Love is Patient, Love is Kind

I was sitting at my computer and heard lots of giggling and smooching going on.  I look over and this is what I see...

Thank goodness, my camera was sitting right in front of me.  These two truly love one another and it is apparent to anyone that is around them.  Keegan is learning to be patient with Presley as she learns to share, among other things.  He is always saying how he loves his baby sister, how she is his favorite girl (next to Mommy, of course) and how he wants to protect her.  We just couldn't be prouder of the way the two of them interact with one another and it is amazing to witness.  Oh, and yes - Keegan has a black eye in this picture.  He fell and hit his temple on the window sill.  He's a tough one.   

Therapy

We spent another glorious day on our boat in the TN River.  Mike and I are all too aware that this boat has become therapy for us.  We all love to be on the water and the stress seems to melt away when we're there.  You might notice the dark cloud in the first picture.  We did get a little wet, but it didn't stick around long at all.  It truly was a great day!

This little guy followed us for quite a while.  Not sure what the attraction was, but he did pose for a few pictures.  

One of the restaurants we eat at while we're there is right on the water.  We dock our boat, hop out and head into the restaurant for some fresh catfish.  One of the waitresses asked if the kids would like to feed the turtles and of course, they jumped at the chance.  We headed out onto the deck with a bag of stale bread to find this...

I've never seen so many turtles in one place and the kids were ecstatic!  And the turtles just kept coming.

Keegan has already asked if we can take some more bread to the turtles this weekend.  It's already packed in the bag ready to go!

A Soft Place to Land

This is Lucy's favorite place to be.  If one of the kids is in the bean bag then that's where you'll find Lucy.  She is the epitome of a lap dog.  And Keegan and Presley both love it.

My Homework

I recently signed up for a photography class online and have learned quite a bit in the last couple of weeks.  I admit, it's daunting for someone to critique all of your photos after months of people telling you how talented you are.  These are pics I took during a little photo shoot using Keegan as my subject.  My assignment?  Take a photo of a person using natural light.  The idea is to avoid shadows on the focus point - his face.  Also, you don't want his face overexposed.  I submitted this first pic because I thought his eyes stood out the best here and everyone, of course, commented on the gorgeous hazel eyes.  But the rest were so cute I had to post them - shadows and all.  

July 4th, 2010

We had a terrific 4th of July weekend.  Saturday night, Keegan and Mike brought home some fireworks to shoot off in the driveway.  Keegan was so excited about these race cars he found but this is about all they did...

The kids hanging out and watching the fireworks in the driveway.  Presley did not like them one bit at first.  By the time it was all over she was thrilled.  Dark is way past their bedtime.  Notice I have the PJs on to cart them straight off to bed.

On Sunday, we hooked up the boat and headed to the TN River.  It was FANTASTIC!

Once we got on the water and got going, the kids conked right out.  A rare picture of total peace.  

Keegan discovered that jumping off the side of the boat was great fun.  

A quick nap before dinner....

Then we headed to a marina to enjoy some fireworks.  Presley was ready this time.

She clapped and giggled watching.

A short but sweet video of the kids in the water.  The very end splash is Keegan jumping off the side of the boat.  He just couldn't wait for me to get my camera ready.  Too much fun!

Me Again - With Keegan

I mentioned a few posts ago how I had committed to stepping in front of the camera for a self-portrait photo challenge.  Here are a few pics from the latest.  Of course, setting the camera and focusing on the tree behind us, setting the timer and then running into the shot leaves Keegan and me somewhat out of focus.  I tried to get Keegan to sit on the grass and wait for me, but part of the fun was running with me into the shot.  If I knew a little more about the manual settings on my camera I could probably fix this.  But we have 3 pics of me with my first born.  Who cares if they're a little blurry?  We had a GREAT time taking them and the memory of that is what counts!

And We're Potty Training - Sorta

Didn't I just give birth to this little princess?  Where does the time go?  Presley (soon to be 19 months) started ripping off wet diapers and putting them in the trash.  She also started letting me know when she was dirty.  So off I went to Target to purchase the necessities - flushable wipes, panties and a package of Pull Ups (just to get started - she can't rip these off).  

I've tinkered with potty training a little with her but I think she is still a bit too young.  While she is highly intelligent for her age, I believe her brain is light years ahead of her tiny bladder.  We did have a couple of successes; however, while she was enjoying her reward for said success she would pee again.  So I don't think her bladder muscles are quite strong enough to hold it just yet.  Or maybe I'm just not ready to chase my daughter around with paper towels and wash Hello Kitty panties all day.  Either way, we've put potty training on hold for just a bit.