With his best friend blanky:
Giving blanky a ride in the school bus:
Drew turned 15 months old on Tuesday. He's still not saying much (although he at least makes halfhearted attempts to repeat words when I prompt him, something Grant still wasn't doing at this age). He can throw a pretty good fit, but I don't think he's quite as extreme as Grant was at this age. And something that's especially fun about a second child is watching how much he admires/emulates Grant. Some things he's learned from big brother:
- The other night Dean was clipping Grant's fingernails, and Drew was looking over Grant's shoulder, sticking his finger out so his could be clipped too!
- Bedtime is a long process in our house. It's the boys' favorite time to play. When Dean finally drags Grant to his own room, Drew follows and tries climbing into Grant's bed for even more playtime. He's even tried getting under the covers just like Grant sleeps!
- If I tell him that I need to change his diaper, he goes straight over to the little couch and plops himself down, then waits for me to come.
- When Grant washes his hands, Drew tries climbing onto the stool to wash his hands too.
- At mealtimes, when I'm about to set something on Drew's plate, he'll pat his tray right where he wants me to set his food.....he learned this from Grant too.
- He has even learned to throw fits just like his brother. Grant will lay on the ground and jerk his arms and legs around when you're telling him something he doesn't like. It's hard not to laugh when Drew does the exact same thing!
- He and Grant love watching Little Einsteins together. It's their favorite show right now. Drew hears the opening song and immediately climbs onto the couch, then starts patting his lap, ready to blast off! Watching them do all the hand motions together is always one of the favorite things about my day......they take it so seriously and they look so cute sitting next to each other.
People have asked me if things are getting any easier. I do think that life is getting at least a little bit more predictable now. The boys play well for a few minutes at a time, but every playtime only lasts about 2-5 minutes before ultimately leading to a big screaming fight. This happens almost without exception! So that gets old very fast....but I also know that this is something I'll be dealing with until they're out of the house!
We just took a super fun trip to my parents' house in Bryan, where we saw Grandma (in town from Michigan), Rob and Evan, aunt Marge, and Jodie (my cousin), her husband Dan, and James (almost 5) and Claire (almost 3). We had a blast with all of them.....Grant loved playing with all of his cousins. I took tons of pictures, so I really will try to post some! I always say that!
We're going to have a very quiet Christmas here, just the four of us. Grant learned today exactly how Santa will come down our chimney, so I think he's excited for tonight. He is expecting Santa to bring his Chick Hicks hauler.....he's been waiting for it for months! And he just loves taking the presents out from under the tree, finding which ones are his, and stacking them up. It'll be fun to see how he reacts tomorrow morning.....
Merry Christmas!!!!
January Lessons
10 years ago
2 comments:
hi Alissa!
I was just noticing that the light in these pictures is really soft and pretty. What kind of flash are you using? How do you use it (settings, bouncing from ceiling or walls?)
Just curious...I feel like it's always trial and error when I use flash and lately I'm realizing I'd really like to know what I'm doing with it! :) (oh I have a speedlight sb600 on my nikon)
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Kelli: I am really not the person to ask about flashes! We have the SB400 (and our camera is the Nikon D50). Sometimes pictures turn out perfectly with this flash (like a few of these), but other times it seems to leave one side dark. I definitely have found that when I take horizontal pictures (and the flash is pointing straight at the ceiling), the lighting tends to be much better (and more even). If I'm taking a vertical picture, it usually is best if the flash hits a nearby wall (or the side of the couch, in the case of the picture of Dean and the boys), instead of being pointed into the middle of a room. But even knowing this, sometimes pictures turn out much better (or worse) than I would have expected.
Our actual flash doesn't have any real settings....just an on/off switch. So there's not much I can do (that I know of), aside from just controlling where I point it.
You take such great pictures.....and now that I think about it, I guess you do use natural light most of the time (even indoors). I don't know much about aperture, so I have to take most indoor pictures with the flash. Sorry I couldn't be more help!! Like I said (and you probably already know this), I tend to have much more success with horizontal pics than vertical ones.
Congrats to Nathan! It's hard to believe he's getting married....I still think of him as a 7th grader! And I hope you and the kids are having a blast at your parents' house....Merry Christmas!
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