Now that's Creative Photography!!

Here's the link to a new creative way to photograph your babies & kiddos. Introduction to a new website - Totally awesome!  From there you can go directly to Mila's Day Dreams for more pics or click here.

My personal favorite!

I'd love to say "I'm going to try this,  come back soon and see what I've created".

However, it's going to take some thought and time to come up with the cloth (props), so no sincere promise.  But I am, so very intrigued.

If you're inclined to try it, leave me a comment with a link, so I can check it out.

Rarely does this happen

Rarely does it happen that every picture you take in a session is a keeper.

Kissin Cousins!  Cute as can be.. love the hand on the shoulder

I have their full attention - Just for a second.

Adorable!  Two of my granddaughters together.

Sydney Nicole - 3 1/2 & Daniela 7 1/2 months.

Just missing Ava Bean. 

Oh! how I wish it was easier to get them all together.

With the arrival of #6 & #7 it's just bound to get more difficult.

Today, I'm grateful for getting two daughter's together and the opportunity to take pictures of their girls.

Baby Shower - Rick's side of the Family

Rick's Mom gave Audra a baby shower also. 

She found and created so many things for the shower with the ladybug theme including this adorable outfit.

Even though Lynn used the Ladybug theme she managed to encorperate Audra's favorite color pink.

Audra & Rick's Grandma Roberts.  The food was good and so was the company.  Both sides of Rick's family are very friendly and generous people.  She recieved so many awesome gifts.

Lynn made this adorable quilt with the baby's room colors on it.  Audra loved it!

Looks like a cupcake, doesn't it?  It's a basketful of baby items for Audra and Rowyn. 

The frosting is cloth diapers and that's an Anne Geddes ladybug baby on top.

Folks it doesn't get more adorable than that. 

I'm sure the trim around the cupcake will end up in a photo scrapbook soon.

I'll end this with a four generation picture of Lynn (Rick's Mom), Audra & Rowyn and Sylvia (Lynn's Mom)

Although we can't see Rowyn, she's definitely in there.

Great Shower, Lynn.  She should be a professional party planner, in my opinion.

((Grandma V. let us use her house on the lake for Audra's friends shower, but that's another post.))

Way Back When #15 -- 25 Years Ago

Our Wedding Day  ------- Gus & Dorsey  August 28, 1985.

One month from today we will be wed for 25 years.

Amazing! 

He doesn't look much different than this picture.

His hair is grayer, he weighs a few pounds more and his glasses are smaller.

I on the other hand have changed considerably.

What's changed about me - one thing - I've gained ## pounds!!!

Sorry I'm to vain to put it into numbers for everyone to see.

Today I'm starting the big diet.  Not just calorie reduction, but using some tips from Living with Diabetes newsletter I get.  Time to get sensible.  And hopefully a month from today when it's my real Anniversay I'll be well on my way to losing the ## extra pounds. 

Wish me luck!

Nah, don't just wish me luck. 

Pray for me, encourage me, and hold me accountable if you love me.

MY Girls!

Amanda, Ashley & Meghan

My three oldest girls were able to get together at Meghan's in North Carolina earlier in July.   Unfortunately, because Audra already had a two week trip planned to Michigan for her baby shower,  couldn't manage another trip the same month.

Here are a few of the pictures I took, the ones I liked the best.

These are natural smiles, something funny was said.....I don't remember exactly what, but the fake smiles were gone and these natural ones took their place.  I love it, it's truly them with the smiles and beautiful faces God gave them.

Sisters together and loving it.  Sharing memories, sharing trials of young motherhood (sleepless nights etc), sharing scrapbooking ideas, recipes for baby food and a whole plethora of usefull and yep even sometimes useless information.  Just being sisters and enjoying it, but also making time to do something special for the youngest one that couldn't join them. (See the project here)

Fourth of July

Meghan bought these cute matching shirts for the kids and we attempted to take pictures of them all together.

Griffin had an ear infection and wasn't feeling well....he wasn't very cooperative, but that's understandable.

The Girls!

We thought maybe taking them outside would help, but couldn't get the pacifier out of Griffin's mouth without him crying.  The picutres are still adorable, with or without the Binkie.

We are so pleased that Daniela is in the U.S. and so many family members are getting a chance to meet her for the first time. 

And a BIG Thank You to Uncle Rick and all the other US citizens that are in the Army and other branches of the military.  Thank you for serving so that the US is still a great place to live when these little ones grow up.

Another Tradition

When I take a trip to North Carolina, Sydney and I write letters and draw pictures for her cousins, Michael and Ava.  She loves to draw and color, and use tape.  Lots of tape!!!

Then we go out to the mailbox and send them on their way.  This year she opened the mailbox by herself.

Put all the letters in the box and closed it.

She even put the flag up so the mail person would know to stop.  Look at her standing on her tip-toes. 

Next time I'm in Maine I will have to have the cousins, Michael and Ava mail a letter to Sydney and Griffin.  Kids love to get mail and send it too!

A Retraction is Necessary

Looks like I made a error in count the Great-Grandchildren that my mother has.  See this post where I claimed my Mom had both a Baker's dozen Grandchildren and Great-Grandchildren.  I missed counting my younger sisters' two new little boys.  She's only been a Grandma since May, so guess I'm just not used to including her in the count.  These are her two contributions to the Great-grandkids, which makes my Mom a grand total of 15!

This is Cameron Alan Messenger, my sister Dawn's son; Chad's little boy.  He was born in May.  He looks like his Daddy.

Meet Caleb Christian Rowley, born in July.  This is my sister, Dawn's daughter, Melissa's new baby.  He is brand new so it's harder to tell who he's going to look like, but by the comments I've heard so far, folks think he's going to favor his Daddy, Jon as well.

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I love pictures of yawning babies.  Although our visit was short I did manage to catch a few yawns.

And I a-l-m-o-s-t captured a smile.  Better luck next time.

Way Back When Wednesday #14 All four of them

Amanda, Meghan, Ashley & Audra

Another train style photo of the girls.

And my favorite -- All in red Osh Kosh picture.

Way Back When  -- getting the four of them together wasn't as difficult as it is today.

Audra & Rowyn's Baby Shower

I can't believe these girls are mine. 

 They are both so beautiful.

Audra looks like her father's mother

and Ashley looks like her father.

I guess I can't take much credit.

 

Daniela is a perfect mixture of both of her parents
and so very beautiful as well.

 

First to arrive were my mother and my sister. 

Happy Birthday, Mom and thank you for coming to your granddaughter's baby shower on your birthday.

Audra's baby will be my mother's third of four great-grandbabies to be born this year.  And the only girl great-grand this year.  Cameron was born in May, and Caleb earlier this month, and Henry is due in September right after Audra's baby girl, Rowyn.

My mom is holding Daniela who is (if I counted correctly) her 13th, Great-grandchild.  She has a Baker's Dozen grandchildren and a Baker's Dozen great-grandchildren at the moment.  That is until Audra's baby girl is born.

They took the playing of the games, so seriously.  The competition was intense. 

After the luncheon Audra opened her gifts.  Everyone was so thoughtful and generous.  Audra had a great time opening and Ewhing and Awhing over all her gifts.

This one however was one of the favorites.  Her Aunt Martha, cross stitched the very same picture for Rowyn as she did for Audra when she was born.  They will both hang on Rowyn's wall along with Rick's back home in New Mexico.  All it needs is Rowyn's little hand prints to go on the bottom in the blank area.

My sister is Audra's godmother, and I gave Audra Jane my sister's middle name.  Rowyn will have two middle names and one of them is Jane as well.  Rowyn Gracie Jane Roberts.

The anticipation was really killing her and prompted her to open this gift from all three of her sisters first.  It is a scrapbook, handmade by her sisters when they were all together the week prior in North Carolina.  The letters spell out BABY and they are premade spots for different size photo's.  It turned out totally awesome.  Each of us designed several of the pages (including me), it was so much fun to make.

No get-together is complete without the faithful Aunties.  Audra plans to go home and buy her stroller & carseat combo with their generous gift of money.

My fifth diaper cake creation - you'll never guess the theme.  Nope.   Nope.

Who am I kidding?  It's a bit over-done, but it turned out very cute and received many compliments. 

 Audra's favorite thing adorning the cake,  is the the little bumblebee footies on the front. 

Thank you everyone for coming and sharing in the welcoming and spoiling of Grandbaby number six.

Airport Arrival of Pregnant Woman

There she is arriving at Metro Airport.  Aproaching me from a distance I did not think Audra (my youngest daughter) looked very pregnant.

However, once we'd hugged and stopped to take this photo I saw that her tummy was as big as a basketball under her shirt.

Yet she still found room to hold her niece, she met for the first time.  Daniela went to her without a second glance.

And they had fun reading books together.  I do believe Daniels is fast becoming a bookworm too.

Tomorrow we will have baby shower pictures. 

Hurrah!  The shower went very well.  Great friends, great food and wonderful, wonderful gifts to welcome baby Rowyn.  Ciao Amici's was a great place to have the shower.

Because I'm Busy

Because I'm busy - I'm posting more pictures of the "little ham", Sydney.

After the big baby shower I hope to have more time to spend blogging and getting my vacation pics in order, of course LIFE is what happens between your plans!

It's not easy being a long distance Gramie.  Your visits are never long enough and never as often as you'd like.  So far this year I've seen the North Carolina Grands twice, because of my trip to care for Sydney when she had her tonsils out.  I've seen the Maine Grands for a weekend in CAN and plan to pay a visit sometime after Baby Henry "Get's Out" as the kids affectionately call him getting born.  And I will fly to New Mexico when Rowyn "Get's Out".  I can't wait to me Grandchild number six.

Trips to Michigan are few and far between as it is difficult to travel with a little one and when their families grow to two and three it makes flying out of the question and travel by car (12+ hours) a real test of parenting skills and nerves of steel.

So I take a ton of pictures while I'm there.  I call, I write, I send books & DVD's and little gifts.  I Skype and email and I blog and check their blogs (two have them and I have high hopes of the other two setting them up).

And I enjoy being there while I am there. 

Catching some action this time.  Every dress deserves a big twirl!

And a big finish with a GREAT SMILE!

Gramie loves you, and misses you Sydney.