DSLR and PSE - huh?

A few weeks ago, I blogged about my wish list and my husband either a) finally found my blog or b) is psychic. I am going to assume my hubs just completed his "How to read a crystal ball" class because I'm pretty sure he doesn't know I have a blog. Anywho, not too long ago he and Nolan came home from a weekly trip to Costco and Nolan told me he bought me a gift. I told him I was excited and was anxiously waiting at the door for him to run up and give me a crate full of watermelons or something, but no, it was a Nikon D3100 kit! I was floored! So, now I am the proud owner of a Nikon D3100 DSLR camera and have two lenses, a camera bag (though, very basic black...I will have to upgrade sometime in the future), a memory card, two DVDs on how to use the camera (right, I'll watch those in my "free" time) and no clue how to use this awesome camera! The next weekend we decided to make it a family trip to Costco and my husband bought Photoshop Elements 9 (PSE) for me!!! I am so very excited and thankful but have no clue how to use it, either. Ugh. I try to do stuff in it but I am clueless (see previous posts in which I document my inability to do anything creative as I am an accountant). So, who can help me? PSE didn't come with any instructions and I have read through my Nikon stuff but it wasn't overly helpful. Guess I should watch those DVDs huh?

So, until I know how to use my camera to it's full capabilites, I am shooting in auto mode right now. I want to go to manual because I know I can get much better photos but I just don't know what I'm doing! Maybe I can find an amateur photography class sometime...riiiiight after I do all that stuff on my "must do first" list. I think photography could be a great hobby for me and may just let me express myself and get out all of the crappy yucky feelings I have been having...I just need to figure out where to start.

In the meantime, I am noticing that my photos are definitely crisper than with my point-and-shoot Canon, so that's great! Now if I can just figure out how to use PSE and all the fun actions out there, I'd be thrilled!

Here are a few shots from my Nikon. As stated above, these are all in auto mode, so pretty please, don't judge...I'm trying!

Butterflies and Other Miscellany

Okay, so I have decided on a loose theme for Kaitlyn's first birthday party...butterflies. There are a few reasons this theme feels right: 





One of the butterflies over Kaitlyn's crib


• Kaitlyn's nursery has butterflies hanging from the ceiling and she loves to watch them flutter around. There are two over her crib instead of a mobile and two hang over her changing table. I can't wait until spring finally arrives (if it ever arrives here in MI!) so that I can open her window and let the butterflies flutter in the breeze. I pretend the two over her crib are my father and paternal grandmother, watching over Kaitlyn for me at night. Silly, I know, but I'm not quite all there.    
• Butterflies symbolize spring and I am ready for spring to be here...now! What better way to celebrate my spring baby than with spring-y bugs?!
• Color, color, color! Butterflies are all different colors so it won't look like the pink monster spewed all over my house. I am thinking green, brown, orange, etc. Maybe a little pink. Don't get me wrong, pink is a lovely color, but while I have been searching for girl party themes...everything is pink! Ugh. Seriously folks, girls like other colors. My fave is green, for example. Thanks.
• I can pair butterflies with other fun bugs...caterpillars, bees, dragonflies...so the boys we are inviting to the party won't have only butterflies on their plates/napkins/goody bags. Whereas a pretty pretty pink princess party would probably be a bit more difficult to stomach for the wee lads...and for me. 

  

  On the wall above Kaitlyn's crib

Yesterday I ordered cute invites from Tiny Prints and was having a stressful day so I also bought the matching Thank You notes, address labels and gift bag labels. Oh, Tiny Prints, you are so sneaky with your matching accessories...especially when preying on a depressed, tired, perfectionista mother of two! Ugh.

I had to have it all! And for what?! Kaitlyn won't remember a thing, right? Well, but I will, and she is only turning 1 once, so I want it to be perfect. Sometimes I wish I wasn't like this and could just buy any old invites, decorations, whatever and still make it the best for my kids. My parents weren't like this, but I just love decor and wish I had gone to school for something cool like interior decorating or party planning or photography. Nope, I studied accounting. Woo Hoo! Break out the party hats kiddos, we're going to be having fun with debits and credits today! Par-tay!

Next on my party to-do list...smash cake and cupcakes. I think I'm going to have them made but I have no clue where to find a good bakery around here. I googled bakeries and there is not much. I just began my search yesterday though, so I will keep looking. There has to be a good baker around here...now to find them! I'll keep ya updated!

Birthday Ideas

Unbelievably, Kaitlyn will be ONE on April 30th and I feel the need to begin planning immediately! We don't have a large family and will be inviting a few good friends whom have been with us through this insanely crazy year, but I want it to be a super-special day! I know April 28th will be incredibly difficult for me and my family, so I really want to make the 30th happy, fun and Kaitlyn's best day ever!

I need to start brainstorming...what little things can I do to make her birthday freakin' fantastic?

Here are a few things Kaitlyn loves right now (9 and 1/2 months):

• Clapping
• Screeching
• Doing the "splits"

• Smiling
• Baths
• Pillows
• Crawling full force at something she wants with her head down
• Dancing
• Our TV/Stereo - and she likes it even more when we tell her "no"
• Her brother, Nolan

• Her pink bunny lovey
• Daddy
• Laughing
• Graham Crackers
• Emptying all the toys out of all the toy bins
• Chewing on everything she can find
• Sticking her tongue out

• Sitting and kicking her feet
• Toilet paper (see yesterday's post)
• When I take off my glasses (she laughs every time, I have no clue why)
• Mommy
• Looking cute

SO, I should be able to come up with something spectacular for Kaitlyn's party, right?  

Wordless Wednesday - TP Edition

We Love AppleCheeks

We have been using cloth diapers since Kaitlyn was a few weeks old and we love them! Since cloth diapers were brand new to us (we didn't use them, or really even know about them when Nolan was born) we tried out a bunch of different brands and have a very clear favorite...AppleCheeks cloth diapers! We absolutely LOVE them because of how they fit Kaitlyn - they allow her to move around and don't leave marks all over her legs. Let's not forget that AppleCheeks also expertly contain all of her messiness and look super adorable on her - at every age!

Kaitlyn rockin' her fave color - Raspberry Sorbet - May 2010 - 3 weeks old

Kaitlyn posing in her Coriander AppleCheeks - 3 months old

Kaitlyn lovin' her St. Lucia AppleCheeks - 7 months old

Kaitlyn and I recommend AppleCheeks if you are already cloth diapering or even if you are just in the beginning stages of contemplating trying out cloth diapers on your baby - we promise - you will LOVE them just as much as we do!

Oh, The Joy of Teething Babies

I wish babies were born with all of their baby teeth. I know this doesn't happen for a long list of reasons, but it would just be easier on Moms and Dads everywhere if it did.

Nolan was only 3 months old when his first tooth popped up...and it was so. not. fun. I remember calling his pediatrician and asking what was wrong with him because he had red/raw cheeks, was drooling constantly and running a low temp. The nurse laughed and told me he was most likely teething. I didn't believe her. Babies don't get teeth at 3 months old.  A few days later, Nolan proved my thesis incorrect.  There was a pair of beautiful white teeth coming in on the bottom! Couldn't believe it and so I proceeded to take a zillion more pictures of him smiling without any teeth because I loved his gummy grin.

So, with Kaitlyn, we were fully expecting teeth early. She wanted to prove that all children are different and waited 3 more months than Nolan. Last Thursday, two days before she turned 6 months old, Kaitlyn's first tooth broke through her gums. Ugh. She was up all night. My beautiful, happy, awesome-sleeping baby became a fussy, unhappy, non-sleeping, but still amazingly beautiful baby. Then, I just noticed yesterday that another tooth is coming in quickly right next door to her current one. Poor girl. I wish I could take her pain away and would gladly give it to myself (or my husband!) so that she didn't have to be uncomfortable. I keep reminding myself that she will not remember this time in her life...but I will.

If you look very closely, you can see her little white nubbin' coming in (bottom right side)

Wordless Wednesday - Fun at the Park

Kaitlyn

Nolan

Seriously, I NEED Help!!!

Kaitlyn will NOT nap during the day.  I really have no clue what to do.  I have tried both extremes.  I have tried feeding her until she falls asleep then put her in her crib and she wakes up either immediately or within 10 minutes.  I have tried the wake, feed, activity, sleep method (Babywise) and she won't fall asleep when I just leave her in the crib wide awake.  She won't.  What do I do?  I am so frustrated and she is so tired.  Then there is working my son's nap in because he still gets up at the crack of dawn so he HAS to take a nap during the day.  How do all of you mommys deal with a toddler who has to take naps and a newborn who won't take naps?  I feel horrible for Kaitlyn.  She is so tired.  I have also tried the swing.  At 4:45pm today I fed her, she fell asleep after eating 2 oz so I put her in her swing and she woke up 10 minutes later and is now just sitting there fussing and making noises like "Hey, Mom, can't you figure out how to help me yet?  You're the Mom; that's what you're supposed to be good at.".

My husband either doesn't think this is a big deal or he doesn't believe me that she doesn't nap when he is at work.  I get it that he has to work to support our family and I greatly appreciate this, but like today he got to go to a Detroit Tigers game for work while I'm pacing our house bouncing Kaitlyn trying to figure out how to get her to nap and my son is working every last nerve I have left.

I feel very alone and I don't feel like I have anyone to turn to even to just vent, so I'm doing it here.  My mom has too much on her plate right now and I really don't want to burden her anymore than I already do.  This would be a classic time where I would call my dad to talk but since he died I just feel lost.  I miss him so much during these times when I feel like I can't do any more than I'm already doing.  I lose my patience so easy these days because I'm so worried about Kaitlyn not napping and therefore not getting enough time to grow and develop.  I feel like a horrible mommy.  My son won't eat anything and he wakes up super early...my daughter won't nap and is not her normally happy self.  I feel very disconnected from myself and my life.  Can someone please offer some advice?  I'm not looking for a debate on sleeping or feeding schedules, just some helpful things I could try.  Thanks so much. 

Not so sure I'll be working out tonight as I had originally planned this morning when everything seemed much more possible.

Introducing...Kaitlyn Frances

Hello everyone.  As many of you know, my father passed away very unexpectedly on April 28th and I was induced on April 30th so that I would be able to attend the funeral.  It has been a very very difficult time for myself and my family...I still cannot believe my dad is gone.  I was very close with him and miss him so much that it hurts, physically.  But, I do have to put most of my energy into taking care of my newborn daughter, Kaitlyn Frances (my dad's middle name was Francis) and my son, Nolan.  Thankfully, my husband has been off work for two weeks and has been my rock and my best friend.  He is the only reason I have made it through this difficult time. 

Kaitlyn was born on April 30th weighing in at 7 lbs 3 oz and measuring 20 inches long.  It was a relatively uncomplicated birth as we checked in at 8am and I delivered her at 2:21pm.  She is absolutely beautiful and everyone who meets her is in love with her. 

Hopefully I will be back blogging soon, but right now I'm enjoying time with my family.