breakfast time silliness

i looked over my bowl of cheerios this morning to see Avery wearing a pair of sun"gagess".  upside down.  she got self concious and took them off, but obliged me with some photographs.  milk dripping off her chin and all.  

the bangs are growing back:

Madeline got a little silly with our old friend Honey Bear. 

disney priness ballet

today we started a new adventure: disney princess ballerina class.  it's Madeline's first time in a class, and she is a pro!  the girls were both outfitted in their favorite princess costume, and twirled their hearts out to disney favorites tunes!  they listened very well (it's a big class, so there are a lot of distractions) and tried their best!

they perfected their balancing:

and even got to jump on a trampoline!

this is one proud disney princess mommy!

Sundays...will i ever have it all together?

i snapped some pics of the girls on Sundayas we were waiting for Jason to be ready for church

they reminded me of this post.  it seems like i'll never be on time for church.  it brings me back to the whole nature vs. nurture argument.  is my tardiness hereditary or learned behavior?  this is a rhetorical question by the way.  (i pretty much know the answer)  in the mean time, i'm just going to find peace in the fact that we are actually going to church each week late or not, and that the girls seem to be learning and growing in the gospel. 

Madeline was all pictured out. 

even though Avery wouldn't sit still, i still love this shot.

truly, my ham.  Anna is always posing.

oh man, i love these faces!!!

Madeline is 3! (really 3 1/2...)

the first year of my daughters' lives, i take a formal portrait each month. kinda crazy, but i love to watch them grow. after that i try to do a birthday portrait each year. usually i have inspiration regarding the tone of each portrait. maybe they have a favorite dress, favorite toy, favorite food. as Madeline approached her 3rd birthday, i know exactly what was inspiring me, her favorite color: BLUE!!! this is without a doubt Maddie's favorite color. and she has tons of it in her closet, but none felt right for her portrait, except her favorite shoes: she got these for her birthday and they've been a constant companion ever since. then i discovered this great little spot, a wall covered in bright blue graffiti! perfect! i thought a white dress would really make this picture. i'm a little hyper like that.

i started my quest for the dress, even considered making one, (in my spare time ha!) as time wore on, the "blue farkelies" (Maddie's says "sp" like "f") got more and more worn. i found the dress, and then my dear friend Erin opened this shop: Haute Blue B Handmade. my dream ensemble for Madeline was complete.

one problem, by this time the graffiti was painted over. so, i tried an alternative. my friend Annie told me about a great Mexican restaurant and we actually tried it a day before this shoot. turned out to be the perfect spot!

the whole thing had us jumping for Joy:

one thing i've learned in doing child portraiture, props are a good idea:

this parasol was the perfect item to keep Madeline's attention and avoid too much "posing."

this might be my favorite, the expression is pure Madeline:

here she said, "Mom, this is what people do when they're thinking."

besides being a pretty cool little location, Elmer's has some pretty great food as well.

another classic Maddie quote, "Mom, this taco has a sign on it!"

originally, i was going to head over to a park for some more subdued shots. but when we were headed back to the car, i saw this fence and voila:

still, i thought we might go to a nearby park for some green grass. but again, in the parking lot, some green weeds. those did the trick!

all in all, i couldn't be happier with the way these turned out. they are exactly what i wanted for Madeline's 3rd birthday shoot. they capture her just as she is right now!

Madeline,

you are the sweetest little 3 year old in the world. your personalitly is bright and energetic, while at the same time sweet and mild. you are so loving to your family. the most nurturing big sister, and the most adoring little sister. you are so excited to try everything Anna does, and so willing to teach Avery everything you know. you love to be obedient and do all that your mom and dad ask of you. i have enjoyed every minute of being your mom, and can't wait to see all that you have in store!

i love you,

Mom

ps: readers, if you love this headband as much as i do, hop on over to my photo blog, or facebook page for a little GIVEAWAY!!!

super, duper cute!

so, i'm feeling a little under the weather, which makes it irritating to wear contacts, which makes it irritating to edit photos. or at least doesn't make me very good at it. but, i'm dying to share some of the super duper cuteness that is Madeline. i took her out for a special photo shoot and it was awesome. more to come....