Catching up with us–January & February 2012

I took the kids to the mall again (same mall for the day I said yes to everything).  They of course had a blast!

Oh my gosh Burger King has crap food on their menu!!

We went and listened to a symphony orchestra in the round for a school field trip.  The kids were mesmerized by all the instruments and loved the music.  We had a great time.

In February the kids got to bring home ‘Mr. Monkey’ from school.  They loved him!

 

We went bowling with my very close friends and her kids/family.  The kids absolutely LOVED bowling.  They did pretty well with Cooper at 63 and Charlotte at 80! 

Cooper waiting for his bowling ball.

Charlotte loving the blower.

Their little shoes were so cute.

Cooper has become obsessed with my camera on my iPhone:

What we have been up to–December

In December we went to Toy Story 3 on Ice.  The kids LOVED it!  I remember winning 4 tickets to Disney on Ice when I was younger and I loved seeing those same feelings of awe and joy in their faces that I felt.

Eating some cotton candy…haha I love his face.  He enjoyed it after he realized it tasted like sugar despite feeling like a cotton ball in his mouth.

In December Charlotte went to the hair salon with me for the first time.  She was a little scared and unsure, but she was a little angel the entire time.

We went to the natural history museum in December.  The space area was the big hit, although the dinosaurs were a close second.  Check out Cooper in his little astronaut costume. 

In December Cooper insisted on wearing his friend, Maile’s bright pink coat with fur trim.  I think he looked adorable and I loved that he didn’t care that it was a girls coat.  We went to home depot and several other stores and then out to eat.  We got a lot of stares but none of us cared.

In December Cooper insisted on being like daddy and played on his phone while leaning against the counter.  Adorable.

Charlotte’s 4th Birthday Party

Catch up post – pictures from December 11, 2011

My daughter has had a Handy Manny Party, a Train party and now a Pirate party!  I’m not sure I’ll ever see fairies, flowers, or princesses near a party for Charlotte.  We kept the party really small with basically family and one friend from school (we consider Maile and her parents family).  It was perfectly low key and casual.

We bought her a train table for her birthday, which she has not stopped playing with.  Her reaction was adorable. 

Everyone dressed up as pirates and we played pin the patch on the pirate (no pictures of the game).  It was adorable.

Even their cousin Alex joined in the fun!

I made her a Pirate Cake using this recipe.  She loved it!

 

So far I’m loving age 4 better than age 3.  Charlotte is so mature all of sudden, listens much better, helps out with chores, and is so funny.  She gets really sassy and talks back more, but I’m glad some of the emotional craze is gone (for now).

Newborn Photography Growth

I have taken photos of a few newborns now.  I am way behind on blogging, so I will work on getting my friend’s maternity photos and the rest of her newborn photos posted.  In the meantime, I thought it would be amazing to show my growth in newborn photography.

Cooper’s announcement photos, taken in April 2009 with our Sony Cybershot.  Except these are the re-edited photos I did about a year ago.  I don’t even think I have the original edits.

My friend’s baby Reese taken January 2011.

To my nephew Alexander taken in March 2011.

And the latest one, my friend’s baby Garrett taken February 2012: