Family Blog

I have been talking about doing this for a while and I am finally going to follow through with my plan to create a separate family blog. So, I will have my photo blog for my photography stuff that doesn't really have to do with our family, and then have my photo blog. I have always felt a little weird about posting personal things on a public photo blog, but wanted people to be able to see my photos so that i could get input on how to improve.
The big change is that Jeremy and I will both be contributors to the family blog. Now, I make no promises that Jeremy will post a lot. In fact I will be pleasantly surprised if or when he does, but at least he will have the option and i won't have to always feel like I need to send pics out or post.
Anyway, we will be making the new family blog private. So, if you would like to be able to view it, just comment on here and i should have your e-mail. If I don't have your e-mail (or if you're not sure if I do,) just send it to: andrearasband@yahoo.com and I will put you on the list. Ha! I feel so powerful.
We won't be sending out invites until the blog is ready to go, but we are hoping to get it all ready before baby #2 joins our family.

Giving in

I finally decided to give in and post photos from Halloween. I just kept seeing all of your posts with cute Halloween pics. and finally decided to join you. So, here are some pics of Eden in her costume. She insisted on being a pink fairy. All pink. My Mom put her costume together. She reveled in in it. Jeremy took her trick or treating on Halloween night along with my brother and his little girl (the lady-bug). There is nothing more exciting to Eden than costumes (the non-creepy kind) and candy.

Baby 'B' Preview

When it rains, it pours. I haven't had anybody ask me to take pictures for them for a while. Then, in one week, I've had 3 calls for families. Crazy! I couldn't decide at first if I was up for it, but then decided "Heck(that's right...I'm from Utah), why not?" I am very happy that I did. I learn something new every time.
The first session was with a 2-week old baby boy whose family lives in my neighborhood. We had to break it into two separate sessions because little 'B' got tired of us messing with him, then decided he was hungry. It worked out really well though and I am excited to get the rest of the shots processed. Here are a couple of previews.
By the way, does anybody out there want to give me directions on how to put text on a photo that is to be posted? I knew how to do this in Elements, but am wondering if it is possible in Lightroom. Also, when I post the coloring on the blog looks different (less vibrant) than it does in Lightroom. Does anybody know why this is? If you know how to fix either of these, please fill me in. Thanks!

Artsy-fartsy

My friend and fellow amateur photographer, Rob, put together a little "photo walk" last weekend. We walked around main street down town and just took photos of whatever we wanted. It was really good for me because I don't feel like i am naturally creative, so i have to force myself to try new things and figure out what works and doesn't work. It was great and i feel like I got a few decent shots. If you want to see all of my favorites you can go to this flickr link. You should check out Rob's page as well (click on his name above). He and his wife are both naturally creative and artistic. So, they have some really great shots that they have posted.

Progress

Well, I'm down to the single digits now. 9 weeks left. Crazy! Although, I feel like this is about as big as I got at 9 months with Eden. I think my belly button would concur as well. Poor little thing has practically disappeared. This little peanut is just as active, if not more so, as Eden was in the womb. Of course, her most active time is when i am attempting to fall asleep in the evening. I will say that Tums are my new best friend. The heartburn has not been bad by any means, but definitely present. With my first pregnancy, I was mega paranoid about ingesting anything that you could purchase in the pharmacy section of your local grocer...don't ask why(....those crazy first time Mom's are full of all sorts of ideas). I decided to step outside of my little coo-coo box and try tums to help alleviate the minor discomfort in my throat. And guess what....it worked! Shocking, I know.
Anyway, we have been working on projects around the house to not only prepare for this new little squirt, but also to try to beat the cold weather and improve our surroundings a little at a time. Jeremy takes on the larger projects and puts up with my "suggestions" while I try to get things organized. Jeremy finished painting the nursery. Pink, of course. We weren't able to do much of a nursery when Eden was a baby because we lived in an apartment, and Jer was still in school. Back in the day, we budgeted $10 a month for "personal spending money". Needless to say, there wasn't much left over for baby decor.
So, it has been fun this time around to be able to do that. As you can see, it is going to be a very girly room. We chose Pink and White as our overall colors with a little bit of green and black for accents. We have yet to really decorate, but have made progress by finishing the painting and putting the crib together.
Jer's Mom made peanut#2 (yes, we are still trying to agree on a name) a beautiful blanket/quilt that matches the bedding perfectly. Thanks, Diane!
This picture of me is at 30 weeks. Is it just me, or do I look large? Honestly, it is hard to believe that she still has 9 more weeks to grow...I think I'm in trouble.

And it's only 9:30!

I know that most blogs out there report all of the wonderful and fun things that we do with our children and what a perfect day it's been, blah blah blah. Well, let's be honest...we all have our "bad -Mom moments" (as my sister calls them) when we are glad nobody is watching or moments that could be used as an example on Super-Nanny of "what not to do as a parent of a toddler". Today seems to be one of those days.
Why do I get sucked in to arguing with my my 3 year old about whether or not she can put "more" sugar in her cereal because she "can't see the sugar!!!!" ? Why does 'no' mean "just keep asking because you know that your mother is a major push-over. So, if you are persistent and whiny enough, then she'll eventually give in to prevent losing her mind over sugar".
I've inherited this push-over trait from my father who used to always get coerced into taking 6 kids + friends to the candy store , and upon returning home would pout to my Mom, "Why do you let them do this to me?" We knew if Mom said 'no', don't even think about asking again. If my Dad said 'no', it was just an invitation to be more convincing with your pleas until he gave in. Poor guy. I feel for you, Dad. I am completely guilty of this. It's one of those moments in time in which you're now living the wish that your own mother had for you as a child and would announce, "I hope that you have a little girl just like you someday." What does Oprah call it? A "full-circle moment".
It's been one of those days and.... crud! It's only 9:30!! I think I'll call Jer now and see if he can get off of work early.

Stuck in a moment

Lately, Eden has been finding things around the house (or in this case...the garage) that we used when she was a baby. She can't quite convince herself that being a "big girl" is the best way to go. I'm sure this has something to do with our expecting little squirt #2 in a couple of months. She will find binki's in the baby things and suck on them....which is ironic because she wouldn't have anything to do with them as a baby. She has tested out all of the baby toys and figured out all of their uses whether they were intended to be used in certain ways or not. Most recently, she found the baby swing and decided to test it out. She intended to head over to our big tree to give it a try. She never made it, seeing as she got in the swing prior to it being hung. What a goof ball!