Amazon Trade In

Several months ago, my mom told me about a new program from Amazon called Amazon Trade-In.  Basically, you can sell your used cell phones, books, movies, games, etc. in exchange for an amazon gift card.  I decided to look into it.  I had an original iphone and an iphone 3 that have been sitting in a box forever.  I am happy to report that I am getting rid of 2 pieces of "junk" in my house and getting a $90.75 amazon gift card in return.  Woo Hoo!!!

And because every post is better with a picture of my little munchie....

{I heart}

My new shoes....

and Carol Hannah's new shoes...

Our favorite childrens' shoe store, Little Feet, had an open house today with some good deals so we took advantage!  I cannot wait until warm weather to see those cute little toes in those cute little sandals!  If you haven't liked them on facebook, head on over and do it!  They do frequent giveaways and they always have cute shoes for the little ones!

Camera troubles....

So before Carol Hannah was born, I got a DSLR camera in hopes that I could one day take pictures that don't look like a monkey was snapping shots with a disposable camera.  I have played around with it quite a bit and even tried out a few of the "priority" modes.  As it stands, I will find 1 picture that I like in every couple of hundred I take.  And that's ok.  Right after Carol Hannah's birthday, I took her outside one day to take some pics with her birthday balloons.  I was pleased with her, the balloons, the background, just about everything.  Only problem was the light.  What?!?  It was a beautiful day!  There should have been plenty of light!  Let me show you an example...

See how she is in a shadow?  I couldn't escape it.  If I turned her towards the light, I got squinty eyes.  I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong!  I decided to consult my friend/photog hobbyist, Jennifer.  She was very helpful, and gave me a quick lesson in metering.  Apparently my camera uses evaluative metering by default.  This means that it takes all the different areas of my picture and decides how to expose the picture based on this.  The problem is that because the majority of my picture is really bright, the focus of my picture (Carol Hannah) turns out dark.  Jennifer encouraged me to try spot metering.  This allows me to choose a point for the camera to meter off of.  It disregards everything else. But guess what....you have to use manual mode to use spot metering!   Argh!  It is something I need to learn anyways, but it is so overwhelming learning how all of the pieces fit into the puzzle.  I have taken Jennifer's advice and I am practicing shooting in manual.  I usually pick up the camera when Carol Hannah is engrossed in something (usually eating) and does not require my undivided attention.  Here are some of my manual mode shots...

They are not perfect, but at least they are decent!

We were outside on Monday and I realized the the conditions were perfect to practice evaluative vs. spot metering.  Here's what I got...

Evaluative metering (see how her face is dark)

Spot metering- Yay, it worked!  Notice the chipmunk cheeks stuffed with animal crackers...

I know I am not a professional photographer.  I do not claim to even be a decent amateur.  Please don't judge :)

Zoo fun

I had several days off the last week and the weather was gorgeous so CH and I decided to go to the zoo. There were only a few other people there and we had a blast! Instead of taking the stroller, we took the Smart trike and Carol Hannah thought she was SO cool riding in it. Her favorite word is kitty cat and it applies to any creature that is not a person, so she called everything kitty cat, even the sea lion! Here are a few pics from our zoo day! I can't wait to take her again! Sorry for the bad formatting...I'm publishing from my iPhone!

Baby Turns One!

It is hard to believe it, but my sweet baby girl turned one last week.  This past year has absolutely flown by.  I never knew how much that baby could own my heart.  Our lives have been turned upside down, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  This was our first picture together.  If I remember correctly, they gave me Carol Hannah to hold as they wheeled me out of the OR to recovery after my C-section.  She was absolutely perfect, weighing in at 7 pounds, 7 ounces and measuring 20 3/4 inches long.  That put her solidly at the 50th percentile.  She has grown just a wee bit since then.  Here's a quick "All about Carol Hannah"
Weight: 22 pounds, 4 ounces (75th percentile)
Height: 29 3/4 inches (just above the 50th percentile)
Clothing Size:  Definately in 12-18 months
Diapers: Just moving into size 4
Shoes: 3 or 4, depending on the shoe
Words: Mama, Dada, Kitty Cat
Walking:  Has been for about 6 weeks.  She's a very skilled walker now.  No running yet though!
Teeth:  2 up top, 3 on the bottom center, and 2 molars just cut in the back on the bottom (those were NOT fun!)
Eating:  We have been on finger foods for a couple of months.  Girlie loves feeding herself and refuses most help.  Favorite foods seem to be grapes, puffs, and Apple Butternut Bake.  She LOVES her bottles and I suspect that we will have a bit of a struggle weaning.  The transition to milk is going smoothly though. 
Just a few tidbits about Carol Hannah:
-On the mornings that I am home, Daddy gets her out of the crib when she wakes up and gives her to me in bed.  We snuggle, have a morning bottle, and watch a little Mickey Mouse Clubhouse until we are both ready to get up for the day.  I love those mornings. 
-She can wave bye bye (though never consistently at the appropriate times), make a variety of noises with her mouth and imitate whatever noises her daddy can come up with, and she can throw her hands up over her head when someone says "So Big"!
-Bathtime is one of her favorite times of the day.  She's not a big splasher, but will play in the tub forever!
-She's not the greatest napper ever.  She usually takes 1 nap that lasts anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours. 
-Kiddo loves an iphone or ipad.  She loves to push the home button and will do it over and over and over again.
-Her favorite toys are her Mickey Mouse Clubhouse kids chair, Smart Trike, and any baby doll or stuffed animal that she can love on. 
Carol Hannah is a great little kid.  Overall, she is such an easy going baby and is so darn silly.  Our house is full of laughter lately and it is wonderful.  She loves playing with Mama and Dada, but is also content playing by herself at times too.  She is not really a snuggler, but she will walk up to you out of the blue and hug or kiss or snuggle with you for just a second.  It is so sweet.  We have been blessed.

Baby's Faces

One Year Ago

It was exactly a year ago that I was admitted to the hospital to have labor induced.  It was a long, long day and I did not deliver until January 26.  I had no idea how my life was about to change....

My baby's birthday is tomorrow.  Wow.