We could have been frustrated with the mess but as we usually do we instead just embrace their joy and play along with them … it was FUN!!! You can see at one point Junebug was terribly upset about the flour that went down her nappy. I sneakily watched and snapped a few shots before letting her know she was “caught.”

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Eliza has played with my hair while nursing since she was born. I can *not* wear my hair up because of this reason … or rather, have to take it down each time we nurse and snuggle. She also puts her little foot up in the air for me to kiss it … and then the opposite foot is lifted up next just to be sure both footsies are covered.

It’s so sweet how each child has their own special things they do with me .. for Adeline it was my “bows” (my elbows), which she would absolutely have to have available to touch and hold while she nursed and cuddled. Then she started putting her feet on my “bows” and refused to wear tights or socks so she could easily kick off shoes and “me touch feet to bows!!” With Eliza she freaks if my hair isn’t down, ready to be gently (and sometimes not so gently – ouch!) tugged and stroked while she nurses.

For the record, there wasn’t anything at all here “showing” (my swimsuit would actually be more revealing) … however, to squelch any lurkers who might send me another raving lunatic message about beautiful, modest nursing photos being “repulsive and disgusting” (one woman even called it “porno” … LOLOL!!!), I did a little blur.

There is a saying I have seen that says, “Enjoy the little things in life, for some day you will look back and realize they were the big things.” (quote by Robert Brault) Evening walks in the sun with my girls, husband and dog. Feeling my baby’s breath on my shoulder while she naps and being blessed enough to nurse her to sleep every time she drifts off. The way my daughter’s face lights up with joy when I clap my hands together and say, “Let’s build a fort!!” The dimples on my baby’s chubby, squishy and precious knees, hands and toes. Hearing my older daughter talk to her baby sister in a hushed voice, thinking I’m not listening and as she says, “Our mommy is the sweetest, prettiest mommy ever – we are really lucky. She’s going to teach you really cool things just like she did with me,” and topping it of by calling her sister “Honey.” Watching Adeline brush our horse and sneak her peppermints before walking her back out to the pasture after a long ride. Being silly and jumping on the bed with my family and hearing the giggles filling up our little home. These are the little details that I cherish and revel in every day – simple, beautiful, pure joy.

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I do shut the computer *much* of the time so I can just stare at her, breathe in her sweet baby scent and soak in this precious, fleeting babyness. Addie spent every nap in my arms nursing and sleeping … and Eliza is the same way. She’s never fallen asleep without nursing and being in my arms. And I LOVE it! However, as much as I adore our snuggle time, I wouldn’t recommend working like this for proper ergonomics – ouch. You can have your fancy dinners out, your walking by the river and watching plays (our intended plans for this particular weekend in the city) … I’ll take snuggling with Eliza any day!!

Photo on left by Scott, photo on right by me.

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Just a quick little post … I’ve caught a nasty flu bug and have been camped out on the couch for about four days. Thank you to Miss Adeline for repeatedly coughing in my face for the last two weeks and sharing this lovely experience. At least she keeps me entertained. Here she is with Scott … one of her favorite creative time stories to act out is getting married (she got the little silk veil from us for Christmas and the fake flowers as her bouquet). She has a fiance she calls “Scottie” and often wakes up in the morning poking me in the shoulder excitedly whispering, “Mommy, today is the day me and Scottie are getting married! I must go get dressed up!!” Then she returns a few minutes later in a fancy dress, wedding veil on, bouquet in hand, huge smile on her face and asks me to perform the wedding for them. Daddy is often a stand in as her groom … they are just too cute for words (forgive the iPhone shot from this sick mama).

It would be nice, however, to see a bit more compassion from the little people while I’m feeling so rotten (said jokingly, of course). Adeline said very sweetly to me this morning, “Mama, I wish you would get better and stop being so sick.” I am touched and respond, “Awww, you’re so sweet to think about how crummy mommy is feeling.” Adeline replies, “Yeah, then you can stop being so gross with blowing your nose and coughing all the time!!” LOL! Such a sweetheart, especially since she’s the one who got me sick in the first place (can you say, “Pleeeassseee, cover your mouth, Addie??”). Ha!

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Miss Adeline Brett’s rock star 6th birthday party was a super blast to plan and even more fun getting to play there! Our kiddo parties are usually more along the lines of some pizza and friends in the backyard garden … but this year she asked for a punk rock star theme and we had so much fun planning and ended up getting a little carried away with the fun of it all.

Keep in mind that all this wasn’t *just* for Adeline (we’re not into the spoiled kid parties or getting so wrapped up in making things “pretty” that we forget to enjoy the important things and have fun) … it was for us, for her sister, for all Addie’s friends and all our friends and family to come and be silly and have fun! Apologies for the photo overload … this post is very image heavy (and all processed with Paint the Moon actions that are coming soon)!

The party was as surprise … the first surprise party Addie’s had, so there was extra excitement in the preparations. The awesome part was that I did all the planning and preparing while the kids were sleeping, and when it was party time I had most of the photos out of the way so I could put the camera down and not miss out on any of the fun!

It was bone chilling cold outside … the poor girls were troopers and we just took ten minutes to take a few shots of all of us decked out. I very rarely wear make up and felt SO weird with so much piled on. Both Scott and I agreed it just emphasized how dang old we are (he was the proud recipient of heavy black eyeliner errr… GUYliner, ha!). We looked like washed up oldsters who’ve seen too much rock and roll, drugs and alcohol and were refusing to admit we were washed up. LOL!

Getting ready Miss Eliza loved the boots and leg warmers but wanted nothing to do with any stinkin’ clothes.

The invite, aka, Rock Concert Ticket. She had her own little site set up for the invite and RSVP as well … adelinebrett.com. The graphic designer in me took over with the design of everything … late at night as the girls slept is when I worked on all this. And, yep, the QR code worked to bring the guest to the invite/RSVP site. We also had QR codes set up on the back of the backstage passes … the kids were met at the velvet rope out front to be given their exclusive, personalized Backstage All Access Pass and their pass code was scanned – on the screen they would see this pop up: backstage pass code, so we “knew” they were cleared for access.

After photos outside, as far as Addie knew, I was going to go run errands downtown after they dropped me and Eliza off. I was actually setting up the party while they picked up some cupcakes … and then they came back downtown to “pick mommy up.” She walked in and still didn’t understand it was HER party. She was going to beg her daddy to just bounce one time on the bounce castle before she had to leave to go home to the tiny family get together she thought we had planned. Imagine her surprise when we told her THAT was her party … and the bouncy castle was her birthday gift! Okay, you don’t have to imagine it because I snapped a picture!

The very moment of surprise when she walked in, saw everything and realized it was all for her!! Also note that all these indoor shots were taken in a dark ballroom at night with no flash … so we are talking an average of 2500 for ISO.

The band invited ALL the kids up on stage with their little inflatable guitars from their swag bags to “play” guitar. It was quite a sight seeing 25 kids lined up rocking out together … the guitarist stood in the back playing so they all felt like they were the ones making the amazing music.

This is Adeline and her best friend, crazy Miss M.

The band played Happy Birthday to her as we all sang along … it just happened to be the coolest and the LONGEST rendition I’ve ever heard. She was *dying* to eat that cupcake and blow out those candles and kept a smile glued to her face the whole time, but it lost it’s luster about two minutes in. You could see the “Come on, already, there is cake to be eaten!!!” written all over her face!

We were so excited to have the amazing artist Miranda Vettrus play for us all night. We have friends of ours to thank for hooking us up with them (and for helping manage all the music and sound that night – Jason is an awesome friend and massively talented in numerous areas). Adeline had heard her music before and actually asked if she could come to her birthday party … I explained famous musicians were very busy, so I didn’t think so, but I would sure check. Imagine her surprise! And she played all of Addie’s favorites for her … a little Johnny Cash and the Bright Eyes song that was playing when she was born. This mama was a bit teary eyed throughout the night. Our good friends are up there playing too (Jason on drums and Silver on bass guitar) … take a look at their sweet little girl, Echo, rocking out with them!

I took a super simple light set up down with me so I could get mug shot style photos of any guests who wanted to jump in before leaving the party.

And here are some of the party details. I went a little overboard and designed a whole “brand” for Adeline’s party, right down to the little punk girl graphic that looked just like Addie and her own site (adelinebrett.com) was transformed for the party! I got so involved in the festivities and just enjoying watching my little girl have fun and be a total crazy girl that I never got to snap photos of the set up all complete, which was a bit of a bummer, but I don’t regret missing some silly photos in exchange for playing with my girls and being totally present in the moment. As many photos as you see here (and, yes indeed, there are a lot), they were taken very quickly so I could just enjoy the party and special moments without the camera in front of my face.

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And in response to some of the nasty comments I received yesterday that I had to hide …

Note: There was no elaborate spending being done here, just the combination of lots of hard work and creativity as well as being lucky to pull some strings including being blessed with friends in the music industry, finding a space where the rental fee was going to a good cause to help teens in need, taking advantage of this mommy’s graphic design skills and making it all come together. This was a super fun gathering of family and friends in the middle of the holiday season and I really don’t see why I’ve heard so many negative comments about throwing a fun party for our loved ones to enjoy. Everyone had a blast, and we don’t regret it for a second. For her party next year she has asked for her friends to come over to our place in the country and pet her animals – that’s it. She’s definitely not suffering from spoiled kid syndrome. And I suppose I have to be a little snotty and say, even if I did decide to spend a lot of money on my kid’s party and could afford to do so, ummmmm … who cares!?

And while I realize the punk rock theme may not be for everyone, the party was for a little girl who absolutely adores music (and, yes, she loves some authentic but kid appropriate punk music in there as well). We have many friends in the music industry and who are musicians themselves (half the band are close friends of ours). She loves dance, music and art. Her mommy and daddy and all her friends also love music and everything creative … so it was a natural pick for her to have a party celebrating those loves. To each their own! I know that all her friends and our friends and family all LOVED it, so we’re good with it! I’d also like to say that our usual party is somewhere along the lines of pizza and friends in the backyard … but this was a unique and fun experience too.

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I can’t wait until summer when we can replant our little fairy garden and elaborate on it a bit. I was so sad to walk by it today and see it in a less than flourishing state (Eliza had fun with it this summer and kind of ate half of the pathway rocks and demolished the little twig furniture we built).

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Some quick photos of the family from over the holidays. We attempted to get out and do this three times … each time failed, this was the only time we actually got anything recorded (the other times ended with tears for various reasons or sleeping babies before I even got the camera out). This third time it was freezing, blustery and as you can see in some of the images, snowing/raining! Processed with my Paint the Moon actions.

One of my favorite shots of my baby girl over Christmas. When she wears this outfit I just can’t resist yelling, “She’s so fluffy, I’m gonna die!!!!!” I know it’s ridiculously furry. I’m not sure what it is about having baby girls that gives me the irresistible urge to dress them like baby animals.

You can see the snow and rain coming down around us … it was blustery, freezing and wet! We had planned on doing a whole family session, but settled for a few *very* quick shots before getting drenched (and ruining my camera gear). And, yes, I look like my head is not attached (or I have no neck??) and am missing a hand that’s pulled up inside my sweater.

And we are off and running back to the dry, warm car!!

If you love to take photos … whether you are a professional photographer or a mommy who loves taking photos of your family – or if you have kids who would love to start taking their own photos and want to learn about photography – you should take a look at the new Let’s Do 52 Project up on my business blog. It’s basically taking a photo a week according to the theme … and this year I’ve started one (with Adeline’s suggestions and help) just for the kids!! It’s called Let’s Do 52 – Kids Click Too! The ages involved so far have ranged from three years old to about twelve, and it’s so fun seeing the world through their young, artistic mind’s eye. Hop on over and take a look if you’re interested in joining us!

For the kids …

And for us big folks …

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Christmas morning in our jammies … check out Miss Eliza’s bed head!

The day before Christmas Eve our Elf on the Shelf, Matilda, got into my make-up bag … she left a note that explained her and Adeline’s baby were having a beauty day and encouraged me and Addie to do the same.

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Then, on the morning of Christmas Eve we woke to find Matilda played a little trick on us all as we slept. Again she got into my make-up, but this time managed to draw kitty cat faces on all of us as we were sleeping soundly in bed (or was that Rudolph faces with the little red nose??). I’m just amazed that she was able to do it to both girls without waking them … I have a feeling it was very tricky and that she had to reapply the baby’s make-up at least 20 times due to rolling over and rubbing faces with chubby hands (just guessing, you know – and my apologies on behalf of Matilda to the housekeepers at the lodge who had to wash the make-up covered sheets!). Keeping a straight face as Addie opened her eyes to see us all sleeping next to her with kitty cat faces was quite difficult.

For those who wanted to know how our goodbyes to Matilda went … disastrously, leaving me feeling like a horrible mommy … you can read about it here.

This one was super out of focus due to my crawling on the ground at a low shutter speed with entirely too little sleep – but it was so cute I had to post anyway.

Now, on Christmas Eve my little Adeline explained that Christmas and all the happiness and love of the day doesn’t last long enough and we should do a two day holiday instead. She told us on Christmas Eve that not only did she want to keep celebrating for two days, but she wanted to save half of her gifts for the second day. What?! Who stole my sweet, but impatient child who usually cannot contain herself when their is a surprise waiting?? We all agreed it was a lovely idea – and officially started our new annual Second Christmas in the Manning family this year (and, yes, I know all of you who celebrate Boxing Day are lucky enough to already enjoy this tradition).

Now the remarkable part of this story is that on Christmas night as we snuggled to sleep she whispered to me that “Second Christmas Day” is a gift from her to me … she overheard me saying to my husband on Christmas Eve how I was kind of sad it was almost over. In an effort to make it last longer for me she decided it would be her “Christmas Eve” gift to me since mommy seems to get the fewest presents in the family and I didn’t pick a gift to open on Christmas Eve (I actually like it this way and don’t really dig getting lots of “things” … I’d rather just enjoy my little clan and our time together than worry about material gifts). It’s amazing that these little precious people in our lives teach us so much about love and what is really important in life.

Now this next one is not a technically perfect photo, but a perfect capture of the girls’ personalities at that moment. LOL!! Let me narrate …

Adeline, “Sit still. Grrrrrrr!!! I don’t want to do this!!”

Eliza, “Let.Me.Go!! Heeelllpp!! I don’t want to do this!!”

3 seconds flat before my little models were set free.

And I have lots more Christmas and holiday photos and stories to share … as well as some amazingly fun rock star birthday photos, but it’s going to have to wait until next week because I’m tuckered out and am ready to join Miss Addie and Eliza here next to me in sweet slumber.

If you enjoy my little, rambling blog, and have a second (literally), I would so appreciate it if you could pretty please click the banner below to vote for me (and thank you so much if you do!) … each click you make is your vote – heck, you can even vote every day, LOL!