Sunday, March 27, 2011

What should I do with this hair?!

OMG. I love Hallie's hair. It is soft and cute and flips on the ends .... and it is still blonde. BUT, it. is. a. mess. She loves to wear hairbows, but, like her clothing, she has to change styles every 5 minutes. So out comes the hairbow .... and this is what we have left ....


I am OK with this. Because it means she is having a great day. Last week she insisted on wearing Parpee's helmet and riding her princess scooter..... I thought she looked pretty cute even with the bedhead!





After her bath yesterday, I dried her hair (which she loves) and she looked in the mirror and said, "I wook butifuw!" And I thought - girl, you look beautiful no matter WHAT your hair looks like. :oD

Friday, March 18, 2011

Fairy Tale Ball .....

In first grade at our elementary school we have what is called "The Fairy Tale Ball." Or as I have renamed it "The Reason You Do Not Be Room Mom In First Grade." The outside of the classrooms and hallways are decorated, the inside of the classrooms are decorated - all fancy like - and nothing is left undone.... The kids come dressed as a fairy tale character and parade through the hallways. Parker was a prince .....

(I hope you paid special attention to his boots and shirt.)


THEN, there is the "ball." The ball kind of depends on what your teacher wants and this year we have an awesome teacher so our kids did little plays .....

And danced with their partner.....


(This bottom picture is the little smirk Parker makes when he is shy/embarrassed or being sneaky .... I LOVE it.)

Then they ate a ton of junk food. It was at the point where Parker was slamming pixie sticks that I decided it was time to go and leave my sweet cherub with his teacher. Whom I adore. SO so so very much.

This fairy tale ball made me realize how fast our kids are growing up. Parker asked Paige to go to the ball with him and then danced with her. Parker and Paige took their dancing very seriously and had their box step down to a tee... watch out Dancing with the Stars! When we were walking into the classroom for the ball after the parade, Paige's mom said, "Oh I heard Paige and Parker are dancing together!" to which I replied, "Yes, I have heard from a few kids that Parker has a crush on Paige." To which Paige's mom replied, "How do they even know what that word means?"

*slowly creeps out of the room*

For me, having Casey in middle school, I find it hard to shelter my younger kids from the "bad words" like butt and crush. And, God forbid, fart. Hallie even thinks she has a penis - and I am not kidding. No worries, I corrected her and told her that she does, in fact, NOT have a penis but, rather, has a "private." (Wow, lots of commas in the last sentence and I am 95% sure I didn't need all of them - but I use commas where I pause, not where they are necessary. So there. And I am also using this space to divert your attention from the fact that I can't get myself to teach her the V word and I am not sure why.) I really don't want to rush them to grow up ... Parker won't even give me a hug or kiss at school anymore. :( (Casey, however, still runs up to me hugging me and kisses me goodbye every EVERY time I leave....)

So when I hear moms saying they will not miss having to attend the fairy tale ball (and, yeah, it's hot and smelly and the food is catered to a 7 year old), I think Really? I think I will miss it. A lot. They just grow up so fast. I want to freeze time right now with Parker. I want to remember him snuggling in my bed and laying in HB's spot when he is out of town. (I am OK forgetting how he turns sideways and kicks me in the head) I want to remember his sweet little cheeks and baby teeth and his desire to learn and read and be silly and make new friends and please us. I love his independence but I love it when he needs me even more.

Although - when I asked him once why he doesn't "need" me like Casey does, he said, "It's OK Mom. Casey likes you."

Huh?

Yup. I will even miss his innocent honesty.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Thank you Cassie!

I love our new blog layout!!! :)

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Terrible Twos!

Two's? Twos? I googled it and it is printed both ways....

My least favorite age to photograph (with the exception of newborns) is age 2. I have a love hate relationship with it. Two year olds don't really care whether you want them to sit or stand or run or jump ... they don't care if you offer them candy or balloons. Because there is no reasoning with a toddler.

Hallie is no different. In fact it's worse. Because she is mine. I have yet to meet a photographer who said they LOVED shooting their own kids. So in my effort to capture more memories of her life, I have decided to capture those moments that reflect her every day life. She's super cute and all but I don't want her to look back and say "Was I always dressed in Matilda Jane wearing a cute knit hat with a big whopping flower on the side?" (sidenote: My dad is thanking the Lord above right now, I just know it. He hates flowers in hair or any kind of "head dress." Like she is an Indian. But I digress.)

So the other day I thought oh look! Look how cute Hallie is all dressed up in her Tinkerbell costume! (If you ask her, it is "Princess Tinkerbell," not just Tinkerbell. And there is no arguing with her about it. Because, again, there is no reasoning with a toddler.)

So I said, "Hallie! Can mommy take a picture of you in your super cute princess costume?" "NO!" "Please? We can send it to Daddy?!" "No. I no yike pisters." "But mommy thinks you look sooooo pretty!!! Puhleaseeeee .... I will give you an M & M....." "No pister. I want M & M." [insert big huge temper tantrum over an M & M. A yellow one to be exact.]

This was the resulting shot:





So then, of course, I gave her the M & M. Because I am a pushover. And got this snarky shot:



And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Tea Party .....

(I am in the process of updating my blog layout so please excuse its ugliness, LOL)

Updating a blog is very time consuming. (Right, Cassie?) Let's be honest here. I have no clue how to do it myself so I have to solicit the help of a friend. Who I will pay to make it pretty. I'm sick of it looking like someone (who has no clue) went to blogger, set up a blog, and chose a fancy layout from the advanced button. Or maybe it wasn't advanced. Anyhow .... I can't wait to make it look pretty. (And professional)

I had promised myself I would blog more - even if not about photography - and I failed at it. I think I got lost in the notion that eating your weight in cakes and cookies was a better option than blogging. Well, here we are 3 weeks before spring break, fatter than ever, and I have decided that if I work out NOW and blog NOW, the weight from the snow week will miraculously fall off. Wish me luck. I need to change my eating/exercise habits OR change the people I vacation with. Hmmmmm ............ I wonder what the cast of "Heavy" is doing this April.....

On similar (or not at all similar) note, I pulled Hallie out of preschool 2 days a week so I could spend more time with her (read: shape the little girl she was becoming) and we have been having so much fun. (SERIOUSLY!) I thought I was a total boy mom until she begged me to play tea party with her. Having two older brothers and not a lot of girly stuff, our tea party materials are few and far between and pretty much consist of rummaging through the paper goods cabinet (leftover birthday and holiday plates and napkins, etc). Here are a couple pics from our tea party this morning. (I had to turn them b/w and crop them for a couple reasons - 1. They looked cuter that way, 2. She is covered in boogies and amoxicillan, 3. She is totally mismatched AND 4. My house is a pit and I thought you would be less likely to notice.)

Here is our fancy setup. Please note our tea parties are actually picnics because we don't have a little table. My friend Abbie had promised me her daughter's little tea party table and has since taken back the offer because she can't bear the thought of parting with it. Her daughter is like 28. (OK, she is 7 but whatever.)



You MUST - and I mean MUST! - wear fancy necklaces to the tea party no matter how you got them. *blush*


This is the sweet face I get to look at while I sip my tea and eat my mac 'n cheese. Yes, she cooked some mac 'n cheese today. What of it?


I'm teaching her young. Even though our tea cup is a green (I swear it's green) solo cup the size of her face, she MUST have her pinky up or we might as well just be at the park for a real picnic and not sharing a spot of tea. Am I right?


And this? is what I really get to look at every day.....

Thursday, March 10, 2011

New Walsh Family Blog

I have decided to start blogging for family and friends to keep a journal of our lives. It's kind of my virtual scrapbooking. Starting a bit late as Casey is 11, Parker is 7 and Hallie is 2 but better late than never, right?