3 Year Photo Shoot

I had my eye out for good weather on the week leading up to Joy's birthday.  On Monday, I thought we struck gold since it was overcast in the morning, but by the time we got to the location, it was bright, bright sunshine.  I brought my reflector, which has built in shade, but poor Joy still had to squint up at me, which resulted in pictures like this: (and long run-on sentences, apparently)

a little better

and the best one of the shoot

Decent. But I wanted another shot.  Luckily, (sadly a huge percentage of my photography skills come from luck) there was a storm on Saturday, so an hour before sunset we set out for some great light and a naturally defused sky.  (And now all my photography secrets have been revealed.)

Umbrellas make great props, but this one was also necessary since it was raining when we started.

We were playing peek-a-boo with the umbrella.

This is my model shot.  Too bad she hates
doing photo shoots, she could pay for college
now.

This face reminded me of something . . . 

6 months - 3 years

More silly faces.

Climbing up on the bridge was her idea.  Proof that if you let them go with their ideas, you can get some great pictures.  Also letting them see the screen with their pictures as you go helps.

And this one is the winner. 

And now you really do know all my secrets to take a toddler photo shoot.  I use a 50mm 1.8 lens.  They are the easiest, cheapest lens for anyone interested in taking better pictures with a DSLR. Didn't realize when I started that this would be a tutorial, but at least these show a little bit of Joy's personality these days.

A Week of Watermelons

This week was Joy's birthday.  It was also the busiest week we've had since before Lee was born.  Since we had so much to do, we kind of celebrated Joy's birthday all week.  We did a watermelon theme this year, since they are her favorites. 

Monday

we all got measured

we went to take Joy's 3 year pictures

ate lunch at Chick Fil' A and played at the play place

went to the library

rescued Johnny from work (he had locked his keys in his car)

went out to dinner

because Joy will tell you her life story if you make eye contact,
our neighbors heard at church that she was having a watermelon
birthday, so the brought over this treat for us. 

It made a lovely family home evening treat.  The Captain
did the lesson on scriptures.

Tuesday

froze grapes and blueberries (they were going to go bad)

processed 14 cups of cherries and canned cherry pie filling

Relief Society activity

Joy enjoyed the watermelon popsicles we made on Monday.
No I did not get the idea from Pinterest, though I'm sure it's
on there.  I froze cherry Kool-aid first without the lids in for
2 hours, then added lemonade with green food coloring, put
the lids on and froze.

Wednesday

Joy's actual birthday. 

I made her a watermelon dress.

Lee got in on the watermelon action, too.

Did we have a watermelon cake?  No we did not.  For months Joy has been saying that she wanted a pink and purple cake, so I colored some funfetti batter and swirled it around.  Then I tried my hand at making fondant.  This is marshmallow fondant and was surprisingly easy to make.  Though I did add too much sugar and then not enough.  Cake making isn't really my thing.  The H is for Joy, of course.

The Captain thought she needed help blowing out the candles.

Then we went swimming, which out a large list of possible birthday activities was the one Joy consistantly chose.  I guess she was born in the summer.  We went swimming for her first birthday, too, so maybe this will turn into a birthday tradition.

Lee even went swimming.  She loved it, but it tuckered her out.  

Then we opened presents.  It was a bit of a mistake to open them after bedtime since Joy just wanted to do everything right then.  And despite her face, she was very excited.  But we somehow managed to get everyone to sleep eventually.

Thursday

We had to get up and out early because we had Kindergarten registration and then a doctor's appointment for Joy.  Turns out The Captain needed a shot and Joy didn't.  For the curious, Joy is 31+ lbs. and 38.5".  She's grown an inch since The Captain's birthday.  

We stopped at the store afterwards to buy a watermelon.  

Enjoying the watermelon in the new skirt
I made her.  This one is thanks to Pinterest.

Yummy healthy lunch.  

Friday

Johnny reminded me that he had a safety fair at his work at 10:30am.  We were a little late, but enjoyed ourselves none the less.  The kids got balloon animals from a Guinness record holder for most balloon animals made in a day blown up by mouth.  This guy was not messing around.  I saw him make a dragon that was covered in scales and he made a balloon flower INSIDE a balloon.  Ridiculous.  

Joy wanted a girl dog, and The Captain got a green octopus.

Then we got our faces painted.  Joy is a butterfly. 

The Captain was hesitant at first, but seeing Joy survive, he decided to be a tiger.

Lee tried to have fun waiting in line.

After dinner we had watermelon ice cream.  Ironically, this was what inspired the whole week.  I saw the instructions in a magazine a few weeks ago and decided to run with the theme.  

I softened lime sherbet and then smooched it against the side of a spring form pan covered in parchment paper.  Then I was planning on using vanilla ice cream, but we were out, so we just had two different colors.  The inside is blood orange sorbet with chocolate chips mixed in.  It was pretty good, but the blood orange was not really the kids' cup of tea.  

And then we had a tri-ward swimming party.  

Saturday

Even though we aren't doing any birthday activities, we are still cleaning the church in the morning, picking up our bi-weekly produce from our farm co-op, and finally cleaning up the house.  

Also I'm teaching Gospel Doctrine again on Sunday, two weeks in a row.  What can I say, when it rains, it pours.  

Siblings

Last Thursday, The Captain suggested we take some sibling pictures, "like when Lee was born".  It ended up being the highlight of a really crappy day.  You know the saying about doctor's children, right?  Well, here is what happens when a photographer tries to photograph her own children . . . 

One cooperates

Then silliness

Probably the best shot

Lee's like, "these kids is crazy"

At least Joy looks normal

Deadpan

I think the older two are plotting something.
I think Lee can tell.

The baby looks cute, so naturally no one else does.

And finally, everyone says they're done.

Baby Game

 I didn't realize how right everyone is when they say that my babies look alike until I put together this little game.  Here is a picture of each of my children - no I didn't cheat and put one in more than once - around the same age, asleep and in black and white to avoid possible color cues.  Can you guess who is who?

Baby 1

Baby 2

Baby 3