Happy Valentine's Day?

So I thought I had a cute idea of dressing Kaden up in his little suit and I was going to send a picture to my friend Miranda (for her daughter Evelyn) from "Kaden" saying, "Will you be my Valentine?" But then reality struck. Kaden didn't feel like smiling. Or even being just mildly displeased for that matter. He sobbed and sobbed. This picture is the sole reason for the title of this post. I guess not everyone likes Valentine's Day.  Maybe next year?

Valentine's Day was fun this year since Kaden is old enough to understand unwrapping presents a little bit more.  We got him a Mr. Potato Head and a new book (Eyes, Ears and Toes).  We had pink, heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast.  

Kaden got some fun stuff from both Nana and Grandma in the mail.  He decided that wearing his Elmo stickers all over him would be a good idea. He somehow also managed to give me something special to wear on my cute red shirt: poop. Yes, you heard me correctly. Don't ask how it happened. It was gross. And no, I did not continue to wear that red shirt past 9 am.  Sometimes Valentine's Day is romantic. And sometimes you just remember you're still a mom, even on a holiday. :)

 Kaden played with his "bloons" all day...

 Kaden running from stickers to his "bloons" all morning.

For Valentine's night Curtis "picked me up" at the front door with pretty pink roses.  We decided our gifts to each other would be a massage so at 5:00 we headed off to our massages after we dropped Kaden at the MacLean's for a babysitting swap.  Massages. One word: Glorious! Best idea we've had in a long time.   We enjoyed an awesome dinner out at Trata, one of Rochester's only hip, swanky, chic, new restaurants.  The food was delicious and it was a lovely evening.

My Photography Hobby

Some of you may know (and some of you may not know) that I've taken up doing quite a bit of photography lately. I am certainly no pro, but I've learned a lot and it's been fun.  I've taken several online classes and watched a lot of YouTube videos (it's amazing the secrets people give away on there) and read a lot of books. I'm basically self taught and in trying to learn more and figure out how to take better pictures I've practiced on a lot of people. I wanted to share a few pictures that I've taken.

One of my assignments for one of my online classes was a self-portrait. So I took this outside next to our house while Kaden was napping. Don't be fooled by my attire. There happened to be no snow the day I took this but the temp was around 5 degrees. Yikes! So cold! But I didn't feel like wearing a coat for my pictures. I had my camera on my tripod, my remote timer and my coat sitting to the side. I'd take a pic with the remote, go look at it, put my coat on, warm up, take another picture, etc… I'm sure my neighbors thought I was a nut job. Ha ha.

Curtis is a much better model than Kaden. He holds still. Ha! And he's a handsome fella! :) This was in the woods behind our house.  Amazing the places you can find to take pictures when you look around a tiny bit.

This is Bri Torres, my friend Angie's little girl. She is easily one of the most gorgeous babies I've ever seen. So I feel like anything I take of her will look good. She's just stinkin' cute.

I've been trying my hand at newborn pictures in the last few weeks since every girl in my ward seems to be having a baby, I figured here's my chance to get some practice and offer new moms some free pictures. My rationale is that if they don't work out, they can't be too mad since they were free. I tell them in advance not to expect professional photos and then hopefully they won't be disappointed if they're a bit amateur but still decent.

This is baby EmmaLynn.  She was born at 12:19 (which is why the clock is in the picture. Her Dad set it, so if it says 12:20 it's not my fault, ha ha!)

Here are some newborns I did of baby Julian (it's a boy).  Loved this sweet shot of him and his mom, Elise.

 Shooting pictures of him made me realize I need some bigger baskets. He's a big boy! Kaden was only 5 lbs. 14 oz. and EmmaLynn was around 6 lbs. when I took her pictures so my baskets are biased towards small babies.  Julian was closer to 9 lbs when I shot his pictures so the basket is a bit cozy for him.

Highland Park Botanical Garden

We went to the Botanical Garden at Highland Park a week or two ago and it was a lovely little getaway from all the horrid snow and cold here in Rochester.  It was so warm and humid and wonderful. We went to the Botanical Garden at Highland Park a week or two ago and it was a lovely little getaway from all the snow and cold here in Rochester.  It was so warm and humid and wonderful.  A hidden gem among Highland Park. Who knew? We've been wanting to go since we moved here and somehow have never gone until now. I'd been taking a photography class and wanted a place to take some pictures for one of my assignments that wasn't inside our house or outside in the freezing cold.  I didn't end up actually using any pictures I took here for my assignment, but I figured it was a fun highlight of a family outing.

Can you spot the frog? It's kind of hidden.

 Kaden loves lights and ceilings so we look up a decent amount.