Day 107 4-30-11

Keys.  This is one piano that gets a lot of beating.  It is a little difficult to tell here but there are 4 hands from 3 kids on this set of keys.  Pierce really enjoyed having a friend over today to play with and Kai did too.  SS1/180 f/3.5 ISO400.

Day 106 4-29-11

Flight.  A bird is nesting on the column of our front porch.  It's an old nest from a robin, but this year a small finch has taken it over.  We've had baby birds on our front porch the last 3 years.  SS1/80 f/1.8 ISO400

Day 105 4-28-11

Beep beep.  Kai is almost walking so I thought I should start him driving too!  He's looking a little concerned though, or maybe he just needs some sunglasses?!  SS1/160 f/1.8 ISO100

Day 104 4-27-11

Entertainer.  Pierce was being silly trying to get Kai to laugh.  I think it worked!  SS1/80 f/1.8 ISO400

Day 103 4-26-11

Sidewalk chalk.  Was nice enough to do some sidewalk chalk after work/school today.  Pierce wrote a bunch of P's for Pierce all over the sidewalk and driveway, but nicely left this piece of chalk next to me.  I like the feeling that this photo has, as if a child had been there and left his mark (which he did).  SS1/250 f/1.8 ISO100

Day 102 4-25-11

Piano man.  Kai is now tall enough to reach the piano keys and was intrigued by the noise it made.  SS1/80 f/1.8 ISO400

Day 101 4-24-11

Easter.  Had Easter dinner at Joe's parents house.  Here are a few photos of the event.

 Showing off their Easter loot.

 Playing with Aunt Amy.

 Kellen looking dapper in his Easter outfit

 Kenedy tickling Kai's cheek (very gently).

Tucker mesmerized by the train.

Day 100 4-23-11

Artist.  We went to a birthday party with the kids today for a couple of girls that go to Pierce's school.  They had little pots for the kids to paint.  This is one of Pierce's best friend from school.  SS1/80 f/1.8 ISO400

Day 99 4-22-11

Generations.  I managed to capture this photo of my Mom and Grandma getting dinner together while I watched the kids.  I was going for back light and a bit of over exposure to make it more dramatic.  I realized that kids are much easier to photograph than adults, but I ended up loving this one of my Mama and Grandma.  SS1/80 f/1.8 ISO1600

Day 98 4-21-11

Connection.  Come on, Kai, make the leap!  SS1/80 f/1.8 ISO400

Day 97 4-20-11

Greenhouse.  After school today Pierce was showing me the little greenhouse where he planted sunflower seeds.  What a great project!  SS1/80 f/3.5 ISO200

Day 96 4-19-11

Scientist.  Pierce is learning about plants and germination at school.  Today they dissected a plant and the kids wanted to bring the parts home.  Pierce ended up with a whole plant which he wanted to put in water to see if it would grow.  We will see if anything happens.  Stay tuned, the results of our little experiment may take some time!  SS1/60 f/1.8 ISO800

Day 95 4-18-11

Hanging on.  Kai's favorite thing to do these days is spit and scream, in fact, you can tell what kind of mood he's in by whether or not you hear "ppbbbttt, shriek".  It's really rather alarming, but also very funny.  He was cracking me up here hanging onto the table from above whilst spitting and shrieking with delight (or just flat out screaming).  What a funny stage.  SS1/60 f/1.8 ISO400

Day 94 4-17-11

Spring.  When Joe and Pierce got home from the store this morning Pierce came up and showed me the purple tulips.  I said, "oh thank you!" and he said "these are mine".  About 5 minutes later he came back up with the pink tulips and said "these are for you, Mommy!".  I think it's funny he showed me the ones that they got "for him" first and then showed me mine!  Silly.  SS1/60 f/1.8 ISO800

Day 93 4-16-11

While technically I did not take this photo (I handed the set camera to Joe and told him to shoot) I thought it was odd to not have any photos of myself with my kids.  So the taking of this photo was inspired by a couple of friends who themselves made it a priority to take pictures of themselves with their kids.  While I hate the way I look at least I'm holding my babes close and will remember me being in the moment with my kids.  SS/1500 f/1.8 ISO100

Day 92 4-15-11

Homecoming.  Joe returned home today and Pierce was ecstatic.  He jumped up into his arms and gave and received a big hug.  Such a look of happiness he gave me here.  I could do nothing better tonight than have his Dad return to him.  Such a sweet moment.  This return is long awaited and welcome.  SS1/100 f/1.8 ISO400.

Day 91 4-14-11

Comedian.  My little funny man.  Sticking anything and everything in his mouth.  Just thought this was funny.  SS1/100 f/1.8 ISO400

Day 90 4-13-11

Sleepy.  Last night was a rough one.  I went to bed too late (10:30!), Kai was up, and up again,  Leo was puking and wanting out, Kai was up again, Pierce was up, Kai was up, Mica was up and wanting out.  Mom (me) ended up dealing with it all, but this resulted in a rough, sleepy day.  This morning Kai ended up in bed with me and slept longer than Pierce would let me so here Pierce is keeping an eye on Kai.  He has been very helpful to me while Dad is away (minus waking at 5:30 this morning).  I asked him to tell me when Kai woke up while I took a shower around the corner and sure enough he did (though I think he ended up waking him).  He even entertained him while I got ready.  Loved the proud big brother look here.  SS1/30 f/1.8 ISO400

Day 89 4-12-11

Siblings.  Kai is finally at the age where he and Pierce can play a little bit.  Pierce is still very protective of his toys, but he loves trying to entertain Kai and to make him laugh.  Here he is shooting cars across the hardwood right next to Kai while he watches.  SS1/80 f/1.8 ISO400

Day 88 4-11-11

Independence.  Kai was walking around the chairs of the table tonight and the next thing we knew he was on the floor under the table, happy as can be, chewing on a straw.  He sat there for quite some time just minding his own business.  He is loving his new found independence.  SS1/80 f/1.8 ISO200

Day 87 4-10-11

Joy.  I love the look of pure joy on my niece's face here.  Gotta love kids, it was incredibly windy here today and yet Pierce and his cousins enjoyed playing outside this morning.  I love how they found the tree to hang on, reminds me of when I was a kid.  Ah nostalgia!  SS1/500 f/3.5 ISO100

Day 86 4-9-11

Nephew.  This little cutie is my nephew, Kellen.  He came over to play with his cousins and they had a lovely time.  They all seemed to entertain each other, which was great!  SS1/80 f/1.8 ISO800

Day 85 4-8-11

Mirror mirror.  Today we had Kai's 9month well baby check-up.  He's doing well, except that he's not gaining weight.  Only 16lbs 4oz., in the 2nd percentile.  Probably partly why he is not sleeping as well as he should be.  Dr. gave us some instructions on how to deal with this so our fingers are crossed and we'll be back there in a month for a weight check.  Took this shot while we were waiting for the pediatrician to come in.  Managed to capture the whole family with the mirror being there.  I know it looks like I messed with the colors a lot, but the room really was that pink!  They are renovating so I'm not sure this is the final product or if they are going to add something else to the walls, but it kind of felt like we were inside a watermelon or something!  SS1/80 f/1.8 ISO400

Day 84 4-7-11

Taking it all in.  Took the kids to the library this afternoon and Kai was entranced by the kids looking at the fish tank while he cruised around the chair at the table where we were sitting.  SS1/100 f/1.8 ISO200

Day 83 4-6-11

Chef.  My little cook helping Daddy with dinner.  Usually Pierce helps us make breakfast (he knows the pancake recipe by heart and can nearly make them on his own), but tonight he wanted to help with dinner so he pulled up his chair to help with the measuring.  SS1/80 f/1.8 ISO400

Day 82 4-5-11

Bear.  We tried to choose short names for our kids because our last name is long.  That said, it is hard to make their one syllable names into cute little kid names.  We end up calling Pierce -Piercy or Piercikins and Kai is even harder so we do Kai bear.  I thought it appropriate to call him that here because he is in the bear crawl stage of mobility.  Reaching far out for things and trying to stand up leaving him on his hands and feet...soon to be on his belly and therefore on his back.  He gets extremely frustrated with his inability to be mobile or independent, so he will get there soon enough.  Also, he is modeling his new haircut, and yes, it still sticks straight up!  SS1/320 f/3.5 ISO100

Day 81 4-4-11

Haircut.  Pierce needed a haircut today so while we were there we decided to go ahead and get one for Kai too.  He did SO well.  Didn't cry at all and sat there for a good amount of time.  He looked so little in the pink jeep he sat in.  We were proud parents!  SS1/100 f/1.8 ISO200

Day 80 4-3-11

Storm.  This morning we went to the park before the impending storm.  Kai is watching his Dad and brother throw the frisbee for the dogs and I just loved how the dark sky was so ominous behind him, to the West.  Just a few hours later the temps dropped and it started snowing, but we made it to the park and had a lovely time.   SS1/640 f/2.5 ISO100

Day 79 4-2-11

SHARK!  Took the kids to the aquarium today.  It was really fun.  Hard to take photos in the dark, but loved this one.  SS1/60 f/1.8 ISO800

Day 78 4-1-11

The right foot.  I thought this was something I should probably capture during this project as it is an issue we deal with daily.  We CANNOT keep Kai's shoe and sock on his right foot!  What is a Mom to do... here he is cruising around the table with a bare right foot and a covered left foot!  SS1/80 f/1.8 ISO400