Day 90 - March 31

Three months down! Only 9 more to go!

And I almost forgot to post tonight!!

I'd just like to say that I'm starting to like my 75-300mm lens a whole lot more now that I've gotten the chance to use it a little more. I learned today what it means to have a macro telephoto.... and I like it! No more standing at least 15 feet away from whatever I want to take a picture of because the lens can't focus that close, even zoomed in all the way (as was the case with my old 75-300). I might be a little bit in love with this lens.

Meanwhile, the picture I chose for today wasn't even one of the ones I took that used that feature. This is at 110mm focal length and I definitely wasn't that close since I would've had to be in the pool. But that's ok... I just like the picture!

That would be our completely inaccurate - but cute - pool thermometer. Someone thought it would actually be useful. I'll just say he was wrong. But it's fun to watch it float around under the Katch-a-Kid net!

Day 89 - March 30

There is nothing particularly fancy or spectacular about this picture. Michaela's a little blurry (though I sharpened it up a bit to get rid of that), it's a standard middle-of-the-frame picture, it's somewhat posed (because Jason can't get the concept that sometimes I don't want him to look at the camera - sorry, honey!), and it's really noisy because it was dark in the house today and I had my ISO all the way up at 2000.

But it represents the 20 minutes of time I got to myself today after Jason got home and before I left for church. I NEEDED that 20 minutes today after the 45 minute tantrum my beautiful daughter had this afternoon. You'll note, of course, that, by the time Daddy got home, all was well again in Michaela's world. Only Mommy gets those tantrums.

She was super happy to go for a "hike" though. I believe her actual words were "I ride Daddy's back. Hiking!" as she scrambled to get into the Kelty on her own (which doesn't work). Whatever, I got my 20 minutes!

Day 88 - March 29

Today I got a glimpse of what teen-aged Michaela might be like. And I didn't like it. One second, she was whining and crying, the next she was throwing a full-blown tantrum, and the next she was giggling and happy. It was not pretty.

So, as I went through the handful of pictures I took today (again with the 75-300mm lens, and they weren't as bad today!), this one totally stuck out to me. She HAD to go to the park, but once we got there, she was just not loving it. She got better the longer we stayed, but she was not happy when we first got there. This picture showed that perfectly.

Day 87 - March 28

Today, my new 75-300mm lens came, via the UPS guy (or maybe FedEx... I wasn't here when it got here). I was excited to test it out this afternoon while Jason and Michaela were swimming.

I took about 30 pictures. About 25 of them were really bad. The other 5 were still crappy, just not as bad.

So you get another iPhone picture today... the only one I took. And it's with a flash (which I never use. At all.). I'm batting 1000 on crappy pictures today.

This was taken at 10:05am this morning. You'll note how asleep my child still was. I was able to open the door to her room, leave to get my phone (to text Jason a pic), take her awesome window coverings down (we cover her windows with blankets tucked into the blinds since we haven't gotten her curtains up yet!), take the picture with a flash, rub her back, and then rub her head before she finally woke up (scared to death!). She went to bed at 7:20pm last night. If you're doing the math, that's 14 hours and 45 minutes of sleeping. AND she took a good 2+ hour nap this afternoon. It seems maybe she needed to catch up from her antics overnight on Saturday. Or she's growing. Or both.

Either way, she was too cute all cuddled up with her "Baa Sheep" (she named it) and various other blankets.

Day 86 - March 27

I had fully intended to use a picture I took at 12:30 this morning as my picture of the day today. Thanks to a toddler who decided that she wanted to be awake from about 11:30 until about 1am last night, I have a cute picture of Michaela cuddled up with her daddy reading books at sometime after midnight.

But, then I took this picture - with my iPhone, no less - and had to use it instead. So we're back to the garden today.

Day 85 - March 26

We are NOT in Kodiak anymore!

We went to the Festival of Flowers here today, and were met at the entrance by a couple of the Azalea Trail Maids. This is a distinctly Mobile thing, so, of course, I had to snap a picture. We've seen the Trail Maids at other events, but I've always felt shy about getting a picture. What I learned today was that this is exactly what they're there for, and they very nicely posed and smiled! Sometimes living in Mobile isn't all bad... I mean, how can you not smile when you see a sight like this!

Day 84 - March 25

Our first baby (that's Fred for those who don't know what kind of insane dog people we are) is getting old.

In the past few weeks, the arthritis he's had in his front paw (since an injury when he was only 2) has been acting up and there's no denying how gray he's getting. It seems like more and more of his undercarriage turns white every day.

*sigh*

He's still gorgeous, though. And, more often than not, he has no idea that he's almost 8 and shouldn't really try to act like a puppy anymore.

Day 83 - March 24

What is it with a toddler's fascination with stickers? Anything can be a "sticker" around here, too. A piece of a price tag? Sticker. Packing tape? Sticker. Actual sticker? Sticker.

Today, a name tag from MOPS was a sticker. We put the name tag on the back of the child so they can't grab them off while they're being watched in Moppets. I completely forgot about Michaela's until we were on our way OUT of Target after MOPS and when I took it off, she flipped out and had me put it back on.... her back. She couldn't even see the darn thing but she was still adamant that it needed to stay on.

So here she is playing in the backyard... after coming home, having lunch AND having a nap... complete with name tag - or sticker - still in place!

Day 82 - March 23

Wanna know what one of the world's greatest inventions is?

After taking about an hour to prep last night's dinner (loaded mexican pizza), I have decided it's this....

Day 81 - March 22

This picture is called "I Swim." I'm pretty sure that's all I need to say about it!

Day 80 - March 21

Today we get a combination of spring and the kid... my two favorite topics lately.

This is Michaela's version of smelling a flower. I don't know if she's missing anything because I'm not 100% sure those lilies actually have a smell, but it's funny anyway.

(Taken with my iPhone... and the original image was still 2.2 MB. I LOVE my new iPhone 4. Love it.)

Day 79 - March 20

Today is the first day of spring. As a friend down here called it, though, it's more like the first of our three summers. With temperatures in the mid-80s the past couple days, it's definitely more like summer than spring!

But you couldn't tell this flower that it's feeling summery as it did its spring-time thing, poking up amongst the brown just off the trail we hiked today.

If this doesn't say "SPRING!" I don't know what does!

Day 78 - March 19

I took a bazillion pictures of Michaela today.

That is not what I'm going to share.

Instead, I have a shot of the flowers lining the street in Fairhope, AL. We went over there today (across the Bay) to go to the Fairhope Arts and Crafts Festival. It felt like summer as we strolled through town in our shorts and t-shirts, but the flowers, at least, said spring!

Day 77 - March 18

I called this picture "Happy Fred" when I saved it. He does not look happy, but, believe me, he was.

You'll note he's all wet. That's because he got to go swimming in the pool. And THAT is what makes him "Happy Fred."

Day 76 - March 17

It's only fitting that I took a picture of food today. I look forward to corned beef and cabbage all year. Sure, I could make it more often, but it's just different on St. Patrick's Day.

Corned beef, cooked in the crock pot in a home-brewed pale ale all day; potatoes (and carrots... see that one little one that was my "no, thank you" helping?) added in the last couple hours for maximum flavor; and cabbage steamed separately and covered in butter and salt! Oh, and for good measure, I added a Magner's... Irish cider. At least something was authentic since corned beef really isn't.

But it was yummy!

Day 75 - March 16

It's a Michaela picture today. Not that most days aren't, but today is especially important because she's 20 months old today!

I can't believe we're 4 short months away from her being 2!

Here she is enjoying her new favorite activity - watering her garden. We've put in a vegetable garden, but we also have a small tomato "pot" that holds two plants. Those are Michaela's "maynos" for this summer. We'll see how she does as compared to her daddy's tomatoes!

Day 74 - March 15

Michaela is still not herself after being so sick on Friday (did I mention that here?). There are flashes of the normal Michaela, but then she does something like telling me that she doesn't want to go to the park.

So instead, we played in the backyard a little bit today. That usually consists of blowing bubbles and chasing them down, and then swinging in the hammock a little. Today was no different, except she also discovered the fun of picking flowers. And by "flowers" I mean some kind of little yellow blossoms on the weeds in our grass.

And, yes, she chose her accessories herself... Mardi Gras beads and sunglasses. What a fashionista!

Day 73 - March 14

I'm stepping out of my comfort zone... and posting a picture of myself.

Eek!

I'm proud to say I did take this myself, though, and didn't have too many edits to make. Not bad for holding the camera out in front of myself!

Day 72 - March 13

It was super hard to pick out just one picture for today. But I'm sticking to the rules of posting one-a-day on here. I just took the extras and put them on the other blog.

I actually caught her looking at the camera. That NEVER happens. Usually she purposefully turns AWAY from it! I guess using continuous shooting mode means you get one every once in a while!

Day 71 - March 12

Although half the clocks in my house now say it's tomorrow, it's still technically today since the clocks don't spring forward until 2am. So I made it under the wire tonight!

Today's picture is about my beautiful, soon-to-be-mommy, friend, Bridget. We got to celebrate Bridget and her impending arrival today at a baby shower!

Crazy Bridget has decided to cloth diaper (I only call her crazy for that because I fully intended to switch to cloth after we moved here in Michaela wasn't in daycare anymore and I chickened out!), so this picture is her showing off her big basket of new cloth diapers!

Can't wait to meet Libby, Bridget!!

Day 70 - March 11

I'm cheating all over the place for the Day 70 post.

First of all, I'm not getting it up on the blog until Day 71 (Day 71 picture to come later). However, the kid decided to puke pretty constantly from about 7pm until about midnight last night, so I was a little busy with that.

Second of all, I'm using two pictures. I couldn't decide between the two, so I figured we'd just say that Day 70 had a theme... hats. Maybe because she wasn't feeling well all day, she thought a hat was a good idea or something. Or maybe she's just a little silly. Either way, I'm glad the camera was handy!! And these were taken about 6 hours apart.

Day 69 - March 10

I had every intention of using a picture of the dog today. But then I let Jason decide which picture to use, and he liked this one better. So you're stuck with the kid... again.

I'd like to point out two things about this picture. No, wait, three...

One... it was taken with my brand-new 50mm f/1.4 lens. I finally have a replacement 50mm for my full-frame camera! I have SO missed having the 50mm and now that I have it, I will commence drooling over the 24-70mm that I REEEEEALLY want.

Two.... trains are not just for boys. I haven't seen her get that excited about a toy at the store in quite a while. She's currently obsessed with "Dinosaur Train" on PBS, though, so she's probably wondering where the pteranodon family is.

Three... she's wearing what she's wearing because she decided she needed to wear those boots today. So that's what I got to work around. She's her mommy's girl... planning an outfit around the shoes!!! (And she also picked out her hair clip after I diverted her from the Easter bunny one. I figured the day after Ash Wednesday was a smidge too soon for the Easter hair bow.)

I promise, I'll try to work in some non-kid pictures soon!

Day 68 - March 9

I took exactly 4 pictures today and two of them didn't count (one because I had my white balance setting wrong and knew it as soon as I pushed the button, and the other because I was just looking for something to take a picture of and chose one of Michaela's favorite cups).

So of the two that counted, this was the best.

She was dancin' to the music on Imagination Movers. And it was right after naptime, thus her pink comfy pants.

Day 67 - March 8

Happy Mardi Gras!!!!

We had plans to head downtown tonight for the Mardi Gras fun, but since it was forecasted to rain (which it did eventually), we decided to go this morning instead. Unfortunately, the parade we saw this morning was not the best one of the bunch. The krewes seemed a bit stingy with their throws and we didn't even get a single Moon Pie! Beads were limited, there were no stuffed toys to be seen and our best throw of the day was a cup!

However, we did get to see this... the best hillbilly float around!

Day 66 - March 7

I'm a day late for yesterday's post...

It was ravioli day here for lunch yesterday. For the kid anyway. She likes ravioli (ravioli-oli-oli). A lot.

Day 65 - March 6

Another kid picture, taken with my Hipstamatic App on my phone. I love this App.

Somehow I managed to actually catch her looking right at the camera, too. That almost NEVER happens!

Day 64 - March 5

It rained today. A lot. According to one website I just found, Mobile is the 5th wettest city in the United States. It doesn't rain often, but when it does, it's a LOT.

So, desperate for something to do to keep the kid happy after a day in the house yesterday, and needing to drive over to the Eastern Shore to run an errand, we decided to visit Kangarooz, an indoor bounce-house place.

Michaela was a little hesitant at first, but eventually figured out what kind of fun she could be having.

Unfortunately, I just grabbed the point and shoot and it didn't like the indoor weird lighting or the moving kid, so the picture's not the best quality, but it's the best shot I got of her actually doing some jumping and not just at the tail end of a fall!

Day 63 - March 4

I couldn't NOT use this picture today. I had a few that would've been adorable, or made you go, "Awwww, what an adorable little girl!" But this one was the one.

It was cool-ish out today and pretty breezy... a perfect day for opening the windows and letting the fresh air in (until it started raining and the rain was coming in every window). I had no idea that open windows - and the ledges that were exposed because the blinds were up - would be such a magnet for a toddler looking for a place to play. She started in our front window, banging on a cookie tin, and then discovered the billowing sheers in the living room.

When I caught this picture, she was looking through the sheers, saying, "Hi, Mommy!!!" What a character!!!

Day 62 - March 3

This has been my view the last four afternoons. I'm going it alone this week while Jason does some cross-country sightseeing, so I've had to handle the dog-walking solo. It's super fun to balance a dog who needs to be into everything while also keeping a toddler, who didn't really want to go in the first place, happy.

It was a lot easier to deal with Jason being away when I was working. I'm just sayin'. I'm also saying I'm a huge wimp - I'd NEVER be able to do this for longer than a week or two at a time. Never. Never.

Day 61 - March 2

Wanna know what happens when you're roughly 19 months old and you decide that you want to "be bug" for a day? Your mother interrupts your afternoon snack by following you around with a camera to try to get the perfect shot of your awesome ensemble.

Sadly, very few of the 20-ish pictures I took turned out usable at all since it was overcast outside today and I just couldn't get the shutterspeed up enough to keep up with a wiggly toddler. But she paused just long enough for me to snap this one when she was trying to figure out how to get on her rocking chair while holding a banana (see it sitting on the seat) and a cup at the same time.

This outfit went on as soon as she got up this morning and only came off for our morning outing (thankfully) and naptime. It went right back on after her nap and stayed on through a walk with the dog. She must've gotten warm because we went back to regular clothes after the walk.

Day 60 - March 1

Two months down... only 10 to go!!

And today's picture is of the kid, though I had taken another spring flower one as well. But I need to put one of her up here to remind myself that I still like her after the afternoon/evening we had.

Here she is on the swing, showing off her new talent. She ran to the swings today and said, "I fly birdie! I fly birdie!" So, there ya go... flying like a bird! (Taken with my Hipstamatic app!)