, little, almost ballerina-like steps. AND she's been randomly standing independently for a few seconds at a time. Most of the time she doesn't really realize she's doing it!
Too cute!!
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