Magic Kingdom

Our next stop was Disney's Magic Kingdom. We arrived just as the park was opening. There really weren't that many people in the park. We didn't have to wait very long in lines. I think the longest was like twenty minutes for the Peter Pan ride.

Emily is in awe of the Minnie Mouse-shaped shrub. This was even before we got into the park.
She LOVED the rides. She's taking in all the sights of "It's a Small World".

Emily and Grandpa.

One thing she'll take from this trip is the ability to snap her strap in two seconds flat.

This is what we saw as we returned to our car. This photo doesn't do it justice. It was gorgeous!

More St. Augustine

After looking at the fort, we went across the street to see the shops and stuff. There were all kinds of shops that sold all kinds of things; wind chimes, t-shirts, taffy and chocolates, lacy underwear. Yes, lacy underwear. For all your vacationing needs.

Here is a main entrance into the shopping area.
And here is our country's oldest wooden schoolhouse. There was a freaky mannequin in the upstairs window calling for the children to come to school. I think she wanted to eat them.

Emily sporting her cool band aid.

Emily liked the yard art.

Bob and Beckie sitting at a cute little fountain.

Emily wanted to get in the fountain.

Emily and a crazy lady and an Indian advertising cigars. We didn't buy any.

Time Out!

Okay, I'm taking a time out from vacation photos. I need help. The question: Should I cut Emily's hair? Please take a moment to vote. Voting ends Sunday at 9pm.

Please take into consideration that sometimes snot gets in her bangs...

St. Augustine

On Tuesday we went to St. Augustine and then on to Kissimee. There is this really old fort in St. Augustine that someone built to fight against some bad guys. I didn't read the signs or anything; I was more interested in getting some cool shots. How lame am I? Anyway, it was really cool.

Here is an outer wall. See the cannons?

Here is a close-up of the wall. It's sand and shells! So COOOL! I'm sure there's other stuff in there, but again, I wasn't paying close attention to the history.

Here are the stairs up to the top. It used to not be stairs, just a ramp to get the cannons up there. (I guess I listened to Bob a little)Here is a big door.

Emily fell and skinned her knee. She didn't cry. And she didn't let it slow her down a bit.

Notice the hair in her eyes and the snot running from her nose. Sheesh, you'd think her mother would take better care of her child.
This is a view from the top.

Stay tuned for photos from more photos from St. Augustine! It'll probably be tomorrow because my eyeballs are tired.

Grapes and Gravel

Last Monday we went to Bob's sister's house. They had grapes. That'll be the one thing I remember from their place--their vineyard. I loved the green and yellow leaves, the vines hanging down, and the grapes (what was left of them from being picked over).

I didn't get pictures of anyone except Emily (duh) because I was so distracted by the beautiful grapes. I spent over an hour in the vines. I got up close and personal in there. I loved it! Check out these shots!



Emily loved the rocks. There was this area by their back porch that had gravel and Emily loved it! She took her shoes off and dug her feet in. The cool rocks and soft dirt must have felt great!

Look at those cankles!!! She has a leg with toes! Where does she get that? I wonder...NANA!

Jacksonville Beach

We flew into Florida in the weee early hours of Sunday morning. Like just after midnight. When we finally rolled out of bed in the late hours of Sunday morning, we decided to visit Jacksonville Beach. I'd never been to the Atlantic Ocean before and I was excited to dip my feet into the warm water. Emily was excited, too! It was all I could do to hold her down to slather her up with sunscreen before she ventured into the ocean. As soon as I let go of her, off she went!

She loved the ocean! She has amazing balance (she gets that from me!) and she really never got knocked over by the waves. She did, however, get a wave in the face and swallowed a bunch of water. She puked a bunch and then she was off again.

There was this little girl who was fascinated with Emily. This girl never stopped smiling and staring at Emily. They played for a little while and then Emily was off to other adventures.

Trust Issues

The day we were to leave on our vacation I was packing like a madwoman. This left Emily on her own to entertain herself. I thought I could trust her to play in her room. I mean, that's where all the cool toys are, right? Yeah, right. Apparently the bathroom is way cooler.
Notice her gazing upon her work in the mirror. She was proud! But now I can't trust her to play on her own and not get into things.
And, yeah, I had to get all artistic on you. I think it's a neat point of view, though.

I am currently editing the photos from the trip. Day one was the beach. Stay tuned!

I Got Tagged

The Rules:
1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules.
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Random Facts...
1. I have a blankie. It's hard to admit. But it's true. Several years ago I made a quilt from some fabric and a sheet, tied it with yarn, and sewed some batting on the inside (with Mom's help, of course!). The fabric is 49ers print and the sheet is black, so this thing is U.G.L.Y. But I love it! It feels so soft and comfy and I love to snuggle with it.

2. I love Blue's Clues. And I love that Emily loves Blue's Clues. We watch it every day, several episodes, over and over (thank heaven for DVR!!!) I missed it while I was up at Mom and Dad's.

3. I'm glad I'm done breastfeeding. As much as I loved it, I'm loving having my body back. Finally I can take medicine for pain!!!

4. Rolling in the grass makes me itchy. It has for as long as I can remember. But it doesn't stop me.

5. When I was a kid, I used to lie in the back yard and pretend I was dead to see if the buzzards would circle over me. It never worked, no matter how still I was... Dang!

6. I'm addicted to blogging. I love all of my blogs and I love reading other people's blogs.

7. I've never watched any of the Shrek movies. Blah.

8. I like to wear sandals when I go out. The reason why is as soon as I get into the car, they come off! I drive barefooted. I also take them off at the radio station! I considered naming my photography business "The Barefoot Photographer".

I admit I was tagged a while back by Lora and I started the list and got stuck after five facts. I thought I'd finish the list and post it today. I'm going to tag Michael, Tammie, Kelly, Jason, Danielle, Terri, Heather, Lori, Kristen, Tiffany, Laney, and Charlotte.

buuuuh-NANA!!!

So remember I said she wakes up signing "candy"? Well, this morning she woke up and the first thing she signed was "banana"! Progress! Now I just hope she doesn't get constipated...

Vocabulary

I'd like to say my child says a lot of words. I mean actually says words. But no, not really. But she does sign a lot of words. I think it's cool and I can't wait until she says these words as she signs them. Then I'll be able to tell the difference between "eat" and "drink"!

Here's a list of what she signs:

• candy
• banana
• drink
• eat
• candy
• shoes
• circle
• candy
• gorilla
• elephant
• monkey
• turtle (sorta)
• candy
• car
• bird
• phone
• peach
• colors
• candy
• dog
• hat
• hair
• home
• train (well, not the traditional sign, but she says "toot toot" and pulls the "string")
• brush teeth
• book
• candy
• Blue's Clues (not an official sign, but we know what it means)
• bath
• please
• more
• ball
• done

And did I mention she signs "candy"? She wakes up signing it and goes to bed signing it. *sigh*

And the words she says:

• diaper (bye-duh)
• banana (bye-duh)
• soft (sahhh, in a whispery voice)
• Blue's Clues! (boo! boo!)
• daddy
• momma (sounds exactly like daddy)
• what's that? (wassat?)
• shhhh (she puts her finger to her lips and says shhh)
• bye-bye
• moo (cow)
• baa-baa (sheep)
• quack (kack)
• buh-gok, buh-gok (chicken)
• mail (just gets real excited and does a jazz hands thingy like on Blue's Clues)

That's all I can think of right now. It's an impressive list. I didn't think she was saying much.

I'm Published!

I think. I'm not sure. But still, someone on Flickr saw my photo of a banana and asked if he could use it in an online article. I'm excited, even though it's not front page or anything exciting like that. Hey, it's a start and it's nice to be asked!

Here is the photo he asked to use:

Here's a screen shot. My photo is in the middle of the three photos on the bottom row. Yay!

And here is the link to his article. You'll notice on the right side of the page there are pictures of bananas; click on "more pictures" at the end of the photos. I think the photos on the front page change, so I may not be on the front page.

FAQ for Three Hills Photography

Q: What happens when you have another baby? Will you change the name to Four Hills Photography?

A: What makes you think I'm having another baby? Kidding. Well, Three Hills rolls off the tongue easier than Four Hills, so we'll just keep the name the same. It won't make sense, but perhaps it will make more sense if we have three children. So, the answer is, the name will stay the same. Just because. Or maybe we'll change it to Three Hills and a Lump.

Q: Why another blog? Don't you have enough?

A: The new blog will be specifically for my photography business. It may even replace My Little Hobby. I don't know. I think three blogs is enough for now.

Introducing...

Yet another blog of mine...

Three Hills Photography

Keep your eyes peeled for my new photography website...

Those Curls!!!

My Little Angel

She's an angel, unless she's up to something...

Emily and her Dollhouse

I captured this sweet moment the other day. She loves her dollhouse. She places the chicken in the crib and the horse in the kitchen and the shepherd at the computer.

Hmmm...

Wonder what she's doing...

Hello...

I haven't blogged much lately. I haven't really taken many photos. Mostly self portraits for a group on Flickr. But here's a pretty sunflower I captured a couple months ago...

Having Fun in Photoshop!

Bright and Sunshiny

Good morning!

Little Hottie

The other day Emily took a reeeeealllly long nap. I tried lots of things to get her to wake up, but she just wouldn't stay awake. I tried stripping her and I think it put her in a deeper sleep! It was kinda hot in the house, so I think her little body just couldn't take all the heat.

Yick and Uck!

Mom and Dad have spiders in their house! Mom was showing me the Brown Recluse ones she'd collected and this is what my toes did:
And I got goosebumps. And my goosebumps got goosebumps. Pray for me while I'm here...

PIGGIES!!!

I decided to put piggies in Emily's hair today. I've been itching to do it but I didn't figure she'd keep them in. She hates it when anything is in her hair/on her head and pulls barrettes out as soon as they go in. So, I put on Blue's Clues, gave her some mini M&Ms and put little clips in her hair and omigosh it's so freakin' CUTE!!!

I want to nibble the back of her neck. At this point, they're still in her hair (it's been almost fifteen minutes!) and one is pointing up and one is pointing down, but they're still in. She hasn't even figured out that they're in her hair.

She Tinkled!

On the potty! For the first time ever! My little girl is growing up! *sigh*

I put her on the training seat before her bath and she tinkled. She was pretty proud about it, but I doubt she knew why we were clapping and cheering her on.

ABC's of Me!

A - Attached or Single: attached! For almost five years!

B - Best Friend: I have two: my sister and my mom. Hands down.

C - Cake or Pie: it depends... I guess I'll go with cake because I love frosting. I eat the cake part first and save the frosting for last!

D - Drink of Choice: Diet Dr. Pepper.

E - Essential Items: my camera.

F - Favorite Color: blue. Especially the blue in Emily's eyes.

G - Gummi Bears or Worms: Bears. You can bite their heads off.

H - Hometown: Paris, Texas. Home is where your parents are. Right?

I – Indulgence(s): anything for Emily.

J - January or July: July. I don't like being cold. Except when it's hot.

K - Kids: the one and only Emily!

L - Life is incomplete without: laughter, love, faith

M - Marriage Date: the end of October, five years ago!

N - Number of Siblings: three brothers, one sister.

O - Oranges or Apples: oranges. No, apples. Both.

P - Phobias/Fears: spiders.

Q - Favorite Quote: "If it is to be it is up to me."

R – Restaurants: Zio's, Cheddars.

S - Season: spring, then fall.

T- Tag Three: whoever hasn’t done one of these ever or lately.

U - Unknown Fact About Me: I can juggle.

V - Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals: I'm a vegetarian unless I ate meat.

W - Worst Habit: biting my nails and drinking caffeine.

X - X-rays or Ultrasounds: either, unless I'm getting an OB ultrasound, then I pick ultrasound.

Y - Your Favorite Foods: homemade pizza, cous cous, seafood

Z- Zodiac: Taurus.

Radio Star!

Well, not really. I got a great opportunity to take photos at an AM radio station on Sunday. I was given the phone number of this guy who works for 660AM. One of Kelly's friends who I met the night before at a girls night in recommended me to this guy for this photo shoot (thank you, Paige!). The radio guy, Winston, says he's interviewing the founder of Which Wich and he needs a photographer. I was able to meet Jeff Sinelli and take a quick photo before he had to jet. Then I begin acting like I had never been to a radio station before (which I hadn't) and I started snapping photos of various radio things, like this lit "on the air" sign. It was so cool.
Then I took a photo of a thing with lots of buttons and lights. I have no idea what this is, but it's cool.

Here is Jeff Sinelli (left) with Winston.

I was able to get a few shots of Winston at the mic, too. Fun times!

He wants to use me in the future, which sounds like fun! The station has a recording studio in Lewsville where bands go to record their music, and he said he'd like for me to go out there and take photos of them in action. It's very exciting! Also, it turns out Winston helps people get started in their businesses, so it looks like things are starting to fall into place for my photography business. I didn't get paid, but I will get an ad on the radio and credit for the photos on his website. So, I'm excited. I may even be on his show.

Dirt = Fun!

I took her outside to get some cute photos of her in her pretty dress, and what did she do? She played in the dirt. I swear, I don't know where she gets these tendencies. (She has bruises on her legs, too. Reminds me of me...)

She has a new favorite word: "bodiggabodiggabodigga" I'm not sure what it means, but it's fun to say. Go ahead, say it out loud. You know you want to. It sounds like this: Bo-Dig-Uh. Bodigga. Now say it fast. Now say it lots of times fast. See, FUN, right? That's the word she was saying in that second photo.