December Photo-a-Day 2013: Days 30 + 31

Day 30: Out cross-country skiing with Mom & Dad! Helen really enjoyed herself, even though it was very cold.

Day 31: The magic of a little makeup. I used concealer, mascara, blush, lip stain, and filled in my eyebrows a bit. These photos were taken using the same settings on my camera and adjusted for contrast, exposure and color.

And that ends my photo-a-day project! It was really fun. But now I will resume my regular, sporadic posting. :)

Happy New Year!

December Photo-a-Day 2013: Days 26, 27, 28 + 29

Day 26: I tried a healthier prepackaged ramen. It was pretty good, but needed salt.

Day 27: Cinnamon rolls are best fresh from the oven.

Day 28: Since my sister and her husband (who live over 3 hours away) couldn't be here for Christmas, we decided to wait to open presents until they could make it.

Day 29: Happiness = a bit of leftover wrapping paper.

December Photo-a-Day 2013: Days 24 + 25

My family had a Christmas Eve party for the family. Helen enjoyed playing with the cousins.

We spent Christmas Day with Reuben's family. The brunch was delicious: ham & egg cups, French toast, sausages, oranges, Rommegrot (made by yours truly), and orange juice.

Little Bella is already changing and getting a double chin. She has such nice hair (no fair).

The kids got minion hats (from Despicable Me). Helen got an evil minion hat - I thought it was quite fitting. ;) I'll have to get a picture of all of them wearing their hats.

December Photo-a-Day 2013: Days 21, 22 + 23

Day 21: I forgot to take a photo until dark, so Reuben offered to shine a flashlight on the trees outside our door. I really liked the eerie effect.

Day 22: My sister had her baby! Audra went into labor last Sunday, but it stalled. One week later, little Bella arrived safe and sound.

Day 23: Helen climbed into the corner cupboard, but couldn't get herself out again. It was hilarious. I'm such a bad mom. ;)

December Photo-a-Day 2013: Days 19 + 20

I’m sharing more than two photos from the past couple of days. Because reasons. The first is from yesterday, the other three from today.

1| My new knuckle rings. 2| Self portrait. 3| Mah curlz. It’s a good idea to document them since I rarely have time to curl my hair these days. 4| Helen’s fake laugh. Silly-head.

2 Responses to December Photo-a-Day 2013: Days 19 + 20

1. Annie 
   December 20th, 2013 at 7:23 pm
   Love those rings! And your long pretty hair. And that adorable baby smile. I just love all your pictures. :)
2. Diane 
   December 20th, 2013 at 8:18 pm
   You’ve grown into yourself, Erica. Lucky Reuben. ; )

10 Months + Photo-a-Day: Days 17 + 18

Helen is 10 months old!

Here’s what’s new this month:

• She started walking! At just a week or so shy of 10 months, she really took off. Here and here are videos to prove it.
• She learned how to point at things. It’s fun to see her pointing at animals in books and at people.
• She’s learning how to use signs as well. I taught her the sign for when she wants to nurse. It’s nice to know for sure what she wants.
• She’s learning knew words as well. She says “Bye-bye” and waves, uh-oh (see this video for proof), and hot (pronounced with a silent H) for sure. She probably says other things that I don’t recognize yet.
• She’s sleeping through the night. Hallelujah! She still fusses a bit in the middle of the night, but she’ll put herself back to sleep. We started sleep training her a few nights ago, and it only took about a night and a half for her to figure it out.

And now for the photo-a-day pictures:

Day 17: Cousin Susan loves to give Helen kisses. So sweet!

Day 18: Helping Dad! I love the look of concentration on her face.

2 Responses to 10 Months + Photo-a-Day: Days 17 + 18

1. Cait 
   December 19th, 2013 at 3:19 pm
   She is so tiny to be walking! It’s adorable. My Jacqueline was just past her first birthday, and even she looked like a baby doll walking around.
2. Linda 
   December 19th, 2013 at 8:03 pm
   Congratulations to Helen! Her concentration is a real marvel–where there’s a will there’s a way, and will she has! What a sweetheart.

December Photo-a-Day 2013: Days 14, 15 + 16

Hello friends!

Did you have a good weekend? I thought my sister was going to have her baby yesterday, but it all came to naught.

The last photo is a bit of a cheat – Reuben offered to take a picture of my hair when he saw me struggling to get a shot in the bathroom.

December Photo-a-Day 2013: Days 12 + 13

So sorry I missed posting yesterday, guys! I was watching my sister’s kids while she and her husband went on a date yesterday afternoon/evening.

Day 12: Helen has been obsessed with walking the past few days. It was funny and amazing to see her so determined to learn how to walk. She taught herself how to stand up without assistance and was toddling around crazily. I can’t believe I’m already the mother of a “toddler!” You can see a short clip of her walking here (I’ll post a better video when I write up her ten month update).

A delicious breve (breve > latte) made by my bro-in-law. Yummy.

2 Responses to December Photo-a-Day 2013: Days 12 + 13

1. Rachel 
   December 15th, 2013 at 3:53 pm
   Awww, so sweet! How old is she now? :)
   Mmmm, breve’s are the best! *clinks coffee cup to yours*
   Blessings & Grace,
   Rachel
   {http://mysunkissedfarm.wordpress.com/}
2. Erica Lea 
   December 16th, 2013 at 1:13 am
   Rachel: She just turned 10 months on Friday. :) Yeah, I’m kind of addicted to cream – lattes seem much less flavorful now.

December Photo-a-Day 2013: Days 10 + 11

Day 10: Isn’t this the cutest little package you ever did see?

Day 11: Leftover shrimp soup! I recycled some of the ingredients I had left from making shrimp stuffed mushrooms into shrimp soup! It was very good. Reuben said so. :D

December Photo-a-Day 2013: Days 8 + 9

Hello everyone! No, I didn’t forget to post a photo yesterday. I just decided that posting every day was a bit overwhelming for y’all, so I’ll be posting every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for the rest of this month.

Day 8: This is my favorite way to eat grapefruit. It takes a bit of effort, but it’s so worth it.

Day 9: Helen is finally starting to get over her separation anxiety (now I jinxed it) and she’s warming up to other people. She loves her daddy and smiles and “jumps” up and down when she sees him.

2 Responses to December Photo-a-Day 2013: Days 8 + 9

1. Kristina F 
   December 9th, 2013 at 10:23 pm
   Oh, yes, I love grapefruit like that!
   Helen is so adorable. :)
2. Erica Lea 
   December 16th, 2013 at 1:13 am
   Kristina: Thank you! I love her so much. :)

December Photo-a-Day 2013: Day 7

It’s a bitterly cold day. It was -25 degrees F this morning. My stove wouldn’t even start. When I finally coaxed some life out of it, I made myself a cozy cup of mocha.

Here are a couple of photos that I captured yesterday. I saw the sunlight hitting the snow-clad trees and I knew I had to get outside with my camera. I tromped through the snow in my pajamas. It was well worth the effort.

December Photo-a-Day 2013: Day 6

My little stinker Helen. She’s growing up so fast.

1 Response to December Photo-a-Day 2013: Day 6

1. Naomi 
   December 7th, 2013 at 12:14 pm
   She is so adorable

December Photo-a-Day 2013: Day 5

Today (well, technically yesterday as I’m writing this at 1:12 AM), I cleaned out my refrigerator. It makes me happy to see everything so spotless and tidy.

Do you get pleasure from giving things a good cleaning?

December Photo-a-Day 2013: Day 4

Confession: I love cold cereal. I know that it’s about the worst possible thing in the world to eat health-wise, but it’s just SO GOOD. Reuben’s favorite kind is Reese’s Puffs, and I have to say that they’re pretty tasty.

I roped Reuben into helping me take this shot. I wish I could have captured the splash better – next time I’ll have to have more light so I can have a faster shutter speed.

What’s your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?

1 Response to December Photo-a-Day 2013: Day 4

1. Rachel Q 
   December 4th, 2013 at 9:42 pm
   Ahh cold cereal is the best! And I’m positive there are far worse things that one could consume. This photo makes me quite happy. Thanks for sharing.

December Photo-a-Day 2013: Day 3

Today’s photos is actually a diptych. Outside we have a heavy dusting of snow. I brought some boughs inside for our “Christmas Tree” — I’ve decided not to get a REAL tree this year since it would be a major headache to try to keep Helen from wrecking it. :) I’ll probably add some baubles later…maybe some lights if I get really ambitious.

2 Responses to December Photo-a-Day 2013: Day 3

1. Carissa @ Pretty/Hungry 
   December 5th, 2013 at 4:50 pm
   You and I had the same thought this year with a mini-version of a real tree. Smart!!
2. Erica Lea 
   December 16th, 2013 at 1:15 am
   Carissa: I’m sure yours is much prettier than mine. I’ll have to try to be more organized next year. :)

December Photo-a-Day 2013: Day 1

Hey everyone!

I have decided to give myself a little push with my photography and do a photo-a-day this December. I’m not sure yet whether or not I’ll be uploading a photo every day. We’ll see how it goes.

Today’s photo is of Reuben’s uncle reading in a cozy chair.

Reuben’s family hosted a big get-together over the weekend. It was fun to see everyone, but now I’m quite tired out from running after Helen. :)

2 Responses to December Photo-a-Day 2013: Day 1

1. Elizabeth 
   December 2nd, 2013 at 9:29 am
   This is a beautiful photo. The lighting is perfect. I’d love to see your photos everyday.
2. Erica Lea 
   December 16th, 2013 at 1:16 am
   Aw, thanks, Elizabeth! :D

December Photo-a-Day 2013: Day 2

It has been such a hushed, snowy day. I love all of the snow we’re getting. Makes the world look ready for Christmastime.

9 Months Old

Helen is 9 months old today!

Here are some highlights from this past month:

• She now has two teeth (see third photo).
• She’s a little better about cuddling now – she’ll actually lay her head down on my shoulder! One day she laid her head down on her favorite blanket and cooed (see second photo).
• She’s definitely trying to copy my words now. When I fix a smoothie for my breakfast, I say “Brrr, cold!” and let her touch it. She says “Buh, kuh,” in response. There are several more sounds that she tries to copy, but I won’t bore you with the details.
• Still not sleeping through the night. When will it end?!
• She can walk with a little walker that Dad made for her (see this video). She stood for half a minute unsupported before sitting down yesterday; she took half a step yesterday as well.
• She started banging two objects together earlier this month, and yesterday she clapped her hands for the first time. She also learned how to wave earlier this month.
• Helen loves books. She’ll sit on the floor and turn the pages all by herself.
• She loves animals. When I was watching a video while nursing her, the lady in the video picked up a kitten. Helen immediately recognized it, sat up and started cooing.
• She still doesn’t love food. Some new ones she’s tried are carrot, apple and cream.
• She definitely has a preference for me, and no one else will do sometimes. I’m glad to feel needed, but it can get a bit annoying when I’m trying to cook supper. :)

And that’s all the mommy bragging I’ll do for now. ;)

5 Responses to 9 Months Old

1. Beth 
   November 16th, 2013 at 9:10 pm
   I like the shoes in picture four! ;) It’s fun hearing all the updates . . . isn’t it amazing to watch them learn and grow?
2. Judy 
   November 17th, 2013 at 8:15 am
   Have you tried the “sleep training” method where you just make sure all is well with her when she wakes and then simply don’t go to her when she should go back to sleep? It can be a couple of nights of a learning curve for her (and you too) but eventually she will figure out that she’s in charge of soothing herself back to sleep. There are lots of resources and discussions on this on the web, just google “sleep training for babies”. Hope this helps Erica! Thanks for the cute photos of Helen!
3. Megan 
   December 9th, 2013 at 10:55 am
   Traveled over from pinterest–this post is a few weeks old, but I just wanted to encourage you that you’re an awesome mom :) And to link to an article I literally just read that I hope is a word of encouragement from the Lord:
   http://breastfeedchicago.wordpress.com/2013/05/24/5-cool-things-no-one-ever-told-you-about-nighttime-breastfeeding/ . You may have heard most of them, but just an uplifting reminder that you’re always the best thing for your sweet babe :)
4. Erica Lea 
   December 16th, 2013 at 1:14 am
   Megan: Thank you so much for the encouragement! And that was a very interesting article – I hadn’t heard quite a few of the facts. :)
5. Erica Lea 
   December 16th, 2013 at 1:18 am
   Judy: We’ve actually just started to sleep train Helen. It was becoming obvious that her nighttime feeds were a habit. It’s been two nights (only one FULL night), and so far so good. She cried a bit the second night, but nothing too horrible. Fingers crossed that this works – I would love to be able to sleep more than three hours at a time. It’s been a long, long time.

Awkward and Awesome

I’ve seen a few bloggers do a series called “Awkward and Awesome” where they highlight some of their funny/happy moments from recent weeks. I thought it would be fun to write about some of the things that have happened to us lately.

Almost all of the awkward things involve Helen. :P

Awkward:

• As seen in the photo above, Helen managed to open a bag of coconut sugar and spill some of it on the floor. She licked some of it off of her fingers before I had a chance to stop her.
• While I was shopping at Claire’s for some small hoop earrings the other day Helen managed to get her hands on a piece of paper that had fallen out of my pocket. She soon had a piece ripped off and was gagging on it. I reached my finger into her mouth and pulled it out, but that made her gag even more. So of course she puked on her shirt. I didn’t have a spit-rag with me, so I used my glove to scoop up the vomit, wad it up and shove it into my pocket. Ew.
• On the same shopping trip, this time in a thrift store, a little baby started crying. Helen responded by cooing and laughing. No sympathy!

Awesome:

• I have been enjoying lots of cocoa lately. Whipped cream is a must in my book.
• I figured out how to give my hair lots of body for an updo: braid your hair while it’s still a bit damp and leave in all day and night. The next day, brush it out, bump it up and twist into a bun. Voila! See an example of it here.
• New yarn in the mail! I’m knitting a hat for my sister as a belated birthday present, and I’m planning on knitting a hat for Helen.
• Another new thing in the mail: this tulip shirt. I likey.
• I finally got around to editing some more of the photos I took of Katelyn. I might have to share them here sometime. Here’s a sample photo.

What sorts of funny/interesting/awesome things have been happening to you lately?

2 Responses to Awkward and Awesome

1. Heather 
   November 9th, 2013 at 5:55 pm
   I can’t think much of an awkward/awesome moment. But, I do have a gross moment you reminded me of when you mentioned Helen was gagging on some paper. When my daughter was about 9 months old I gave her a magazine to distract her, not thinking about how everything goes in to the mouth. I caught her when she started to choke on the paper she ripped out. I swooped her up, telling her to ’spit it out, spit it out, Nicole. Open, Nicole, open your mouth, spit it….’ and that was all that came out. While my mouth was open and forming the rest of the sentence, Nicole finally dislodged the wad of paper, along with all of her recently eaten meal. I’ll give you three guesses where it all went…
   Ewwww.
2. Erica Lea 
   November 9th, 2013 at 11:40 pm
   Heather: Oh, wow, I thought my experience was gross! Yeah, I’ve let Helen play with magazines only to have her start to eat them. It’s really too bad because it would keep her entertained for quite some time otherwise! :)

“R” Family 2013

A few weekends ago I photographed this fun family. They were all so laid back and friendly.

We were hoping for a cloudy day for more even lighting, but the sun made for some lovely back-lit single portraits.

I really like how the group shots showcase their love for each other, but my favorites are the individual shots of the kids. I love their smiles.

Have an awesome day!

Erica