It's cooooooooold out!

I wish we had more and bigger plants next to our house, I love these kinds of images. It hasn't snowed much around here, but it's bitterly cold. I love the way snow looks on plants.





And just in case you didn't believe me when I said it was cold. :)

Another Sunrise

I've seen some really pretty sunrises around here. The sky was red this morning but not like the last time I took a picture of it. I think in this case the "sailor's take warning" part was accurate. We've got a winter weather advisory starting tonight and going through most of tomorrow. 3-5 inches of snow expected along with freezing temperatures and strong wind. Nice.

Hoping this isn't a bad omen.

'Nuff said I think. :)

Could this kid be any cuter?

I really don't think so. So the weather was warm enough today that Andy got to play outside quite a bit. One of our neighbor's who was forced to move off base due to his wife's absence gave us this awesome outside playground for the yard. Lots of fun.

And here's the cheeseface grin that gets used on a daily basis to get anything he wants. It works. Every time.

I need longer arms

This shot was a little difficult seeing as I am only 5'2 and therefore have very short arms. It was fun though. Not the most flattering angle for sure. lol. That's all I have to say about that.

My belly is a heart!

I have always loved this concept though I don't think I've quite perfected it yet. You'll have to let me know how it is. I'm sorting through the various attempts at getting it right and Andy pops over to take a peek and says "Ohh you're belly looks like a heart!" It was seriously the cutest thing. I love that kid. But anyway... I like this but I think I can improve. I'll have to look at more like it to see what I can do differently. :) Of course it'll look even cuter with a bigger bump so maybe I'll have to repeat this shot in a few months.

Self Portrait

My first thought after looking through these pics today? "I need a new haircut." lol. I didn't really know what to do as far as photos today. I've been slowly but surely getting better day by day, my cough isn't as bad as it was and I can breathe better. Any chance of getting a pretty nature shot was pretty much destroyed this afternoon when it got all cold and snow started flurrying down a bit. Now it's dark and cloudy and boring. So you get me. Just me. Boring lame haircut me.


And in case you forgot I was still pregnant. I look a lot further along than I am but what can ya do? Almost halfway through now, I'll be 17 weeks in 2 days. Fun times.

My Salvation

I guess this is going to be one of the very few times ever that I will be grateful for my son's asthma. Well, we don't really know it's asthma, he hasn't technically been diagnosed, but he is prone to upper respiratory infections. Because of that we were given a nebulizer when he was just a year old. He hasn't gotten much use out of it over the last year (thank God), but it's certainly come in handy for ME over the last week. It's been the only thing to help me feel better and breathe better while I am suffering from this bronchitis crap. I have been very slowly improving from day to day, but still have some issues with my breathing. Hopefully it'll be gone soon. But in the meantime, I am so glad we have the penguin!!!

Don't you just want to pinch those cheeks?

You don't have to tell me I have the cutest kid in the world because I already know. Look at this face. I just love it. I came home to this today. He was bouncing off the walls for no apparent reason since his daddy can't recall giving him anything that would make him hyper. Here's a couple more. I could take pictures of this kid every day. I almost do. :)





And here's another one. He's making a funny face in it but I love how it turned out. I love my camera!!! Thanks Dad!

It's the thought that counts...

In an attempt to be sweet today and to do something nice for me Andrew went out of his way to buy me a bottle of White Zinfandel, one of the few alcoholic drinks that I actually enjoy drinking. It was a nice though. Too bad I am pregnant and can't really drink alcohol. It was sweet enough to get a mention on my blog though. Love you baby. And here is a 2nd pic today. Andy wanted to be included in my belly pic tonight. Isn't he a cutie? I love my family.

Friend or Foe?

On to this year's version of Friend or Foe? Normally I would say this is a friend, but the thermostat in our house is beyond ridiculous. During the day it routinely stays 3-4 degrees warmer than the set temperature. During the night it does not. So I end up having to adjust the thermostat every morning and night in order to keep the house a comfortable temperature. In addition to that, we have to play musical vents in order to get an appropriate amount of heat to the bedrooms on the other side of the house. Andy's room is always the coldest one in the house. Ugh... stupid P.O.S.

Go ahead and judge me.

I'm taking 2 Class-C prescriptions to make this bronchitis go away. Class-C = we're not sure if there are ill effects towards pregnant woman/fetuses or not, not enough have been reported to make this a restricted medication. After over a week of incessant and painful coughing and having a hard time breathing I just don't care!!! I want to feel better! I hope they work!!! And I hope they don't have any negative effects on the bean!

Full Moon

It's been a long day. I don't really have anything to write except I've been wanting to try getting a decent shot of the moon. It looks pretty cool tonight being full and all. Turns out it's actually pretty difficult (for me at least) to get a good shot of the moon at night. I like this one though.

My BFF

At least I hope! Andy is currently a Mommy's boy so I am trying to enjoy that while it lasts because I know it won't last forever. He's always so willing to be my subject. Actually, more than willing, he loves it! And I love it too. :)

Proud Big Brother

Well I was going to wait a little while to start getting these type of shots because my belly isn't that huge yet, and I think it looks better when you can see me too. But I don't have a great place to prop the camera up so that I can be in the pic too, so this is what you get. I think I need to get a tripod so I can do more things with myself in the pic too. Anyway.... Andy is such a proud soon-to-be big brother. He loves to kiss my tummy and talk about how there is a baby in there. Quite adorable, I just love it. I hope he will still be this excited when the baby actually gets here!!

Sunrise

I couldn't help but get my photo taken first thing this morning. I looked out the window to see a brilliant orange/red sky with the sunrise and had to grab my camera. I just love when the sky looks like this. Only nature can create such brilliant colors. And here is a shot of the red in another area of the sky a few minutes later where you can see the red/purple hue. Love it.

Holy bloat, Batman!

Well I was going to upload this adorable photo taken of Andy and I with his Fisher Price camera but for some reason my computer will not recognize the camera in the USB port. :( I'll have to work on that. So instead, you get to bear witness to my monstrous bloating. I swear to God my belly was NOT this huge when I woke up this morning. I guess I can thank my dinner of Chinese food for this. What the HELL?? (See that look on my face?) I have no idea why I look so ginormous all of a sudden. I'll report back later if it's decided to stay. I mean, seriously. I look about 6-7 months pregnant, out of absolutely nowhere!!! Was at the Dr just yesterday for the flu and I haven't even gained a pound!!! I think someone forgot to tell my belly!!!! Please don't be here to stay, I'm not ready for the waddle just yet!

The things we do

to feel better. Ridiculous. I didn't want to go two days without a post, so this is what you get because it's all I can think about. So since the only advice the Dr could give me was to continue taking some OTC medications to feel better, this is what I've stocked up on. It's kind of amusing how different doctors will advise for/against which medications during pregnancy. I thought Sudafed was a nono, and I never would have thought I could take Benadryl.... But I've been given today and tomorrow will consist of. Fun stuff.

No photo today, sorry.

I'm sick. But not giving up. I've posted at least 2 pics most days so far though, so I should still be easily able to get my 365 photos done!

Little Piggies

Just goofing around with today's pic... I think it turned out cute. Andy had fun helping me. His feet were probably half that size when I took our first "big feet, little feet" pic. *Sigh* He's such a big boy now. And with this post I have beat my last year's 365 effort. Kinda sad, but oh well! Yay me!

A Dog and His Boy

It's no mystery that my family is full of dog lovers. Andy is no different. Actually he really loves all animals, like his mommy. So since it's pretty cold outside lately we've had the dogs in the house quite a bit. Andy loves this because he can play with them all he wants. Buddy mostly just wants to lay around and be fat and lazy but Skynard really loves playing with Andy. They are like BFFs. Except when Skynard won't give Andy the ball, then he isn't too happy about it. But anyway, Skynard loves Andy and Andy loves Skynard.

I see babywearing in my future.

Yay! I bought a Moby pretty prematurely, within a few weeks of finding out I was pregnant. I was just so excited with the prospect of babywearing with my second child. I tried one of the basic slings with Andy but since I am petite it didn't really work (probably just bought the wrong size, or was it a one size thing? I can't remember). We also had one of those around the shoulder strap carriers that you can buy at most stores, and used it a few times. But we never *really* got into the babywearing with him. That's why I knew I NEEDED a Moby this time and bought one asap!


This first image to the right is the Lotus Hold. See how the teddy bear looks very content? Yes. If she were facing me it would be called the Hug Hold. The Hug Hold is used very often with newborns. But more often that that, the cradle hold is used. Which is the image to the left. Can't you just imagine a happy little newborn in there while mommy is able to retain full use of her hands? Nice. Yes, I am prepared! I am so excited to put this Moby to use! I got the wrap on my first try, I am going to be awesome! :) I apologize for the poor quality of these pictures, but my camera battery died. I think I left the camera turned on all night. Oops.

Snow, snow, snow, snow, snow....

Well it was supposed to snow all day today but it didn't really. It will probably start up again tonight and is supposed to snow through the night. Luckily when I got off work at 4 pm, the sun was shining through the clouds enough that the sky looked really beautiful while some soft snow continued to fall. I was able to get this shot of some snowflakes sitting on the top of our garbage barrel. Snowflakes really are beautiful little things. And of course I had to take Andy out for a little bit. Not too long though, it's cold out there!!!

My Favorite People

I don't think they need any introduction. My ever-so-willing subject, Andy, and my not-so-willing husband. Aren't they cute. Oh, and just for good measure: Andy's first salute captured on film.

So it begins...

My first belly pics. No doubt I will be taking countless shots of my growing belly over the next 6 months. I wanted to wait until I had at least somewhat of a discernable baby bump before I started. Some of this is leftover from my previous pregnancy, but the shape is definitely forming as it should (more visible in certain outfits and of course dependent on how much I still attempt to suck in what ISN'T baby bump). Goodbye weight loss plans, hello to my attempt at keeping a reasonable amount of weight gain instead.


If I didn't already know that a good amount of the "bump" you see wasn't previous belly I would think it was quite cute. :) So anyway, my first attempt at belly pics this pregnancy. I didn't take any last time around and definitely plan on taking many this time around and hopefully getting some great shots done around the time we normally get our family pics. If I'm not a giant blimp by then (May). We'll see.

Isn't nature pretty?

It's amazing how many beautiful things you can see just looking outside your window at home or from the car. Truly. This is one of the lakes on base where we like to go fishing when the weather is warmer. It's also the lake that Andy fell into last summer. Fun times. I wish I could have seen the full sunset. And this other image is not looking at the sun but towards the side of the lake where there is still some ice lingering from our snow storm last week. I really love the scenery around base, it's quite lovely.

A Simpler Time

Remember when all it took to make your day super awesome was a bag a cheetohs? Andy is still there and it makes me happy that it's so easy to make him happy! I've taken to bribing him in order for him to behave at school. Yesterday it was ice cream at McDonalds (we were going there anyway). Today he wanted chocolate (a hershey kiss) but then saw that I had Cheetohs and wanted those instead. He was a good boy both days so he got what he wanted. I mean, could you say no to his smile? Me either. As long as it works we'll do it.
He was having a somewhat hard time at school there for a bit so we had to improvise on how to get him to behave himself. Problem solved.

So sorry to break the news...

but Andy has found his true love. Yes, it's true. Already. At age 3.5. I know there are going to be a lot of broken hearted girls, but Natalie is the one. Don't they make a beautiful couple? Natalie is Amber Meyers' daughter. We've only met up 3 times now but they were instant friends and I know there'll be many more meet ups. They were chasing each other all over the play place at McDonalds, sliding down the slide together, tickling each other, hugging. They're just way too cute. I will keep you updated on any future developments, but as you can see things are pretty serious already. Don't you just love it? Sorry to all the little ladies who had an eye on him. :)

Christmas is over...

but it's still lingering at work. Nobody has taken down the tree or the many other Christmas ornaments that are scattered throughout the office. It's kinda nice since we took down the decorations at home so soon after Christmas. I woke up late today, napped all afternoon, and carted my camera to work thinking "surely I'll find something picture worthy there," so this is what you get. Bells. I love bells, they are pretty and they make a pretty sound every time I open the door they are hanging on. Maybe I should start collecting bells. My grandmother did. Anyway, Christmas is over. The new year is here! Happy un-Christmas to you! ETA: This pic looks kinda cool in B&W.

Fun in the Tub

My subject today will be subject many days this year. My adorable son, Andy. I am going to love this project for multiple reasons. Among those are: 1. I will get a chance to develop my photography skills and 2. I will be taking regular photos of my family, something I've gotten lazy about doing lately. So tonight was bath night (his skin is very dry and sensitive so we only have a bath every other day with some serious moisturizing in between) and I decided to whip out the camera to get a couple shots. I really love the first one here because it's a little more artistic than a lot of our family photos. He looks like such a little man, it's hard to believe he will actually be 4 years old this year! Time seriously flies. Here is another one just for fun:

Preparing for a long winter...

Well we didn't have a white Christmas but we sure had a white New Years! I spent New Year's night at work while my husband and son were at home. It's one of the last swing shifts I will be working hopefully for a long time and possibly ever. It snowed the entire day and the day before and the wind created huge snow drifts all throughout town. This is just a little glimpse into what was created in our yard (notice the snow almost reaching the seat of the table?). I wasn't feeling too creative today, but I got my pic taken! This is the start of my 365 project, a picture a day for a year! Happy new year! (Oh and I DID eat some black eyed peas this year too!)