Day 52/365

This is Emma and her BFF, Makayla, who happens to be my BFF's daughter :) Our girls are not quite 3 years apart, and I love that they love each other. My best friend and I have been friends for almost 22 years! So, it's really special to us that our girls get along so well. Makayla came over today and I asked if they wanted to do a photo shoot. My strobe lighting is in for repairs, so I had to use the speedlite, but we went with it any way. They went upstairs, grabbed all the clothes they could find, put on some makeup, grabbed shoes and purses, and pretended like they were in a pageant. I have so many pics from today...and so many fabulous outfits :) We had a great day!

Day 51/365

You know how I said yesterday that Emma has quite the knack for sorting things? Well, she also does it with shoes. She has always been this way. She definitely has some OCD tendencies, and can't stand for some things to be out of order. I went in to the kitchen tonight and saw this. She had taken our shoes, and organized them by size, and lined them up in a perfect row. Now, why can't she keep her playroom clean and organized???? :)

Day 50/365

Emma has been working on counting money at school. At home, she was pulling out all of the coins from her piggy bank, and sorting them. She put some in her coin purse and was showing me. Notice how they are all arranged by size. She has always been a sorter. She has one piggy bank for coins, and one for dollar bills, and she won't combine the two!

Day 49/365

My step-son is 13, and even though there are 7 years between them, they really do love each other. Emma just adores Jacen, and can't wait for him to come over. This is typically where she is when he first gets here.

Day 48/365

Ahhh...today we had a tiny taste of spring in February. It was 62 degrees outside when we got home from school. So, we headed outside for a walk. I was trying to take pictures of her while holding the neurotic dog on her leash! We didn't stay out for very long because, although the temp was pretty warm, the wind was very cold! It was nice to get outside though. It has been such a long winter. We can't wait for spring!

Day 47/365

Two of my favorite things about my girl are her love of art, and her love of animals. She brought this picture home from school that she had painted in art class, and I just fell in love. I loved how she drew this penguin (especially the bows in her hair!) She says that when she grows up she wants to be a vet, or own a zoo. I totally see her doing one of those!

Day 46/365

I went to go wash Emma's hair the other day while she was taking a shower. I opened the shower door and found this. I was dying laughing. I was not expecting to see her in swimming goggles. Love her!

Day 45/365

We dropped Heidi off at the groomer today at Petsmart, and stopped to see the cats they had up for adoption. Emma fell in love with this little guy. He was about a year old, and just as sweet as can be. I had cats before Shawn & I married, and every once in a while I still miss having one. If he wasn't allergic, I think Emma would have gotten a kitty today. He was the sweetest thing.

(taken with my camera phone)

Day 44/365

We finally finished Emma's valentines for school tomorrow. I really dislike the store bought valentines, so we made our own this year. We made little heart flowers made out of suckers. I think they turned out so cute! Emma was complaining that her hand was tired from all that writing though :)

Day 43/365

This is how I left my girl as I headed to work. I love that she loves to color. I loved coloring as a little girl, too. Emma sometimes sits and colors for HOURS.

Day 42/365

Our dog, Heidi, turned 3 on Monday. Although, a few days late, Emma wanted to write a note for Heidi on her Birthday. So, she dictated, I wrote it out, and she taped it to her cage. So sweet!

Day 41/365

Such a sleepy girl. She was so worn out by 7pm tonight that I thought she was going to fall asleep in the chair! Needless to say, she had an early bedtime tonight.

Day 40/365

Emma got her green belt! YAY! So proud of my girl. Tonight was the Taekwondo award ceremony, where she was given her green belt from her testing on Saturday.

Day 39/365

Emma got a fishing rod for her birthday last year. Today, she pulled out this hat, and wanted to have a picture taken with her fishing rod. She's all ready to go...if spring would just get here!

Day 36/365

Emma has been in Taekwondo for a couple of years now. She started out in their Little Dragons program when she was 4. She's been in the Juniors program since she was 6. She is now a green belt. She was testing for her green belt here. Taekwondo has been great for her self confidence. The teachers there are wonderful. We love it!
(Takenwith my P&S by my hubby)

Day 34/365

I came home from a shoot and found these waiting for me. Hubby and Emma had stopped and picked up flowers for me on the way home. I love those two!
(Taken with my camera phone)

Day 30/365

Well, I kind of fell off the bandwagon on my project 365, but I'm dusting myself off and trying to pick up the pieces! Here is a photo taken with my P&S at Newport Aquarium. We went there for Emma's Gotcha Day. Emma's Gotcha day is actually 1/31, but we went on the 30th so that we could spend more time, with it not being a school day. We have celebrated the day of her adoption finalization every year. We think it's an important day to celebrate. We always take her somewhere special, and then have a nice dinner with the whole family. She had a blast at the aquarium. It's a really cool place!

Day 26/365

This girl will sit in any kind of box that is available. She cracks me up. Add to that eating an apple, which she does at least 2 times a day, and this picture is a perfect depiction of my girl

Day 25/365

Well, I missed another day because Emma has been sick the past two days. Poor girl has been miserable. Tonight, after the hubs got home from work, I went to Target to pick up some things, and picked up a new game for Emma. When I got home, we played it a couple of times. I just had to snap a pick of my girl playing, "Headbandz." She doesn't quite get what kinds of questions to ask, but she still has fun!

Day 23/365

Tonight, right before bed, Emma lost her 5th tooth! She was complaining that it was hurting, and I wiggled it. It was just hanging on by a thread, so I pulled it. She's getting so grown up! I can't believe that she's going to be 7 in just 6 more months.

Day 22/365

Pinkie up! Oh, to be a 6 year old, and to have a tea party in the shower. It's the little things.

Day 21/365

After our snow from last night, we got a snow day today! YAY! I was looking forward to sleeping in, but Emma had other ideas! She was up at 5:45am, and I finally got out of bed at 7am. At least we didn't have to do the getting ready for school routine this morning. I've been catching up with laundry, and she's been enjoying a morning playing with her squinkies. I love lazy days like this!

Day 20/365

Today we got our first big snow of the season. It has been snowing pretty much non-stop since December 1st here, but just a few inches at a time. Today, we got a hefty amount of snow, and Emma was so excited to go play in it. I had a work meeting that lasted ALL day, so when I got home, we decided to go outside and play in the snow...in the dark! She had a ton of fun, and got a nice warm mug of hot chocolate when she got inside. Now to just work on her PCS (Photographer Child Syndrome) smile...lol.

Day 19/365

Tonight, after her shower, and before bed, Emma was listening to her iPod. She was so cute sitting there singing along, so I had to snap a pic. You can always tell when her music is up too loud because she starts talking VERY loud. Lol.

P.S. You may notice day 18 is missing. I was hit by the stomach flu...again. Twice in 5 days. And, this time it landed me in bed for 17 hours. Super bummed to have missed a pic. But, I'm hoping I'll end the year with 364 pics!

Day 17/365

What's better on a cold day off school than playing Kinectimals! Emma loves this game, and I love that she gets some exercise while playing a video game! The little cubs on the game are pretty cute, too :)

Day 16/365

We had a long overdue playdate with my friends Suzy & Mark, and their kids Tristan & Gavin. Suzy & I spent the evening scrapbooking and talking. And, the kids spent the evening playing. We were sitting there scrapbooking when all of the sudden around the corner I saw Tristan in the bumblebee costume and Emma dressed up like a cowgirl, with Gavin leading the parade. I was dying laughing, and knew I HAD to get a pic of this. I love that our kiddos love each other. Suzy & I have known each other since college, and Tristan & Emma share a birthday. It's a great bond! Love them all!

Day 15/365

Just a lazy Saturday afternoon, watching TV in Mommy & Daddy's bed. That's her favorite place to lounge :)

Day 14/365

Meet Emma Newton John...lol. Before I left for work, Emma was running around the great room exercising. She had put on this headband like a sweatband and she had me cracking up. Notice the Anikan Skywalker Tattoo on her arm, as well as the silly bands. LOL. She keeps me laughing all the time.

Day 13/365

No, this is not an advertisement for Coke, but a symbol of what my day has consisted of...the stomach flu. BLECH! So many people that I know have it, and I knew my day would come. But, did it have to come on a day that I was supposed to shoot a squishy 6 day old newborn? Now, that session is rescheduled for Monday. And, yes, even though I've been in bed since 2pm, I got out of bed to shoot a pic of this Powerade bottle, so that I wouldn't lose steam on my 365 project. Now, that's dedication.

Day 12/365

Not much is going on today, so I thought I'd share a pic of our little ratties, Athena & Hera (Athena's on the top, and Hera's on the bottom). We got Athena after Emma's hamster died last year. Then, we got Hera about a month later. Rats are very social animals, so it's best to keep them in pairs. Athena & Hera always sleep together, curled up in their hammock. They are super friendly, always sticking their nose out to greet you when you come near their cage, just like they're doing here. Emma loves these little girls!

Day 11/365

What's better after playing in the snow than a cup of hot chocolate? I love this rosy-cheeked little girl

Day 10/365

Two of the three people I love in this world more than anything...my sister and my daughter. Kristin is 14 years younger than me, and my daughter, Emma is 13 years younger than her. So, it's neat to see that they have the same type of relationship as an Aunt & Niece that I did with my sister growing up. Kristin was my first "daughter." She came over tonight and the three of us went out to dinner. It was a nice girl's night out. Even though we had more of a mother-daughter relationship when she was younger, I am trying really hard to be more of a sister to her. Even though I tease her sometimes, I love her more than life. She was the best present that I ever got growing up. And, I am so thankful that my daughter has such a rockin' Aunt. Love you both!

Day 9/365

I thought since I posted a pic of Heidi yesterday, I needed to post a pic of this little girl today :) Meet Bubbles. Bubbles girl to be exact. This is Emma's best friend. She's super ratty, and needs a bath, but we can't put her in the washer because she has a hole in her tale being held together by a Band-Aid.

My mom got this little dog for Emma because Emma was SO in love with my mom's dog Bubbles, and this little girl looked a little like her. Emma immediately called her Bubbles Girl, and she's been by her side for the past 4 years. I will hold on to Bubbles Girl for the rest of my life, even when my girl is too old to play with her anymore. Emma makes me smile when she plays with this ratty little dog, and I'll always remember her has a symbol of her childhood.

Day 8/365

Meet Heidi. Happy Heidi Ho, to be exact. That's what Emma named her when we got her (Emma was 3). This dog is totally neurotic. She walks around with her tags in her mouth (as you can see), she talks to you like a person more than like a dog, she loves to bark, she's always under foot, but I love her anyway! She is my snuggle buddy on the couch. She's definitely my dog and always has to be close to me. Isn't she cute?

Day 7/365

Emma LOVES to help me in the kitchen. Tonight, I wasn't sure what to have for dinner, so she chose eggs, sausage, and pancakes. This is her FAVORITE meal to help me cook. This girl loves to crack eggs....and she's really good at it!

I have to admit, it's really hard for me to let her help me in the kitchen. 1) Because it takes longer to have her help than for me to do it myself 2) Because I have a type A, controlling personality, and I have to give up some control to let her help me! But, I let her help because we are creating memories. I want her to remember cooking in the kitchen with Mommy, and that I always let her crack the eggs.

Day 6/365

Today, we got a little surprise in the form of some snow on our way to Taekwondo class. I told Emma, that when we got home, she could go play in it for a minute, since she had no snow clothes on...and was still in her Taekwondo clothes.

In addition, this photo helped me complete a challenge for a photography forum that I'm a member of. The challenge was to bump your ISO up as high as your camera could go. For me, that is 3200. So, you'll notice that this pic is a little noisy. I didn't run any noiseware on it. My camera handles noise up to 1600 very well. In fact, I did Emma's entire 6 year shoot with an ISO of 1600, and had NO noise at all. But, at 3200, it gets pretty messy.

The settings for this pic are ISO 3200, SS 1/20, f2.8. In hind sight, I should have grabbed my 50 1.4 lens to be able to up my SS a bit, but I grabbed my 17-50 2.8 instead. This was shot at 8pm, pitch black in front of my house, with only the light from the street light across the street. I was pretty impressed!

Day 5/365

Littlest Pet Shop. That's what life is all about these days. I love sitting back and watching Emma set up all of her Littlest Pet Shop playsets all in a row, and sit and play. She has such an imagination. I will be so sad when the days of sitting on the floor and playing are over. Time goes so fast when your kids are little. I just want to savor every minute.

Day 4/365

Talking Tom Cat. Emma's new obsession. I have to admit, it's pretty darn funny. If you have a smart phone...download the app. He reminds me of a British chipmunk. He repeats everything you say, including when our dog was barking. Emma cracks up, and I really can't stop laughing either!

Day 3/365

Tonight is a big night for my girl. Tonight she is going to try to sleep in her bed. She was never a good sleeper (I joke that she hasn't slept for 6 years!), but she at least always slept in her own bed. But, then when she was about 4-4/12 years old, she started coming down in our bed in the middle of the night. This has progressed to sleeping in our bed every night. Some nights she starts in her bed, and ends up in our bed. The other nights, she sleeps with us from the beginning. We had some tears before bed, and she has already been out of her room two times in 30 minutes, but I am hoping she can make it tonight. Part of me could care less whether she sleeps in her own bed, because she's only little once. But, the other part of me really wants a full nights sleep! We'll see how it goes. :)

Day 2/365

This is my daughter Emma, with all of her stuff collected to go on vacation. Problem being? We aren't going on vacation until this summer. :) She was so excited by the warmer temperatures this week that she thought winter was over, and that it was going to be time to go on vacation very soon! So she went up to her room, collected all the stuff she wanted to bring, packed some jammies and her toothbrush in her My Little Pony Bag, and was ready to go. Then, I had to break it to her that winter has just started! Oh well, at least we know she'll be ready to go this summer ;)

1/365

Happy New Year. A New Year's tradition while growing up, and since I've been married, is to always have a pork roast and sauerkraut on New Year's Day. This takes a lot for me, because the smell of sauerkraut makes my stomach turn! But, every year, I still put a pork roast and sauerkraut in the crockpot for my family. And, each year, I take one tiny bit of sauerkraut for good luck. Here's to a happy and healthy 2011!