Roy & Jessica

I had the priviledge to take some engagement photos for our friends, Roy & Jessica. It was so much fun! They are such a cute couple & a complete joy to photograph. I promised Jess I would get a few of the photos on my blog as soon as possible:





















Grandma & Grandpa purchased a mini golf set for Evan, who can hit the ball a long way for a three year old. Grandma found that out the hard way and was almost hit in the head!



And this little guy turned two months old yesterday. I still can't believe I gave birth two months ago. Sometimes it feels like just yesterday, and other days I feel like I have known him my whole life:



I do have a "two-months-old" post coming soon. We were a little busy this weekend with Roy & Jessica in town. The weather was perfect & we had a great time at Point Defiance and at the park.

Happy Monday!

I {heart} Photoshop Elements :-)

Being away from my scrapbook room for the summer has been so hard, but I have been playing a lot in PSE 7.0. I downloaded some masks this afternoon & I was eager to test them out. I haven't used a mask before, and thank goodness the set I got came w/ instructions! Here is what I created:


I love Evan's half smile & Jack's big blue eyes. They were so very tired this evening, but tomorrow should be a fun day for us. Our good friends, Roy & Jessica, are in town for the weekend & we are heading to the Taste of Tacoma in the morning.

Jack is going to be two months old tomorrow. I am hoping to post tomorrow evening with his latest mannerisms, quirks, and more on life with two little ones.

-E

Quick Pages

Once again I am up way past my bedtime, but I wanted to post the two Digital Quick Pages I completed for Renee Pearson's class.




[Supplies: Tiffany Tillman & Jackie Eckles created these quick pages specifically for Renee Pearson's class, so I don't have a link. However, you can visit Little Dreamer Designs to see more of their work.]

And a cute picture of our little guy, who is getting bigger every second! Tomorrow we are heading to Terri Beloit's in home studio to take some photos of Jack. I'm so excited to see her process & get some amazing baby photos.

I'm off to bed :-)

What Evan will do for cookies.

The last few weeks Evan hasn't wanted to have his picture taken; he would rather be using Abby's point and shoot camera and take his own photos. Yesterday he was being particularly stubborn so I used his one weakness against him: cookies. Chocolate chip cookies. It worked, and I got this great photo out of it:


[Frame is from Jessica Sprague's Computer Tricks for Scrapbooking 1 Companion Kit, available at www.creatingkeepsakes.com]

And my favorite photo from Father's Day:



Despite all the screaming & whining & exhaustion from today, life is good.

Capture Time & Digital Freebies

I finally have a few pictures of Jack smiling (it's only taken me five weeks!), so I had to turn the photo into a layout:


[Supplies: Layered template, papers, and scallop tag are from Songbird Avenue's April kit (no longer available), stitching is from Karla Dudley's Digi Essentials kit (no longer available)].

I also wanted to link to a few Digital Scrapbooking websites offering freebies:


Jessica Sprague is having a 2nd birthday on her website and she is offering a free download everyday this week. You can also sign up for a two week class she is teaching for free. I believe you can only sign up for the class until Friday.

Scrapbooks Etc. is offering three free kits on their website: Graphic Pop, Sweet Country, & Cool Basics.

Karla Dudley has offered two freebies recently: Father's Day Brushes & Pee-a-Boo Frames.

Renee Pearson has a free kit on her website, reneepearson.com. You have to sign up on her site to view & download the kit, so I can't link it here. I am also signed up to take her newest class, Just the Basics Ma'am, which starts on Thursday! Super excited about this... I have really enjoyed learning new things in PSE 7.0, and I can't wait to learn more :-)

Designer Digitals offers three free digital products every Sunday. You also have to be a member of their site to view & download them, but it's free to sign up and they have some great stuff! Ali Edwards designs some of their freebies which are always great!

And did you notice I joined Twitter? I never thought I would, but so far it's fun to put little snippets of this & that on my blog. We'll see how long it lasts...

-E

Eight Weeks

If you have some time, go read this post by Heather Armstrong at dooce.com. The way she feels about her oldest daughter & bringing a new baby home is exactly how I felt about a week after Jack was born: completely delighted by our new addition, but guilty to have changed Evan's life so abruptly.

I'm off to bed with a slightly crabby eight week old :-)

What We've Been Up To:

A little bit of scrapbooking:


[Supplies: I don't believe the digital kits I used are available anymore. Karla Dudley's kits at After 5 Designs have been taken down, and Ali Edwards' Songbird Avenue kit was only available in April.]

Playing at the Park:








These photos are courtesy of Terri Beloit Photography. You can visit her blog here, and her photography website here. If you are in the Puyallup/Pierce County area and are looking for a photographer, Terri is fantastic!

Playing baseball and Boom Ball in the yard:











Hanging out with Auntie Abby:



Taking photos:











Carrying Jack in our front pack. (He loves to be held, and usually falls asleep in his carrier):



It's been busy! I have a ton of other photos I would like to post, but this post is photo-heavy enough :-)

Have a wonderful Thursday -E

Sweet Baby Toes.

It's Wednesday...

...which means I only have two days left until the weekend! I find myself counting down to Friday these days. I love being home with the boys during the week, but having Mark around to help with diaper changes & crabby three-year-olds & fussy babies really helps. My sister and my parents have been a huge help the last 4+ weeks, too. It has been great to have a couple of extra sets of hands during the really tough times. Jack is a little more temperamental than Evan was, so I don't get as much done during the day as I would like. He would love to be held all. the. time. This morning he would fall asleep in my arms, but the minute I moved to put him in his swing or bouncer he would wake up and scream. Good grief! Poor Evan didn't get nearly as much attention as usual, and I couldn't leave the couch for fear of a screaming six week old. This evening was a totally different story: Jack has been sleeping for the past four hours in his bouncer. Go figure.


Evan giving Jack his usual suck-his-face-off kisses. I'm sure Jack appreciates it :-)


A little father/son/son bonding. Evan really loves to smother his little brother!


My beautiful boy has big blue eyes, just like Evan.


We have had quite a few play dates the last few weeks. Evan loves to play with other kids & he definitely needs to be socialized before heading to pre-school in the fall.

Peace.

I finally finished a scrapbook page!

It's digital, and mostly lifted from a couple of favorite people (Ali Edwards & some samples on the Designer Digitals website), but it's done. I'm finding myself severely short on time these days, so I am going to do a lot of "borrowing" from my favorite scrappers. I would rather have the stories told & pages complete than take the time to agonize over details. I am also having a tough time getting back into the creative groove. It will come back, but until it does I am doing more work in PSE 7.0, and concentrating on staying current with my P365 photos. I love taking photos of my new little guy!

Here is the Point Defiance Zoo layout I was working on last week. It has taken me forever to finish! Way longer than it should have, but I'm thrilled with the results. I will compile a complete supply list and post it tomorrow or Sunday. It's almost midnight & I am still getting up 1-2 times per night with Jack. He loves to cuddle with his mama, and I am happy to oblige :-)



Jack is almost 6 weeks old, and getter bigger every minute. He is getting really good at lifting his head, and he loves to sleep in his swing & Little Lamb bouncer. His brother is pretty fond of him, too.



Our amazing little baseball player. Abby & Mark were pitching to Evan last night in the backyard, which is his new favorite activity, and he he hit a couple of amazing shots, one over the fence into our neighbor's yard. On one pitch he ripped the ball right back to Abby and whacked her in the leg leaving a welt. He can really hit the ball hard!


Mark bought Evan a pair of Spiderman sunglasses when he was in Maryland last month & Evan doesn't leave the house without them. We will be in the garage getting ready to take a walk & Evan will yell "my sunglasses!" and run back in the house for them. They are his most precious possession lately... and darn cute!

-E

Blue Eyes.

Jack @ 5 weeks.

We are off to the park tomorrow for another play date. The weather is still beautiful & we are enjoying every minute of it. Hopefully, if all the stars align & my babies let sleep in the afternoon, I will have a scrapbook page to share tomorrow. But that is a big if!

-E