Hello Love – My “Black Friday” Camera

I love taking pictures – especially of Maddie. Who wouldn’t? I have taken tons and tons of pictures already and had to get an external hard drive to put them on so they wouldn’t bog down my computer. The one that I got is 1 TB, yes tera byte, yes that is 1000 GB – it can hold a ton – so I put all my videos on there too. Anyways, Donny had gotten me a new “point and shoot” camera for Mother’s Day. I love it, it is an upgrade from the one Aunt Melinda gave me as a wedding present when we got married over 4 years ago! My little Canon has served me well, and continues too. I have taken over 2,100 pix with it since I got it in May. Donny has since dubbed this camera as “his” because I now have my own “serious camera,” a Nikon D3000! I went out on Black Friday for the first time in my life to get this thing. It was really a great bundle and I do not, at all, regret standing in front of Target (because the line was that long) at 3:30. I got my camera, the standard lens, a zoom lens, a bag, and a 8GB card for a great deal. I have really been playing around with it and it is so easy to use – especially since I am used to a Canon, I was a little worried. April also has this same camera so she has showed me a couple tricks of the trade to get some good pictures. This thing takes pictures like you would not believe. It is so great and the quality is amazing. Here are some pictures that I have taken with my new camera that I just cannot get over. Oh, and in case you didn’t know already, Maddie is my main subject.

Look at that hair! Look at those eyes! This camera is great!

Happy Happy Turkey!

Happy Thanksgiving!! Hope everyone is having a great holiday! We are so excited for our first Thanksgiving with Maddie. Here are some pictures of our night over at Bobbie & Pops (Maddie's great-grandparents) - oh, and there were 28 of us, and one high chair. Maddie no longer likes to stay still for pictures, so here is the best we got!

'Tis the season to Shutterfly

Oh how I could count the ways that I love Shutterfly. I first saw products made by them through other people Christmas cards and announcements. So, when I knew that I would be sending out birth announcements in March I immediately signed up to start previewing some stuff. They sent me all kinds of discounts, free shipping etc. Their site is super easy to use that it made making my announcement a snap. They also came in the mail about three days after I had ordered them.

Since then I have ordered return address labels, Father's Day cards, a Maddie mouse pad, a huge poster and some other gifts that they have to offer.

Donny loves his mouse pad, as seen here. I love it because I could use one big picture and write a little message below.My mom also loved the announcements that we did that she chose to do her Christmas card this year through Shutterfly. We used pictures from Jim and Christina's wedding to create a collage of pictures. We had fun doing it but there are so many cute cards to choose from it makes for a touch decision. I am also deciding between some of these for myself.

We eventually decided on this one (here) because it had big pictures and small ones that worked with what we were trying to fit.Some of the other runner ups are (all found here):Now of course I have to make the tough decision of which one I am going to use this year for our card. Oh, and did I forget to mention, Shutterfly is giving away free Christmas cards for doing what I just did on my blog. Go here and see if you are interested. Who wouldn't want to brag about their Shutterfly and then get some credit?? If nothing more, sign up with them because they send you great deals all the time, and I mean ALL.THE.TIME. people - gotta love that free shipping.

Happy Shutterflying!!

Nice Puppy....Pat, Pat

Maddie really likes the dogs, the dogs don't really care for her. They are more interested in food and following me. So, when we get the chance to get one of them to lay down and play with Maddie, we take advantage of it. Nike is the calmer one so Maddie can usually lay with him. And, by "pat, pat" I mean Maddie pulls and yanks on his eyes and ears. She loves in cause he is so soft and Nike loves the attention.

Ok, Nike, you lay here so I can climb up on you.Pat, pat.
Yes, that is my finger in the picture because I was trying to get it so quickly.

PJ Playtime

Who needs toys when you have empty coffee cans. By the way, think I drink enough coffee??

Daddy's Soccer

We have not been to any of Donny's soccer games this fall because they start at 8 and that is when Maddie goes to bed. Well, this past week the game started at 7:30 so we decided to go. I have no pictures of the actual game for a couple reasons:

1. It was a little cold and I didn't want to fish out the camera.
2. Maddie was busy showing Sam and Charley her toys while Emily and I were refereeing.
3. Dr. Pop and Mimi held Maddie for most of the time we were there.
4. I had to collect all of Maddie's toys and blankets, etc, and my camera was buried at the bottom of the bag.

However, when we got home, bundled up Maddie was sound asleep. She was so cuddled up that you could hardly see her, so I dug for my camera and took a picture.For the record - Sam and Charley were super helpers at the end of the half helping me get all of Maddie's toys together. Emily, you kids are so sweet and the cutest!

Feed me solids Mom!

Maddie is forever eyeing our food, even when she is eating at the same time. So, to appease her I try and find something she can gum on or play with.

A roll, just for me?
Toy in one hand, roll in the other - nice!

Maddie has moved up and on to some more sophisticated foods. I have a great baby cookbook that I find my recipes in. I usually try and do all organic but I try and get it when it is on sale. When it is on sale it is as cheap if not more by comparison. Anyways, I made organic veggie stock the other night and then made some organic squash risotto with it. I lucked out and all the ingredients were on sale! Maddie wasn't sure about the risotto - her first real textured food. Daddy definitely did not like it - yes, I did make him try some too. I gave Maddie the spoon at the end of her meal to play with - which she loved! She also managed to suck all the food off, so I guess it wasn't too bad after all!!
Yummmy.
See Mom, I ate it all just like you asked!