My head is spinning

I'm so bad about getting myself in over my head on new projects! I decided to look around the web for ideas on page layouts for the digital scrapbook---oh boy am I in trouble now!! I've spent the past 1.5 hours playing around with digital image editing software and doing searches for learning how to begin digital scrapbooking. After all that I STILL haven't the slightest clue where to begin.

I think my problem is that I forget to start with baby steps. I see pages that other people have done and I immediately want to jump in and make mine look like that. Problem is that it takes a lot of technical knowledge. For now, I'm guessing the best place to start is find a template to work with and go from there. Maybe play around with it in paint shop pro to get a feel for how it was created. That's probably the best way to learn something......take a finished product apart piece by piece working my way backwards.

So, if anyone has any ideas on the best way to really get into digital scrapbooking--beyond shutterfly's premade pages-please let me know. Most of you reading my blog have my personal email so feel free to just send an email.

For now I have to go.....looks my 2 hour window of quiet time has ended. Gotta love naptime!

Digital Scrapbooking

This past Christmas I created my first digital scrapbook with the help of Shutterfly.com. I first came up with the idea because I needed a gift for the grandparents. Once I got started, I realized it really is the next best thing to real scrapbooking! So, I made one for us as well and I hope to make a "year in review" album every year. Click here to view our 2007 Year in Review Album.
I started with Christmas 2006 because I was making it as a Christmas gift--we had not done Christmas 2007 yet.....so I will always start the album with the previous year's Christmas festivities. This was my first ever attempt at a digital scrapbook. Shutterfly's program is so easy and intuitive that I finished the book in only a few days. Of course, I'm now learning more about adding effects to pictures and so forth. So, my next album will look nicer.....but it'll also take me significantly longer, I'm sure.

I've always enjoyed scrapbooking, but just rarely found the time to drag out all the supplies. So, I never accomplished much in terms of creating a "real" scrapbook. That also means none of the kids even has a baby book. I had intended to create a scrapbook as their baby book and just never got around to it. Well, today I decided to start a digital scrapbook of Aaron's first year. I'm so excited and I've been working feverishly to at least get a few pages done. I can't wait to finish it now....shutterfly has made it so easy to make a beautiful scrapbook!

I decided to start with Aaron and work my way down to Kaeli. Ryan and Aaron will be relatively easy because ALL of their pictures are digital and still on the computer's hard drive. Paige and Kaeli will be a little more difficult because I'll have to scan their pictures first. I'm so happy to live in the digital age....it certainly makes preserving memories incredibly simple!

So, that was my long-winded way of saying---if I don't add much new content to my blog it's because I'm hard at work on Aaron's baby book! Wish me luck! :)

Paige's Award

The students at the girls' school recently entered a poster contest for Arbor Day. The posters were all sent to the high school and judged by the high school art club. I think there were 3 winners per grade......and Paige won 1st place for Kindergarten!! The presentation of the awards was at 12:00, so we had just enough time to have a hotdog at the softball fields before running over to the Arbor Day celebration. In fact, we walked up about 2 minutes before they called Paige's name. Paige had no idea she was a winner, so she was a little surprised when she heard her name. Kaeli didn't win anything and while she was understandably a little jealous, she handled herself very well and seemed happy for her sister. We haven't seen the poster yet, but it's supposed to be framed and then hung in the Town Hall along with all the winner's posters. I certainly hope they give it to us after that. I will take a picture of it at my earliest opportunity to post here. There will also be a tree planted in Paige's honor and it's supposed to have a little plaque with her name on it.

Here's Paige with her certificate
Here's Paige with Eme. Eme is the daughter of a good friend of mine and is very good friends with Kaeli and Paige. Congratulations Eme!!

After the Arbor Day festivities we headed home for a real lunch with Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop. Not too long after that Paige and I had to run out to Toys R Us to buy a gift before attending a birthday party. We got to the party just in the nick of time at 3:00. We finally got home around 4:45 and I was TIRED! I certainly slept well last night and I think all the kids did as well.

The girls are supposed to have practice today, but I'm hoping it will be cancelled due to all the rain we got overnight. But, other than practice we have NOTHING on the agenda and that is a great feeling!

Opening Day of Softball Season

Today was "Opening Day" for Kaeli and Paige's softball league. We arrived at the fields at 8:30. Fortunately, the girls played the first game of the day at 10 AM. Kaeli and Paige did very well and seemed to have a pretty good time. Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop were able to come down for the day's festivities. They also helped alot with Ryan and AJ. We had a VERY busy day, but it was fun. Here are some pictures from today:

AJ and Ryan checking out a drainage pipe

Mom-Mom giving AJ a big hug

Pop-Pop with Ryan and AJ--for some reason the color on this one is really off!

Coach Steve with Kaeli and Paige--Steve's one of the assistant coaches this year and the girls just love having him involved (most of the time)

Left to Right: Taylor, Kaeli, Paige, Dajaron

Kaeli and Paige are on the end to the right

Paige "warming up"

Kaeli "warming up"

Good hit, Kaeli!!

Kaeli is the one in blue playing catcher

Paige playing outfield

Kaeli up at bat

Kaeli running to 2nd base

Paige up at bat

Paige running to 2nd base

Having fun with the camera-AJ at 19 mos

This afternoon I decided to just have a little fun with the camera. AJ was sitting in the grass just pulling up handfuls. I quietly watched him from the window for a long time. He sat there for a good, long time. It finally crossed my mind to go get the camera. Of course, by the time I got back he was up and running around. I had a camera in my hand, a beautiful day, and an adorable little boy running around with no shoes on--how could I pass up an opportunity to just take some fun pictures of his expressions. I know it's often said that there is barely a record of a 4th child because parents just don't have time to take pictures, but I'm finding that I take even more pictures of AJ. I'm wondering if it has something to do with the fact that I know he's my last and I'm doing everything I can to preserve these memories. A toddler is so full of life and expression . AJ may not be talking at all, but he sure speaks volumes through his expressions.

These next 3 pictures are just too funny! He was being soooo silly. He was pretending to eat grass. But, then one time he actually took a real bite of grass (picture 1). In the 2nd picture you see his face after tasting the grass. He was trying to wipe the grass out of his mouth. Picture 3 is him "spitting" the grass out. I was laughing so hard watching him do all this.

Such a happy boy

Kaeli came out to join the picture fun. She is soooo awesome with AJ. When Paige was born she was still too young to care. When Ryan was born I think she just felt displaced in the family and didn't really get too involved with Ryan. But, she has thoroughly enjoyed having AJ around. Even when I was still pregnant with AJ, Kaeli showed a strong affection toward him. She couldn't wait for him to be born. After he was born, she became incredibly attached to him. It's been so wonderful watching her be such a great big sister to him!

Sprinkler Fun

Yesterday (Thursday) felt like a summer day here. The kids decided they'd like to play in the sprinkler. The lawn could use a little water, anyway, so I told them to go for it. Bailey seems to enjoy the sprinkler as much as the kids do.

Ryan and Bailey playing in the sprinkler

Here's Paige trying to fill up her watering can
There is actually a funny story behind this picture. I was sitting on the ground taking pictures of Ryan running through the sprinkler. Kaeli came walking up complaining about something. I pointed the camera up in her direction and, in a split second, she had this huge "camera face" and a split second later she was back to complaining. I went back to taking pictures of Ryan, pointed the camera back up at Kaeli, and again she had this huge smile on her face. It was so funny how quickly she could "turn it on" and back off again.

This is a genuine look of fear. She saw a wasp nearby and she is terrified of any kind of stinging insects. She got her first bee sting last summer and that made her even more afraid.

Here's AJ watching the sprinkler activities from a safe distance. He certainly looked intrigued, but wanted no part of it.

And, here's daddy getting home from work.

Mermaid and Merboy

The other day Paige and Ryan were outside playing with Lindsey (our neighbor). Paige came running in the house and yelled "mom, come quick.......and bring the camera". I had to laugh at the camera part. At least I knew it was nothing serious.

Paige and Lindsey had made a "mermaid tail" for Ryan and they were so proud of their work! Here's Ryan's tail. He often has his bike helmet on because he says it hurts when I take it off. So, once it goes on it stays on until he's done.

After Ryan was done, they made a tail for Paige.

Ryan's Friend

Ryan has his first *real* friend. I emphasize real because he has lots of kids that he plays with, but Brian is the first boy that's the same age. Brian lives in our neighborhood and has been over a couple of times to play, but the boys were still at an age where they just played near each other without really interacting. Now, they really interact and play together and actually seem to enjoy each other's company. Today was a great opportunity for them to really get to know each other better because I babysat Brian from 8-5 today while his mom worked. I was also pleasantly surprised to see that even AJ enjoyed playing right along with them. He sure is growing up fast! OH, and yes.....having a Brian and a Ryan all day can get a little confusing. The funny thing is that Ryan can't say Brian--it just sounds like when he says his own name (wy-an).

They did a little bit of everything today! We played outside for about an hour--Brian really loves to swing. The chased each other on bikes--that was very cute to watch. They played a little ball tossing game. Then we came inside for a snack. After snack we painted a little and then played play-doh. Play-doh was a lot of fun because Ryan made a "cake". He put 2 shape cutters on top of the cake for candles. I was about to eat my cake when he screamed "WAIT!". Then he used a little plastic play-doh knife to "light" the candles. I blew out the candles and they sang Happy Birthday to me. Well, Brian sang--Ryan's not quite there yet, although I think days like today will help get him there sooner rather than later. We then took turns having Ryan, Brian, and AJ being the birthday boy. We cleaned up the paint and play-doh and went back outside for more bike riding, swinging, ball playing, etc. It was finally time for lunch. Ryan and Brian helped me make PB&J sandwiches and then had a picnic on the deck. After lunch they watched Franklin before heading up for naps. All 3 of them had a good, long nap. After nap we played outside until Stacy, Brian's mom, came to get him. He was an absolute pleasure to have around, but I was still absolutely exhausted by the end of the day.

It's kind of neat now learning how to raise boys after having 2 girls. When the girls were this age, they would spend all their time playing dress-up and making up all sorts of princess games together. I think they were much more able to entertain themselves when friends came over because of all these make-believe games that I just didn't really fit into. Boys certainly don't play dress-up and they just seem to use their imaginations a lot less. I'm guessing it's because boys tend to prefer being completely engaged in active play and actually *doing* something rather than spend all their time in an imaginary world. I just found it very interesting and so much fun adjusting to a completely new way of "playing".

Here's Brian and Ryan playing a ball game together.

Having a mid-morning snack

Picnic lunch on the deck

Cute picture of AJ "relaxing"

Ryan, AJ, and I were outside (always outside these days) killing a little time before naptime. I gave AJ a few pushes in the swing and then kicked the ball for Bailey to chase a few times. While I was playing fetch with the dog I glanced over to see AJ laid back with his arms behind his head. Of course, I had to run in and get my camera!! It's always cute to see the little ones doing things to emulate adults. :) He stayed like that a long time-even through me running in the house to get the camera. I thought for sure he'd be done by the time I got back.....but, I guess he was really comfortable.

I'll probably be putting up lots of outdoor pictures for a while. These two boys LOVE to be outside and they are almost always happy out there. In fact, I think I'm going to grow a garden this year. Since I'll be spending most of my days out there anyway, I might as well do something productive part of the time. I think Ryan and AJ would enjoy "helping" and the girls are already working on their very own flower garden. They planted a bunch of summer-blooming bulbs this past weekend. I'm looking forward to the day they start blooming and seeing the kids' excitement!

So frustrated with myself!

This afternoon I got 3 really great pictures of Ryan hitting a baseball (wiffle ball, actually). But, I accidentally deleted them from the camera's card before saving them to the computer's hard drive. They are GONE forever......and I'm soooo sad!! We were all outside playing this afternoon and Ryan found the big plastic bat in the garage and wanted to try hitting. He looked like such a "natural" that I ran in and got the camera. It's like he instinctively knew to bend his knees when he held the bat up. I also thought it was interesting how he would hold the bat straight up in front of him and then pulled the bat backwards as he prepared to actually hit the ball. He missed the first few times and then made solid contact with the ball causing the ball to hit me right smack in the face (thank goodness it was only a wiffle ball). It was a great hit and everyone especially enjoyed seeing mom take a shot to the nose! I then asked Lindsey (one of the little girls who lives next door) to pitch the ball while I took pictures. I actually had a great picture of him making contact with the ball.....but it's gone now. :( Of course, I know I'll be working my behind off trying to recreate those pictures. I just don't know if they'll be as good or as "spontaneous".

If I ever manage to get pictures even half as good, I'll be sure to post them here.

Some of pictures of the kids playing outside

We've had some beautiful weather recently and the kids fully enjoyed it. Ryan is now riding a "big boy bicycle" with only a little help from me. He looks so grown up on his bike now! AJ loves to ride his little battery-operated "4-wheeler" that Mimmi (my mom) sent him last year. He looks so proud riding around on it! Kaeli and Paige seem to prefer their razor scooters over their bikes this year. So, here are the pics:

Paige riding around on her scooter

Kaeli on her scooter

Kaeli and Paige being nice to each other

AJ looking so proud on his little "4-wheeler"

AJ's telling me he has his "hat" on.

Ryan looking so big riding on his big bike

Here is his "big smile" to go with his "big bike". I couldn't get him to do a normal smile for me....it was very funny. There are more of his big smile in the album.
He's had enough pictures and is ready to ride. Here he is saying "doh way MOM!" while shooing me with his hand for added emphasis.