Happy 3rd Birthday, Tyler!

My baby is not a baby anymore - Tyler turned 3 today! We decided to go out to dinner and let Tyler choose where he wanted to go. We had our fingers crossed that it wasn't going to be McDonalds or Chuck E. Cheese. He ended up picking Famous Dave's BBQ, which we thought was a bit odd, but then we took one look at Emily who was smiling and realized where the idea came from. After all, they do serve Kraft Mac-n-Cheese, Fries and Oreo cookies as a Kid's Meal - what's not to love, right? Anyway, we had a great time and Tyler opened his birthday presents. His favorite was Alphie. I can't believe they brought that toy back. I remember that when I was a little girl!

Some of Tyler's traits and "favorites" right now...

• Color - Yellow
• Movies - Toy Story, Nemo and The Little Mermaid
• Cartoon Characters - Spongebob and Mickey Mouse
• Foods - Clementines, Blueberries, French Fries
• Drink - Chocolate and "Pink" Milk
• Frequent Saying - "Nuh Uh" or "Yeah Huh"
• Tyler walks in Emily's shadow and mimics her constantly.....good and bad actions! :)
• He loves boots.  He was constantly wearing his rain boots and Emily's boots around the house so we recently bought him a pair of light-up Toy Story cowboy boots.  He loves them!
• He is a night owl like me.  Emily is always the first to fall asleep between the two of them. 
• Tyler is sooooo independent!  This is probably another trait he picked up from Emily.  Whenever someone tries to help him, he responds "no, I do it!"
• He is such a sensitive little man, and whenever you show that you are upset by something he did, he runs over and gives you a kiss and a hug and says, "I sorry, mommy."  He also randomly comes over and gives me a squeeze and says, "I miss you, I love you."

Team-Up Thursday: Fresh

Jody chose this week's theme of "fresh" and loved the natural light and "softness" of her shot of the peonies. I, on the other hand, went a different route because I just had to include the shot I captured of my daughter as the flower girl and the ring bearer being "fresh" to me at a recent wedding. They were standing there looking all innocent and I asked them to smile at the count of three. Just after I said "three" this is what I got! Take note of the lollipop and candy necklace. They had a candy station at the wedding for the little kids and the "kids at heart" so many of them, including these two, were on a sugar high. :)

Check out Megan and Melody to see more Theme Thursday shots.

Team-Up Thursday: White

We decided to capture the color white this week for our theme. White makes me think of weddings, so I chose a closeup shot of one of my brides' gowns for this week. I really like how it coordinates with Jody's image, which is also white on a black background. The chandelier makes me think of an elegant event, complimenting the wedding dress and the doves can also be linked to wedding ceremonies.

Check out Megan and Melody to see more Theme Thursday shots.

Team-Up Thursday: Shapes

This week Jody and I chose "shapes" as our theme. I love the colors in Jodi's shot! The earthtone bokeh background really contrasts the wind chime. I chose the flower bouquet that I captured at a recent birthday party I shot because it incorporated so many shapes: flower-shaped pineapples, circular melon balls, heart-shaped strawberries...the list goes on!

Check out Megan and Melody to see more Theme Thursday shots.

Team-Up Thursday: Texture

Jody and I had a very busy week and only decided on our theme of "texture" yesterday. Luckily, I'm a seasoned procrastinator and work well under pressure. :) We figured that since texture is everywhere it wouldn't be hard to grab a shot around the house last night. I love the way our shots fit together this week. There are obvious differences, like how Jody's shot portrays more of a "hard" texture and has several items in the shot compared to the "softness" of the blanket and my shot focuses more on a single shape on the blanket. I chose to convert my shot to grayscale (except for the heart which I left pink) and I loved how it coordinated with the rocks: most of them were gray, but a few have slightly pink tones. Even one of the rocks in the pic (toward the left-center) seems to have a heart-shape to it, but that may just be my imagination!

Check out Megan and Melody to see more Theme Thursday shots.

Team-Up Thursday: Pattern

Our theme for this week's Team Thursday was "pattern." I love the patterns Jody chose to shoot: very funky! I like the contrast between the black and white and color patterns. I chose to shoot a repeating pattern that was lined up by my daughter, Emily. They focused on this in class a couple months ago and ever since she points out repeating patterns wherever we go!

Check out Megan and Melody to see more Theme Thursday shots.

Best Shot Monday: Heart-shaped Leaves

I decided to join Cara in signing up for Tracey Clark's Picture Spring class. The class started when while I was down in Disney vacationing, so it was challenging to get all of the shots and post them. But the nice thing about the class is that there is no pressure to capture each and every daily theme. So far it has been a wonderful experience. I love being given the different themes so you can explore your creativity behind the lens on a daily basis. The shot below was taken over the weekend when we were asked to capture a heart shaped theme. My husband thought I was crazy when I saw these leaves and stopped in the middle of mowing the grass to run into the house. When I came out with my camera he said, "You're bloody ridiculous!" Some people just don't understand! :)

For more Best Shot Monday pics, head over to Tracey's Blog