Azalea Trail

Well, my mom and I headed out Saturday afternoon for our annual trip to the Azalea Trail. I was hoping to get some great pictures of the girls with all the pretty flowers. However, there were hardly any azaleas in bloom. I was very disappointed, but we did manage to find a few tulips that were pretty. After all the searching, the girls were pretty tired and were not as cooperative as I would have hoped. But, I was able to get a few good pictures. Maybe by this weekend there will be more in bloom and we can attempt it once again.


Camden and Claire posing with Molly the dog. Molly's owners dress her up every year for the Azalea Trail for all the visitors to see.

Partying with the Princesses

Today we headed out in the cold and rain to Avery's birthday party. Camden and Claire have been so excited about this party because they were invited to dress up as a princess. They looked so cute in their Cinderella and Snow White dresses. The girls had so much fun playing at Discovery Science Place. What a perfect day to have a party indoors where it was warm and dry.




Avery (Belle), Claire (Snow White) and Camden (Cinderella)


Camden and Cade, who dressed up as a Dallas Cowboys player


Claire having fun in cooking in the kitchen

6 months old!

Yesterday Carlyle turned 6 months old and I can't believe I didn't get one picture. I thought about it all day and still didn't manage to get even one shot. Well, today I made up for it. It was such a pretty day that I decided to take the girls to the Children's Park after naps to try and get some cute pictures. Carlyle was not in the mood to be photographed and did not want to sit on the bench that I put her on. She kept falling forward or sideways and hitting her head, which in turn made her cry. Not good for pictures. I forgot her bumbo chair so I was pretty limited in where I could put her, since she still can't sit up. After many failed attempts at some good photos, I remembered I had a blanket in the car and decided to lay her down on the ground. She loved it and had the best time!! I got some really cute pictures. She laid there so content and smiling while Camden and Claire ran around in cirlces screaming. Those two are always such a great source of entertainment. Here are a few of my favorites!

Daffodils in bloom!!

It was such a beautiful day today! We had already planned to head over to Mrs. Lee's Daffodil Garden this afternoon and I'm so glad we did!! Such wonderful weather and the daffodils were in full bloom! We had a great time, minus trying to get 3 girls to smile at the same time! Ugh!!!! I think that confirms the fact that I could never be a professional photographer. Getting kids to cooperate is SO difficult! I was able to get a few good pictures of each of them! Take a look at my three beauties!!

Three of my greatest blesssings...

This little piggie went to market...

After giving Carlyle a bath tonight I pulled out some pajamas and got her dressed. As she was laying on her changing table I looked at her pj's and I thought all the way back to when Camden wore the same ones. I just love these pajamas. They are my favorite ones and I love it that all three girls have gotten to wear them. I'm not sure why they are my favorite. I don't even remember if they were a baby gift or if I bought them. They still look great, even after five years. Although, they are quite a bit softer after all the washes. I thought they were still in really good shape until I noticed one of Carlyle's little piggies sticking out. Apparently, they didn't hold up as good as I thought. I really hate to get rid of these pj's. I know some of you are thinking...it's just pajamas. But, they are my favorite. Maybe Nana can get a needle and thread out and take care of that little hole. Despite a little rip in the pj's, I think they are still pretty cute. And the little girl wearing them is even cuter!!

Practice makes perfect...eventually

For the past couple of months or so, I have really been trying to learn my camera. I have been wanting to learn what all the buttons are, when to use certain settings, what to do when you have a lot of light and very little light, etc... Up until now, I usually use "auto" mode, which is fine, but for a much better photograph, being able to manually adjust the settings would be great. I discovered that in order to get some of the neat photo effects, I would need a different lens. And, of course, one of the lenses that I would need was quite pricey. So, I decided to ask for it for my birthday. Jeremy and my parents went in together and I got it today. It's a 50mm f/1.4 lens. If you're like me, I still don't know what that means. I just know that this lens is supposed to help me get the photo effects that I want. I only had about 30 minutes to play with it. Not enough time to get my girls looking cute. In fact, we hadn't brushed Camden or Claire's hair all day, and poor Carlyle never made it out of her pj's. And yes, there was food and spit up all over her pajamas. She didn't seem to mind. The weather was beautiful today, so I threw the girls outside and started snapping pictures. I am going to need some SERIOUS practice, but can already tell that this lens is exactly what I needed. I am going to love it!!! In the meantime, I have three perfect subjects that would be great for a practice photo shoot...as long as they cooperate. Here are a few of the shots I took today. Remember...I still need lots of practice. One of the effects that I'm trying to achieve is "bokeh". For those of you that don't know what that is (like me up until about a month ago)...it's where the subject is clear and the background is soft and creamy. If any of you out there have any helpful hints or tips, please feel free to make a comment. I would love the help.

Birthdays and more birthdays

This afternoon we had a birthday party to attend. Jacob, a friend of Camden's from school, invited her and Claire to his party. It was at the bowling alley! The girls were so excited to get to bowl for the first time. They had these metal ramps where the kids could put their ball on top and roll it down. So handy, especially since most of the kids couldn't even lift the balls because they were so heavy. The girls had a great time.


Claire and Avery



After the party we met Jeremy, Carlyle and my parents at Jalapeno Tree for dinner to celebrate my birthday. After we ate, we went back to my parents' house to have cake. Camden and Claire helped Nana make the birthday cake earlier today. It was so yummy! But, really how can you go wrong with chocolate?? Looking forward to another birthday celebration tomorrow with Jeremy and the girls. I really like how my birthday celebration has stretched through the whole weekend!

Camden and Claire blowing out the candles

Fun playdate!

My friend, Leslie, invited us over to her house yesterday for a playdate! We had so much fun. Kate and her two girls joined us, as well as, Ruth Lee and her three boys. Ruth Lee was in town for a few days and we were anxious to meet Colson, the new addition to their family. With ten kids, you can only imagine how chaotic it was. And trying to get a group photo was pretty hilarious. There were many tries, but these three pretty much sum up what our attempts looked like. Thank you, Leslie, for being such a kind and gracious hostess. I apologize for the tornado that hit upstairs. Looking forward to our next playdate. Hopefully Baby Bunt #3 will have arrived to join in on the fun!!!

An update from Carlyle

My mommy's been really busy lately and hasn't had a chance to post anything. So, I took it upon myself to give you a little update on the family (well, really just me). I'm growing like a weed! I think it's all the solid foods that my mommy is giving me. She's feeding me "real" food twice a day now. I am gobbling it up! Maybe that's why my mommy says I'm getting so heavy. I had peaches the other day for the first time. It took my taste buds a few minutes to get used to the taste, but I emptied the jar! My mommy is so proud of me because she increased my bottles to 6 ounces and I only take those four times a day.


I'm getting really good at reaching for toys and grabbing them. I love to shake rattles and hear the sound they make. I still prefer to play on my back, rather than my stomach. Every time my mommy puts me on my stomach I immediately roll to my back. It's much more comfortable. I still haven't learned how to roll from my back to my tummy, but I'm not too worried about it. I'm sleeping really good at night. My mommy puts me to sleep around 7:30pm and I will usually sleep until 6:30am or so. I'm always so happy in the mornings and love to smile when my mommy comes to get me out of bed! I also LOVE my big sisters. They make me grin all the time. They're so silly, but take such good care of me! Camden always watches me when mommy takes a shower. She's such a good babysitter!!




This morning after I finished my cereal I was kind of fussy. My mommy put a little juice in a cup to see if I would know what to do. I started sucking and was so surprised at what came out! I'm getting so big. Of course, I can't hold my own cup but it won't be long! My mommy can't believe that in 2 1/2 weeks I will be 6 months old! I will be half a year old! Maybe we should have a party!