Rare beauties

For us, snowflakes have been few and far between this winter, but oh so beautiful!

Doll tea party

Emma and some of her besties attended a Tea Party for girls and their dolls.  This took place at a friend of mine's church.  I got to stay for the first hour and it was so fun to watch!

Emma with two of her best friends and their little sisters

 As soon as I took this picture I realized they were just about to pray... Emma had already closed her eyes.

 Time to Play!

 Emma and her doll (Emma Snow)

 All the girls!

 At bedtime, Emma and her doll were matching again!

 Cuddled in their own sleeping bags, ready to listen to an Adventures in Odyssey episode with Nathan...

Frozen Skate

Today we took the kids to the newly redone skating rink I frequented as a child.  They were having a special Frozen skate where we got to meet Elsa and Olaf!  What fun!

 Daddy & the boys ready for some "hokey pokey"

 And the moment they all waited patiently for....

Meeting them!

Emma said Elsa's hands were cold so she knew Elsa was real...

 The boys LOVED Olaf!  Lucas had planned to ask Elsa to do some snow and ice magic but when it was time to see them, he was all about Olaf and didn't want to let go!

 

100th day

Thursday was our 100th day of Home school for this year.  Samuel & Emma were eager to celebrate this milestone.  We made shirts...

Emma made special crowns for them the night before, and we made fun glasses that day (Lucas even got a pair).

 (1. Disney again, 2. Play football, 3. Drive police car, 4. Hot air balloon, 5. Marry Mom)

The snacks were a big hit and involved lots of counting

And of course... our dessert for lunch 

 Only 80 schools days left!

Lucas and the doll

I ran across these photos from last February... So, so cute, little Lucas playing with Nathan's old baby doll while on the potty.

Taking a break

I have decided to take a break from clients for a couple of years.  I do have two commitments this year that I will still honor but I don't plan on taking on anything else.  I have thoroughly enjoyed each family and child I have worked with, but I found myself struggling... feeling as though I was spending too much time editing other peoples photos and was not able to give some things in my home the necessary attention.  I felt such relief once I made this decision.  

 Goodbye for a while beautiful babies and amazing families... 

There will be plenty of time in the future to enjoy you all again.

http://www.life-captured.com/ (My photography blog)

Lucas and Samuel videos

The boys trying some of Nathan's sour candy a while back...

And then, a recent video where Brian is trying to convince Samuel to eat a really big bite of something he does like.  Brian promised to fall on the floor and let Samuel pile on if he did it:

Breakthrough!

Emma has an extreme fear of dogs.  It is bad enough that she would rather not go someplace fun or see people she loves if it involves being around a dog.  When we are around them we try to help her cope, but too many bad experiences have piled up so this sometimes seems to be a losing battle.

When we went to Michigan we prepared her (as we usually do) to be around their dog Squirt.  Now, one thing we already had going for us is that from our last visit Emma thought Squirt was "cute".  He is also a pretty well trained dog.  He does not have free reign of the house so there are "dog free" areas.  That helps tremendously.  He is also somewhat little, so much less intimidating.

We worked with Emma quite a bit in this relaxed, controlled environment and she made major progress.  She was not 100% comfortable, but she did initiate contact with Squirt many times and her actions were not controlled by where he was or what he was doing.  This was a HUGE step in the right direction!  We were so proud of her!

The proof is in the pictures!

 

 The boys loved Squirt too and had lots of fun petting him and playing with him

 Emma shooting a laser light on the floor for Squirt to chase-- this was super fun!

Car snuggles

Seeking Snow

Last week we took a road trip to visit my sister in Michigan and play in her very snowy yard!  We were so bummed about how our winter has been going and were in need of a nice snow-escape!  It was wonderful!  We played and played in the snow.  We had snowball fights, made a snowman (or woman... we named it "Pat"), sledded, made an awesome fort, and just enjoyed being outside in the snow together. 

We saw Cole & Wes and Uncle Tim a bit, and had some time to hang out with Aunt LuAnne.  It was a perfect getaway!

Daddy makes the best forts!

Sewing Project

On Saturday Emma and I made a tooth fairy pillow on her sewing machine.  She had picked the fabric and design.  She has a tiny pillow she has used in the past but complained that the pocket was much to small for the pack of gum the Tooth Fairy usually brings.  Now all she needs is another loose tooth!