I Spy: Week 3

I'm starting to really enjoying telling the story of each week through pictures. You might just see more of these photo a day challenges, so I hope you're enjoying the little glimpses of life around here. This week I've discovered "actions" for Photoshop, so I've been playing more with the editing process. That being said, here we go again:

Day 15: Memory

Last Saturday we went up Big Cottonwood canyon with some of Graham's family to make foil dinners and s'mores. I LOVE campfires. It's one of those smells that instantly returns me to childhood camping trips to Princess Campground. There are few things better than a perfectly roasted marshmallow (except maybe a perfectly roasted Starburst...but that's another topic altogether).

Day 16: Soft

Soft skin, soft blanket, soft light. Perfect morning.

Day 17: Dramatic

I feel like this fire should be on the cover of The Hunger Games or The Lord of the Rings. I think it's what one would call...epic.

Day 18: Gift

Best gift I ever got. And he even arrived in time for Mothers Day this year. Now, that's service. Those storks know how to run a business.

Day 19: One

I took this picture yesterday. You can't see what a dark and gloomy day it was in the picture, but this single bright yellow flower made my day. 

Day 20: Low Angle

This is one of Will's favorite games these days. It's one of the best ways to get big smiles out of him. If I'm really lucky and he's in a good mood, sometimes I even get a laugh. Oh, how I live for his giggles.

Day 21: High Angle

Will and I drove up in the canyon yesterday because I wanted to take some pictures. He was a little cranky on the way there (he has a testy relationship with his car seat), but once I got him out of the car, he was in awe of the world around him. It was a little tricky taking pictures of him while squatting on the ground and propping him on my knee, but we made it work.

Day 22: Black and White

I didn't take this one, but I love it. We took family pictures last Tuesday, and it was quite the adventure. Despite our best efforts to be prepared, the experience was extremely stressful. Will wouldn't eat very well before, and he spit up on his outfit and Graham's right before the shoot, so he was really cranky for the rest of the short 45 minutes we had. I came home and cried because I was so exhausted, and I wasn't sure if the pictures were even going to turn out. Then I cried again when I went to look at the proofs that afternoon because I was shocked that some of them actually turned out well...and because I was still exhausted. I think this picture really captures Will's curious personality. He's ALWAYS looking around and trying to understand the world.

Day 23: Sunset

This is more of a "late afternoon" shot, I suppose, but I love the soft light that comes at the end of the day. This picture makes me feel all warm inside, like I'm still sitting in the sunshine.

Day 24: Blessings

Do you remember the remake of the Christmas movie Miracle on 34th Street? I love that the little girl's Christmas wish isn't for a bike or a doll or something else trivial that will likely break or be outgrown in a matter of weeks or months. Instead, what does she want? A house, a brother, and a dad. I feel like I'm Mara Wilson at the end of the movie when her wish really comes true...except my wish for so many year has been a house, a husband, and a child. And now I have them. I am blessed.

And...here's a bonus picture, because it makes me smile. That's my boy.

I Spy: Week 2

Last week I managed to find something OTHER than Will to take a picture of for each day's challenge. Although he's my favorite subject to photograph, I wanted some variety, so I tried to branch out from proud mommy shots. This week, however, I included some photos of him because they just fit perfectly with some of the themes...and he's super cute. Here we go...

Day 8: Laughter

Will discovered his toes last week, and he spent the better part of a stormy Monday playing with them. He can't get enough of them, and I can't get enough of watching him discover the world. It makes me laugh to see him so intrigued by little wonders of life. What a blessing to see the world anew.

Day 9: Light

This was the view from my sister's front porch last week. Beautiful!

Day 10: Home

They began framing our house last week. We now have a garage and a bathroom (sort of). We're ready to move in! Funny side note...they would have been much further on the framing of the house when we went to check, but apparently they had to send all the carpenters home because the lumber they had was too short. That's the bad news. The good news is that the reason the lumber is too short is because they dug the foundation deeper than planned and poured concrete for nine foot ceilings in the basement! Hooray for MAJOR upgrades at no cost! 

Day 11: Sweet

Umm...hello, beautiful. This was dessert last night. Fudge, cookies, and cheesecake. I love Costco, and I love my sister and brother-in-law for having wonderful taste in desserts.

Day 12: Happiness

When I was a child, we had a Charles Schultz (Peanuts creator) book called Happiness is a Warm Puppy. Each page had something simple that can bring joy to life, like a warm puppy or a soft blanket. For me, happiness is my little boy who is oblivious to the impressive waterfall of drool hanging from his chin. :)

Day 13: Comfort

Will's favorite toy, and one of the best ways to comfort him, is his toy moose. Yep, a moose. It has everything he loves: bright colors, various textures, jingles and rattles, and lots of parts to grab and chew on. Yum. 

Day 14: Pure

No frills. Just pure sunlight, a soft spot to relax, and a curious boy...practically perfect in every way.

P.S. - In other news, Will is now four months old! He had a checkup last week with shots to celebrate. Here are his stats:

Length: 27 inches

Weight: 13.4 lbs

He's still our tall, thin boy who's learning new things every day. He'll probably outgrow his infant car seat by six months if he keeps going at this rate. 

I Spy

Since Will was born, I have been trying to improve my photography skills so that I can capture all those priceless moments that he regularly creates. This month, I started a photo-a-day challenge that my friend sent me on Facebook. Here is the first week's worth of pictures....Enjoy!

Day 1: Fall

I can't believe the leaves are beginning to change color. Where did my summer go?

Day 2: Sun Flare

I had fun learning how to make sun flares with my camera. Hooray for Google and The Pioneer Woman for teaching me how to do it. 

Day 3: Vintage

Graham worked late for a few days this week, so I took Will to Wheeler Farm for an after dinner adventure to keep us sane during the evening hours. Plus, I thought it would be a great place to find inspiration for "vintage" photography. Then again, anything looks vintage when you put it in sepia tones. Don't you think?

Day 4: Games

Graham and I have become addicted to puzzles lately. This is our fourth in the last month or so.

  

Day 5: Inspiration

Down the street from my apartment complex is an old, kinda run-down auto shop. On my walk with Will the other day, I noticed that out back they had these stacks of tires. Why did I take a picture of tires for "inspiration"? Well, frankly, because I thought they looked cool, and it inspired me to photograph them. That counts, right?

Day 6: Love

Love can be many things. It can be a kind word, a hug after a long day, or it can be your husband catching a bee in a cup at a wedding reception that is driving you crazy (and making the other guests at the table think you actually ARE crazy). Love is the simple acts of service.

Day 7: Friendship

My dad and my niece. The have SO much fun together and are such good friends. At my sister's wedding, their friendship reached a whole new level as they bonded over their matching band-aids.

Stay tuned for more pictures from my photo challenge!

Home Sweet Home

This is my house:

Or, more correctly, it's the ground on which my house is being built. If you use your imagination, you can see what it will look like. If you don't have an imagination, I've made a CGI version to help:

Okay, so that doesn't help much, but happily, you won't have to imagine the house much longer because they began work on the lot last week! As of last Monday, we didn't know when they would start building, but as of Tuesday, we had a hole...

and now we have some concrete in the hole...

Graham and I have been house hunting since the first of the year, but we had a really hard time finding what we were looking for anywhere in Salt Lake or Davis counties. We had hoped to move before Will was born, but clearly that didn't happen. When Will was 5 days old, Graham noticed a new listing that looked interesting. It was in a great area, and at a really good price. We went to the neighborhood to drive by the "house" and quickly realized that they were just lots with suggested floor plans you could build. Although we had previously ruled out the possibility of building a home, we were intrigued by the location and the possibility of being able to customize a home to our needs. Besides, what better way to adjust to parenthood than by driving around the valley with a one week old baby to meet with agents and builders? 

It was all a bit crazy, but we're happy that the house is making visible progress at last. Plus, this means that I can sing "I'll be (in a) home for Christmas" this year...and NOT only in my dreams. On the contrary, this IS the home of my dreams in many ways. It will have a beautiful kitchen, open floor plan, lots of natural light with a walkout basement, and plenty of room for Master William to run around in the big backyard. We're even going to turn the formal living room into a library/office! What more could a former English teacher want?

While we were there on Saturday, Will had fun playing in our new backyard.

For now, though, we are enjoying our little apartment. Will has officially learned how to roll over...

and now he's working on his reading skills...

And the adventure continues!