oh dear

Jessie and I had a conversation with Eliza at the breakfast table this morning that confused both of us for several minutes. It started out like this:

"What happened to the butt?"

Now, this took us off guard, since "butt" is supposed to be a never used word in our house, and furthermore, we couldn't think of any "butts" that had anything significant happening at the moment.

We tried to just ignore it at first, not sure whether she was speaking the taboo word or not, but Eliza was quite insistent. She wanted an answer.

"Mommy! What happened to the butt?"

"What are you talking about, Eliza?"

(slowly and succintly)"I'm talking about what happened to that big butt that Daddy took care of!"

"What did Daddy take care of?"

(patience wearing thin by now) "The...Big...Butt"

"What did Daddy do to take care of, er, it?"

"You know, I was scared of the big butt, so Daddy frowed it away."

The light was beginning to dawn.

"Oh, you mean the big bug!"

"Yeah, the big butt."

"Eliza, say bug. Its bug, not butt."

"Buh-tt. I did say butt."

i've got sunshine

{i've got sunshine}

{on a cloudy day} {when its cold outside} {i've got the month of may}

{well I guess you'd say} {what could make me} {feel this way?} {my girls} {talkin bout my girls}

{i've got so much honey} {the bees envy me}

{i've got a sweeter song} {than all the birds in the trees.}

{talkin bout my girls.}

wordless wednesday

these boots...

these boots...

were made...

for walking.

and also climbing, apparently.

Any Guesses?

Whoa. What IS this?

Seriously, girls. Check this out!

Ooooooooooooooh.

Any guesses?

What on God's green earth

was holding these girls

so captivated?

Anybody?

Well, if your guess was

Stinky, rotting grapefruit..............................................

...................................you would be absolutely correct.

photography of late

Jessie has had several opportunities in recent months to practice his photography on subjects other than his children (or unwilling wife).

In January he was given the chance to be the "second shooter" at the wedding of some dear friends of ours. Here are some of my favorite captures of the day:

Sarah's sister was her mainstay throughout the morning.

I love Sarah's look of trust

{As if this face needs any more beautifying}

The aftermath of bridal preparations.

Chase gets a little assistance

from one of his blokes.

Getting ready to check out of the hotel

A little jittery? Yes.

The last finishing touches

are being put on at the ceremony location

The bride waits her turn down the aisle

Pre-ceremony jitters? Nah.

Beautiful.

The wind fought with the bride's veil

throughout the ceremony.

"The Kiss"

And another, just for good measure.

First Dance/Beautiful Bride

I loved everything about Sarah's dress.

Introspective moment

for the groom

Its all in the details

A couple of months later Jessie was asked to take some engagement shots for another couple from our church, who will be wed in June. We are trying to schedule a round two for some beach shots, because the weather didn't co-operate for the first try. The skyline was absolutely dreary and colorless. Still, he came away with some keepers. This one is my personal favorite:

Finally, some casual candids of Jessie's cousin's daughters, Josie and Clara. They are our girls' constant playmates. These were all taken on a playground outing. Jessie tried to stay out of their way and let them do their thing as much as possible.

You had better be prepared

to take some action shots

if you want to capture this girl in real life!

Clara is nearly always accompanied by some variety of stuffed animal

Josie will pose for as long as you want her to

(and then some...)

Two sisters...

...two distinct personalities.