Winfield and Harriet Henderson

Keeping it Kicking

2009-03-31T21:43:00.002-04:00

Just posting to make sure the old blog doesn't die...

Oh, and I wanted to link to Jamie's site -- Charlotte, North Carolina Custom Homes and Remodeling.

OUR BLOG HAS MOVED!

2008-01-24T22:35:00.000-05:00

Hey all, the blog has been a little quiet for the last few days because we've been preparing to move it permanently to a new location. Blogger has served us well for over two years, but it's time to move on.

So, I've built Rachel a shiny new wordpress blog that lives on her domain. There are a lot of cool things about the new blog:

Really big pictures
Categories. Now if you just want to look at posts about Harriet, or Photography Tips, you can.
A neato flash header thing I made that shows off some pictures of Win and Hattie and some professional work.
Every time you refresh the page, you get a new picture of Rachel! (Well, to be truthful, I've only uploaded 5 so far, but there will be more. Go ahead, refresh your browser a bunch and see how long it takes to see all 5!)
This site gets hit alot and linked at quite a bit. Now Google will love RachelHendersonPhotography.com a lot more. And as I often say, who doesn't want to be loved by Google?

Please change your bookmarks, and if you link to this blog, please change your links to the new address.

So, without further ado: here's the link--and waiting for you on the other side are two new posts including a really cute video of Win counting and new pictures of Hattie smiling.

blog.rachelhendersonphotography.com (you don't need to type 'www')

See you there!

And More Reading

2008-01-20T22:17:00.000-05:00

As you know Win loves to read. He also loves to climb our step ladder. What could be better than combining the two? The addition of a talking camera perhaps?

I thought that this one was cute....and for kicks.

3 times a day

2008-01-18T15:48:00.000-05:00

Anybody else have a favorite letter?

2008-01-17T13:18:00.000-05:00

I don't know much about child development, other than what I see my kids doing. Maybe this is right on track, so don't spoil my bragging if it is. Jared and I are pretty impressed with Win's love for books, numbers and letters. He can distinguish the difference between letters and numbers. When he sees a number he usually starts counting, "1, 2, 10, 5" style. Lately he has had a love for the letter B. He can identify a capital B on any page. If I'm reading him a story and there is a capital B he will stop me to point it out. Here's a little sample. I just picked a random page in a new book. He isn't even 2-years-old.

This video has been brought to you by the letter B.

Sometimes Things Get a Little Messy

2008-01-16T20:37:00.001-05:00

I'm not telling who splattered his oatmeal on the wall. I'll let you guess.

Sharing

2008-01-15T15:25:00.000-05:00

Winfield really loves to bring his toys over to Harriet for her to play with. She likes the concept, because she always smiles at them. I think she is a little confused about what she's supposed to do after smiling at the toys.

Mary

2008-01-14T13:09:00.000-05:00

Harriet and I spent some time on Saturday visiting my friend Mary. Before Win and Harriet I directed the activities program for a local assisted living center in Holland. I LOVED that job. In the process I developed close friendships with many of the residents, Mary in particular. I hadn't gotten over to visit her since Harriet was born and I wanted to introduce them before Mary's birthday, which is in 2 weeks. Mary is old, very old, and she doesn't mind me saying that because there is no arguing. Mary is so old that she has an 80 year old daughter. Mary is about to turn 101. She doesn't look a day over 80 and her mind is as sharp as it was when she was 50. She is amazing!

Last year I posted a picture of her that I took on her 100th birthday. When I told her that her picture was on the Internet she just laughed. I think that she thought that she was mini-famous because she is on the Internet. She is.

Kicking Back with Some Christmas Reading

2008-01-13T16:20:00.000-05:00

You don't have to have followed this blog for long to know that Win, like his dad, LOVES books. Here he is reading some of the new books that he got for Christmas. He's even reading a book that was given to Harriet. I don't think she noticed.

Mommy Daughter Shoot

2008-01-12T15:23:00.000-05:00

Today we took advantage of a lazy Saturday and some decent winter light and did some Mommy-daughter shots. Here are a few:

So Pretty!

2008-01-11T11:49:00.001-05:00

New Lens

2008-01-10T23:34:00.001-05:00

I got a new really fun lens! For those nerdy, techie, number loving types like myself it's a 50mm 1.4. Basically, it takes pictures with really fuzzy backgrounds and it's great for lower light situations.
It's great for taking pictures of feet,
hands,
and eyes. Yup, those eyes are that big and that blue. Everyone who meets Harriet comments on her large blue eyes.
She got a little sick of being my model.

NetRivet Web Development

2008-01-09T15:57:00.000-05:00

Most of you probably know that I've been in a transition phase the last month or so. I've ended my time on staff at Lakeshore Vineyard, and now I'm in the process of building and running a small web development company.

Well, my website, www.netrivet.com is up and running, and I thought I'd let you all know so you can browse over and take a look. Click here or on the logo image below to get there. If you or anyone you know has a need for a new or redesigned website, let me know.

Also, if you have a website or blog and want to link to me, that would be super appreciated! Google will love me if a bunch of you link to me, and everyone wants to be loved by Google, don't they?

Snowy Day part 2

2008-01-08T09:33:00.000-05:00

Winfield's been doing his best to get me to take him out in the snow again. He starts by dressing himself in his snow gear. He then brings me my coat, hat and mittens. I think he forgot something this time.

The Snowy Day

2008-01-07T13:25:00.001-05:00

Our friends Steve and Lindsay have the best taste in children's books. For Christmas they bought Win The Snowy Day. It's a classic. This week he has had his own snowy day experience.

He tried to catch it with his tongue.
He threw it.

He got it on his face...
..and learned that it isn't easy to wipe off.He trekked all over the yard leaving Winfield tracks behind him. His tracks look remarkably similar to a mountain range.

He ate 3 icicles, stayed out for an hour and a half and came inside because my toes were too cold to stay outside anymore. I think that he could have lived out there for several days eating icicles and smashing snowballs.

Today all of the snow is gone.

Harriet gets a little attention too.

2008-01-05T13:57:00.001-05:00

This picture of Harriet is pretty cute. She's sitting on her Aunt Janna's lap and looking at cousin Chloe. She's really smiley and this picture really captures her look.

Luke LOVES Harriet. Even over Thanksgiving he would run over to her and pet and kiss her every time that she woke up from a nap. In this picture he is giving her one of his precious cuddles while his older sister Chloe holds her. Chloe wasn't quite in the moment like Luke was.

Cousin Fun Over Christmas

2008-01-04T11:06:00.001-05:00

Win and Harriet's cousins LOVE visiting Grandpa Goose and Grandma Jan's house. It's like kid heaven. They have toys, a big bathtub, beds to jump on in the basement, a model train that chugs around the Christmas tree and usually plenty of cousins for playmates.

Here's Chloe focusing on giving color to a Hello Kitty book.

She got blue nail polish in her stocking. She was very careful with her nails all week-something that I have yet to learn how to do.

This is Ezra, the 5-year-old and oldest of the cousins. He is a real sweetie who loves to play with his 4-year-old sister Eden.

Kiah, who is almost a year older than Win, had fun making a little snowman and throwing snowballs.

Win and Luke had a battle of wits over Connect 4. I think that black player is winning.

It appears as if the Connect 4 needed a little bulldozing.

This rare image was taken by Grandpa Goose.

A Yearly Tradition

2008-01-03T11:55:00.001-05:00

Every year, in celebration of Christmas Eve, Jared's family gathers for a fondue feast. The menu is the same every year. This year we started dinner after all of the little kids were in bed. Boiling pots of oil and lots of young children don't safely mix. We enjoyed sitting around the table laughing at the same stories that are told every year, like the time that Jared's older brother Jamie spilled flaming plum pudding on Jared. We even called Jamie, who couldn't make it for Christmas this year, on the telephone to give him the opportunity to deny the event (another yearly tradition). This picture captures some of the coziness of this yearly meal.

Both of Win's Grandpas Are Train Engineers

2008-01-02T11:17:00.000-05:00

Win and his cousins love watching Grandpa Goose run his model train in circles around the Christmas tree.

Things to do over Christmas

2008-01-01T08:49:00.001-05:00

Win and Friend Lute seemed to find plenty of things to do over Christmas. Win loves to play with all of his cousins, but Luke has a special place in Win's social life.
Luke's family left while Win was sleeping. The next morning we brought Win into the living room. He looked around and noticed the lack of commotion. With desperation and sadness he started calling out, "Lute? Luuuute?"

Blogging and Christmas don't mix

2007-12-31T10:11:00.001-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posts this week. We've been celebrating Christmas with Jared's family in Detroit. Harriet enjoyed taking a bottle from Jared's Grandmother for her Christmas dinner.

Adventures

2007-12-25T15:58:00.000-05:00

Here's a shot of Win, just after he left Camp IV in an attempt to become the youngest American to summit Mount Everest. In a stunning turn of events, he decided at the last minute to forego a gasmask with supplemental oxygen in favor of a frozen drool-beard. He also decided on Old Navy smooth-soled slip-ons instead of the more popular crampons.

Or, maybe its just really cold in Michigan.

Computer Monster

2007-12-24T14:55:00.000-05:00

We've been watching Sesame Street on YouTube with Win lately (he's obsessed with Cookie Monster), and we found this old gem. Enjoy:

Harriet

2007-12-23T12:01:00.000-05:00

Harriet has been trying to coo but all she can do is make a gurgle sound.

Why Winfield has such a hard time falling asleep during his naptime.

2007-12-20T12:58:00.000-05:00

He doesn't trust his parents. They might just go and bring a tree into the house while he is sleeping.

ATV

2007-12-19T13:01:00.000-05:00

Winfield has been giving meaning to the phrase "all terrain vehicle."

Don't you hate it when you get a rock in your boot?

2007-12-18T23:32:00.000-05:00

While celebrating Christmas at my parent's this weekend Win got a set of construction vehicles, complete with 9 boulders, and a set of Lincoln Logs. Because his finger dexterity isn't quite up to stacking those logs and building things he found another use for them.

The boulders found a new home in my boots.

Grandma and Grandgirl

2007-12-17T18:03:00.000-05:00

We spent the last few days hanging out with Grandma and Bahh (Rudy) Dean in Fort Wayne, celebrating an early Christmas with the Dean Clan (minus Jed and Sara and kids). We had lots of fun hanging out, playing with the kids, catching a racoon, and doing other Dean holiday events.

Here are a couple super-cute shots of Grandma and Hattie.

Fort Wayne

2007-12-14T19:00:00.000-05:00

We are in Fort Wayne celebrating Christmas with my parents. I found this picture of me with my parents and my older brother, Jed. This picture was taken in the fall of '79 when Jed and I were almost exactly the same ages as Win and Harriet are now. I was a born a burnette and I turned red. We'll see what happens to Harriet's hair.

BAA! is Win's name for Grandpa Dean

2007-12-12T15:55:00.000-05:00

Zoom: It's about more than getting closer.

2007-12-11T18:43:00.000-05:00

These pictures of my niece, Jordan, are a great example of a photography tip that I've wanted to post. It's an important concept in photography that most people are not aware of. It's the idea that zoom has more to do with composition than it does with where the photographers feet are.

Most people associate focal length (a.k.a zoom) with how close they have to be to their subject to get a decent shot. Although that is one function of focal length, I wouldn't say that it isn't the most important to me. I use focal length to set the mode of the image more than I ever use it to make my subject bigger. I'll explain.

There are 2 directions that you can go with your camera. You can zoom wide or far. I'll use these terms because they are less confusing that "in " and "out." Wide shots are easy to conceptualize. Most people know what an image from a fish eye lens looks like or the look of someone's face through a spyhole in a door. Those are extreme examples of wide images. Wide shots include larger sections of the room that you are photographing. Wide shots also make items in the room look farther away from each other than they truly are. The "OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR" warning is an example of this. Think about looking through a spyhole in a door. Doesn't their nose look really big and close and their feet about a mile away. That's the distortion of a wide focal length.

Far is the other option. That is a little more difficult to describe. It is best to think of it as the opposite of a wide angle. Zooming far makes the objects in the image look flat and closer together. All focal lengths have their place in creative photography, but my suggestion is that most non-professionals could benefit from zooming far more. Instead of just picking up the camera and taking a picture, try picking up the camera, zooming it as far as it can go and then taking the picture. In other words, step back with your feet and get closer with your camera.

Here are 2 images that I took over Thanksgiving. I took the first image f Jordan but I didn't like it; the background was too cluttery. So I stood up, walked about 10 steps farther from Jordan and zoomed farther with my camera. Jordan stayed roughly the same size, but the tree behind her appeared to have gotten a lot closer to her. You too can move large trees in 10 easy steps!

Look what happens to the tree behind Jordan.

In summary, wide images tend to feel less focused and can easily be busy. Far images tend to isolate the subject more and make faces look more pleasing. If you want to understand this more try this.

Find a doll or a very still model. Kids are too wiggly. You are going to take 2 pictures of the doll. First zoom your camera as wide as it can go. For the first picture put the dolls nose in the middle of the picture and fill most of the picture with it's face. For the second image zoom your camera as far as it can go. Again put the dolls nose in the middle of the picture and walk away from the doll until it's face is roughly the same size as it was in the first picture. Try it. You'll easily see the effects of focal length on a face.

Win

2007-12-10T07:41:00.001-05:00

Friend Lute

2007-12-08T22:17:00.000-05:00

Win has names for all of his Henderson cousins.

Ehda=Ezra
E.T.=Eden
Gooey=Chloe
Jojo=Jordan
Ki-yah=Kiah
Wootu=Winfield
Lute=Luke
Wiwo=Willow
Lella=Stella
Hattie=Harriet

Win and Luke (2 months younger) bonded over Thanksgiving. They really liked driving driving cars around the house together. Win found this picture of Luke and it has become a new toy. Enjoy.

Earning His Keep

2007-12-07T11:27:00.001-05:00

Win has gotten over his fear of the broom. Win loves to mimick every thing that Jared and I do. Lately, his favorite game has been to help me clean. He love to drive the broom around the house and every time he finds a dryer sheet he begins dusting the nearest surface. It's really cute.

Hattie Hat

2007-12-06T13:52:00.000-05:00

Win loves this hat. The other day he decided to share it with Hattie. She was a good sport about it.

Trust No One!

2007-12-06T11:06:00.000-05:00

Last night Win set his stool down between Jared and I and climbed on top of it. He then proceeded to do something that he often does on the couch, bed or on one of our bodies. He did a trust fall--to no one. He stiffened his little body and fell straight onto the floor, making no attempt to catch himself. At first I thought that he might have fainted. Really, he just made a really dumb decision.

Cribs: Episode 1

2007-12-04T11:18:00.000-05:00

You're in the right place

2007-12-03T22:28:00.001-05:00

I made a few slight changes to the blog. All must now pay homage to my css wizardry. Oh, and Rachel's site has a new splash page.

Photography Tip: inspired by a walk down eBay Lane

2007-12-02T11:16:00.001-05:00

I was on eBay a couple of weeks ago and I saw this.

My heart leapt with childhood delight at the memories of playing with this lovely toy. Oh, the pure pleasure of putting a car into an elevator, turning a crank and listening for the clanging of the little bell as the car reached the top and was released down the slide. I remember wondering why my parents never brought us to a parking garage. I wanted to be in a car that rode in elevators and went down slides.

I put this toy on my eBay watch list. As I watched it get bid over $180 dollars I realized that there are many other people (28 year old parents I presume) who share similar memories. It also reminded me of this post that I read on a blog about a year ago.

Here's the idea, it's easy to take pictures of our kids, but sometimes memories aren't only in our kids faces. Try taking pictures of the things that represent our kids in the stage that they are in right now. Like the Fisher-Price Action Garage, memories can be caught up in the things that our kids play with and tools that they use. Have you ever looked through old pictures with your siblings. Sometimes it's the clothes, toys, furniture and other details that bring the most comments.

I took about 5 minutes and shot some pictures of things that represent our life right now.

These are Win's shoes. He LOVES his shoes. I think he loves them so much because they mean that he gets to go outside or in the car.

This sight is very much a part of my life right now.

This little stool was painted by a friend of Jared's family before Win was born. The racing bear is in honor of Win's first marathon which he completed 4 months before he was born (shameless bragging here). I wanted to take a picture of this stool, but more importantly I wanted to take a picture of the scratches on top. Nearly every day Win turns this stool upside down and "drives" it around the house. It's a part of his life that I don't want to forget.

Pictures

2007-12-01T12:43:00.001-05:00

Here are some pictures of Harriet under Win's clothes. This activity was so fun that he did it twice.

I like her little feet in this one.

Win's task

2007-11-30T16:05:00.000-05:00

Project Runway

2007-11-29T07:27:00.000-05:00

Win has been into fashion lately.

We thought we'd let him figure out how to use the sewing machine so the he can be on next season of Project Runway.

Sibling Rivalry

2007-11-28T14:33:00.001-05:00

Win tried to sit on Harriet.

Harriet used her only defense.

Christmas Gift Idea

2007-11-27T10:52:00.001-05:00

My friend, Amy, recommended this children's Bible to me a month or so ago. It's great! I loved it so much that I bought it for all of our nieces and nephews. They opened them over Thanksgiving and LOVED the writing and pictures.

If you are looking for a gift for a child, check this out. It is refreshing, creative and not at all preachy.

The Jesus Storybook Bible

Win dislikes posed pictures more than I do.

2007-11-26T23:02:00.000-05:00

Over Thanksgiving we lined up all of the cousins for the traditional cousin lineup picture. It was quite a scene-Win being the worst behaved kid. Getting 10 children 5 and under to sit in a row is no easy task. We lined up all 10 kids but Win refused to cooperate. We even tried to bribe him with the usually off-limits computer mouse, which you can see sitting on the floor. After trying to reason and bribe a tantruming toddler we resorted to brute force. I sat in the lineup and forced Win into position--sort of.

Harriet is in this picture. You can see her face under Sarah's arm. She is wrapped in a brown blanket and kind of looks like a cocoon resting behind Willow, who is crawling away.

What you can't see are the nearly 20 adults who are behind the camera sending encouragement to their children to remain in place.

Cue the snow

2007-11-25T22:33:00.001-05:00

This past weekend, while spending Thanksgiving in Detroit with Jared's family, I took some family pictures of Jared's brother's family for their Christmas cards. As we stepped out back for about 15 minutes the sun peeked out from behind the clouds just enough to light up the perfectly falling snow. I love the rim lighting on these.

Jamie and Sarah have been married for almost 6 years. They have a great marriage. A couple of days ago Sarah was telling a story about their honeymoon and remembering how little she knew her husband at that point. She ended her story with, "Boy was I lucky. I don't think that I really knew who I was marrying but it has worked out really good."

Jamie, notoriously averse to cameras, started laughing when Sarah started quoting lines from the office.

Jamie and Sarah have provided 2 cousins for Win and Harriet. Jordan, who is 3, and Stella, who is 2 months older than Harriet.

Isn't Jordan beautiful?

2007-11-20T11:50:00.000-05:00

The other day I tossed Harriet in the crib with Win just as he was waking up from his nap. His response was pretty cute. He really likes his sister.

A place to read

2007-11-20T11:49:00.000-05:00

The other day Win began sitting on his shape sorter box while reading. We think that it's a little too cute for words.

Going Places

2007-11-20T08:44:00.000-05:00

As Win will tell you, we're going on a trip today.

Toys

2007-11-18T22:30:00.001-05:00

Win enjoyed playing with all of the new toys at the James' house. He really enjoyed this little piece that attached to their Duplos. When he pressed a button it would light up and make a siren sound. This one he called his, "bulldozer." Which is one of his favorite words to say and our favorite to hear. It's too cute.
Best of all though were Frappa and Onna. One afternoon they placed Win in a laundry basket with a pillow in the bottom. Then they tied bathrobe belts to it and began pulling him around the living room, much to his delight.
What more could a little boy want?!

Frappa and Onna

2007-11-16T13:49:00.001-05:00

The James girls wanted to take a bath in the bubble tub while we were there. They put on their suits and brought Win in with them. It was too much fun. It may or may not have been because a babysitter was in charge but the bubbles got a little out of hand at one point.

This is Francesca. Winfield called her, "Frappa" all week.

This is Adrianna, whom Win called, "Onna."
These pictures really show their personalities. Onna is quick, talkative and not at all camera shy. Frappa is reserved, thoughtful and intelligent. They are amazing kids with fabulous parents. They were a blessing to stay with.

(Don't worry Onna is just as pretty as Frappa.)

More pictures to come.

New House, New Toys to Share

2007-11-15T21:28:00.000-05:00

This family's youngest is a little boy. He has some really fun toys that Win had a blast playing with. He really liked sharing the Lincoln Logs with Dad and Hattie. Guess who enjoyed them the most.

Lounging and Reading by the Fire

2007-11-14T20:37:00.001-05:00

Jared, Win, Harriet and I spent the last several days staying at a friend's house with 2 of their 4 children while they took a well-appreciated anniversary vacation. We all enjoyed their beautiful fireplace that blazed the entire time.

I'll get some more pictures up soon. They live in the country and can only get dial-up; so posting while we were there wasn't really an option.

Reading by the fire

Lounging by the fire

Stickers

2007-11-10T10:53:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I showed Win the little bookmark stickers that are in every Domino magazine. He knew just what to do with them.

Just another Sunday Morning

2007-11-08T11:40:00.001-05:00

I took these on Sunday morning as we were getting ready for church. Like the Sunday previous, getting everyone happy, fed, clean, dressed and awake all at the same time can be quite a task. Winfield seems to have his own ideas about what he and Harriet should wear to church.

And Again

2007-11-07T12:17:00.000-05:00

It took me a couple of days to get around to photographing this. Yes, she does roll happy too. :-)

Bunny Nose

2007-11-06T20:02:00.001-05:00

Here's Win's bunny nose. It's pretty amazing.

Our favorite place in the world

2007-11-05T13:14:00.000-05:00

Jared and I brought Win and Harriet to our favorite place in the world-my parent's lake cabin. The Cabin has been in our family for over 35 years. I grew up going there in the summers and Jared and I spent our honeymoon there. It is truely one of the most fabulous and beautiful places in the world.

To understand The Cabin you have to understand the geography of it. It is on a beautiful fishing lake in Nowhere, Indiana. Speedboats aren't allowed and only half of the lake has houses on it. The Cabin sits on a point that faces west. Every evening the sun sets over the water and trees and shines through the big picture window. There is water on 3 sides of The Cabin so everywhere you look you are surrounded by the lake. The inside of the cabin is cozy and beautiful, with a fireplace and warm decor. My parents have been working on it a bunch over the last couple of years and it is as beautiful as ever.

This is Diamond Lake. The Cabin is on the point.

Closer.

The Cabin at night

There is water to my back, on my left and on my right. That's my dad working on the door jam.

My parents came and visited for an afternoon. Win loves them! Whenever anyone talks about them he says, "black truck" which is my dad's Toyota pick-up that they drive.

My mom and Win played blocks.

My Dad showed Win some swans.

Jared showed Win how to use binoculars.

He didn't exactly get it.

We cuddled.

We read books.

Win sat in a big boy chair.

We just did a whole lot of nothing, and loved it.
Win "napped" while Jared and I packed the car to go home. We thought that this picture of his "nap" was pretty cute.

Proof

2007-11-03T19:19:00.001-04:00

It's true! Harriet rolls. For those who were skeptical we now have photographic proof. I caught these on Halloween just before we left for our weekend away. It seems that our children are early rollers.

I'll post more pictures of our weekend at The Cabin soon.

Very Important Call

2007-10-30T15:44:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-29T11:55:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-26T19:54:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-26T15:27:00.001-04:00

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

2007-10-26T07:54:00.000-04:00

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)

2007-10-25T10:03:00.001-04:00

Harriet was 1 month yesterday.

How do they compare?

New camera for Christmas?

2007-10-24T15:34:00.001-04:00

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

2007-10-24T11:02:00.001-04:00

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

2007-10-22T08:19:00.001-04:00

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.

2007-10-21T17:43:00.001-04:00

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

2007-10-20T12:13:00.001-04:00

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

Sport

2007-10-19T10:46:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-18T09:57:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-17T07:55:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-16T08:51:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-15T12:57:00.001-04:00

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

2007-10-13T21:38:00.000-04:00

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?

2007-10-12T16:27:00.001-04:00

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

2007-10-11T12:41:00.001-04:00

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

2007-10-11T10:21:00.001-04:00

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

2007-10-10T11:40:00.001-04:00

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

2007-10-08T16:15:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-08T10:01:00.001-04:00

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

2007-10-07T18:30:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-06T12:14:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-05T14:57:00.001-04:00

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

2007-10-03T13:56:00.001-04:00

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

2007-10-03T10:57:00.001-04:00

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.

Grandpa Goose & Grandma Jan

2007-09-30T22:15:00.000-04:00

My folks visited Harriet this weekend and we had a very nice time hanging out, eating, walking downtown Holland, and smiling at the little girl.

Because you miss Win too

2007-09-29T16:08:00.001-04:00

Win has spent the past couple of day in Fort Wayne playing, reading, and walking to the mailbox with my parents. He returned home to us today. Jared and I had missed him so much. It just wasn't right having the house so quiet during such an exciting time. But it was also really nice not to have to worry about waking a toddler in the middle of the night because Harriet was hungry.
Today was the first time that Win got to meet Harriet here at home. He LOVED her. We asked him if he wanted to hold her. He quickly reached out his pudgy arms and grabbed her like a doll. He gave her a big hug...
a big kiss...

and then he pointed out her nose.He clearly knows that she is really special and he seems to like her anyway.

The Site Meter

2007-09-29T14:46:00.000-04:00

If you haven't checked it out yet, try clicking on the little green button at the bottom of this blog. It will lead you to a site that shows the traffic on Win and Harriet's blog. Here is the graph that shows the traffic from this last month. Can you guess which day Harriet was born?

More of the Little Girl

2007-09-28T16:33:00.001-04:00

My Two Girls...

2007-09-27T11:34:00.000-04:00

Are home from the hospital. We came home last night around 7:30, and loaded Harriet immediately into our stroller for a walk downtown and an ice cream cone.

Hanging Out

2007-09-26T12:52:00.001-04:00

We're still at the hospital, hanging out. Harriet is allowed to come home tonight after 7:33pm. She is a super-sleepy girl, and incredibly cute. Here are a few more pictures we took this morning.

Email

2007-09-25T21:53:00.000-04:00

I just opened Rachel's email to read her anything important, and this is what was at the top:

First Kiss

2007-09-25T14:03:00.000-04:00

Win has been practicing kissing on his singing toy horse for the last few weeks. Today all the practice paid off when he planted a big one on his little sister. This is a good angle to see Win's mullet.

More Pictures

2007-09-25T10:00:00.001-04:00

Here's a few more pictures of baby Harriet. She and Rachel are still doing very well - Rachel is feeling way ahead of her recovery from last time. Harriet has been super sweet so far - very relaxed and happy, and she loves to eat.

Harriet Rachel

2007-09-24T21:16:00.000-04:00

Here she is!!! Harriet Rachel Henderson. 8 pounds, 1 ounces. Born at 7:33pm. Delivery went great, mom and baby are doing awesome. Looks like a brunette so far. Click on the pictures to see larger versions if you want.

T-15 minutes

2007-09-24T19:09:00.000-04:00

Rachel's at 9cm right now, and should be pushing within 15 minutes. I probably won't post again for a little while, until the baby has been out for a spell. Thanks for all your prayers!

Mission Control

2007-09-24T17:53:00.001-04:00

This is a picture of "mission control," inspired by Steve Post's comment on our earlier post.

A little more info: Rachel's contractions got quite painful for a little while, then she got the epidural. Now she's laying down smiling and saying things like "I like drugs." We just started a little bit of pitocin, so we expect the baby's arrival between 7pm and 9pm, give or take 7 hours.

The anestaesiologiist (sp?) was a weird bird. He kind of ignored Rachel who was in obvious pain and insisted on talking to me about Apple computers and Civil War historical fiction. He also told a joke about the definition of a "double blind" study: two Orthopedic Surgeons discussing an echocardiogram. He thought it was even funnier when I told him my dad was one.

More info...

2007-09-24T16:05:00.000-04:00

Rachel's contractions are coming faster and more painful now, but still without a ton of resulting dialation. So, we're about to get her an epidural and some pitocin. This morning they gave her Cytotek or something like that (prostoglandin?) which technically isn't an inducer, just a cervix ripener (for those stubborn, hard-to-ripen cervixes). So we expect things to pick up soon.

Rachel just told me that if pastoring doesn't work out, I should become a 'techno-doula.' I guess that means I would hire myself out to assist and encourage labor while simultaneously taking digital photos and videos and maintaining a constant stream of blog posts. I'm thinking about it.

In other randomness: our morning nurse Natasha got a kick out of Win & ?'s blog, and showed us her blog. Wierd. Also, today we've gotten 138 hits on this site. Who knows where we'll be at by the time she gets here.