Momma in Focus: Fruit

I'm putting a different spin on this week's Momma in Focus--it's a picture of me and my mom in El Paso!  We had a full day to do whatever we wanted, so we decided to take in some of the sights and drove down to the appropriately-named Scenic Drive; the views from this point overlooking El Paso were amazing and the perfect place for an impromptu photoshoot:

And if you really want to be picky about the whole fruit thing, there are lemons on my dress...or at least something that looks like lemons. 

Be sure to check out the other lovely photos this week by clicking below

--and don't forget to show Casey some love.

Momma in Focus: Orange

I really dropped the ball on this week's Momma in Focus; I had all of these grand plans of setting up a shot of Sammy and me on my bike, but the weather has been so oppressively hot this week that we didn't get a chance to go for a ride until late yesterday afternoon.  Also it's hard enough keeping the bike balanced with Sammy on the back without worrying about setting up the camera, tripod and remote to make it all happen.  Maybe I'll be able to get that shot when Captain Husband is home in two weeks...but I digress.  Speaking of CH, Sammy and I had just wrapped up Skyping with him when I decided to take this impromptu Photobooth shot of the two of us.  Pajama party, anyone?

I promise to do a better job next week!  Be sure to check out the other lovely photos this week by clicking below--and don't forget to show Casey some love.

Momma in Focus: Patriotic

Sammy and I spent our fourth of July weekend visiting some local historic sites that have been on my northern Virginia bucket list of places to go before we make the big move to Texas later this summer. Here we are in all of our sweaty glory while on our hike around Government Island:

While it may not completely fit the letter of the theme, we were walking along the same paths that workmen once traversed while excavating the very stones originally used to construct the White House and the Capitol Building.  It's a stretch, but it's good enough for me!

Be sure to check out the other lovely photos this week by clicking below

--and don't forget to show Casey some love.

Momma in Focus: Water

Once again I managed to deviate from the Momma in Focus prompt, but it's all good because I have a pretty awesome picture to share with all of you this week:

Our first real family portrait in almost a year!  I can't wait until Captain Husband returns and then we can go about normal family activities, like posing for family Christmas portraits together.  Maybe by then I'll figure out what to do with my hot mess of a hairstyle.

Be sure to check out the other lovely photos this week by clicking below

--and don't forget to show Casey some love.

Momma in Focus: Freebie

Hold on to your seats, everybody, because I have not one, but TWO photos to share with all of you this week.  I was quite the little overachiever.  Of course, it also helps that I have Captain Husband around to serve as my photographer so you better believe I'm taking advantage of that. 

This first photo was taken by CH at the neoclassical temple on the grounds of Montpelier; believe it or not, this architectural gem actually sits over a 24-foot-deep ice house.  I think CH managed to do a pretty good job--just look at the awesome bokeh he managed to capture (which almost makes up for chopping off half of my dome):

On our way back home after our Montpelier excursion, I had the sudden realization as we were driving that CH had never been to the hospital where Sammy was born so I thought it would be a fun way to commemorate Sammy's first birthday by taking a group photo in front of the hospital:

And just for fun, here's the second-most recent group shot of the three of us, which was taken just before CH boarded his flight to South Korea last July; what a difference a year makes.  (If you look closely, however, you'll notice that CH is wearing the exact same shirt, so I guess it doesn't make that much of a difference, ha!)

Be sure to check out the other lovely photos this week by clicking below

--and don't forget to show Casey some love.

Momma in Focus: Freebie

Another day, another road trip, or at least that's how it seems around here.  Sammy and I hit the road in the man truck yesterday (it has working ac, whereas my car does not) and made our way to western Pennsylvania where I'll be helping my sister-in-law host a Cloth 101 gathering.  Also on the agenda is spending some quality time with my family before the summer gets truly insane and giving my cousin, Sarah (yes, another one--it does get a bit confusing), one last dose of quality-Sammy time before she moves to Alaska in a few weeks.  It should be fun!  Sammy and I had dinner with Ben and Sarah and then I conscripted my brother to take a photo of us because I had totally slacked off this week and waited 'til the last minute to come up with something for today.   Here we are, in all of our dirty, five-hours-spent-in-a-truck glory:

Be sure to check out the other lovely photos this week by clicking below

--and don't forget to show Casey some love.

Momma in Focus: Turquoise/Blue

I completely fudged the theme for this week, which stinks because it involved my favorite color.  Fortunately I had a back-up photo up my sleeve, thanks to my friend Tim, who shot this during our outing to the zoo on Wednesday:

I swear I have clothing other than this dress (it seems like I've been wearing it in every Momma in Focus this past few weeks), but it's just so comfy and hides sweat well, which is important when the temperature is nearing the hundred-degree mark. Curious as to what we're standing next to? It's a sloth bear, which for some strange reason is one of Captain Husband's nicknames.

Though I will say after seeing an actual sloth bear in person, the resemblance is quite striking.

Be sure to check out the other lovely photos this week by clicking below

--and don't forget to show Casey some love.

Momma in Focus: Love

Before we headed over to take in all of the beautiful flowers at Longwood Gardens, Pat, Sammy and I stopped in to visit Sammy's great-grandmother, the original Nany, for a little bit. The weather was sunny and warm, so we spent the bulk of our visit outside in the community garden, while Sammy kept us all entertained.

Before we headed to our next destination, I convinced everyone that we needed to take a group picture:

I love how Nany's expression basically says, "Oh great, here she goes with that dang camera again."  Four generations of love in one shot--not too shabby.

Be sure to check out the other lovely photos this week by clicking below:

Momma in Focus: Fun

I can't begin to express just how glad I am that Casey came up with this weekly link-up; it's probably the main reason why there will be any photos of me and Sammy during our first year together.  That said, it's getting more and more difficult for me to come up with new and/or different ways to stage our photo every week.  I'm kind of at a disadvantage in that there's no one else around to capture the candid moments that take place, so I feel as though I keep having to reinvent the wheel every week or so.  The worst part is that I have all of these great ideas but they're pretty hard to execute on my own.  For example, I thought it would be pretty cool to get a shot of me and Sammy playing our new flying game:

Have you ever tried to balance your kid while simultaneously working your camera remote?  Yeah, it's not as easy as I thought it would be.  I swear he actually enjoys "flying" even though the expression on his face could easily make you think otherwise.  (And don't get me started on the focusing issue, sigh.)

So that brings us to take two; another one of our favorite fun activities is turning up the music on the big band channel and dancing to the tunes.  We bounce and and spin in time to the music while we both laugh hysterically. I figured this would be a good opportunity to capture some fun shots, so I set up the tripod, turned up the volume and started shooting.  Yeah.  The results were pretty much horrible.  This is the best one, which isn't even all that good:

Well, at least his outfit is fun, right? (Dear surly teenager Sammy, I apologize for taking you out in public dressed like this, but honestly, you didn't really seem to mind at the time.)  Be sure to check out the other lovely photos this week by clicking below--and don't forget to show Casey some love.

Momma in Focus...only a little behind schedule

I normally write my posts the evening before they appear on the blog, so I was completely stymied last night by whatever issue Blogger was working out. I took advantage of the unexpected free time and caught up on some photo editing, worked on Sammy's birthday banner, and actually made it to bed before 11:30. I can't remember the last time I saw that side of midnight.  It was awesome.  Now if I could only get Sammy to sleep past 6:45 am...

Anyway, on to this week's Momma in Focus; the prompt was details and I had hoped to get some nice shots comparing our hands, but Sammy was more interested in trying to grab the camera than cooperating so on to plan b--getting someone else to take a photo of the two of us.  Fortunately I actually had someone else handy and she was more than happy to oblige, so I give you this week's photo courtesy of my friend, Gretchen (also known as Sammy's Auntie G):

Be sure to check out the other lovely photos this week by clicking below--

and don't forget to show Casey some love.  Have a great weekend everyone!

Momma in Focus: black and white

This week's prompt for Momma in Focus is black and white; for once, I actually remembered to do this before it was too late to take advantage of the gorgeous May afternoon yesterday (yes, I still waited until the day before to do it, but still).  My original idea was to somehow figure out a way to set up the shot so that Sammy and I would be silhouetted against the afternoon sun with awesome sun flares all around.  Unfortunately, that didn't quite work out, especially since the only place to actually attempt this was in the main road behind the townhouse so I quickly ran out of patience between wrangling Sammy, the camera and trying to not get hit by a passing car.  So I went with plan b, which was sitting in the grassy area across from the house.  I think it turned out pretty well, although it would have been nice if I had been able to get Sammy to look at the camera.  Eh, close enough.

Be sure to check out the other lovely photos this week by clicking below--

and don't forget to show Casey some love.

Momma in Focus: Easter

This week's prompt for Momma in Focus is Easter and I've got two for you this time around.   This past weekend was one of those rare occasions where I was surrounded by people who were ready and willing to take photos of me and Sammy, which kept me from having to fumble with the camera, tripod, and remote.  This first one was taken by my mom after Sammy opened up his Easter goodies---we're both still in our pajamas (gotta keep it real).

We then put on our Easter finery and headed outdoors for a little impromptu photo shoot with my brother behind the camera.  There were a few issues with exposure at first, but we wound up with a few good shots.  This one is my favorite thanks to the kissy face I'm making at Sammy:

Be sure to check out the other lovely photos this week by clicking below--and don't forget to show Casey some love. (I normally also do a Foto Friday link-up, but I just ran out of time and couldn't come up with anything, but hopefully I'll be on my game next week!)

Foto Friday: Family and Momma in Focus: Freebie

This week's Foto Friday prompt is family, which is fitting especially after having spent the last weekend with Captain Husband's family in New Jersey.  I know I've said this before, but I really couldn't be happier to have been welcomed into this family with open arms.  Not too mention how lucky Sammy is to have such loving and caring great grandparents; it was so much fun watching the three of them spend time together.  I took a lot of photos over the weekend, but this one of Sammy snuggling in close to his great grandfather just melts my heart:

And now onto Momma in Focus; this week was a freebie so we could do pretty much whatever we wanted.  I had some grand plans in mind, but time ran away from me like always, and before I knew it, it was Thursday afternoon and I had nothing.  I was about to go for a walk with Sammy when I remembered that I didn't have any photos of me and him in his new carrier, so I grabbed the camera and took a few photos of us in front of the antique pier glass in the stairway--not too shabby for something last minute, if I may say so myself.

Be sure to check out the other lovely photos this week by clicking below--and don't forget to show Kim and Casey some love.  Have a great weekend everyone!

Momma in Focus: Yellow

This week's Momma in Focus prompt is yellow; now that everything is blooming, I figured I could easily find something yellow and cheerful to pose next to with Sammy.  Well, I thought wrong.  I wound up driving around for about a half an hour yesterday until I finally came across group of daffodils along the side of the road.  Now here's where things get fun: I had remembered my camera and my remote, but didn't even think to bring a tripod so I wound up having to balance my camera on top of the stroller.  Here's what I ended up with:

You can totally see the remote in my hand, the wind is doing some crazy things to my hair, and Sammy looks like he's seconds from bursting into tears, but for some reason, I really like this photo.  And after you see some of the outtakes, you'll see why I think this photo was the best of the bunch:

1. Not bad, but we're completely out of focus.

2. In focus, but missing half of our bodies.

3. Remember those missing halves?  Found 'em!

 Be sure to check out the other lovely photos this week by clicking below:

Foto Friday: Laughter and Momma in Focus: Outside

Happy April Fool's Day everyone! Sadly (for me) yesterday's post was not an April Fool's Day prank, but I do want to thank everyone for their kind words of encouragement.  Anywho, today's Foto Friday theme is laughter, which is rather fitting considering what day it is; I picked this photo of Sammy having a grand ol' time in the tub the other night.  The faces he made as he splashed around had me laughing almost as much as he was.

And now onto Momma in Focus; this week's theme is outside.  Unfortunately, it's been pretty damp and nasty this week, so Sammy and I spent most of our time indoors.  Here we are, trying to will the rain away.

Be sure to check out the other lovely photos this week by clicking below--and don't forget to show Kim and Casey some love.  Have a great weekend everyone!

A new Foto Friday hostess and Momma in Focus

For those of you not in the know, Ann Marie, aka the Household 6 Diva, has decided to no longer host the popular Foto Friday feature on her blog (she's got a lot of stuff going on in her life at the moment, so I can totally understand); but fret not!  Kim, over at Mom Tried It, has taken over the linkup, so that it may continue.  This week's prompt is yellow, and I had just the perfect shot of some lovely forsythia that was in bloom on Duke's campus:

And now on to this week's Momma in Focus; Casey came up with the prompt of dessert for this week.  I tried to get a cute candid shot of Sammy and me while I was eating wedding cake last Saturday, but it just wasn't happening.  So I'm afraid I'm going to have to deviate from the theme (GASP!) and do something completely different:

When I said different, I meant it.  Sadly it was really, really bright when this photo was taken, so Sammy's face is almost entirely hidden by shadows.  This was a real fun one to pose; I'm actually balancing him on my knee, which I have raised up to about waist level.  My brother was trying to get a good shot while I was yelling, "HURRY BEFORE I LOSE MY BALANCE," so all in all, it turned out pretty well once you take all of those factors into consideration.  Here's a slightly better one from our trip to Zoo Atlanta (don't worry--I plan on dedicating most of next week to tales and photos from our recent trip to North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia):

A special thank you to my brother for working as my personal paparazzo on this trip (he definitely had his work cut out for him).  Be sure to check out the other lovely photos this week by clicking below--and don't forget to show Kim and Casey some love.  Have a great weekend everyone!

Momma in Focus: Week two

The following photo was taken of me and Sammy by my brother, John; we're sitting in front of the gorgeous Duke Chapel in North Carolina (we stopped and stretched our legs there on our way to Atlanta--such a beautiful campus!):

Break out your camera and join in on the fun by clicking below:

Have a great weekend everyone!

Getting in the picture: Momma in Focus

I am so much more comfortable behind the camera than I am in front of it; I'm sure a lot of you know what I mean.  But I'm trying to get better so to that end I've started participating in Vloggin' Vednesdays and am making a concerted effort to break out the tripod and camera remote from time to time.  I don't want Sammy to look back at the photos from his first year and say, "Hey mom--why aren't there any photos of you and me?"  However, sometimes even the best intentions need a little kick in the pants for motivation's sake and that is where Momma in Focus enters: the brilliant idea of Casey from One Day at a Time, this is a weekly photo challenge that encourages all of us moms to make a habit out of getting in front of the camera with our kids.  Without any further ado, here is my entry for today's inaugural link-up:

I'm really pleased with how this photo turned out, our shared bedhead and all--I'm reading Sammy the new book that I bought for him yesterday at Dancing Bear Toys in Frederick called Kitty Tails (can you tell we're kind of obsessed with cats around here?). I still have a lot to learn in regards to setting up self-portraits and the like, but every journey starts with a single step, right? To all of you other parents out there, break out your camera and join in on the fun by clicking below:

Have a great weekend everyone!