Wild Rumpus

In honor of Maurice Sendak who passed away in May, we had a wild rumpus at our house.  There was breakfast cake, chicken soup with rice and lots of fun.  RIP Sendak.

4 Month Cherub!

I took this lovely little girl's newborn portraits just 4 months ago!  I can't believe how time flies.  She has the biggest blue eyes you have ever seen and a sweet personality.  She is such a cherub!

Sweet 6 month follow up

Here is the beautiful mama with her beautiful girl.

Look at that mischief!

I can really see her dad in the photo.  She looks right through you!

 What a cutie!

 ... and what a personality!

I love this baby.  She is super sweet and super social.  Her big smiles and outgoing personality made the session so fun!

Teacher Appreciation

I spent the weekend putting up some strawberry fruit spread.  Here's how I made it:

1 box low sugar pectin
8 cups of chopped and mashed strawberries
4 cups of sugar

Put fruit and pectin in large stock pot on stove over medium-high.  Bring to a boil while stirring.  Add sugar all at once and return to a boil while stirring that cannot be stirred down.  Boil for 3 minutes.  Ladle into jars.

yields 8 pints

tastes delicious and has much less sugar than jam.  jam usually has about 5 cups of fruit to 8 1/2 cups of sugar.

Then I attached cute little tags with ribbon.  I hope the teachers know it's a token of how much they are appreciated and enjoy it!

New baby!

I had the pleasure of photographing this sweet little baby earlier this month. She was just a week old and so cute!

Pumpkins!

Today we ventured to Benson's Farm off of 7th in Missoula. If you live in Missoula, and have not been to Benson's, you are missing out. Benson's Farm provides local, fresh, seasonal produce during the summer and fall months. There are bedding plants in the spring and flowers year-round. The kids had a lot of fun picking out their pumpkins and we got some gourds and dried corn for their wooden kitchen. Now it really feels like Fall!

Birthday Party and Animal Wonders

This past weekend we went to a birthday party for one of L's friends. The mom made a great cake and even molded a Pikachu out of fondant. Very impressive, and the birthday boy was very excited to eat it!

L had a very specific idea about what he wanted to get his friend for his birthday because, "he doesn't have one at his house and he likes to play with mine everytime he comes over." Eventhough it wasn't what I would have picked, the birthday boy loved the gift and I was glad I let L decide what the gift should be.

After the birthday events and lunch, we all headed to the Natural History Museum for Animal Wonders to learn about Mammals. There are some pictures of my favorites.

North Hills Hike

Little A and I had the morning to ourselves on Monday. "Do you want to go for a hike?" I asked. He answered, "Yes! Hike! Hike fun!" so off we went. I had to stay close since L was at preschool (just in case) so we opted for the North Hills. We spent about 2 hours getting from the gate to not quite the top of the hill and back down again. I think we went less than half a mile total, but no stone was left unturned as A explored every inch of trail. He stopped often to stack stones and chasing grasshoppers kept him entertained for almost an hour.

Little Brothers

I had the pleasure of photographing these cuties this morning. Do you see the yellow and orange starting in the background? I think I love Autumn pictures!

Eastern Star Exemplification

Last night was an Eastern Star function. Here are some pictures I took of the lovely floral arrangements and flowers provided by a member. Thanks Josephine Hepner and Miriam Chapters for the wonderful decorations and evening!

Bento!

I really don't know who is more excited for the first full day of preschool tomorrow, me or L. I'm not excited because he'll be out of the house (I will actually miss him!), I'm excited because I get to pack him a lunch! Yes, you read that right. I'm excited to pack lunch. "Why?" you ask. Well, it's because we got a really cool lunch box - and I don't mean one with Spiderman. It's called a Laptop Lunch and is a bento-style lunch box. It has lots of handy compartments for packing kid-sized portions of foods and makes it easier to send a few grapes and one strawberry without ending up with mush in a zillion plastic baggies. It is supposed to be healthier (more veggies, fewer granola bars) and greener (less packaging all around), but for me, it is a godsend because L really likes to eat real food. He likes fruits, vegetables, fish and rice. Thanks to lots of bento bloggers out there, I got some great ideas, like the zucchini risotto cakes that I packed for tomorrow. They are tasty! L and A ate a bunch before bed and I had to force them to stop so L would have enough for tomorrow. :) Enjoy!

Preschool!

Today was my son's first trial day of his second year of preschool. This means that mom got to stay with him today and take some pictures :) He is very excited to be a Dinosaur at University Congregational Childrens' Center (UCCC) and we are excited to have him there. He surprised me right off by cutting, taping and painting - all things he avoids at home. He also loved playing in the cornmeal - something that I avoid at home :) Yay for preschool!