50-53

teething.

 straws.

 airport.

jet lag.

Day 49

I took these this morning just before Andy left for work. Again I wayyy over exposed the pictures (especially the second). Any advice on how to try to 'bring back' over exposed pictures without oversaturating? Is it even possible?

Wish Andy had been in focus too, but I kinda like the depth of it.

SOOC

My edit, and a note to myself. Do NOT buy clothing for your child that you find hideous. Jackson REALLY needed some 18m PJs so I bought whatever I could find that was cotton on Carters.com . . .these AWFUL monkey PJs have become his absolute favorite. He pulls them out of the clean clothes every chance he gets to put them on. . even in the middle of the day!

45-48

Apparently today is a good day for catching up ;) We are over half way packed for our BIG trip next week, the house is moderately clean, and I'm actually feeling well rested? Sooo not complaining. 

 Smiling. For my sister.

Jackson was so fun with this sweet little girl. He came right over to her and sat down. We need to work on 'being gentle' but it's tough when your usual playmates are two 100 lb beasts ;)

Oh how I love this picture. Since I moved the couch, Jackson's favorite pastime is playing in the curtains. They are sheers with brown a brown and green flower design that I bought when we first moved to Germany. I think they will always remind me of our time here. There is obviously WAY too much light, but I like the sharpness of his features.

Because pregnant ladies can't have much in the way of 'fancy' drinks, I bought these root beer bottles just for me. :)

Day 44

No words, just pictures.

Slightly Better Excuse

I relized after posting the last group of pictures that I do have some somewhat legitimate excuses as to why I haven't been posting every day. Life is busy, as it turns out, and when your husband works 12-18 hour days. . .for weeks on end (no joke) days get even busier. That with trying to pack and plan for our upcoming adventures. . .it sure takes a lot out of this pregnant mama :). So posting every few days might be the new norm, hope that is ok with you all.

Day 41

Oh how I love that little profile. . .and those little hands. . .so sweet.

Day 42

The only plus to frosty coldness? Everything looks beautiful capped with white.

Day 43

 Jackson is trying to 'wear' my shoes. With both feet? Too funny. (edited with PW 70s action)

Catch Up

No good excuse for my absence :) Here are the last 3 days of pics!

Day 38

Jackson looves watching other kids- especially older ones. We had a great time at the park with our adorable and super sweet neighbors!

Day 39

This was taken yesterday and I really love it. Unfortunately, I have no idea what exactly I 'did' or why I like it so much, but I sure do. The sharpness isn't what I'd like and the lighting was awful- but I think it's beautiful in black and white. . .I even went an extra step in editing and used Coffee Shop's Portrait Perfect 2 and tried to use the dodge/burn to lighten the shadow on the left side of his face and chin. . .should I have done a little more?

Day 40

After one nice day (see photo above) it's been back to cold and crummy. Jackson and I escaped to the library this morning. He had a total meltdown in the travel section as I tried to pick up some trip planning books for spring break (super excited to see Paris, France; Brogues, Belgium; and Amsterdam, Netherlands) but was a pretty happy camper when I showed him the bins of board books :)

My goal for this weekend: A good picture of Jackson smiling per my sister's request. . .the only problem is when he is smiling/laughing he sure isn't sitting still! :) Ideas?

Day 37

This is a picture from yesterday but too cute not to share. I've been waiting for the right image to try Coffeeshop's Vintage Honey Action on and tried it here. I didn't have a lot of time to spend playing around with the colors, but I'd love your input.

Dad and Jack reading our current favorite: Go Dog Go!

Day 36 revisited

For those of you that asked about my edit yesterday: I took this picture early in the morning in our kitchen (yep, I was sitting on the counter). The lighting came out kinda funny, so I went with black and white. I used Pioneer Woman's PW BW. I never realize how dark my vignetting is on a full sized image until I see it scaled down in a smaller version. I re-edited this and the edge burn is still a little dark. . .lol, oh well. I played with the Gradient Map layer and added some color back in. Which do you like better? Yesterdays, or todays? I think this picture is so sweet and I'm going to take Susan's advice and put it up somewhere :)

original

new edit


**I also ran my image with Noiseware before editing

Day 36

Day 35

Trying to clean out the pantry before our big trip. Baking chocolate + pretzels. . . yum.

:)

Day 34

I think it's Day 34. . .anyhow I'm posting 3 pictures, and actually have a few more that I love. Forgive me for not narrowing it down for you :) We went to the pool today and the lighting was perfect. As was the water.

Jackson had a great time splashing around, going down the slide, and looved being in the 'big pool'. My favorite kind of day.

Snow

A good husband is understanding when you tell him you want to move the couch to a totally inconvenient location to 'get better light'. . .and lets you leave it there for a few days. . .maybe I'm getting used to it in the new location, though it messes terribly with the flow (and I'm guessing feung shui) of the room.

Jackson is enjoying the windows too- all the better to watch the dogs. . .and snow.

This pic is unedited again, trying to spend more time behind the camera, attempting to crack open the 'Understanding Exposure' book and hanging with my little guy, along with all of life's to-dos. My comments and replies may be slacking too, but please know I love your comments and pointers SO much, as well as checking in what each of you are up to every day. I always feel so inspired!

Day 32

Thanks so much for your tips on better lighting. I'm going to try and see where we get :) I actually flipped the couch around today so it would face the big windows instead of back up to them. I think we got some nice lighting today- but my battery died after the first couple shots- better luck tomorrow!

SOOC.

Day 31

I took this shot on manual with my on camera flash and a light scoop. I've been having THE hardest time lately because I can't seem to get enough natural light in the house, and it's way too cold to be outside. . .so today I decided to not be afraid of the flash. I really don't like 'flashy' looking pictures and usually avoid it at all costs. However I'm not getting the pictures/shots I want because I simply don't have enough light. A good flash picture beats a bad natural light one so I'm going to stop dreading it and embrace it- while I have no choice. Hopefully I can quickly figure out the adjustments and use it when I need it, instead of being afraid. The ISO was still way high from trying to take a pic without the flash, but I still think it's progress :)

Jackson has grown quite the pot belly lately. Sometimes I think it's size rivals my own pregnant belly. (And if you want to read more about my pregnant belly- go here. )

Tips, suggestions and even critiques always welcome!