How many babies...

...can you stuff into a baby swing?

apparently 2 :)

Oh, and I thought this was a funny picture from today.
Looks like Ellary is left out of some major scheming...

Flickr

I'm trying out yet another online photo service - Flickr. This time more as a means of storing and sharing the pictures I REALLY like. As I'm working on learning more and more about photography, I'm finding this site to be a great place to observe other pictures and pick up on some interesting techniques and compositions. If I had a day to myself, I could get lost on this site for hours... To find my page, go to flickr.com and search for ellarybea.

Oh, and I'm so excited! Two friends have asked me to come take pictures of their newborns when they arrive! Yesterday I found a gigantic bowl that I think will look just amazing with a new little bundle tucked inside (my not so cooperative 7-month-old and a very cloudy day did not make for the best test pictures this morning, but at least you can see the bowl!).

Warm Afternoon

I took all the kids (and my camera) outside for the afternoon since it's around 70 here today! Kellen and Ellary were happy for me to practice on them. Addie not so much...

Drumming Video

Kellen, Dylan and Robert REALLY liked the drum set. Here's a clip of them playing together.

Kellen's Rockin' Birthday Party

Today we threw a birthday party for Kellen - his first kid party since he was 2. And what other theme could we possibly have for him than a rock band? So we built a drum set out of boxes and other recycled materials, created a backdrop, inflated some extra electric guitars and microphones, and we were ready to rock! Kellen got out of bed last night and came downstairs when I was decorating the living room, and it may as well have been Christmas morning! He just wanted to sit on the sofa and stare at his drum stage! I don't think he fell asleep before midnight he was so excited! Our friends arrived around 11:00, and the 2 hours passed quickly with crafts, the "clean your room" game, pizza, cake, gifts, free play, and of course rocking out to several of Kellen's favorite songs. Everyone got a turn to play the drum set for one song and everyone took turns playing different accompanying instruments or singing and dancing. It was really fun! And this was one of the first times I invited parents to just drop off their kids for the duration of the party. It was a big success! 4 and 5 year olds are quite manageable for two hours. :)

Before we could rock, the kids had to pick up socks.
The "clean your room" game was wildly fun with socks flying everywhere! (two teams worked to pick up all the socks on their side of the floor and throw them on the other team's side. One team actually succeeded, but everyone won.)

Warming up for the first song and the divas on their mics



Make a wish, Kellen!
It was a very happy birthday, and this officially closes the 2-week-long celebration of Christmas and Kellen's birthday. Whew!

Snap Happy

Over the holidays we had a family celebration for my granddad's 80th birthday. We had a nice dinner at a local restaurant with my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and my parents and brothers and sister. I think there were 20 of us at dinner. Here's a picture of me with my grandparents and my siblings and cousins:

Ben, Jordan, Ashley, Laura, Mary Anne, Rachel, Wister, Phillip, Mary Beth
And just in case you were wondering,
I come by my obsession with taking pictures honestly... ;)

A Message from Addie

Geof and the gang let me sleep in today, so I FINALLY woke up at 10:45 to Addie bounding onto my bed saying,

"Happy New Chair Mom!"
So from our family to yours, hope you are off to a very happy new chair. :)