Playing with my camera and photoshop...

DH and I bought a digital Canon Rebel a few months ago. I have been dreding learning how to use anything besdies the automatic setting, but kind of pointless to buy a camera with all of these features and refusing to learn how to use them. Its been a lot of trail and error since I'm learning just my reading info online, but its been fun :)

So anyway, these are two pictures I took today, of the flower and of Little Miss. I have been playing in Photoshop to edit the pics, I still have TONS to learn with the camera and photoshop, but I think these turned out pretty good for me :)

Straight Out Of the Camera from my back yard
Edited, the color version

And this other sepia-ish edit

My little tater... straight out of the cameraJust playing with the color and blurring the background...

Have any advice, tips or tricks to share?? Please send them my way! I need all of the help I can get!!

Little Miss LOVES Puzzles

My little girl loves puzzles, and not your wooden big piece ones, bigger ones. She got really used to her 63 piece 5 year + tinkerbell so I got her the princess one and she whizzed through it. So I figured it was time to pull out the big guns :) I gave her this 100 piece (about 6 or 7 and up) puzzle and while it took longer and she did it in little bits, she finished it today :) So proud!!

Bobo is getting SOOO big!

My big boy is growing more and more and doing more and more everyday!!

Here are some new milestones.....

Clapping :) Woo hoo! Also, signing milk, saying "Hi!" Shaking head for no (I think I already mentioned that one) but here they are!!



Hes so cute!!!

No more swim lessons....

So obviously with her broken arm, she can't swim. I called the Natatorium to see what can be done...pretty much nothing, we are just out for the second week of swimming. They said we can come and watch but come on...that is torture for a 3 year old. This broken arm thing is really becoming a pain, obviously for her, but for me too. I talked to her cheer coach and she said she can still come and do practice just the things she can and then skip tumbling days. When she is better, she can double up weeks to catch up. So that is better at least.

Well, here is a video of her last day of swim lessons, jumping off of the diving board :) Ignore my voice again... I really have got to stop talking while videoing :)

Little Miss + Codine = One Funny Girl

Little Miss has been saying random things since yesterday, but she just said to me "Mommy! Your mom added you on Facebook?" WTF? How does she know anything about Facebook. LOL

Yeah... yesterday was fun...

So yesterday was "Cow Appreciation Day" at Chick-fil-a. Come dressed as a cow, and get a free meal! So our mom group decided to go. We dressed the kids up and all had some yummy free food. The Chick-fil-a cow was there too.
Well.... so that was all fine and dandy until some woman comes running to our table and says that a little girl is really hurt. So Amanda and I go running since we are the ones with girls. Turned out, it was mine. Luckily, a table with a fire lieutenant was there and saw her fall. I guess it had been a while before someone came and got it (it was PACKED and while we usually sit right by the play place, we couldn't today. There was a big day care and lots of families taking advantage of the promo). So the officer calls the ambulance and they took us to Memorial Hermann in the medical center. On the way there they hooked her up with an IV, moniters and gave her Fentanyl. She started dosing off but then quickly woke up and started seizing. Apparently she is allergic to it. That was the scariest thing I have experienced with my children! The EMS man gave her some counteractive drug and she stopped. That was the worst :( But at least she doesn't remember it!

So, of course we were at the hospital ALL DAY. Tons of waiting, x-rays, pain, and tears. After being there for 6 hours they tell us she broke the bone right by her elbow. So great! She just started cheer and gymnastics, has a week left of swimming lessons and has a broken arm! Lets not even mention the amount of pain she is in.

So yeah! What a great start to our weekend!

First Swim Lessons

Today was the first day of Little Miss's 2 weeks of swim lessons. I am very glad that we had last week to get her used to the water or today would have been bad! She still showed some hesitance a bit when it was time to practice jumping in, but she was great!!

Here she is swimming out with the instructor

Playing while waiting her turn (pink and brown swim suit)

Its hard to see her here, she is on the left in the back swimming with the instructor.

4th of July Parade!

Little Miss got to be in a local 4th of July parade with her cheer gym. She had so much fun :) It helped that she didn't have to walk the whole way :)

Enjoy the video but please ignore my screeching and high pitched baby voice. LOL I was just excited :)



Bobo and Daddy waiting for the parade to start

Little Miss and Coach Sydney

Cheer, Swimming and Uh-ohs- OH MY!

This week has been insane, hot, fun and filled with memories and milestones.

I am teaching a camp this week called "Gym and Swim" meaning it is part gymnastics and part swimming. It just so happens that the camp my daughter is in includes swimming also. So while I was teaching my camp, I was able to be out in the pool with her. I think I mentioned before that she is starting swimming lessons next week. Dave and I have been trying to get her to the pool to get her familiar with it. When we first went, even with her life jacket, she had a DEATH GRIP on us! Well, this week, thanks to her Camp Counselor and babysitter Lauren, she is no longer afraid! I also got her some goggles and a new life jacket called a Puddle Jumper that really seemed to help! When we were all hanging out in the pool, Little Miss decided to just swim off, across the whole pool by herself! I couldn't be more amazed at the difference a few weeks make :) WOO HOO! Go Little Miss!

Little Miss swimming with Lauren!



Little Miss swimming with the volunteer, Alfredo.

The next exciting thing that happened was that Bobo said Uh-oh!! Hes been saying, Uh and oh for a little while but never together. We are finally saying it together :) Also Bobo has gotten 4 molars now..hes been super drooly! LOL I tried to get a video of him saying uh-oh but he wasn't having it! LOL Way to go big boy Bobo!!! Also, the other day we were with my mom group at a local church that has a huge indoor playground. The kids had a blast! I am surprised I got the one picture of Little Miss that I did. LOL She was all over the place :)

Bobo Standing!! Big boy! :)

And the last thing, Little Miss is now doing competitive cheer! If you don't know, this is my first break from coaching since I started over 6 years ago. I have coached both high school and all-star. I had planned on Little Miss starting to cheer about this time or a little sooner, but since I haven't been coaching, it didn't happen. Well, we were able to make it work! Little Miss is now the newest member of Spirit Sport's Show Team :) They compete but don't actually "compete" everyone gets a trophy at this age. She is very excited as am I (Dave insists its more about me than her... but I swear she loves it too!!) This program includes a tumbling class once a week and a cheer class once a week. Yesterday was tumbling. I couldn't get any good shots through the glass, but here are some. And we had some problem wtih the humidity fogging up the lens. lol But anyway, she is loving it!!