Very Important Call

It was Sunday morning and I had finished bathing both children and myself (a much more complicated task that one might imagine). I was in the bedroom changing when I heard Win saying, "Hi baby" repeatedly. I went onto the living room and this is what I found. I guess the phone was for Harriet.

Visit from Grandpa and Grandma

My parents came for a visit this weekend. Win really bonded with them when he stayed with them when Harriet was born. They have all sorts of little games that they play. My dad started shouting, "Baaa!" to Win at random times. It would really startle him and make him giggle uncontrollably. And that's how my dad got dubbed, "Baa" instead of Grandpa. When they left Win waved and said, "bye-bye Baa" repeatedly.

Here's my mom with Harriet.

Before thinking about a new camera

There's a bumper sticker that says it all:

Cameras don't shoot people, I shoot people.
(or something like that)

Basically, good pictures are primarily in the photographer, not the camera. Good equipment sure makes a difference, but there are many simple tips and tricks that are even more important than the camera.

If you are looking for better photographs put this on your Christmas list.

MeRa Koh, an amazing photographer in Seattle, created this DVD for moms. Check it out. Even if you are still going to get a new camera add this to your basket. It's well worth the $30, which is much cheaper than a new camera.

Click here for the DVD.

A Junior Firefighter in His Truck

Lately, when we take Win outside to play he begs to be lifted into the bed of our 1986 Mazda B2000 pickup. He loves to play and point from that vantage. There are many things that he does in there. Like...
...drop leaves...
...look around...
...and, chill. Doesn't he look REALLY cool?
In case you didn't know, Win is a junior firefighter.

A cold one

Win has been learning adjectives lately. Among his favorites 1, 2 and 5 (5 means anything more than 2), orange and blue, neat and cool, and especially hot and cold.

When Win is disobedient we put him in his crib for a minute or two as punishment and to calm down. Lately, when we put him in for his time-out he has been repeatedly shouting, "co bubba peas!" (translation: cold drink please)

He feels that it's his right to have a cold drink while serving time.

Happy Birthday (a day late)

Harriet was 1 month yesterday.


How do they compare?

New camera for Christmas?

I came across the specifications for this camera and I thought that it was blog-worthy, especially this close to Christmas. Sony's Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W80 is a fantastic little camera. It's really small, has a large screen and image stabilization, and it has remarkably low shutter lag. It's priced at just a little over $200 and it even comes in pink :-)

Most people that I talk to are frustrated with their cameras because of long shutter lag. Shutter lag is that obnoxious time between when you press the button and when the camera takes the picture. It's usually enough time for someone to step between your subject and the camera or for your kid to run away, leaving you with an image of someones backside or an empty scene.

Shutter lag is caused by the camera's need to auto focus. Every camera, no matter how nice, will have shutter lag--especially in dimly lit situations. A good rule of thumb for photography is to try to take pictures in situations with plenty of light. Try turning on lights, moving closer to a window, or doing an activity outside. Anything that allows more light will help. If you are going to do a project with your kids, and you know that you want to take pictures, look for good light. Truthfully, it isn't often possible to change these things or to plan ahead, but when you can ading more light will make picture taking less frustrating.

If you are looking for a new camera give this one serious consideration.

Neat Truck

Yesterday Winfield started frantically tugging on me and shouting, "Neat truck!" I then realized that it did sound like there was a truck or some other loud mechanical thing outside. Win and I quickly dashed to the front door so that we would not miss the 'neat truck.' Fortunately, it had parked right in front of our house and spent about 10 minutes there cleaning the sewer or something.

Here's Win propped up on a chair so the he could watch the 'neat truck.'

Talking...a lot

Winfield has really learned how to talk. He spends most of his time running around the house identifying things. He finds something that he knows how to say and then repeats that word roughly 20-30 times. He's a little chatterbox; Jared and I do quite a bit of ignoring.

Yesterday Jared and I were in the living room talking and Win had been running through the room shouting something repeatedly. After he'd said it roughly 30 times Jared and I tuned in and realized what he was saying. He was shouting, "cold bits!" "Bits" is his word for his male parts. He had spilled some water down his front and into his diaper. Now he had "cold bits."

Parents just don't understand.

Win thought that it was very important to wear a knit hat while eating a mu-mah (translation: muffin) out of a bowl. Parents just don't understand!

Halloween Costume

Win has picked his Halloween costume for this year--an Abercrombie & Fitch model. Can you tell which model is Win?

Sport

A couple of days ago Winfield made up a new sport. He's been playing it a lot lately. It goes like this; he gets out his Tiger's baseball, an old tennis ball and the tube extension for our vacuum. He then runs around the house hitting each ball with the vacuum tube and shouting, "ha-tau!" with each hit. It's pretty cute.

Win had just gotten out of the bath when I took this.

Microsoft Redesigns iPod Packaging

Ok, so I'm a sucker for things that poke fun at Microsoft. I thought this was funny. My favorite line is: "Let's make better use of this space."



I can laugh at Apple too, see: The iRack

Winfield Vinatieri

Last Saturday I took Win out to a local high school football field to mess around kicking some footballs with my friend Josh. Josh kicked for Hope College and for Purdue for a season, so he's pretty sweet. He kicked at least one 57-yard field goal before my very eyes. He also coached me to successfully kicking my first two extra point attempts.

Win had a blast running around kicking footballs and falling all over the place. Here's some video footage. This is the kind of video that they will show as a cute human interest piece on Monday Night Football in 25 years when Win is in the NFL. The word Win yells a few times is "Dosh," which is his way of saying "Josh."

The Mullet is Out

Many will be delighted to know that we trimmed Win's mullet. I cut Jared's hair on Saturday and we trimmed Win's too. I think that his golden locks amidst Jared's dark blond hair are shockingly bright.

Randall is 33

Randall turned 33 last week. When he heard that my parents weren't going to be able to make it to his party he told my mom that they could, "just send a gift." My dad, who loves to garage sale, hunted down the craziest gift that he could find. Here's Randall opening his package.
He has since been spotted around town in his new duds.

Connection

Grandpa Goose and Grandma Jan stopped in for a quick visit this afternoon. They were in town for a wedding and had a couple of hours before the reception. Bruce and Harriet made a little connection.

Can you tell which teddy bear is really a baby?

Harriet's Great Aunt Marcyes made her this beautiful quilt like the one she made for Win. The bears are really soft fleece and the rest of the quilt is soft quilter's flannel. Win really likes to crawl around on it and pet the soft border.

Denise said that she thought the little ribbons on the teddy bears made them look like little teddy bear activists. Teddy bear awareness possibly?

Thanks so much Aunt Marcyes!

New Shirt

Harriet had an appointment yesterday. She was given a little gift from La Leche. I thought that it was pretty funny.

When a Toddler Lives with You

I was making the bed yesterday when I glanced at the windowsill. Peeking out from behind the curtain was a bottle of baby lotion. I'll give you one guess who put it there. My life has become one of hide and seek with all sorts of small objects. There is a reason that we do not let Win play with our keys.

Minivan of Strollers

We've upgraded to the minivan of strollers. I'd been taking my walks with Win in his single stroller and tying Harriet in a blanket around me like a sling. Needless to say, Harriet made me feel pregnant again. She now has her own seat in the new double stroller.

Win LOVES having her with him. For the first 15 minutes of his first ride he reached over and held her buckle as if holding her in. He also repeated the word "new" about 200 times. Now whenever anyone says the word "new", in any context, he follows it with, "stroller."

Thank you so much Grandpa Goose and Grandma Jan!

Not to Be Outdone

Harriet was laying on a towel on the floor for some "tummy time," as all good 21st century babies are supposed to. I was changing Win's diaper. When I returned to Harriet, there she was, laying on her back! I guess Win's 3-week-old rolling over wasn't good enough for her. The question we'll have to answer is whether or not this is a skill or a one off thing.

Last November

Can you believe that this is the same kid as the one in the picture below? I remember thinking that it would take forever for his feet to touch the footrest.

Home from Church

Win and Harriet took a cue from their cousins Esther and Beatrice and took a nap after church. Win usually takes 2 naps a day but Sunday mornings mess up his day. After church I put him in his highchair to feed him lunch. He worked on some Cheerios for a little bit before nodding off. This was a first for him. Here's a close-up for those who don't believe it.

Day Spas Aren't for Everyone

Harriet took her first bath last night. She wasn't a big fan of the whole process.
After her dunk we dried her with the hair dryer. She liked that.

Dinosaurs Rule

Lately Win has really enjoyed playing with a couple of dinosaur legos he got from Grandma and Grandpa Dean. I wonder who he gets that from...

Get Down-Photography Tip

My sister-in-law, Jessie, posted these pictures of Win and Harriet's cousins on our family blog. I thought that they were a great example my next photography tip. Get down.

It is very easy to take pictures from a standing position, but that isn't always the best angle-especially for children. Taking pictures of kids at their eye level helps to create a sense of connection with them.

Look through your pictures for images that you took from a standing position and those that you took from eve level with your subject. Then compare them. You'll notice that the ones that were taken at eye level tend to be more powerful. This isn't a hard and fast rule by any means, but more often than not pictures can be improved just by crouching or kneeling.

Notice how Jessie was at eye level with her kids when she took these pictures. She also did a couple of other great things. She got close and didn't worry about cutting off foreheads and she didn't ask her kids to look at the camera. I love the one of Ezra and Kiah with the hose and shoe. She captured a moment between the brothers who were working together and were not aware of mom with the camera.

These are perfect examples of what you can do with simple equipment.

Tummy Time

Harriet has been doing her daily exercises by spending about 10 minutes on her tummy. The trick to this is finding a place for her to exercise that is safe from Winfield's unmoderated kisses and gifts.